A Saints Camp Voyage
The Thousand Years
October 3 – 11, 2027
Athens · Rhodes · Mykonos · Santorini · Dubrovnik · Split · Ravenna
This voyage begins in Athens, where an imperial decree of 529 ended the teaching of pagan philosophy. It ends in Ravenna, before mosaics consecrated in 547 under the same emperor, Justinian. In between: the walls the Knights held at Rhodes, the free republic of Dubrovnik that never fell, the cathedral built inside a persecutor’s tomb at Split, and a week aboard ship with people who want to understand what happened in the middle.
Six teaching sessions. An optional morning prayer gathering every day. Real conversation over real meals. This is a retreat, not a tour.
Request detailsHosted by Covenant Retreats
Nine days, Athens to Ravenna
One night in Athens, seven nights aboard Explorer of the Seas, and a final day in Ravenna before the group transfer to Venice Marco Polo Airport.
Sunday & MondayOctober 3–4
Athens
Embarkation October 4 · Sail 5:00 PM
A night at our hotel in the Plaka, the old quarter beneath the Acropolis, and the welcome dinner. The next morning: an optional prayer gathering on the Areopagus, the rock where Paul spoke to the philosophers (Acts 17), then the Acropolis with the group. The Parthenon served as a church of the Theotokos for about nine centuries.
SessionBound for a Thousand Years
October 3, evening. Revelation 20, and the case that the thousand years ran from about 530 to 1530.
TuesdayOctober 5
Rhodes
In port 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
The Knights Hospitaller held this island from 1309 until the Ottoman siege of 1522. We walk the Old Town of the Knights: the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Street of the Knights, the walls and the moat.
SessionThe Knights of Rhodes, 1309–1522
The Knights Hospitaller, their walls, and the siege that ended their 213 years on the island.
Optional excursion, additional cost: Lindos. The acropolis and the Byzantine church of St. John, an hour south.
WednesdayOctober 6
Mykonos
Tender port · 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
An optional morning prayer gathering aboard, then the day is yours.
Optional excursion, additional cost: Delos, thirty minutes by boat. The sanctuary of Apollo and the remains of the Christian basilicas built among its ruins.
ThursdayOctober 7
Santorini
Tender port · 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM
An optional morning prayer gathering aboard, then the day is yours.
Optional excursions, additional cost: Pyrgos village and the church of Panagia Episkopi Gonias, the oldest Byzantine church on the island. Akrotiri, the Bronze Age town buried by the island's great eruption. Oia at sunset.
FridayOctober 8
At Sea
The day the whole voyage is built around.
SessionHow the Nations Were Undeceived
Morning. Cyril and Methodius. Patrick and Columba. Boniface at the oak. Anskar among the Norse. The scriptorium and the Rule — how a continent was actually changed.
SessionThe Little Season and the Counter-Move
Late afternoon. Florence, 1486, and the recovery of the old gods. The Greek manuscripts coming west. The press, Erasmus, and the Word in the language of the people — and why we believe we are living in the little season now.
SaturdayOctober 9
Dubrovnik
In port 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
The Republic of Ragusa. A Christian city-state that paid tribute to the Ottomans, kept its walls, and never fell. We visit the Franciscan Monastery of 1317, with its cloister and one of the oldest working pharmacies in Europe, and walk the city walls.
Optional excursions, additional cost: the cable car to Mount Srđ, or the village of Cavtat.
SundayOctober 10
Split
In port 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Diocletian's Palace. The emperor who launched the last great persecution of the church built his mausoleum here. By the seventh century it was the cathedral, and the church of the martyrs he killed has been in his tomb ever since. In the afternoon, Trogir: the Cathedral of St. Lawrence and the Radovan portal of 1240.
SessionThe Persecutor's Tomb
Held in the Peristyle of the palace.
MondayOctober 11
Ravenna
Ship arrives 5:30 AM
We debark early with our luggage, which rides with us all day, and go straight into the city where the thousand years began. The Arian Baptistery and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. The Basilica of San Vitale, consecrated 547, with Justinian and Theodora in the apse mosaics, and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Then the group transfer to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), roughly two hours by road.
SessionClosing worship: The Foundation, 547
Held at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe.
The voyage concludes. Extension travelers stay on in Ravenna.
Optional
The Ravenna & Venice Extension
For those who want more time: a couple of days to see Ravenna unhurried — Theodoric’s tomb under its single-stone roof, Dante’s tomb, the flooded crypt of San Francesco — and then Venice, with Torcello’s Last Judgment mosaic and San Marco. Details and pricing on request.
What’s included
Included
- One hotel night in Athens (October 3) and the welcome dinner
- Two scheduled group pickups at Athens International Airport on October 3
- Group transfer from the Athens hotel to the cruise terminal at Piraeus
- The cruise fare: seven nights aboard Explorer of the Seas, with meals in the ship's included dining venues
- Group activities in Athens, Rhodes, Dubrovnik, Split and Ravenna
- All six teaching sessions and an optional morning prayer gathering each day
- The Ravenna shore excursion on October 11, then group transfer to Venice Marco Polo Airport
Not included
- Airfare
- Airport transportation other than the two Athens pickups and the Venice airport transfer
- Meals ashore. We dine together on most port days, and each traveler pays their own
- Optional shore excursions and private activities
- Beverages, specialty dining and gratuities aboard
- Travel insurance, which is required
- The Ravenna & Venice Extension
Program notes
Flights
Arrival. Fly into Athens International Airport (ATH) on October 3, in time for one of the two group pickups. Pickup times are sent with your booking. Arriving a day early is wise, at your own cost.
Departure. The voyage ends at Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) in the late afternoon of October 11. We’ll give you the earliest safe flight time when you book. If your best flight home leaves on October 12, plan a night near the airport or join the extension.
Pace and mobility
Cathedral floors, cobblestones and stairs daily in port. The walls of Rhodes and Dubrovnik involve steps and climbs, Mykonos and Santorini are tender ports, and the Ravenna day is long and ends with a two-hour coach ride. This journey asks for a reasonable level of mobility, and we can’t guarantee access, transport or seating at every site. If walking, stairs or long days are a concern, talk with us before you book.
Being aboard on time
Returning to the ship in each port is each traveler’s own responsibility. All-aboard times are set by Royal Caribbean, not by us; the ship sails without anyone who is not on it, and the cost of rejoining at a later port falls to the traveler.
Be clear-eyed about the flights. Transatlantic routings are the most fragile part of any journey like this. Because the voyage begins with a night in Athens, a late flight costs you an evening, not the ship. Travel insurance is required for this reason above all others, and yours should cover trip delay, missed connection and missed departure.
The itinerary may change
What you have read here is confirmed as of today, and it may still change. Port schedules and berthing times move. Ships alter their calls for weather and sea conditions. Churches, libraries and museums close for feast days, restorations, funerals and civic events, sometimes at little notice. Ground arrangements are occasionally reworked by the operator. When any of that happens we will tell you as soon as we know, and we will protect the substance of the teaching and the sites wherever it is in our power to do so.
We also hold this plan loosely on purpose. If God makes plain that some part of this journey should go otherwise, we intend to follow that, and we will tell you why as openly as we would tell you about a closed cathedral or a re-timed sailing.
Your host
The Thousand Years is hosted and operated by Covenant Retreats, the travel company behind Saints Camp. Booking, payment, documentation and every arrangement on the ground are handled by Covenant Retreats — reach them at covenantretreats.com.
Request details & hold your place
Group space is limited and places go in the order inquiries arrive. Tell us which option you have in mind and we’ll send pricing, deposit details, and what rooms and cabins are still open.
Creators & channels
If you make videos, reels or a podcast about the little season or end-times eschatology, we hold back places on this journey for people who will cover it.
Are you interested in promoting and traveling free or discounted?