Greek Islands in late April/early May - to cruise or not to cruise?
 

Looking to travel with husband (to celebrate his birthday) and our children (in their 20's) to Greece at end of April - considering a cruise to avoid having to deal with the hassle of transportation, ferries, etc. Want to make it a "special" experience. We generally love to travel and enjoy seeing places "like locals", staying in apartments/hotels and exploring on our own, etc. However, with the islands, it may be easier to do it from a cruise ship. Considering some of the smaller lines with fewer passengers onboard, also to avoid overcrowded cruises/ports of call. Would love some feedback from people who have gone the cruising route.

We have done both. They are such different experiences. DH prefers a cruise. In Europe, I prefer being on a couple of different islands and not just seeing a place during the day. It also depends on which islands and what you want to do there. The cruise was great for seeing archeological sites like Ephesus, and it was nice to return to the ship after a day of strenuous sightseeing, However, I like being in a place in the evenings, lingering over dinner at some small restaurant on the water, then an evening walk. I do enjoy being on the ship late at night and seeing places from the water as you arrive or depart. Some places can still be a little cool on the water in April, nice for touring, but perhaps not swimming. Check temperatures. Also, time in each island is so important. Of course, the more the better.

I do think cruises are a wonderful way to travel with family. Our DD and GD love cruising. They take tours or do whatever they want during the day. We meet for dinner and they then enjoy ship activities in the evening. You mentioned small ships to avoid overcrowding. That may not help at all in ports. Some ports are always crowded, regardless.

Also, though some mega ships may seem crowded, others do not, so it is not always size, and for 20 year olds, activities in the evening might be important. They might not want a cruise where most are Seniors and everything closes up at 9:00 pm. Frankly, we are in our 70s and one cruise we took was too quiet and boring, even for us.

We took cruises to the Greek islands to see things and places rather than to relax and enjoy island life. OTOH, the cruise can also be very relaxing. Think about what you want from the trip.

Have you cruised before?

It’s not as difficult to arrange a holiday in the Greek Islands as you may think. The most difficult part is picking the islands you would like to visit, preferably in the same island group for ease of travel. Booking.com is a good website to start with for accommodation, but most island hotels have their own websites. You can fly to the first island if it has an airport, then go by ferry to the next. In late April to early May you don’t even need to prebook ferries — most will be running more empty than full. Buy your tickets when you get to the islands.

I can see the attractions of a small ship cruise, and would definitely prefer that to the behemoths that disgorge hundreds or thousands to each port of call. Still, I don’t think I would feel like I had been to Greece when taking a cruise, just getting a snapshot of each port of call. I would much rather spend my nights on an island, having a late dinner after exploring parts of the island cruisers never see.

Most local cruises include mainly well known places
https://celestyal.com/us/search/?lan...s&depart_ports[]=&departure[]=&durations[]=&sort=depart_date+asc&budget=&visit_ports[]=&ship=
If you want to go to small Islands, you better book local ferries.