10,000 in Santorini

[jklc123]

According to cruisett.com, when our cruise visits Santorini (Nov. 8), there will be a port load of 9,323, which does not include the 700 pax on our Regent SS ship, which is not one of the lines included on cruisett. This seems like a horrendous amount of visitors. I have images in my mind of fighting for a spot to take photos of the iconic scenery and long lines for the cable car back to the ship. We start the day with an early ship tour to Oia, ending with free time in Fira; embarkation is at 6 PM. I realize that the ships will dock and leave at different times, but any comments from past cruisers who visited Santorini on a busy day?

[CruiserBruce]

First, NO ship docks. Santorini is a tender port.

 

Second, taking a ship's excursion is, if you do some reading on the board, probably the preferred way to get past the hordes, as you tender first, and to a different location from the non-excursion folks.

 

Again, some reading on the board will reveal MANY threads about crowds on Santorini.

[texancruzer]

Yep, stuff will be crowded. The only plus side is that the cable car line goes pretty quickly...... :cool:

[cruisemom42]

Unfortunately this is not an uncommon occurrence on Santorini. I'm a little surprised the passenger load is so heavy so late in the season, but it happens frequently throughout the season.

 

Check on the timing of the arriving ships. At least one line tends to arrive later and leave later. If you are there early, your best bet (as already noted) is to get a ship excursion that will put you into Oia early. If not on a ship excursion, folks have to tender and make their way up the cliff and then to Oia, so you should get a fair jump on them.

[KirkNC]

It really is a shame that this happens, kind of defeats the whole purpose in going. As Bruce says, being on an excursion will help but it will still be impossible crowds particularly getting on the cable car going back to the ship. Last time we were there it was a 45 minute wait.

[OAK-cruiser]

Thank you so much for posting - the website cruisett.com will be a great help in our planning. :o

[jklc123]

We had hoped sailing late in the season would mean fewer crowds. Santorini seems to be the worst as far as number of passengers of all our stops. And then, on cruisett, there are days with no ships listed for Santorini. I suppose it would be a scheduling nightmare for cruise companies to plan itineraries to not coincide with many other lines' itineraries.

 

I'm sure we will enjoy it anyway.

[KirkNC]

Just be aware that cruisett.com is not always accurate, that might account for the days with no ships.

[stcruise]

Here is another site that might be helpful: http://www.santoriniport.com/.

 

Right now they only have a tab for August, 2013 - not sure when they actually would get around to updating it for September, etc.

[cgioris]

Here is another site that might be helpful: http://www.santoriniport.com/.

 

Right now they only have a tab for August, 2013 - not sure when they actually would get around to updating it for September, etc.

 

They have just updated the site for September 2013. They usually update it 1 -2 days before the end of each month. It is accurate, but cruise ship schedules change very often without any notice.

[massedtuck]

Last time we were in Santorini, the streets in Fira were nearly impassable due to the number of cruise ships. I would stay in Oia, explore the back streets, have a nice lunch at Skala or Roka, then grab a bus or taxi back to Fira from the square.

[jklc123]

Masstuck: That sounds like a good idea. Avoid Fira until needing the cable car.