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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast

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Speaker 1: from News Talks at b.

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Speaker 2: Our Travel. Correspondent is Mike Yardley. He's with us.

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Speaker 3: Hey Mike, Good morning Jack. The All Blacks by ten,

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Speaker 3: George Stephanopolis by twenty. Oh.

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Speaker 2: Okay, so you're referencing the interview that George Stephanopolis is

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Speaker 2: doing with Joe Biden today. Do you know how long

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Speaker 2: the interview is going to be?

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Speaker 3: Apparently it's half an hour, but I've just really still

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Speaker 3: really clips and Ye'll tell you what, Jack, it's not

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Speaker 3: looking flesh. One of the clips bubber Lake. George asks Joe,

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Speaker 3: have you watched the debates from last weekend? Joe Biden's

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Speaker 3: not actually sure if he has or not.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I said last week I thought it was it.

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Speaker 2: I thought I think I thought it was done. I

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Speaker 2: still think he's going to be done. I still think

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Speaker 2: he's going to be done. But oh my gosh, I

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Speaker 2: can't wait to see that. That sounds incredibly Yeah, it

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Speaker 2: sounds sounds amazing and exciting because they were saying originally

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Speaker 2: that Stephanopoulos was only going to have fifteen minutes. Because

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Speaker 2: the thing about Joe Biden is he doesn't do many interviews,

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Speaker 2: hasn't done a sit down interview with The New York

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Speaker 2: Times and the whole time he's been president, which is

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Speaker 2: very very very uncommon, like very unusual. I think he's

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Speaker 2: the first president, you know, in kind of modern history

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Speaker 2: not to do that. And so yeah, a lot of

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Speaker 2: pressure on this interview today. They were meeting in Wisconsin,

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Speaker 2: I think, but fifteen minutes. I feel like most people

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Speaker 2: can be interviewed for fifteen minutes with that too much

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Speaker 2: of an issue, maybe even Joe Biden, but that it

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Speaker 2: might not be okay, Okay, Well, we'll make sure that

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Speaker 2: the news team are looking through those clips and we

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Speaker 2: can share them, share them with everyone very shortly. As

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Speaker 2: for the all backs by ten at least, I reckon

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Speaker 2: that's I reckon, that's a good part. How are you

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Speaker 2: feeling about demo at ten peta fete at fifteen?

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Speaker 3: Mm, yeah, I can understand it. I'll diplomat. I think

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Speaker 3: it's good.

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Speaker 2: No, it's good. The thing of Damian McKenzie, especially, he's

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Speaker 2: he's kind of reduced the number of eras he made,

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Speaker 2: but I reckon he's he's still such an exciting and

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Speaker 2: unpredictable player, and that's what you need against the English,

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Speaker 2: I think because they're not going to exciting and unpredictable.

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Speaker 3: Huh, he's reliable.

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Speaker 2: I reckon he's way more reliable than he was a

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Speaker 2: few years ago. I think he's really worked on that.

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Speaker 2: That's my view. Anyway, we'll see come this evening. I do,

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Speaker 2: I do.

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Speaker 3: Richie Mowunga is in town. He's got Richie's bus.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean I don't know about about I

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Speaker 2: mean maybe I just haven't. I haven't seen Richie Wong.

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Speaker 2: I played the season right, so it's kind of hard

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Speaker 2: to make that anyway. Hey, we are cruising the Greek

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Speaker 2: Islands this morning, and would you say in your experience

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Speaker 2: that megaships are best geared for cruising the Agean in

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Speaker 2: a word?

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Speaker 3: No, I mean, I do think megaships had to be

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Speaker 3: a place, and of course I was on that princesseship

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Speaker 3: a few weeks ago. But with the G and C,

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Speaker 3: what I think is really important to remember is there

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Speaker 3: are generally no sea days when you're cruising it. Why

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Speaker 3: would you want to be on a mess of venue

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Speaker 3: backed ship dressed up like a theme park when the

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Speaker 3: real attraction is the onshore experience. So I would say, yeah,

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Speaker 3: go for a mid sized ship, even the smaller ship,

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Speaker 3: because obviously with the smaller ships, for example, Celestial Cruises

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Speaker 3: is the Greek cruise line in the Augean, they can

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Speaker 3: get you into the smaller ports, and the whole boarding

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Speaker 3: and disembarking procedure is just far more seamless. It's just

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Speaker 3: so stress free. So yeah, smaller is good in the Aegean.

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Speaker 2: Didn't didn't you previously work on a cruise.

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Speaker 3: Ship twenty five years ago? Jack saying yes, during my

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Speaker 3: oe I was the DJ on a Greek cruise ship

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Speaker 3: because Roydal Olympic Cruise Lines, Yes, on the flagship vessel

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Speaker 3: No less the stars.

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Speaker 2: Horus very good there. I had no idea the DJ

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Speaker 2: of all things as well.

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Speaker 3: Exactly said thing was after nine to eleven Royal Olympic

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Speaker 3: win busted, not because of me, but because the Americans

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Speaker 3: stopped traveling for a while. So yeah, they were. They

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Speaker 3: were sunk literally, So the Royal Olympic Cruise Lines, which

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Speaker 3: was the Greek cruise line, the torch has been passed

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Speaker 3: to this company called Celestial Cruises, which is Greek owned

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Speaker 3: and operated headquartered out of Pereas Athens. And I'll tell

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Speaker 3: you what, Jack, the world is indeed a village. When

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Speaker 3: I was cruising on board Celestial Journey a few weeks ago,

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Speaker 3: I suddenly recognized the head waiter, Pavlos dal Impertis, and

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Speaker 3: he is now, I would say, seventy five, still working

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Speaker 3: on board cruise ships. He works with me on board

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Speaker 3: the Stella Solaris, So that was such a cool we reunion.

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Speaker 3: But he's been working on cruise ships now for over

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Speaker 3: fifty years with no intention of retiring.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that's amazing. So one of the most popular islands, well.

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Speaker 3: Obviously Meconos and Santorini would stand out as the perennial

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Speaker 3: pin ups, and any self respecting cruise itinery would include

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Speaker 3: those islands. What about Mecanos as small, she style absurdly

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Speaker 3: good looking, but she does get crowded very fast. Yes, somehow, though,

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Speaker 3: even though there is that massive humanity in all of

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Speaker 3: your lane ways, it's those cubist, white washed houses. That

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Speaker 3: charm of that architecture just subdues the crowd congestion. Somehow,

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Speaker 3: you still think this is magical. And if you want

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Speaker 3: to go to the best best bar in town, I

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Speaker 3: would strongly suggest you book an advance a table at Veranda,

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Speaker 3: which is that little Venus, that little cocktail strip Inos.

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Speaker 3: You can book a table in advance, even if you're

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Speaker 3: just a day tripper and you want to cocktail at

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Speaker 3: Little Venis, Do that and you'll be able to q

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Speaker 3: jump the congestion in Mechinos.

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Speaker 2: Yeah right, okay. So after tendering ashore, what is the

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Speaker 2: best way to reach the top of Santorini.

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Speaker 3: This is a good question because from the old port

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Speaker 3: it's a thousand feet up to the clip tops on

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Speaker 3: a fetter, which is that magnificent tiara of whitewashed houses

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Speaker 3: crowning Centorini. The cable car is appealing. The problem is

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Speaker 3: if you've got multiple ships tendering at the same time,

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Speaker 3: you will be queuing for a cable car ride for

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Speaker 3: several hours. Bugger that. So option to the donkey ride.

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Speaker 3: A lot of people wonder about the donkeys. I have

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Speaker 3: to say, those donkeys are looking way better, way healthier

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Speaker 3: than I remember from twenty years ago. And I've actually

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Speaker 3: got a weight limit weight limits now, So if you

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Speaker 3: weigh over one hundred kg, no donkey for you in Greece.

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Speaker 3: So option three walk it six hundred stone steps the

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Speaker 3: gigsig zagging the cliff face up to Fera. But I

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Speaker 3: did the walk, and I have to say, not that

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Speaker 3: I weigh one hundred kg. I hastened to it, But

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Speaker 3: I have to say the good thing is you can

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Speaker 3: console yourself by remembering every step you are taking is

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Speaker 3: burning off that buffet from breakfast.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a way to do it, even if it's

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Speaker 2: absolutely stinking hot. You know, you've got to take some

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Speaker 2: water in that kind of thing, but it's just definitely

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Speaker 2: the best way to do it. You're just so much

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Speaker 2: more satisfying if you can get them. So did your

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Speaker 2: cruise take you to any lesser traffic islands, ones that

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Speaker 2: weren't quite as busy?

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Speaker 3: Yes, I tell you what, Jack. The real surprise for

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Speaker 3: me was this little island called Melos. I've never been

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Speaker 3: there before, but the name is interesting because Melos think

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Speaker 3: Venice to Milo. The statue at the Louver, and this

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Speaker 3: is where it was discovered a couple of hundred years ago,

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Speaker 3: that statue of the Greek goddes sepharad Deite. It's not

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Speaker 3: so terroristy Meloss, but unbelievably beautiful. The thing about it

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Speaker 3: is it's got all the whitewashed villages that are so

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Speaker 3: you know, quintessential Greece. Yeah, but then you've got all

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Speaker 3: these dramatic volcanic rock formations, rock arches, sea caves, bone

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Speaker 3: white beaches like Suterkenico Beach, which is truly mesmerizing. I

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Speaker 3: was watching the water and it just pivots from turquoise

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Speaker 3: to cobalt, turquoise, go on. I don't know how they

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Speaker 3: do it, but it's just extraordinary. So pack your tags

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Speaker 3: because that will be the dip of your trip. Soda

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Speaker 3: can he Go Beach very good.

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Speaker 2: Would you recommend Celestial Cruisers?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I would. It's a good value for star cruise experience,

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Speaker 3: and as I mentioned before, it's the only Greek owned

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Speaker 3: and operated cruise line in the Aegean and the Mediterranean.

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Speaker 3: And you really do feel that sense of pride. You've

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Speaker 3: got not only that passion for their home waters, but

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Speaker 3: you combine that with three thousand years of cultural heritage.

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Speaker 3: It's pretty hard to beat.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it sounds so good. And when would be the

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Speaker 2: best time of year to cruise the Agen do you think?

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Speaker 3: Not now? Too hot? Too busy, and it's just insanely

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Speaker 3: busy through the European summer now, so definitely go for

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Speaker 3: the shoulder seasons. The good thing about the cruise season

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Speaker 3: in Greece it generally runs now from March to November,

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Speaker 3: so I would opt for March, April, May maybe, even

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Speaker 3: though May is actually now busy. But then again of

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Speaker 3: Toba November at the end of the year, and you

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Speaker 3: will have a far more optimized experience.

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Speaker 2: So good, okay, it sounds like an amazing little trip. Mike,

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Speaker 2: thank you so much for sharing that with us.

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Speaker 3: We'll make sure.

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Speaker 2: All of Mike's tips for cruising the Greek Islands are

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Speaker 2: available on the News Talk' ZEDB website.

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Speaker 1: For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live

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Speaker 1: to news Talk ZEDB from nine am Saturday, or follow

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Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio