POSTED: 18 SEPTEMBER 2010

Destination: The Eastern Mediterranean

Ann Rickard cruises Turkey and the Greek Islands in olde-world style

The man was young and good looking. I was not. He had carpets to sell. I had no interest. “Hey you, Jennifer Lopez, come and check out my shop,” he called. What woman could resist responding to such preposterous nonsense?

“You’re good,” I laughed, but quickly continued down the alley in the heart of Kusadasi, avoiding several dozen more carpet sellers beckoning me frantically into their shops for some “carpet education”. As none of them had the enterprise or impudence of the original guy it was easy to refuse them. I’d been caught before by “carpet educators” and found it very difficult to escape without spending many hundreds of dollars.

Kusadasi was our first port of call on a seven-day Greek Island Star Clipper cruise. It was full of tempting shops selling high-end carpets and glittering jewellery, but there were also busy cafes and small boutiques, so we ate and drank and spent a little money, happy to put something small into the local economy.

Once a fishing village, Kusadasi is now a bustling resort town on the Turkish coast and it made for quite a colourful introduction to a line-up of exciting ports-of-call ahead.

After leaving Athens, we’d spent a day at sea, giving us a chance to get to know Star Clipper. In between eating for most of the day — food becomes a priority on board — we’d checked out the library, dipped into the small pool, thought about the water aerobics and made appointments for massages.

In the evening we’d sipped a couple of heady cocktails at the Tropical Bar, listened to Petro tinkling the ivories in the lounge, eaten six courses at dinner and even had a little late-night shuffle on the dance floor.

It’s all very understated on Star Clipper. Neither bingo nor gaudy floor shows have a place here. The laid-back entertainment is provided mostly by the obliging crew and includes daily story telling, deck golf, frog races, quizzes, mini talent quests and, when in port or at anchor, water sports.

Star Clipper is one of three in a fleet of tall ships. The flagship Royal Clipper and the sister ships Star Flyer and Star Clipper sail more than 70 itineraries throughout the Mediterranean during the European summer.

The ships are modern, high-tech recreations of the classic clipper sailing ships of the 19th century. Star Clipper has four masts with 3365 square metres of sail and can carry up to 170 passengers and 70 crew. When the wind is right and the great swathes of canvas are slowly unfurled, it’s a breathtaking spectacle.

But with or without full sail, Star Clipper is a picture of bygone magnificence, and yet she is small enough to glide into ports the giant cruise ships can’t even contemplate.

We enjoy the romance on this intimate cruising experience, where past traditions meld beautifully with modern comforts, although we worry about the obsession with food that assailed us the moment we stepped up the gangplank.

No sooner have we completed a gargantuan breakfast, it’s time for morning.

“Couldn’t eat another thing,” we say and then reach for a pastry. “What time’s lunch?”

Lunch is often themed — Turkish, Greek, Mediterranean — and served on deck. And just in case passengers might feel peckish after six or seven trips to the buffet, at about 3pm out come waffles, ice-cream, cakes and sandwiches.

Dinner is an elegant multi-course affair in the swish dining room where waiters glide amongst the polished brass and plush upholstery. And for those who like to revel on into the wee hours there are midnight snacks to soak up the excess.

The ports over the next seven days are all Greek Island dreams. Mykonos, the riotous party island comes with a side trip across the water to ancient Delos for a touch of ancient history.

At Patmos we declined the excursion to the Monastery of St John and instead wandered the pretty harbour, watching the bobbing fishing boats, and buying postcards and little toy donkeys.

Amorgos is one of the lesser known Greek Islands, unimaginably pretty with its whitewashed houses, picturesque windmills and crystal water.

But our favourite of them all was Tinos, known for attracting Greek pilgrims who will happily crawl on knees from the harbour up to the Church of Pangia on the hill just to touch the Virgin Mary housed there. There was no crawling for us, just an easy stroll to the beautiful church and then a slow wander back down to the port with many stops in the countless colourful shops.

The cruise itinerary is carefully designed to give you plenty of time in port, and excursions are offered at each stop. However, it also allows you to be back on board for — all important — meal times. Local entertainers are brought on board in certain ports and none of us, especially the blokes, will ever forget Niham the belly dancer who gyrated and twisted her body before us until she was almost inside out.

There is something to do on board every hour of the day if that’s what you want, but there is also the option to do nothing at all. Those who are up to it are persuaded to climb the tall masts. And those of us who are not ... well, we just stand on the teak deck and shout encouragement as passengers on shaky legs make the brave climb to stand triumphantly on the crows nest.

The Captain welcomes passengers on the decks near the bridge to watch him and his officers guide the ships around the islands. You can even do a spot of rope pulling and shout “up with the masts” if you want to feel sailor-like.

But my guess is that you won’t want to do much other than soak up the on-board atmosphere and ask yourself if this is for real, or just a Greek Island fantasy.

Disclosure: Ann Rickard was a guest on board Star Clipper.

IF YOU GO

Star Clipper will operate next European summer from Athens, through the Greek Isles and along the Turkish coast. Some lesser-known Greek ports will be introduced, including Monemvasia, a massive walled fortress that once housed an estimated 50,000 Byzantine Greeks. Today, fewer than a hundred people live year-round on the Rock of Monemvasia.

On Star Clipper’s Greek Isles itineraries, there will be late-evening departures from Kusadasi, Mykonos, Rhodes and Hydra allowing guests to spend more fun time ashore.

For reservations contact your travel agent or Star Clippers on 1300 362 599 or visit www.starclippers.com

Kusadasi

Tinos