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Compare Greek Isles sailings by cruise line, ship, departure date, port, and price.
Tracking 456 Greek Isles sailings · live price updatesPhoto by SOURAV BHADRA on Unsplash
The Greek Isles run on a real season. The market opens in March, builds through summer, and all but closes for winter, when island businesses shutter and only scattered repositioning runs sail. Timing decides the trip: high summer brings the warmest sea alongside 90s-degree afternoons and the meltemi wind, while the months either side keep the islands fully open with gentler heat and thinner crowds. Fares here are priced from real Eastern Mediterranean sailings. Greek itineraries lead that market, with Turkey and Adriatic calls in the mix. Climate is measured at Piraeus, so the open Aegean runs a touch cooler and windier.
PRICED FROM 275 REAL SAILINGS
Sail in October — the season's best weather-for-money window, 21% below August.
The Greek Isles run on a real season: the market opens in March, builds to a late-summer peak, and winds down in November. Winter is a handful of repositioning runs. These fares are the Eastern Mediterranean market: Greek itineraries are the bulk of the 275 sailings priced here, with Turkey and Adriatic calls in the mix. The value pick is October at $174 per person per night, 21% below August. The islands are fully open, and you get neither 94°F afternoons nor the meltemi at full blow. One decoding note. When a spring month out-prices midsummer here, that's composition: late spring skews premium and small-ship, so the median tracks who's sailing as much as the weather. Climate throughout is measured at Piraeus; the open Aegean runs cooler and windier.
CruiseCaptain — median 'from' fares, real upcoming Eastern Mediterranean sailings
Every dot below is a real Eastern Mediterranean sailing, coloured by cabin type, with a median line for each. The whole season side by side, which no cruise line will show you.
309 sailings across 12 cruise lines and 25 ships · dots show a 287-sailing sample · as of Aug 24, 2026
Select a month to pin its column — the spotlight below follows.
Higher score, deeper bar — a better all-round month on price, weather & crowds. – means too few tracked sailings to score; greyed months are out of season.
spring opener
green hillsides, wildflowers
Spring proper. 70°F, 1.2" of rain, and the islands opening up under green hillsides and wildflowers. Greek Orthodox Easter often lands in April, worth planning around: candlelit processions and feast days, but packed domestic travel. 19 sailings at $141 a night.
Limited choice; excluded from the verdict.
$141/night median
19 sailings
warm & open
turtles arrive to nest
Everything is open, it's 80°F, and the sea is warming toward swimmable. Watch the composition, though: late spring skews premium and small-ship, so May's median of $182 a night across 27 sailings can print high without the weather costing more. Loggerheads begin nesting on Zakynthos late in the month.
$182/night median
27 sailings
early-summer prime
turtle nesting peaks
Early summer at its best: 89°F but bone-dry (0.3"), the year's longest days at 14.6 hours, and the meltemi not yet at full strength. Turtle nesting peaks on the protected beaches. 27 sailings at $190 a night, before the school-holiday surge.
$190/night median
27 sailings
hot, windy, busy
meltemi at full blow
Hot. 94°F afternoons, a fierce sun, and the meltemi blowing hardest through the central Aegean. Grand for sailing photos, occasionally sporty for tenders and ferries. 29 sailings at $211 a night. Do the ruins at 8 am and swim at 5 pm.
$211/night median
29 sailings
peak heat & crowds
meltemi peak, hatchlings emerge
The squeeze: 94°F, peak meltemi, and the August 15 holiday filling the islands with Greek travellers on top of a thick cruise schedule. 33 sailings at $220 a night. The compensation is real: the year's warmest sea, and loggerhead hatchlings emerging on the protected beaches.
$220/night median
33 sailings
the sweet spot
sea near its warmest, hatchlings
The month the season was building to. The sea holds its summer warmth, the meltemi fades week by week, crowds thin once schools resume, and 86°F is heat without punishment. 47 sailings at $193 a night. If the year has one best trade, this is it.
$193/night median
47 sailings
warm-sea quiet
last hatchlings, calm returns
Warm-sea quiet: 76°F days, water still holding summer heat, and ports breathing again. Rain ticks up (1.5") and daylight shortens to 11 hours, so plan mornings. 53 sailings at $174 a night, with the last turtle hatchlings leaving the beaches.
$174/night median
53 sailings
season winds down
rain returns, islands close
The season winds down: 66°F, the year's first real rain (2.9"), and 21 sailings at $130 as lines reposition out. Seasonal island businesses start closing and daylight drops near ten hours. The mainland sites stay excellent. The beach season is over.
$130/night median
21 sailings
off season
wettest month
Winter. The wettest month brings 3.4" of rain at 58°F, with 19 departures at $122, mostly one-off repositioning and holiday Med loops. Athens rewards the cold-weather sightseer; the Cyclades are closed for the year.
Limited choice; excluded from the verdict.
$122/night median
19 sailings
At 38°N the seasons show: June gives you fourteen and a half hours of light for a long port day, December under nine and a half. By late October an afternoon sail-away happens near dusk. At the season's edges, book excursions for the morning.
≈9.4 h · December to ≈14.6 h · June
14 hours a day in July
NASA POWER climatology (all-sky vs clear-sky shortwave; bright-sun via Angstrom-Prescott)
August, if your plan is ruins at noon: 94°F afternoons, the meltemi at full strength, and the August 15 holiday layering Greek travellers onto peak cruise crowds. It's a knowing trade. The sea is at its warmest, and early-morning port calls still work. The month that actually breaks plans is further out: from November the schedule thins fast and seasonal island businesses close, so a late-autumn sailing is a mainland-sights trip, not a beach one.
The Aegean's open secret is thermal lag: the water warms all summer and holds it, so an October swim is about as warm as one in June. By then the meltemi has faded, the marquee ports have exhaled, and shoulder fares apply. Pack a layer for evenings, because the air cools faster than the sea. You get August's best feature without its crowds.
On the eastern side, in the Greek Isles, it's October: $174 per person per night, 21% below August, with the season in full swing and none of the July–August squeeze. The broader Mediterranean follows the same shape: the months either side of peak summer beat it on weather and price at once.
Usually not. The meltemi, the wind that churns the Aegean, peaks in July and August and has largely died down by October. Autumn brings occasional rain-bearing fronts instead, so a bumpy day is possible, but a cruise ship rides them easily; it's tender and ferry schedules that feel weather first.
For a first look, yes. One unpacking covers four to six islands that would otherwise mean ferry logistics and hotel hops. The honest trade: you get hours per island, not days, and marquee calls like Santorini are busiest exactly when ships are in. Devotees of one island should stay on it; samplers should cruise.
November, at a median of $130 per person per night across 21 sailings, which is 41% below August. The trade is season-edge weather and a thinner schedule. For low fares with the islands fully open, October is the pick at $174, 21% under August. Fares are priced from Eastern Mediterranean sailings, a market Greek itineraries lead.
None are dangerous. The Aegean has no hurricane season. July and August are hot work: 94°F afternoons, the meltemi at full strength, and peak crowds, manageable with early starts. December through February barely sail, leaving a scattering of repositioning departures while island Greece is largely closed. For the full experience, sail April through October.
At current median 'from' fares, roughly $1,218 in October and about $1,539 in August. For a balcony, figure $1,197 to $1,830. Taxes and fees vary by line. The medians are computed across Eastern Mediterranean sailings, a market Greek itineraries dominate.
It's arguably the best: the sea is still at its summer warmest, the meltemi fades, 86°F days replace August's 94°F, and crowds thin once schools resume. Turtle hatchlings are still leaving the beaches of Zakynthos and Crete. Book the middle weeks for the calmest, warmest water of the year.
March through November, effectively. Across 275 tracked sailings the schedule opens with spring repositionings, peaks around October, and winds down as lines leave for winter waters; December to February offer only scattered departures. The islands' own tourist season matches. Many beach-town businesses close from November to April.
Where the ships go
4 itineraries with multiple Greek Isles ports.
7 Night Greek Isles & Italy Cruise
Athens (Piraeus), Greece, Barcelona, Ephesus, Mykonos + 2 more · 7 nights
from $909
$129 / night
Italy, Greece, Turkey
Athens (Piraeus), Greece, Civitavecchia, Rome, Heraklion, Istanbul + 2 more · 7 nights
from $942
$134 / night
Every departure, priced
Prices per person · incl. taxes & fees.
Lowest per-night among the least expensive fares — 7 nights on MSC Lirica at $63/night per person.Showing 456 Greek Isles cruises
Open in full search| View | Ship image | Cruise line | Line / Ship | Departs | Nights | From |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Orchestra | Jan 6, 2027 | 3 |
from $225 $75 / night |
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Royal Caribbean | Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas | Aug 27, 2027 | 7 |
from $748 $106 / night |
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Celestyal Cruises | Celestyal Cruises Celestyal Journey | Mar 6, 2027 | 7 |
from $839 $119 / night |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Pacifica | Apr 23, 2027 | 7 |
from $940 $134 / night |
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Celebrity Cruises | Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Infinity | Mar 22, 2027 | 11 |
from $998 $90 / night |
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Princess Cruises | Princess Cruises Enchanted Princess | Aug 7, 2027 | 7 |
from $1,064 $152 / night |
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Cunard | Cunard Queen Elizabeth | May 14, 2027 | 7 |
from $1,119 $159 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Divina | Apr 23, 2027 | 3 |
from $359 $119 / night |
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Royal Caribbean | Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas | Sep 10, 2027 | 7 |
from $788 $112 / night |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Pacifica | Apr 2, 2028 | 7 |
from $942 $134 / night |
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Celebrity Cruises | Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Infinity | Apr 2, 2027 | 10 |
from $1,048 $104 / night |
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Princess Cruises | Princess Cruises Sun Princess | Sep 12, 2027 | 7 |
from $1,162 $166 / night |
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Cunard | Cunard Queen Victoria | Sep 28, 2026 | 7 |
from $1,179 $168 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Lirica | Jan 30, 2027 | 7 |
from $443 $63 / night |
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Royal Caribbean | Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas | Jun 18, 2027 | 7 |
from $869 $124 / night |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Pacifica | Apr 30, 2027 | 7 |
from $990 $141 / night |
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Princess Cruises | Princess Cruises Sun Princess | Oct 3, 2027 | 7 |
from $1,211 $173 / night |
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MSC Cruises | MSC Cruises MSC Orchestra | Jan 4, 2027 | 5 |
from $444 $88 / night |
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Royal Caribbean | Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas | Nov 5, 2027 | 8 |
from $883 $110 / night |
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Costa Cruises | Costa Cruises Costa Pacifica | Apr 9, 2027 | 9 |
from $1,090 $121 / night |
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