Greek Ports-your recent experiences

[golfcouple]

Thanks SpringChicken! We were planning on taking the Metro in to the city and touring on our own, but I read about Metro construction problems in another thread which made that sound like a bad idea, so we might just purchase the bus ride from the ship to the city center and back, which give 6 hours to go it alone. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you and us, and everyone else, that the ship can dock!

[pennsylvaniamimi]

We arrive Athens Saturday the 8th of May and on the 14th we depart for 7 day cruise of Turkey and Greek Islands. I hope we will not have too many problems. I will post when we get back. We were planning DIY in Athens Saturday after early morning arrival and then again after a 1/2 day tour sunday. I guess we will just judge things when we get there.

[TLCOhio]

We arrive Athens Saturday the 8th of May and on the 14th we depart for 7 day cruise of Turkey and Greek Islands. I hope we will not have too many problems. I will post when we get back. We were planning DIY in Athens Saturday after early morning arrival and then again after a 1/2 day tour sunday. I guess we will just judge things when we get there.

 

Keep us posted on your travel and good luck. Hopefully the deaths of three in that bank fire-bombing will "sober up" a few people there in Greece. But, they have a long, long road to economic recovery there.

 

From the London Guardian, they have this headline: "Greek bailout: Athens burns – and crisis strikes at heart of the EU. The economic crisis enveloping the debt-stricken country not only claimed its first lives: it shifted from bewilderment into violence" with these highlights: "Across Athens today the signs of that anger were everywhere: in the central boulevards and squares that resembled a war zone, the burning cars, the burning hotels, the burning government buildings and rubbish bins and shattered windows and pavements. Surveying the debris, Karwan Ahmet a 28 year-old Iraqi Kurd caught up in the chaos, described the scene as 'being straight out of Iraq. It reminds me of all the s**t we saw in Kirkuk.' What had started as a general strike called by unions to protest against deeply unpopular austerity measures turned into a tidal wave of fury as an estimated 100,000 private and public sector workers took to the streets screaming 'let the plutocracy pay'."

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/05/greek-bailout-economic-crisis-deaths

 

THANKS! Terry in Ohio

[Rocket4Oh]

We arrive Athens Saturday the 8th of May and on the 14th we depart for 7 day cruise of Turkey and Greek Islands. I hope we will not have too many problems. I will post when we get back. We were planning DIY in Athens Saturday after early morning arrival and then again after a 1/2 day tour sunday. I guess we will just judge things when we get there.

Great. Look forward to your posts about how you are actually affected not simply "Here's what the media is reporting". This is what I was looking for with my original post. I have found the Trip Advisor Athens Forum to contain lots of real-time info from those on the streets. Most of the posts seem to indicate that it's not as bad as the media lets on for travellers.

[surfgram]

We were on the Eurodam docked in Athens on April 26. The Prinsendam was there, too. After a fabulous day in Athens, we returned to the ship and from the deck we saw people with flags walking down the street in Piraeus. We sailed at 5pm and passed the Zenith which was moored at the next dock. It looked like there was only crew on board. We didn't see any passengers on the decks. The marchers must have been PAME on their way to block the embarkation.

 

I would never had known, but there was a blurb in our local Kauai paper about cruise passengers staying in Athens on April 26 because they couldn't board their ship. So I got online and looked it all up. Wow. I guess we were lucky they didn't choose the two HAL ships. They also blocked ferry passengers from boarding.

 

In the morning we had taken the metro into Athens- well, you get on the metro, go one stop, get off the metro, follow everyone onto a bus, go two stops, get back on the metro and go to Athens! It was an adventure. I asked a young woman how long this had been going on and she rolled her eyes and said- a looong time.

 

Hopefully, the situation in Greece will improve soon and the cruise ships will be able to keep their scheduled stops in Athens. Tourism is a huge part of Greece's economy. It appears that the cruise lines are monitoring the situation and will make decisions based on keeping passengers safe. I wouldn't cancel a future cruise if I had one booked at this time, but that's an individual decision.

 

Our cruise was also affected by the Iceland ash. We stayed an extra day in Rome- April 19 to 20- (we were on the 16 day transatlantic segment prior to the 10 day Roman Empire cruise) in order to wait for passengers embarking in Rome.

 

I am happy to be home after a fabulous cruising adventure!

 

aloha, paula

[SXM54]

I heard from our tour guide in Athens today and he said it isn't real bad....the worst day was yesterday and things have quieted down. He expects things will get better and told us not to worry. He said the cruise ships are arriving as scheduled and they are picking up passengers for tours.

[BenjElz]

I really can't decide whether its a good idea to book a a celebrity equinox cruise that stops in santorini, mykonos and athens.

Any advice? Should we avoid it and do a different one?

Or do you think things will be alright for travellers in mid june...

 

argh dilemma

[Tennant]

We are scheduled to be in Athens a week from Monday (17th). I am keeping my fingers crossed! I am happy to hear there are reports of the cruise ships getting in. Does anyone have any idea where the ships might stop instead if Athens is out of the picture? Or would there just be another sea day? I am hoping for dubrovnik or istanbul if athens is cancelled. Any ideas if those ports would be feasible instead?

[cruisemom42]

A Princess cruiser is doing a "Live From" thread on the Princess boards. They are scheduled to make port in Athens in a few days. She just received the following from Princess:

 

We received a notice about Athens as follows:

 

"At this time the information we have indicates there should not be any significant problems for our passengers. The earlier protests were not directed at tourists and relate to internal Greek politics, but some tourist sites were impacted. The situation in Athens can change at short notice so we will continue to carefully watch for further developments and provide updates. If it becomes necessary to alter any shore excursions in Athens, the Shorex desk will provide you with updaes to particular tours."

[cruisemom42]

We are scheduled to be in Athens a week from Monday (17th). I am keeping my fingers crossed! I am happy to hear there are reports of the cruise ships getting in. Does anyone have any idea where the ships might stop instead if Athens is out of the picture? Or would there just be another sea day? I am hoping for dubrovnik or istanbul if athens is cancelled. Any ideas if those ports would be feasible instead?

 

Dubrovnik and Istanbul are both a fair distance from Piraeus, so I'd think it would be unlikely the ship would stop there instead -- unless it would be on their path for the port after Piraeus (Istanbul definitely not......Dubrovnik, it depends on your itinerary).

 

My guess is that they might stop somewhere closer to Athens, like Nauplion, Mykonos, or Corfu. (See link for map of Eastern Med ports):

 

http://www.*****.com/images/maps/easternmed.gif

 

Then again, they have to have enough lead time to be able to communicate with the alternate port and find out if they have room for the ship on that day, if they can set up any tours, etc. Nauplion would be easy because it is so close to Athens and they could probably work with the same tour companies. However, I don't know if bigger ships can dock there.

[cynbar]

We were in Athens on the Norwegian Gem last Tuesday, May 4th. We booked a private tour via Paul at Athens Taxi with 8 other on our roll call --- Paul did a great job getting us from place to place, but it was a little unsettling. Lots of police around the city, including many with guns, and a number of fortified buses were standing by to transport them around. Garbage seemed to be piled everywhere,lucky it wasn't a really hot day. We were delayed 2 hours before the ship was cleared by local customs officals, condensing our planned stops, and when we got our passposts back they had been stamped --- so the officials reviewed all 2400 passengers and probably the 1100 crew as well. Security lines were very slow returning to the ship also, so allow plenty of time.

[stinesheri]

Golfcouple, we leave on the Crown Princess May 15 with hopes of stopping in Athens! We have a prearranged taxi driver to meet us outside the port/customs entrance to take us to the Acropolis. Just hope it settles down in the next couple of weeks. Otherwise, we may just hire him for the day to take us elsewhere around Athens.

 

 

Could you give me the name/website of the taxi service you are using? This sounds like just what I am looking for.

 

Thanks!

[TLCOhio]

We were in Athens on the Norwegian Gem last Tuesday, May 4th. We booked a private tour via Paul at Athens Taxi with 8 other on our roll call --- Paul did a great job getting us from place to place, but it was a little unsettling. Lots of police around the city, including many with guns, and a number of fortified buses were standing by to transport them around. Garbage seemed to be piled everywhere,lucky it wasn't a really hot day. We were delayed 2 hours before the ship was cleared by local customs officals, condensing our planned stops, and when we got our passposts back they had been stamped --- so the officials reviewed all 2400 passengers and probably the 1100 crew as well. Security lines were very slow returning to the ship also, so allow plenty of time.

 

THANKS for your highly-detailed report! You had some delays, but it seemed that you adapted and things worked out. My sense and hope is that the "worst" is over for Athens with strikes and demonstrations.

 

From the Daily Mail in London, they have this headline about potential affects in other countries across Europe: "Unions warn of Greek-style riots in Britain against public sector cuts after court victory over capping of redundancies" with these highlights: "Militant unions today sent a chilling warning of Greek-style strikes and protests after winning a major legal victory for civil servants made redundant. The warning raises fears of months of chaos triggered by a furious public sector who refuse to accept painful changes to tackle Britain's financial crisis. With one in five workers employed by the State, the scale of the crisis could be crippling with unions warning of a 'tidal wave' of strike action."

 

You can see the full story at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1276386/Labour-left-warns-Greek-style-riots-public-sector-cuts-court-win-capping-redundancies.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

Terry in Ohio

[sunshine nana]

We also just got home from the NCL Gem May 1 cruise. We were with cynbar with Paul's taxi. Costa had changed their schedule to be in Athens the same day we were to avoid the protests the following day. I have to say I would not suggest that anyone try to do Athens on your own until things calm down. Paul knows the city and was able to keep us away from any problem. It makes no sense for a city that relies on tourists to keep us from getting off for 2 hours and to disrupt other ships from stopping, but that is what is happening. We stayed an extra day in Venice after the cruise because I was not sure if the ship would get in in time for our 12 flight, but we would have had no problem. Instead, by staying another night, we had our flight to JFK canceled by the volcano ash. We finally made it to JFK at 11pm last night (8 hours late) by way of Paris. Others were held over until today or sent to Frankfurt.

[cruisemom42]

Here is a report from someone who was in Athens (on Princess cruise) today, May 14:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showp...&postcount=168

 

No troubles at all, which I'm sure would be the case on any day without scheduled strikes or protests. Later in the thread she says that they will be in Athens again on May 20, the next scheduled strike day; I'm sure she'll report (if they get off the ship).

[Vrilissia]

Despite the recent unrest, demonstrations and economic crisis in Athens and Greece only one cruise ship (the Ventura) had passengers stranded unable to return to their ship. That was the result of the local PAME party taking matters into their own hands after a failed tourist bus driver strike. But all passengers were taken to a 5 Star Hotel in Athens (all expenses paid) and returned to their cruise ship the following day.

 

All other cruise ships are docking in Piraeus as normal though some are delayed because of cruise-ship line uncertainty they check with Head Office first I believe. Planned tours organized or private are going smoothly.

 

If you have any doubt regarding your Piraeus-Athens Tour contact your cruise ship company for latest info. When booking a private tour ask about their cancellation policy usually if the ship doesn't dock there is no charge!

 

I hope this helps everyone have a wonderful vacation in Greece ;)

[dino2067]

Just disembarked the Oceania Nautica on 5-14-10 at the Piraeus port without any issues/problems. There were (and continues to be), however, flight issues due to the Iceland volcano that continues to disrupt air traffic through out Europe.

 

The best that one can do is monitor the situation and make a rational decision based upon one's own comfort level and how risk averse one is. During our 35-day journey, we visited ports/areas many might consider "volatile" such as Bangkok as an example...but had we canceled and not gone, we would have missed some incredible places that we visited in Asia and the Middle East.

 

Kathleen

[stipmom]

Were you delayed in Athens because of the ash?

[dino2067]

Were you delayed in Athens because of the ash?

 

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/05/14/Volcano-shuts-down-Icelands-main-airport/UPI-99691273873759/

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100515/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_iceland_volcano_4

 

 

The potential for problems/delays on the 14th were for the evening United flight we were on from Frankfurt to San Francisco...we ended up taking a southerly route rather than the northerly route which added an hour+ to the flight time, a minor inconvenience in the scheme of things. The concern expressed by the flight crew was of the airport shutting down not allowing the flight out because of the volcano ash.

 

Kathleen

[SXM54]

How long is it taking to get off the ship in Athens once you have docked? We arrive at the pier in Athens at 1200 and I made arrangements with our tour company to pick us up at 1230....should I make it for 1300 instead? Any recommendations from those who have recently stopped in Athens would be greatly appreciated.

[Vrilissia]

How long is it taking to get off the ship in Athens once you have docked? We arrive at the pier in Athens at 1200 and I made arrangements with our tour company to pick us up at 1230....should I make it for 1300 instead? Any recommendations from those who have recently stopped in Athens would be greatly appreciated.

 

Depending on the size of your ship 30-60 minutes is average time needed to disembark.

 

Your Tour company will be waiting for you from 12:15 approx until they see no more passengers arriving.

[suenruss]

What with the riots and strikes in Greece; BA strikes; and the ongoing volcanic ash problem - no one will know if they're going to be OK until the time comes to go. This week the euro tunnel closed one day and we often have problems with French blockades/ strikes, we've been in London and Northern Ireland when there have been bombs ... but we just rise above it , stay calm and carry on !! :D (make a cup of tea!)

Book your cruise; it's a long time till September - I know 'cos that's when we're going to the Med too (with BA!)

[Dr.Oz]

How long is it taking to get off the ship in Athens once you have docked? We arrive at the pier in Athens at 1200 and I made arrangements with our tour company to pick us up at 1230....should I make it for 1300 instead? Any recommendations from those who have recently stopped in Athens would be greatly appreciated.

 

We just returned from our Med. cruise on Saturday. We had absolutely no problems in any of the ports in Greece. We toured with Nikos Loukas in Athens. The ship arrived at 7:00 AM and we met him at 8:00 AM for a wonderful full day tour. In Istanbul and Ephesus we toured with Ekol Travel. They are truly a number one tour company, which I highly recommend. We arranged a tour with Emver Car Rental in Santorini and it was a disaster. I cannot recommend this company to anyone. That was our only bad experience during the entire trip.

[Mrs.Y]

We arrived in Pireaus on Sunday, May 9th on the Brilliance of the Seas. Our original plans were to take a mixture of private & public transport around Athens & see all the sights on our own. We were a group of 9 including children and started to feel very uncomfortable about doing this after we heard about the recent rioting & fire-bombing.

 

Our captain started updating us on the situation about May 7th with indications the itinerary may be changed if the rioting continued. However, on May 8th he confirmed that we would be docking in Pireaus as planned and that no government had any travel bans in place for Athens. There was a note left in our stateroom that travel into central Athens that day was not advised, but this recommendation was due to a large sporting event and not political unrest.

 

At dinner the evening before, our waiter advised us not to go into Athens. Later, our stateroom attendant said her family had called her & asked her not to go into Athens. So, despite the captain's reassurance that it was safe to go into Athens, we were left conflicted. We decided if we did go into the city we should do it by ship excursion just in case there were problems; unfortunately all the tours were fully booked and that was no longer an option.

 

The morning we docked at Pireaus was calm & beautiful weatherwise. We decided to get off the ship to get the lay of the land and talk to some locals about the safety of heading into Athens. We were reassured many times that there were no demonstrations or concerns that day. We were still deciding what to do when we saw our ship's excursion leader & asked her about availability. She readily found room for us and we hopped on the bus, still a little concerned but starting to feel a little more excited about seeing the wonderful sights of Athens than worried about political unrest.

 

The tour went by without a hitch. I only remember seeing one police officer the whole time & he was just strolling a beat looking quite unconcerned. Just outside the Plaka we did see bullet holes in one window & one burned out car. On the way back to the port, there was a large garbage strewn area but our guide said it was left overs from a flea market that day & not from the riots.

 

On May 11th, we went to Santorini and there was absolutely no indication of Greece`s current state of unrest. We had an amazing day there & can`t wait to go back.

 

As much as these situations are a traveller's dilemma, we always try to remember that we are just passing through & the main concern is for the people who live in these affected areas. If we missed Piraeus as a port of call, it would have been a disappointment but our day to day lives would have been left unaffected, unlike the citizens of Greece.

 

All of the current situations in Europe are so fluid, that anyone with future travel should just try to have a few backup plans in place but otherwise hope that everything will go as expected.

[Ainhoa]

I flew into Athens and sailed out of Piraeus on May 8th. There was absolutely no problem. We visited four of the Greek Islands and you would not have known Greece had a problem. The only catch might be that the Greek government put up VAT to 20% which will make everything you buy in Greece just that bit more expensive.