Our Greek Odyssey Aboard The Viking Sea
We finally set forth on our long awaited cruise that we paid for up the Yangtze river, but instead it was to the Aegean Sea. With travel to China still being a little dicey in the waning months of COVID, we transferred our cruise credit to a Viking Sea cruise to Greece with a pre-cruise excursion.
Planning and lessons learned
We love to document here what we learned on each trip so that we can go back and read up to not make any mistakes a second time. The problem with this one was that everything felt new. Our first overseas trip in three years came with new processes, protocols, and concerns. Whether it was pre-flight COVID testing, daily tests on our pre-trip and each day on our cruise, or wearing masks on our excursion buses, this was certainly a new experience that we hope doesn’t become a mainstay.
Viking cruises are a little different from every other trip we typically do. We had almost no planning to do beyond picking our excursions and the one and a half free days we had in Athens. If you’re looking to enjoy yourself with little to no effort, Viking might be your best bet, just know that the average age of the passengers on the ship are AARP eligible.
Viking Four Day pre-cruise excursion from Athens
We arrived in Athens in the morning and were greeted by a representative from Viking. One of the great and lazy things about Viking cruises are how little you have to plan. Our chartered ride took us along the coast to the InterContinental Athenaeum Athens, but had we known better, we could have asked him to take the scenic route through town. We had the whole day to ourselves and decided to wander, staying awake is key on the first day of an overseas trip. Once our bags were safely deposited at the hotel, we set off armed with our offline Google Maps of the area.
Our first stop on our walking trip for the day was Hadrian's Arch near what’s left of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The admission price for the temple was pretty steep, so we took pictures near Hadrian’s Arch and moved on. We continued our walking tour passed one of the many ancient churches tucked into the modern city. We learned on one of our many tours on this trip that most of Athens was built in the last 100 years, so the modern structures were built right next to buildings that are anywhere from three to twenty five centuries old.
Corinth and Mycenae
Day two of our pre-trip was an organized itinerary, but first we had a rather unorganized COVID test that took a lot longer than anyone was bargaining for. Once we were cleared, we boarded our coach for a day in Corinth and Mycenae. The first stop was the Corinth Canal, a long dreamed about project that linked the Gulf of Corinth to the Aegean Sea, which saves smaller cargo ships several days off their journey. The canal itself was a strange site, it looked like someone just took a knife through the cliffside from one end to the other. After re-boarding our bus, we travelled to ancient town of Mycenae with it’s hilltop fortress and Lion’s Gate. The view from the top was amazing and we could see for miles in every direction, it was easy to see how this area could command the entire region. Our next stop just down the street from the fortress was the Tomb of Agamemnon, a completely empty room carved into the hillside with a massive beehive at the top. Our final stop was the Ancient Theatre at the Asclepieion of Epidaurus, this well kept theatre made a great site for some photos and some uphill stair climbing.
Delphi
Day three in Greece had one of the biggest highlights from antiquity, Delphi. This was the most prominent Oracle of ancient Greece, and no one ever showed up to the Oracle empty handed. The amount of amazing artifacts found here were great, but the buildings and the overall site were certainly the highlights. We took in the museum, with all of the recovered gifts to the Oracle, and then toured the archeological site. Most people in our group stopped at the amphitheater, but we kept going to the top and were treated to a fully excavated chariot race track.
Athens
Our last full day in Athens took us to the must-see highlights of the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum, the Temple of Hephaestus, and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Parthenon and Acropolis Museum were both a part of the included tour. Our guide was a little slow moving and very verbose in her descriptions, so we found ourselves skipping ahead quite a bit. Finding uncrowded vantage points at the Acropolis is near impossible, but even harder when groups keep passing you up. We got some great pictures and even got to watch a flag raising ceremony performed by the Greek Presidential Guard. We’re not sure if this is the usual or not, but there was plenty of construction and renovation going on, trying to position pictures to not get cranes or scaffolding was impossible, but we made do with what we had.
The museum is a short walk away and has many great exhibits and a number of copies that depict works that have been plundered and are being exhibited in other museums in Europe. Photography is limited in many areas, so we didn’t get many pictures. In the shadow of the Acropolis (the hill that the Parthenon sits on) is the best preserved temple in all of Greece, the Temple of Hephaestus. It’s not far away but there’s no direct path, so getting there took a little bit of navigating. The price was reasonable and we got there just as they were about to close. The site has a fairly sparse museum, but the temple is definitely the centerpiece of the park.
Our last stop of the day was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the changing of the guard that happens on the hour. This is certainly worth the time if you’re in the area and it’s a very respectful ceremony.
The Viking Sea
At long last, our chariot had arrived. We were taken to the harbor and the Viking Sea awaited us for the next chapter of our journey. The Viking Sea holds just under 1000 passengers, and we were definitely among the youngest. It didn’t have traditional comedy shows or some of the other big crowd entertainment we’d seen on other cruise lines, but we didn’t really have a lot of time for that on this cruise.
Our first day onboard came with a whole new process thanks to COVID. We went straight to our rooms and spit into a tube, which was collected and tested. To our knowledge, only one person tested positive and was removed, there were supposed to be safeguards like secondary testing to ensure there were no false positives, but it sounds like that didn’t happen, it was definitely still a work in progress. Once we got acquainted with the ship, found our go-to bar, and made dinner reservations, we were ready to let Viking take care of the rest!
Volos
Our first cruise stop was Volos, just north of Athens along the eastern coast. Our excursion promised to be the most challenging due to the large amount of steps, but it was really no more than a nice hike. If you’ve seen the Microsoft Windows background with the building on top of the cliff with seemingly no way to get to it but climbing the rock face, then you’ve seen where we went. The monasteries also appeared in Game of Thrones and James Bond For Your Eyes Only. The site is known as The Hanging Monasteries or Meteora and it was a coach bus ride inland from the port city of Volos. We made a brief stop at a tourist trap for shopping, a bathroom break, and a brief glimpse of Mt. Olympus. Our coach took us up the impressively steep cliffs with one stop at a lookout for some pictures.
The first monastery we entered was Roussanou, which can either be a short steep walk up from the parking lot, or a leisurely downhill hike from one of the turnoffs, we luckily got the latter. There were no pictures allowed inside, and only a small little courtyard outside. The inside was very ornate, with small rooms that tour groups would move through one at a time. The second one was the Monastery of Varlaam, this one was much larger with more outside open areas, and some pretty impressive art work. In order to get supplies up, there was a donkey powered lift on one side. The view was pretty amazing from their outside patio, it’s easy to see why these monks established the monasteries where they did, and why many never left.
Thessaloniki
Our second cruise day took us to Thessaloniki in the shadow of Mt. Olympus. Excursions were a bit limited on this stop, so we decided to take a bus ride out to Dion, which houses an archeological dig site and museum. We’re not going to say this was disappointing, but I think we agreed it was the second least favorite stop of our trip. The dig site was all open air, with a number of murals, building outlines, and even an ancient cobblestone street. We finished the day with a walk along the harbor towards the White Tower of Thessaloniki and the Alexander the Great statue. It’s a fun little walk with restaurants all along the way, walkers, bicyclist, and plenty of folks offering boat rides on a recreation of a Greek Trireme.
Cruising the Fingers
Our only at-sea day saw us cruising off the region called Halkidiki, which is a peninsula that has three finger. We sailed down the one known as Athos, named for Mount Athos which dominates the furthest tip. This entire area is owned by the Greek Orthodox church and there are a number of monasteries dotting the coast. An interesting fun fact is that there are no women at all in this area, it’s the ultimate religious boys club. Our ship was even shadowed by a coast guard boat that ensured our women didn’t get too close to the shore. Rumor has it that even the pets are male.
Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey
Our only non-Greek stop on the trip was Ephesus, an important port city during antiquity until the port became untenable. The city was also believed to be the last place St. John took The Virgin Mary, and she resided here until her death. The city was an important trade hub between ancient Europe and Asia and was even home to the third largest library of the ancient world. We docked in the modern day port of Kusadasi and took the half hour bus ride out to the archeological site with an awesome guide who grew up an Air Force brat at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.
Our first stop was to the monument of The Virgin Mary. We got a few quick pictures, and then off to the archeological site. The site is based around the two main features, the Celsus Library and the Grand Theatre. The main draw on the way to the library is Curetes Street, a well maintained thoroughfare with the remains of stores and monuments lining the way. At the end of the street is the front façade of the Celsus Library, a pretty impressive sight and just standing there with seemingly no other support. We got our pictures, trying to frame them as best as possible with droves of people moving through the area. As we made our way towards the old harbor, we came across the Ephesus Ancient Greek Theatre, another large and well preserved venue. The last site before heading to the parking lot was the road to the old harbor. We did miss out on one event, we heard later that one shop keeper attacked another right after we walked by, not sure what that was all about, but I’m sure it would have added to the highlights of this stop.
Rhodes
Back in Greek territory, we stopped at the ancient port city of Rhodes. This city on the island of the same name is at the southeast edge of the Greek Aegean Sea. Pulling into port, we immediately noticed the ancient walls and fortifications, this city was an important crossroad for traders and conquerors alike for most of recorded history. The first stop on our three part excursion was the ancient fortress and city of Lindos. The acropolis overlooks a protected beach that is likely a huge tourist draw in the summer. The small town at the base is a large tourist trap with plenty of shops, restaurants, and bars. The walk up can be a little steep but isn’t bad, there are also donkey’s standing by to help those who don’t want to walk for a fee. At the top, the views are amazing of the surrounding area and beaches. The remains of the Temple of Athena Lindia are at the very top with a few remaining columns.
Our second stop was the hilltop monastery and cross at Filerimos. From the top of this hill, we could see most of the rest of the island, including a population of unexpected guests. The hilltop monastery sits right next to the remains of the Temple of Athena Polias. The monastery has an entrance fee, but it’s easily the least impressive portion of this stop. Once we got off the bus we were greeted by several peacocks, and then more of them, and then more. They were in the grass, on the walking paths, even up in the trees. The very top of the hill has a large cross that can be seen from most of the island. The view from the top is pretty impressive with the entire north half of the island in view.
Our final stop on Rhodes was back to the ancient walled city and museum. We approached the city and entered over the moat and into the Gate of Amboise. The walls and fortifications are massive and are built around the ancient port, the museum occupies the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes and this was where we spent the rest of our day. The museum is massive and our guided tour took us from room to room to see the sculptures and ornate floor mosaics. (Full Gallery)
Santorini
When one thinks of the Greek islands of the Aegean Sea, Santorini almost always comes to mind. The dormant volcano caldera makes for an impressive site with it’s steep cliffs and protected harbor. The cliffside town of Oia with its blue domes was on our list of stops along with a local winery and a Greek restaurant.
Stop one was the picturesque city of Oia with it’s white walls, blue domes, and marble walkways. We tendered offshore, boarded our bus, and headed into town the long way. We saw grape vines along the way that grow as bushes on the island, there was very little terracing along the flat terrain. Oia didn’t have anywhere near as many blue domes as the pictures lead us to believe, but the white cliffside houses, patios, and amazing views were absolutely gorgeous.
We re-boarded our bus and continued to the next stop, a small town further inland that we did a walking tour of. There wasn’t anything particularly impressive about the stop, but it was interesting to walk up the stairs and work our way through the maze of winding walkways. Our next stop was Santos Wines for a tasting and some snacks. The wines were pretty good and we sent a few bottles of the Vinsanto dessert wine home. Our last stop of the day was a restaurant for some Greek cuisine, local dancing, and a lot of plate smashing. We took the gondola down from Oia to the dock, it feels like it’s nearly straight down for the first little while, but it’s also the only way down unless you like stairs.
Crete
Our research about Crete led us to some pretty cool possible excursions however our ship docked in Souda Bay, and this offered us far fewer options. We settled for a walking tour of Chania to see the ancient harbor, shops, and restaurants, however it was a public holiday, meaning very little was open. We walked, took pictures, and went right back to the ship to enjoy some rare quiet time at the pool. On a future trip, we hope we can either get a cruise stop or take a ferry to Heraklion where a trip to the Palace of Knossos will be more feasible.
Nafplio
Our final stop was Nafplio, back on the mainland, and not far at all from Mycenae. This was another tender port surrounded by ancient fortifications that protected the area for centuries. This time we traveled to Nemea to visit the museum, archeological site of the Temple of Zeus, and a local winery called Palivou Estate.
The archeological site at Nemea included a small inside museum, a covered dig site, and the remains of the Temple of Zeus. There were lots of great pictures opportunities among the remaining columns. Our next stop was the Ancient Stadium of Nemea, which is nothing more than a tunnel, an open arena area, and a few remaining columns, but it would have been an impressive sports venue back in the day.
Our final stop of the day was the Palivou Estate Winery. We did a tour of the winery and a generous tasting of several of their wines.
our trip
Our Greek Odyssey Cruise was certainly a little higher on the price side and a little lower on the planning side than our usual trips. There was some comfort in knowing we just needed to get there and Viking would take care of the rest, but in hindsight, we also wondered how much we could have saved if we planned this all ourselves. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and feel comfortable knowing that we saw many of the great sites of Greece. If we do come back to Greece, we also know where we’d spend more time on a DIY trip, which in the end, is our true goal when cruising.