Passport Symphony | Travel Off The Beaten Track Blog

Lefkada is one of those places where it's really hard to have a bad day. It is one of my favorite places in Greece, with turquoise water, dramatic cliffs, tiny islands, secluded beaches, and some of the most spectacular scenery in the Ionian Sea. So I booked a boat trip with Seven Island Cruises from Vasiliki and was hoping for a pretty simple day: get on a boat, enjoy the scenery, swim at some beautiful beaches, visit Ithaca and Atokos/Piggy Island, and then head back to Lefkada. In this Seven Island Cruises review, I’ll share exactly how that day turned out. The Seven Island Cruise From Vasiliki Seven Island Cruises offers a number of cruises around Lefkada and the Ionian Islands. It offers an itinerary that includes Egremni, Porto Katsiki, Afales Beach on Ithaca and Atokos (Piggy Island) in its Vasiliki-based Ionian Dream Escape. On paper, this is exactly the sort of cruise that makes sense when visiting Lefkada. You'll see several locations in a single day that would otherwise take a lot more planning, driving, and additional costs. Two of Lefkada's most popular beaches are Egremni and Porto Katsiki; Ithaca brings the Homeric island element, and Atokos is famous for its picturesque scenery and the chance to swim with wild pigs that have made it a day-trippers' delight. The route is not the problem, then. The issue was what occurred at the first big stop. The beach at Egremni is a beautiful place until your boat leaves. Egremni is spectacular. The beach is flanked by the iconic cliffs of this area of Lefkada, and viewing them from the sea is one of the best things to do during a cruise around the island. Our boat arrived at Egremni, and we were told that it would stay until 11:35. Fair enough. We had a set time to leave, so we worked around it. The issue was that the boat didn't depart at 11:35. It departed about 11:30. 5 minutes early. When you're standing on a beach watching the boat that is supposed to take you back slowly disappear into the distance, however, five minutes suddenly becomes a very long time. There was a horn. Not exactly a "LAST CALL, PASSENGERS!" warning, though. We waved, but it was too late. Then the boat sailed away. Without us. This is where the story could have gone a lot worse. Fortunately, another operator, Nidri Star, was nearby. The crew on that boat were very gracious to allow us to come aboard without any additional charge. That was really appreciated because at that time we had a pretty clear issue – we had been left at one of the stops of our own tour. However, there was one minor issue. Nidri Star was on a different route. Depending on the route, its cruises include destinations like Porto Katsiki, Egremni, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Meganisi, and other Ionian destinations. Piggy Island/Atokos, which was originally part of our Seven Island Cruises itinerary (and one we were looking forward to the most), was not a part of the cruise. So while we were extremely grateful to the Nidri Star crew for helping us out, it wasn't exactly the trip we had paid for. Seven Island Cruises Review- When The Boat Leaves You The most interesting part of the cruise was after the cruise. After an incident like this, one would expect a tour company to say something like: We are very sorry; that shouldn't have happened, let's see what we can do. This is more or less what I had anticipated when we got back to Vasiliki. Rather, we headed to the Seven Island Cruises office to tell them what had occurred. But that's where things got a lot more fun. The response we received was along the lines of: Brother, you are in Greece, you were lucky another boat picked you up. There was also the implication that they were not "by the book" and that we should return when Kostas returned, as the person we were talking to was apparently not responsible for our ticket. Next, came the part that really got my attention. I said, "This is a problem," and the answer was, "Yeah, this happens a lot. I wondered if he was referring to this happening frequently with their agency. Yes, the answer was yes. Well, maybe this was an unfortunate choice of words. Perhaps something was lost in translation. However, if a customer tells you that your boat left them behind, and says that this "happens a lot," this is probably not the most reassuring sentence to use. He even had the audacity to say that we were fortunate another boat saved them. You're in Greece" is not a real explanation I'm not asking you to have a Swiss railway timetable for every travel experience. This is Greece. Weather, sea conditions, port restrictions, and a host of other factors can impact an itinerary, and boats rely on them. And I get that sometimes plans change. However, there is a rather significant distinction between a cruise that alters its itinerary due to circumstances and a boat that leaves a scheduled port prior to the scheduled departure time while passengers are still on shore. The latter is something that should at least be followed by an apology and an explanation. Rather, the overall tone we found was more like: You were lucky somebody else picked you up... Lefkada deserves better than this But this is a pity, as Lefkada is a wonderful place in itself. The island is one of the best places to visit on the Ionian for those who don't want to spend the whole holiday in a resort with spectacular beaches. Places like Egremni and Porto Katsiki are famous for a reason, and boat trips offer another facet of the region: Ithaca, Kefalonia, Atokos, Meganisi, and the smaller islands dotted throughout the Ionian Sea. That's precisely why these cruises are so popular. You buy a ticket because you want somebody else to take care of the logistics. You don't want to be spending your holiday figuring out if your boat has already departed. You don't want to find out that your contingency plan is going to be waving goodbye to a boat from the beach. The Verdict: A Beautiful Cruise With an Unfortunate Lesson I don't want this review to imply that Lefkada boat cruises are a bad idea. Quite the opposite. The scenery is great, the idea is brilliant, and there are several operators that run different routes around the island and the surrounding Ionian islands. Especially our experience with Nidri Star, whose crew let us on their boat without charging us additional fees when we were suddenly without our original transport. Customer service Mistakes happen. Late departure of boats is allowed. Early boat departures are allowed. Routes can change. There is a possibility of things going wrong. It's what follows that counts. An apology would have been a long way. An explanation would have been helpful. A simple "We're sorry this happened, and we'll look into it" would have made the whole experience different. Rather, we were told that we were lucky that another boat picked us up because, apparently, we were in Greece. Well, Greece certainly has beautiful islands. It also has plenty of boats. On this particular day, it seems we had to find one that wouldn't leave without us. Seven Island Cruises deserves credit for providing an appealing Lefkada cruise. But when a customer is left behind at one of your scheduled stops, the minimum expectation isn't perfection — it's accountability, compassion, and an apology. Unfortunately, that was the part of the journey that never arrived...

Seven Island Cruises Review: Beautiful Islands, Disappointing Service

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