CRUISE GREECE DESTINATIONS Pick


The Greek isles offer everything from sun and fun to culture, on ships big and small. Jane Archer takes a look at what’s on offer


M


ore than a million passengers cruised through


Piraeus last year, according to figures from Clia UK & Ireland. But the port for Athens is


just the beginning of the Greek cruising experience.


Clients thinking of a cruise in Greece may put Athens at the top of their hit list, along with Rhodes, Crete


and Corfu, but probably because these are the resorts they have heard of. Many may also know picture-perfect Santorini and Mykonos, both of which figure on many Greek island cruise itineraries, but unless they are fans of Mamma Mia!, filmed in Skopelos, or Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, based in Kefalonia, that’s probably ticked off all the places they know. In fact there are about 6,000


Greek isles, of which 227 are inhabited, and while ships don’t visit them all, there are plenty more than those mentioned above for clients to see on


an island-hopping cruise. Katakolon, a town on the mainland, appears on a lot of itineraries because it is the gateway to ancient Olympia, but other ports tend to be the preserve of specialist cruise lines and companies with small ships that can get into little harbours and bays. Cypriot-owned Celestyal Cruises, for instance, visits the islands of Symi, Chios, Syros and Patra, while Variety Cruises, a Greek company, ticks off the little-known Kythira, Hydra, Lipsi and Kea. Silversea calls at Patmos, Nafplion and Volos. Seabourn visits Monemvasia, a town on the southeast slope of a rock (hence known as the Gibraltar of the East), Nisos Lefkada and Limnos. Voyages to Antiquity


and mix


15 October 2015 travelweekly.co.uk 61


PICTURE: AZAMARA CLUB CRUISES


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96