Oia on your own shore excursion in September 2018

My husband and I will be in Santorini on September 30th for the day with Celebrity Cruise Line. We dock at 7am and leave at 6pm. We are looking at doing the Oia on Your Own shore ex which basically takes you to Oia for a few hours and then takes you back to Fira where you can stay or go back to the ship. Has anyone done this shore ex and if so, was it okay??? Also, the 30th is a Sunday...will this be problematic with shops and restaurants being closed for Sunday???

I know Adam (WonderMan3) who recently wrote this (semi-)live trip report did Celebrity's Oia on your Own (Santorini starts on page 11) and was not impressed:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2627976&page=11

Just so you know, it's very easy to take the bus to Oia and, of course, it's much cheaper and has the advantage that you can stay as long as you want. The bus terminal is just a short walk through town (Fira) and very easy to find. Also, be aware that in Santorini there is no "guaranteed return to the ship on time" even if you book the ship's excursion. This is because the cable car or donkey path is the only way down from Fira to the tender boats and it's first come first served. The line will depend on how many ships are in port that day and what time they are departing. You can check cruisett.com for that info.

Great tips - thank you so much!

I know Adam (WonderMan3) who recently wrote this (semi-)live trip report did Celebrity's Oia on your Own (Santorini starts on page 11) and was not impressed:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2627976&page=11

Thank you so much for this information. There are only 2 ships in port the day we are in Santorini so we'll probably just try to go out on our own and see what happens!

The easiest way to Oia is to grab one of the many boats which depart from the tender port and take you to the dock below Oia, they then transfer you by bus up to Oia. You get a ticket for another bus back to Fira. You spend as long as you want to either or both towns, just be sure to leave enough time to get back down to the tender port, whether you walk or take the cable car. Just beware that the boat will wait until it is close to full before departing. If you see one that looks pretty full jump on it.

Awesome! Thank you!

The easiest way to Oia is to grab one of the many boats which depart from the tender port and take you to the dock below Oia, they then transfer you by bus up to Oia. You get a ticket for another bus back to Fira. You spend as long as you want to either or both towns, just be sure to leave enough time to get back down to the tender port, whether you walk or take the cable car. Just beware that the boat will wait until it is close to full before departing. If you see one that looks pretty full jump on it.

Awesome! Thank you for taking the time to respond!