Back on a rainy night in July of 2024, I was reminiscing about the family trips I used to take - specifically cruises. It's something I grew up with - it allowed easy exploration of whatever country you were visiting, an enjoyable time on the ship with pretty much every need taken care of, and was relatively affordable. I thought to myself - why don't my girlfriend and I do one ourselves? There was nothing stopping us - we could do it in the summer in between her courses and my work. 24 hours later, I booked it - the 7 night Aegean cruise.
Fast forward to mid-July 2025, we. were flying out of Charlotte on our way to Athens. After a year of planning and anticipation, we were set to finally to explore a part of the Mediterranean I've never been to before - and after 10 days, we were absolutely ecstatic with what we got to see in our time in each location.
Below, I'll list off our top spots for each city and island and how our adventure went!
Athens, greece
We touched down in Athens at 12:00 PM on July 15, 2025. Customs was quick, and we were at our hotel in less than 2 hours after landing. We stayed at Niche Hotel Athens for 3 nights, and our experience was perfect. I booked an Acropolis View Suite, and we found ourselves just staring at the view the entire time. The hotel also offered a complimentary rooftop buffet breakfast, spa amenities, and a fantastic dinner spot with gorgeous panoramic views of the city. Outside of unpacking, walking around and grabbing a hotel dinner, we didn't do much our first unofficial day in the city.
DAY 1:
Morning We hiked Philopappos Hill, which provided a stunning view of a lit-up Acropolis and city. Afterwards, we lined up at the bottom of the Acropolis, about an hour early. By open, this line was hundreds of people long. Even at the front of the line, you're still racing the tour guides and other runners. Being the first to the top made for some fantastic photos though, and was worth the wait. The Parthenon itself was incredible, and it was interesting to learn how it got destroyed overtime from a multitude of events. You also can't miss the Erechtheion, the only other standing building. After the Acropolis, (which we spent about ~90 minutes at) we made our way to the Ancient Agora and Temple of Hephaestus. Personally, I was a bit underwhelmed by this entire area, and would have skipped it. The Temple of Hephaestus was much smaller than I thought, and could only be viewed from the outside, while the Agora was just a flat area with little to no ruins. The museum was neat, but didn't justify the ticket price.
Afternoon: We grabbed brunch afterwards at Lontos Cafe just outside the Agora, and then made our way to the Acropolis Museum, which was stunning. We spent around 2 hours here, exploring both the main museum and the gorgeous ruins below.
Evening: Chloe and I made it just in time to Areopagus Hill for sunset, which provided some amazing colors on the Acropolis. Note: it was completely packed full of people, but nothing that would block your view or photo. We grabbed a late dinner at Annie - Fine Dining, about a 5 minute walk from our hotel. Absolutely excellent, highly recommend.
DAY 2:
Morning: We headed to the neighborhood of Plaka at sunrise for some early morning portraits. The alleyways made for some great photos in the early morning light. We walked around Monastiraki Square, which was a miss since most of the shops opened later in the morning. We then hiked to the bottom of Lycabettus Hill, and took the quick gondola ride up the mountain. Note: the hike to the hill was at an incline the entire way, and we chose to take the gondola, which expensive but saved us much-needed time and energy. The overlook provided some incredible 360º views of the entire region. Lycabettus Hill is a little bit out of the way, but entirely worth visiting. After a quick ride back to the hotel, we Ubered again to the Piraeus, specifically the town of Mikrolimano.
Afternoon: We ate an early lunch at one of the many waterfront restaurants, and then hiked over to Votsalakia Beach, a rocky but enjoyable break in the water. Our last stop of the day in Piraeus was Pasalimani, the enormous circular port home to some massive yachts.
Evening: We hopped in a ride back to our hotel and then hiked back to Plaka for a picturesque dinner at Anefani, a restaurant set on the famous stairs right in the middle of the neighborhood (otherwise known as the Mnisikleous Stairs). Although chaotic, this was one of my favorite experiences from our entire trip, and I do recommend going early to secure a table. After drinks and a wonderful dinner, we spent time once again exploring Monastiraki Square and did some more shopping. Before we took the trip all we read online was to go visit one of the many 360 bars at the square. We tried - and do not recommend. The first bar we visited had a line 25 persons deep and was only taking people who were ordering food, and after waiting 15 min at another bar, we finally made it in and got shoved into a few barstools right in front of a DJ with a disappointing view of the Acropolis. I much would have rather spent my time at an overlook with a better view and not trying to find a bar in order to see sunset. After a quick drink, we grabbed some beers from a local kiosk and headed back to our room.
DAY 3: This was our last morning in Athens, as we were departing on our weeklong cruise (Royal Caribbean, Brilliance of the Seas) in the afternoon. We grabbed a quick breakfast at our hotel, packed our bags, and headed back to the Piraeus to board our ship. We departed from the Piraeus at 5:00 PM.
Overall, our Athens experience was phenomenal. I highly recommend staying at Niche Hotel Athens as well as hitting the Acropolis in the early morning to avoid crowds. The Acropolis Museum is also a must. If you're on a budget, short on time, or simply want to see the best, skip the Ancient Agora, the Piraeus (a bit boring, although cool to see the coast and beaches), and prepare to spend a good bit on Ubers to get back and forth to spots just outside walking distance. Trinket shopping is fun - expect the items to be the same with fluctuating prices, so be sure to look around. The food was phenomenal, and prices weren't too bad. We found the 360º bars to be very overrated, and recommend seeing the sunsets on Areopagus, Philopappos, and Lycabettus Hill instead.
Santorini, GREECE
DAY 4:
Morning: By 7:30 AM, we were on a tender heading to the Old Harbor of Santorini. We raced to the gondola, and luckily were one of the first people to the top of the mountain. It's either the gondola, riding a donkey, or hiking up a few hundred steps to the top. By doing so, we were able to quickly hail a taxi which rushed us to the town of Oia. Although the buses are the most affordable way of transportation (about 2€/person/each way) we believed that they were going to be too slow, and would be stuck in lines at all the photo spots we wanted to hit. We hit a few of the blue dome viewpoints first, along with Oia Castle, and although we contemplated going down to Ammoudi Bay, we found the stairs to be quite steep, and would have been difficult hiking in the high humidity and heat. By 11:00 AM, we were satisfied with both photos and shopping, and took a 30 minute bus ride back to Fira (the main bus hub) and then another bus to Kamari Beach.
Afternoon: After arriving at Kamari, we found that each of the on-the-beach restaurants had either an order minimum for drinks or a total fee to rent the beachside chairs, which was understandable. We found that 95% of the chairs were already taken/reserved by locals by 12:00 PM, and ended up with a seat near the back. We only got a few drinks and ended up eating up the road near the bus stop at a more local restaurant. After another bus ride back to Fira, we hiked down the stairs down to the old harbor, skipping the gondola and the donkeys this time. The hike down wasn't bad at all, and took us about 20-25 minutes. A quick ferry ride from the Old Harbor and we were back on the Brilliance.
Kuşadası, Türkiye
DAY 5:
Morning: Kuşadası is a relatively small port in Turkey, and is renowned for being the gateway for both the ancient city of Ephesus and the House of Virgin Mary. This was also the only stop on our trip that we elected to purchase an excursion through RCCL. In the morning, we met and disembarked with our group, and boarded a bus. After a quick introduction from our guide, we were on our way to Ephesus. The ruined city was gorgeous, and it was interesting to see the old Roman ruins in a city that used to be connected to the sea. After some quick shopping and being hassled by shopkeepers selling "100% Authentic Fake Watches" we were bused to the House of Virgin Mary, the supposed last home of Mary. Although not historically confirmed as such, it's still one of the most important sites for the Church and visitors of both Christian and Muslim faith.
Afternoon: We were given lunch at a nice coastal hotel, and then given a "Turkish carpet demonstration" by one of the manufacturers back in the port. Although very interesting to see the production process, we were not too keen in purchasing such a expensive rug (although it was surprising to see the amount of serious buyers). The prices at this shop started around $3000 for a very small carpet. A quick walk back through the markets and we were on our ship.
ISTANBUL, Türkiye
DAY 6:
Afternoon: Due to our cruise itinerary, we entered the port of Istanbul around 12:00 PM the next day. We docked, disembarked, and walked to the Galata Bridge. From there, we walked through the Grand Bazaar - which was both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. Shopkeepers classically called out to visitors selling their Chinese fakes, but we noticed that every few shops were identical to the others. There were fake jewelry/bag/clothing shops, candy/spice stores, gold markets, and that was really it. You'd think a single building with thousands of stores would have some variety in types of stores. From the Grand Bazaar we walked to Yenikapı Şehir Parkı, and along the water to İBB Sarayburnu Parkı, which was a few miles. Here you could see people fishing and enjoying the warm water.
Evening: After a quick drink at Sarayburnu Aile Çay bahçesi, we headed to our dinner restaurant in Sultanahmet Square. The Ararat boutique hotel had a rooftop restaurant which provided unreal views of the surrounding mosques and an almost 360º view of the entire city. We did make a reservation, but they had empty tables when we went at 7:00 PM. The food was fantastic, as was the Turkish tea and baklava. Dinner prices were as expected.- you paid a premium considering the location, but it was nowhere near the price of "scammy." One tip we learned is to always ask for the menu before ordering to see prices - sometimes customers will get cheated if they don't. A short Uber ride got us back to the ship later that night.
DAY 7:
Morning: We started once again by Ubering to Sultanahmet Square, where our first stop of the day was at the Basilica Cistern. This was a Byzantine-era underground water storage facility, used by both the Romans and Ottomans. I highly recommend visiting - the ticket prices were expensive but the cistern itself was gorgeous and very interesting. Note: the entrance for the cistern is directly across the street from the exit. Next up on our list were the mosques - first the Blue Mosque, which is, you guessed it, blue. The entrance for this mosque was free, but visitors had to cover their knees, shoulders, and women had to cover their head. The interior was amazing, with murals covering the entire inside. This was a relatively quick visit - the main room is the only room visitors could see. We then made our way over to the Hagia Sophia. The line was long (even for a morning visit) and the ticket prices were a bit high, but we had time to kill and wanted to see what it looked like inside. The mosque itself was pretty, but you could only go on the top balcony, with entrance to the main area restricted to Muslims and Turkish citizens. The main draw though of the mosque is the Byzantine-era mosaics, specifically the Deësis Mosaic was absolutely stunning. The fact that these Byzantine mosaics survived a thousand years of Muslim rule was mind blowing (even if some of them were partially destroyed or marked). I would say the Hagia Sophia is worth visiting both for the beautiful Christian mosaics and to see one of the oldest places of worship for multiple religions in the world.
Afternoon: On the way back to our ship we swung by the Grand Bazaar once more for some last-minute shopping, and visited the Spice Bazaar, which wasn't very different. After picking up some Turkish delights the last thing we needed to do was get Turkish ice cream - just like you see on social media, the vendor toys with the cone and ice cream, which caught Chloe by surprise. From there, we walked back to our ship to rest up.
DAY 8: Day at sea, cruising
MYKONOS
DAY 9:
Morning: Our last stop of the trip was Mykonos. Similar to Santorini, it's one of the most popular islands to visit and is known for its whitewashed buildings. After lining up again at 6:00 AM on the ship, we snagged tender tickets and were on the first ferry to the island. Unlike Santorini, you didn't need to get to the top of a mountain; you could walk to the town from the port. Our first stop was at the famous windmills, where we captured some amazing photos (with no one in them) and flew the drone. From there, we walked around the alleyways of the town and Little Venice. One thing that surprised us is that you don't need too much time time in town - 2 hours would be plenty to see most of the spots, which are all within walking distance.
Afternoon: Like Santorini, Mykonos had a similar bus system all over the island, which we used to get to the small town of Ornos. From there, we purchased tickets and hopped on an old fishing shuttle that'd been converted into a water taxi. These small boats cruise up and down the south coast of Mykonos every hour dropping guests off at several beaches. It took longer than expected to get to our stop at Agrari Beach, so we had less time than we expected, but still got to enjoy the water. An hour or so later we were heading back to Ornos, and then on a bus back to the town. After some last minute shopping we were back on our ship.
DAY 10: Travel day - direct bus transfer from the ship to airport, flight back to Charlotte that afternoon.
By the end of our trip, both Chloe and I were completely exhausted, but happy we were able to do everything we wanted, and had no issues during our trip. I've travelled on RCCL and the Radiance class of ships my entire life, and the experience was just as good as I remember as a kid. The older ships are still a blast, and can be enjoyed with a lot less people than the larger ships.
For the Greek islands, the best advice I can give is to do everything super early if you go during the summer. We had no issues with crowds at our top locations because we started when the sun came up. Don't be afraid to race people either - at the foot of the Acropolis, tour guides went to the front of the line and funnelled their groups through to the front - but it didn't matter since they were all slow and not determined to get up there quick. With the Santorini and Mykonos tenders, line up at the designated ticket location an hour before they start handing them out. RCCL advertised tickets starting to go out at 7:00 AM, but started handing them out at 6:30 AM. Especially with the tenders, gondolas and buses - missing that one seat could mean an additional 30-60 minutes of waiting to get somewhere. Make sure to study the bus schedule: although they visit the main towns and stops frequently, missing it at a distant spot could mean a big delay in your schedule. Hit the photos spots early, and relax on a beach in the afternoon. Outside of that - make sure to enjoy your trip and relax!
