We chose this cruise as we only had a limited amount of available time to visit the islands during our stay in Athens. I had done a lot of research and was a little nervous based on my findings on the internet. I wanted to write this review to inform people that this cruise was an amazing experience overall!! I booked online directly with Celestyal rather than use a tour group and was able to book at a 15% discount early booking rate. The process of booking was very easy and I was able to select my own cabin while booking. I chose to upgrade to a balcony suite (Cabin 9003) and it was fantastic! The cabin was very large (I think about 300sqft) with a large balcony, a nice sized bathroom with bathtub, a king-sized bed, lots of cabinet space for our clothing, and a small living room area.

I feel that the selection of an upgraded cabin helped to make this cruise very enjoyable as we were able to escape there to enjoy our balcony in peace. We booked the 3 day excursion package which included: 1. KUSADASI - Ancient Ephesus and the Terrace Houses, 2. PATMOS - Religious visit to St John's Monastery -Grotto of Apocalypse, 3. CRETE - Minoan Palace of Knossos - 1st European Civilization, 4. SANTORINI - Spectacular Oia Village perched on the caldera rim. Overall, the excursions are great! We could have saved some money and tried doing these on our own, but I liked having everything ready to go for me when we reached the port and it was worth the extra bit of money to not have to worry about how we would get to all of the sights on our own. There is also the benefit of being first off on the tender boats when the ship did not dock. It was also nice to have the tour guides to explain the history to us. The only downside was not having enough time in Santorini. Oia was stunning and we really only had a total of 3 hours there after you tender boat in. I will certainly make another trip back and spend more time in Santorini in the future!! Mykonos was beautiful and we did this on our own and I would say that you do not need to book an excursion here.

The dining was quite enjoyable for us. My husband and I went to the Aegean restaurant several times for lunch and dinner and were always placed with other people. We were able to meet people from all over the world and we really enjoyed this. The food was always good and we found the staff very friendly. We also went to Leda casual dining for breakfast and lunch and it is buffet style. The food here was good. We did sit on deck by the pool a few times and they always had an activity going on, but we did not really partake in any of the activities. This is a really port intensive cruise and we just wanted to relax when we were at sea. There was always entertainment in the evening and we did take in a couple of shows which were good, but again, because it was so port intensive, we tended to relax in the lounge or in our room on the balcony. We did purchase the all inclusive drinks package, which is worth it if you want to enjoy a few beverages. Read more