blondelinda

@ELIZG.

Thanks for your post. So would you actually recommend doing it this way? Is there nobody on the boat to Oia that gets off and takes you to the "non existent" bus?

My husband does have some feet problems, so i was going to do exactly this after all the research, BUT with what you mention about the bus not being there, that could be a real issue. Is there no busses, taxis etc where you are let off?

@Cyclospora.

Thanks. So where the boat tender drops off for "non ncl excursions" in Santorini is the same place you get the cable car up? AND that is the line , outside the Oia Fast Line?

Also, with the GOT tour, you mentioned you did, where did you book this? Did you do this from the landing at Dubrovnik since you mention its not a ship one? Also , would you recommend the tour now you have done it, or would you just do the walls and walk around on your own?

Thanks

@Cyclospora. Thanks for your post. How scary for your Dad, I hope he was ok

>>We caught the fast boat from where the tender lands in Santorini and went to Fira. It's 15 euros per person. The boat takes you around to Oia and they tell you that there is a shuttle after the boat lands to take you into the town. They don't tell you that there is a 10 minute walk up a steep hill to get to the shuttle. It is worth it though :). There is another bus included in the price which goes from where the first bus drops you off which takes you to Fira and this is also included in the 15 euros.>>

When you get dropped off from the ferry to Oia, is the bus not at the landing where the ferry is? I have read it to believe the bus meets you where the ferry drops you off?. Also, can you confirm is it easy enough to get to Oia on your own, with this fast ferry and did you pre buy the tickets online or just get them once you tendered without any problems?

>>>Mykonos was lovely and we had a nice stroll around the town and up to the windmills. Corfu, Kotor  and Argostoli were also lovely places. (My takeaway has just arrived so will talk about Dubrovnik GoT later!>>>

Cant wait to read what you did in these ports, and also are you getting take away on the boat?? Please tell! lol

Thanks!

Thanks for your post on Dubrovnik, its made it easier in my head to do this on our own, and as we arrive in port early, I will be off and running lol

Yes did you find they took euro, credit cards or did you need Kuna i think it is?

@Stealthdog.

Thanks so much for the detail

It makes a lot of sense now

Being first timers and reading so much it just had me confused

Im sure the tender process would be fine, and I would prefer in Santorini in particular, where its already so busy to do a smaller tour than a ship tour. Ive been onto the greektravelling which is recommended a lot and trying to put together a semi private tour to make it cost effective, hoping others on my roll call are interested

My only other question i ask is, that i read everywhere and you confirm, if doing a ship tour and it runs later, then the ship will wait. However, doe the tour leave you at the cable car top or the tender dock? As im thinking, if your late due to long lines and the tour leaves you at the top, how does this actually help you? Unless they are committed to getting you back on the ship and they wait in line with you? Is that correct? Thanks

@Ashland.

Thanks so much, thats very helpful

I will shoot them an email to get more details. Feel im getting a little more sorted now! Thank you

@joejoe 59. lol. I know even less! lol

Your welcome to contact me after my trip in September and I can tell you more if you like?

@cloud_nine.

Thank you. What I meant was not how long it takes to get down, i understand thats dependent on lines etc, but what amount of time we need to allow once down to get the tender to the ship? I wasnt sure if this was a tedious process?

So i guess, if we allow 30 minutes to walk down , considering the cable cars might be long, and they want you on ship at 9.30, should we leave by say 8.30 to be down @9 to allow time for tender ferry? Is 30 minutes adeqate for the tender ferry?

Thanks

@Love the beach.

"3 years ago we took the ferry tio Oia with there bus ride back to Fira"

Did you have to pre book the ferry or did you just get off at tender dock and it was there? I mean does it run regularly or how is this information found out please?

Ive looked into a semi private tour, but due to cost, will only work if some of the others want to jump on and join in?

Thank you

@TheTides

where we wandered the town again getting lost, and ate a wonderful sunset dinner at the Metropolis before making the mad dash back to the boat before 9:30 last call!  

AGAIN sorry, but can you explain this part to me please? Can you tell me do you need to book the tender back to the ship or is it just turn up after the walk down or cable car down to the tender and get on? Also, if you say 9.30 was last call, is that for a 10pm departure, AND what time would you say you need to make your way down (cable or walk) to be able to be on the ship at that time? ie allowing for tender etc?

Thank you so much

@TheTides.

Hey no not a silly question!  So we did not book a tour.  We had planned in advance to book the ferry to Oia.  I am not sure how the tendering process would change if we had arrived on time, but we felt the tendering process was a breeze.  They will make an announcement roughly 2-3 hours before we dock.  I would work on getting there around 30-45 minutes before they announce calling tender tickets.  They will begin distributing about 15 minutes early

Sorry, can I confirm the part about we planned in advance to book the ferry to Oia? Does this mean you booked the ferry from the ship, or from home, or just when you tendered? Im so confused, and this is me as I dont know anything about this process lol

Also, would you say you can do this Oia from the tender dock with relative ease as DIY or would we need a tour?

@Ashland

It appears my roll call only has 1 registered! Im following the roll call, I dont even know how to "add myself to it" even though ivew commeneted! lol

Hi we are going on the Star on the 22 Sept out of Venice. Our itinery shows departure at 5pm. How do you find out when you check in etc? We are first time cruisers, with no idea, and ideally would like to get to the terminal and check in without a long line! So is there a process, or time to avoid as such?

Does check in open so many hours ahead of departure time, and i asuume like flying, they allow, first, then business then economy to board?

It makes sense to board as soon as you can, as we will have to check out of our hotel by 10 and if we can check in to the ship that would be awesome!

@Stealthdog. 

Thanks for your reveiw, we are going on the Star in Sept, first ever cruise, so feeling a little lost with all the mentions of "tender tickets" and so on lol

Questions:

1. With Santorini, we def want to get to Oia by boat. Its mentioned you dont need to do the boats excursion, and my understanding the ships excursion takes you up and down on the cable car, whereas we want to do one direct from the tender ferry. Am i understanding correctly, if you do a ship excursion, you dont need to get tender tickets, and you are the first off, so no hassles. And if you DIY you need to line up for tickets on the day? Do you see this as problematic for first timers like us, and do they actually tender in different spots, from my understanding?

2. The other thing sticking in my mind is, getting down from Fira, if cable car too long a line, we would walk. You then have to tender back to the ship i am assuming? Or does the cable car or walk take you directly down to the ship? Im wondering if you need return tickets too?

3. We are supposed to be in port in Santorini from 2-10pm. 8 hours. Effectively, what time approx (25 Sept) would we need to be down to get on the ship, ie how long does the process take, and if you do a ship tour is the process actually quicker getting down and back on the boat?

4. People mention on other threads, " there is 3 boats in port when we arrive". Do you know how we find out about that? And am i wrong in assuming that if we leave at 10pm, we might be the only ship there that light?

We would like to do Oia on arrival, then back to Fira for evening dinner watching sunset before getting on the boat. If its doable DIY, or if we should book an excursion

If there was one ship excursion you would recommend, or say do with the ship, which one would it be?

Thanks

@firstimer2009. 

What date is your cruise? We are also on the Star in Sept this year, 22-29, and we are looking for a great way to do Oia in Santorini?

Im also wondering how the tender process works, as we are first timers too!

@Tides

Since we arrived early, they were opening up tender tickets at 11.  I was there around 10:40, and was on tender 7.  Now since the excursions were still scheduled to go at 2, the tender process was extremely efficient, and they were calling for free tender roughly 40 minutes after the ship was cleared.  It did seem as if everyone was on an excursion, and while I wouldn’t say do not do an excursion, I must say Santorini and the majority of these ports are extremely easy to do yourself and avoid the crowds.  We hopped off the boat and headed to buy our tickets to Oia.  For those who are not as familiar, there are two towns to focus on in Santorini, Oia and Fira.  Fira is where the ships disembark, still beautiful, but Oia is the town that you see in all the post cards.  In our opinion both are extremely doable in a day.  We took the speed boat from the dock to Oia, roughly 20 minutes, then began the long walk up to the town.  If I have any advice here, it would be to just get lost.  It is a blast to meander through the small alleys and vistas. The ticket to Oia to Fira was included in our ferry ticket which if I recall was 16 dollars, so we then hopped the bus and headed to Fira, where we wandered the town again getting lost, and ate a wonderful sunset dinner at the Metropolis before making the mad dash back to the boat before 9:30 last call!  I have to say having these late port stays are so wonderful, and really help you have a good feel of the town as a whole.  Also, I cannot stress enough the beauty of enjoying both of these charming villages slowly.  The vistas and views you will discover will be worth the trip alone

I am really after some advise on Santorini. Are you saying that you didnt book a tour, you just got off the tender dock and where able to buy a "ferry ticket to Oia" We dock on 25 Sept from 2-10pm, and I am torn about organising a private tour, as we want to go straight to Oia by boat, and not the cable car to Fira first. I assumed you needed to organise an excursion for this, but am i wrong?

Also, please excuse silly questions, this is our first cruise, so with tender tickets, when do you get them and how? Do they make an announcement or do regulars just know what to do? I assume with ports like Santorni where everyone wants to get off early, you get to the tender ticket place early to get one correct? And your number on the tender is how quick you get off?

Also, what about getting back on the boat from tender, do you need a ticket for that, or is it just turn up and go?

Finally, what was your actual departure time for Santorini, as you mention 9.30 for last call? What time did you make your way down, and did you walk or cable car?

If i can get these tips, it sounds like your port stop hours was meant to be as ours is, 2-10 pm, id love to get your tips to make Santorini a great easy stop, as like you its my wish list 🙂

The Star offered it 2x.   I believe on the 3rd day and the 6th day.  So in theory you can have your clothes washed and folded 2x for 50 bucks.  Pretty amazing deal if you ask me

How do you find out when they offer it, is it in the newsletter or something? And is that just what you can fit in the laundry bas they supply, like in hotels? Sorry we have never cruised, and laundry is something i have wondered about, but didnt want to pay hotel exorbitant prices?

@Berverly.

We are doing a 7 night cruise out of Venice on the Star in September, from the 22-29, and I wondered are you on the same one?

Also, in regards to the $50 port credit, we where offered the same, but elected to take another option (they can be changed in your online account or ringing NCL) as the agent told us, its $50 per port you do an excursion in. So if you have 6 ports and do 6 ship excursions, all great. But if you only do one ship excursion, you only get the credit for that port, being $50. We chose the specialty dining package instead, giving us 3 specialty restuarants

@ Ashland

At your suggestion I contacted the greektravelling guy. He was quick and prompt with all the details

He did however say he couldnt off the standard "Oia Experience" for those on Star, i think it has to do with the time we are in port and not working in with others? Im not sure

He did come up with an itineray, pretty much the same, in a private version for us, and the more we add it comes down in price per person. I worked it out, if we get 10, then its the same price as his tour he runs. But he is offering this a a custom tour to us to meet us for our schedule

I dont know if this will be harder to organise than yours, I am assuming you jumped on the "Oia Experience: tour he runs? Or was yours like ours, a customised one to suit the boats port arrival? 

I have put the post on our roll call, so im hoping to get some interest, but wondering if you where in the same position as us, or you where able to get in his pre organised tour?

Thanks

@Minoushka

When in dubrovnik you just do it yourself, and not on a tour?  We have a 7.30-1.30 port stop, do you think we can accomplish this directly ourselves without the excursion?

We are new to crusing, and doing the Star from 22-29 Sept

Will be in Santorini on the 25th from 2-10pm

What time would we need to have to make a reservation for dinner, to make our way down to the boat by? Im totally in the dark with this!

Thanks

@ Ashalnd

Thank you for that

How did you preorganise a group tour?

Did somebody make a post and ask for committments?

Im new to crusing so have no idea. Are you able to tell us did you have to prepay an amount each, and what was the total cost of the tour each in comparision to the ship excursion?

Thanks

@AusATC

I looked at the shops Oia tour, and its $247, but you mention $101 each???

Can I ask what you did as your day trip to Oia?

We are cruising mid September on Star and have the same port time, 2-10pm, and would like to get to Oia the most

Im concerned about DIY, we have never done crusiing before, and we want ease and see the most

Id love to hear how you went about it

Thanks

Ok 

thank you 

it doesn’t make sense to have a message button if you can’t use it ?  Lol 

thank you for this, we have our first cruise, and its on the Star in September