My Cruise to Greece and Turkey: Part 1: Athens, Santorini

The view of the parthenon from
our hotel in Athens

For my fourth cruise trip, we decided to go with Oceania Cruises, based on a recommendation of a friend who said the intimate, medium-sized ships allowed for better service and less crazy crowding getting on and off the ship. A ten-day cruise of the Greek islands and Turkish seaside cities worked out best for our schedule during the summer. It's been a delightful and relaxed trip. I haven't felt pressure to rush around and see ruins or historical sites. The important thing is to escape and take it easy. Here's a rundown of the trip:

Thurs. July 6--Athens
After our flight from JFK to Zurich to Athens, we checked into our hotel at the Greek capital, the Great Bretaigne (overlooking the Acropolis and the Parthenon) and had dinner at a local restaurant (very good). The flight was SwissAir--watched the first episode of Season 2 of The White Lotus (what's all the fuss about with the entire cast nominated for Emmys?) and Season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale (I'd lost interest after the first four seasons, but thought I would catch up.)

Fri. July 7--Athens to the cruise ship

Following a scrumptious breakfast on the rooftop garden, we visited the Museum of Byzantine and Early Christian Art. Then took a cab back to the hotel, boarded a bus to take us to the pier and our ship, the Sirena. It is small and intimate, very nice, spacious state room with a balcony. We sat by the pool waiting for our room to be ready. Lunch was a great buffet and dinner was local mussels in ginger sauce, duck salad, and veal medallions topped with crabmeat. Dessert: floating coconut island.

The first night's entertainment was fine--the string quartet, the cocktail pianist, two singers who double as assistant cruise directors and the cruise director herself Julie from Tasmania crooning "This Masquerade."

Sat. July 8--Mykonos (cancelled)

The first port of call had to be cancelled because high winds made tendering into the port too dangerous. we got up early for our excursion for nothing. Oh well, what can you do? I did hear there was one disgruntled passenger who wanted to get off the boat immediately since Mykonos was all she cared about. So we had an unexpected day at sea as we headed to our next port, Santorini. 

Dazed and loafed by the pool, continued to read Lincoln in the Bardo (see previous book review) and crossword puzzles. Idling and vegging out till lunch and Team Trivia at 4PM. At 5:45, we had complimentary cocktails.

Then we went to the Destinations Desk and exchanged our cancelled Mykonos excursion for a half-day at the beach in Santorini. We were entitled to one more free excursion (for a total of 3), so we booked one for Panoramic Marmaris.

Sun. July 9--Santorini

Our half-day excursion took us to a beautiful black sand beach in a cute little beach town. We had access to lounge sofas with umbrellas across the street from a taverna. I absolutely loved it and could have stayed all day bathing in the warm waters after running across the hot black sand. We had three wonderful hours of what was my favorite part of the trip so far.

Back on the tour bus and our guide Sofia took us to the town of Fria atop the mountain where we had a nice lunch at the outdoor Pelican Restaurant. There was a Danish couple sitting next to us on their honeymoon, his second, her third, as the wife blithely informed the waiter. The narrow, steep cobblestone streets were a challenge but it was beautiful and picturesque. 

From the top of Fria, we had to take a cable car down the mountain to get to the pier for our tender back to the ship. Dinner was excellent again and the entertainment was a mildly funny British comedian who joked about the differences between Irish, Scottish and English people, getting old, and issues with the ship. The beach was the best part of the day and my favorite part of the trip so far.

On the beach at Santorini

My feet after walking on the hot
black sand in Santorini.