Question about Knossos Palace cruise ship tour

[swdke]

Looking for information regarding a tour on Crete that visits Knossos Palace.  Interested in taking a tour offered by Royal Caribbean, will be sailing on the Jewel of the Seas.  Has anyone taken this tour or similar tour offered by a cruise ship?  If so, did the tour include a guide of Knossos Palace?  Also, the tour description describes this as a strenuous tour.  Just how strenuous might this tour be?  Thank you   appreciate any help and information.

[K8inMN]

We just did the Heraklion & Knossos Palace tour o the Rhapsody of the Seas last week when we docked in port. It was...meh. I think it was around $135 USD per person- a long bus ride there and back (2+ hours each way), and the palace was just ok. The guide did share interesting info about Crete on the bus, but I would have preferred the Jeep tour of the mountains or something like that.

 

We booked it the night before because our Santorini port was cancelled because of strong winds and we ended up having an extra afternoon in Crete (so we just walked around Chania that afternoon/evening and needed something for the next day!)

[cruisemom42]

There are several ports on Crete. If the OP is docking at Heraklion, Knossos is very close. It sounds like K8inMN was coming from Chania, which would indeed make for a long drive.

 

I've been on two cruise ships that stopped at Heraklion and offered tours of Knossos. Both of them included a guided tour of the palace and the museum in Heraklion where all the archaeological treasures from all over Crete are displayed in a modern building -- very much worthwhile.

 

At the Palace you have to stand for long amounts of time often in little or no shade. You have to be able to go up and down uneven steps as the palace is on multiple levels. Not all of these have handrails, as I recall. Footing in some places is gravel and can be a bit slippy. But as archaeological sites go it is not out of the norm and easier than some.