Norwegian Jade Santorini

[PKFA]

Hi, This is my first cruise on this ship, only been on the Island Escape. Could you tell me whereabouts the tender drops us off on the Island of Santorini? and secondly, I have paid for the drinks package and the gratuities, What extras can I expect? Or what extras are on offer? Thank You

Edited March 1, 2014 by PKFA

[Demonyte]

If you don't have an NCL excursion, tender brings you to the bottom of the city and you have three options to get up: cable car, riding a donkey or walking.

 

In the image linked below you can see the dock area with some restaurants, excursion company offices and shops. The cable car runs at the middle of the image where a large gray concrete block can be seen above a white cable car terminal building. Walking is done by the same zig-zag path used by donkeys that runs left to right to left in the middle of the picture just right from the cable car. The actual city of Fira is above on top of the hill.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Santorini-20070808-058248-panorama-small.jpg (warning, very large picture)

 

What comes to the extras, it is all up to you. There are people not spending any extra money onboard besides the service charges and there are also people that eat all their dinners in speciality restaurants, buy photos, buy a spa pass, etc.

 

If you are happy with the two included main dining rooms, buffet and 24/7 comfort food eatery (we usually are) then there would be no extras (as long as you stay within the individual drink price limits - $8.50 for cocktails, $10 for a glass of wine, can't remember the limit on beer, maybe $5.50 --- any drinks over the limit are charged in full).

Edited March 1, 2014 by Demonyte

[PKFA]

Thanks for that, that's perfect.

[umpy10]

There is a 4th option, we used it last summer. When you get off the tender, there are two places that will sell you tickets (20 euros each) for a speed boat that will take you up to Oia. They will then take you by bus to the top where you can tour the village of Oia, and then take a bus back to Fira. That is all included in the fee.

They will give you the times of when the buses leave for Fira. There are some excellent restaurants in Oia, but you will be paying a lot more for the view. We decided to eat in Fira at Da Costa Cafe & Restaurant just before sunset and had excellent views and food.

The wait for the ride down the cable car was minimal, 10 mins. at most.

 

Enjoy Santorini ....... cheers...the Ump...:D

[fabnfortysomething]

There is a 4th option, we used it last summer. When you get off the tender, there are two places that will sell you tickets (20 euros each) for a speed boat that will take you up to Oia. They will then take you by bus to the top where you can tour the village of Oia, and then take a bus back to Fira. That is all included in the fee.

They will give you the times of when the buses leave for Fira. There are some excellent restaurants in Oia, but you will be paying a lot more for the view. We decided to eat in Fira at Da Costa Cafe & Restaurant just before sunset and had excellent views and food.

The wait for the ride down the cable car was minimal, 10 mins. at most.

 

Enjoy Santorini ....... cheers...the Ump...:D

 

unfortunately it appears this speed boat option will not be available this year according to several reports on this forum

[AF-1]

There are plenty of taxis waiting up the hill in Fira. Or u can catch the bus in Fira and it goes to Oia.

[Ewoodspark]

There is a 4th option, we used it last summer. When you get off the tender, there are two places that will sell you tickets (20 euros each) for a speed boat that will take you up to Oia. They will then take you by bus to the top where you can tour the village of Oia, and then take a bus back to Fira. That is all included in the fee.

They will give you the times of when the buses leave for Fira. There are some excellent restaurants in Oia, but you will be paying a lot more for the view. We decided to eat in Fira at Da Costa Cafe & Restaurant just before sunset and had excellent views and food.

The wait for the ride down the cable car was minimal, 10 mins. at most.

 

 

Posted last year on Tripadvisor

 

“Union Boatmen Speedboat/NST Bus combination to Oia a Disaster.”

Reviewed 28 July 2013

This is the only negative review I will write after a spectacular 11 day Mediterranean cruise which included a day in the beautiful island of Santorini.

 

We had been to Santorini on a cruise once before and were looking for an alternative to either the donkey rides, which just seemed sad, or the cable cars which we knew could be quite crowded. We started seeing posts about a Boatmen’s Union speedboat directly from the harbor at Fira to the harbor below Oia, a bus up from the harbor to the town of Oia, and then a bus from Oia to Fira. It seemed like a great alternative.

 

Don’t do it. Here’s our experience on July 10, 2013 from the Celebrity Reflection.

 

1. We are in port from 2:00 until 10:00 p.m. Immediately on getting off the tenders at 2:00, we see the signs for Boatmen’s Union speedboat excursion to Oia which state "Transfer by Speedboat to Oia in 12 minutes" and then NST bus back to Fira. Tickets are 20 euros each which is fine for our family of four. The ticket agent tells us the boat will leave in 20 minutes.

 

2. We are wandering back and forth wondering which boat it will be. There are people from the agency encouraging people to come in to buy tickets but they don’t know which dock the boat is coming into. We continue to ask and finally at 2:40, the boat arrives. (We could only tell it was the correct boat by seeing others with tickets like ours getting onboard). Everyone gets on into an enclosed ferry which is sweltering (must have been over 100 degrees Farenheit with no air). We open the windows but the staff insists on closing them because of water that may spray in once we are underway. I thought I was going to pass out and almost left. A few others did.

 

3. Others on the boat are asking the driver when we are going to leave, and for 30 minutes he keeps on saying “5 minutes.”

 

4. Finally at 3:10 (over an hour after we purchased the tickets), we leave and have a hot but uneventful trip to the harbor below Oia (I think it's called Amoudi).

 

5. We get off at the harbor, expecting to get on a bus up to the town of Oia. The bus is there, locked and with no driver. Everyone stands there and waits. No one is there organizing anything or telling anyone where to go. After another 20 minutes, some of the other ferry passengers decide to walk up to Oia, which looked like quite a healthy hike.

 

6. We finally see 2 bus drivers with “NST” on their shirts off to the side and a couple of passengers approach them and ask if they are going to drive us up. One driver motions to a catamaran which is out in the water and says yes when it returns with other passengers in about 40 minutes.

 

Are you kidding me? It's already an hour and 45 minutes after we bought the tickets for our 12 minute ride. We demand to be taken up now and he reluctantly opens up the bus (which was just big enough to transport those left) and brings us up to Oia. It was just before 4:00.

 

7. My wife smartly recommended that we get to the 5:00 bus to Fira early, and in fact, it filled up and some people who wanted to take it back had to wait for the 6:00 bus.

 

We would have been much better off just waiting for the cable car up to Fira. We waited for about 25 minutes to get down, but at least you knew what was going on and it was reasonably pleasant.

 

The whole experience was stressful, uncomfortable and unpleasant, particularly because there was NO one organizing it or telling anyone where to go any step of the way until we got to the NST bus station in Oia. Be forewarned.

 

Visited July 2013

[umpy10]

We were there in August last year, and had absolutely zero problems. There are 2 places that will sell you tickets, one goes every hour but the one were on went every 25- 30 min. The one we used would only sell tickets inside, not out front, they're the slow ones. We had a bus waiting for us to go up to Oia, and there were extra buses waiting to take anyone back to Fira.

 

It was the best thing we did, it gave us lots of time to sight-see and have a fantastic supper before we left. We were in port from 1:30 - 10 pm. Buyer beware I guess. We chose this option based on all of the excellent reviews I had researched and believe me when I say researched.

 

We were gone for 29 days with 6 days in London, 3 days in Barcelona before we boarded the Spirit for a 12 day Grand Med. with a 7 Day Greek Isles on the Jade as soon as we disembarked the Spirit. Never once did we use a shore excursion via NCL. It was all DIY so believe me, the research I did was very extensive. Was just over a year in planning, train tickets, plane tickets and tickets purchased on-line for various Museums.

Santorini was probably our most favorite port of the many we visited, would do it the same way again in a heartbeat.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

[meltingmoments]

We were on the same cruise as Umpy10 last August ( waves hi to Umpy :) )

and we tendered at the bottom of the city and took the cable car up to the top........and back down again later. Don't know if it was just luck, but we had no waiting time either way. We just did our own thing and wandered around, taking pictures and stopping for cold drinks and ice-cream. Santorini was THE most beautiful place, I would love to return one day.

 

Enjoy your cruise.....from one Mancunian to another! :D

[umpy10]

(Waves hi back to meltingmoments)

 

I failed to mention that we were one of 2 ships in port that day and after looking back at a few photos there still was a fairly long lineup for the tickets and ride on the cable car. Didn't find it that crowded at all no matter where we visited that day. Because we were the last ship to leave, the lineup was short for the ride down.

 

cheers... the Ump...:D

[umpy10]

Just uploaded some Santorini photos, enjoy.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/119195685@N06/

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

[meltingmoments]

Just uploaded some Santorini photos, enjoy.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/119195685@N06/

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

 

Just spent time reminiscing about Santorini and the rest of last years cruise after looking at those photos! Thanks for sharing them umpy! :D

[meltingmoments]

Let's see if I'm as clever as umpy and can add some photos!! :o

 

 

Here's hoping! Enjoy!

[Ewoodspark]

We were there in August last year, and had absolutely zero problems. There are 2 places that will sell you tickets, one goes every hour but the one were on went every 25- 30 min. The one we used would only sell tickets inside, not out front, they're the slow ones. We had a bus waiting for us to go up to Oia, and there were extra buses waiting to take anyone back to Fira.

 

It was the best thing we did, it gave us lots of time to sight-see and have a fantastic supper before we left. We were in port from 1:30 - 10 pm. Buyer beware I guess. We chose this option based on all of the excellent reviews I had researched and believe me when I say researched.

 

We were gone for 29 days with 6 days in London, 3 days in Barcelona before we boarded the Spirit for a 12 day Grand Med. with a 7 Day Greek Isles on the Jade as soon as we disembarked the Spirit. Never once did we use a shore excursion via NCL. It was all DIY so believe me, the research I did was very extensive. Was just over a year in planning, train tickets, plane tickets and tickets purchased on-line for various Museums.

Santorini was probably our most favorite port of the many we visited, would do it the same way again in a heartbeat.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

Just received the following E-mail

Sorry for the delay but I was not in Santorini.

About the transfer unfortunately it has been stopped from the Commune of Santorini for several reasons that I don't want to say.

Santoriniplanet is organizing a new excursion (not transfer) it costs 38 euros per person and it works like following:

When you disembark at the old port of Fira you ll be transferred by boat to the new port where with a tour guide will start the tour of Profitus Ilias, Santo Wines winery with included wine tasting, Oia 2 hours and half and back to Fira or firostefani up to the clients.

For July and August it's also available beach of Kamari 3 hours and 3 hours in Oia at the same price.

Both of them need at least 15 people and maximum 50.

It will be bookable from 10th of March.

 

If will be available the transfer to Oia I will inform you.

Regards

Luca Santoriniplanet

[umpy10]

Just received the following E-mail

Sorry for the delay but I was not in Santorini.

About the transfer unfortunately it has been stopped from the Commune of Santorini for several reasons that I don't want to say.

Santoriniplanet is organizing a new excursion (not transfer) it costs 38 euros per person and it works like following:

When you disembark at the old port of Fira you ll be transferred by boat to the new port where with a tour guide will start the tour of Profitus Ilias, Santo Wines winery with included wine tasting, Oia 2 hours and half and back to Fira or firostefani up to the clients.

For July and August it's also available beach of Kamari 3 hours and 3 hours in Oia at the same price.

Both of them need at least 15 people and maximum 50.

It will be bookable from 10th of March.

 

If will be available the transfer to Oia I will inform you.

Regards

Luca Santoriniplanet

 

 

This is a separate travel agent/ tour company in Santorini and has absolutely nothing to do with the Seaman's Union that runs the ships to Oia via Ammoudi Bay. There is no need to pre-book any tickets for the trip as they can be purchased dockside.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

[PKFA]

Ugh! I don't fancy that at all. Thank you for that excellent report.

[PKFA]

Ah that's more like it, I was getting a bit put off for a minute. LOL

[PKFA]

Thank you, enjoyed the pics, can't wait to go.

[Magicdi]

Can anyone tell me what the last tender back to the ship leaves Santorini?

 

thanks

[meltingmoments]

Can anyone tell me what the last tender back to the ship leaves Santorini?

 

thanks

 

Hi there,

 

Just checked our dailies and the last tender was 9:00pm. Bearing in mind this was 2 years ago, but pretty sure it will still be the same. I'm sure someone else will say if it's vastly different. Hope that helps. :)

[AF-1]

Hi, I was on Jade last month did B2B and in Santorini last tender leaves at 9pm. So MeltingMoments you are correct.

[meltingmoments]

Hi, I was on Jade last month did B2B and in Santorini last tender leaves at 9pm. So MeltingMoments you are correct.

 

*proud look*....;)

 

Thanks AF-1.........and am enjoying your review on the other thread! :)

[Twinks17]

Could anyone please tell me, is there a certain time you have to leave for the tenders from the ship or can you chose to leave the ship at any time for a DIY trip?

[meltingmoments]

Could anyone please tell me, is there a certain time you have to leave for the tenders from the ship or can you chose to leave the ship at any time for a DIY trip?

 

Hi there,

 

If you are doing a DIY trip and have transportation booked, my suggestion would be to go to Guest Services and book a tender for a specific time. If my memory serves me correctly, the tenders for Santorini were particularly busy at around 2:00pm.........we arrived at about 1:30pm...and everyone seemed to want to get off at once! Hope that helps :)

[Twinks17]

Hi there,

 

If you are doing a DIY trip and have transportation booked, my suggestion would be to go to Guest Services and book a tender for a specific time. If my memory serves me correctly, the tenders for Santorini were particularly busy at around 2:00pm.........we arrived at about 1:30pm...and everyone seemed to want to get off at once! Hope that helps :)

 

Thank you for you reply :) we haven't any transport booked, we were just thinking of leaving it a while then getting off when the mad rush had finished, just wondering if they ran a constant tender throughout the time it was docked. we were looking at doing the boat transfer to oia then the bus rather than going up in the cable cars, a friend visited With another cruise company 2 weeks ago and said this was a better option (for them) they said it was stress free.