AmateurCruiser01

On 6/26/2023 at 6:00 PM, kwokpot said:

What time do you get on the boat to Oia? Wasn't there tons of people doing the same thing? We're going to Santorini on the a tuesday, July 25th and will be there from 1:00-11:00, and there will be f ships that day. I'm not sure whether to do the ship's Oia on your own ($64/pp) or do what you did and go with what's available at the port below Fira. I know it's cheaper but I'm just concerned about scheduling and finding available seats on a boat taxi since we dock at 1:00pm. Thank you for any insight you have based on your experience!

We only got on the tender at 10am because they shut down the port prior to that, we got on the Oia speedboat at around 11. There was a short line at the ticket office (with the sign "Transfer to Oia" at the end of the dock), but it's nothing like the long cable car line we walked past. Once we got the tickets we were able to get on the first available boat which didn't take very long to arrive. We suspect not as many people knew about this option since it was not advertised by any crew members (to sell more excursions I guess!)

There was a bus at the end of the boat ride that took us up to Oia town. We ended up exploring Oia for 2 hours before getting on the hourly bus ride back (at the same point where they drop you off).

Also, they do take credit cards but it seems like they would much rather have cash, so just be prepared for that.

On 6/26/2023 at 6:20 PM, soniam said:

 

That's definitely something we will consider if we decide to visit Oia more after going back to the ship or if our excursion is cancelled. How did you get back to the old port from Fira? Was the cable car line insane?

We ended up walking down which went better than I expected. The line was 1-2 hours long as the other poster mentioned.

On 6/28/2023 at 5:24 AM, ninjacat123 said:

Did the ship give a reason to why all Athenios excursions were cancelled?  I have an excursion booked through my ship and trying to cover all my bases.  TIA!

It was weather related, choppy seas on the way to Athenios I suppose. We noticed the occasional choppiness on the boat ride to Oia but nothing major.

On 6/30/2023 at 5:30 PM, fishiecrackers said:

So we were on Royal and they give you a number for your tender. Our excursion was rerouted to the cable car but we were #2. However, it's mostly how aggressive your guide is in pushing your group to the cable car, and ours really wasn't. She also wasn't holding up her sign a lot so it was stressful. After tendering, it took us two hours of straight pushing through crowds to get to the top (where the guide was again not holding up the sign so we had no idea where/how to find her bc we were at the back). We were supposed to meet at I think 7:15am? But had to sit there forever while they figured out what to do. I think we got off the tender at about 8:30am and finally up to the top at 10:30am. So it was super stressful. We were only left with about an hour in Oia, which was a bummer. 

 

Then we did do our private tour in the afternoon but we cut it short because the day had been so exhausting and stressful. When we got back to the cable car line there were Disney employees there who said it was probably about a 1.5 hour wait for the cable car line, or a 30-45 min. walk down at a "leisurely pace." We all had appropriate footwear and are able-bodied, so we chose to walk. It only took 20 mins and the walk down was a breeze, no big deal at all. Way better than the line which was snaking around this courtyard and then down an alley as far as the eye could see.

 

Here's the crowds while waiting to go UP. Honestly would've been better off taking the speedboat at this point but would've lost over $300 on the excursion.

 

Thanks for sharing! Sorry to hear about your experience, seems like the speedboat we took was the way to go especially when multiple ships are in port.

Also ended up on Santorini on June 17 when four large ships were in port. All excursions going to Athenios port from our ship were cancelled, so there ended up being a 2-3 hour line for the cable car to Fira. We ended up doing the Transfer to Oia boat ride from the old port dock which was exactly as advertised (boat to Oia bay, transfer to Oia town, then hourly transfer back to Fira). 30 EUR/p was money well spent to skip the cable car line and visit Oia, which was gorgeous but crowded.

2 hours ago, fishiecrackers said:

It’s 2 ships at 7am and 2 at 8am, I believe. On a Saturday. It’s gonna be a nightmare.

Yep. Also 2 ships leaving at 8pm and one leaving at 9pm. I'm prepared to skip the cable car and walk down the donkey path, at least that's easier than walking up.

We will be in Santorini from the Disney Dream on June 17 (same day as OP!) Had a ship excursion booked already because of tendering/cable car concerns but am now having last-minute second thoughts about going private (which we're doing at other ports). Although because our port times were extended we now face the prospect of arriving with 3 other ships and departing with 2 other ships 🫠

Thanks everyone! Also how much in general are the taxis from Civitavecchia station to the port terminals? Seems like if multiple people are involved then that may be a better way to go.

Hi! First time cruising in the Med/from Rome. From recent info (https://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/shuttles) it appears that there's now a shuttle option that goes directly from the train station to the cruise terminals (skipping the bus -> shuttle switch). I've seen videos of people using this service but is anyone here able to verify it?

Like the poster above me, I'll be departing on June 12 and am weighing a 11:57am Frecci train vs. using private transfer. Our cruise leaves at 3:45pm and I'd want to squeeze in a little more Rome sightseeing that morning but also not spread ourselves too thin.