Voyages to Antiquity operates one 378-guest ship, the Aegean Odyssey. The small ship cruise line specializes in destination cruising to sites in the central and eastern Mediterranean with historical, archaeological, or cultural significance. The cruises often include pre- and post-cruise hotel stays in the embarkation and debarkation ports, and shore excursions in each port of call are also included in the fare, much like you will find on a European river cruise.

I sailed on "The Isles of Greece - Where Delos Rose and Phoebus Sprung" Aegean Odyssey itinerary from Athens to Istanbul. Although I only did the 7-night cruise, plus one night in an Istanbul hotel, the entire cruise tour was 12 nights--2 nights in Athens hotel, the 7-night cruise, and 3 nights in an Istanbul hotel. This tour was an excellent mixture of major cities and charming Greek and Turkish ports. We toured numerous ancient archaeological sites of the Greeks, Minoans, Venetians, and Romans. I had almost forgotten how important the Greek mythological deities were to their ancient civilizations. Moving ahead to the 20th century, we were touched by the more recent World War I battlefields at Gallipoli. Overall, it was exactly what I expected--educational, stimulating, and fun.

The next 14 pages provide a look at each of the places we visited. Some days we were off the ship touring all day; other days we were just ashore in organized tours either in the morning or the afternoon.

More on Voyages to Antiquity Aegean Odyssey Mediterranean Cruise Itinerary and Ports of Call

• Athens
• Nafplio
• Mycenae
• Rethimno
• Chania
• Knossos
• Delos
• Mykonos
• Samos
• Kusadasi
• Ephesus
• Aphrodisias
• Gallipoli
• Istanbul