From Athens: Hydra, Poros, and Aegina Day Cruise with Lunch

What a lovely way to spend a day. Three Beautiful islands, yummy lunch and great music and dancing on the way home. We loved our day. The weather was perfect and it was a nice and relaxing way to see three islands. Thoroughly recommend.

This was such a cool experience getting to visit three different Greek islands in one trip was amazing, especially since each one had its own unique character and charm. It was a great way to see a variety of landscapes and vibes all in a single day. The staff on the main boat were friendly, organized, and very informative, which made everything run smoothly and added to the overall enjoyment of the trip. Our only wish was that we could have spent a bit more time on each island, but we understand the distances involved and how much ground the tour covers. Overall, it was a fantastic way to explore multiple islands, and we’d definitely recommend it!

Wonderful experience. Wish there had been more time yo to explore but worth it. Would definitely do it again

Unfortunately, this experience was very disappointing compared to previous years. I traveled with your company in 2006 and again 8 years ago, and the difference today is very clear — and unfortunately much worse. First, the prices have become extremely high compared to the services provided. In the past, prices were lower while the service was much better, more luxurious, and better organized. Second, the time spent on the islands is very short. In reality, we barely manage to see anything. You say we have 30 minutes, but around 10 minutes are wasted getting on and off the boat, leaving almost no time to enjoy or explore. Third, the food was very poor despite being advertised as an open buffet. There was little variety, the food was cold, and the presentation was messy and unorganized. In the past, the food was served in a much more elegant way, with white tablecloths and better hospitality. Fourth, there is a clear shortage of staff. Previously, there were more employees, and service was faster and more professional. Now the team is too small and clearly overworked. Even the entertainment has become much weaker. In the past, there was a larger team with singers, performers, a comedian and a magician, and 6 ballet dancers. Now everything has been reduced, and staff members are forced to perform multiple roles, which shows poor organization and cost-cutting. The boat was also extremely overcrowded to the point where it was difficult to find a seat. This is clear mismanagement. Either increase the number of boats or stop accepting such a large number of passengers just for profit. Unfortunately, there is a major decline in quality, service, and organization while prices have increased significantly. We hope you return to the high standards you had before, as the difference is very obvious.

The trip was very well organized. Key Tours picked us up from the hotel And dropped us back on time. The cruise was very enjoyable.

Great trip to the three islands (Hydra, Porosity, and Aegina). Lunch was provided and entertainment as well.

A very relaxing my day on the water to the islands. Hydra was beautiful, Poros and Aegina also were nice but Hydra was our favourite. The dancing on the way back was very entertaining. Only slight thing was that there wasn’t much time on the islands to really appreciate them. Maybe just two islands and more time on each would have been better.

Hotel pick up was easy to book and close to my Airbnb so convenient. Getting to and from the ship was good, but the boat was very hot and stuffy inside which isn’t idea when they’re giving the optional excision briefings. These could have been done over the tanoy and then we could have to to purchase tickets rather than how they did it. Due to rougher seas on the day we didn’t get to visit Hydra (which is the island I really booked for) but they did give longer on the other two islands. Personally I felt the island stops were not long enough even with the extra time. The lunch on board was a nice selection: chicken thigh, fish in a tomatoes based sauce, rice, potato salad, chickpeas, roasted vegetables (aubergines/ potatoes/ peppers), bread and a dessert.

There was very little time on the islands which was shortened even more by how long it took to get off the ship. There were not enough chairs for everyone to sit while on board so many people, including us, came back early to the ship in order to grab a seat, which again gave us even less time to explore the islands.

This is everything you will hate about cruises, with only a smattering of positives, and only from individual crew members. Pick up was early, very early. 630am and almost a mile from our hotel. We arrived last and were understandably last to board onto what was clearly an already congested boat. Not 1 inch of space was free. Every conceivable space was taken up by a chair and someone imposing their presence and protecting their space. It was looking very much like a refugee boat. We just couldnt envisage 12hrs in this kind of environment so opted to upgrade to VIP. But I won't review that element. Once we were underway we sailed for about 3 hrs before our first stop in Hydra, and this again was just about the most unpleasant experience I have had on holiday. It took 20 minutes to leave the boat due to every person having to be guided under 2 low beams before leaving. Once ashore, we were faced with thousands of people hustling and bustling around the port. You could barely move. It was almost claustrophobic to the point I lasted 20 minutes and came back on board. Our second port i decided to remain on board as we had just 45 minutes ashore, and as I type this it has been 15 minutes and there is still a queue to leave. So not really much point in leaving. But after 20 minutes with still 25 left I decided to have a mooch about, only to be told I couldnt leave because they wanted to count us. After another 15 minutes waiting it was now too late to leave and had to remain on board, in what I should add was the sauna like temperature of the VIP lounge. The final island we had nearly 2 hours, but again we wasted 20 minutes trying to get off the boat. The area around the port was unsurprisingly exactly like the other 2 we visited but just with the odd horse. I can't say anything against any of these places, they're all beautiful. It's just that they had nothing to offer other than clothes shops where everything was in blue and white, jewellery shops where the stones were all, blue and white, and ice cream shops where you had a choice of....well, plenty of choice in a variety of colours actually. Oh, and bars. Lots of bars. So the choice is yours. If you are happy to be crammed into every available space cheek to jowell with other passengers, visit 3 identical islands and visit identical shops and have the pleasure of spending 1/4 or even 1/2 your available time queuing to get off the boat, then enjoy. It's perfect. If however, you value your time and hard earned cash and want to be stimulated, educated and relaxed, then this is most definately not for you. So advice: The first island you disembark off the side and have to have a crew member push your head down to avoid a low hanging beam to disembark and this will take 20-30 minutes to leave. The second island is disembarked off the side and only takes 15-20 minutes, as does the third island. If you want to be more relaxed then pay an extra €105 for VIP where you'll have a spacious lounge and free soft drinks, coffee and a three course lunch with morning snacks. But, they deliberately cram so many people in that you will no doubt find the VIP lounge and be heard complaining, whereupon the VIP sales rep will pounce! Be warned. This whole experience left me exhausted and with a lot less money. It needs to improve by simply reducing the amount of people on board by at least 100. But, what i cannot fault is the level of service from Madonna and Kostus in the VIP lounge who made the pain easier to handle.