September 9 • USA

 

September 10 • ATHENS, GREECE

 

September 11 • ATHENS | PIRAEUS | EMBARK

 

September 12 • AMORGOS

 

September 13 • DIAFANI | OLYMPOS | DIAFANI, KARPATHOS | SYMI

 

September 14 • CHIOS

 

September 15 • SAMOTHRAKI

 

September 16 • PLATAMONAS | VERGINA | DION | PLATAMONAS

 

September 17 • VOLOS | PELION | VOLOS

 

September 18 • LIMNOS

 

September 19 • ISTANBUL, TURKEY | DISEMBARK | USA

View Deck Plan

Corinthian II

Our ships are known for their effortless elegance, bespoke service and atmosphere of charm and camaraderie.

SPACIOUS SUITES
The deluxe Corinthian II is an all-suite yacht accommodating up to 114 guests. Built in 1992 and refurbished and redecorated in 2005, it has 57 suites, each with:

• Sea view
• Queen-sized bed separable into two twin-sized beds
• Sitting area 
• Satellite TV, DVD/CD player
• Telephone
• Mini-refrigerator
• Marble-appointed bathroom with fine toiletries
• 225 square feet or more
• Plush terry robes and slippers
• Fresh flowers and fruit basket
• 24-hour room service

The Penthouse Suites and Veranda Suites (400 and 300 square feet, respectively) feature private balconies accessed via sliding-glass doors, as well as white glove butler service.

FINE DINING
Corinthian II’s superb Continental cuisine is created by master chefs who select fresh local ingredients at many ports of call. Meals are served either in the stately restaurant or al fresco on the umbrella-studded sun deck. Fine regional wines are complimentary with lunch and dinner, and beginning in 2008 open bar service will be available throughout the day.

BESPOKE SMALL-SHIP AMENITIES
Returning from excursions, guests enjoy complimentary refreshments, afternoon tea and all-day coffee in The Club, a gracious space for relaxation, surrounded by panoramic windows. Before or after dinner, cocktails are served to live music performed by the ship’s pianist.

Other Corinthian II features include:

• Library with Internet access
• Lounge with audiovisual facilities
• Dining room
• Wraparound sun deck with Jacuzzi
• Exercise Room
• Beauty salon
• Medical facilities with available doctor
• Elevator serving all passenger decks
• Swimming platform

 

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: A limited number of cabins have been designated for single travelers in Categories D - A at a supplement of $2,795 to the per person, double occupancy rates. Singles in Categories AA - PHS are available at double the per person, double occupancy rates.

• 1-night stay in Athens at the Athens Plaza Hotel, with welcome cocktail reception and breakfast

• 8-night cruise aboard the all-suite, 114-guest Corinthian II

• Welcome and farewell cocktail receptions aboard ship

• All meals aboard ship, including house wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner

• Open bar aboard ship throughout the cruise

• Complete program of tours and excursions

• Educational program of lectures and discussions by accompanying guest lecturers

• Professional Travel Dynamics International tour staff

• Complete pre-departure materials

• Baggage handling and transfers abroad on the designated program departure and arrival dates

• Port and embarkation taxes

• Gratuities to porters, guides and drivers

Fly from the U.S. to Athens, Greece.

 

Arrive in Athens and transfer to the Athens Plaza Hotel. Enjoy an evening cocktail reception at the hotel.

 

The birthplace of Western culture and one of the world’s most venerable cities, Athens boasts a plethora of historic monuments. In the morning, tour the Acropolis, including the Erechtheion and the majestic Parthenon, one of the world’s most perfect structures. After lunch at a taverna, continue to the National Archaeological Museum or, alternatively, travel northeast of Athens to visit Brauron’s graceful Sanctuary of Artemis and the Kerameikos, the main cemetery of ancient Athens, before transferring to the port to embark on Corinthian II.

 

Arrive this morning at Amorgos, a seldom visited island in the Cyclades group whose whitewashed villages are set in a rugged landscape. A tour leads to the 11th-century Monastery of Khosoviotissa, built in a spectacular setting of precipitous cliffs facing the sea. For over 1,000 years the monastery has been a place of pilgrimage for worshippers, who come to venerate an icon of the Virgin.

 

Diafani is a small fishing village on the northern spur of herb-scented Karpathos island. Explore Olympos, one of the most unspoiled villages in the Aegean, built on a ridge below a mountain whose side is studded with windmills. In the afternoon, sail to Symi, once the stronghold of the Knights of St. John and the coveted object of a succession of invaders. With tiers of beautifully proportioned neoclassical mansions rising above its harbor, today Symi is one of Greece’s most attractive islands.

 

Awake this morning in Chios, a Greek island lying only five miles from the Turkish coast, claiming to be Homer’s birthplace. The island’s volcanic rock formations and deep green valleys forge a landscape of stunning color oppositions and intricate appearances. Visit the 11th-century Monastery of Nea Moni, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important ecclesiastical centers in Greece. The Monastery sits majestically in a wooded vale and is decorated throughout with exquisite frescoes and mosaics.

 

An island of great beauty, remote Samothraki remains outside most tourist itineraries and, for this reason, has retained its original character. Samothraki’s central massif rises to the great peak of Mount Fengari. According to Homer, it was from this peak that Poseidon watched the fighting during the Trojan War. Explore the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, an ancient place of worship where Mysteries were held. The Winged Victory, now in the Louvre, was discovered here in 1863, and subsequent excavations have revealed the Hieron, or Sanctuary; Anaktoron, which served as a hall of initiation into the mysteries; Temonos; and the Rotunda. Also visit the island’s main town, where whitewashed homes sit beneath the hills of Mount Fengari and the ruins of a Byzantine fort.

 

From bucolic Platamonas on the Greek mainland coast of Thessaly, take an excursion to Vergina, the site of Aigoci, the capital of the ancient Macedonian kingdom. Visit the excavations, including the tombs of Philip II (Alexander the Great’s father), and note the Macedonian burial mounds that dot the plain. Also tour the Archaeological Museum, displaying many of the treasures recovered from the tombs. After lunch at a local restaurant, explore Dion, an ancient site set in a superb location on the foothills of Mount Olympus, dedicated to Zeus.

 

Call at Volos, a port city at the head of spacious Pagasitic Gulf, and spend the day exploring the mountainous country of Pelion, one of the most alluring regions of Greece. The mythological home of Centaurs—wild half-man, half-horse creatures—Pelion is dotted with picturesque villages and set amidst lush vegetation. Visit several of the villages, including Portaria, with its running streams and glorious main square; Makrynitsa, whose imposing old stone mansions are built on the slopes of the mountain; and Zagora, with its church of St. George containing 18th-century art.

 

Arrive in bucolic Limnos, in the northeast corner of the Aegean Sea. Its capital and port, Myrina, is built below a rocky promontory, crowned by a Byzantine castle, and is graced with stone houses. Ascend to the castle, which was the site of a temple of Artemis in Classical times, and view the superb artifacts at the Archaeological Museum. Also, explore two of Limnos’ ancient sites, Hephaestia and Kabirion, both beautifully sited on the shores of a bay.

 

Disembark and transfer to the Istanbul airport for return flights to the U.S.