Mykonos and Santorini - Brilliance July 24

[CrazyJG]

My girlfriend and I are discussing different options for Mykonos and Santorini. We are on the Brilliance of the Seas, 12 night Mediterranean Cruise out of Barcelona.

 

Right now we want to go to Delos for Mykonos and Santorini we are open.

 

Anyone have space on their excursions or have any recommendations? All advice is appreciated.

 

Thank you.

Edited July 28, 2017 by CrazyJG
Update Cruise Info

[Clarea]

My girlfriend and I are discussing different options for Mykonos and Santorini.

 

Right now we want to go to Delos for Mykonos and Santorini we are open.

 

Anyone have space on their excursions or have any recommendations? All advice is appreciated.

 

Thank you.

Tour sharing inquiries are restricted to your Roll Call thread.

[CrazyJG]

Tour sharing inquiries are restricted to your Roll Call thread.

 

Thank you for the advice. I could not find my cruise there. I'm open to suggestions?

[Clarea]

Thank you for the advice. I could not find my cruise there. I'm open to suggestions?

What is your sailing date?

[CrazyJG]

What is your sailing date?

 

July 24. I'm on the ship now.

 

We have a general idea of what we want to do, but looking for other suggestions. Maybe something we do not know about. Mykonos is 3 days away and Santorini 4 so we have time as well.

[Clarea]

July 24. I'm on the ship now.

Here is the Roll Call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2378004

 

You can also check out the Port of Call forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594

[Langley Cruisers]

Gosh, this might be the first time I've ever read of a passenger on the ship asking for excursion advice for just days from now! :D Anyway, having said that, we took a fabulous ship's tour a few years ago and I will give you the link to it. The reason it was so great is that we were, literally, the first people off the ship (that was an incredible moment - we just happened to be the first in line, what a rush!) and tendered to the old pier of Athinios instead of having to make our way up to Fira (either by cable car, donkey, or walking up the stairs). We were clean and fresh when we landed at Athinios, boarded an air-conditioned bus and started the tour. We went to Oia (charming! Every picture you've ever seen of Santorini, it's really true!), had a tour of the island, ended up at a winery drinking wine and eating bread and cheese at 9:30 in the morning, and were dropped back off in Fira for the rest of the afternoon at our leisure. Included is a ticket for the cable car ride down, but we walked the stairs.

 

You can see this excursion and other ship excursions on the RCI website for free on board because it is their website.

 

Here is the link to that excursion. Enjoy yourselves!!

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=SO01&DestinationCode=

 

.

[cloud_nine]

We also did the excursion posted above and have to agree that it was a great excursion. We loved Oia and the winery (the wine and cheese were yummy!) and we loved the fact that we didn't have to battle with the cable car queues. I would happily do this excursion again.

[nelblu]

My girlfriend and I are discussing different options for Mykonos and Santorini. We are on the Brilliance of the Seas, 12 night Mediterranean Cruise out of Barcelona.

 

Right now we want to go to Delos for Mykonos and Santorini we are open.

 

Anyone have space on their excursions or have any recommendations? All advice is appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

 

I'm on the Brilliance Aug. 29, '17, can you tell me "how is the ship".

Edited July 28, 2017 by nelblu
did not read the full post.

[CrusinNana]

We also did the excursion posted above and have to agree that it was a great excursion. We loved Oia and the winery (the wine and cheese were yummy!) and we loved the fact that we didn't have to battle with the cable car queues. I would happily do this excursion again.

 

Did this excursion in May. I totally agree....would do it again.:)

[mil76]

If you don't want to pay the ship's excursion prices, when we went to Santorini there was a place right when you get off the boat in the main port that sells a ticket for a boat ride directly to Oia and then a bus transfer back to Fira. This lets you avoid the queue to get up to Fira and gets you right to Oia before any crowd. We explored Oia on our own, you don't need a guide, just wander around and you can't miss what you think of when you picture Greece. We then had lunch at a Taverna then took the bus back to Fira, where we wandered around for a few hours. By mid-afternoon the queue for the cable cars will start winding through town, but you can either walk down or take the donkeys back to the ship. We took the donkeys down, which was a good call since we could go right back to the ship and shower. If you take the donkeys up to Fira first you'll smell like a barnyard for the entire day.

[nolesrule]

My recommendation for Santorini is just stay there and not get back on the ship. :) Probably my favorite place on the planet (so far).

 

Seriously though, Oia is a great suggestion for a day trip. And if you get a chance, go down below Oia to Amoudi Bay. Another option might be a boat trip around the island.

 

Delos would be a good excursion from Mykonos. It was one of the things we did during our stay there.

 

 

We spent 5 nights in Santorini (and 3 nights in Mykonos), and it's primarily the reason why I have difficulty thinking about booking a Greek Island cruise.... not enough time in some amazing places.

[bogofman]

You can do delos on your own,

http://www.delostours.gr/en/

Ferry leaves small dock at the end of the town.

 

If your ship tenders it will drop you near the ferry, otherwise it's a bus or water bus from the dock where the ship ties up.

Get up early as the trips start early and come back early

 

It will likely be windy and the ferry, small boat, moves around alot, I loved it, just like a roller coaster:D

[CrazyJG]

I'm on the Brilliance Aug. 29, '17, can you tell me "how is the ship".

 

If you have been on many cruises this ship/cruise has been a let down. If you haven't been cruising much the ship is fine.

 

The food has been ok. Princess and Celebrity are better. The service in the dining room have been very slow. 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours for dinner.

 

The ship needs to be refurbished. There are buttons missing in the elevator, the carpet is old. The cruise staff has been nice, but mostly unhelpful. Its known the Mediterranean ships aren't the best and it shows. The shows have been pretty good, yet at different times each night, but the night in Athens there isn't a show which is weird.

 

The drink packages are insanely high priced. The Windjammer closes at 9:30 and their midnight food is pretty bad. Room service charged $7.95 at any hour of the day. I was almost charged 2.5% to use my card in the casino.

 

Overall the ship feels old, the service has not been very good and I feel nickel and dimed every day. I admit I've been on 10+ cruises so I have a lot to compare to. If you are new to cruising this might seem like status quo, but I've been disappointed.

 

The ports however have been amazing as its my first time here.

[George C]

I'm on the Brilliance Aug. 29, '17, can you tell me "how is the ship".

 

Totally disagree with post about ship feeling old. We cruise a lot did my 60th cruise on Brilliance last September thought ship looked great, does not have all the features of the larger ships but perfect for a Europe cruise.

[nelblu]

If you have been on many cruises this ship/cruise has been a let down. If you haven't been cruising much the ship is fine.

 

The food has been ok. Princess and Celebrity are better. The service in the dining room have been very slow. 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours for dinner.

 

The ship needs to be refurbished. There are buttons missing in the elevator, the carpet is old. The cruise staff has been nice, but mostly unhelpful. Its known the Mediterranean ships aren't the best and it shows. The shows have been pretty good, yet at different times each night, but the night in Athens there isn't a show which is weird.

 

The drink packages are insanely high priced. The Windjammer closes at 9:30 and their midnight food is pretty bad. Room service charged $7.95 at any hour of the day. I was almost charged 2.5% to use my card in the casino.

 

Overall the ship feels old, the service has not been very good and I feel nickel and dimed every day. I admit I've been on 10+ cruises so I have a lot to compare to. If you are new to cruising this might seem like status quo, but I've been disappointed.

 

The ports however have been amazing as its my first time here.

 

 

This will be our 4th Med. itinerary all stopping at Venice. I find this itinerary the best of them all. Food is very subjective. The 1-2 hour range for dinner, is that for the normal MDR or MTD. Also, was it a big table. We usually request a table for 2 and on average we're finished within an hour. Last time, some 4 years ago, was on the Serenade and had a wonderful time and enjoyed the window view.

 

My only problem is that we've sailed the Oasis & Quantum class since then and we'll miss the larger ship that is conducive with roaming after dinner.

[CrazyJG]

Totally disagree with post about ship feeling old. We cruise a lot did my 60th cruise on Brilliance last September thought ship looked great, does not have all the features of the larger ships but perfect for a Europe cruise.

 

You went on the ship a year ago and it looked great? Ok where buttons missing in each elevator? Were there small tears in the carpet?

 

You are more than welcome to your opinion, but its been a year and for your 60th cruise I can not imagine you'd say this with something as simple as missing buttons in the elevator?

[nolesrule]

The service in the dining room have been very slow. 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours for dinner.

 

 

 

The drink packages are insanely high priced. The Windjammer closes at 9:30 and their midnight food is pretty bad. Room service charged $7.95 at any hour of the day. I was almost charged 2.5% to use my card in the casino.

 

 

 

I snipped the rest, but just wanted to point out the above is fairly normal across the Royal Caribbean fleet and not really specific to Brilliance.

[CrazyJG]

This will be our 4th Med. itinerary all stopping at Venice. I find this itinerary the best of them all. Food is very subjective. The 1-2 hour range for dinner, is that for the normal MDR or MTD. Also, was it a big table. We usually request a table for 2 and on average we're finished within an hour. Last time, some 4 years ago, was on the Serenade and had a wonderful time and enjoyed the window view.

 

My only problem is that we've sailed the Oasis & Quantum class since then and we'll miss the larger ship that is conducive with roaming after dinner.

 

I agree. The ports/itinerary have been great. For 2 people 1 1/2 to 2 hours seems long. Our balcony is a nice touch and since its hot its been gorgeous.

 

Last Royal I went on was Oasis Class/ Allure of the Seas. The two ships can not be compared, but Brilliance is 10 years old and much smaller.

 

For a Royal ship I've been disappointed, but the trip itself is still great. Still will be a memorable trip by the ports.

[CrazyJG]

I snipped the rest, but just wanted to point out the above is fairly normal across the Royal Caribbean fleet and not really specific to Brilliance.

 

You are probably right, but as someone who has been on Royal cruises for 15+ years the times they are a changing.

 

Celebrity's drink packages are better. They do not charge for room service unless its after 1am, etc etc. I went on a Celebrity Cruise in May.

 

So while it maybe normal now, it wasn't this way 2 years ago. Shame, I really liked Royal.

[Langley Cruisers]

OK so thanks for coming back to this thread but what did you decide about Santorini?

[CrazyJG]

OK so thanks for coming back to this thread but what did you decide about Santorini?

 

Our biggest obstacle is our 4:30pm last tender.

 

We found a 5 1/2 hour boat cruise around the island. It goes to the Volcano, the Hot Springs, sails to Thirassia for lunch, then to Oia and back to the port at 4:15. It might be cutting it too close, but its our #1 option. This is a good option and cheap, only 26 euros per person. If our last tender was 5:00pm or later we would definitely do this one.

 

#2 is safer. Half sail day to Volcano and Hot Springs, then speed boat to Oia and bus back. The half boat ride is 20 euros and the speed boat I think is 15 euros per research but can not confirm it.

[Adventures ahead]

For a first-time visit, I would skip an excursion and take the local bus to Oia and back. Walk through the town, stop for a snack and drink with an outstanding view. Enjoy the cable car. The shops are very interesting and have great local art. I'm not walking on 'those' steps, lol!

 

Mykonos is great for DIY as well. In the morning you can walk to a lovely beach to the left when you get off the ship. In the afternoon you can go to town (to the right) and wander up to the windmills and 'little Venice'. Pastries to die for...

 

For us, these islands are that simple. We loved the Greek Island cruise (on Princess) so much, we did it a second time two years later. Have a wonderful time!

 

PS - Note to self. Book another cruise to Santorini and Mykonos. Life is short... make a run for it!!!

[cinnamon]

We'll be on Brilliance at the end of August. Interesting to hear the comments. [emoji57]

 

 

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[marci22]

We were unable to get into Mykonos from Brilliance due to rough seas. We travelled during August.