7 nights. Greece, Turkey, Italy

Map under construction

Day 1

athens (piraeus), greece

Departure: 17:00

Day 2

santorini, greece

Arrival: 07:00 - Departure: 22:00

Day 3

mykonos, greece

Arrival: 08:00 - Departure: 19:00

Day 4

ephesus (kusadasi), turkey

Arrival: 08:00 - Departure: 19:00

Day 5

At sea

Day 6

messina, italy

Arrival: 07:00 - Departure: 16:00

Day 7

At sea

Day 8

barcelona, spain

Arrival: 05:00

Day 1

athens (piraeus), greece

Departure: 17:00

Piraeus is a port city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens urban area, 8 kilometres southwest from its city centre (municipality of Athens), and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf. According to the 2011 census, Piraeus had a population of 163,688 people within its administrative limits, making it the fifth largest municipality in Greece and the second largest within the urban area of the Greek capital, following the municipality of Athens. The municipality of Piraeus and four other suburban municipalities form the regional unit of Piraeus which sometimes called Greater Piraeus area, with a total population of 448,997, and is part οf Athens urban area. Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when this area was selected to become the new port of classical Athens and was built as a prototype harbour, concentrating all the import and transit trade of Athens. During the Golden Age of Athens the Long Walls were constructed to fortify Athens and its port (Piraeus). Consequently, it became the chief harbour of ancient Greece, but declined gradually after the 3rd century B.C., growing once more in the 19th century, after Athens' declaration as the capital of Greece. In the modern era, Piraeus is a large city, bustling with activity and an integral part of Athens, acting as home to the country's biggest harbour and bearing all the characteristics of a huge marine and commercial-industrial center. The port of Piraeus is the chief port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe and the second largest in the world, servicing about 20 million passengers annually. With a throughput of 1.4 million TEUs, Piraeus is placed among the top ten ports in container traffic in Europe and the top container port in the Eastern Mediterranean. The municipality hosted events in both the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens. The University of Piraeus is one of the largest Greek universities and has the country's second-oldest business school, as well as the oldest academic department in the area of finance.

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Day 2

santorini, greece

Arrival: 07:00 - Departure: 22:00

Formed by the massive volcanic eruption which gave rise to the Atlantis legend, Santorini is the most striking island in the Aegean. The island is actually the outer rim of a sunken volcano, its entire eastern coast is a succession of small towns perched on high hills. Fira is the island’s dramatically situated capital. Perched on the cliffs, overlooking the sea, the town of Fira shares with the Parthenon the fame of the best known images of Greece. The narrow streets are filled with souvenir shops, lovely boutiques and a lot of jewellery shops. It has two beautiful churches, the Greek Orthodox and the Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist. It also has a small local museum. Nightlife in Fira is also quite lively with good restaurants and bars, plus a few nightclubs. The city is a spectacle in itself, with a climax at sunset. Another great place to enjoy the sunset is the town of Ia, a small village clinging to the rocky point of land at the northern tip of the island, 300m above the sea. The beaches in Santorini are much different than other beaches in Greece due to their special geographical features. Red and black volcanic pebbles lay the shores of Santorini beaches and steep cliffs provide a picturesque ambience. The most famous of Santorini beaches is the Red beach, while particularly popular are Perissa, Kamari and Perivolos. Santorini is a truly wonderful destination. The siting of some of its major towns along the clifftop rim of the caldera is one of the most spectacularly lovely sights in the world. The buildings seem to defy gravity in the way they cling to the cliffs and are stacked one on top of the other like so many sugar cubes. The sandy, multicoloured beaches are simply the icing on the cake.

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Day 3

mykonos, greece

Arrival: 08:00 - Departure: 19:00

Mykonos is a popular tourist destination in the Greek islands of the Cyclades group, situated in the middle of the Aegean Sea. In the 1960s, Mykonos became a bohemian mecca and is now one of the glitziest holiday resorts in the country that happily flaunts its sizzling style and reputation. This central Cyclade was for years the premier Mediterranean resort for gay travellers, though recently Mykonos has tried to reinvent itself for a more varied clientele, though nightlife is still very gay-friendly, it is a paradise for any reveller with loud and long nights. Chora or Mykonos town is the main town on the island. It is filled with narrow, winding streets, whitewashed buildings with blue trim, nice restaurants, clothing and jewellery shops, a fish market and a vegetable market. It is one of the most cosmopolitan and crowded towns of the Aegean. Besides Chora, there is only one other town on the island, Ano Mera. Ano Mera is quiter and less touristy. While you are here, visit the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani, a traditional Greek Orthodox Church which has a beautiful iconostas. The island is dry and barren, but there are some fine, sandy beaches, the two most well-known being Paradise and Super Paradise, but there are many other beaches you can seek out around the island. From the charming port, catch a boat out to the beaches or out to Delos, and you will be travelling from the present into the ancient past, from one set of myths to another.

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Day 4

ephesus (kusadasi), turkey

Arrival: 08:00 - Departure: 19:00

Kusadasi is a coastal resort town in the Aydin Province of Aegean Turkey. It is a popular tourist destination, for its many beaches and for being Turkey's busiest cruise port, with many cruise ship passengers heading to the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the major and best preserved Greco-Roman sites in Turkey. There are some good beaches both south and north of Kusadasi. All beaches are commercialized with hotels surrounding them. South of Kusadasi is the ladies beach, lost paradise beach and the long beach. Kusadasi is the gateway to Ephesus, a fascinating ancient city with baths, gyms, acoustic theatre and temples, arches and much more. The Roman Ruins at Ephesus are spectacular. In town visit the City Walls, Kaleiçi Camii, the Öküz Mehmet Pasha Caravanserai and Guvercin Adası peninsula. Kusadasi is one of Turkey's more cosmopolitan and lively resorts.

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Day 6

messina, italy

Arrival: 07:00 - Departure: 16:00

Messina is in the northeast of Sicily, Italy. It is only 5 km across the Straits of Messina to the region of Calabria on the mainland. It is the 3rd largest city on the island of Sicily. Excursions over land and sea allow for the discovery of every corner and angle of the Aeolian Islands, rich in beaches and tiny coves where one can stop to explore, even if just for a few hours. The active volcano Mt. Etna, dominates over the landscape and reveals a vegetation interrupted by trails of black, solidified lava flows. Caves and different environments alternate along its slopes; traverse them in order to reach the peak, where a great “mouth of fire” awaits. One definite must is Pollara Beach on the island of Salina; Pollara was the result of a crater formed by the six volcanoes making up Salina, around 13,000 years ago. The Ancient Theatre, one of the greatest of the Greek-Roman epoch, is immersed in an expanse of olives, oranges and almond groves that fill the air with their exotic perfumes.

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Day 8

barcelona, spain

Arrival: 05:00

Barcelona is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits,[7] its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the Province of Barcelona and is home to around 4.8 million people, making it the fifth most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, the Ruhr area, Madrid, and Milan. It is one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea, located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, and bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest peak of which is 512 metres (1,680 feet) high.

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What you should know:

Itinerary

The order of the ports may vary depending on the date of departure.
Check your itinerary for exact departure and arrival times. The hours correspond to the local time of the port.
Itineraries can change at any time without prior notice.

Boarding and landing

For safety reasons, all passengers must board 2 hours before departure on day 1 of the cruise.
Disembarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking on the last day of the cruise.

7 nights. Greece, Turkey, Italy

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