Discover Aegean Treasures on a Greek Island Cruise with ElegantCruises.com

Your search for a Greek Island cruise brings you to ElegantCruises.com, an "elegant" small ship cultural and expedition cruising company. On a carefree Elegant Cruises' Greek Island cruise, you'll discover the multi-faceted islands of the Aegean. Many cruise ships ply these waters, but few of them explore what we call "the undiscovered treasures of the Aegean," places off-the-beaten-path that have exceptional natural beauty and a rich cultural history. These destinations are often small, less tourist-crowded islands, quiet fishing villages and lovely yacht harbors nestled away from the major Greek island cruise ship routes. And what better way to visit them then in our smaller more nimble cruise vessel like the m/s Andrea.

The Andrea is Well-Suited for a Greek Island Cruise Adventure
Our handsome m/s Andrea began her cruise career navigating the Norwegian coastline and fjords where she developed a loyal following. After a multi-million dollar renovation in 2003, the Andrea provides a delightful, personal attentiveness to her passengers' needs that is often lacking in large vessels that offer Greek Island cruise programs. The Andrea presents comfortable passenger accommodations in a variety of price categories, all with private baths and thoughtful amenities that make a significant difference in your Greek island cruise experience.

Enriching Itinerary for Your Greek Island Cruise
Elegantcruises.com offers a variety of enriching Greek island cruise itineraries that will usually include ports in Turkey, Italy or Croatia as well as Greece. Elegant cruises' has crafted insightful programs that aren't available from any other Greek island cruise or tour company. In particular, we draw your attention to our carefully designed programs featuring the less frequented but definitely fascinating Greek island cruise ports and islands. Our Greek Island cruise will take you to a select sampling of just some of the 6,000 islands and islets scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Sea. In all shapes and sizes, a mere 227 are inhabited. Yet each one is unique. On your Greek island cruise you will be able to explore impressive archeological sites, medieval fortresses, Christian catacombs, Roman amphitheaters, Venetian castles, active monasteries, less crowded beaches, as well as view underground lakes, forests and olive groves, springs and waterfalls, abundant wildlife and other definitely spectacular scenery.

A Peek at Two Destinations on Your Greek Island Cruise
The Ionian islands of western Greece receive more rain than the Greek islands in the Aegean and consequently are lusher in their greenery. One of these green islands, which you will visit on our Greek Island cruise is Kefalonia. Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands is mountainous with its highest mountain, Mount Ainos partially covered with a rare black pine forest. Quaint fishing villages, the amazing cave of Drogarati with its huge stalactites and stalagmites, the underground Melissani Lake whose rocks at the bottom cause the water to shimmer in all shades of green and blue and other strange geographical phenomena such as its wonderful beaches with fine sand and turquoise, bleach-like waters make for a unique visit. For you movie buffs, the island was the setting for the film, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" starring Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz.

The Peloponnesian Peninsula stretching south from Athens is scattered with archeological sites, lovely fishing villages, sandy beaches, and awesome views. Rising high above Greece's Peloponnesian Peninsula on the southeastern coast, a rocky island, Monemvasia, often called "the Gibraltar of Greece" elicits a sense of wonder and awe for all the Greek Island cruise passengers lucky enough to discover this massive walled fortress that once housed an estimated 50,000 Byzantine Greeks. The island consists of two old towns. The old or lower town of Castro, consisting of tiled-roof houses, attractive shops and cafes, pleasant squares, and elegant frescoed churches lies within stone ramparts on the Rock of Monemvasia's lower slopes. The upper town or citadel you can reach by climbing a steep path from the old town. Perched high on the rocks are ruins including the foundations of Byzantine fortresses and the Agia Sofia church surrounded by crumbling ruins and riotous blooming flowers and scrubs in the spring.

An optional tour offered on your Greek Island cruise will take you to the Peloponnesian Peninsula hilltop town of Mystras with its ancient Byzantine ruins. Once a bustling city of 40,000 inhabitants, Mystras, abandoned in 1832, leaves only its breathtaking medieval ruins overlooking the city of Sparta on the fertile plain below.

Arriving for Your Greek Island Cruise
Our Greek island cruise programs usually begin and end in well-known destinations that offer good air connections in either Pireus (for Athens) or Rhodes. While we do not include airfare in our cruise rates, we do realize its importance in regards to the overall convenience and ultimate enjoyment of your Greek island cruise. Therefore, Elegant cruises' has established good relationships with several reputable travel partners. These companies specialize in finding you the best air routing and rates so that you can enjoy your Greek island cruise with us. When you make a reservation with ElegantCruises.com, please let us know if you will need assistance in air ticketing or pre or post-cruise hotel accommodations within the city from where you will begin your exciting Greek island cruise.

Extra Pleasures on Your Greek Island Cruise
A simple, notable pleasure of a Greek island cruise is that you need to unpack your luggage just once even though you will visit multiple Greek Islands and distinctive coastal ports during your vacation with Elegant cruises' Relaxed and comfortable, it should be easy to imagine yourself as an ancient seafaring traveler waking up each morning at a new destination. During our various Greek island cruise ports-of-call, you have the option of how you spend your time. Our experience suggests that passengers usually prefer optional shore excursions rather than having them included in the Greek island cruise rate, thus allowing guests to explore on their own, seeking out a notable museum or archeological or natural attraction that they have read about. You may spend your time shopping, wandering the winding streets of a fishing village, or relaxing on a pristine golden beach. Our Greek island cruise programs are designed to accommodate the many faceted expectations of our passengers.

We welcome you to a most memorable, intimate exploration experience on a Greek Island cruise from Elegantcruises.com.