Going ashore without a cruise ship tour - Greece/Greek Islands - Please can anyone confirm current rules

[mimlypops]

We are cruising from Rome to various Greece/Greek Islands in May. Please could anyone confirm that, as things stand, we can go ashore on our own without being on a ship's tour re Covid regulations.

 

Thank you

[flwinejunkie]

I'm also interested in the answer to this question.  On NCL website last month, there was a note under country requirements saying only ship excursions and it's gone now so hoping we can actually do independent tours.

[ski ww]

I would call the cruise line direct, talk to a real person. Hopefully the head office should know what the requirements are by now.

[Toledosfinest]

I called NCL last Friday, and they said as of right now, passengers are free to get off the ships in Greek and Italy ports, and even book tours with outside private tour operators. This is subject to change at anytime.

[konatyme]

Do you know whether a negative COVID test is still required at every port?

[mimlypops]

Thank you Toledosfinest

[Hlitner]

So lets clarify some things about the Greek Islands.  They have been essentially wide open to independent travelers for about a year!  When we were on multiple islands last August there were no government restrictions other then the usual indoor mask mandates (not always enforced).  Cruisers were free to go ashore (on any island) on their own....except that some cruise lines imposed their own restrictions.   So, the answer to the OP question is that much depends on your particular cruise line.  For example, when we were on our Seabourn Cruise we spent the day doing our own thing on Mykonos while another mass market line (much larger ship) had restrictions (cruise excursions only) imposed on their passengers.

 

This year I would be surprised if any line imposes restrictions.  Keep in mind that the Greek Government has done a fabulous job opening their country to tourists (this was done a year ago) and minimizing COVID restrictions.  The most restrictions we encountered was when we used 3 interisland ferries (these are really large ferries) where there were onboard mask rules and capacity controls.  That happened when we went from Pireaus to Naxos, Naxos to Paros and Paros back to Pireaus (done over a week after we had debarked from a 2 week cruise).

 

Hank

[KeithJenner]

On 3/13/2022 at 3:47 AM, flwinejunkie said:

I'm also interested in the answer to this question.  On NCL website last month, there was a note under country requirements saying only ship excursions and it's gone now so hoping we can actually do independent tours.

You can certainly do independent things in Greece on NCL. I am not aware of them ever having had a restriction in Greece, and have not seen any message on their website saying that you need ship tours in Greece. It was the case for Italy for some time, but not Greece.

[pdmlynek]

When traveling in Greece, you need to be flexible.  This goes double for when traveling during the time of Covid.

 

I’ve traveled internationally to several continents during Covid, and what I find is that nobody really knows what the rules are, and what they are supposed to be enforcing.  The Ministry of Health says one thing, the Prime Minister says something else, the Immigration/Border Officials say something else, the county/province/comuna leadership says something else.  The local police do not talk to the Health Ministry, the Border police have their own rules, etc.  The ferries, public transports, airlines, cruise lines, etc. have their own way of doing things. 

 

A cop told me “Yeah, I know that this is what our website said, but that is outdated; we are trying to get the webmaster to change it.”  A tourist board told me “We don’t know, but here is a direct line to the Premier’s office; ask them.” 

 

The rules change all the time, some times they are communicated to the right people, but often they are not, and most of the time they are misunderstood anyway.  Sometimes the rules get more strict, other times, less strict.

 

Some rules are iron clad, others are simply strong suggested, and others are optional. 

 

And of course, cruise lines would like it if the passengers believe that the only way to get off the ship is to book an excursion through them. 

 

Here is what I typically do, and will do for or cruise in the Greek Isles in several months: I find the legislation that was passed by the national legislators, legislators in the region, and for each municipality that we will go through, implementing rules and guidelines.  Both in the local language and English. 

 

Dealing with this is just the part of charm of travel.  Don’t sweat it.