Santorini Limits Future Cruise Visits

From the Wall Street Journal this morning, they had this headline: “Greek Island Paradise Tries to Be a Little Less Welcoming” with this subhead: “Santorini to impose limits on cruise arrivals as infrastructure comes under strain; ‘Garbage has doubled' ’”.

Here are some of the story highlights: "Starting next year the island will cap daily cruise arrivals at 8,000, hoping to curb a flow of day travelers the mayor said is putting too much strain on infrastructure and supplies. The move has rankled cruise operators and business owners, who say such a move would choke off their economic lifeblood and that the onus is on the island to do more to accommodate the crowds. Santorini, formed after a volcanic eruption in 1613 B.C., is one of the world’s top tourist destinations and Greece’s most popular. It draws nearly two million people a year and almost half of them are day visitors from cruise ships that stay on the island for an average of seven hours"

We have our second visit to Greece coming up in mid-November and have not yet visited Santorini. Look forward to doing that at a future time. BUT, these limits could affect those opportunities. Understand, however, that many popular Europe locations are starting to do or consider such limits to preserve these types of scenic and/or historic super stars.

Also noted in this interesting article was: "Tourism, which accounts for about one-fifth of Greece’s annual gross national product, has transformed Santorini. The island was devastated by an earthquake in 1956 that led to an exodus of its residents. Electricity only came in 1974, and the first cruises arrived in the 1980s. The population is estimated to have more than doubled in 15 years to around 25,000 to accommodate the growing numbers of visitors. Beyond cruisers, Santorini is a top wedding and honeymoon destination."

Full story at:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-greek-island-paradise-tries-to-be-a-little-less-welcoming-1535799602?mod=hp_lead_pos8

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

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While I understand the grousing from those who make their living from tourism, I think it is high time that places such as Santorini and Venice institute some "crowd control" measures -- or else the very charm that draws tourists there in the first place is going to be destroyed.

I was lucky enough to visit Santorini on a ship of 350+ passengers, in April (when there were not so many non-cruise tourists either). We were the only ship there until around 2pm. It was lovely. I can't imagine how the lovely but small towns handle upwards of 12,000 day-tripping cruise passengers...!

It will be interesting to see what happens next year for ships scheduled to dock. We are scheduled to visit there next May via MSC so who will be policing the total visitors at 8,000 and who will be the odd man out if that number would be exceeded?

It will be interesting to see what happens next year for ships scheduled to dock. We are scheduled to visit there next May via MSC so who will be policing the total visitors at 8,000 and who will be the odd man out if that number would be exceeded?

They won't be counting as you come ashore. They will be limiting the number of ships that anchor in the Caldera, to a number totaling around 8K pax. Each cruise line requesting a visit will give their capacity. After 8k is reached, no more ships will be allowed to visit that day. Cruise lines book their visits more than 2 years in advance. Easy to draw a line.

They won't be counting as you come ashore. They will be limiting the number of ships that anchor in the Caldera, to a number totaling around 8K pax. Each cruise line requesting a visit will give their capacity. After 8k is reached, no more ships will be allowed to visit that day. Cruise lines book their visits more than 2 years in advance. Easy to draw a line.

True the schedule is set but those days that the number exceeds 8k which ship is denied access to dock? and how soon will they be notified that they can't dock? Since 2019 itineraries are already set those affected will have to rearrange and hopefully they can juggle days so that the passengers can still be able to see Santorini. If not those passengers need to be notified asap.

True the schedule is set but those days that the number exceeds 8k which ship is denied access to dock? and how soon will they be notified that they can't dock? Since 2019 itineraries are already set those affected will have to rearrange and hopefully they can juggle days so that the passengers can still be able to see Santorini. If not those passengers need to be notified asap.

They might just phase it in. Allow every ship that is already booked for 2019, but not add anymore, if that takes the total over 8K.

This is not new news to me.And, seems to be very negative take, just based on what I am hearing here.

I believe that they have been working towards this lower limit for some time.

I am thinking that most days for next year are already at or below this capacity.

If my research is correct, on the day the cruise we have on deposit visits Santorini, it will be the only major cruise ship anchored there. And one more small European vessel.

I am very happy about this!!!

We were just there and luckily the only ship that day:)

Our driver did tell us this was happening, he said although they rely on tourism, he is happy for the limitations.

We had a perfect day, with few waits, we walked right onto the tender, and straight to the ticket booth for the cable car and up we went.

On the way back there was about a 10 minute wait.

There was a Celebrity crew member at the entrance to the cable car in communication with the ship keeping track of the number of passengers still on land.

He told me sometimes the line for the cable car is 2 hours long...

There was a Celebrity crew member at the entrance to the cable car in communication with the ship keeping track of the number of passengers still on land.

This is not just Santorini. In every port, the cruise line monitors how many are ashore, typically by the scanning your ship's ID card as you come and go off the ship. So the ship can say at any given moment exactly how many people are ashore.

While I understand the grousing from those who make their living from tourism, I think it is high time that places such as Santorini and Venice institute some "crowd control" measures -- or else the very charm that draws tourists there in the first place is going to be destroyed. I was lucky enough to visit Santorini on a ship of 350+ passengers, in April (when there were not so many non-cruise tourists either). We were the only ship there until around 2pm. It was lovely. I can't imagine how the lovely but small towns handle upwards of 12,000 day-tripping cruise passengers...!

Appreciate these various comments, experiences, opinions and follow-ups. Not an easy situation in balancing the economics, history, culture, etc. Santorini is still on our future to-do list. Won't make it there in 2018 or 2019. But hopefully for the future. Keep up the good sharing and background information.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

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True the schedule is set but those days that the number exceeds 8k which ship is denied access to dock? and how soon will they be notified that they can't dock? Since 2019 itineraries are already set those affected will have to rearrange and hopefully they can juggle days so that the passengers can still be able to see Santorini. If not those passengers need to be notified asap.

Ship schedules are set 3 or more years ahead of time. Prior to publishing them, the lines need to request clearance from each port. Each port can deny permission if they so wish, so that port will not get on the schedule.

We visited in 2016 on the Jade. It did not seem that crazy but we were on a ship excursion. The cable car down at 9 pm was about a 10 min wait but we were the only ship port at that point. We are on the Spirit next May and hope that we have a similar experience. I think many ports need limits - they have already started doing this in Venice and there has been some talk of banning cruise ships altogether.

So assume there are 8000 cruise ship passengers needing to get down to the tender dock (from Fira) in the late afternoon. If the Cable car was running at maximum capacity of would take about 13 hours to move that many down to the pier area.

Hank

We visited in 2016 on the Jade. It did not seem that crazy but we were on a ship excursion. The cable car down at 9 pm was about a 10 min wait but we were the only ship port at that point. We are on the Spirit next May and hope that we have a similar experience. I think many ports need limits - they have already started doing this in Venice and there has been some talk of banning cruise ships altogether.

Appreciate this above follow-up and the always wise comments from Hlitner and marazul. Very helpful and interesting postings!!

From USA Today last month, they had this headline: “Rick Steves: Discovering the wonders of Santorini” with these highlights: “The words 'Greek Isles' evoke visions of sun-bleached houses shoulder-to-shoulder against a hillside with a mesmerizing view of glittering blue water. But with more than 200 Greek islands scattered across the Aegean and Ionian seas, where do you start?Chances are, Santorini is the island you're picturing. Once a complete island like its neighbors, it was a volcano that blew its top thousands of years ago, creating a giant caldera. Today Santorini's whitewashed villages offers much more than the vistas made famous on postcards — its wonders include countryside wineries, ancient archaeological sites and unforgettable beaches.”

Interesting background and details from this Rick Steves profile. Wish we would be visiting Santorini during our November return travels to Greece. BUT, it will have to be later for experiencing this scenic island.

Full story at:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2018/08/11/santorini/963377002/

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

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