Why we make this call

The provenance marks on every page grade individual facts. This page grades the reasoning instead — a few of Greece, in Order.’s calls, with what they depend on, what we still don’t know, and the case that would flip them. Nothing here is new content; it’s the same editorial record the book already keeps, made readable before you buy.

Why the last crossing gets a rule, not a recommendation

The call: The book does not simply recommend ending on a calm island. It names the mechanism — the meltemi cancels fast catamarans first — and makes the LAST crossing before your international flight the one decision in the book with a hard rule attached.
What it depends on: The meltemi’s seasonal pattern and its documented effect on high-speed Cyclades ferries specifically, more than on conventional car ferries.
What we don’t know: Your exact sailing's cancellation risk on your exact dates — the book names the mechanism, not a weather forecast six months out.
What would flip it: Flying the last leg instead of taking any ferry removes the rule entirely — which is exactly what the book recommends for the longest crossings (Santorini or Crete).
What we refused: A guaranteed-safe island to end on. No island is immune to a cancelled ferry; the rule is about which TYPE of crossing you put last, not which island.

Last changed: 2026-10-10 — a third-round fact audit found the ferry-weather caution still read as a guarantee ("sails when the wind shuts the fast fleet down") in four places; all four were corrected to say a conventional ferry is more resilient, not immune.