A most interesting vacation aboard the Celebrity Constellation - visiting ancient and modern sights in and around Greece. Had a glimpse into 4 countries I had not previously visited. Overall this was an experience I loved. We did a couple of days in Athens before the cruise and a day in Venice at the end. Unique bit - take a boat (actually a vaporetto) to the airport!
The ship, launched in 2003, was showing its age somewhat, but it is scheduled for a renovation/uplift in the next year or two. While it was not as sparkly as the newer Celebrity ships, it did not impact our pleasure in the cruise. Onboard offered a nice selection of events, shows, casino, art and shopping. Food was pretty good and drinks always flowing. Our party had two special diet members (gluten-free and vegetarian) who were offered special menus guaranteed to meet their needs.
Shore stops and excursions met our expectations - we did expect that many of the spots would be pretty thick with tourists. Of the 7 possible stops, we booked 3 excursions, toured 3 with self-guided walking tours, and stayed on board for 1. Excursions were well run and the guides mostly pretty great. Where we had changes in docking, the cruise line arranged for free shuttle transportation to the original location.
Stops were at
Santorini (beautiful, steep climbs, narrow streets, many tourists),
Ephesus (fascinating, fair bit of walking but not steep, fun shopping at the end, wish the ruins tour could have included the Temple of Artemis)
Rhodes (steeped in history, loved the architecture, self-guided here)
Mykantos (they don't call it the Isle of Winds for nothing! another self-guided tour much enjoyed)
Zakynthos (famed for beaches, but we stayed on board this time)
Kotor (Our Lady of the Rocks was a fascinating story, incredibly steep cliffs surrounding the harbor, cafe with chairs just inches from the edge of the seawall was so characteristic European, beautiful baroque architecture)
Zadar (we went self-guided again here, walked the walls of the old city, greatly enjoyed the Archeological Museum)