July 2024. Steve and I are cruising on the Norwegian Getaway, a Breakaway class ship by Norwegian Cruise Line or NCL. Interestingly, our stay on board happened shortly after the Getaway paid a visit to the dry dock for some refurbishments. The route? Piraeus, which is the port of Athens in Greece; followed by Mykonos; two days in Istanbul in Turkey or Türkiye; then Kusadasi or Kuşadası for Ephesus; Rhodes; Santorini (Thira or Thera) and back to Piraeus. Oddly enough, the itinerary offered no sea days. 

Norwegian officially labelled this cruise ‘7-Day Greek Isles Round-trip Athens: Santorini, Rhodes & Istanbul‘. The Aegean Sea is popular for cruises and is often marketed as the East Mediterranean. 

Let’s recap the itinerary.

0: Piraeus & Athens

Is the place where a cruise starts and ends part of the itinerary? Athens and its port Piraeus is a good place to start. I can imagine passengers taking a few days before or after the cruise to explore Athens in its own right. 

Piraeus is not a city you shouldn’t miss in your life, but embarkation was practical and smooth.

1: Mykonos

First proper stop: Mykonos. Mykonos has done nothing wrong, but it suffers from overtourism and cruises visiting are very much complicit to that. Why do cruises visit Mykonos? For Delos? I loved Delos when we visited in 2023, but Steve and and I are hellenists. So we are very g(r)eeky. Pun intended. 

At risk of being pedantic, I can’t imagine hoi polloi on cruises being interested in Delos.

Mykonos dies have a vibrant party scene, but a few hours ashore won’t allow you to party, no? 

So people come for the narrow streets and the windmills. They were even more crowded than last year. 

Cruise itineraries should stop putting Mykonos as a standard port of call. It seems the Greek government is making that choice for them.

2: Istanbul

Two days is a good amount of time for Istanbul. Obviously you can easily turn Istanbul into a proper visit, but in the context of a cruise, two days allows you to see and tick of some major monuments. Galataport is close to these major monuments so you can easily explore on foot. 

Cruise are very welcome in former Constantinople. Galataport is brand new and can easily host an Embarkation Day. As a matter of fact, we witnessed embarkation of an Atlantis cruise, a gay cruise, on the Oceania Riviera. Turkey hasn’t had the most gay-friendly government since Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (AKP) became president in 2014.

Norwegian provided us with a pre-printed form containing a QR code to enter Turkey and it was all very easy. No formalities or customs.

The inclusion of Istanbul in the itinerary was a major draw for us.

3: Kusadasi for Ephesus

The same is true for Kusadasi. No, Kusadasi itself is not an unmissable destination, but nearby Ephesus is. 

Unfortunately we missed out on the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

4: Lindos & Rhodes

Rhodes was a pleasant surprise. The excursion to Lindos and its acropolis filled our hellenist hearts with joy. And Rhodes Old Town was far from your ‘typical Greek town’. Rhodes used to have the Colossus of Rhodes, another of these Wonders.

Instead, it has a medieval vibe you also encounter in Valletta on Malta.

5: Santorini

Santorini shares the same overtourism issues with Mykonos. Sure, Santorini is highly photogenic. Many, if not all, tours include ‘selfie opportunities’. I think one of the tours on offer was a selfie photo opportunities tour. 

Santorini is highly suffering from overtourism. We did not go ashore. Mostly because we were tired and we didn’t want to face the crowd. And the itinerary didn’t include a sea day.

Luckily we visited Santorini in 2019.

6: Back to Piraeus

Then it was time to head back to Piraeus. Steve stayed an extra week in Attica, I left the same day as I had to work the day after. 

No sea day

I’ve mentioned this before. There was not a single sea day and I missed that. I don’t want too many sea days. But one sea day per week sailing is nice. A day to rest and explore the ship, without missing out. 

So?

The itinerary was very comprehensive. When I’ll cruise a next time with Steve, it will be hard to find an itinerary which fits us, peaks our interest and is new enough. 

2024 Athens – Mykonos – Istanbul – Kusadasi – Rhodes – Santorini – Athens Cruise on the Norwegian Getaway

1. Flying Airbus A320neo with Aegean Airlines from Brussels to Athens return.
2. REVIEW | Athenarum Portus Life & Style Hotel in Piraeus.
3. GREECE | A modest exploration of Piraeus.
4. NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE | Before you sail, online check-in and Embarkation Day.
5. GREECE | Mykonos ft Archaeological Museum, the Windmills and massive crowds.
6. NORWEGIAN GETAWAY | Balcony Stateroom with included access to the Thermal Spa.
7. ISTANBUL | Beylerbeyi Palace – Blue Mosque – Grand Bazaar.
8. NORWEGIAN GETAWAY | Activities – sports – entertainment – common areas.
9. ISTANBUL | Galataport – Sirkeci Railway Station – Hagia Sophia – Topkapi Park.
10. Bars & Lounges on Norwegian Getaway.
11. Ephesus.
12. Restaurants and food on Norwegian Getaway.
13. RHODES | Lindos and its acropolis.
14. Rhodes.
15. NORWEGIAN GETAWAY | Skipping Santorini to make it a Sea Day.
16. NORWEGIAN GETAWAY | Disembarkation Day.
17. Turkey welcomed 62 million international tourists who together spent $61 billion in 2024.
18. CRUISE REVIEW | 7 days on NCL’s Norwegian Getaway in the East Mediterranean Sea / Aegean Sea.
19. ATHENS | Revival buildings, Changing of the Guards at Syntagma and the Acropolis.
20. There’s more than one way to enjoy a cruise.