9 nights, Piraeus (Athens) to Fusina (Venice)
Explora's name for it: A Journey Through Greece’s Icons to Italy’s Hidden Coastlines
Nine nights, ten ports, one direction: Athens up to Venice with no repeats and no sea days. The cadence runs fast and front-loaded. You open with the Acropolis, where the Parthenon and the Ancient Agora sit within a short walk of each other, so one focused day covers the essentials. Then the Cyclades, played with some range: Syros and its neoclassical capital Ermoupoli stay a working Greek town because most passengers chase the postcards elsewhere, while Santorini delivers the caldera and the cable-car crush that comes with it. North into the Adriatic, the route earns its best hour at Kotor, where the ship threads a fjord-like bay for about an hour before the town appears, the sail-in itself half the day. Hvar caps it with a hilltop fortress and an arsenal holding what is called the oldest public theatre in Europe, opened in 1612.
This itinerary rewards a traveler who wants breadth and doesn't mind a brisk pace with several tender ports, where you anchor and ride in rather than walk off. Know two things going in. Santorini's cable car becomes the whole day's bottleneck when ships share the caldera, and Venice arrives via Fusina on the mainland edge of the lagoon, a water-shuttle transfer that adds real time at both ends. If you want few stops, slow days, or to land in central Venice, choose a different route.
Explora II is all-suite, all-oceanfront.
The itinerary, port by port
10 calls over 9 nights, Piraeus (Athens) to Fusina (Venice). Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.
Getting there: Flights to Piraeus (Athens) (ATH) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →
- Embark
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- Disembark
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
- Invitation to Discover More
- Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
- Spontaneous Summer Invitation
- A near-term fare on a small set of summer-season sailings. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
The ship and your suite
This sailing is aboard EXPLORA II, all-suite, every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel. Compare suites → · What's included →