| | Date | Port Click to Expand | Arrival | Departure |
| | May 2 – Thu | Venice – Italy | | 16:00 |
Individual arrival in Venice ~ embarkation on the Seabourn Spirit.
Described by many as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Venice, or Venezia in Italian, has been an important port city throughout history. Founded in the early 400s A.D., this city has been renowned for its beauty, architecture, musical and artistic culture, and of course its strategic maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Stretched across 117 small islands in the Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea, Venice was a wealthy city throughout most of its history; while tourism has been a major sector of its industry since the 18th century. Venice continues to impress its visitors as one of the most visited destinations in Italy, if not the entire Mediterranean! |
| | May 3 – Fri | At Sea | | |
| | May 4 – Sat | Corfu – Greece | 11:00 | 23:00 |
| Corfu lies at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea, between Italy and Greece in the Ionian Sea and is the second largest of the Ionian Islands. It is a very mountainous island with incredible landscapes, dense vegetation, golden brown sandy beaches, traditional villages, Byzantine churches, several museums, striking Venetian fortresses and one of Greece’s most beautiful main towns. Corfu town is the largest town in all of the Ionian Islands and is perhaps one of the most interesting cities in Greece. Built during the island’s Venetian rule, Corfu town stands between two fortresses and its architecture has been influenced by all the major civilizations that occupied the island, such as the Sicilians, Venetians, French and British. |
| | May 6 – Mon
| Itea – Greece Passage of Corinth Canal | 07:00 18:00 | 14:00 19:00 |
| We are working on providing a description of this particular port of call - please check back later. |
| | May 7 – Tue | Santorini – Greece | 09:00 | 18:00 |
Santorini, world-renowned for its widely photographed, romantic sunsets and unique, volcanic natural environment, is arguably the most striking of the Greek islands. Its dramatic red and black sand beaches, narrow white-washed alleys, exquisite traditional and international cuisine, as well as its agricultural and wine-making tradition, make Santorini a truly spectacular island.
If you have included a True Greece tour or excursion today in Santorini, meet your guide or transfer agent upon arrival at the harbor and begin your exploration of this incredible island under the care of a True Greece affiliate. |
| | May 8 – Wed | Bodrum – Turkey | 07:00 | 15:00 |
Tucked into a peninsula of the same name, Bodrum is a port town in the south-western Aegean Region of Turkey. It is an international center of tourism and yachting, renowned as a vacation paradise with a mix of sandy coasts, secluded bays, evergreen forests and rocky cliffs. As you approach the port, you will be welcomed by the white-washed houses that fan down a gentle slope to its superb enclosed harbor. Birth place of Herodotus (also known as “the father of written history”), Bodrum is the Turkish name for the ancient city of Halicarnassus, and the first town in Turkey to experience a tourist boom.
Until the 6th century BC, Bodrum (also known as Halicarnassus) is said to have either been a Dorian city or at least a member of the Dorian Confederation, including the Greek island of Kos, as well as cities on the island of Rhodes. Eventually, Halicarnassus became a Christian city as part of the Byzantine Empire, but by 1392 the city was annexed to the Ottoman Empire. Around this time, the Knights of St. John were engaged in fights with the Turks and by 1402 the Knights were granted right to settle and govern the city. The city would again be surrendered to the Ottomans by 1522 and renamed Bodrum. During WW1, the city of Bodrum was taken over by Italian forces, but in 1923 it was awarded to the new Turkish Republic. |
| | May 9 – Thu | Izmir – Turkey | 08:00 | 18:00 |
| Izmir is one of the oldest settlements of the Mediterranean. Today it is a large metropolis located in western Anatolia, and Turkey’s third largest city in population. This ancient city was also known as Smyrna until 1930, when the Turkish Postal Services Law made "Izmir" the internationally recognized name. Considering its location at the head of a gulf, Izmir has been a primary mercantile city of the Mediterranean for much of its history and continues to be one of Turkey’s primary ports for exports. |
| | May 10 – Fri | Limnos – Greece | 07:00 | 14:00 |
According to ancient mythology, Hephaestus (Vulcan), the god of fire and volcanoes, was cast off from Mount Olympus, landing on Limnos. The people of the island took care of him and in return the god taught them his art of blacksmith. It was in Limnos that he built his palace and forges under a volcano.
Limnos is a beautiful island located in the northern Aegean Sea that offers a quiet and more off-the-beaten path Greek island experience. Since Limnos did not experience the same tourist boom as other Greek islands in the 70s and 80s, it has remained very much ‘untouched’ by mass tourism – leaving it a refreshing destination to discover. Limnos offers its visitors a surprisingly diverse landscape of bays, gulfs, sandy beaches, and fishing harbors, combined with rocky points, a rustic interior with several lakes, and pink flamingos! |
| | May 11 – Sat | Istanbul – Turkey | 07:00 | |
Arrival Istanbul ~ individual departure.
If True Greece has arranged for your post-cruise experience, meet your private driver upon arrival at the cruise terminal who will transfer you to your luxury hotel in Istanbul.
If asked to name a city in the world that most evokes a sense of the exotic, of immense beauty, and of intrigue and mystery, many people would name Istanbul. Standing over two continents, three empires, several cultures, and thousands of years of history, it is a truly international city – one that seems to have long drawn people to project their own fantasies onto it. Arguably the greatest appeal of Istanbul is the unique combination of its rich history and historical structures with its cosmopolitan feel. While the city’s unique past will fascinate you and the various monuments will evoke a genuine sense of awe, perfectly combined with an oriental feel in many areas of the city. In Istanbul, there is no doubt that you are in a fabulous city like no other on this planet.
If you did not have the opportunity to enjoy our True Greece guided tour of Istanbul, this is the perfect time to have us make these arrangements for you. As a guest of True Greece, we can fulfil exactly the experience that you are looking for during your stay in Istanbul! |