Help me pick the better cruise

October 25, 2009 7:52 PM

Please help me choose between two cruises in the eastern Mediterranean (Croatia and Greece).

I'm planning to take my wife on a cruise through the Greek islands next October (asking anonymously because this will be a surprise for her). Although we've sailed the western Mediterranean on Costa, we've never been to the eastern part so I'm having a hard time choosing the best itinerary.

The stops are mostly the same, but first cruise goes to Ancona, Piraeus (Athens) and Corfu while the second goes to Bari, Olympia and Rhodes. The price difference is insignficant, so I'd rather choose based on the advice of people who've been there.

Here's the first cruise:

Day 1: Venice, Italy
Day 2: Ancona, Italy
Day 3: At Sea
Day 4: Santorini, Greece
Day 4: Mykonos, Greece
Day 5: Piraeus (Athens), Greece
Day 6: Corfu, Greece
Day 7: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Day 8: Venice, Italy

and here's the second:

Day 1: Venice, Italy
Day 2: Bari, Italy
Day 3: Katakolon (Olympia), Greece
Day 4: Santorini, Greece
Day 4: Mykonos, Greece
Day 5: Rhodes, Greece
Day 6: At Sea
Day 7: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Day 8: Venice, Italy

P.S. We've enjoyed Costa before, but I'm open to suggestion in case there's a much better option.

posted by anonymous to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

I did Greece (mainland, then cruising, then more mainland) a couple of years back. When we hit the islands we went from Athens to Mykonos, then Patmos, then Rhodes.

I loved Rhodes and would highly recommend renting a scooter first thing when you get there so that you can a) quickly explore the old city, b) branch out into the surrounding new city and have lunch at a local, non-touristy joint, c) drive out of the city to the pebble beaches just to the north, and d) drive up to catch sun-set from the acropolis of Rhodes - quite impressive views. This can all be done in one full day if you're a bit aggressive about it.

That said, I wouldn't miss Athens for any of the islands - its just too big and too fun and there's too much to see and do. Try to get to the Acropolis EARLY in the morning to beat the crowds, although you'll be going at the tail end of peak season (November would be a bit cooler - that's when we went and it felt like we had a lot of places to ourselves - at the Acropolis we walked past huge empty queuing lines). Spend lunch meandering down through the neighborhoods to the Plaka - where you can get awesome lamb sandwiches on the cheap. See the national museum in the afternoon or the temple of Zeus or just shopping if that's your thing. Take a bus line outside of downtown to find a really good local restaurant for pork and fries and beer...yuuuum.

Sorry if that doesn't help you decide - but either option is going to be awesome in the end. When it comes to world travel I'm a big proponent of always trying to go somewhere new, fwiw.
posted by allkindsoftime at 11:11 PM on October 25, 2009

I spent half a day in Bari last year and found it ugly and unpleasant. I liked Athens a lot better.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 11:44 PM on October 25, 2009

Greece I don't know, but in Italy Ancona is a far nicer city than Bari, which is not a nice place to spend a day.
posted by hydatius at 1:02 AM on October 26, 2009

Athens! We have the new Acropolis museum now (NYT slideshow; museum site), which you shouldn't miss - so I'd go for option #1.
posted by taz at 3:43 AM on October 26, 2009

One reason I can think to take the second is that if you ever take another Greek island cruise, it would leave out of Athens, and wouldn't hit Olympia.
posted by smackfu at 7:15 AM on October 26, 2009