The first thing that made this cruise different is Captain Thasos Kafetzis. He is forever present on the ship. On his daily report, he tells you stories about Greek gods, you see him on TV making jokes with the cruise director. You meet him in the corridors, in photo ops, everywhere. You come to identify him with the operation of the ship and you know that if the ship is parked with the sunset bar towards town, that captain Thasos wanted you to have a better view. He really makes you feel like he is there for your needs and your enjoyment of the trip.

The second thing that made this cruise special was the amazing destinations. Istanbul, Kusadasi, Bodrum, Marmaris, Rhodes, Santorini, Athens, Mykonos, Naples and finally Rome. A lot of history, a lot of different cultures and a lot of beauty, especially Marmaris, which deserves its title of the Turkish Riviera. I could not have designed a better course to see a lot in a 12 night cruise. From Canada, the only drawback was the expensive plane tickets.

The wife and I have a limited cruising experience. Two river cruises, one in Europe and one in China and three cruises with RCCL (two in the Caribbeans and one transatlantic). It was our first experience with Celebrity. Read more