Mykonos by lunch, Santorini for sunset, and the whole Aegean in a week.
Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Crete and Corfu, with Dubrovnik, Kotor and Istanbul on the longer runs. Round trips from Athens on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Virgin, Norwegian and Celestyal (3 and 4 night island hops), from Venice and Ravenna down the Adriatic, and from Rome on 10 to 12 night combos, plus Viking and Windstar for the small ships. SmartCruiser shows every Greek Isles sailing with taxes and fees included and puts the ones with SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit at the top.
Three ways to do the Greek Isles
Pick one and the list below filters to it. Same islands; the starting city and the length change everything.
Round trip from Athens
- Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Virgin and Norwegian, 7 nights; Celestyal 3 to 7
- Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes and Crete, often with Ephesus (Kusadasi) in Turkey
- Piraeus is 30 minutes from the Acropolis, so two nights in Athens first is easy
Best for: island hoppers, honeymoons, anyone who wants the postcard Greece
From Venice or Ravenna
- Down the Dalmatian coast: Dubrovnik, Kotor, Split or Corfu, then Santorini and Mykonos
- Royal Caribbean and Norwegian from Ravenna, MSC and Celebrity from Venice or Trieste
- 7 nights, the Adriatic calm and the sunsets over Kotor Bay
Best for: first Europe cruises, Croatia plus Greece in one trip, couples
3 and 4 night island hops
- Celestyal from Athens: Mykonos, Kusadasi, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete and Santorini in four days
- Drinks package and a shore excursion bundled on many fares, all-Greek crew, ships sized for the small harbors
- Add it to a week in Athens or the mainland and you have Greece covered
Best for: land-and-sea trips, cruise skeptics, a budget that cannot stretch to a week at sea
Greek Isles deals: SmartCruiser picks first
Every Greek Isles sailing from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings, bonus onboard credit, a Special SmartCruiser rate, or a senior, resident or police & fire fare that beats the public price. Below them, every other sailing with full sorting.
SmartCruiser picks
Sorted by what you save, biggest firstEvery Greek Isles sailing
Stack any filters, then pick a sortPrices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.
Where the ships start
Athens has the most sailings, Venice the prettiest first day. Pick a port and the list above filters to it.
Which line for the Greek Isles?
Tender ports, small harbors and late sunsets reward the right ship. Our one-line take, with a link to each deals page.
When to go
April to November. July and August are hot and packed; the shoulders give you the same islands with room to breathe.
Greek Isles cruise questions we answer every day
Do I need a visa or a passport?
A passport valid six months beyond your return. US and Canadian citizens need no visa for Greece, Italy or Croatia; from 2026 the EU’s ETIAS travel authorization applies and we remind you when you book. Turkey lets cruise passengers ashore for the day without a visa; we confirm that for your sailing.
Will I tender at Santorini?
Yes, almost always. Ships anchor off Fira and tender to the old port, then it is cable car, donkey or 588 steps up the cliff. Oia is a 25 minute drive from the top. Book the earliest tender or an excursion that meets you at the dock; on peak days the cable-car line is the longest line in Greece.
How do I get from the ship to the beach in Mykonos?
Ships dock at the new port, 2 miles from town; a sea bus runs every half hour. Platis Gialos and Ornos are 15 minutes by taxi or bus from town. Late-departure ships (Virgin, Norwegian, Celebrity) give you dinner and the windmills at sunset.
Are the Greek Isles good for kids?
Royal Caribbean and MSC from Ravenna and Venice are the family picks; the islands themselves are easy with kids, beaches everywhere, and Rhodes Old Town is a castle you can walk inside. Skip Celestyal’s packed 3-night hops with small children; it is a lot of early mornings.
Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?
Yes. Every price on this page includes cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Flights, hotels, gratuities, drinks packages and excursions are extra.
What do the SmartCruiser picks mean?
They are sailings where booking through SmartCruiser gets you something you do not get booking direct: instant savings, bonus onboard credit, a Special SmartCruiser rate we hold on that sailing, or a senior, resident or police & fire fare that beats the best public price.
Talk to a Greek Isles specialist
Tell us the islands you have to see and we find the sailing that gets you there at the right hour, priced on every line with flights and the Athens hotel. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.