If airline route assignments in Greece were a sporting event, this would be the major upset by the underdogs. In the assignment of subsidized air routes serving smaller airports primarily in the Greek islands, both Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines have come up losers. The "winners" for these historically unprofitable short-hop lifeline routes? Athens Airways and Sky Express, two names which may not mean much - yet - to most travelers in Greece.

Kasthimerini reports that sources suggest that Aegean Airlines lost out on a technicality and that Olympic Air's offer simply wasn't good enough. But could the newly-empowered PASOK government also be announcing that there is a new sheriff in town?

What does this mean to your travel plans? I've had direct experience only with Crete-based Sky Express when trying to book a last-minute flight. I can attest that they were cordial and reasonably-priced for what I needed, but so far, they are a very small airline with planes to match, though that may change with these new routes if they become permanent. Athens Airways, sometimes mis-called Athens Airlines, boasts some bigger planes and reminds me of Aegean Airlines a few years back. But there's one possible problem affecting both - not every major booking engine may include Athens Air or Sky Express, making some travel options to the affected islands this winter and early spring invisible to the ordinary traveler.

And even on these newly-assigned temporary routes, I'm just not sure we've heard the last from Olympic and Aegean.

But however it goes, it won't stay this way for long. The rights to the routes are only good for the period from December 1st, 2009 to April 1st, 2010.

More: Sky Express

Athens Airways
Olympic Air

Aegean Airlines

Princess Cruises is offering some very tempting rates on a 26-day repositioning cruise which includes a nice array of Greek port stops. Of course, they don't label it as a respositioning cruise, calling it the "Mediterranean and Greek Isle Grand Aventure" instead, but this across-the-Atlantic spring cruise certainly qualifies, and has the low pricing to match. It disembarks from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on May 1st, 2010.

What I like about this one is that it offers a full week in the Greek Islands at the end of the cruise.
While its final port is Venice, you can choose to disembark in Athens by special arrangement, which may even shave a bit off the already-low price. Interior cabins start at US $2535, excluding taxes of about $150 US. However, on a cruise of this length, I'd opt for a window view or mini-suite which runs about $4300-5500 per person, double occupancy. But, remember, repositioning cruises are in a sense trips the ship itself wants and needs to take. These prices may tumble even more.

The down side? If you're not a cruiser at heart, the 8-day trans-atlantic passage may be a bit hard to take, even on the Crown Princess, a ship with a full range of luxurious amenities.

The annual National Geographic survey of 133 destinations around the world is out, and some places in Greece were ranked among them - Delphi, the Acropolis, Santorini, and the North Coast of Crete.

The scores are nothing to get particularly excited about but it's graded on a curve - even the top-rated Norwegian Fjords only achieved an 85. But tell me - are these the places you would have chosen? Where should National Geographic be looking next year?

Heraklion on the North Coast of Crete with Mt. Juktas in the background. Photo © deTraci Regula; licensed to About.com

Crystal Cruises, a luxury cruise line, is offering a number of cruise possibilities for 2010, including trips beginning or ending in Athens. These options include business or economy class air and $500 -$1000 in on-board spending credits, making the about $3800 per-person fee start to sound surprisingly affordable.

I like the looks of the Seaways of Antiquity option, which starts in Rome, makes a couple of Italian port calls, and then touches at Crete and Mykonos, plus the ancient Greek city of Ephesus in Turkey, before ultimately disembarking in Athens. The reverse route, ending in Rome, is also available as the "Parthenon to Pantheon" cruise.

And these cruises are not stuck in the off-season either, when weather can make the best of cruises a bit awkward. The cheapest May dates should assure good weather and position you perfectly to enjoy a nearly crowd-free, low-cost stay in Greece either before or after the cruise.