Overall Review: Sailing the Greek Islands on The Swan Hellenic Diana Bryce Sanders
OVERALL RATING: 10/10
We recently had the opportunity to sail from Athens, Greece to Istanbul, Turkey on Swan Hellenic’s newest ship, the SH Diana.This is ultra luxury cruising, not mass-market cruising. The ship is about 12,000 tons and carries 192 passengers served by 140 crew. The ship is primarily designed for expedition cruises to the Arctic and Antarctic; however it also sails to other parts of the world. Background: On our voyage, there were about 70 passengers and 120 crew. This meant the passenger/crew ratio was very low. In addition, about half the passengers were on a tour organized by their college alumni association, with separate events organized by the staff they brought along. This meant there were 30+ regular passengers, a very intimate group. The group was culturally diverse. I am guessing there were about 8 Americans, 4 Swiss, 2 from Spain, 3 from Finland, 2 from Australia, 2 from Canada and one from the UK. Fluency in English was the only barrier to making friends with everyone.The atmosphere was very relaxed.I cannot recall anyone with attitude.
Our cruise started in Athens and stopped at a port a day for ten days, finishing in Istanbul. Most ports were in Greece and two were in Turkey.
Boarding and Disembarking
10
Swan Hellenic provides one hotel night pre-cruise plus transfers. A man with a sign was waiting at the airport, put us into a car and drove to our hotel in Athens. Swan Hellenic has a customer desk in the lobby. The next day our luggage was collected, loaded onto a bus and we were driven to the ship. At this point our luggage was tagged and taken to our cabins. Disembarkation on the last morning was simply walking off the ship into an empty Customs hall, getting our passports stamped, collecting our luggage and finding a taxi.
Health
10
In my opinion, Swan Hellenic takes this more seriously than any other cruise line. This is probably because their trips to the polar regions take you to remote places. They have a Health Declaration Form you must complete in advance. If you have any existing conditions like high blood pressure, there is a form your doctor needs to complete! They want this in their hands in advance. They have another simplified health form to be completed and submitted upon arrival. They recommend having health insurance that covers you outside the US.
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