Can some cruise expert guide me to the best place to get the best prices on Greek Isle cruises. I'm looking for a 3 or 4 day cruise this fall, and I need just the cruise, not air tickets or hotel/cruise packages. I don't care if I can do it online, or have to call Greece itself, as long as it is the best price available, I'm looking for it.

Any ideas?
Thanks.

there are lots of them. not knowing what your criteria are other than cheap, i don't know what to suggest.

where will you start? 3 or 4 days isn't much of a cruise. there are an (almost) infinate number of choices using ferry's and b&b's or hostels.

please refine your criteria & you will most likely get some help.

And remember, if you order milk, it is from a goat.

I'm planning a week or so in Greece with my wife, and if I can find something to fit in my budget, I thought that cruising around the isles for half the time would be nice. 3 nights might be kind of short for a cruise, but we've been on a week long Carribean cruise and got a little antsy after a few days. So I think that half a week sailing around and half a week on land would be ideal.

As for where we'd start, we'll be flying into Greece, so any port that is relatively near a major airport would be fine.

Its very hard to give definite criteria since I'm still in the initial stages of planning here. Let's just say that we've never been to Greece, so want to see the famous sights while having a relaxing and romantic trip, but without emptying the bank. We're a little old for the hostel thing, but the B&B's would work. So any suggestions will be nice.

any ideas?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by frank3355:
any ideas?</font>


A few years ago we did the Orient Lines cruise on the Marco Polo from Athens to Istanbul. You get a couple of days in Athens, then a six day or so cruise around the islands, then a couple of days in Istanbul. The price was good, and the mix of land time and cruising was perfect. Orient lines takes very good care of you.

Would do it again in a minute.

I think what you may be looking for is something like this:

http://www.royalolympiccruises.com/summer2002/cruises/4_aegean_classic/

I went on a 4 day cruise through the Greek Islands about 15 years ago and the itinerary looked like this one. It may have even been this cruise line, although I think it was called Epirotiki back then. If you don't want to spend a whole week on a boat then this might be just right for you. There are 3 day cruises offered too but it doesn't look like they go to the island of Santorini (my personal favorite). The cruises all leave from Piraeus which is the name of the port in Athens. I don't know the best place to purchase for a good price but I would look at some of the cruise discounters on-line. It looks like they are full price on this website.

I definitely recommend a trip through the Greek islands. They are very much worth seeing and a cruise lets you see much more than just going to one or two.

Edited to say: e-mail me if you have other questions. It was 15 years ago but Greece has been around for thousands of years. How much could it have changed in the last decade and a half? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by CMW (edited 04-03-2002).]