Unexplored Greece Cruise from Athens; Round-Trip 7nts

Board in the early afternoon and sail the short distance to Cape Sounion, where the Temple of Poseidon stands on the headland. Sunset cocktails and a welcome dinner are served al fresco beneath it before the overnight run to Ikaria.

The morning stop is at Seychelles Beach, reachable in practice only by boat, where white pebbles show through very clear water. A barbecue lunch is served on deck before the ship docks at Ikaria's port. The island is one of the world's blue zones and the afternoon can be spent on its thermal springs, its mountain villages or one of the village festivals.

The included half-day tour covers the two UNESCO sites, the Grotto of the Apocalypse and the Monastery of St John, and the medieval streets of Chora. In the afternoon the ship crosses to Lipsi with a swim stop among the islets on the way, and there is an on-board tasting of the island's Aposperitis red. Evening at leisure around the harbour.

A swim stop breaks up the early sail to Kalymnos, the sponge divers' island and now a magnet for climbers and walkers. An optional tour goes out to meet the families still harvesting and processing sponges. The afternoon is free for a hike or for the Esperidon fjord. Overnight in the port.

The ship crosses back into the Cyclades with a swim stop and barbecue lunch at Egiali. Amorgos is the island of Luc Besson's The Big Blue and it has kept its own pace. The afternoon is spent with locals learning how Psimeni Raki is made, and the evening is free for the medieval capital 400 metres above the sea.

An early guided walk takes you up to Chozoviotissa, the monastery set inside the cliff, where the monks' cells are open and a glass of Psimeni Raki comes with the view. Back on board there is a short sail to Koufonisia for swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding into the sea caves, then a scenic cruise past Schinoussa to Iraklia for the night.

Serifos is Cycladic in the way the postcards promise, all hard light and white chapels, and an optional guided walk explores its Chora. Lunch ashore, then the ship turns for home in the early afternoon and a farewell dinner is served on the way.

Breakfast on board, then disembark at Marina Zeas between 8.30am and 9.00am.