stanbr

I just know both Jan and Heimdall are going to kill themselves laughing at me but I missed the beginning of this thread because: wait for it: Our late October Holy land cruise got diverted to a Greek island cruise at the last minute. We specifically booked this cruise because it went to a minimum of Greek ports.
Ok guys after laughing at me please be sympathetic.

My point is we actually really enjoyed the Greek ports.
Stops included one day in Chania Crete, One in Mykonos in a major wind storm ( so much for Delos) Santorini, Rhodes and two night in Athens.
Frankly we could not believe how much we enjoyed these port of call. We were the only cruise ship in port so there were less cruisers crowding the port. We had no pressure to see as much as possible as we have been to all of them several times but rather just wandered each town taking it all in and after a late afternoon ouzo at a seaside taverna in the late afternoon, we headed back to the ship and our spa and beverage package. Maybe it was the booze but we really enjoyed the cruise ship ports.

While I remain a staunch advocate of DIY and doing less island hops in more time but if you are short of time and have a beverage package the cruise ship is not a horrible way to go.

Mercy guys, mercy

Marge
it the real me now. Fly to Santorini and spend two or three nights there then ferry to Naxos and spend 4 to 6 nights there. You will get the spectacular in Santorini and a real Greek experience in Naxo.
You really don't have enough time to do Crete. leave it for your next vacation.

Santorini http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632154800782/
Naxos Mountains and Villages http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632110674306/
Naxos Town http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094558042/
A week in Naxos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645113682278/

travelerjan

HO ho ho... but yes a cruise would be fun, if you already had had the joys and satisfactions of spending time on and In an island... and just wanted a nice sea voyage with a day here and there in a port town.

Of course, cruise aside, Stanbr & I basically agree on the 2 islands, and the time on each ... if that leaves you with 6 days or so, you could split it 3 days in Athens for the basic Great Landmarks, and 3 days in Nafplio, on the Peloponnese -- Gorgeous place (most beautfiul Old Town inGreece, on a peninsula, surrounded by water), and ideal site for day trip to the most outstanding ancient sites ... amazing Iliad-era forts (Mycenae, Tiryns, Asine), stunning theatre (epidaurus) .. the list goes on. And, having been to Santorini wi. its highly-ballyhooed sunset, you can sit at the Nafplio seafront in wonderful marquee-tent cafes and see the sundown & compare & guess what, Nafplio wins! Here are some stanbr photos of Nafplio:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094108982/
and here's the one best (noncommercial website for Nafplio:
http://www.visitnafplio.com/visitnafplio.com/Home.html
-- if you ferry Blue Star back from Naxos to Athens, getting in at 3 pm, you could rent a car to be delivered at the dock, and drive straight to Nafplio in 2.5 hours. OR you could do Athens sight-seeing & save Nafplio for end of trip, drive straight to airport & drop car there before your flight.

PS: if sons want nightlife, there's always plenty in Nafplio, it's a favorite getaway for savvy Athenians who stay up way late.

Heimdall

Well, stanbr, that's one for the books! I've always wanted to visit the Holy Lands, but the closest I've been is an overnight stay in Amman, Jordan where I didn't get to see anything. Views from the airplane window on the final approach over Israel were spectacular, though. Sorry you missed the Holy Lands cruise, but I'm happy for you that you had a good time anyway.

I've always felt that cruises are a bit like that view from my airplane window — you get glimpses of things, but not enough time to explore in depth. I guess if you enjoy the food, drink, and entertainment that cruise ships offer, it would be a good choice. That's just not me, though. I once mentioned to some Norwegian friends that I was thinking of a fjord cruise, and they looked at me like I was insane. ;-)

stanbr

My wife and I made a list of all the places we have been and wanted to return to on subsequent trips.
That included Rome, Ephesus Delos and Israel. This cruise went to all those ports so we thought why not try it. At the beginning there were only two Greek ports, Athens and Mykonos so that gave us Delos and we had family with us so in a day in Athens we could easily act as tour guides there. Seemed perfect.

The night before we left we got the e mail from Celebrity. I turned to my wife and said 'guess what we are going on a Greek cruise."

All that to say; because we were familiar with these ports of call we had no pressure to get up and out on tours. We just strolled around the ports enjoying ourselves with absolutely no pressure. For a first time visitor who isn't in to do it yourself it indeed does give a glimpse of things. Definitely no time to explore or go in depth but certainly enough time to identify places to visit in the future. In our case Malta and Sicily are in the plans for a future month long trip.

mes2525

The problem with cruising the Greek Islands on a set tour is that you stay a very short time in each port. I like to see an island in depth so even if you decide to go the ferry route, limit yourself to one or two. Crete needs at least five days and optimally two weeks. You could go to Rhodes and do a day trip to either Symi or Kos or Marmaris Turkey, for example. Fly to Samos and go to Kusadasi, Turkey and Patmos or Leros. Note I did not recommend Mykonos or Santorini - too many tourists for me - I've been to Greece ten time and proudly have not gone to either.