AlaskaGoer

8 hours ago, marazul said:

It should say so in the app. Or the number of people the boat can take.. Let us know if you find out.

I've gone and come back. We do want to go and do a cruise that is strictly,  or mostly,  just Greece. 

But I know there are plenty of changes coming for cruisers so we're gonna wait a few years to let the dust settle. 

8 hours ago, marazul said:

I have been told that they have a deal to spread the tourist $ around. You use the boat for one leg and the cable car for another.  That moves people out of Oia and on to other places so they get to visit other shops and eateries maybe even beyond Fira.  A large percentage of cruise tourists just go through to see the sights and spend little money creating more stress on the infrastructure and local population than the revenue they produce. It would be even more chaotic if 10000 people were to jam Oia during the day and return the way they came.

Makes sense.

On 6/29/2024 at 11:38 AM, mytse77 said:

Does anyone know how long does it take to get off Explorer of the Seas at Piraeus? On CruiseMapper, it states 07:00 - 19:00. I want to book tickets to the Acropolis 8:00- 9:00. Or is it better to book the 9:00 - 10:00 time slot? 

We did NCL and we were off and in a taxi within 20 minutes. The taxi hit a bit of traffic and the ride took closer to 30 minutes.

I'm all about giving yourself some extra time. I'd do the 9:00a. IIRC, you have a 15 minute window before where you can get in.

On 7/1/2024 at 6:49 AM, realnice46 said:

We were just there and you just purchase tickets at the dock when you arrive. I had emailed the company and they indicated no need to make reservation. Once in Opa even with the shuttle there still is a steep climb to the bus. Also definitely do the boat or a ships tour that drops you at other pier where buses are waiting. At least 2 hour wait for cable cars. We were on NCL Getwawy and they were still calling tender numbers 4 hours after anchoring. It was a mess! 

One poor guy got a late ticket # and didn't get into the port until 5:00pm.

And then still had to take the cable car up.

On 6/19/2024 at 9:33 AM, Anita55 said:

Hello!

 

I will be on a cruise in July, visiting Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu in Greece with my family. There will be 7 of us (2 adults + 7 youngster from 15 to 20 yrs old).  I am reading may posts and reviews as I want to make the best out of our stay and I am not reassured!  We do not want to spend a LOT of money on boat excursions and prefer to organize our tours ourselves.

 

For Corfu, I'm thinking of using taxis (it seems we will need 2) - does anyone have a reference??? There are so many to chose from.  We would like to tour the island and visit beaches as it will be very hot in the middle of summer.  Any other recommendations are welcomed!  We will be there from 8am to 3pm.

 

For Santorini, I must say I am a bit discouraged!  We will be at port from 1:30pm to 10pm, along with many other cruise ships!!!  I don't want to wait hours in line to get on the cable car... and it seems like walking up (or down) the stairs is not a very good option.  I was thinking of walking from Fira to Oia, but in the heat, not sure it's the best idea.  Any recommendation to make our day in Santorini a memorable one?

 

For Mykonos, it seems that other than walking around with our fellow cruisers, there is not much to do. We will be there from 1:30pm to 9pm.  Any recommendation for a nice beach?

 

I'm open to any suggestion!  Off the beaten path is also good for us!

 

Thank you!!!

What cruise line?

I can only speak for Santorini, but either book an excursion to get off the boat early... or make sure you know the procedure to get a very early tender ticket.

Wonder if they'll have the 'shared uber' service option as well.

We enjoyed it. Was nice to go through and check out the small stores and what was available to eat.

On 6/22/2024 at 2:48 AM, chinita415 said:

I think there may be a return boat service from Amoudi Bay to Old Port  from reading some of the MSC Davina groups. I will report back when I come back.

 

My current plan is to go to get tender tickets at 7a for first tenders around 9am and straight to cable car. We are first ship there. People have reported no lines if first tenders obviously. I have decided to splurge on the flying dress photo shoot and will meet driver in Fira to Imerovigli. Then lunch back at Fira and then cable car down mid afternoon with some wait.

We took the boat from Old Port to Oia, and someone asked the captain if they do a return trip. He said no.

Unless there are other boats that you can hire to get back, I think you're stuck using the bus to return.

8 hours ago, chinita415 said:

Never mind looks like you are there June 10th. What is the actual pax count if not 3075?

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/Epic?cid=PS_DIG_NA_BRP_GOO_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA_NAM&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwmYCzBhA6EiwAxFwfgOwuYzBC56iWmSV72kws8h7z74jRRFFJAr_9nFuowS8_rEqpXeXvixoCHNkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

4k? Not sure how booked the Epic is tho.

5 minutes ago, chinita415 said:

This appears to be the official port schedule so I am checking here instead of CruiseMapper etc which are aggregate sites.

 

https://www.santoriniports.gov.gr/en/cruise

Might be official, but it's about 2k to 3k short on passenger numbers for the Epic. 

3 minutes ago, chinita415 said:

When are you scheduled to be there and on what ship? People on MSC Davina made it there this past 2 weeks. I am trying to figure out what numbers are acceptable and it seems there have been days with 10-11k allowed. So far my sailing still has Santorini but people are finding out a month ahead on MSC Davina which is calling there weekly.

Epic and in a week.

There was a 2pm ship that is no longer listed. 

Interesting enough, I checked cruise mapper to see if there were any changes to the amount of ships docking.

For our day it's now 1 less. 

On 6/3/2024 at 3:41 PM, chinita415 said:

Read about landslides mitigations from another social media platform. This makes sense why they are now actually trying to limit numbers. Still crossing my fingers and toes we get to go.

 

So just like Alaska last summer we are affected by local landslides. What are the chances?

 

 

https://neoskosmos.com/en/2024/05/27/news/greece/controlled-access-measures-enforced-on-santorini-and-therasia-to-prevent-landslide-risks-throughout-the-tourist-season/

"

• Controlled Disembarkation in Fira Bay: Implementing controlled disembarkation procedures to prevent overcrowding."

Curious on what that will mean.

1 hour ago, marazul said:

Have euro cents coins with you. It will normally be around 50  euro cents, rarely 1 euro. The attendants don't like to make change, so at least carry a few 1 euro coins with you and save the smaller coins you may get along the way for that purpose. And no, they don't want US coins.

I have a ton from one of my previous Euro trips I'll bring. 

Thanks 

15 minutes ago, marazul said:

WC= water closet = toilets

It's not uncommon in Europe to have to pay for admission which sometimes includes paper. 🙃

Oh, good advice. Thanks

2 minutes ago, RocCruisers said:

We stood still about five minutes in the sun for the cable car before making the decision that sitting in a shaded boat for twenty was a better alternative. For us, there was only two people in line.  If people are buying tickets, the boat ain't leaving. YMMV.  
 

PS.  Remember to bring a few Euro coins for the WC!

 

Thank you.

I didn't know if it was that packed that we would have to stand in line just to get close to the boat vendor.

WC?

On 6/1/2024 at 12:59 PM, RocCruisers said:

Our experience in Santorini from a couple weeks ago on Explorer of the Seas, arriving around 2 PM.  We are 68 and 72, and sometimes have problems walking distances without a break. Our original thought was an 'on our own tour' and see what happens.  When we got to the little port we planned on taking the cable car up to the top, but as we saw the line and decided to buy the €30 boat ticket even knowing we might have to walk up a hill before we reach a van/bus to take us the rest of the way.  The walk was strenuous, but doable and the van brought us very close to the top.  
At the top, the view was worth the money and energy.  Breath taking.  World class photo opportunities.  Am I really here concept. Glad we did this.
We walked along the rim and stopped at a cafe for a cocktail and WC break.  It never crossed my mind to go back to catch the bus from Oia to Fira.  We just kept walking and shopping and dining until we reached a taxi stand. Even though the price was outlandish at €60 to go back toward the cable car, we quickly learned there are no short cut roads to get there.  A path along more stores to the cable car station took about 20-30 minutes.  We got a free ticket to go down the hill (mountain cliff?!?) from another group of cruisers.   Back to the ship by 7 on an hot, overcast day with no good sunsets at Santorini.

When getting off the ship waiting on the dock, did you just get b line it for the boat ticket or did you wait a bit in line for the cable cars?

Just curious after getting off the tender, how crowded is it to go straight to the boat ticket booth. Or is there room to get around the lines...

On 5/31/2024 at 8:21 PM, RocketMan275 said:

Oh, I see the difference.  But this isn't a cruise ship problem.  As long as Santorini allows up to 10,000 passengers, you'll have this problem regardless of the number of ships or the size of the ship.  

 

The funny part is they far exceed the 10k.

40 minutes ago, DrUrsula said:

I saw the same for Epic and Getaway. Maybe they figure a certain percent gets off the ship?

 

Maybe. That's an awful difference though lol

Just now, roddy good boy said:

Does that 4228-5074 number include crew?

Lists passengers and crew separately. 

32 minutes ago, DrUrsula said:

 

 

https://www.santoriniports.gov.gr/en/cruise-arrivals/2024/9

Interesting. 

They estimate the passengers for my ship at around 3k.

But it can hold between 4228 - 5074.

On 4/16/2024 at 4:22 AM, ollienbertsmum said:

We have always done our own thing in Cannes.  We actually spent our 30th Wedding Anniversary (like you we never had a honeymoon) at Cannes.  We had been a couple of times before and had enjoyed just walking around for the atmosphere - expensive cars, views, buying a croissant using schoolgirl French, Le suquet, swimming from the public beach -(in summer) but as this was in November we decided to go on a ferry to St Marguerite a little island that offered nice walks.  We had a lovely day.  
 

I always say ‘next time Monaco’ but in reality I think we would likely have a more enjoyable day taking the train to Nice.

 

You want to do a ship tour I think so you have different considerations to me, in your case I think I would want to include Eze view with Nice.  I hope that the weather is kind to you during the cruise - we have had several in November and I find it much more comfortable walking around than July.  You do risk a storm though. 

We will be in Canne next month, and its the one port that I am struggling to find something to do.

Can you recommend anything in Canne? Resturants? Places to check out?

Just now, marazul said:

Dream on! 😁

One can dream lol

2 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:

Yes, we pretty much walked right in. But leaving, the line was long already. And like I said, it was raining! But it gave us some great skies!

 

We thought we were going to be soaked, but it never came, just some light sprinkles.

 

And a gorgeous rainbow!

 

 

Can't wait!

6 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:

OK... we were there at 8:30 a.m., but we were there as part of the pre-cruise extension, so it was a group we were with. Within an hour of starting, climbing to the top, and heading down, the line to go up was all the way to the bottom. It gets really busy pretty fast. Just be prepared. And it's windy up there, so be prepared for that too. Of course, we were there in mid-April and a Saturday morning.

I assume your group went through the main entrance, correct? 

We're at the beginning of June, and during a weekday. Hope to lesser crowds lol