We got to the Acropolis early, but not as it turned out, early enough. Ahead of us was a long, dense line of people snaking up the broken path to the Parthenon, and soon it became clear many were in a group from a cruise ship. We could hardly complain as we were about to start a cruise, and if it comes to that, the joy of a Mediterranean cruise is a painless, unpack-just-once way to get around the treasures of Athens, Ephesus, Rome and the rest.