Zakynthos

[RTR 21-0]

What is there to do?  Not really beach people so not very interested in Shipwreck Beach.  More in to history, scenery, shopping, food. There from 8-6.  

[Hlitner]

I will add that Shipwreck Beach (Navagio Beach) is more than just a normal beach.  In fact, there is even a viewing platform (high up on the cliff that overlooks the beach).  Seeing the place and some of the nearby caves was a highlight of a week we spent cruising the Ionian Islands.  With a population of about 40,000, it is not a shopping haven.  Like most islands you can find some restaurants (fresh seafood is common).  I still remember docking at the island and watching an "older" man go into the water near our pier and pick mollusks off the wooden pier (he said it was going to be his lunch).  

 

If you are interested in scenery, consider a boat tour around the island that gives you a view of Shipwreck and visits some of the caves.  As to shipwreck, there used to be the ruins of an old freighter on the beach (I imagine most of it is now gone) which wrecked when smuggling cigarettes (or so we were told).

 

Hank

[WESTEAST]

Once onshore (tender port) we discovered a mini-train ride around the town (approximately 30 minutes) which gave us a great overview. Our remaining time was spent browsing the town shops then, enjoyed a delicious lunch while people watching. Walking along the seashore promenade, we remarked on the beautiful crystal clear turquoise sea. We enjoyed our time in Zakynthos.

 

[RTR 21-0]

Thanks y’all!  We’ll be there from 8-6 so we would probably have time to take the train ride and a little boat tour.  Do they offer boat tours at the port?  Thinking we’ll DIY that day.  

[Hlitner]

17 hours ago, RTR 21-0 said:

Thanks y’all!  We’ll be there from 8-6 so we would probably have time to take the train ride and a little boat tour.  Do they offer boat tours at the port?  Thinking we’ll DIY that day.  

I have no clue :).  When we visited that island we were on a Yacht Cruise (20 passenger) and docked at a Marina.  Our cruise director (who was the son of the owner of the company) arranged for a private boat to take all 20 of us around the island.  I mention this because there is a back story.  The boat driver was an elderly man (looked about 100) who acted weird and did not speak a word of English (or so we thought).  When we later returned to the Marina it turned out that the old guy owned a greek restaurant in Brooklyn and was just visiting his grandchildren for the summer.  One never knows what you will find on these islands :).  

 

Hank

[CruiseFan94]

Zakynthos was a disaster last year in our cruise with Celebrity.

Tendering took more than an hour to the shore.

Shipwreck Beach was closed due to rocks falling from the cliff.

They substitute the boat trip with a photostop from above the cliff, that was ridiculous.

Zakynthos is clearly not a port for cruise ships as it has no infrastructures nor places to see.

No wonder that Celebrity is not going there in 2024.

 

[RTR 21-0]

Sorry it was disappointing for you CruiseFan94.  We’ll keep our glasses 1/2 full and make lemonade out of lemons should something similar happen on our cruise.  

[Hlitner]

On 2/8/2023 at 3:44 PM, CruiseFan94 said:

Zakynthos was a disaster last year in our cruise with Celebrity.

Tendering took more than an hour to the shore.

Shipwreck Beach was closed due to rocks falling from the cliff.

They substitute the boat trip with a photostop from above the cliff, that was ridiculous.

Zakynthos is clearly not a port for cruise ships as it has no infrastructures nor places to see.

No wonder that Celebrity is not going there in 2024.

 

I do think it is a disturbing (and likely short lived) trend for larger ships to go to places not suited for large ships.  The Ionian Islands are a wonderful region for private boats and small yacht cruises.  But other than Corfu, this island chain is not well-suited for cruise ships.    The trend is that some cruise lines try to use these kinds of ports and quickly discover it is not a good idea (not to mention there is usually significant opposition from locals).    We have seen this happen in parts of Europe, the South Pacific, and Greenland (Princess has no business sending the huge Caribbean Princess to that island).

 

We have been to some small island ports that can only handle a single tender.  When a ship is trying to move thousands, and can only dock one tender at a time, there is going to be major problems and lots of unhappy cruisers.  In one Greenland port, it took the Caribbean Princess over 4 hours to tender everyone ashore in Quaqortoq (many finally gave up and just stayed on the ship).  That port has a population of fewer than 500 souls. So you can imagine being invaded by over 3500 passengers!

 

Unfortunately, some cruise line executives have lost their collective minds when planning itineraries.  Not only are they causing grief for the passengers but are also managing to turn a lot of public opinion against the cruise industry.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[pdmlynek]

On 2/15/2023 at 12:15 PM, Hlitner said:

I do think it is a disturbing (and likely short lived) trend for larger ships to go to places not suited for large ships.  The Ionian Islands are a wonderful region for private boats and small yacht cruises.  But other than Corfu, this island chain is not well-suited for cruise ships.   ...

 

 

I can't speak about Zakynthos, but we enjoyed Kefalonia very much.  Actually, it was our favorite Greek island. 

[cruisemom42]

On 2/15/2023 at 12:15 PM, Hlitner said:

The trend is that some cruise lines try to use these kinds of ports and quickly discover it is not a good idea (not to mention there is usually significant opposition from locals). 

 

Cruise ship passengers on post-cruise survey:  Please take us to new places, we are bored with the same old itineraries. We want to go to somewhere off the beaten path. But we like going there on your big ships!

 

Cruise ship passengers after visiting places off the beaten path:  This port is terrible! There is nothing to do there! No infrastructure!  We had to tender, and tendering was a nightmare!"

[SummmerInKefalonia]

Popular Zakynthos beach to remain closed this summer due to landslide risk!

[scouseronline]

22 hours ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Popular Zakynthos beach to remain closed this summer due to landslide risk!

Thank you for posting, this impacts our plans for this port stop ..... back to the drawing board 😞 

 

[SummmerInKefalonia]

This is huge and maybe impact the calls there in a much more extented capacity (cancellation).

[Piper77]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:06 AM, scouseronline said:

Thank you for posting, this impacts our plans for this port stop ..... back to the drawing board 😞 

 

I'm back to the drawing board too.  If you find anything else that looks good, please share.  Pretty much everything offered features Shipwreck beach.  I feel bad for the local tour providers.  Maybe they will start to advertise different options as they regroup.  

[dunedain]

On 3/16/2023 at 12:33 PM, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Popular Zakynthos beach to remain closed this summer due to landslide risk!

 

On 3/17/2023 at 11:06 AM, scouseronline said:

Thank you for posting, this impacts our plans for this port stop ..... back to the drawing board 😞 

 

 

On 3/17/2023 at 4:42 PM, SummmerInKefalonia said:

This is huge and maybe impact the calls there in a much more extented capacity (cancellation).

 

On 3/19/2023 at 8:12 AM, Piper77 said:

I'm back to the drawing board too.  If you find anything else that looks good, please share.  Pretty much everything offered features Shipwreck beach.  I feel bad for the local tour providers.  Maybe they will start to advertise different options as they regroup.  

 

Thanks for sharing, same here, not sure what to do at this stop anymore. Maybe we'll just wander around the town for the day. The Shipwreck Beach excursion with Celebrity still says they'll stop at the beach for an hour.

[Hlitner]

A big deal for many visitors to the island.  That being said, I cannot imagine going to Shipwreck as part of a large excursion.  When we visited, we were the only 20 at the beach for an entire morning.  And several of our 20 passengers never went ashore (they did not want to jump off the yacht and swim in to the beach).  Not surprised that they have rockslide issues as the cliffs are very steep.

 

Hank

[bennybear]

Sad but understandable about this beach.  We visited years ago, just four of us and it was wonderful.   The colour is gorgeous.   The view at the top was also phenomenal but safety is paramount.   We enjoyed this lovely island for a few weeks.  

[SummmerInKefalonia]

Zakynthos in not a destination for cruise ships, especially big ones.

Without port facilities and Shipwreck beach, I doubt if any cruise ship will still go there this summer.

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

Thanks for the article, we will be stopping at Zakynthos in May off Enchantment.

[Hlitner]

17 hours ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Zakynthos in not a destination for cruise ships, especially big ones.

Without port facilities and Shipwreck beach, I doubt if any cruise ship will still go there this summer.

We think the Greek Government needs to ban cruise ships from many of the Greek Islands that lack the infrastructure to handle large groups.  Zakynthos is one of those places.  Nothing good will come out of hundreds or even thousands of visitors going to these places.  We are big cruise fans (extensive cruisers since 1975) and also very active independent land travelers.  There is a place for both kinds of travel and the system works as long as the travel operators respect their niche.  

 

When we swam into "Shipwreck" the beach felt just about right with our group of about 15.  You can see from the pix (posted above) that it is relatively small/isolated beach not suited for large groups.  There is an observation area on top of the cliffs (accessible from land) but even that has is limitations and is not the same as actually being on that beach.  

 

Hank

[SummmerInKefalonia]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We think the Greek Government needs to ban cruise ships from many of the Greek Islands that lack the infrastructure to handle large groups.  Zakynthos is one of those places.  Nothing good will come out of hundreds or even thousands of visitors going to these places.  We are big cruise fans (extensive cruisers since 1975) and also very active independent land travelers.  There is a place for both kinds of travel and the system works as long as the travel operators respect their niche.  

 

When we swam into "Shipwreck" the beach felt just about right with our group of about 15.  You can see from the pix (posted above) that it is relatively small/isolated beach not suited for large groups.  There is an observation area on top of the cliffs (accessible from land) but even that has is limitations and is not the same as actually being on that beach.  

 

Hank

If there was a cruise pier and no tendering was involved, 1 big or 2 medium cruise ships would be ok. But if shipwreck beach is closed then it's game over.

[RTR 21-0]

Our itinerary is Dubrovnik; Kotor; Corfu; Zak; and Naples.  Question for the frequent Med cruisers - what other island would you like to see cruise lines replace Zakynthos with?  

[SummmerInKefalonia]

8 hours ago, RTR 21-0 said:

Our itinerary is Dubrovnik; Kotor; Corfu; Zak; and Naples.  Question for the frequent Med cruisers - what other island would you like to see cruise lines replace Zakynthos with?  

Us lol! 😁 Kefalonia (Argostoli) of course!

 

[Piper77]

I've got a tour booked, but will have around 2 hours before needing to be back on the ship and was wondering where to head in Zante town.  Understand a lot of the sites are out of town, but I'm not finding much on Zante town.  Any suggestions on which streets / area to head to or where are some good restaurants?  Really just up for an efficient wander around town.

[SummmerInKefalonia]

Review from a website of a passenger of MSC Lirica that called in Zakynthos one week ago:

 

Port is not ideal for cruise ship passengers. Most great beaches require a boat ride to get to, which adds to the time of the excursion. However, ship anchors at sea here and everyone had to endure the incredibly inefficient tender process by MSC again. Burned 2 and an half hours just for the tender process btwn morning and afternoon, while the ship only in port 8 hours.