Latest oddball cruise: 'surprise sailing' to secret ports

Gene Sloan | USA TODAY

Would you sign up for a 10-night cruise without knowing the destination? Luxury line Hapag-Lloyd is betting that at least a few hundred people will.

The Germany-based cruise operator just announced plans for its first "surprise cruise" to ports unknown, to kick off on May 14, 2016.

The 10-night sailing will take place on the line's two-year-old Europa 2, and all passengers will know about it in advance is that it starts in Istanbul and ends in Piraeus, Greece (the port for Athens).

Even Hapag-Lloyd executives don't know yet where the ship will go. The line says the ship's captain and passengers will decide where it stops as the sailing unfolds.

Possible port calls will include a wide range of Greek islands such as Thasos, Lemnos and Lesbos; coastal Greek ports such as Kavala and Volos; and stops along the Turkish coast such as Kusadasi and Bodrum.

Fares for the start at $5,990 per person, based on double occupancy.

For a deck-by-deck tour of the Europa 2, click through the carousel at the top of this story.