Which NCL Jade Greek Isles Itinerary Would you Choose?

[TardisDance]

I am hoping to cruise with my husband in the Fall in Sept/Oct if the stars align and mask mandates go away (we went to Alaska last Sept. and long flights with N-95 masks cross country was awful . .we are from Upstate, NY).  We've never been on a Med cruise before and are considering the Greek Isles.  I am thinking September or even October to beat the heat.  We are not beach people and do enjoy Nature/historical places. 

 

We are looking at the Jade cruises.  In particular, there's 2 itineraries that are a toss up:

 

Itinerary 1:

 

Sunday - Depart Athens (Pirareus, Greece) 5 pm

Monday - Kusadasi, Turkey - 6:30 am to 12:30 pm then Patmos, Greece - 6:30 pm to 11:59 pm

Tuesday - Rhodes, Greece - 8 am to 6 pm

Wednesday - Mykonos, Greece - 7 am to 4 pm (tender)

Thursday - Argostoli, Kefalonia, Greece - 10 am to 6 pm

Friday - Corfu, Greece - 7 am to 3 pm

Saturday - Santorini, Greece - 12:30 pm - 9:30 pm (tender)

Sunday - Athens (Pirareus, Greece) Disembark - 6 am 

 

Itinerary 2:

Sunday - Depart Athens (Pirareus, Greece) 5pm 

Monday - Kusadasi, Turkey - 6:30 am to 12:30 pm 

Tuesday - Istanbul, Turkey - 7 am to 6 pm

Wednesday - Volos, Greece - 12 pm to 9 pm 

Thursday - Mykonos, Greece  - 8 am to 7 pm (tender)

Friday - Rhodes, Greece - 7 am to 6 pm

Saturday - Santorini, Greece - 8:00 am to 9:30 pm (tender)

Sunday - Athens (Pirareus, Greece) Disembark - 6 am 

 

We've only been to Europe once to see the Norway Fjords out of Southampton back in 2019 - This was one of our favorite trips ever but we do want to see new things.   Please note, we are in our late 30's and would be traveling just by ourselves (we have no kids).   I am leaning towards the Itinerary 2 because of the stop in Istanbul, but am I missing out on better sites with itinerary?  Is there anything else I should consider?  Please note, we are also platinum members, so we'd have priority tender for either sailing.  

 

Thanks in advance for any insight and tips! 

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by TardisDance
extra spacing

[billyu]

I would go with number 2. For me it would be the longer hours in port.  

[SpainAlien]

Definitely #2, Istanbul is beautiful and as long as you get to Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes you'll have seem the best of the Greek islands (IMO)

[KeithJenner]

Yes, certainly number 2 for me, because of Istanbul.

[CruiseFan94]

Number 1.

Situation in Black Sea is critical.

Would you book now and risk your itinerary to be modified?

If the situation gets worse they will modify Istanbul with an other port and that maybe affect the whole cruise.

Ionian Islands (Argostoli & Corfu) are beautiful places and not very crowded like those destinations in the 2 itinerary.

Kefalonia is known in Greece to have some of the best beaches and caves and Corfu has great history landmarks like Achillion Palace and old Fortress.

Edited March 14, 2022 by CruiseFan94

[Travelling2Some]

Cruisefan94 makes a good point (especially since we just had our Baltic's cruise canceled today because of the Russia situation) but . . . have to say you had me at Istanbul!  You are also correct about the timing.  October is perfect for this itinerary.  You couldn't pay me to cruise the Med in the heat of mid-summer.

Edited March 14, 2022 by Travelling2Some

[TardisDance]

CruiseFan94 does make an excellent point.  I too am worried about the Russia situation.  I don’t plan on even booking this until mask mandates are gone, that’s the first requirement.  If that doesn’t happen, we’ll wait until next year.  We were thinking mid-late September to celebrate our anniversary, but October would be okay too - I was worried about rainy season, but it seems like that is non-existent?

Edited March 14, 2022 by TardisDance

[complawyer]

cruise 2 hands down. the ruins in kusadasi are amazing (assuming youre into that stuff). we took a similar cruise a few years back, and i fell in love with mykonos. santrorini is not to be missed.   we're taking a med  cruise departing athens apr 8th, but its going to israel , rhodes and cyprus departing from athens round trip. we've been to kusadasi, but im excited about istanbul

[Turtles06]

26 minutes ago, complawyer said:

cruise 2 hands down. the ruins in kusadasi are amazing (assuming youre into that stuff).

 

Kusadasi is on both itineraries, for the same limited amount of time.  Re the ruins, I assume you mean Ephesus, which is indeed amazing.  I'm wondering, though, about the limited time in Kusadasi in terms of visiting Ephesus and giving it the time it deserves, including seeing the Terrace Houses.  I don't think Ephesus even opens until 8am.    

[SummmerInKefalonia]

If you want your mind to be calm then go for option 1.

Istanbul can get cancelled anytime due to many reasons as you can tell from the past.

Russia-Ukraine War is one of them. Turkey is NATO so if a conflict with NATO happens countries like Turkey, Poland, Estonia & Lithuania will be next in Russia's targets.

[penguin233]

We have just booked for your ‘itinerary 2’ choice, sailing in May 2023! Considered all the other GI options and decided on this one, partly due to length of time in port at most places - we use cruising to give us a ‘taster’ for destinations to visit on another holiday. Take the point about the risk of Istanbul being cancelled though! 

Edited March 15, 2022 by penguin233

[Middleager]

Having done land tours in Turkey and Greece, I loved Istanbul and would definitely recommend visiting there for several days.  Since the cruise starts and end in Athens, perhaps consider a trip before or after cruise to go to Istanbul.  (Of course in Athens you'd enjoy Panthenon/Acropolis, Olympian Zeus, etc.)

 

Istanbul is easy to get around by subway/train.  There is so much to see by the Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Cistern Basilica , all within walking distance of each other.   Train to Taksim Sq and Istakala, enjoy a Turkish bath, visit Grand Bazzar, Dolmabace Palace, etc.  Of course if you can only visit by a port stop and take selfies in front of these places, they'll look good.  But a few days visit to thoroughly enjoy the history and culture by walking inside each of these (especially Aya Sophia) will give real appreciation of these places.

[MichiganBound]

19 hours ago, CruiseFan94 said:

Number 1.

 

Ionian Islands (Argostoli & Corfu) are beautiful places and not very crowded like those destinations in the 2 itinerary.

Kefalonia is known in Greece to have some of the best beaches and caves and Corfu has great history landmarks like Achillion Palace and old Fortress.

I agree on Number 1.  I loved Argostoli.  It is a less-visited and quieter place. The main town square was lovely.  Corfu was also really nice.  Beautiful landscapes and great food.

[pdmlynek]

We also were looking into these two options.  In the end, we've booked Option 1, and we are sailing this June.  Here was our analysis:

 

(1) There is really not that much of a difference between the two cruises.  You are going to enjoy either of them.  

 

(2) Istanbul is a wonderful place.  There are so many things there to see and do.  How can one spend just a few hours seeing it?  That would be akin to spending a day sightseeing Paris, or New York, or California.  It just would not do it justice.  We decided to skip Istanbul and agreed to spend a week in Istanbul some other time.

 

(3) I was not overwhelmed at the options at Volos.  The only thing there to see (that is worthwhile traveling across the globe for) is Meteora.  Meteora is a great place, but it is a very long drive from Volos: ~2 hrs each way.  

 

(4) We wanted to see the Ionian Islands, which Option 2 skips.  Ionians are very much different from the Dodecanese and Cyclades.  

 

(5) In the end, Option 1 is a much more of a Greek Island tour than Option 2.  If you are interested primarily in Greek Islands, go with 1. To wit, Option 1 gives you six Greek Islands, whereas Option 2 only three. Moreover, Option 1 gives you islands from three different island groups (Ionians, Dodecanese, and Cyclades), whereas Option 2 gives you only two.   

 

Anyway, please let us know how you decided.

[SummmerInKefalonia]

1 hour ago, pdmlynek said:

We also were looking into these two options.  In the end, we've booked Option 1, and we are sailing this June.  Here was our analysis:

 

(1) There is really not that much of a difference between the two cruises.  You are going to enjoy either of them.  

 

(2) Istanbul is a wonderful place.  There are so many things there to see and do.  How can one spend just a few hours seeing it?  That would be akin to spending a day sightseeing Paris, or New York, or California.  It just would not do it justice.  We decided to skip Istanbul and agreed to spend a week in Istanbul some other time.

 

(3) I was not overwhelmed at the options at Volos.  The only thing there to see (that is worthwhile traveling across the globe for) is Meteora.  Meteora is a great place, but it is a very long drive from Volos: ~2 hrs each way.  

 

(4) We wanted to see the Ionian Islands, which Option 2 skips.  Ionians are very much different from the Dodecanese and Cyclades.  

 

(5) In the end, Option 1 is a much more of a Greek Island tour than Option 2.  If you are interested primarily in Greek Islands, go with 1. To wit, Option 1 gives you six Greek Islands, whereas Option 2 only three. Moreover, Option 1 gives you islands from three different island groups (Ionians, Dodecanese, and Cyclades), whereas Option 2 gives you only two.   

 

Anyway, please let us know how you decided.

If you need any info about Kefalonia island I would gladly help you! Greetings from Greece!

True that option 1 is the ultimate greek islands cruise (Ionian: Kefalonia & Corfu, Cyclades: Mykonos & Santorini, Dodecanese: Rhodes & Patmos). If instead of Kusadasi had Crete (either Iraklion or Chania) it would cover all major greek islands. But they do it for logistics reasons (the visit to Kusadasi- one place must be out of Greece so the company pays less).

[Guzzi12]

Definitely number 2 👍

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’d go with Itinerary 2. My initial criteria is that it must have both Mykonos and Santorini because those are the big 2 of the Greek Isles. We could keep going back to them, we like them so much and have been to them each twice. Although we’ve never been to Istanbul, I’ve read so many accounts of it being a favorite port. 

[thera]

We booked option #2 for a mid-Sept sailing based on longer times in Santorini and Mykonos as well as hitting Istanbul.

[casofilia]

How about #3

 

Sun	6-Nov		Piraeus (Greece)
Mon	7-Nov		Kusadasi (Turkey)
			Patmos (Greece)
Tue	8-Nov		At Sea
Wed	9-Nov		Ashdod (Israel)
Thu	10-Nov		Haifa (Israel)
Fri	11-Nov		Limassol (Cyprus)
Sat	12-Nov		Santorini (Greece)
Sun	13-Nov		Piraeus (Greece)

[Crazy planning mom]

We are doing itinerary # 3 but in October.

[vanchelle]

On 3/14/2022 at 3:14 PM, TardisDance said:

I am hoping to cruise with my husband in the Fall in Sept/Oct if the stars align and mask mandates go away (we went to Alaska last Sept. and long flights with N-95 masks cross country was awful . .we are from Upstate, NY).  We've never been on a Med cruise before and are considering the Greek Isles.  I am thinking September or even October to beat the heat.  We are not beach people and do enjoy Nature/historical places. 

 

We are looking at the Jade cruises.  In particular, there's 2 itineraries that are a toss up:

 

Itinerary 1:

 

Sunday - Depart Athens (Pirareus, Greece) 5 pm

Monday - Kusadasi, Turkey - 6:30 am to 12:30 pm then Patmos, Greece - 6:30 pm to 11:59 pm

Tuesday - Rhodes, Greece - 8 am to 6 pm

Wednesday - Mykonos, Greece - 7 am to 4 pm (tender)

Thursday - Argostoli, Kefalonia, Greece - 10 am to 6 pm

Friday - Corfu, Greece - 7 am to 3 pm

Saturday - Santorini, Greece - 12:30 pm - 9:30 pm (tender)

Sunday - Athens (Pirareus, Greece) Disembark - 6 am 

 

Itinerary 2:

Sunday - Depart Athens (Pirareus, Greece) 5pm 

Monday - Kusadasi, Turkey - 6:30 am to 12:30 pm 

Tuesday - Istanbul, Turkey - 7 am to 6 pm

Wednesday - Volos, Greece - 12 pm to 9 pm 

Thursday - Mykonos, Greece  - 8 am to 7 pm (tender)

Friday - Rhodes, Greece - 7 am to 6 pm

Saturday - Santorini, Greece - 8:00 am to 9:30 pm (tender)

Sunday - Athens (Pirareus, Greece) Disembark - 6 am 

 

We've only been to Europe once to see the Norway Fjords out of Southampton back in 2019 - This was one of our favorite trips ever but we do want to see new things.   Please note, we are in our late 30's and would be traveling just by ourselves (we have no kids).   I am leaning towards the Itinerary 2 because of the stop in Istanbul, but am I missing out on better sites with itinerary?  Is there anything else I should consider?  Please note, we are also platinum members, so we'd have priority tender for either sailing.  

 

Thanks in advance for any insight and tips! 

 

I asked a very similar question about 13 months ago. 
we chose itinerary 1, for a few reasons. I’m still happier with the stops, but wish it wasn’t so rushed. We plan to stay on ship at least one port for our own “sea day” 

not sure when you plan to book but we cruise 🤞🏼 June 19th and will have feedback after that:)

[HuliHuli]

On 3/14/2022 at 7:01 PM, complawyer said:

cruise 2 hands down. the ruins in kusadasi are amazing (assuming youre into that stuff). we took a similar cruise a few years back, and i fell in love with mykonos. santrorini is not to be missed.   we're taking a med  cruise departing athens apr 8th, but its going to israel , rhodes and cyprus departing from athens round trip. we've been to kusadasi, but im excited about istanbul

Since both cruises port in Kusadasi, Turkey, Mykonos, Greece, and Santorini, Greece, why itinerary #2?  I'm sailing the Greek Isles in May and have visited Istanbul multiple times; it's not that picturesque of a city.  It's #1 for me.

[pdmlynek]

11 hours ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

If you need any info about Kefalonia island I would gladly help you! Greetings from Greece!

True that option 1 is the ultimate greek islands cruise (Ionian: Kefalonia & Corfu, Cyclades: Mykonos & Santorini, Dodecanese: Rhodes & Patmos). 

Excellent!  Thank you!  I will pick you up on that offer.  Give me about 10 days.

 

A quick question in the mean time: do you prefer Orama maps or Anavasi?  In the US most map stores carry Orama maps (https://www.oramaeditions.gr/index/default.asp) , but I wonder if I should consider Anavasi (https://anavasi.gr/) instead.

[TardisDance]

I’m starting to really consider itinerary #1 again after reading the comments.  I’m mostly turned off to the day with 2 port stops - that seems exhausting, plus we aren’t early risers on vacations - it’s only 6:30 am to 12:30 pm in Kusadasi.  By the time our brains are fully functioning, it’s time to leave. Almost a wasted stop.

 

Edit:  Now I see that Kusadasi is on both itineraries.  I guess it’s good that there’s 2 stops that day actually.  It’s just seems silly to be there so early and then leave by Noon.

Edited March 18, 2022 by TardisDance

[SummmerInKefalonia]

8 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

Excellent!  Thank you!  I will pick you up on that offer.  Give me about 10 days.

 

A quick question in the mean time: do you prefer Orama maps or Anavasi?  In the US most map stores carry Orama maps (https://www.oramaeditions.gr/index/default.asp) , but I wonder if I should consider Anavasi (https://anavasi.gr/) instead.

Orama maps is good.