Taking in Mykonos, Santorini, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast, island-hopping from Athens through the blue Aegean and up the Italian coast to Rome has an almost mythological air – especially when sailing through the warm water on a ship as luxurious as the Regent Seven Seas Explorer. From good food to sun-mottled surroundings, Aphrodite herself would be impressed by the elegance of a holiday like this.

The words come to me like a half-remembered dream as I look out from my suite’s large balcony at the golden disk of the sun slowly sinking below the rippling waves. “The thing about the Greek islands is you forget everything,” my driver, Maria Chastoupi, said as he took me to board the Regent Seven Seas Explorer. 

I’m okay not remembering everything I was doing in Athens before boarding the ship. There’s no chance it could be as interesting as the 10-day voyage to come – through the Aegean and Ionian Seas and a sunset transit between rocky Sicily and Italy across the Strait of Messina, before sailing up past areas including the Amalfi Coast to Rome. 

But how could one forget the rocky islands we visit, dotted with white stucco houses hugging almost sheer cliffs above water as brilliant blue as a lapis lazuli? Or the splendour of the ship itself, with nearly 500 crystal chandeliers, more than 2,500 ornate pieces of art –including original Picassos and Chagalls – Versace place settings in the Compass Rose restaurant, and each of the 375 cabins (across 13 decks) being spacious suites with huge balconies, walk-in closets and Italian Carrera marble and stone-detailed bathrooms?

Elevated elegance – the kind that comes only from sailing on a lavish ship in the European summer – hangs in the very air itself as we hop between islands at a leisurely pace. The blue water is so smooth it’s glass-like; Poseidon must be in a good mood. Even on a small vessel like the Explorer – with capacity for only about 750 passengers and almost an equal number of staff –the ship’s movement is only rarely felt. And when it is, it’s only a gentle rolling that rocks you like a lullaby.

But like Odysseus on his journey home across the sea, the number of delightful diversions – be they aboard the ship or onshore excursions – add up. With beautiful moments as constant as the bright, warm sunshine that beams overhead, recalling every detail becomes increasingly challenging as the days slide by.

Some moments are small, like enjoying the savoury taste of avocado and crab at the Compass Rose on deck. Others are decidedly larger – like exploring the remains of columned temples and houses, and petting the many friendly resident cats wandering among the millennia-old ancient Greek ruins on the island of Delos, about a 30-minute ride on a local ferry from the centre of Mykonos, which we visit on day two of the voyage.

What’s not difficult is remembering the people encountered. Nazli Deniz runs a café in Caferli, a village filled with green fruit trees and orchards amid rolling hills a few kilometres inland from the ancient port of Kuşadası on Türkiye’s west coast, which we docked at on day three.

Deniz’s café is in a cute wooden house with a panoramic view of the orchards. Though mostly green vines, there are plenty of pink, yellow, orange, and blue flowers in vivid hues. Deniz employs local village women, with the money earned going back into the community. Amid a traditional Turkish breakfast which, among other things, includes “Turkish cheese rolls” (flatbreads wrapped around cheese and fried in olive oil), she says the return of cruise ships post-Covid has been a lifesaver for the local community’s economy. 

“For two years, everyone was jobless in the village,” she explains. “We never realised how important the ships are to the economy.”

Over the course of the trip, I also make friends with fellow passengers. There’s a young couple from Singapore. Another couple is from the Cotswolds in the UK – and by the end of the voyage they’ve invited me to visit their English estate.

A hot stones massage treatment onboard also proves memorable. One of many options available from the extensive spa menu, I emerge from it feeling revitalised and supple enough to swim to Rome. 

Memorable, too, are daily trips to the library on deck 11. Much like the rest of the ship, its opulence cannot be overstated: with dark wood shelving, tile floors, golden chandeliers and ample, eye-catching sculptures, it is among the most beautiful libraries I’ve seen anywhere – and not just at sea.

Then there are the excursions that are offered at every port we visit. Some are cultural, like a local-led tour through the winding streets of Mykonos, with plenty of time for checking out its famed windmills and boutique shopping.

Others are proper adventures, with a feel almost like an Indiana Jones movie. This is especially true of my favourite excursion, which comes in Naples, Italy, towards the end of the voyage.

I accompany local guide Assunta more than 25 metres beneath the streets. Together, we wind our way through a maze-like series of tunnels known as the Bourbon Gallery. Carved from a type of volcanic stone called tuff, the underground labyrinth was used for shelter during World War II, but today is open for tours thanks to the work of volunteers.

The chilly air in the tunnels is utterly still. Every footstep echoes loudly throughout the chambers. Some have ceilings so high it’s impossible to see them. Still others have large pools of water. One room is even filled with old cars and motorcycles, which Assunta explains were dumped in the latter half of the 20^th century.

After onshore activities end, it’s possible to wander back to the ship on your own. I take full advantage of this in sunny Santorini on day six, exploring the narrow, terraced streets and taking a cable car down the face of the volcanic caldera the village of Fira is built on. Reaching the docks, a ferry is waiting to bring me to the anchored Explorer.

That evening, I watch the waves from my suite’s balcony. As the stars come out and the sea shimmers and sparkles, the memories seem too vivid to fade into myth. 

rssc.com.