The Most Beautiful Greek Isles

(250 Reviews)
99% Recommended

Ann Castagna Morin

Southampton, MA

Luxury River Cruise & European travel specialist

I have had a sense of wanderlust since I was a child, always yearning to go off and explore the world.

I will take my own personal passion for travel and use it to craft an extraordinary luxury experience for you.

Europe is my specia...

I have had a sense of wanderlust since I was a child, always yearning to go off and explore the world.

I will take my own personal passion for travel and use it to craft an extraordinary luxury experience for you.

Europe is my specialty, I have dual citizenship holding both Italian and US passports. I have personally traveled to more than 3/4 of the countries in Europe and have visited Italy over 40 times.

The first-hand knowledge I gain from my own adventures I will utilize to create your inspiring journey.

I work with many tour providers, whether you wish a private custom excursion, a rail package with a local concierge in each city, or a group tour, I not only can arrange it, I have personally experienced the product.

As much as I enjoy land tours, I have become enamored with luxury river cruises and small ship/yacht cruising.

After my first glide down the Danube I was hooked!

I have sailed 20 different small ship itineraries in both Europe and Asia and have two more currently booked. I make it a point to cruise at least once a year so that I can keep up with new ships, and offerings.

It is one thing to read about a product, to fully understand all the nuances of a journey, and how it will fit their client's personality, one needs to experience it first-hand, and more than once!

On a river cruise luxury abounds with high end bath products, indulgent linens, and extraordinary service all along your journey. River cruising is such a delightful experience, similar to staying in a high-end boutique hotel, except that it travels along with you.

No detail is overlooked for your comfort, but you can leave your fancy clothes at home, I call it "laid-back luxury".

A small ship/yacht cruise on Ponant, Scenic, Windstar, Azamara or Seabourn is a journey filled with pure indulgence. These small ships can visit ports the large vessels must bypass and are able to stay late into the evening. With guest capacity ranging from 189-700 there are no crowds or lines like the large ocean vessels.

Wading through all of the choices in ships and itineraries can be overwhelming.       I will answer all your questions and show you photos and videos from my own journeys to narrow down the perfect cruise for you.

As one of the top selling Key Partners in the world for both Globus Tours and Avalon Waterways I have the unparalleled experience and skills to ask the right questions to match you up with the perfect itinerary for your interests and budget.

I look forward to working with you!

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Ann Castagna Morin

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Santorini Greece

     I was so excited when restrictions for Europe were lifted, I have been going through major travel withdrawals!

     My first European adventure was going to be on a line I have never tried before, Ponant. This is a French flagged company that many Americans have never heard of, all that mattered to me was they were a small ship and sailing so I signed up!

     For myself, when it comes to travel smaller is always bigger, I like boutique hotels, small group or private tours and intimate ships.  My vessel for Ponant held 198 people at full capacity, I was very excited for my first experience in yacht cruising!

  What an impressive vessel! 

     The ship was much larger than I expected for a yacht holding under 200 people.  There was a lot of open space between myself and other passengers and plenty of places to relax without feeling crowded. I was never concerned about contracting Covid, in fact, I actually was able to let my guard down for the first time in what seemed like eternity.   

     There is a unique underwater bar on board called the Blue Eye.

     It is a very neat concept set up to make you feel as if you are inside of a whale’s head. The couches are shaped like the baleen found in a whales’ mouth and there are two giant glass eyes, one each end of the room. Anything that swims past the eyes you can see. At night, the ship is lit from below to illuminate and draw in the sea life. There are speakers that pipe in the sounds.

     It was like scuba diving without getting wet!   

     This is an inclusive luxury experience.  Liquor (including your in-room minibar), unlimited Wi-Fi is included, as are gratuities.  We did not have to worry about additional expenses once we paid our cruise fare which made budgeting easy. Because the ship is small we were able to pull into ports that the megaliners are not able to. This allowed us to simply walk off right into town in many stops avoiding the need for an organized excursion.

     For 11 days we glided through the Greek islands from Hydra to Nafplion, Mykonos, Amorgos, Milos, Folegandros, Delos, Patmos and Syros so many tiny inlets that I had never heard of before.  I think my favorite stop was Symi, it reminded me a lot of Portofino in Italy.  Such a beautiful quaint village with baby blue water, I think I would like to go back there and stay for a week or so.

     I enjoyed my first experience with Ponant, they are a French cruise line and most passengers on board were French. They do have sailings that are aimed at Americans in conjunction with the Smithsonian, but, if you are not on one of those sailings you do need to be aware that English speaking people will be in the minority. I had no problem communicating with my fellow passengers as I quickly found out that most of them were bilingual and they spoke to me in English. 

     I even picked up some French phases that will come in handy on my next trip to Paris.

  If you would like to hear more about Ponant and the world of post covid cruising give me a call at 413-552-8941. I know first hand everything that needs to be done for you to not only travel safely but also have an amazing time!