https://www.afar.com/journeys/mediterranean-cruise-from-dubrovnik-to-athens?utm_source=meta&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=EmeraldCruises-Journeys_Q225_Traffic&utm_content=Adriatic-Itinerary_Journey_Static-Control&utm_term=LAL-10_DW_MF_25-65%2B_AllPlacements&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKaJKBleHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQAAAYWy58j-QEeNyAKdlFkufLEn4Jk1nPXRLB0LlBVzAkGGhaz131r9qS_Z-a5GSasFKFBqVo_aem_TSiduOXlXa5r_LhiDFiG1w&utm_id=6672518357849

8 day cruise: Croatia to Greece.

Thanks to this thread, I have all sorts of ads popping into my social media feed. This one looks good.

Remember: smaller the ship, smaller the crowds.

Anonymous wrote:There’s an 11 night best of Italy and Croatia cruise on celebrity that is awesome!

Cruises are easy and relaxing.

You can avoid the crowds by hiring your own guide/driver/boat as opposed to booking excursions/tours.

Being on the sea is relaxing and the sunsets are amazing. The best views of islands/villages is from a ship.

And if your husband is like mine, he will enjoy not having to take out his wallet on the ship and feel relaxed when he only pulls it out at fabulous restaurants/bars for lunch in port. Honestly, we tend to get off the ship early and head to a local bakery/cafe—which is always amazing.

Island hopping in Greece via ferries during peak tourist season for a land-based trip is miserable. Like, really miserable. Opposite of relaxing.

If your husband is do a cruise, arrive 2 days early.

Thanks for this and to everyone who gave feedback. 11 nights is not in the cards for us right now with the little ones at home but I’m sure it’s amazing!

The crowds definitely sound unpleasant. Thanks for all the intel everyone

There’s an 11 night best of Italy and Croatia cruise on celebrity that is awesome!

Cruises are easy and relaxing.

You can avoid the crowds by hiring your own guide/driver/boat as opposed to booking excursions/tours.

Being on the sea is relaxing and the sunsets are amazing. The best views of islands/villages is from a ship.

And if your husband is like mine, he will enjoy not having to take out his wallet on the ship and feel relaxed when he only pulls it out at fabulous restaurants/bars for lunch in port. Honestly, we tend to get off the ship early and head to a local bakery/cafe—which is always amazing.

Island hopping in Greece via ferries during peak tourist season for a land-based trip is miserable. Like, really miserable. Opposite of relaxing.

If your husband is do a cruise, arrive 2 days early.

Cruises are trashy, so there’s that.

I went to Santorini, and the best part was sitting on my deck having breakfast and enjoying the caldera view. Or sitting in the hot tub in the evening and enjoying the caldera view. We walked around and it was mobbed with cruise ship passengers, and was just so unpleasant. I can't imagine they enjoyed their day of walking around either.

But a Santorini-Naxos-Athens itinerary is a good one if you choose land.

Anonymous wrote:We did that cruise last summer (last week of July) so if I had listened to the common advice on this board, we wouldn’t have gone. It was amazing. We did private excursions through Viator (not the cruise line). Splurge on that if you can. We had amazing food on the islands and, most importantly, we came home relaxed. That was a priority and I think would have been harder if we did our own itinerary. Checking in and out of hotels and getting yourself from one place to another isn’t awful, but it’s energy I didn’t have. I’m not a huge cruise person but I enjoyed the shows and had low expectations for good. We saw and did a lot but also had a relaxing vacation. Highly recommend!

*low expectations for food. And to be fair, it was very good at times

We did that cruise last summer (last week of July) so if I had listened to the common advice on this board, we wouldn’t have gone. It was amazing. We did private excursions through Viator (not the cruise line). Splurge on that if you can. We had amazing food on the islands and, most importantly, we came home relaxed. That was a priority and I think would have been harder if we did our own itinerary. Checking in and out of hotels and getting yourself from one place to another isn’t awful, but it’s energy I didn’t have. I’m not a huge cruise person but I enjoyed the shows and had low expectations for good. We saw and did a lot but also had a relaxing vacation. Highly recommend!

Anonymous wrote:My vote is to do it yourself. Yes cruises are easy, but they also mean you only ever see the spots you’re visiting alongside hoards of others. By doing it yourself and staying on Santorini for 3 or 4 days you can avoid the worst of the crowds and really enjoy the island and its beauty. Some friends of ours recently did a Greek islands cruise and never even got off the ship there because the lines/wait to get up the cliffs were so unbelievably long. I found that sad.

PP. It is a bit sad. But honestly, I would not recommend Santorini except on a cruise. It has a dramatic ocean view from a peak and the architecture looks very picturesque. But it doesn't have any food or cultural amenities you can't find elsewhere in other Greek tourist draws. Being fixated on Santorini is like only having one place in the Hawaiian Islands that you'd be willing to go to.

It can be crowded even if you get up on the cliffs. There just is a capacity constraint on the cable car to move people up. I have heard they quit offering the donkey rides up that used to be popular. My mom and sister did that and felt kind of meh about it.

I would research what you want to do in the ports to help make the decision. A Rick Steves guidebook would be sufficient.

I went to Malta as a port call as a child. It was okay. I most remember being tendered in during a big wave period. And going to a pretty generic cathedral.

Ports/sights that were more interesting than I expected:

Venice (our cruise left from Venice)
Dubrovnik
Mykonos
Olympia/Delphi
Corinth Canal
Sailing out of Piraeus
Naples to Pompeii (there are Italy/Greece cruises)

The Acropolis was as awesome as I expected.

My vote is to do it yourself. Yes cruises are easy, but they also mean you only ever see the spots you’re visiting alongside hoards of others. By doing it yourself and staying on Santorini for 3 or 4 days you can avoid the worst of the crowds and really enjoy the island and its beauty. Some friends of ours recently did a Greek islands cruise and never even got off the ship there because the lines/wait to get up the cliffs were so unbelievably long. I found that sad.

I think a cruise would be great. Pack once and the ship takes you from port to port, and you can book excursions through the cruise line.

I’d just divide my time between couple of islands or just stay on 1 and do 1-2 days in Athens to visit the acropolis and the archaeological museum. As pp mentioned Santorini is unbelievably crowded. There are so many islands and you cannot go wrong.

I'd vote for the cruise mostly because I want to see Malta myself! One thing to keep in mind is that Santorini and Mykonos are so crowded with the cruise ship tourists that if you really want to see the islands, you need to get further inland.

I didn't think I'd be a cruise person but they're just so easy. It'll be a nice break as a mom of younger kids since you won't have to worry about planning anything once you're there.

I think a cruise is a great idea if you have a moderate interest in sightseeing. It takes a lot of logistics out of your hands so you can just relax.

I went on a Greek cruise as a high schooler with family. My only regret is that we didn't have enough time to stay and peruse the archeological museum in Crete and I wish I got more time to understand the city of Athens vs. just a port call.

We did go to Santorini. Although the view is beautiful, it's packed with tourists in high season. Unappealingly so. And there's not a lot to do there. You might as well do your sunning on the deck of a cruise boat and see multiple different places.

One of the most amazing sights of my traveling life was sailing through the fleets of anchored freighters in Piraeus. Couldn't have seen that from land.

I actually don't take cruises often. I've only been on 3, all as a kid. Not counting a 3-day Maine Windjammer for my 25th anniversary WITH kids (that was like glamping). I prefer big cities and culture vacations. So I hope that supports my endorsement of a cruise as a pretty good idea for Greece specifically.

My husband and I are planning our 10th anniversary trip for the summer of 2026. We have small kids and are excited to have a week solo together.

We are debating between a celebrity cruise on a modern, new ship that visits Santorini, Mykonos, Malta and the Turkish riviera or spending m a week in Greece.

We definitely want to visit Santorini and are open to a second area/island of Greece.

Im excited to be able to go to Europe and be child free for touring, but also want a relaxing trip for some much needed rest.

What do you recommend between cruise and land itinerary? Which areas of Greece do you suggest for a week?