Insignia May 22 - Disembarking in Athens

[Rosslyn]

The Insignia arrives at port in Athens at about 5am on the last day. I need to book a flight from Athens airport to Santorini on that same day. Can anyone tell me how long it takes to disembark and how long it would take to get to the airport from the port? Thanks.

[drwong]

Disembarking at that early hour should be fairly quick - just mark your disembarkation form appropriately the night before, and make sure you've planned ahead to have a driver meet you at the pierside. Otherwise, it's a confusing free-for-all with drivers auctioning their services to the highest bidder (e.g., 50E for what should be a 15E ride into downtown Athens).

If your driver takes the coast road and avoids the traffic of downtown Athens, you can make it to ATH in 30-45 minutes. Check-in procedures can be long, as you have to go through a full security check as soon as you enter the airport terminal, and another as you enter the boarding gate area. Depending on the day of the week and how many cruisers disembark before you, the initial security line might take 15-30 minutes. Then you make your way to the ticket counter where you might wait another 15-30 minutes to see an agent, and then another 15-30 minutes getting to the gate, and then wait for a bus to take you out to the plane (the last flight we took boarded from the tarmac - maybe because the airport charges more to use a skybridge in the terminal?).

To be on the safe side, I'd find a flight leaving at noon or later.

[Rosslyn]

Thanks so much for your information. I will look at schedules now...