Santorini Tender Craziness

Hi All,

DH and I will be in Santorini on the Conestellation next year. According to Cruise Timetables, we will be the only ship in port that morning (another ship will come in at 4pm).

We are contemplating booking a ship shore excursion just for the priority tender ticket. None of the ship excursions really appeal to us, so I am not totally sure we want to do this.

Is it necessary to do this, or does the tender process & cablecar/donkey process usually pretty quick?

Santorini has been a dream destination of mine for YEARS and I do not want to waste time if I don't need to.

Any advice would be SUPER appreciated! :)

Cruisett & the other similar websites aren't 100% accurate.

Apart from the donkeys (mules) and cablecar, you have the option of a boat from that jetty where the tender offloads you, to a jetty below Oia (a couple or three miles to the north) and an included bus from there up to the village of Oia. Costs about 20 euros.

But for whatever reason that boat doesn't operate in the reverse direction, so you have to make your way from Oia by bus or taxi to Fira, which is the town (village?) at the top of the cablecar & zig-zag donkey path.

The cablecar can have long lines if there's more than one ship departing about the same time (some stay til dusk). But there are usually no (or very few) donkeys & if you're tolerably fit the walk down the zig-zag path takes something under 30 minutes & of course gravity is on your side.

So a combination of boat to Oia & return on foot down the zig-zag path will avoid any lines.

The top of the zig-zag path is close to the cablecar, so you can judge the length of line for the cablecar before choosing cablecar or Shanks's

Re "priority tenders" - independents are tendered to that jetty below Fira, but ship's excursion tenders go a couple of miles south to the little ferry port at Thira, where the road comes down to the sea & buses meet the tenders. Generally it's ship's tenders for ship's excursions, and local boats for independent's tenders. So effectively twice as many tenders so priority doesn't come into play to any great extent.

That from my experience only (Princess), others may have had different experiences.

JB :)

When we were there the Santorini boatmen brought us to Thira for the ship excursion. If you find the cable car line too long, take the mules up. It's better than wasting an hour. Jmo.

Apart from the donkeys (mules) and cablecar, you have the option of a boat from that jetty where the tender offloads you, to a jetty below Oia (a couple or three miles to the north) and an included bus from there up to the village of Oia. Costs about 20 euros.

But for whatever reason that boat doesn't operate in the reverse direction, so you have to make your way from Oia by bus or taxi to Fira, which is the town (village?) at the top of the cablecar & zig-zag donkey path

Not quite true actually.

We were in Santorini within the last two weeks and caught the boat to Oia. The price actually includes the boat to Oia, a bus from the port below up into the town and a bus back into Thira.

The whole set-up was very well organised with really friendly people who spoke excellent English. As you leave the tender the office selling tickets is just to your left - before the entry to the cable car. The boats run once or twice an hour and take around 20 mins. When you arrive at the jetty below Oia there are mini-buses waiting to take you up to the top. You are dropped at a spot where they pick you up again and will tell you the time which the buses will depart - roughly every hour.

You then need to catch the cable car back down and the cost of this is not included in the boat trip price. When we were there there were no lines at all and we walked straight on. if there are only a couple of ships in port it shouldn't be a problem.

 

We were in Santorini within the last two weeks and caught the boat to Oia. The price actually includes the boat to Oia, a bus from the port below up into the town and a bus back into Thira.

 

The whole set-up was very well organised with really friendly people who spoke excellent English. As you leave the tender the office selling tickets is just to your left - before the entry to the cable car. The boats run once or twice an hour and take around 20 mins. When you arrive at the jetty below Oia there are mini-buses waiting to take you up to the top. You are dropped at a spot where they pick you up again and will tell you the time which the buses will depart - roughly every hour.

 

Thanks for the update, Bobai.

If you hadn't mentioned that this was a couple of weeks back I'd have told you that your post was out-of-date ;).

Because that's the way it was until a year or two back, when the boat operator stopped providing that bus back from Oia to Fira.

Pleased to see that they've re-instated it. :)

JB :)

Hi All,

 

DH and I will be in Santorini on the Conestellation next year. According to Cruise Timetables, we will be the only ship in port that morning (another ship will come in at 4pm).

 

We are contemplating booking a ship shore excursion just for the priority tender ticket. None of the ship excursions really appeal to us, so I am not totally sure we want to do this.

 

Is it necessary to do this, or does the tender process & cablecar/donkey process usually pretty quick?

 

Santorini has been a dream destination of mine for YEARS and I do not want to waste time if I don't need to.

 

Any advice would be SUPER appreciated! :)

CruiseTT is horrible with Santorini information. Last time we were there, it was supposed to be us and three other ships - WRONG - there were a total of 12 ships that day. Don't expect it to be quiet, but getting ashore is not the real issue, it is getting back to the ship that causes issues.

Somewhere else in this section I've posted the site where the Boatmen of Santorini list the cruise ships coming each day. This info is normally only listed for a month or two in advance, but at least should be helpful once your month approaches. Perhaps query my posts in the last couple months and you should find it.

I agree that cruisett isn't always accurate.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our day in Santorini in early October is as cruisett says it is (quiet), but until September rolls around and I can check the Boatmen site, I will keep worrying. There are tons of ships in Athens the day after our Santorini, and I sincerely hope none of them change their itineraries between now and October.

Of course, getting to the correct tender spot is also a concern for me, as the ship I'm on offers included excursions, with a large number of people taking them rather than going on the island on their own. That means that tenders to the cable car/mule location will be a bit limited.

I would get a Fira map and an Oia map on skymap.gr, and also go to tomsportguides to get a port guide for Santorini - good stuff on there. Also there's a guide produced by the now defunct Smart Bus of Santorini, but if this is your first time to the island, I would just concentrate on a few places - perhaps Oia, but there are other nice places as well (Pyrgos comes to mind).

I found this website: http://www.santoriniport.com

Doe anyone have any experience with this site or can vouch for it's accurate-ness?

I found this website: http://www.santoriniport.com

 

Doe anyone have any experience with this site or can vouch for it's accurate-ness?

I have seen that one before, but never had anything much to compare it with so not sure how accurate it is. However, for just the few days I looked at on the site I found (URL below), it looks the same. I would think that both would certainly be better than cruisett and cruisecalendar and that type of site. The Boatmen site seems to have been updated with a few new ships (grr!!) during August - my nightmare!

http://www.santorini-boatmenunion.com/images/cruiseship.pdf is site I use.

As to your question about what should you do, I guess I'd not panic too much if only one or two ships are there the same day, especially if they're there different times. I'd probably just go on my own, as soon as you can, and take the cable car up to the top of the cliff (Fira). Generally I think it's best to go to Oia first thing, partly because there will be ferries coming in mid-morning and early afternoon, and they will bring other tourists. Of course, some tourists may be leaving on those same ferries (not sure), so things might be leveled off by that. I do a lot of research at any important stop (and Santorini definitely qualifies as one, especially if you're a photographer) so I can maximize my time once I'm ashore.

I would not spend a LOT of time in Fira, although there are a lot of pretty places there, and fun places, particularly if you get a little off the main drag south of the cable car. In general, I like the northern section of Fira, and up through Firostefani, which is right above Fira (kind of like a mini suburb of sorts. One thing that's really interesting me now is the walk along the caldera from southern Fira through Fira and Firostefani, as there are a number of churches that I didn't see when I was in Fira in 2006. They are basically viewable only if you're right at the cliff or down the cliff a little ways.

If you're a photographer, let me know and I'll suggest some things. We are renting a car or ATV 4 wheeler to explore a bit of the island. We did that before and had a blast. You kind of have to pick a few places, not the whole island, but at least it's a small island, so you can see more than just one or two spots. Of course you have to leave plenty of time to get back to the cable car, possibly stand in line for it, and be at the tender spot in time for last tender. That cuts into your time. Taxis aren't cheap, but buses aren't great, so we like to rent something to take us around. Besides, it's fun, though the ATV was a little uncomfortable.

If you decide to take a ship's excursion, I'd pick one that (hopefully) goes to Oia first, and then consider just staying there for a while before going back to Fira or elsewhere. For a first timer, I think you'll get the best bang for your buck there, although there ARE a lot of tourists there, which kills a tiny bit of the awe!

I've found cruisetimetables "dot com" to be very good for all ports and dates, even into next year. This URL is the "ports of departure."

Just pick your port of DEPARTURE and the month and day your ship sails and it will show your ship and it's various stops. Then click on the day you'll be in Santorini and it will show all the ships there.

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/#depports

This past May we were on the Celebrity Equinox and the only ship to arrive in Santorini in the morning. We had booked a private tour and the driver was going to meet us at the cable car exit at 9:30. The ship made a big deal about tenders, cable cars, etc. We went for our tender tickets at 8:30, no line. No line at the cable car and we got to the top in 15 minutes and had to wait for our driver for 45 minutes.

Well coming back was a whole different story. There was a huge rainstorm and they closed the cable car. We had to wander through the streets of Fira to find the buses that the cruise line had provided that would take us back to a small port to tender back to the ship. We finally found the buses, however, they got stuck in a huge back up on the winding road back to the port and we had to run to catch the tenders.

Point being is that transportation in Santorini can be just fine or an adventure. Whatever you do, leave yourself plenty of time.

Cruisett & the other similar websites aren't 100% accurate.

 

 

Re "priority tenders" - independents are tendered to that jetty below Fira, but ship's excursion tenders go a couple of miles south to the little ferry port at Thira, where the road comes down to the sea & buses meet the tenders. Generally it's ship's tenders for ship's excursions, and local boats for independent's tenders. So effectively twice as many tenders so priority doesn't come into play to any great extent.

 

That from my experience only (Princess), others may have had different experiences.

JB :)

Are you sure of that port name John? I think we were tendered to Athinios (ferry port). I was told Fira and Thira are actually the same town, the capital of Santorini.

Roothy123 - I am going to Santorini next May for the first time and would LOVE some photo ideas. We are on a ship excursion to Oia and a winery. I thought about staying longer than the excursion does in Oia, but I hear it may be difficult to find a taxi back or even a bus. Thanks!

We were in Santorini the first time and did the donkey situation. It was HOT and smelly!

The 2nd time we were on a med cruise that stopped in Santorini....we stayed on the ship....it was bliss:)

Are you sure of that port name John? I think we were tendered to Athinios (ferry port). I was told Fira and Thira are actually the same town, the capital of Santorini.

Errrrr - nope :o

I noticed last night on the link provide by PP that the local boatmen call it Athinios, whilst I'd always called it Thira because that's the name on the ferry routes.

Now who knows more about Santorini - JB or the locals?

Confused, I asked my friend Google and he asked his friend Wiki.

Thira is actually the collective name for all those islands round the Caldera.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thira_(regional_unit)

I'd found this out last night, but thought "well, it's the ferry port and no-one's gonna notice the name - so I'll just keep quiet" ;)

Then you chipped in. :D

But no worries - you got it wrong too :p

So the ferry port, to which ships' excursionists are tendered, is Athinios

And I just learned from the boatmen's site that the jetty below Fira, with the cablecar & zig-zag donkey path, has a name. Skala.

Time for a lie down before nurse brings me my pills ;)

JB :)

Well now, most people don't get the names right, so don't feel bad. Actually, if you look at maps and websites for any length, you'll see that even many Greeks have more than one name for any particular name (or at least a different spelling) and that is in addition to the name of Fira when it's in Greek characters (forget what they're called, so I'll just call them "characters"!) Fira is actually Onpa or something like that, which reminds me of little child speak.

But the bottom line is that yes, there are two different ports, and you need to make sure you're going to the correct one, as it's not easy to get up or down from the ferry port of Athinios unless you've come on a ferry and a bus is waiting there to take you up to the top of the cliff! Of course, there's a car rental place or two right at the ferry port, but whether you'll be able to get back down there and find a tender boat to take you to your ship is a big mystery to me. I don't think any of them come there in the afternoon, only to the dock below Fira.

I've read that sometimes the Santorini tenders do all of the tendering, but I've also read that sometimes a cruise ship's tenders are used. Now John has found a third scenario. It seems to be a mixed bag, so I'm just going to wait and see what happens when I arrive and hope for the best.

Crimlaw and any others interested in where to take pictures, I decided to write something up about what I've found for my upcoming trip. I'll post again tonight with that info. It may be too "advanced" for people going for the first time to the beautiful island (islands? there are others, as mentioned above) of Santorini, but if so, just remember this: We went in 2006 with little advance info. We had planned to rent a car, and ended up renting an under-powered ATV. We drove around the top part of the island, stopping at a beach (not one of the well known ones like Kamari) and stopping at a bakery that sold about 20 varieties of baklava. We spent maybe an hour and a half at Oia. We happened on a bride being photographed sitting on a ledge near a hotel there, and it was magical. We happened on other gorgeous scenes, and without even really trying, I came back with awesome photos. We had lunch somewhere (forget, but it was good!) and we spent a little (not a lot) of time in Fira before going back down on the cable car. There was just one other ship in "town" that day plus we were on a small ship (700 pax) so things weren't bad in terms of waiting for the cable car or navigating the island. I don't think the boat to Oia was running, or if it was, we didn't see or know about it.

Fira seemed a bit too touristy for our taste, but after researching more this year, I have to admit that there are several things I plan to not miss there or in neighboring Firostefani. My pictures are here; you'll have to go about halfway down to see Santorini: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/italy_greece_malta&page=all

As for excursions going to a winery, there are quite a few on Santorini. However, many of the ship's tours go to Santo Winery, which apparently has gorgeous views and is not far away from Fira. It gets a lot of tourists, but is a big place, so I suppose handles the crowds well. We didn't make it there in 2006.

More later.

My coworker is Greek. When she pronounces "Santorini" it doesn't sound anything like it is written in English. :-)

Here are my suggestions/tips for Santorini:

Check port schedule: http://www.santorini-boatmenunion.com/images/cruiseship.pdf (but only lists cruise ship visits for current month)

Look at tomsportguides.com for Santorini guide, including how to get to the castle ruins in Oia, which will take you past and to great spots for photography.

FIRA: Once up the cliff by cable car, go left to get to the bulk of Fira, including the main (driving) street of 25 Martiou, where you’ll find car & ATV “moto bike” rentals (Hertz is one), bus and taxis, etc. Once on 25 Martiou, turn right (south) for the bus/taxi hub. If you want to check out the stepped walking path along the cliff/caldera/water, turn right from the cable car exit and get as close to the water as you can. The path is interesting and goes all the way to Oia (3 hours of walking), with the water always on your left. If you have taken the mules to Fira, you’ll end up a little south of the cable car exit.

Skymap.gr has a map of Fira that made the town clearer to me than street maps. It’s a little easier to tell what’s a street versus a walking path versus just steps. You realize that an address that looks “flat” on a regular map may actually be cliffside on Fira, requiring walking up or down some steps. Tony’s Car Rental/Hotel Thira, a popular place to rent cars, is off the Fira skymap, since it is actually in Firostefani. However, at least you can see what’s around the cable car exit and how to head up to Tony’s. Skymap also has a map for Oia, but I found the one in Tom’s to be a bit more useful.

Just north of the cable car, inland a tiny bit, is a beautiful yellow Catholic Church (St. John) that seems to have a lot of photographic potential. Once you view that, you could head toward the water and find the stepped path that runs along the cliff, offering some nice views of typical Greek churches, houses, and hotels. Just keep in mind that some photos you might see on the internet are old, and their paint jobs may have faded (or changed) since the photo was taken. Also, you might not be able to see some churches until you look over a low wall and down a bit into the cliff. Just a short (2 minute?) walk up the path, if you look for it, is St. Stylianos, before you reach the salmon tinted conference. The church is around 36 25 15.69, 25 25 46.37 if you have a GPS. (If so, you may want to test how to enter coordiates first.) Look for a high bell tower & plain white cross on top. Also go a little past it on the walking path to see it from behind with Fira in back. An Italian traveler named “esalvotti” recorded a number of walks and rides with a Go Pro for Youtube, including the stepped path from Fira to Oia (3 hours!) The first (southern Fira to Imerovigli) is here:

Just north of Fira (really kind of an extension of Fira) is Firostefani, where Tony’s Car Rental is located. There’s a church there, about a 15 minute walk from the cable car, that you can see by looking over the cliff at a parking lot pretty much straight west of Tony’s. This church is Aghio (saint) Theodori, and it’s said to be used on many postcards from Santorini. If driving, it looks like you have to go north of where it’s located and backtrack down into the parking lot. If walking, you may be able to get to it from the stepped path, but I’m not sure. Here’s info I’ve compiled, although I can’t vouch for its accuracy: Just upstairs from Mama Thira’s House (restaurant) you can find a beautiful blue dome church overlooking the Caldera with 3 bells. GPS coordinates for the south end of the parking lot (if driving) are 36 25’ 23.59” N, 25 25’ 43.16” E (or perhaps the best E location is 42.37. Or you can go to Mama Thiras at +36° 25' 26.54" N, 25° 25' 42.12” E & walk to top of cliff, come to parking lot, look over. If on walking path rather than in parking lot, it takes about 15 minutes from south end of Fira & looks different – yellowish with red iron fence & dome not visible.

If you are in the southern part of Fira (for example, after getting off a bus from Oia, or going to the taxi/bus area in Fira to get a cab, there are a couple things worthwhile to photograph. There’s a huge white Orthodox Cathedral. There’s also a nice view of a church if you walk a tiny bit down the cliff, but I don’t have the details.

OIA: As for Oia (fantastic, though you won’t be alone there!), Tom’s Port Guide does a good job of covering it. If you want to drive to Oia, it’s pretty easy, as there aren’t all that many roads in the northern third of the island. It took us maybe a half hour, but we were poking along on an under-powered ATV, so with a small car it would probably take less time, unless there’s tons of traffic. I would go as early as you can – gets more crowded later. I would go to the old “castle” and also find the blue domed church with salmon bell tower with water in the background. GPS coordinates for castle are in Tom’s; for salmon bell tower church here are notes I’ve compiled: “Easy walk from main square (main church), below row of buildings can't see over. From main square turn R & walk past small church & L at 2nd lane where see sign for Aspaki Hotel. Once behind church see blue domes below & to R. Or can turn R at main square & continue further along pedestrian shopping lane. Turn L at Lotza Restaurant - are below & to L of Lotza. Try to find one with salmon bell tower & sea beyond (Anastasis). Has beads on dome, plain cross on top & blue “windows” below dome. Also if see Minerali on main walking street, duck into alley behind it.”

In the end, even if you have no map or GPS coordinates, I think a bit of wandering in Oia will make you a happy person.

GENERAL:

On a day’s stop in Santorini you probably won’t be able to do a lot, but if you’re driving and want to go somewhere other than Oia, here’s a good (though probably dated) source to read about various villages: http://www.eueueu.com/Downloads/greece.pdf (leave off any underlining in this and other URLs). The “Smart bus” no longer runs, but the little maps, pictures and descriptions are helpful. I also found the descriptions of towns and routes on http://www.santorini.gr pretty good. Santorini is really a fairly small island, so you could probably hit a few of these villages in a day, although including them with Oia may be a challenge. Santo Wines looks awesome for caldera (water) views and the town of Fira north of there. It is on the way to the town of Pyrgos, not far from Fira if you have a car (or possibly a cab or bus ride). Emporio has a fabulous old castle on top of the village, but exploring it may take a lot of time.

I like to use Google Earth to get a better idea of what a town looks like. Simple maps are helpful for navigating, but sometimes you just have to find a better way to show what you’re looking for and how to get there. On Google Earth Pro (free to download) I’ve found you can actually see dark “blobs” that end up being the blue domes of churches on Santorini. Sometimes you can drag the little orange man to a spot near something you want to see, and with any luck, a street view will pop up. I’m not sure how this differs from the street view you often get with regular Google, but in any case, it’s helpful. The bad thing about Google Earth is that it’s hard to determine a driving road from a footpath – at least for towns on Santorini, where there are plenty of both! However, if you want another map, once you’re in GE, you can click the map icon to get a different version. Also, while in GE, if you check the box for photos, you'll see other people's photos taken in the vicinity - useful for photographers in determining where to spend time!

We didn’t take cabs or buses on Santorini, so can’t comment on those. We spent very little time shopping, although Oia does have some nice shops interspersed with the wonderful scenery. Fira is a bit more commercial, centering on jewelry more than anything else. We ate lunch on the road, and stopped at a beach up north and a wonderful bakery. The roads are small but good.

Enjoy! I did, and will again!

My coworker is Greek. When she pronounces "Santorini" it doesn't sound anything like it is written in English. :-)

Yes indeed, the Greek language is not easy. Thessaloniki or Mycenae are a couple more Greek towns that do not sound anything like they are written.

But indeed an amazing destination to visit!

Roothy - thank you SO much for all the helpful information - that is wonderful! I do have Tom's Port Guides which are great. I am hoping it's the Santo Winery that our ship tour goes to. I normally don't take ship's tours as we are more into DIY or private guides, but this Oceania cruise came with 4 free excursions so I thought this might be a good one so that we get on a early tender. Of course this is a small ship - 680 passengers - so it may not matter as much. From what I can tell so far, only one other ship will be there that day, but I expect that may change before we go in May. I know we will have fun no matter where we go - we are pretty happy people who enjoy most everything!

Roothy - thank you SO much for all the helpful information - that is wonderful! I do have Tom's Port Guides which are great. I am hoping it's the Santo Winery that our ship tour goes to. I normally don't take ship's tours as we are more into DIY or private guides, but this Oceania cruise came with 4 free excursions so I thought this might be a good one so that we get on a early tender. Of course this is a small ship - 680 passengers - so it may not matter as much. From what I can tell so far, only one other ship will be there that day, but I expect that may change before we go in May. I know we will have fun no matter where we go - we are pretty happy people who enjoy most everything!

You're very welcome. We were on Insignia or Regatta back in 2006, but I honestly don't remember that much about the tender and cable car situation except that it wasn't bad when we were there. It sounds like you might be there on a good day and won't have any trouble. I would be tempted to stay in Oia longer, but only if you have plenty of time left, of course. Oia is the prettiest place I've ever been, although driving around in the countryside can be a bit brown and barren. But I love the blue domed churches all over the place. I'm a little nervous about this time around, as we're on a new ship (Viking Star) and they have only been to Santorini once before, so it's hard to predict how quickly we'll get on a tender boat headed to the cable car spot. So many people take the ship's excursions because one is free (goes to Profitis Ilias, a high spot in the middle of the island, plus Oia) and the others are reasonable. It doesn't sound like too many people will head out on their own.

By the way, I think it's funny that Oceania is now offering some free excursions. I think they're feeling the heat from Viking Star, with a free excursion (of Viking's choice) in each port. Of course, it seems like the folks who are on the Star are very picky, and some have been complaining that the tours aren't all that great. I think they expect that since Viking Rivers gives all of their 140 (or whatever) passengers a nice tour in smaller cities that they will do the same on the Star. It just doesn't work that way with 900 pax and large cities like Athens. Then they complain that the ride to Berlin is too long, and the food at one of the restaurants isn't to their liking (sounds like it's patterned after the extra price food and wine pairing restaurant on Oceania) and all sorts of things. I fully expect to love Viking Star, but if the people have a negative attitude, I may find myself back on Oceania 100% of the time. Oceania pax are great. They don't sweat the small stuff.

Rant over; back to planning my time in Greece and Croatia etc. We are pretty independent folks, too, by the way - even to the point of taking trains, buses, trams, etc. I love exploring....and I love the planning.

Your Viking Star trip sounds like fun too! We are usually very independent - I do massive planning to the point everyone I know teases me about it. Last year we drove all through northern Italy, but we did not like driving in Italy at all. I had previously driven in Scotland & Ireland and thought it would be no worse, but I was wrong! Anyway, this time I am taking the easy/lazy? way and hiring drivers for most of the ports. But of course trying the 4 free excursions. This is our first time on Oceania, having been on Celebrity a few times, Cunard long ago, and HAL one time with my parents, which was definitely not my favorite line. We like Celebrity, so I'm sure we will love Oceania. Thanks again for the tips!

Somewhere else in this section I've posted the site where the Boatmen of Santorini list the cruise ships coming each day. This info is normally only listed for a month or two in advance, but at least should be helpful once your month approaches. Perhaps query my posts in the last couple months and you should find it.

 

I agree that cruisett isn't always accurate.

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our day in Santorini in early October is as cruisett says it is (quiet), but until September rolls around and I can check the Boatmen site, I will keep worrying. There are tons of ships in Athens the day after our Santorini, and I sincerely hope none of them change their itineraries between now and October.

 

Of course, getting to the correct tender spot is also a concern for me, as the ship I'm on offers included excursions, with a large number of people taking them rather than going on the island on their own. That means that tenders to the cable car/mule location will be a bit limited.

 

I would get a Fira map and an Oia map on skymap.gr, and also go to tomsportguides to get a port guide for Santorini - good stuff on there. Also there's a guide produced by the now defunct Smart Bus of Santorini, but if this is your first time to the island, I would just concentrate on a few places - perhaps Oia, but there are other nice places as well (Pyrgos comes to mind).

I used the Boatmen of Santorini schedule that you provided (thank you)and it was wrong when we were there in July. A Costa cruise cancelled Mykonos at the last minute and replaced it with Santorini. Not the fault of the Boatman's schedule, just a fluke deal.

Getting back to the ship for us was a nightmare. Some people stood in line for 1hr and 20mins. We walked down which was an adventure to say the least!

We had a line but it moved quickly both coming and going, we had no issues. We ported in Fira. Hired private driver to tour us, he met us at the top of the cable car entrance. There were 2-3 ships in port. We did Oia first to try to avoid the crowds.

Been to Santorini three times now …… gotta chime in.

The cable car line going down is a mess.

There are shops with outside displays all along the end of the line towards the ticket office…….. people will come up and act like they are looking at items and then just "melt" into the line.

We saw a TON of people cutting …… dh wouldn't let me say anything calling me the "line police" but it just makes my blood boil that people do this !!!!

So I kept my tongue until one couple "melted" in right in front of us….. at which time my tongue could be held no longer……. they looked back at me shocked and then another couple behind us chimed in…… everyone around us heard but they stood their ground. Gutsy to say the least…… oh well.