The epic Greek-Turkey cruise with swimming turtles, Broadway shows and Thai massages
ALEXANDER the Great would have approved – I’m on my trusty black steed conquering the streets of his rival Athens under the watchful eye of the Parthenon.
It’s a whizzy Segway, not the all- conquering king of ancient Macedonia’s fabled warhorse Bucephalus, but what a brilliant way to see historic and modern sights in the Greek capital.
Lively guide Stelios led my group of a dozen — all on an excursion from Tui’s Marella Voyager cruise ship — taking in outstanding views of the Acropolis, Temple of Hephaestus and Pnyx Hill, where the Athenians created the concept of democracy.
Next time you put an X on a ballot paper, this is where it all began 2,500 years ago.
The Segway tour (£110pp), started in tourist hangout Plaka and also visited Thiseio, where the locals chill. Fun and insightful, it was a hit with my group.
And, in the free time in Plaka afterwards, treat yourself to a frozen yoghurt for a couple of quid — the Lukumades shop is deservedly popular.
My wife Debbie and I had joined the all-inclusive Voyager in Corfu, with a seamless airport transfer and check-in at the port.
Greeted by stewards Andi and Yosua, we settled into our balcony cabin then demolished a Mexican meal at the Abuela’s restaurant, followed by a rocking sailaway show from The Journeymen band.
Before arriving at Athens we had a sea day with pre-booked spa treatments. Debbie loved her Thai massage (£129) from Cherry, and I was wowed by a rejuvenating men’s pro- collagen grooming and shave (£69) by Marco.
I felt like a Greek god after an hour in the barber’s chair. We dined like gods that night too, on a superb seven-course food odyssey at the Silver Fork restaurant (£51.95pp), with the highlights a spicy white tomato soup and a beef Wellington to fill your boots with.
Another standout was the Kora La Asian-inspired restaurant (£38.95pp) and its Thali tasting experience — surely this is the best curry at sea.
Mind you, if you’re on a budget you can easily spend the week eating well in the included The Kitchens buffet and the Latitude 53 (international), Vista (Italian) and Piccadilly’s (British) restaurants, along with Abuela’s (Mexican), Nonna’s (pizza/pasta) and the poolside Shack (fast food).
Drinks-wise, we rated swanky Flutes for fizz and laid-back Summer House, with its retractable roof and al fresco area at the stern, for cold beers and ciders.
The Squid & Anchor is your go-to for lively nights of music, quizzes and karaoke and the Broadway theatre hosts West End-style performances.
Up for some immersive, cocktail-fuelled fun? Head to The Exchange speakeasy, where many guests dress up in 1920s-style clothes (£18.95pp).
New day, new country. After our Athens adventure, next up was Kusadasi, Turkey.
We could have hit the beach but walked to the 16th-century castle — on an island reached by a 400-yard causeway — and its open-air/indoor museum covering local maritime trade, wildlife (check the whale skeleton) and plants. Worth a look, decent views and a nice waterfront cafe (£8pp).
Before strolling back to Voyager, we failed to resist the shops selling carpets, knock-off designer goods and that leather jacket you never knew you needed. Luckily, everything is a “special price today, just for you!”
Kusadasi is the gateway to Ephesus, home of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. If you haven’t been, get it on your cruise excursion list. It’s outstanding.
Back in Greece for the next call at Insta-fave island Santorini, we joined a tour to Akrotiri — the “Pompeii of the Aegean” — where archaeologists have uncovered part of a city buried under 27ft of ash when the Thera volcano erupted in 1600 BC.
The Thera explosion was around 20 times more powerful than when Vesuvius blasted the real Pompeii in AD 79 and the resulting 100ft tsunami wiped out the Minoan civilisation on Crete 60 miles away, with the ash cloud even affecting the weather in China.
Our excellent guide was former archaeologist Marianne, who used to work here so has the best facts about life in the Bronze Age. Unsurprisingly, she knew a group of Brits would be enthused by seeing the 3,600-year-old “flushing” toilet in a house!
You’re dropped off in pretty Fira overlooking the sea-filled caldera for a wander at leisure, with a ticket for the cable car down to the dock and the tender boats (£62pp).
Next up is Chania, in western Crete, where a €1.80 each-way, 20-minute bus from Souda dropped us near the beautiful Venetian port, where we climbed the tower in the harbour fort to take it all in and idly wandered through the grid of shopping streets.
It’s a real charmer and you could easily while away a full day here, but the ship has a schedule to keep and that took us to our final port, Argostoli in Kefalonia.
We’d only planned to pick up some souvenirs and an ice cream but headed to the footbridge south of the centre to see why there were so many tourists gathered.
GO: AEGEAN CRUISE & CORFU STAY
GETTING, CRUISING & STAYING THERE: A 14-night cruise-and-stay holiday costs from £2,313pp, including a seven-night Aegean Shores cruise on Marella Voyager, plus a seven-night stay at the Atlantica Grand Mediterraneo Resort in Ermones.
Price is based on two adults sharing on an all-inclusive basis with flights from Stansted on September 25, 20kg of luggage each, transfers, tips and service charges.
Cruise calls at Corfu, Piraeus (for Athens), Kusadasi (for Ephesus), Santorini, Souda (for Chania) in Crete, and Kefalonia.
See tui.co.uk/cruise.
The answer was four adult loggerhead turtles swimming around just feet from us and we snapped away with the excited crowd. A magical holiday highlight to see these vulnerable creatures so close up.
Next morning, back in Corfu, we headed down the gangway one final time. But not before checking eBay to find out how much a second-hand Segway is!
THIS GRAND RESORT IS A RAIL TREAT
TUI’s Cruise & Stay programme – where you add a hotel break to the start or end of your holiday at sea – is increasingly popular and Corfu is the perfect destination to try it.
So when Voyager docked back at the island, Debbie and I did not go to the airport. Instead, we headed 25 minutes by road to Ermones Bay on the west coast for three nights at the five-star Atlantica Grand Mediterraneo.
This elegant adults-only resort is in a spectacular 110-acre location, set in terraces on a steep hill by the sea, and we adored our deluxe suite with its earthy hues, clean design, private infinity pool and stellar view.
But the 270-room hotel, one of the best in Greece, is not just about scenery – there’s a lovely pool area, tennis courts, gym, spa with indoor heated pool and a beach with a bar reached by a funicular.
Yes, you read that right – this hotel has a railway running through it!
Alternatively, golf buggies ferry guests around – or the energetic can tackle the many steps.
During your stay you’re likely to encounter Perla, a cute little fluffy white dog who arrived here one day and never left.
She’s now effectively a member of the very friendly and helpful staff, ‘greeting’ guests around the resort.
Food is a high point at the Grand Mediterraneo and we dived in at the a la carte White Pearl restaurant, which offers modern Greek cuisine.
The Ionian Sea was the perfect backdrop for a memorable meal of kebabs and baked goat’s cheese in nuts to start, then chicken breast in feta sauce and sea bass mains, with the added bonus of a tot of aromatic ‘mastika’ liqueur from Greece’s Chios island to finish.
There is a second a la carte restaurant, Italian-themed, al fresco Vertigo, which lives up to its name in a lofty clifftop location.
Again, we dined like MasterChef judges, savouring blue cheese mousse, scallops and arancini appetisers before the centrepiece – a sensational crayfish, ouzo, saffron and dill risotto.
We drank in the views as easily as a chilled glass of rosé.
We thought the Medusa buffet, which has a huge variety of dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner with various daily themes, was top notch and, if you only choose to eat here, you’ll be very happy with it.
By day, most guests congregate around the main pools and during our stay the hotel was full – but there are ample sunloungers, so there’s no need to get up at 6am for the ridiculous towel run.
Also worth noting is that the background muzak is not intrusive, pumping DJ beats are a rare thing at hotels these days.
For a sundowner, the prime spot is the terrace by the Vertigo bar, where guests gather to get the perfect sunset snap.
The main Eros bar is the focus for poolside evening entertainment and we thoroughly enjoyed a spirited performance from the Fuego Tenors, who gave us everything from Andrea Bocelli to Queen and The Shadows.
Dogs aren’t daft and Perla has decided she’s not leaving the superlative Atlantica Grand Mediterraneo. Don’t blame her, we were very reluctant to check out too.
