Thoughts on Santorini

[timf2001]

When I was there in May (not NCL, but it's all the same), there was no wait for the cable car when we first got there after our excursion ended.  However, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant just around the corner from the station, and by the time we were done the line was wrapped around town.  We ended up walking down the donkey path, which was a little smelly but not too bad.

 

The big advantage in taking a ship excursion is they take you to the new port, so you get directly on a bus rather than needing to take the cable car or donkeys up to Fira.

[Travelling2Some]

We always took the least expensive ship's excursion that would get us to Oia without dealing with the cable car.  Then we would just tell the guide that we are going off on our own so not to worry about us.  We would use the public busses the rest of the day.  Only way to mitigate what is going on with the cable car when trying to leave is to be aware of the "all aboard" times of any other ships in port.  We never had a truly horrible experience but we always did the Med in October to avoid the heat and crowds.  I think if I was going now I'd consider November.

[room with a view]

9 hours ago, zqvol said:

You need to pay attention to the schedule of arrival and departure times. Those can make a huge difference about crowding. What you don’t want to be is one of the ships that arrives and departs in the middle. 

Thanks, I will check it out .

[tsahall01]

I was in Santorini in September on the Breakaway.  We were the ONLY ship in port that day.  They decided to delay the start up of the cable cars to do maintenance on them--long line and long wait.  Had a wonderful excursion with Tours by Locals.  They dropped us back off near the cable car entrance.  The line to go down was absolutely incredible!!  Wound around the entire area, down streets, around corners.  Some opted to take the steps down.  We waited in line--since we were the only ship in port, I don't see how they could have left behind SO MANY PASSENGERS!  It was nerve wracking but we made it down and caught one of the last tenders to the ship.  Almost everyone on the tender was pissed and saying NEVER AGAIN.  I don't blame them!  What a horrible way to end a wonderful day on Santorini!  If I have a next time, I'll just take the cable car up at my leisure, stay an hour or so up top and then take the cable car down early to the ship.

[Alatraveler1]

On 8/15/2024 at 2:29 PM, room with a view said:

Our ship doesn't arrive till 1.30pm ...I will guess that the other ships would have all their passengers ashore by then  .

Could work in your favor if all others are arriving early, maybe the biggest rush up the cable car will be over by then.  Use one of the websites that show what ships will arrive/depart at what times.  I would be very wary of staying anywhere close to sunset unless you're the only ship left.

Edited August 16 by Alatraveler1
clarification

[itsnotjustme]

On 8/14/2024 at 11:43 AM, room with a view said:

we don't want to spend hours waiting at the cable car to get down to the ship

If you are in relatively good physical condition, do the volcano hike excursion.  When we did it last year, we tendered to the old port below Fira, then boarded another boat to the island in the caldera.  After the volcano hike, they took us to another area with hot springs, and those who wished to could swim from the boat to the hot springs near the shore.  The boat then returned us to the old port, and we tendered back to the ship.

 

Of course we didn't visit any of the towns, beaches, or archeological sites, but we have been to Santorini at least 4 times now and done much of that.

 

p.s. Akrotiri is a really cool archeological site.  Once up into Fira, it is easy public transportation to and from.  It is also close the the red beach, but that requires a hike on rough terrain to reach. 

[Eggs2Go]

22 hours ago, tsahall01 said:

I was in Santorini in September on the Breakaway.  We were the ONLY ship in port that day.  They decided to delay the start up of the cable cars to do maintenance on them--long line and long wait.  

 

I was on that cruise and couldn't understand why the line snaked down streets and took hours when we were ONLY ship there, so thanks for explaining that cause was maintenance issues (wonder how often some type of cable car breakdown??). Like most everyone, I wanted to see Oia but tour was lengthy with difficult climbs on gravel in the heat. Oia was also terribly crowded with tourists (not just cruisers) so I was already tired when I joined the long line back to ship (and no way am I in physical condition to hike the donkey path down). But I felt joyous to finally be back onboard and partied out on the deck (magnificent views of Santorini and the Aegean Sea sunset from the ship) where we enjoyed an annual local fireworks display over the volcano. Yet in following days I remained fatigued at port stops. When I returned home I was quite sick and one night in my bathroom I fell (passed out?) and broke my neck. At the hospital I was also diagnosed with covid. Of course I blame Santorini for all of this. Now I'm recovered and back to cruising again but Santorini is not on my list of desirable places to spend a day.  Should I find myself in port there, I'm staying on the ship.

 

 

 

 

[tsahall01]

@Eggs2Go.  Sorry to hear of your post cruise illness and fall!  We discussed walking down the stairs, but I had heard too many stories of people slipping/falling and getting injured.  I am the type to trip over a pebble wearing flats!  Most certainly I would never do it in the dark!!  I have since seen that there are shore excursions that eliminate the cable car altogether.  If I go again, I would utilize one of those tours.  I hope that there are more tours of this sort to send a strong message to the cable car company (they are a family-owned monopoly) to improve their cable car  system and add guardrails to the steep steps going up and down!  Santorini will soon be limiting the number of cruise ship passengers to help alleviate some of these problems, but we had problems with ONE cruise ship in port--their system is broken!

[Lesley Styles]

Visited July, two years ago on another line. Got off fairly early, queues for cable car weren’t bad at all and then got a local bus to Oia. Very easy to do and cheap. When we returned we decided to walk down the steps to the port. We are in our 60’s and fairly fit, but oh dear. It was so hot in the full sun, some of the slabs were very slippery and of course we had to avoid the donkey poo. Our legs by the end had turned to jelly and we were very very hot. I wouldn’t recommend doing this in the summer months and even in cooler times it would be very easy to slip and have a nasty accident. 
Nevertheless we had a lovely day and the views are spectacular ( as are some of the prices!)

[Oceansaway17]

On 8/14/2024 at 4:05 PM, KKB said:

We were there last August on the Breakaway. 

We booked an excursion for the main purpose to get us there via the shuttle bus.

There were 4 or 5 ships in port. 

We were the last to arrive, around Noon.

Around 1:45 they halted our tenders due to crowding at the pier.

Didn't start up again until 3:15.

Our excursion was cancelled. 

 

oh wow would have made me mad.

Guess we need to look at arrival times and decide if it is worth it.  

[GALSews]

On 8/14/2024 at 5:33 PM, debenson0723 said:

I would avoid going during the summer if at all possible. We went in November and it was perfect (all of Greece was). Low crowds, temps in the 70s, no issues with the cable cars. I can't imagine trying to do it with 10K of tourists there but I realize some people don't have an option. 

Agreed, we did the Rome to Israel back in 2022 on the Epic. As debenson0723 noted. the weather isn't oppressively hot.

[KKB]

8 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

oh wow would have made me mad.

Guess we need to look at arrival times and decide if it is worth it.  

Worked out in our favor.

DD had a raving hangover & I knew there was NO way she could tolerate the tender.

So we had already decided we weren't going!

Since the excursion was canceled, we got a refund.

[Oceansaway17]

On 8/20/2024 at 2:35 PM, KKB said:

Worked out in our favor.

DD had a raving hangover & I knew there was NO way she could tolerate the tender.

So we had already decided we weren't going!

Since the excursion was canceled, we got a refund.

like to hear you got a refund.  Well try again some other time 

[KKB]

2 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

like to hear you got a refund.  Well try again some other time 

Oh I figured we were just eating the cost I’d that excursion…just got lucky. 
Sure many did NOT feel that way

[dhanakorn]

I took the NCL excursion to Oia on my last cruise. 

The tender will take you to the new pier where busses are ready to take you to Oia. 

Looking down to the Port of Santorini from the bus. This’s where all the intra-island ferries are docked. 

 

Bus will drop you off in the parking lot outside Oia and you’ll have about 3hrs to explore Oia on your own. 

 

After that bus will take you to Fira. You’ll be given a cable car ticket. So it’s up to you how long you want to stay in Fira. 

If you decide to watch the Sunset, then be prepared to wait in very long line at the cable car station. Line moves last.
 

It’s a lifetime moment If you haven’t seen sunset from Santorini then you’ll have to do it and endure the long line at cable. So you can brag it out to your friends and family 

 

 

For ship excursion,

Pro - skip the cable car on the way to Oia. With $50 excursion credit, price is reasonable. 
 

Con - you only have 3hrs in Oia so no time to have sit down lunch at a restaurant watching the beautiful view. And you still have to wait in line at cable car on the way down. 

[room with a view]

7 hours ago, dhanakorn said:

I took the NCL excursion to Oia on my last cruise. 

The tender will take you to the new pier where busses are ready to take you to Oia. 

Looking down to the Port of Santorini from the bus. This’s where all the intra-island ferries are docked. 

 

Bus will drop you off in the parking lot outside Oia and you’ll have about 3hrs to explore Oia on your own. 

 

After that bus will take you to Fira. You’ll be given a cable car ticket. So it’s up to you how long you want to stay in Fira. 

If you decide to watch the Sunset, then be prepared to wait in very long line at the cable car station. Line moves last...
 

It’s a lifetime moment If you haven’t seen sunset from Santorini then you’ll have to do it and endure the long line at cable. So you can brag it out to your friends and family 

 

 

For ship excursion,

Pro - skip the cable car on the way to Oia. With $50 excursion credit, price is reasonable. 
 

Con - you only have 3hrs in Oia so no time to have sit down lunch at a restaurant watching the beautiful view. And you still have to wait in line at cable car on the way down. 

Having done this tour on a previous Ncl cruise ..all went well had a great time taking lots of photos in Oai. Didn't have time to look around in Fira..the cable car Q was so long stood in blazing heat ..eventually  got down .

Exhausted,  worried .

This time I am looking for an alternative  .

[Travel R]

A week or so ago we took the Akrotiri and Wine Tasting Tour via NCL. Our concern was the cable cars and the lines.  Fortunately we were one of five ships anchoring that day, but we arrived and left at least two hours after most of them.  Also the ship made a change (in a good way), instead of tendering us to the old piers (where the cable cars begin), they tendered us to the new piers where our busses were waiting for us.  The tour was okay and the Tour Guide was actually very good (he is an archeologist that had worked at the ruins), so knew his stuff (although his mike continued to go out).  The wine tasting had a very nice view and the wine was okay (if you want seconds of the wine or the snacks you gotta be very fast since they take it away very quickly).  Coming back down there was a line and it was said to be 45 minutes from where we started (at the back side of a small piazza); the line moved very quickly and we were actually at the bottom and at the tender within 45 minutes. Over the past few cruises I have not been a fan of cruise line tours, except under specific circumstances, and I think that Santorini is one of those circumstances.

Edited September 8 by Travel R