Your thoughts

[lbfluffy]

We are Platinum and working towards Elite. We love other cruise lines too, that’s why we aren’t Elite yet. But we are sticking with Princess as much as possible to get to Elite. We are going to Panama this November on a 15 day. My husband wants to try a trip to Greece. I’m half Greek and he’s never been to Greece. We are looking at possible summer 2021. If any of you all have taken a cruise to the Greek islands, any feedback would be appreciated. I’m just beginning my research.

 

Thank you,

[JimmyVWine]

Princess cruises to Greece and the Greek islands vary greatly.  Many start or end in Barcelona and only offer a quick taste of Greece.  If you really want to see Greece, skip those.  There are also departures out of Rome (or out of Athens going to Rome) that provide a better Greek Islands experience.  But maybe it is because I have been to Italy a number of times, I find the stops before you get to Greece to be wasteful.   Occasionally, Princess will have a limited number of more Greece-intensive cruises that sail round-trip out of Athens.  I don't see that PCL is currently offering any such cruises, so don't be afraid to look elsewhere.  We sailed on Royal Princess two summers ago on such a cruise with stops in Olympia, Kotor, Rhodes, Chios and Mykonos and added a three day stay in Athens at the beginning of the trip.  I don't understand why more such cruises are not offered, but PCL seems to be getting away from them.  All in all, if you really want to stick with Princess, I would look at an Athens/Rome itinerary with stops in Kotor, Corfu, Crete and Mykonos, and add some days to your trip to see Athens and perhaps some of the Peloponnese.  But whatever you do, make sure that Athens is either a starting point or ending point.  You do NOT want to pop in to Athens as a one-day port stop.  That is no way to see the city.

[AF-1]

We did 14 night cruise back in 2015 with NCL.  We left out of Venice.  Our stops were Olympia, Corfu, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Dubrovnik, Split, and Kudashi.  It was a great trip and loved all the stops in Greece.  We saw a lot.  

[Wishing on a star]

We had actually cancelled an excellent itinerary on HAL!   This Fall. Cancelled because we realize that we are not ready to take such a major demanding trip with health concerns. 

I agree with a lot posted above.  A good itinerary is harder to find the next couple years.  This is a case where you would want to consider other cruise lines.  

Of coarse Athens is a major consideration.  For us Rome was a good departure as we have never been there, and there is a LOT to see and do there.  

I would prioritize the places you most want to visit and look at itineraries from several cruise lines.   The cruise search here on CC can be helpful !

[Essiesmom]

Go to www.cruisetimetables.com and choose some Greek ports you would like to see from the Ports of Call list.  It will show who calls there and their itineraries.  EM

[jasbo49]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

... All in all, if you really want to stick with Princess, I would look at an Athens/Rome itinerary with stops in Kotor, Corfu, Crete and Mykonos, and add some days to your trip to see Athens ...

 

We are doing this trip in reverse in 2020. While it has only four stops (including disembarking in Athens) in Greece, it seems like a good way to sample Italy and Greece with stays in Italy at the beginning and Greece at the end. It's only a week, so adding on the other stuff is pretty easy and affordable.

 

Jim

 

[girlguide]

Have you looked at Celestyal Cruises? They are a Greek cruiseline out of Pireaus (Athens). Small cruiseline with 2 ships offering 3, 4, 5 or 7 night itineraries.

We are doing a 4 night itinerary followed by the 7 night 3 continents itinerary in March. Very affordable because your cruise fare includes drinks, gratuities & some excursions. They even offered a Black Friday 2 for 1 deal last November and I was able to reprice my cruises to get the better price.

We cruised with Celestyal in 2017 when they still offered their Cuba itinerary. Nice international passenger mix, very good staff, food was good too! Ships are smaller & older but well taken care of - a more traditional cruise experience.

 

We are Elite on Princess & Diamond/Elite on RC/Celebrity & Black on MSC, but all of that is meaningless if they don't go where you want to go when you can go...

Edited September 8, 2019 by girlguide
more info

[Colo Cruiser]

Many also start in Athens.

[Knickearth]

5 hours ago, lbfluffy said:

We are Platinum and working towards Elite. We love other cruise lines too, that’s why we aren’t Elite yet. But we are sticking with Princess as much as possible to get to Elite. We are going to Panama this November on a 15 day. My husband wants to try a trip to Greece. I’m half Greek and he’s never been to Greece. We are looking at possible summer 2021. If any of you all have taken a cruise to the Greek islands, any feedback would be appreciated. I’m just beginning my research.

 

Thank you,

Greek Islands are beautiful, so no matter how short a stopover or long - you will love them.  Mykonos and Santorini we loved.  Athens itself, if you get to go there, is a city with city sightseeing.  

[Aggie83]

My thoughts.....right now I'm looking forward to Halloween. Not because I'll be dressing up and handing out candy (which I love to do), but this year I'll be headed to Barcelona for a cruise!  I'm still working so I can only do one a year. Last one was June 2018. 16 months between cruises is a really long time.  

[lbfluffy]

Wow a lot of great ideas. I definitely want to go to Santorini and Mykonos.

[JimmyVWine]

55 minutes ago, lbfluffy said:

Wow a lot of great ideas. I definitely want to go to Santorini and Mykonos.

Unfortunately, Princess doesn’t frequently offer cruises that go to both. It is usually one or the other. If you want to do both, you should expand your search. Maybe MSC?

[lbfluffy]

8 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Unfortunately, Princess doesn’t frequently offer cruises that go to both. It is usually one or the other. If you want to do both, you should expand your search. Maybe MSC?

 

My uncle says MSC is good.