Overall the weather was terrific. Our two days in Athens were cold and rainy, which was unusual for October. The rain cleared on Friday morning, so we viewed the Parthenon under a glorious blue sky. The temperature remained cool, however, with a strong wind. Coats were necessary, despite the sunshine. The next day, when we visited Mykonos, the sun was out, but the temperature remained cool, and the wind was strong enough to kick up waves on the Mediterranean. The water was very choppy going over to Delos from Mykonos harbour. The tender pitched all the way over and back.

On our second day out we berthed at Kusadasi, our entry port for Militus, Didyma and Ephesus. Our guide told us that the day before the seas had been so choppy that the cruise ships were unable to dock. This also happened at Katakolon and Messina. Each time we had no problem docking, for which I am very happy. I would have been disappointed to have missed a destination due to bad weather.

On our way from Crete to Katakolon we sailed into a storm, complete with a fog bank, rough seas and thunder and lightening. We had warning something was up the evening before. The seas were very high, with enough rocking that people were hugging the walls to keep their footing at the end of the late dinner sitting. I stood for a while on Deck Three watching the waves, and it was like seeing large breakers curling then crashing onto a beach.

We met some people at the Rome airport who had been on a small cruise of 90 people. They went through the Straits of Messina the day before we did and the sea was so rough they had to turn back and dock in Messina. We had clouds, but again, no sailing problems.

The temperature, except for the first few days, was in the 80s, with beautiful sunshine on most days. The Aegean islands were quite dry, so the heat was easy to handle, but once we sailed around the Peloponnese, humidity crept in, so the days seemed hotter. It was great!