greek islands

Sea Cloud Cruises Wins the Luxist Award for Best Summer Cruise

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing

Sea Cloud's luxury cruise to Turkey and Greece

Some 2,500 years ago, the warm waters between Greece and what is now Turkey were filled with the warring fleets of Persia's King Xerxes and his Greek foes. These days, the ships sailing through the Aegean are of a much more peaceful variety-none more majestic than the vessels of Sea Cloud Cruises, the winner of the Luxist award in the best summer cruise category.

One of Sea Cloud's most popular itineraries takes guests from Athens through the Greek Isles to Turkey and back again. The eight-day trip includes stops at Delos, an entire island designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site; Rhodes, where the Palace of the Grand Master still stands; and Bodrum, the Turkish town that was once home to the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the original seven wonders of the world.

Gallery: Sea Cloud Cruises

Cruising the Greek Isles and Turkey with Sea Cloud

Tags: awards-main, cruise, cruise ship, CruiseLines, cruises, greek islands, luxist-awards, Sea Cloud, Turkey, winners-summer-travel

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Calling all Shirley Valentines to Santorini

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed) —

The Greek Cyclades island group has long been synonymous with romance. First, Liverpool housewife "Shirley Valentine" rediscovered herself on Mykonos with some help from a handsome Greek taverna owner in the 1989 movie. And then Meryl Streep planned the wedding-of-the-century in "Mamma Mia" (2008) against the white-washed backdrop of what film fanatics say was Sifnos. But every true Grecophile worth her moussaka knows that the most romantic place in all of the Cyclades is Oia, the small artist community on the tip of Santorini where the island rises above the Aegean Sea and moonlight walks along the Caldera are known to inspire Aphrodite -- at least in the playbook of my youth.

So let's raise a glass of Nykteri (Santorini's "wine of the night,") and shout "Yiamas!" (cheers!): One of Oia's most photographed historic guest houses is on the market. The properties known as "The Sea Captain's Villa" is listed at 4,800,000 Euro --or about $7.1 million U.S. An adjacent house, "The Cave Style House" is included in the sale. The main house, originally built in 1864 as a sea captain's quarters (it was remodeled a few years ago), overlooks the dramatic volcanic sea caldera. Traditional Greek architecture in style, the property has hosted European celebrities on holiday. The white-washed buildings with traditional sky blue trim include seven bedrooms, seven marble baths and two kitchens. Antiques, artwork and an optional hotel license are included. Santorini is said to be the lost continent of Atlantis, an advanced civilization that disappeared under the waves. Perhaps the legend adds to the island's mysterious allure. Modern Greeks simply shrug and repeat an expression which, when translated loosely, says: God created Santorini, and then He stopped. Enough said.

Gallery: An Idyll in Santorini