ATHENS arriving 2:20am for same day cruise

[jandbatsea]

Landing at ATH in the wee hours (2:20am) and trying to figure out how to kill time comfortably before boarding a cruise ship in Piraeus around noon the same day.  We are coming from the U.S. with a 5 hour London layover leaving there at 8:30pm.  Figure in a +10 hour time change. so no idea if we will be exhausted or ready to party, but I am going to go with exhausted!   Any ideas or insights would be greatly appreciated.

[CruiserBruce]

Suggestion #1, 2 and 3...fly in a couple of days earlier.

[princeton123211]

36 minutes ago, jandbatsea said:

Landing at ATH in the wee hours (2:20am) and trying to figure out how to kill time comfortably before boarding a cruise ship in Piraeus around noon the same day.

Agree with Bruce-- with the delays that are common now you are playing with fire a bit here. Coming in the day before at a normal hour would be a much better way to get a relaxing trip off on the right foot. Anytime I've flown in or out of Athens I've been delayed including Delta cancelling a flight outright once with no recovery aircraft. 

 

I'm not sure really what you're asking-- Athens International doesn't have any arrival lounges and even if they did they aren't open at 2:30am. Nothing in the city or Piraeus is going to be open at that hour except for nightclubs and some late night restaurants. Your ship isn't going to be boarding until later at least the early afternoon. 

 

Personally I would just get a hotel room and crash and see if they can provide you with a late checkout in light of the late night arrival. 

 

41 minutes ago, jandbatsea said:

We are coming from the U.S. with a 5 hour London layover leaving there at 8:30pm.

Rather than fly to Athens and arrive at 2am, why not stay at London Heathrow at a hotel there, at a normal hour, and fly first thing in the am? Heathrow is a much nicer place than Athens Airport. I still think you should be flying in the day before but doing the overnight at a Heathrow hotel (there's a Hilton by Terminal 4 and a Sofitel by Terminal 5) would be a lot more civilized than the 230am arrival into Athens. 

[marazul]

They could also check in at the Sofitel at the Athens airport.  But those flights are a terrible idea for all the reasons mentioned above.  Fly in a day or two earlier at a reasonable hour.

[roddy good boy]

On 5/20/2024 at 4:41 PM, marazul said:

They could also check in at the Sofitel at the Athens airport.  But those flights are a terrible idea for all the reasons mentioned above.  Fly in a day or two earlier at a reasonable hour.

I am assuming that changing flights isn’t an option, for reasons known to her and traveling companions. I do think checking into the Sofitel is a great choice. They can shower and perhaps catch a bit of sleep before heading to the port. 

[CruiserBruce]

Of course, the OP has not returned to give us any additional info or explanation. 

[jandbatsea]

OP here.  This is our 37th cruise, so well aware of all your criticism for arriving on cruise day. If I had a choice I would have taken it.  We have missed the first port  and gone without luggage for weeks thanks to booking "day before" arrival on Delta.  I honesty thought someone might have a helpful suggestion, but my bad. 

[princeton123211]

13 hours ago, jandbatsea said:

I honesty thought someone might have a helpful suggestion, but my bad. 

I did. I just don't know why there is an expectation that there is something to do or someplace to go at 2:30am in either Piraeus or Athens. 

 

If you have to stick to the plan and arrive at that hour I would just find an airport hotel to try and catch some sleep and ask for a late check out. If you can I would take the overnight layover at Heathrow in either the Hilton or Sofitel and fly first thing to Athens-- better hours. 

[Hlitner]

13 hours ago, jandbatsea said:

OP here.  This is our 37th cruise, so well aware of all your criticism for arriving on cruise day. If I had a choice I would have taken it.  We have missed the first port  and gone without luggage for weeks thanks to booking "day before" arrival on Delta.  I honesty thought someone might have a helpful suggestion, but my bad. 

Your criticism is misplaced and you have only yourself to blame.  To be blunt, you put yourself into a bad situation and the only reasonable solution would be to change your flight(s) to arrive at least a day (we prefer several days) in advance.  The best alternative, at this point, would be to upgrade to Business Class (with lay flat seats) which will be helpful in getting some sleep on the flight.  

 

As to losing luggage on a "day before" flight, yes this happens.  But what is more common is to have luggage delayed (not generally lost) which is a much more serious problem on "day of" flights, when luggage does not have time to catch-up.  Our own strategy to avoid luggage problems is to go out of our way to book non-stop flights, whenever possible.  Every flight change increases the odds of mis-routed luggage.  

 

Another idea, which most would find ridiculous, would be to book (and guarantee) a room at the Sofitel.  Assuming that you arrive on time (these days that is never assured) you can just walk across the road and get a few hours sleep before check-out time.

 

Hank

 

 

[rsachek]

On 5/26/2024 at 5:34 PM, jandbatsea said:

I honesty thought someone might have a helpful suggestion, but my bad. 

 

Several folks have already recommended reserving a hotel room to freshen up and rest. I agree. The Sofitel at ATH is pricey but it's the most conventient. It's only a few hundred feet walk from arrivals. 

 

If you're willing to accept some extra hassle to save money, you might investigate a nearby (but not walking distance) airport hotel that will taxi or shuttle you there in the middle of the night for extra cost. The total of transportion plus room might be (alot) less money than the Sofitel. For example, there is a series of airport hotels (multiple locations) called AVR that's owned by a taxi company.

 

Another option would be to make your transfer to Piraeus by bus, metro, or taxi in the middle of the night after your arrival, then stay in a hotel near the port. That way, you'd wake up close to the ship. 

[jandbatsea]

Thank you very much for the great options.