Concerns for our visit to Santorini. Crazy time schedule! Any ideas?

[sandydownunder]

We will be on NCL's Gem calling into Santorini on 26th October. The times are 4pm to 11pm. (that requires a separate post to argue how crazy that is).

 

I was feeling proud of myself that I'd done the research (I've never been to Santorini before) and worked out an independent tour. We planned to tender off the ship, take the cablecar up to Fira, catch the bus to Oia, spend some time exploring this town and return the way we came.

 

I just happened to Google sunset in Santorini for the 26/10 and it is at 5.33pm.

 

I know many people think that experiencing the sunset is a highlight of their visit. I'm very happy to have that experience too.

 

However my concerns are these:

1 At 4pm I'm sure just about the whole ship will want to tender. How long is that going to take?

2 Similarly what will the queue for the cable car be like?

3 It takes about 30 minutes to travel the winding road by bus to Oia. Will we make it by sunset?

4 What will it be like in Oia after dark? Will we see very much?

5 Do we want to come back in the bus in the dark? (feeling a bit apprehensive about that).

 

Another option is to do a ship's tour to Oia. One that is offered is 3 hours duration. That brings us to 7pm and with sunset at 5.33 pm part of this tour is in the dark. At least we'd have tender priority. You go straight to Oia from the pier by bus. On the way back they drop you in Fira and give you a pass for the downward journey on the cable car.

 

Another option is to just stay in Fira.

 

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this. Specifically someone who has just done the Greek Islands cruise on the Gem may have some insights into how quickly we might be able to get a tender. (of course any one doing the trip now would have several hours more daylight than we'll be getting).

 

Sandra

[KirkNC]

That is a crazy time! It sounds like the ship will do the same thing that they did with us last summer. They will first go to one end of Santorini (opposite from Oia) and drop off the ship excursions at a pier the buses can actually drive to. Depending on the number of people going on ship excursions this will take a minimum of 30 minutes (and this will cut into your on-shore time). They must than reposition the ship closer to the normal dock below Fira. The good news is I seem to recall they used tenders from Santorini versus lifeboats for the excursion drop offs. Otherwise you would have to wait while they are secured prior to moving the ship.

 

Once the ship repositions, you can than tender to the Fira docks. My recollection is that they have some kind of numbering process for tenders so you might want to show up as early as you can when they assign the numbers, I think other than the ship excursions it is first come first serve. This was one of our mistakes last year, we ended up in the middle of the pack. We arrived at Santorini right around 10:10 I think but by the time they offloaded the excursions, repositioned and got us to the dock it was 11:30-11:45. The cable car had a line but moves pretty quickly but still takes around 15 minutes. Again in our case I remember it being almost noon by the time we actually go to Fira (with a 10:10 arrival time) so for question number one I think it is a minimum of one hour to get to FIra after arrival. Question 2 is about 15 minutes (coming back can take a little longer). Question 3 is maybe. If the sunset is your number 1 thing (and it is supposed to be beautiful in Oia), it might be tough to make it. You could take the ships tour, it should get you there in time. Another option would be to go ashore in Fira and grab a taxi but I bet it would be close, 5:33 means that is when the sun goes out of sight right? As much as I hate to say it, the ships tour maybe the best bet. The problem with the bus is I believe they depart every 30 minutes so you could easily wait 15-20 minutes for the bus to show up. I am not sure on questions 4 & 5. If you take a taxi or the tour coming back will not be a problem.

 

Good Luck.

 

Kirk

[tom_uk]

Oia is quite a small village, yet it's spread out. I'm not sure what it would be after dark: I suspect that there lanes and alleys will be quiet, and there will be a bar or restaurant every now and then. So I think it would be quite quiet.

 

The big attraction of Oia is supposed to be the sunset, and I'm sure it's spectacular. Whether or not it's any better than the sunset from Fira, I wouldn't like to say. Fira is much bigger and has more life. There are streets full of of open shops, selling everything from low-priced tat to the most beautiful and expensive hand-crafted jewelry in gold and platinum. Just walking around the lanes is fascinating in itself. Then there are the caldera-edge bars and restaurants. One solution would be to get up to Fira as quickly as you can, find a bar, have a drink and watch the sunset from there; then after that, do some window-shopping. Then back to the ship in the mid-evening.

[zqvol]

Some notes are included below.

 

We will be on NCL's Gem calling into Santorini on 26th October. The times are 4pm to 11pm. (that requires a separate post to argue how crazy that is).

 

I was feeling proud of myself that I'd done the research (I've never been to Santorini before) and worked out an independent tour. We planned to tender off the ship, take the cablecar up to Fira, catch the bus to Oia, spend some time exploring this town and return the way we came.

 

I just happened to Google sunset in Santorini for the 26/10 and it is at 5.33pm.

 

I know many people think that experiencing the sunset is a highlight of their visit. I'm very happy to have that experience too.

 

However my concerns are these:

1 At 4pm I'm sure just about the whole ship will want to tender. How long is that going to take?

 

A couple of points here. Tendering in Santorini is done by the local union. When we were there they never started when they said that they would.

 

 

2 Similarly what will the queue for the cable car be like?

 

Again tendering is done by the locals and not all tendering is done into the port below Thira. There is another area that it seems a lot of ships use as a tender area. I base this on the fact that when we were there in June there were 11 ships in port, but very few tenders running in to the cable car area. If you tender in to where the cable cars run you can expect anything from a 10 minute wait up to an hour. I should note that even though we were in port until midnight the cable car stopped running at dark, and our tender service stopped. This does not happen where the larger ships tender.

 

3 It takes about 30 minutes to travel the winding road by bus to Oia. Will we make it by sunset?

 

This is very doubtful. The buses run on a schedule. You only have 90 minutes to get there from when your ship arrives, that is a real stretch to do, especially on the bus.

 

4 What will it be like in Oia after dark? Will we see very much?

 

The beauty of Oia is the sunset and the blue domed churches. You lose most of this after dark, though it is a quaint town, and much less hectic than Thira.

 

5 Do we want to come back in the bus in the dark? (feeling a bit apprehensive about that).

 

The buses are wonderful, and seem completely safe. They are well maintained touring coaches, not some rickety beat up machine. VEry luxurious and not at all like the public buses in the US.

 

Another option is to do a ship's tour to Oia. One that is offered is 3 hours duration. That brings us to 7pm and with sunset at 5.33 pm part of this tour is in the dark. At least we'd have tender priority. You go straight to Oia from the pier by bus. On the way back they drop you in Fira and give you a pass for the downward journey on the cable car.

 

This tells me that you are not going to tender to the cable car area, but to the newer port. This option gives you a chance to get to Oia. If Oia is the key do this tour and get off in Thira on the way back.

 

Another option is to just stay in Fira.

 

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this. Specifically someone who has just done the Greek Islands cruise on the Gem may have some insights into how quickly we might be able to get a tender. (of course any one doing the trip now would have several hours more daylight than we'll be getting).

 

Sandra

[Susan-M]

There is another area that it seems a lot of ships use as a tender area. I base this on the fact that when we were there in June there were 11 ships in port, but very few tenders running in to the cable car area.

 

The cruise ships use the following two areas for tendering:

 

Athinios, where you are taken if on a ship's tour as the buses can access the harbor there.

 

Skala Fira, if you aren't on a ship's tour, and where the cable car is that takes you up the caldera to the town of Fira. (The steps are there as well.)

 

Map

[sandydownunder]

Thankyou so much to everyone that replied. It has given me more to think about.

 

From those who described the tendering process I'm leaning towards a ship's tour. I know we'd be first off and maybe there might be a chance the ship arrives early.

 

Thanks tom uk for your description of Fira. That would probably be the second option just to stay there.

 

I think I've just about given up on the bus to Oia.

 

There is a lot of help and advice on these boards. Viva la Cruise Critic.

 

Sandra

[zqvol]

Here is Oia around 3:00 in the afternoon

 

 

More Santorini pictures can be found here:

 

Have a great trip

[sandydownunder]

Thanks zqvol for your time in answering my questions and for the photos. They were wonderful. I was able to pick out the cable car route and the switch back path for the donkeys. All adds to my understanding of Santorini. Can hardly wait.

 

Sandra

[IreneCat]

Thank you so much for asking this. I'm on the same cruise and was wondering the same thing.

I wasn't considering a ship's tour before but after reading the responses, I may just spring for it.

[ColoTrvlr]

My wife and I are on Norwegian Cruise Line's Gem which will be in Santorini on October 12, 2010, but the ship doesn't arrive until 4:00 PM! We really wanted to see the village of Oia in the late afternoon and then see the sunset. This island is supposedly one of the highlights of Greek Isles, with its blue-roofed churches, etc.

I called NCL's shore excursion department to get some information. We normally don't use the ship-sponsored excursions, but, since this is a port where we are tendered in to shore, it looked like the only way to get to Oia before dark (sunset is at 5:50 pm or so) would be to bite the bullet and take NCL's tour to Oia. The girl at NCL told me that the tour that seemed to be the only option for what we want would be the second tour to leave, and the bus wouldn't leave until 5:00 pm, with a driving time of over 1 hour. Guess what? This would have us arriving in the beautiful town of Oia after dark! I told her how disappointing this was, but she didn't have a comment. It seems silly to me to spend good money for this tour. If we went on our own, we'd have to wait even longer to tender to shore since the people taking NCL tours are favored.

I think NCL has made a big booboo with their scheduling. If I knew how to reach the appropriate person, I sure would like to let them know it. Does anyone know how to contact the "powers-that-be" at NCL?

[cheffip]

My wife and I are on Norwegian Cruise Line's Gem which will be in Santorini on October 12, 2010, but the ship doesn't arrive until 4:00 PM! We really wanted to see the village of Oia in the late afternoon and then see the sunset. This island is supposedly one of the highlights of Greek Isles, with its blue-roofed churches, etc.

I called NCL's shore excursion department to get some information. We normally don't use the ship-sponsored excursions, but, since this is a port where we are tendered in to shore, it looked like the only way to get to Oia before dark (sunset is at 5:50 pm or so) would be to bite the bullet and take NCL's tour to Oia. The girl at NCL told me that the tour that seemed to be the only option for what we want would be the second tour to leave, and the bus wouldn't leave until 5:00 pm, with a driving time of over 1 hour. Guess what? This would have us arriving in the beautiful town of Oia after dark!

I'm considering this cruise as well and Santorini was going to be one of the highlights. Not happy with the cruise times in port though when I googled I'm coming up with 6:52 for sunset on October 12.

BTW, which tour did NCL recommend that you take?

[sandydownunder]

http://www.santorini-weddings.info/calendar/#October

 

Hi Colo Trvlr,

 

You might be luckier than us. The link above is for sunset in October. It lists sunset for October 12th at 6.52 pm. For us on October 26th it is 5.33 pm. Between Oct 24/25 it jumps back an hour so I can only assume daylight saving ends.

 

I have a hazy recollection that I read something about ship's time and port time being different. Does anyone know if that is correct? That may help.

 

We have booked the ship's tour but I'll be asking lots of questions when I'm onboard and depending on the answers we'll be cancelling.

 

I couldn't agree more that it is crazy. If you hear anything else please post here. I hope you can find the appropriate person. Telephoning NCL is not an option for me because of the time difference and cost from Australia.

[sandydownunder]

http://www2.ncl.com/excursions/search?qs=N%3D4294967068%26Ne%3D8057%26Nr%3DAND%2528p_Record_Type%253AS%2529

 

Hi cheffip,

 

Here are the ship's excursions. It is the $64 one. (either 3rd or 4th down).

 

Interestingly the Oia & Winery says it stops at the winery first, so sunset will be at the winery then on to Oia in the dark. OK! so they may reverse the schedule so it's wine tasting in the dark.

 

As for the private tours at over $1000 well that's great value in the dark.

 

Sandra

[cheffip]

http://www2.ncl.com/excursions/search?qs=N%3D4294967068%26Ne%3D8057%26Nr%3DAND%2528p_Record_Type%253AS%2529

 

Hi cheffip,

 

Here are the ship's excursions. It is the $64 one. (either 3rd or 4th down).

 

Interestingly the Oia & Winery says it stops at the winery first, so sunset will be at the winery then on to Oia in the dark. OK! so they may reverse the schedule so it's wine tasting in the dark.

 

As for the private tours at over $1000 well that's great value in the dark.

 

Sandra

 

Hi Sandra

If the tour went directly there and stayed for the sunset at 6:52, the remaining hours "in the dark" in the livelier town of Fira might still be a nice combination...what do you think?

-Phil

[sandydownunder]

Hi Phil,

I think that will work out very well for you. If you wanted to do something independently you are going to be held up by getting a tender ticket and waiting in a big line to get on the cable car.

 

You are very lucky. Can't believe that just 14 days later we are going to run into problems. I'm still hoping that when the ship arrives at 4 pm it will only be 3pm in Santorini. Have a great cruise and a wonderful excursion on Santorini.

 

Sandra

[texancruzer]

We were on Celebrity with an arrival time of 2pm to 10pm. Early May.

We too thought this was screwy schedule.

 

Here is the best tip I can give you....... ( we learned the hard way)

 

Get in line for your tender tickets e-a-r-l-y !!!

We didnt and even tho we arrived at 2:00 we didnt get off the ship until almost 4:00 :eek: Even then the cable car line was l o n g...... so we took the donkeys (a highlight of my trip btw)

 

Glad we hadnt planned on a private tour. We too were going to take the bus but on the way we found a wonderful taxi (nice Mercedes) who took us to Oia, waited for us and brought us back. We enjoyed the sunset over dinner high on the caldera rim in Fira. After dark wasnt much fun so we pretty much went back to the ship......

 

good luck !

[ColoTrvlr]

Thanks for the info on the sunset. I must have gotten wrong info on the sunset time. If it is 6:52 pm, that might be doable. I just posted some info I got from NCL about their tours and times. You can see it on the Norwegian Cruise Line Roll Call board for the Gem.

 

 

 

http://www.santorini-weddings.info/calendar/#October

 

Hi Colo Trvlr,

 

You might be luckier than us. The link above is for sunset in October. It lists sunset for October 12th at 6.52 pm. For us on October 26th it is 5.33 pm. Between Oct 24/25 it jumps back an hour so I can only assume daylight saving ends.

 

I have a hazy recollection that I read something about ship's time and port time being different. Does anyone know if that is correct? That may help.

 

We have booked the ship's tour but I'll be asking lots of questions when I'm onboard and depending on the answers we'll be cancelling.

 

I couldn't agree more that it is crazy. If you hear anything else please post here. I hope you can find the appropriate person. Telephoning NCL is not an option for me because of the time difference and cost from Australia.

[ROCruiser]

We were in Santorini twice (due to the strike in Athens) during our 14-day cruise. The 2nd time was the 4~11 schedule. I got in line an hour before tender tickets were given out and got group #1. There was no line at the cable car and no line at the donkeys.

[sandydownunder]

Thanks ROcruiser,

What month was that?

What did you do (both times)?

 

Sandra

[annecl2]

My hubbie and I are on NCL's Gem which will be in Santorini on 31 August 2010, 4pm-11pm. Our sunset is at 19h56. I have some questions:

 

1) How can I find out where we are docking - cable car area or the newer port?

2) If we dock at Fira by the cable car, I have planned the following - cable car to Fira, then take a taxi or bus to Oia, have sunset dinner back in Fira at Fanari Restaurant @ 19h30, then back to ship @ 21h00. What do you think?

3) If we take the bus to Oia, where does one catch it in Fira?

[texancruzer]

My hubbie and I are on NCL's Gem which will be in Santorini on 31 August 2010, 4pm-11pm. Our sunset is at 19h56. I have some questions:

 

1) How can I find out where we are docking - cable car area or the newer port?

2) If we dock at Fira by the cable car, I have planned the following - cable car to Fira, then take a taxi or bus to Oia, have sunset dinner back in Fira at Fanari Restaurant @ 19h30, then back to ship @ 21h00. What do you think?

3) If we take the bus to Oia, where does one catch it in Fira?

 

First of all, you will NOT dock, but tender in from the ship. Allow time for this process.

 

Your plan sounds good. Be aware you might need to allow more time for each thing. For instance, cable car line - sometimes close to an hour wait both going up and going down.....depends on how many people are there that day and their time schedules. Taxi would be faster...... it took us about 15-20 minutes from Fira to Oia. Spent 2 hrs there - not enough:( then taxi back. Sit down dinner - could take a bit longer than 1.5 hrs..... again depends on how many people. Also - they do not hurry there. Meals tend to be slower/longer as it is a social time for them. If you want to move it along....tell your waiter you are on a tight time schedule. He probably won't be real happy and it may work and it may not.....:o Bus station - exit cable car - go up main walkway to main road and turn right. Walk until ya see it - @ 4-5 minutes.

[4774Papa]

We just returned from our NCL cruise 7/3 through 7/17. I strongly suggest taking an NCL excursion. You can do Santorini on your own, but time is important, and you don't want to miss seeing the island. We took the Oia and Winery tour and it was worth the price. My Daughter and her family did it on their own, and never made it to Oia. With NCL the bus takes you over almost all of the island.

[sandydownunder]

Thanks 4774Papa,

 

We have booked just the Oia shore excursion with NCL. You obviously had more daylight hours than we will. What do you think about sun set being at 5.33pm? Can you remember what time the ship arrived? Was it right on 4 pm? I'm hoping it will arrive earlier.

 

Sandra

[4774Papa]

Sandy,

The ship did arrive at 4PM, on time. The sun didn't go down until about 930PM. You can still enjoy Oia and Fira at night, since the towns are well lit, but you want to take advantage of the fantastic vistas of the island during daylight. The Oia excursion might be the best choice, since we spent some time at the winery in the beginning. Still, if you take the winery and Oia excursion, you would be able to see most of the island, rather than just the Northern part. You might want to call NCL and ask them for details.

If you go on your own, you will spend more time tendering, and getting up the hill by cable car. That time would likely burn up most of your daylight time.

[dileep]

Thanks 4774Papa,

 

We have booked just the Oia shore excursion with NCL. You obviously had more daylight hours than we will. What do you think about sun set being at 5.33pm?

 

Sandra

 

Given your late arrival, this is a good idea! It sounds like you might be in Oia for the sunset. There is a lookout at the tip of Oia with some ruins there but with a panoramic view. That would be a great place for sunset. That is about 10-15 walk from where the bus drops you off.