Help in Santorini please.

Our very first trip outside of the US and Caribbean. Visiting Santorini has been a dream of mine for some time and we want to see as much as possible.

We will be on the Splendor and it seems the only other ship in port will be the MSC Musica. I know this is a tendered port, and I understand that the folks signed to take a RC tour get off first.

If we choose to take something on our own how soon will we get off the ship?

Also, planning on taking a taxi to Oia, spending a couple of hours, then back to Fira a couple of hours with lunch then back to ship. Is this doable with plenty of time to get back to the ship. Kind of nervous about this but the tours offered on the ship don't allow enough time in Oia.

Thank You

Deb

We have been to Santorini twice with a 3rd visit planned in 2 months :D

Although we have been on Celebrity ships - I think the process is the same for Royal Caribbean (owned by the same co)

We had to get tender tickets prior to tendering here. There was a table set up and they gave out tender tickets based on a time slot.

Our first trip we didn't get down to the table until a bit later and the line was l-o-n-g !!!!! We didn't get off until almost 4 pm ( we had the stupid port times of 2-10pm) The were definitely checking tender ticket time too (on the stairs) and you were not allowed down to the tender station until it was your turn !!!!!

The second time we visited we stayed in a Celebrity suite and had priority tendering - we could go down anytime we wanted and tendered in.

You might want to check on this on your cruise at check-in. Ask if there will be tender tickets etc.

Your first hurdle (after tendering) is getting up the cliff…… either cable car (the line could be long) donkey ride or walk up the steps (UGH!)

Once up you walk out to the main street (not far) and hail a taxi.

The actual drive is only 15-20 minutes. Your best bet is to arrange for the taxi to come pick you up at a set time for the ride back. That way you know you have a taxi to go back as there could be a shortage !!! We did not pay our taxi driver until he returned us back to Fira so we knew he would be back to get us.

So all in all - it might be a late lunch based on when you get off, up the cliff, how long you stay in Oia, and how long it takes to get back down the cliff. The lines for the cable car could be very long but they do go fairly quickly if there aren't people cutting in line (a big problem here !!!!)

Santorini is a fascinating place - enjoy !!!!

Hi Deb,

Port schedules are often incomplete, so don't be too confident about having only MSC Musica for company.

But according to the one schedule that I've checked, Splendour will be there 7am to 5pm. and Musica 2pm to 7pm.

So hopefully your ship will be alone for the disembarkation.

Usually Santorini is tendered by both ship's own tenders and by local boats, but I can't be confident it's the same with all ships

Independents are tendered across to the jetty below the cliff, and ship's excursions are tendered a mile or two to the south to the little ferry harbour where the road goes down to the sea.

So I think you'll not be competing with ship's tours for either tenders or for the cablecar or the donkeys (actually mules) to get up the cliff.

Yes, on most ships passengers in the more expensive cabins get priority on tenders, but that doesn't make a lot of difference.

You have the further choice of taking a local boat north from the tender jetty to a jetty below Oia, where there's an included shuttle up to the village.

But last I heard this is still a one-way trip, there's no boat to take you back to the tender jetty so to return to the ship you'll need either the cablecar or the zig-zag path from Fira down to the tender jetty.

It takes something under 30 minutes to walk down the zig-zag path, so aim to be at the cable-car top station at least 45 to 60 minutes before last tender time - earlier if you can't walk down & especially if there are other ships in.

If there are other ships in, when you're ashore ask passengers what their last tender time is, to help you gauge the demand on the cablecar.

JB :)

Thank you both!!!!

If we choose to walk up the path to Fira is it straight up or does it zig-zag? I take it from others it is pretty rough. I am afraid I would feel sorry for the mules and not want to ride them--I know they are work animals--I just know me.:(

After reading both of your answers I think we will go it alone and get a taxi to Oia and back.

We are in a junior suite, but from what I gather we don't share in any of the extra perks of the expensive cabins.

Deb

Thank you both!!!!

If we choose to walk up the path to Fira is it straight up or does it zig-zag? I take it from others it is pretty rough. I am afraid I would feel sorry for the mules and not want to ride them--I know they are work animals--I just know me.:(

After reading both of your answers I think we will go it alone and get a taxi to Oia and back.

We are in a junior suite, but from what I gather we don't share in any of the extra perks of the expensive cabins.

Deb

it's a zig zag route-when you look at the cliff a straight path up would be an almost vertical climb!

we took the cable car[had to close my eyes most of route when seeing how close to cliff face we were!]

at the top we had pre arranged a private tour where we had a tour of the highlights of the island including Oia

Thank you both!!!!

If we choose to walk up the path to Fira is it straight up or does it zig-zag? I take it from others it is pretty rough.

Oh yes, it zig-zags.

Dial "Santorini donkey path" or similar into Google Images.

But it's not rough. It's pretty level stone slabs and with a good solid waist-level wall, you won't fall off the path.

But beware, some slabs are excessively smooth & slippery even in dry weather. The super-smooth ones are easy to spot.

But best to walk down carefully with a hand on the wall to avoid slipping, or holding onto your partner to ensure you have a soft landing :D

By late in the day the ..... errr ...... the ....umm. .... the "reminders" left by the mules will have dried & are easy to avoid, but a puff of wind can create unpleasant dust-devils.

JB :)

Tendering in Santorini can be an interesting mix. Many cruise ships will make a short stop to tender many of their tours into a pier where they can board buses. The ship then moves a few miles to their normal anchorage off of Fira where they start tender operations for everyone else. On RCI there are some folks who get priority (like Diamond/Diamond Plus) but the key is getting yourself to the appropriate lounge (it will be specified in your daily program) early so you can get an early tender ticket. Keep in mind that not much opens in Fira before 9am. A bigger hassle in Fira is when everyone wants to get back down (on the cable car) at about the same time. The cruise ships will generally have somebody at the top cable car station monitoring the situation. Many of our Santorini cruises have had to delay leaving because of congestion on that darn cable car.

Hank

it's a zig zag route-when you look at the cliff a straight path up would be an almost vertical climb!

 

we took the cable car[had to close my eyes most of route when seeing how close to cliff face we were!]

 

at the top we had pre arranged a private tour where we had a tour of the highlights of the island including Oia

Yikes! I will have to do the same---never thought the adventure would start just getting up to the city.

Hi Deb,

 

Port schedules are often incomplete, so don't be too confident about having only MSC Musica for company.

 

But according to the one schedule that I've checked, Splendour will be there 7am to 5pm. and Musica 2pm to 7pm.

So hopefully your ship will be alone for the disembarkation.

 

Usually Santorini is tendered by both ship's own tenders and by local boats, but I can't be confident it's the same with all ships

Independents are tendered across to the jetty below the cliff, and ship's excursions are tendered a mile or two to the south to the little ferry harbour where the road goes down to the sea.

So I think you'll not be competing with ship's tours for either tenders or for the cablecar or the donkeys (actually mules) to get up the cliff.

Yes, on most ships passengers in the more expensive cabins get priority on tenders, but that doesn't make a lot of difference.

 

You have the further choice of taking a local boat north from the tender jetty to a jetty below Oia, where there's an included shuttle up to the village.

But last I heard this is still a one-way trip, there's no boat to take you back to the tender jetty so to return to the ship you'll need either the cablecar or the zig-zag path from Fira down to the tender jetty.

It takes something under 30 minutes to walk down the zig-zag path, so aim to be at the cable-car top station at least 45 to 60 minutes before last tender time - earlier if you can't walk down & especially if there are other ships in.

 

If there are other ships in, when you're ashore ask passengers what their last tender time is, to help you gauge the demand on the cablecar.

 

JB :)

Thanks so much for your mention of the local boat from the tender jetty to Oia. I had heard that was no longer in operation, and I'm wondering if you might know how I could find out for sure and also how I could confirm your idea that this is only a one way ride? I am trying to avoid having Ti wait in the long line in the heat to get the cable car down, as I think from CruiseTT that there will be 5 cruise ships in port when we are there. Sound to me like a bad ending to what I hope will be a great day. Thanks for your help.

Thanks so much for your mention of the local boat from the tender jetty to Oia. I had heard that was no longer in operation, and I'm wondering if you might know how I could find out for sure and also how I could confirm your idea that this is only a one way ride? I am trying to avoid having Ti wait in the long line in the heat to get the cable car down, as I think from CruiseTT that there will be 5 cruise ships in port when we are there. Sound to me like a bad ending to what I hope will be a great day. Thanks for your help.

Sorry, forgot to ask, can you tell me where to look for the arrival and departure times of the ships in the port? That might make me feel more comfortable if I knew there were not going to be something like 8,000 passengers arriving at the same time. Yikes!

Thanks again

Here are a few things to give you a perspective:

The donkey's are rally mules, not donkeys

[/url]

Here is a view from the top looking down on a day when 2 ships were scheduled and 16 showed up

Here you can see the donkey path - the zig zag line up the hill - the cable car is to the left - you can see the towers

Thanks so much for your mention of the local boat from the tender jetty to Oia. I had heard that was no longer in operation, and I'm wondering if you might know how I could find out for sure and also how I could confirm your idea that this is only a one way ride? I am trying to avoid having Ti wait in the long line in the heat to get the cable car down, as I think from CruiseTT that there will be 5 cruise ships in port when we are there. Sound to me like a bad ending to what I hope will be a great day. Thanks for your help.

Whatever you heard may be more up-to-date than me, I'm going back a couple of years so treat my post as suspect :o.

So sorry, can't help.

If your cruise isn't at the beginning of the Med season, perhaps you could ask on a recently-returned RollCall - any ship, any cruise line, that's just back from Santorini.

JB :)

Whatever you heard may be more up-to-date than me, I'm going back a couple of years so treat my post as suspect :o.

So sorry, can't help.

If your cruise isn't at the beginning of the Med season, perhaps you could ask on a recently-returned RollCall - any ship, any cruise line, that's just back from Santorini.

 

JB :)

Thanks so much for your suggestion. As first Time cruisers we need all the help we can get!

Thanks so much for your suggestion. As first Time cruisers we need all the help we can get!

I don't know whether you've noticed it, but there's a thread running concurrently about the boat to Oia , here's the link

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1824415&page=17

Seventeen pages of posts - I'll leave you to sort the info from the chit-chat ;)

JB :)

http://www.santorini-boatmenunion.com/images/cruiseship.pdf (In case CC does something weird to the address, it is www dot santorini dash boatmenunion dot com forward slash images forward slash cruiseship dot pdf)

If you REALLY want to see who's supposed to be in port with you, the above link is to a port website of sorts - a schedule maintained by the folks who tender people in Santorini. (Cruise lines can't use their tenders there.) They only post each month, so you'll have to wait to see who will be in port with you, but at least it should give you an idea of the official number of ships due there, and the hours they're due.

Yes, Santorini is a pain, but yes, it's beautiful. Oia is the most beautiful place I have been, hands down. At least you'll get to be there for sunset, which is very popular. We have only been there on a cruise, 9 am to 6 pm, or something like that, so I can't tell you if it's as great as people think. However, you might want to plan your trip to Oia to coincide with sunset, although it will be crowded then, and getting back to the ship might take longer than usual. A good online guide to look at and possibly print out can be found at tomsportguides.com - look for the Santorini guide.

We rented an ATV in Santorini (in Thira, town at top of cliff) and had a great time in 2006. I normally don't get excited about re-visting places, but I'm really looking forward to our second visit (this fall).