Greece: Sail & Swim

Traveler Reviews

• A

  anonymous

  July 23rd, 2019
  1.0
  On my TopDeck tour,​ we were manipulated and were given false information in order to keep us on the tour without...
  On my TopDeck tour,​ we were manipulated and were given false information in order to keep us on the tour without giving us the option for a refund. Our tour was completely different from what was advertised and there was no communication from our tour leader. The tour is completely different from what was advertised. It was advertised as a 'sailing trip' and we were never given the option to sail. We were not given the option of a refund; knowing what the trip would be like, after the false advertising, I would never have booked with Topdeck. We were told we 'might get to sail,' though all the ferry tickets for the whole week were booked at the beginning of the trip, and we were not informed of this fundamental change until the end of our trip.​ We also missed out on two islands.Show more
  Traveled in June 2019
• 

  AlisonChapman

  June 18th, 2018
  3.0
  I went on the Greek Island Chaser tour in May 2018. This is going to be a bit long, but its worth a read. In all...
  I went on the Greek Island Chaser tour in May 2018. This is going to be a bit long, but its worth a read. In all honesty, it was an incredible week. Everyone on the tour made it a week I'll never forgot and the destinations were stunning. However, there were a few things that made the week a little challenging and disappointing at times. To start, a lot of which is mentioned in the inclusions, weren't included. The cabins weren't air conditioned, and were so small and stuffy that most of us ended up sleeping on the top deck on the day beds (which was actually really nice and probably would have done anyway.) It says you can book a twin, triple or quad share, but this wasn't the case. I booked a twin, but got put in a quad share with two other girls. Everyone else had the same experience, they just put us where ever. We had an ensuite, but the room slowly flooded over the week, ending up with an inch of water (from I don't want to know where) covering the floor. The crew was well aware that was there but didn't do anything. Very gross for us. We just needed up using others cabin bathrooms. Furthermore, you couldn't flush anything down the loo because the plumbing system couldn't process it. Far enough. However, we had to put any toilet paper or other things in a sanitary bin that we were told would be clean out every morning. Was for a bit but by the end of the week, it hadn't been cleared out and was very very full. We didn't get 1 litre of water with breakfast, we had to pay every time (heads up, you have to pay for all water in Greece, watch that when you go to a cafe or restaurant) There was a lot of confusion whether you could BYO alcohol. Someone on the tour had called TopDeck before hand to check and they said it was fine. It seemed the Captain was less happy to. They sold drinks on the boat and I think they wanted us to buy these rather than bring our own. These were just cheap quality drinks at high prices and no one was really keen to do that obviously. In the end they let us, but said they wouldn't let the next group? Very confused. Food was pretty good. Lunches were pretty nice, usually meat dishes with fresh salads wot go with it. Breakfasts were a bit weird but still ok. It was just a random assortment of food, plates of cucumber, flat bread, feta, tomato, sliced cheese, ham and jams. They had cordial, but I think they thought it was juice and instant coffee. There was only just enough for all of us too. A lot of mornings because we were in port, we would just get coffee and breakfast somewhere else. When we got into each island or port at around 3-4pm, our guide would let us wander around a bit then give us a short walking tour, usually an hour and take us to dinner. We never had a lot of time in each place and we didn't see any historical or archeaological sites till we got back to Athens. Most of the towns were fairly small and didn't have much to see other than the town themselves (still gorgeous though! Especially Hydra!) When we went out for dinner, some of the places we agreed were a little expensive for a bunch of people on a budget and it wasn't always Greek cuisine. Some nights, we wandered off after the tour to go find 2 euro gyros somewhere else instead of a 15 to 20 euro restaurant meal. Just as good! The itinerary mentions the optional trip down the cape for lunch and to the temple of Poseidon. I had changed around my travel plans to go on that extra trip. Doesn't exist! There was no mention of it whatsoever on the tour and we promptly had to get off at exactly 9:30am on the final day so they could (finally) clean the boat for the next tour. The boat definitely had its quirks. A lot of mornings, something would be broken or something wrong that would delay our departure from port, like a broken GPS or broken pipe.There was one day where we didn't leave till midday which really put us behind. Also, its a sailing boat, but we never used the sails once? Apparently, we were the first tour of the season with a different tour supplier and our TopDeck rep admitted that they were definitely going to be making some changes. We, unfortunately, we the guinea pigs, so in the end, we all learnt to just go with whatever happened. Roll with the punches. Everyone on the tour was really good humoured so we'd just laugh about whatever the next problem was. I made really great friends on this tour. We had fantastic nights out and made memories that would last a life time. Where all still in touch! Other than that, the little towns and ports we went to were stunning and the swimming spots even more so. I loved diving and swimming along the coastlines of our swim spots, seeing beautiful fish and underwater environments. Diving off the boat was so much fun. Reading books and sleeping in the sun on daybeds with the ocean breeze was incredibly relaxing. Despite its flaws, I still had a fantastic time.Show more
  Traveled in May 2018