SummmerInKefalonia

On 6/22/2023 at 9:13 AM, purplethorn said:

Today’s tender to Zakynthos is a disaster.

We are tender number 16, They have called 1-6 for the past 3 hours and only 1 and 2 actually have left the ship.

We had a rental car booked, but I don't think its happening. Never tendered before , is this normal?

 

 

Hello, did you learn why it took so long?

I heard Zakynthos is not a port suitable for big cruises ships but 3 hours just to get 6 tenders ashore is too long!

https://brochures.rssc.com/view/61199382/

They have literally 3 ships doing the same itineraries all season in the Med, (Sun, Star & Majestic Princess). Shame Island/Coral Princess will not be in Med giving more variety to the itineraries.

On 5/11/2023 at 9:26 PM, KeiEdy said:

Who are you booking the excursion with?   I keep looking at Myrtis Beach but no sure how to get there. Royal Caribbean is not offering an excursion to this beach.  

Just try with a taxi, at the port gate there are plenty.

Review from a website of a passenger of MSC Lirica that called in Zakynthos one week ago:

Port is not ideal for cruise ship passengers. Most great beaches require a boat ride to get to, which adds to the time of the excursion. However, ship anchors at sea here and everyone had to endure the incredibly inefficient tender process by MSC again. Burned 2 and an half hours just for the tender process btwn morning and afternoon, while the ship only in port 8 hours.

On 5/5/2023 at 11:35 PM, want2go said:

Can you share what the cab fair rate was?  And maybe what they charge at the port?
Thanks!

Usually it is 35€ per hour.

Sphere Class (2025), Sky, Regal & Emerald Princess are confirmed for Europe 2025 based on port listings.

From what I hear they will be changes to some itineraries due to emissions like it happened this year with some ships.

8 hours ago, RTR 21-0 said:

Our itinerary is Dubrovnik; Kotor; Corfu; Zak; and Naples.  Question for the frequent Med cruisers - what other island would you like to see cruise lines replace Zakynthos with?  

Us lol! 😁 Kefalonia (Argostoli) of course!

If anyone finds through their TA the new 2024 cruises of Explora I in Med, please post them here.

Option 2 or 3.

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We think the Greek Government needs to ban cruise ships from many of the Greek Islands that lack the infrastructure to handle large groups.  Zakynthos is one of those places.  Nothing good will come out of hundreds or even thousands of visitors going to these places.  We are big cruise fans (extensive cruisers since 1975) and also very active independent land travelers.  There is a place for both kinds of travel and the system works as long as the travel operators respect their niche.  

 

When we swam into "Shipwreck" the beach felt just about right with our group of about 15.  You can see from the pix (posted above) that it is relatively small/isolated beach not suited for large groups.  There is an observation area on top of the cliffs (accessible from land) but even that has is limitations and is not the same as actually being on that beach.  

 

Hank

If there was a cruise pier and no tendering was involved, 1 big or 2 medium cruise ships would be ok. But if shipwreck beach is closed then it's game over.

P&O's 2025 summer itineraries have appeared on some TA sites.

So they will probably launch soon on the official site too!

Zakynthos in not a destination for cruise ships, especially big ones.

Without port facilities and Shipwreck beach, I doubt if any cruise ship will still go there this summer.

Last year they were released mid April...

This is huge and maybe impact the calls there in a much more extented capacity (cancellation).

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/03/carnival-corporation-sells-seabourn-odyssey-to-mol-group/

*****?!

Popular Zakynthos beach to remain closed this summer due to landslide risk!

Thank you so much!

Can someone share the images of the 2024 itineraries here please?

Thank you!

The ports are exactly the same for 10 years now...

Such less variety in ports and cruises considering they have only one ship in the area.

They delayed the announcement for 5 months and they present the same old boring itineraries...

From John Heald fb post:

As someone already said, Carnival Group has already announced it will not order any new ships for the near future.

But I still expect to maybe do some inside movements to ships.

Island Princess, Coral Princess & Arcadia are good candidates for HAL.

Also they can try to remove the less efficient ships from their brands, so Volendam & Zaandam eventually will be retired.

51 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

Does anyone know what’s happening with Allure deployment? I can only see cruises until Jan 25.

Drydock in Cadiz.

Kotor and Chania are the most beautiful destinations in this cruise.

Least charming are Zakynthos and Split (you can stay onboard).

Mykonos is always 50/50 since it may get cancelled due to strong winds.

Embarkation ports are not the best for this purpose (Piraeus & Ravenna).