
21 nightsFrom Heraklion12 ports of call
Scenic Greek Islands with Turkey & Egypt
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines · Balmoral
Overview
A 21-night voyage aboard Balmoral, departing Heraklion on 29 Oct 2026 and arriving in Athens (Piraeus), Greece, calling at 12 destinations along the way.
HeraklionErmoupoliMount AthosThessalonikiMytileneKosRhodesLimassolAlexandria, EgyptMarmarisIstanbulAthens (Piraeus), Greece
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Itinerary
21 nights · 22 ports of call- 1
Day 1 ·Heraklion, CreteEmbark
29 Oct 2026Capital of the ruggedly beautiful Crete, largest of the Greek Islands, whose ancient legends and history dates back 5,000 years to the Minoans, Europe's first civilisation. Here was born Zeus, king of the gods, and here at the site of Knossos was the fabled labyrinth where Theseus slew the Minotaur. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Turks have all left their mark, and more recent monuments to the battles of World War II abound. - 2
Day 2 ·Heraklion, Crete
30 Oct 2026Capital of the ruggedly beautiful Crete, largest of the Greek Islands, whose ancient legends and history dates back 5,000 years to the Minoans, Europe's first civilisation. Here was born Zeus, king of the gods, and here at the site of Knossos was the fabled labyrinth where Theseus slew the Minotaur. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Turks have all left their mark, and more recent monuments to the battles of World War II abound. - 3
Day 3 ·Ermoupoli, Greece
31 Oct 2026Ermoupoli, also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis, is a town and former municipality on the island of Syros, in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Syros-Ermoupoli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. - 4
Day 4 ·Mount Athos
1 Nov 2026 - 5
Day 5 ·Thessaloniki, Greece
2 Nov 2026Thessaloniki is a Greek port city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Evidence of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history remains, especially around Ano Poli, the upper town. The ruins of Roman Emperor Galerius’ 4th-century palace include the Rotunda that has been both a church and a mosque. - 6
Day 6 ·Thessaloniki, Greece
3 Nov 2026Thessaloniki is a Greek port city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Evidence of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history remains, especially around Ano Poli, the upper town. The ruins of Roman Emperor Galerius’ 4th-century palace include the Rotunda that has been both a church and a mosque. - 7
Day 7 ·Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece
4 Nov 2026 - 8
Day 8 ·Kos
5 Nov 2026 - 9
Day 9 ·Rhodes, Greece
6 Nov 2026Largest island of the Dodecanese, Rhodes was the headquarters of the crusader Knights of St John before defeat by the Ottoman Turks. Within the capital's massive citadel walls the medieval Old Town presents a hive of narrow cobbled streets, dominated by the Avenue of the Knights and imposing Palace of the Grand Masters. More modern distractions await in the New Town while nearby is picturesque Lindos, clustered below a hilltop acropolis and Crusader Castle. - 10
Day 10 ·Rhodes, Greece
7 Nov 2026Largest island of the Dodecanese, Rhodes was the headquarters of the crusader Knights of St John before defeat by the Ottoman Turks. Within the capital's massive citadel walls the medieval Old Town presents a hive of narrow cobbled streets, dominated by the Avenue of the Knights and imposing Palace of the Grand Masters. More modern distractions await in the New Town while nearby is picturesque Lindos, clustered below a hilltop acropolis and Crusader Castle. - 11
Day 11 ·Limassol, Cyprus
8 Nov 2026Limassol is the chief port of the Republic of Cyprus. The city lies on Akrotiri Bay, on the southern coast, southwest of Nicosia; it is the island's second largest city and is also its chief tourist centre.
Close by Limassol are the ruins of Kolossi Castle, where King Richard I of Englad is reputed to have honeymooned with Berengaria in 1191. Also worth visiting are the ruins of the 11th-century BC Mycenaean colony of Curium; and the ruins of Amathus, founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC. The ancient city of Paphos - the fourth century BC capital to the Kings of Egypt - offers an enchanting excursion. - 12
Day 12 ·Limassol, Cyprus
9 Nov 2026Limassol is the chief port of the Republic of Cyprus. The city lies on Akrotiri Bay, on the southern coast, southwest of Nicosia; it is the island's second largest city and is also its chief tourist centre.
Close by Limassol are the ruins of Kolossi Castle, where King Richard I of Englad is reputed to have honeymooned with Berengaria in 1191. Also worth visiting are the ruins of the 11th-century BC Mycenaean colony of Curium; and the ruins of Amathus, founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC. The ancient city of Paphos - the fourth century BC capital to the Kings of Egypt - offers an enchanting excursion. - 13
Day 13 ·Limassol, Cyprus
10 Nov 2026Limassol is the chief port of the Republic of Cyprus. The city lies on Akrotiri Bay, on the southern coast, southwest of Nicosia; it is the island's second largest city and is also its chief tourist centre.
Close by Limassol are the ruins of Kolossi Castle, where King Richard I of Englad is reputed to have honeymooned with Berengaria in 1191. Also worth visiting are the ruins of the 11th-century BC Mycenaean colony of Curium; and the ruins of Amathus, founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC. The ancient city of Paphos - the fourth century BC capital to the Kings of Egypt - offers an enchanting excursion. - 14
Day 14 ·At Sea
11 Nov 2026 - 15
Day 15 ·Alexandria, Egypt
12 Nov 2026A Roman amphitheatre, ancient catacombs and the site of the great Pharos lighthouse recall distant glories, while the 19th century Montazah Palace - a former royal residence - and seafront boulevards reflect a more recent era. Alexandria exists in the land that gave birth to the first great civilisation. - 16
Day 16 ·At Sea
13 Nov 2026 - 17
Day 17 ·Marmaris, Turkey
14 Nov 2026'No part of the world can be more beautiful', wrote Freya Stark, 'than the western and southern coasts of Turkey'. In their midst lies the lively resort of Marmaris, whose harbour, old shopping bazaar and 16th century Venetian fortress are framed by an almost land-locked bay of inviting blue.
North-westwards Turkey's legend-filled Aegean Coast, where Antolia's pine-clad mountains drop down to a rocky shoreline punctuated by picture-postcard coves and dazzling beaches. - 18
Day 18 ·At Sea
15 Nov 2026 - 19
Day 19 ·Istanbul, Turkey
16 Nov 2026Built on the shores of two continents and seat of successive Byzantine and Ottoman Empires for 1,500 years, Istanbul (the Constantinople of old) is a chaotic, cosmoplitan collision of East and West, past and present. Among its great wealth of monuments and landmarks are the ethereal Blue Mosque, glittering Topkapi Palace (once home of the sultans), vast Kapali Carsi (the world's largest covered bazaar) and the aromatic Egyptian Spice Market. - 20
Day 20 ·Istanbul, Turkey
17 Nov 2026Built on the shores of two continents and seat of successive Byzantine and Ottoman Empires for 1,500 years, Istanbul (the Constantinople of old) is a chaotic, cosmoplitan collision of East and West, past and present. Among its great wealth of monuments and landmarks are the ethereal Blue Mosque, glittering Topkapi Palace (once home of the sultans), vast Kapali Carsi (the world's largest covered bazaar) and the aromatic Egyptian Spice Market. - 21
Day 21 ·At Sea
18 Nov 2026 - 22
Day 22 ·Piraeus (Athens), GreeceDisembark
19 Nov 2026The port of Piraeus brings you to Athens, one of the great names of antiquity, the city of Plato and Socrates, a cradle of Western civilisation and birthplace of democracy. You can step in to that history on the heights of the Acropolis with its glorious 2,500-years-old Parthenon dating from the Golden Age of Classical Greece. Below, in the heart of the city lies the ancient Plaka District's honeycomb of streets, little shops - and tavernas that come alive at night with the pulse of bouzouki.
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