We started in Istanbul and ended there. The main focal point of the cruise was to see the ancient Greek ruins on the various islands and learn about their history. We were not disappointed. We had local guides on the various islands who had excellent knowledge of the history and culture of each place. For our tours, we were supplied with "QuietVox" headsets which enabled us to hear the guides even if we were at a distance, and the guides also had an easier time talking since they didn't have to shout. That feature was a big plus to me.
The daily tours were pretty evenly spaced so some days we had tours in the afternoon and on other days they were in the morning, but never terribly early, and some days were, of course, all day tours, so it was pretty relaxing. The tours were very well coordinated and there was not a lot of waiting around or lag time. It was all very efficiently done with the tour buses so we didn't get backed up, which is probably no easy feat with 350 passengers.
If you're looking for a party cruise with gambling and nightclub atmosphere, this is probably not for you. The entertainment here consists of lectures on the places that you're about to see and a trio of musicians in the lounge. That was perfect for us. Also there were no children on board (also a plus for us).
We booked an outside cabin with big windows, but since they don't open the air is recirculated. In the future we would book a cabin with balcony for fresh air.