Island hopping in the Aegean sea.

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The shipeCOs Tannoy crackled into life and a sense of anticipation filled the cabin. It was not yet 8am but this was to become the defining moment of the day. Clanking anchor chains had signalled our arrival at a new port. Now the reassuring yet authoritative voice of Captain David Warden-Owen, with his trademark slow delivery, proceeded to tell us where we were, how we got there, what the weather was like and what would happen next.

It would not be long before the impossibly youthful cruise director, Neil Horrocks, came on air with concise instructions to passengers booked on shore excursions. After a few days, we could barely contemplate leaving the cabin without this cheery wake-up call. We were aware of the itinerary across the Aegean Sea on our ship, the Spirit of Adventure, but it was strangely comforting to have the scene set each day.

Not that the announcements varied wildly. eC[pounds sterling]Welcome to the beautiful island of....eC[yen] and eC[pounds sterling]Gather in the main lounge at 9am for tour oneeC[yen] became familiar phrases throughout the two-week cruise in these beautiful sun-soaked waters. With a total of 6,000 Greek islands to choose from, a smallish cruise ship like the Spirit lets you experience as many in a fortnight as you might see in a decade of eCynormaleCO holidays.

Our route took in seven islands - plus Athens, two fascinating small towns on the mainland and the unforgettable Corinth Canal. Carrying just 350 passengers and with a draught of less than five metres, Spirit of Adventure is slender enough to berth in many small ports in the Aegean that are out of bounds to bigger eCyfloating hotelseCO.

ThateCOs not the only benefit. The ship - with a minimum age limit for passengers of 21 - offers superb service from its ever-smiling Filipino crewAa and impeccably maintained accommodation and facilities.

The 206 cabins range from standard inside cabins, to suites with a lounge area. Public rooms include the library, with well-stocked bookshelves, board games, reading areas and internet. Two restaurants serve excellent food and bars charge incredibly low prices. ThereeCOs also a choice of free excursions on every shore visit, as well as some additional trips, often taking in a whole day on an island, with a luxury coach, a guide, admissions fees and lunch charged about dhs300 per person.

Poor cruise director Neil, whose multiple talents included singing while playing piano and guitar, had the unenviable task of corralling 300 passengers into orderly groups departing at regular intervals for these tours. Our silver-haired skipper, his eCyfull seteCO of whiskers immaculately coiffed, often walked the decks in his whiter-than-white uniform to exchange pleasantries.

Captain Warden-Owen, who comes from a long line of seafarers, also hosted the obligatory cocktail party and often appeared at eCythe captaineCOs tableeCO in the main restaurant. Honoured with an invitation to join his table one evening, my wife and I enjoyed his company and forgave him when he left after the main course with the feeble excuse that it was time to set sail.

We joined the ship in Istanbul after a memorable coach journey from the cityeCOs airport in Asia, across the Bosphorus Bridge into Europe, and through the teeming streets of this historic capital. An initial day of gentle cruising in the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles strait took in a view of the Gallipoli monument and a pod of dolphins.

Once into the sparkling Aegean, our first stop was Lesbos, the third largest of the Greek islands, which lies only a few miles off the Turkish mainland and is still unspoilt by mass tourism. We berthed in Mytilene, a bustling coastal town boasting huge old mansions and picturesque narrow, cobbled shopping streets.

We chose an excursion on winding rural roads to the south coast for a visit to the renowned Barbagiannis ouzo distillery, where bottles of the fiery spirit - Lesbos makes the strongest variety in the Mediterranean - clinked off the Heath Robinson-like production line ready to cause hangovers in all corners of the world.

Our guide explained the story of Sappho, an ancient Greek poet whose poems focus on relationships between women. The jury is still out on whether Sappho herself crossed the boundary between platonic and physical affection. It was then on to the island of Kos, which has spectacular sandy beaches and some of the most interesting archaeological sites of the whole Mediterranean region. The highlight of our excursion was a visit to the Asclepion (named after Asclepius the god of healing), once an important centre of healing.

Dating from the 4th century BC but excavated from a wilderness only 100 years ago, this magnificent relic on a terraced hillside has breathtaking views over the Aegean. On Rhodes, possibly the sunniest place in Europe with an average 300 days of sunshine a year, a walking tour through the historic Old Town, with its twisting alleyways and mix of Byzantine, Turkish and Latin architecture, took us to a host of ruins including the must-see Palace of the Grand Masters, built by the Knights of St John in the 14th century.

Next came Crete, largest island in Greece, where the ship berthed in the busy capital of Heraklion (named after Hercules), handily placed for a trip to the ruined Palace of Knossos, built by the Minoans in around 1900BC. The Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature, roamed the palaceeCOs labyrinth until it was apparently slain by Theseus.

A stop in the lovely Aegean seaside town of Nauplion, the first capital of Greece after independence, was followed by a day in Athens where we ticked off all the sights, including the stunning Acropolis.

The tiny uninhabited island of Delos in the Cyclades does not, on the face of it, appear to be a potential calling place for a cruise ship. But a passenger told me it was her lifetimeeCOs ambition to set foot on Delos because of its place in legend (the birthplace of Apollo) and history. Unfortunately a strong wind blew up as we anchored in preparation for passengers to go ashore.

Captain David had to make the only negative announcement of the whole cruise - the sea was too bumpy for comfort, so the visit was cancelled. onditions were still turbulent in Mykonos, famed around the world for its cosmopolitan atmosphere and lively nightlife. We went ashore to explore Mykonos TowneCOs charming little streets of whitewashed houses, tiny boutiques and numerous restaurants.

Thankfully all was calm the next day as we dropped anchor under the steep black cliffs of volcanic Santorini where an eruption in 1650 BC, culminating in one of the biggest explosions in the history of the planet, caused the centre of the island to collapse into a massive crater that was filled by the sea.

Further eruptions have continued to ravage Santorini and in 1956 a major earthquake killed scores of people. Our guide may not have been joking when he said, eC[pounds sterling]An eruption is not included on this tour.eC[yen]

As the coach twisted its way up helter-skelter roads with fantastic panoramas laid out beneath us, the guide told us that Santorini, which had no electricity until 1975, exports two million pumice stones a year. Its clean water is so prized that iteCOs actually cheaper to wash your car with the produce of one of the islandeCOs nine wineries.

Cunning developers here know they can avoid taxes by building a church. They even build hotels with a church tacked on one side, resulting in 900 churches on one small island. If you have to see just one Aegean island, make it this one. Next came a day in the fascinating Peloponnese town of Monemvasia, often called the Gibraltar of Greece, and time to explore the massive walled fortress that once housed 50,000 Byzantine Greeks.

To reach Rome, Spirit of Adventure was towed by tugs through the Corinth Canal, the four-mile waterway which was scoured through the isthmus linking the Peleponnese peninsula to the rest of the Greek mainland. Only three metres separated the ship from the vertical cliffs that form the sides of the canal as our captain, broadcasting to decks crowded with camera-toting passengers, described how another cruise ship emerged badly damaged after scraping the sides.

Needless to say, we emerged intact, exhilarated, and flushed with our own spirit of adventure.

Aa

GETTING THERE

For more information on the Spirit of Adventure cruise visit www.spiritofadventure.co.uk. Spirit of Adventure cruises depart from London in the UK. Numerous UAE based airlines fly to London, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air and Etihad. For cruise holiday information departing from the UAE contact Dnata holidays on 800 8118 or visit www.cruisecompete.com.

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