AlaskaGoer
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Posts posted by AlaskaGoer
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5 minutes ago, chinita415 said:
This appears to be the official port schedule so I am checking here instead of CruiseMapper etc which are aggregate sites.
Might be official, but it's about 2k to 3k short on passenger numbers for the Epic.
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3 minutes ago, chinita415 said:
When are you scheduled to be there and on what ship? People on MSC Davina made it there this past 2 weeks. I am trying to figure out what numbers are acceptable and it seems there have been days with 10-11k allowed. So far my sailing still has Santorini but people are finding out a month ahead on MSC Davina which is calling there weekly.
Epic and in a week.
There was a 2pm ship that is no longer listed.
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Interesting enough, I checked cruise mapper to see if there were any changes to the amount of ships docking.
For our day it's now 1 less.
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On 6/3/2024 at 3:41 PM, chinita415 said:
Read about landslides mitigations from another social media platform. This makes sense why they are now actually trying to limit numbers. Still crossing my fingers and toes we get to go.
So just like Alaska last summer we are affected by local landslides. What are the chances?
"
- Controlled Disembarkation in Fira Bay: Implementing controlled disembarkation procedures to prevent overcrowding."
Curious on what that will mean.
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1 hour ago, marazul said:
Have euro cents coins with you. It will normally be around 50 euro cents, rarely 1 euro. The attendants don't like to make change, so at least carry a few 1 euro coins with you and save the smaller coins you may get along the way for that purpose. And no, they don't want US coins.
I have a ton from one of my previous Euro trips I'll bring.
Thanks
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15 minutes ago, marazul said:
WC= water closet = toilets
It's not uncommon in Europe to have to pay for admission which sometimes includes paper. 🙃
Oh, good advice. Thanks
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2 minutes ago, RocCruisers said:
We stood still about five minutes in the sun for the cable car before making the decision that sitting in a shaded boat for twenty was a better alternative. For us, there was only two people in line. If people are buying tickets, the boat ain't leaving. YMMV.
PS. Remember to bring a few Euro coins for the WC!
Thank you.
I didn't know if it was that packed that we would have to stand in line just to get close to the boat vendor.
WC?
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On 6/1/2024 at 12:59 PM, RocCruisers said:
Our experience in Santorini from a couple weeks ago on Explorer of the Seas, arriving around 2 PM. We are 68 and 72, and sometimes have problems walking distances without a break. Our original thought was an 'on our own tour' and see what happens. When we got to the little port we planned on taking the cable car up to the top, but as we saw the line and decided to buy the €30 boat ticket even knowing we might have to walk up a hill before we reach a van/bus to take us the rest of the way. The walk was strenuous, but doable and the van brought us very close to the top.
At the top, the view was worth the money and energy. Breath taking. World class photo opportunities. Am I really here concept. Glad we did this.
We walked along the rim and stopped at a cafe for a cocktail and WC break. It never crossed my mind to go back to catch the bus from Oia to Fira. We just kept walking and shopping and dining until we reached a taxi stand. Even though the price was outlandish at €60 to go back toward the cable car, we quickly learned there are no short cut roads to get there. A path along more stores to the cable car station took about 20-30 minutes. We got a free ticket to go down the hill (mountain cliff?!?) from another group of cruisers. Back to the ship by 7 on an hot, overcast day with no good sunsets at Santorini.When getting off the ship waiting on the dock, did you just get b line it for the boat ticket or did you wait a bit in line for the cable cars?
Just curious after getting off the tender, how crowded is it to go straight to the boat ticket booth. Or is there room to get around the lines...
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On 5/31/2024 at 8:21 PM, RocketMan275 said:
Oh, I see the difference. But this isn't a cruise ship problem. As long as Santorini allows up to 10,000 passengers, you'll have this problem regardless of the number of ships or the size of the ship.
The funny part is they far exceed the 10k.
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40 minutes ago, DrUrsula said:
I saw the same for Epic and Getaway. Maybe they figure a certain percent gets off the ship?
Maybe. That's an awful difference though lol
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Just now, roddy good boy said:
Does that 4228-5074 number include crew?
Lists passengers and crew separately.
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32 minutes ago, DrUrsula said:
Interesting.
They estimate the passengers for my ship at around 3k.
But it can hold between 4228 - 5074.
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On 4/16/2024 at 4:22 AM, ollienbertsmum said:
We have always done our own thing in Cannes. We actually spent our 30th Wedding Anniversary (like you we never had a honeymoon) at Cannes. We had been a couple of times before and had enjoyed just walking around for the atmosphere - expensive cars, views, buying a croissant using schoolgirl French, Le suquet, swimming from the public beach -(in summer) but as this was in November we decided to go on a ferry to St Marguerite a little island that offered nice walks. We had a lovely day.
I always say ‘next time Monaco’ but in reality I think we would likely have a more enjoyable day taking the train to Nice.
You want to do a ship tour I think so you have different considerations to me, in your case I think I would want to include Eze view with Nice. I hope that the weather is kind to you during the cruise - we have had several in November and I find it much more comfortable walking around than July. You do risk a storm though.
We will be in Canne next month, and its the one port that I am struggling to find something to do.
Can you recommend anything in Canne? Resturants? Places to check out?
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Just now, marazul said:
Dream on! 😁
One can dream lol
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2 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:
Yes, we pretty much walked right in. But leaving, the line was long already. And like I said, it was raining! But it gave us some great skies!
We thought we were going to be soaked, but it never came, just some light sprinkles.
And a gorgeous rainbow!
Can't wait!
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6 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:
OK... we were there at 8:30 a.m., but we were there as part of the pre-cruise extension, so it was a group we were with. Within an hour of starting, climbing to the top, and heading down, the line to go up was all the way to the bottom. It gets really busy pretty fast. Just be prepared. And it's windy up there, so be prepared for that too. Of course, we were there in mid-April and a Saturday morning.
I assume your group went through the main entrance, correct?
We're at the beginning of June, and during a weekday. Hope to lesser crowds lol
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Just now, kctwinmommy said:
For what sight?
Sorry, Acropolis.
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20 hours ago, kctwinmommy said:
Yes, Olympia is totally a must do! We thought it was going to be kind of boring. But no! It's really neat. Plus, you can run the 200M race on the field where they ran the very first one. My husband did it, twice! LOL! It's really pretty and just so amazing to think of what took place there.
And yes, the Acropolis and museum there are a must see as well. I would also recommend the changing of the guard. We did the National Archaeological museum too, it was pretty good, but very busy! There were a lot of school groups there. I would definitely get your Acropolis tickets in advance, and try to go early. We went on a Saturday morning, pretty early, before we boarded our ship (it was part of our pre-cruise extension through Viking). It was a slightly rainy morning, with a lot more dark clouds on the horizon, and by the time we were coming back down, the lines were so long already!
I grabbed 10:00a ticket (meaning we can go in at 9:45a). What time was yours?
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If I could impose on someone to help guide me.
I copy and pasted this rough guide on where to go at the Acropolis. However, I'm not sure if I am following it correctly?
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-- After the Acropolis, walk back down the slope (making sure to see the Theatre of Dionysus) and then along the short path to the Greek Agora. It's not as visited but is well worth it. There is a Greek temple there (you can see it from the top of the Acropolis) that is far more complete than the Parthenon and is well worth seeing up close. Also there is a small museum inside the reconstructed stoa (Stoa of Attalos) that's fascinating. It includes actual ostraka (broken pottery pieces) that Athenians used to vote out or "ostracize" citizens who they felt were abusing power
-- you'll see actual written names of famous "classical" Greeks such as Themistocles and Xanthippus.
-- After this, you can continue on foot to the nearby Monastiraki area and have a gyro platter or some souvlaki for a quick lunch. (This area is known for its casual restaurants, easy to find one. They range from basic hole-in-the-wall takeout with tables on the sidewalk to real cafes.)
-- Now you're close to the Roman Forum, which includes an actual paced space (forum) as well as remains of several Roman buildings, including a library built by Hadrian. At the bottom of the Roman Forum is the wonderful Tower of the Winds, a beautiful but rather enigmatic octagonal building built entirely of marble.
-- From here it's up to you. You could walk back through the Plaka, with a quick stop to look at the Arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus (unless really interested, a quick outside view is fine). End at the Acropolis Museum, where you can learn more about the current and previous buildings on the acropolis, as well as see bits of sculpture from excavations there. You should be able to catch a taxi from here or, slightly backtrack to the area in front of Hadrian's arch where the X80 express bus stops.
-- Alternatively you could walk to Syntagma Square from the Roman Forum to see the old Royal Palace and Changing of the Guard. The X80 bus also has a stop here, and there are always taxis in this area.
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I took a screen shot of Acropolis. I know here the side entrance is (bottom right) and the Theater of Dionysus. The description sounds like it has you go down to the Theater but take a short path to a more complete Greek Temple? Which one is that?
Lastly, is the yellow circled also open to Acropolis goers? If so, do you just follow directions on the nothern end of the hill?
I'm very much a visual thinker, and need to see ***** to figure it out.
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16 hours ago, Middleager said:
We've been on several NCL cruises, including 6 since Covid. Never heard of "Early Bird" window for tendering.
Before we became Gold/Platinum, we always had to either get a tender ticket or an excursion. For excursion, we'd go to a specific area and are given/assigned tender tickets there, and basically followed the group as we're called.
For Gold/Plat and up, we were told to wait in a (different than the excursions) specific area. While waiting there, we don't need tender tickets and we're just escorted to get on a tender. There's usually not that many people, and we thought we were on the first tender going out, for guests.
Never heard of "Early Bird" tendering, for all of the NCL cruises we had been on.
I'm about 10 to 12 points shy after this cruise from Gold level.
Something to look forward to I guess.
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16 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:
I thought it was called early bird. I don't usually keep all my FS dailies, but here's an example of the "get off during an early window with no ticket", and there was something similar on the Escape when I went.
Interesting. Might have been that specific ship / port thing?
I browsed through a few threads on here to find other FS dailies, and none had that either. All stated to get a ticket.
I guess I'll be the chosen one to get in line for tickets 😉
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9 minutes ago, marazul said:
"Acropolis Plaka entrance". If you want to add "across from Acropolis Museum."
Thanks.
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12 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:
8:30 would give plenty of time. You would probably have time to walk up using the longer but easier approach to the Acropolis, the one that leads through the Theatre of Dionysus, which is well worth it (assuming you have the time, if traffic is bad or you are running late, you can always do it later...or not at all...thought it is a shame to miss it). The Greek Agora is also VERY worthwhile.
The X80 bus would be fine going back to the port.
I assume there are plenty of taxis once we get off the ship?
I know the entrance you're talking about. I read that's the better entrance to go through if you already purchased the tickets (I have). What would I tell the taxi driver to ensure I go to that entrance vs the main?
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3 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:
So on just about every NCL sailing I've been on, for tendering, it goes like this:
The first lifeboats/tenders are dropped and crew goes over to the land to set up the security area and where people get on and off the tenders. (Edited to add: I remember there was a post from someone who got to over with the crew, due to a super early excursion. That was dependent on the crew being really nice, though.)
Next, there is a 90 minute window, called Early Bird, where you don't need any tickets. You go down to the deck where the tendering will take place and just get on.
After that Early Bird window is done, now starts the ticket parts, with Groups 1 to whatever. Never having been Gold or above, I have no idea how the ticketed groups work, since I always go early bird. I assume that I would have had to go to the assigned place to ask for my tickets and hope that I get a good time. High level Latitudes might be able to just get on, I don't know... someone with high Lat status can chime in.
The alternative is if you have an NCL excursion, that is your tender ticket and you meet at the assigned place for that excursion.
After a certain number of hours, when the ticketed groups and NCL excursion tenders have gone, now is open tendering. You will no longer need a ticket.
I hope this explained the process.
Thank you much. As I have never been on a cruise that I needed to tender for the port, does the Freestyle give the location on the ship to meet for the Early Bird drop off in addition to the time?
Summer 2024 Santorini port cancellation - port capacity enforced?
in Greece Ports
Posted
https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/Epic?cid=PS_DIG_NA_BRP_GOO_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA_NAM&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwmYCzBhA6EiwAxFwfgOwuYzBC56iWmSV72kws8h7z74jRRFFJAr_9nFuowS8_rEqpXeXvixoCHNkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
4k? Not sure how booked the Epic is tho.