Santorini is stressing me out!

[firstsailor]

We are on the July 23 sailing on Odyssey to Greek Isles. We “dock” from 1:00-11:00 in Santorini. Booked a private tour at 4:00-9:00. I am reading reports on FB about getting your tender tickets and how fast they “are gone to late times” and people not even being able to tender until 3:30-4:00, then the cable car line and the cable car line coming back and being back in time before the cable car closes… 🙀 I feel Ike I am going into full on panic mode a month ahead! Any good tips? 
I have looked at the other ships in port that day and we are the latest arrival and one other ship has the same departure time at 11 which is Oceana Riviera. There are 4 ships total in port. 
I think I’m feeling most stressed about being able to get off the ship to a tender in a timely manner. 
Taking all suggestions and helpful tips 😊 we are a group of 8 so the key is a little out of price range for all of us. 

[little britain]

As you are last in all other ship’s passengers will have gone ashore and up the cable car 🚠 already.  Should not be an issue. It runs every 10 mins and takes 400 each trip ( 1200 an hour!)

Coming down - again the other ships have gone and most people won’t be staying ashore for dinner so you should not have issues getting back down either imho.

https://www.scc.gr/timetable.htm

 

 

 

[Norwich Cruiser]

I think in all our cruises with Royal it hasn’t made any difference as to what tender number ticket you’ve got.

 

We’ve sometimes had tickets number say two or three that has been far to early and got off the ship an hour or so later with others.

 

Likewise we’ve got off earlier with later tickets.

 

Last week we had tickets number 2 but got off with groups 18 to 20.

 

Nobody seems to bother and can’t remember maybe on one occasion they’ve actually checked your tender numbers.

 

I honestly wouldn’t stress about it.

 

Having said that I’d allow a minimum of an hour to meet up with your companions and getting to the meeting place for your tour.

 

 

[matj2000]

7 hours ago, little britain said:

As you are last in all other ship’s passengers will have gone ashore and up the cable car 🚠 already.  Should not be an issue. It runs every 10 mins and takes 400 each trip ( 1200 an hour!)

Coming down - again the other ships have gone and most people won’t be staying ashore for dinner so you should not have issues getting back down either imho.

https://www.scc.gr/timetable.htm

 

 

 

I was in Santorini last month and  pretty sure it does not take 400 people per trip.

 

it only has 6 cars going each way and holds at most 6 people per car.

[Saab4444]

And regarding going down in time you can always walk.

[Tlbecker1]

1 hour ago, matj2000 said:

I was in Santorini last month and  pretty sure it does not take 400 people per trip.

 

it only has 6 cars going each way and holds at most 6 people per car.

I was also there last month.  We had 5 in our cable car.

[Seville2Cabo]

IMO - Santorini is a port where a RC excursion is worth it.  We were dropped off at another area before general tenders started to the area below the steps.  The excursion ended at the top of the cable cars and we had a few hours on our own before before heading down to the tenders.

[bonsai3s]

13 hours ago, firstsailor said:

We are on the July 23 sailing on Odyssey to Greek Isles. We “dock” from 1:00-11:00 in Santorini. Booked a private tour at 4:00-9:00. I am reading reports on FB about getting your tender tickets and how fast they “are gone to late times” and people not even being able to tender until 3:30-4:00, then the cable car line and the cable car line coming back and being back in time before the cable car closes… 🙀 I feel Ike I am going into full on panic mode a month ahead! Any good tips? 
I have looked at the other ships in port that day and we are the latest arrival and one other ship has the same departure time at 11 which is Oceana Riviera. There are 4 ships total in port. 
I think I’m feeling most stressed about being able to get off the ship to a tender in a timely manner. 
Taking all suggestions and helpful tips 😊 we are a group of 8 so the key is a little out of price range for all of us. 

The Captain will announce when the ship has been cleared and tenders ready to go...just make sure all 8 of you are also ready to go.

 

We were in Santorini last month (Odyssey)...approxinately 10 minutes from ship to dock...cable car takes 8 minutes from dock up to Fira (add the queue to buy tickets, 6Euros/person).

 

* Suite/Key passengers and Pinnacles were escorted to board the first couple of tenders.

 

Agree with Little Britain...cable car queue going down should not be an issue. Happy sailing!

 

* Walking down may be difficult...over 500 large winding steps and you'd have to navigate around donkey dung.

[kitkat343]

23 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

 

 

* Walking down may be difficult...over 500 large winding steps and you'd have to navigate around donkey dung.

 

We attempted to walk up the donkey path, and people were turning around, telling us it was impossible.  A vendor offered to get us donkeys and we took those up instead (we managed to avoid the line to get the donkeys, which was helpful) but still a rather unpleasant experience.   My donkey was crazy and kept trying to run faster, and I got scraped against a wall, and my brother lost a shoe halfway up (unsurprisingly, there is a store at the top of the donkey path that sells shoes to stranded tourists).  Also, reports have circulated that the donkeys aren't very well treated.

 

Santorini is absolutely gorgeous, but getting there is very difficult.  Does your cruise line offer an excursion that just provides transportation to drop you off in Oia?  Or check with the Santorini forum or tripadvisor to see if anyone knows if the private boats that run as ferries between the port and Oia are running currently (they have in the past, but I don't know if they are running now).  A long time ago, there used to be store fronts near the entrance to the cable car where you could purchase tickets on the high speed boat transfers.  

Edited June 22, 2022 by kitkat343

[little britain]

I’ll be in Santorini with Odyssey  next Tuesday and will report back. 

[blonde375]

Definitely curious about this and also about whether or not ship time is the same as in port.  Will be awaiting your report, little britain!

[bonsai3s]

3 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Or check with the Santorini forum or tripadvisor to see if anyone knows if the private boats that run as ferries between the port and Oia are running currently (they have in the past, but I don't know if they are running now).  A longtore fronts near the entrance to the cable car where you could purchase tickets on the high speed boat transfers.  

They were running when we were there last month (boat/bus/bus combo)...we were in the queue for cable car tickets and a gentleman was offering this service...boat to Oia dock, bus up to Oia, then bus back to Fira...30Euros/person.....you still need to buy the cable car tickets.

[kitkat343]

24 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

They were running when we were there last month (boat/bus/bus combo)...we were in the queue for cable car tickets and a gentleman was offering this service...boat to Oia dock, bus up to Oia, then bus back to Fira...30Euros/person.....you still need to buy the cable car tickets.

That's good - I'd love to take my kids to Santorini, but know the logistics of the transfer would currently be quite difficult for young children.

[Travelgrrl]

It's been quite a few years since I had a cruise stop in Santorini, but we were unsure whether to take the cable car up, or the donkeys. We neared the spot at the bottom of the zigzag hill where the donkeys begin, and before we could ask any questions, one of the men grabbed my (30 year old) nephew and just tossed him on a donkey and off he went. I had no other choice but to quickly pay for both of us (don't remember how much but it was reasonable) and get heaved on one myself.

 

I'll preface by saying that MOST people seemed to be having a jolly time on the somewhat slow ride up the hill, and my nephew had no complaints other than having been manhandled at the beginning. My donkey seemed to have a suicidal (or seriously mischievous!) bent because he would veer waaaaay over towards the very edge of the path, then veer waaaaay over to the opposite edge once he made the turn. I was frightened to death and once we made the top of the hill, my legs were just jelly! At the end of the day, we just took the cablecar down lickety split.

 

Having said that, I don't think you need an RCCL excursion and we had a wonderful time. Honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!  We ate at a restaurant that had an amazing view, walked the incredibly picturesque streets, shopped a little, and just had a mellow day. At the end of the day, we just took the cablecar down lickety split.

 

It took very little time from the ship to the tender, and the donkey and funicular rides were also quick. (The latter was quicker than the donkeys.) And the animals seemed well taken care of. If there is a child in your group, the donkey ride might be the highlight of their entire cruise.  I wouldn't stress a bit about the tender or funicular time, because as others have noted, your arrival and departure times will not compete with other ships. 

 

As a British gentleman on the tender insisted to us: "TAKE THE DONKEY!".  My suicidal donkey scared me but it's an experience I'll never forget!

 

Edited to add photos. The first one shows the zig zag path that the donkeys walk up. I would NOT walk down this because there is plenty of donkey doo on the path! The second photo is the typical view of Santorini, with the ocean view. The last photo shows an inner street and they are just gorgeous!

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Travelgrrl
Added photos.

[kayguz]

We are on that same cruise right now.  We lucked out as the Odyssey was the only ship in port.  That being said, it was still crazy busy!  We were at guest services very early and managed to get tender tickets group 15, friends who went an hour later were group 40.  We were cleared earlier than planned as well.  We gave it some time to let the cable car line thin out and went about 1:15 mins after they started the process-- at that point they were calling groups 0-22- meaning, if you have a ticket in any of those groups you can go.  We made it to the line that was just past the point where you can buy the donkey ride up-- it was about 45mins from that point up to the top- we debarked at 2 and met our guide at 3:40 which was ten minutes late.  We got in the line at 9:00 to return to the ship as the last tender was 10:15-- we barely made it on the last tender (left within 2 mins of boarding).  I took 1:15 to get the cable car-- the line went down the little street and wrapped around a little square sort of thing.  I cannot imagine how bad it would have been if we waited longer-- although I feel like we were towards the back of the line.  

Also-- nice groups of people (not with a guide) kept feeding up the left side of the line  and working their way to the front-- we finally spread our group out across the steps so nobody could slide by.  They would just start talking to people and casually work their way up- sort of impressive.  

[Happy New Cruiser]

It’s been 10 years since I was in Santorini but my wife and I took the bus from Fira to Oia.  I just checked online and there are still buses running every half hour in both directions.  According to Google maps the station is a 7 minute walk from the cable car. The cost seems to be about 2 euros one way per person.  If you’re worried about slow tenders and missing your private tour, this may be an option to give you more flexibility (and probably save some money). 
 

https://santorinibus.com

[flamingos]

On 6/22/2022 at 12:49 AM, little britain said:

It runs every 10 mins and takes 400 each trip ( 1200 an hour!)

 

On 6/22/2022 at 9:53 AM, Tlbecker1 said:

it only has 6 cars going each way and holds at most 6 people per car.

 

Are you people talking about the same cable car on the same island?

[Tlbecker1]

3 minutes ago, flamingos said:

 

 

Are you people talking about the same cable car on the same island?

Santorini only has 1 cable car area. We have been there twice.  There are a lot of cable cars, but each car holds at the max 6 people.

[sgmn]

On 6/22/2022 at 10:05 PM, bonsai3s said:

They were running when we were there last month (boat/bus/bus combo)...we were in the queue for cable car tickets and a gentleman was offering this service...boat to Oia dock, bus up to Oia, then bus back to Fira...30Euros/person.....you still need to buy the cable car tickets.

We did this last week. Ferry to Oia was already pretty full so only had to wait a few min before departing 

On return we were going to walk down . We have done this twice before. For context we are in our mid 60s and have found it pretty easy, though I wouldnt want to do it in the dark. Anyway after a late lunch we walked to the steps but was surprised to see there was no queue for the cable car at all.  But there was only two ships in port.

[little britain]

1 hour ago, flamingos said:

 

 

Are you people talking about the same cable car on the same island?

If you Google every site repeats the 1200 capacity statement. Guess that is just #fakenews🤷‍♀️

[Seville2Cabo]

9 minutes ago, little britain said:

If you Google every site repeats the 1200 capacity statement. Guess that is just #fakenews🤷‍♀️

 600 per HOUR in each direction - 1200 per hour total.  Does not take 400 per trip,  more like 36 each way per trip.

[blonde375]

3 hours ago, kayguz said:

We are on that same cruise right now.  We lucked out as the Odyssey was the only ship in port.  That being said, it was still crazy busy!  We were at guest services very early and managed to get tender tickets group 15, friends who went an hour later were group 40.  We were cleared earlier than planned as well.  We gave it some time to let the cable car line thin out and went about 1:15 mins after they started the process-- at that point they were calling groups 0-22- meaning, if you have a ticket in any of those groups you can go.  We made it to the line that was just past the point where you can buy the donkey ride up-- it was about 45mins from that point up to the top- we debarked at 2 and met our guide at 3:40 which was ten minutes late.  We got in the line at 9:00 to return to the ship as the last tender was 10:15-- we barely made it on the last tender (left within 2 mins of boarding).  I took 1:15 to get the cable car-- the line went down the little street and wrapped around a little square sort of thing.  I cannot imagine how bad it would have been if we waited longer-- although I feel like we were towards the back of the line.  

Also-- nice groups of people (not with a guide) kept feeding up the left side of the line  and working their way to the front-- we finally spread our group out across the steps so nobody could slide by.  They would just start talking to people and casually work their way up- sort of impressive.  

Thank you for posting!   Can you tell me is ship time the same as on land?   Trying to coordinate with our guide.   Thank you again!

[little britain]

11 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

 600 per HOUR in each direction - 1200 per hour total.  Does not take 400 per trip,  more like 36 each way per trip.

Ok …. No need to harp on…. It’s clear that every single website has regurgitated the same figure 

 

 

[RCCL Fan]

SO......   i should expect to ride in the cable car with others?  I'm claustropobic.  we're a group of 4 and I'm worried about being in there with just them, let alone others.

 

I might have to brave the donkeys

[Norwich Cruiser]

1 hour ago, RCCL Fan said:

SO......   i should expect to ride in the cable car with others?  I'm claustropobic.  we're a group of 4 and I'm worried about being in there with just them, let alone others.

 

I might have to brave the donkeys

 

1 hour ago, RCCL Fan said:

SO......   i should expect to ride in the cable car with others?  I'm claustropobic.  we're a group of 4 and I'm worried about being in there with just them, let alone others.

 

I might have to brave the donkeys

I wouldn’t advise anyone to take the donkeys.