Luxury cruises
Small ships, island overnights, and a late season that runs into October.
The Greek islands reward small ships. Yachts and vessels under 300 guests tie up in harbours where bigger ships must anchor and tender, and the best itineraries overnight somewhere so you see an island after the day-trippers have gone.
For couples and grandparents this is one of the most romantic weeks at sea. For families, the summer kids' club sailings on Ponant and the modern family-friendly ships of Explora make it workable with children; we match the ship to the ages carefully.
Highlights
Planning figure for a typical week in a veranda suite. Final price depends on sailing date, ship, suite and availability.
Start PlanningPonant's summer sailings with a children's club, or Explora when it sails here.
Silversea and Seabourn for small ships and well-paced days; Regent for inclusive excursions.
Best cruise lines here
French small ships and a true polar icebreaker, with a children's programme in the summer holidays.
Butler-served suites, serious destinations, and one of the strongest expedition fleets afloat.
Small, sociable, quietly luxurious ships, with a sister expedition fleet.
Hotel-style luxury on yachts of roughly 300 to 450 guests, with a surprisingly warm welcome for children.
The most inclusive fare at sea, on all-suite ships that take elegance seriously.
How to choose
Derived from our own ratings of the lines above, not from brochures.
Ponant, Silversea and Seabourn are small-ship; The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is yacht-style; Regent Seven Seas Cruises is mid-size. Smaller ships reach the smaller harbours in Greek Islands; larger ones carry more for children and more dining choice.
Ponant and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection keep it relaxed; Regent Seven Seas Cruises leans formal and traditional. Ask us which suits the party before anything else.
Ponant and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection rate highest with us for families here; Seabourn is effectively adults-only. Children's facilities vary more than brochures suggest; we will say which ships really have them.
Silversea, Ponant, Seabourn, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Regent Seven Seas Cruises lead on food in our experience of Greek Islands sailings.
Cruise ideas
Planning figures per person.
Athens round trip with excursions, drinks, speciality dining and flights in the fare.
A small French ship, a summer children's programme and harbours only yachts can use.
In pictures
Licensed photographs of the ports and the ships we would put you on, not brochure renders.
Land & sea
A long flight deserves a soft landing. We build the nights before embarkation and after disembarkation into the same plan: the hotel, the transfers, a day or two on land, all booked by the same specialist.
Island houses, a boat for the day, and dinners by the water.
Connecting suites, different activity levels, dining that works for everyone, and transfers that suit grandparents and toddlers alike. The best family suites go first, so start early.
Further reading
Our own planning notes: who a ship suits, how many cabins to book, when to go.
Which ships work when the party spans seventy years, what to look for in a children's programme, and the itineraries we would start with.
Teenagers are the hardest age to please on a ship and the easiest to lose to a phone. The lines, cabins and itineraries that keep a fifteen-year-old on side.
Warm sea, emptier ports, lower planning figures and the ships we would choose for a late-summer Mediterranean sailing, whether or not you are tied to school terms.
Good to know
A small ship with overnights and gentle excursions: Silversea's classic fleet, Seabourn, or Ponant. We check tender ports against mobility, because some islands require small boats ashore.
Yes with the right ship and month. Ponant runs a children's club on selected summer departures, and June or September avoids the worst heat. We would not suggest a yacht without a kids' programme for young children.
Don't spend thirty hours comparing forty ships, cabins, dates, flights and hotels. Give us five minutes and we'll narrow it down to what is worth considering.