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Santorini Ship Congestion


blackfly
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just looked up what other ships will be in port the day our ship Celebrity Edge visits. In total there will be 5 Cruise Ships with a total passenger capacity of just under 10,000:eek:. Seems like a lot for a small tender port. They all arrive within a hour of each other. How do you beat the masses. We would like to see Oia and some of Fira. The cable car cannot possibly keep up with this demand and the steps sound ominous. Any suggestions?

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Going to Oia can be done by special ship which is near the tenderdock. Or take ca localbus or cab.

However returning from Oia is only by bus or cab. Be back in time as in your case the line for the cablecar will be extreme long and you donot want to miss your ship. Or walk down instead of the cable car, but realise donkeys (and their droppings) use that walkway too.

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I believe we waited about an hour for the cable car going up with 5 ships in port. We walked the donkey trail down. It was fine, but slightly smelly and at times very slippery! I wouldn't recommend it if you have any mobility issues or aren't steady on your feet.

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In what order does your ship arrive? If there is a line for the cable car then hop on one of the local boats headed to Oia and then bus back to Fira. Walking down the steps isn’t so bad except you need to be out of the way when the donkeys are headed up. With so many in port I would try to rent a car and see some of least visited areas.

 

 

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just looked up what other ships will be in port the day our ship Celebrity Edge visits. In total there will be 5 Cruise Ships with a total passenger capacity of just under 10,000:eek:. Seems like a lot for a small tender port. They all arrive within a hour of each other. How do you beat the masses. We would like to see Oia and some of Fira. The cable car cannot possibly keep up with this demand and the steps sound ominous. Any suggestions?

 

 

 

We had five ships last August when there on the Constellation.

1. Only one of the other four was anywhere near the size of the Constellation.

2. Book a tour to Oia through Celebrity and you will be tendered to the old port. Where you’ll meet your tour bus that will take you up the hill, and over to Oia. You get two hours or so on your own, then the bus back to Fira. Or skip the tour bus back, make your own way back via bus or taxi.

3. There will be long lines to get onto the cable car back down. Took us about an hour in line. As we passed the top of the donkey path I was tempted to bail out and start walking but my wife was still in recovery from hip surgery so that wasn’t really an option.

 

In sum, yes, many (too many) people. All there for the same reason - it is a beautiful somewhat unique place, well worth the visit. Relax, go with the flow, and enjoy.

 

Stan

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WOW!.. What a potential mess. I confess to loving Santorini (been there more then a dozen times) but not with that many ships. If I were staying on the island I would hide in my hotel that day :). If on the ships I would just suck it up and enjoy the visit as best as possible.

 

But lets discuss some logistics. Some cruisers will take excursions which will usually get them tendered into a small port (not the same port used for Fira). Everyone else will be tendered into the small port located just below Fira. From that port there are only 3 ways to get up the hill (necessary to see any of the island). You can take a donkey! You can walk (on mostly the same route used by the donkeys). or you can use the cable car (one other possible alternative is to hire (or join) a boat that can take you over to Oia).

 

So lets talk about the Cable car. It is safe, fun, and generally the best way to get up and down the steep hill. But (and this is a huge But) that cable car only has the capacity to handle 600 people per hour (in each direction). If there were even 6000 cruise ship passengers, it would ONLY take 10 hours to move them all on the cable car. Enough said. Now here is the really bad news. All those folks who do take excursions and get tendered into that "other" port where they can take a bus....must still get down to the tender pier at the end of their visit. And everyone uses that long cable car and tender pier that sits just below Fira...for their departure. ARGH!

 

The authorities on Santorini are well aware of this logistical nightmare...and they have long pledged to do something (i.e. limit the number of daily cruise ship visitors). But like many things in Greece it has involved lots of talk an no action. About the only positive development has been to try to stagger the arrival and departure times (of the ships)...which does help...but not much!

 

Hank

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I should have added something to the prior post...about what do the ships do when they have this kind of day with too many ships? They simply do the best they can do...under the circumstances. In many cases a ship will not be able to get all their passengers back to the vessel in time for their normal departure. So its very common for departures to be delayed...in order to get everyone down from Fira to the tender pier. Nearly all the ships will quietly station a crew member (with a radio) at the top cable car station to monitor the situation. As long as you get to the cable car station a bit early (perhaps an hour before the last tender) you will not be left behind (at least we have never heard of this happening).

 

The folks at the cruise lines who plan itineraries are well aware of the logistical nightmare at Santorini so they normally plan accordingly. Look at most itineraries and you will see they can generally make their next port...even if they must depart several hours late from Santorini. So not to fear. Just go and enjoy this beautiful island and its many charms.

 

Hank

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I should have added something to the prior post...about what do the ships do when they have this kind of day with too many ships? They simply do the best they can do...under the circumstances. In many cases a ship will not be able to get all their passengers back to the vessel in time for their normal departure. So its very common for departures to be delayed...in order to get everyone down from Fira to the tender pier. Nearly all the ships will quietly station a crew member (with a radio) at the top cable car station to monitor the situation. As long as you get to the cable car station a bit early (perhaps an hour before the last tender) you will not be left behind (at least we have never heard of this happening).

 

The folks at the cruise lines who plan itineraries are well aware of the logistical nightmare at Santorini so they normally plan accordingly. Look at most itineraries and you will see they can generally make their next port...even if they must depart several hours late from Santorini. So not to fear. Just go and enjoy this beautiful island and its many charms.

 

Hank

 

Can you estimate for me how long it takes to walk down assuming average walking speed on an incline?

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Can you estimate for me how long it takes to walk down assuming average walking speed on an incline?

We walked down the donkey trail on our trip in Sept. 2015. It was a very hot day and the lines for the cable car was very long. I would estimate it took us 45 min. You can see from the top that is a short distance--but straight down. The trail is a switchback, so not so steep as it is slippery, smelly and crowded. It was an experience that we have relayed to friends with great detail--part of the adventure of traveling.

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We walked the steps on our trip back in 2016. It is nowhere near as bad as everyone makes it sound. We went up as well and it took us a little under 15 minutes (ok we sped up because we had bet with our friends we would beat their time) but with a few breaks to enjoy the view it would be feasible in 20 to 25 minutes.

On the way back it took us again around 10 to 15 minutes.

The steps were clean and there was no smell of donkey except in the areas where donkeys were waiting (some reports make it sound as if you're wading ankle deep through donkey poo the whole time - that's not what we experienced.)

 

So if you are at least somewhat fit, the walk up the stairs is really not an issue, just make sure you wear proper shoes (we were in our hiking boots because we did the hike from Oia to Fira along the caldera edge, but running or training shoes with a good grip would be equally appropriate - I wouldn't attempt it in flipflops though.)

Just our experience... ymmv

But don't be afraid of the steps, since everyone makes it sound more horrible than it is.

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Can you estimate for me how long it takes to walk down assuming average walking speed on an incline?

 

If you have no walking limitations it should take no more than a half hour. But depending on how much donkey poo you have to avoid....it could add some time :).

 

Hank

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  • 2 weeks later...
just looked up what other ships will be in port the day our ship Celebrity Edge visits. In total there will be 5 Cruise Ships with a total passenger capacity of just under 10,000:eek:. Seems like a lot for a small tender port. They all arrive within a hour of each other. How do you beat the masses. We would like to see Oia and some of Fira. The cable car cannot possibly keep up with this demand and the steps sound ominous. Any suggestions?

 

 

Where did you go to look up what other ships will be in port on a specific day? I'd like to check that out for our upcoming Greek Isles cruise. Thank you!

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We were in Santorini last year and there were queue markers advising how long the wait was for the cable car. It was 90 minutes so I would leave plenty of time. We decided to walk and it took 30 minutes but was really hard on the knees as it was quite slippy

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You're welcome. Cruises are listed in advance so unlikely to change unless a missed port due to weather conditions.

Our busiest will be Mykonos in July with 4 ships in port within an hour of each other.

Our cruise is very port intensive so this will be a chill out day and avoid the rush.

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That last link has some good basic port info... But is not helpful in planning ahead, or planning a future cruise, as it only shows the ships for the next few weeks.

 

The first link is much better to look at schedules.

I looked at next year, and then referenced this with a search of cruises that visit Santorini in the timeframe.

Seems to match up pretty good, for the most part!

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That last link has some good basic port info... But is not helpful in planning ahead, or planning a future cruise, as it only shows the ships for the next few weeks.

 

The first link is much better to look at schedules.

I looked at next year, and then referenced this with a search of cruises that visit Santorini in the timeframe.

Seems to match up pretty good, for the most part!

 

Yes, doesn't go out so far but very accurate and goes out a couple of months. When updated it will go out up to six months.

 

My experience is that always good to look at a couple of these to get a full look at what ships will be in port.

 

The one I provided also provide the size of each ship.

 

Keith

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From our experience in Santorini, would also suggest you take a ship tour to make it simpler to get to Oia. Especially with 5 ships in port. It can get really congested there.

 

It takes about 30 minutes to walk down... be sure to wear good walking shoes (not flipflops) and bring water as it can get hot.

Some steps can get slippery and you just walk around the donkeys and their droppings.

 

Attached is a video from our last walk down the 588 steps in Santorini that I hope helps you in your planning...

 

GREECE - SANTORINI, Greece 2015 --588 steps walk down -

 

GREECE - SANTORINI, Greece holiday - FIRA to OIA MAY 2016 -

 

Check out my channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHiRFnslgYtHoKI4zEN8zbA

for more travel videos of ports of the Mediterranean, South Pacific and Asia.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

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KONAZO, your reply served to reinforce our decision to rely on the ships shore excursion for transportation to Oia and back. I think you spend 3 hours in Oia. Hope that’s enough time. Loved your videos. Do you recall were you ate lunch with the view of the cruise ships? Doing the stairs is centanly within our comfort range and the photo opportunities seem endless. Thanks again.

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Hi Blackfly,

Glad you enjoyed the videos...hope there are of help to you in your planning.

The restaurant overlooking the cruiseships is in FIRA is NAOUSSA and was referred to us by locals...that is in video of 588 steps down.

The restaurant in OIA was THALASSIO -overlooks the bay there and we saw several weddings taking place of couples from China while we were eating there. That was on video Fira to Oia.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

KONAZO, your reply served to reinforce our decision to rely on the ships shore excursion for transportation to Oia and back. I think you spend 3 hours in Oia. Hope that’s enough time. Loved your videos. Do you recall were you ate lunch with the view of the cruise ships? Doing the stairs is centanly within our comfort range and the photo opportunities seem endless. Thanks again.
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