Santorini Report

[wiselindag]

Santorini – November 11, 2009

 

After arrival in the caldera at 2:00 p.m., we boarded a tender and then took the cable car up to the top (Four Euros each way). (Earlier in the day they announced while we were on the ship that due to high winds, the cable cars had suspended operation. We were glad when they announced that the cable cars had resumed, since using the donkeys or walking up the cliff were not good options. I did wonder, however, what would happen if they stopped again later in the day… fortunately I didn’t need to find out the answer to that question.) We had to wait for two people in our party who got separated from us and took a later tender, and then we stopped to take photographs from Fira before heading to Oia. Our plan had been to take the bus to Oia and sightsee before the sunset. Our group (which had grown to eight people) walked through the taxi area (where the taxis were small and seemed to carry four people.) We arrived at the bus station at 3:25 and discovered that the next bus was scheduled for 4:00 since they were running on the winter schedule. The bus cost 1.40 Euro. A van drove up and the driver offered to drive us over for five Euros a person. We negotiated a fare of 30 Euros for eight people, figuring that time was of the essence. We probably could have gotten a better deal, but it wasn’t worth the time. Our driver was very nice, drove well, and told us what time the sun would set and where to go to get the best pictures.

 

On the drive over to Oia we enjoyed the wonderful views of the terraced vineyards and the fertile, volcanic fields. We asked the driver to return to pick us up at 5:45, which turned out to be a great decision, as you will see. We walked through the streets of Oia, stopping to admire the handicraft and jewelry shops and taking fantastic photographs of gorgeous vistas and charming churches, flowers, and little traditional-style houses. Each turn presented photo opportunities better than the ones we had just viewed so we all snapped dozens of photographs.

 

Finally we got to the point where the famous blue-domed church above the sea was visible and we snapped dozens more. The sun was just ahead of us, but unfortunately there was a large cloud obscuring most of the sunset. We stopped at a café overlooking the church and what would have been a gorgeous sunset with out that cloud, and had a cold drink, while admiring the good sense of a young couple who had ordered hot chocolate. The guys also ordered some very tasty mezes, but my husband and I saved our appetites for dinner. Although it had been mild (in the 60’s) earlier, as the sun disappeared, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up.

 

We headed back to the taxi stand and just made it before the rains came… very lucky since there was quite a downpour! Our drive back was uneventful and we asked the driver to drop us off as close to the cable car as possible. He directed us up a set of steps and in front of us was a huge line for the return trip down the mountain. The rains let up and then stopped, so we lucked out again. We were regaled in line by an Atlantan who made the mistake of taking the donkey up to Fira and very much regretted his choice of transportation. It took us about 40 minutes to get from the cab to the cable car. Later we learned that some people were faced with the choice of waiting on the cable car line for what they either estimated or were told would be a wait of two hours (and possibly missing the ship’s departure) or walking down the steep, slick donkey track in the rain and the dark… very unpleasant stories We finally got to the cable car and after a dark and kind of spooky ride down, were quickly able to board a rocking tender and return to the comforts of Solstice.

 

Santorini is a gorgeous cruise stop, but one can only marvel at the decision made by the Celebrity itinerary- makers to arrive there so late in the day at a time of year when the sun sets so early. We were fortunate to have a good visit, but we felt sorry for the many people who had bad experiences on this port stop.

[D4]

I'm sorry your weather in Santorini was so bad. We were there the last week in November and were lucky enough to have perfect weather. We heard the prior couple cruises had rain and wind in Santorini that caused the cable cars to stop for long periods of time.

 

Riding the donkeys up and down was a personal highlight of the cruise for me. DH rode the cable car both ways.

 

We were also fortunate that our Soltice cruise had excellent time slots in Santorini. I think we arrived at 7am and we were the only ship that day. I wouldn't want to arrive mid-afternoon. I wonder if they do that when multiple ships will be there?

[tom_uk]

To the OP: I'm sorry that the weather wasn't very good on your visit, but I hope that you saw enough of Santorini to get a flavour.

 

As regards the weather, sometime I wonder if visitors to Europe from the US realise how far north many of the tourist destinations in Europe actually are? The Med is nowhere near Caribbean latitudes! For example, Santorini is at approx 36 degrees north; that's the same latitude as Virginia Beach on the east coast or Monterey on the west coast. Both great places in summer, but both decidedly cool, possibly cold, and possibly wet in winter. In contrast, Grand Cayman is at 19 degrees north. (Here's a final couple of examples: Rome is on the same latitude as New Haven, Connecticut; and London is north of everywhere in the lower 48 - it's slightly north of Vancounver, BC.)

 

D4 said:

We were also fortunate that our Soltice cruise had excellent time slots in Santorini. I think we arrived at 7am and we were the only ship that day. I wouldn't want to arrive mid-afternoon. I wonder if they do that when multiple ships will be there?

 

Well, the 2pm arrival is the same throughout the year for the 11-night itinerary - it's the first port of call after leaving Rome on those cruises, and I suppose it takes that long to get to Santorini. When we were there in October there were a number of other ship present, most of which were on an early morning to late afternoon schedule, and I think that congestion for the cable cars would have been considerable. We saw this for ourselves, in fact; when we reached the top of the cable car at 2:15, there were big queues for the cars down.

 

I blogged about our time on Santorini here, and there are some pictures here. Here's one example, however:

[Onessa]

We may have been on the same cruise as D4. We were in Santorini on 11/27/09 and it was a beautiful day!

 

Santorini can be a crap shoot just about any day, but in the autumn booking a cruise that includes a stop in Santorini is always a risky proposition.

 

This stop was day eight of a 10 day cruise so it was 7am to 6pm for us. One of the upsides of a late Autumn cruise was that the days are so short that we were there for one of the island's famous sunsets!

[Softball20]

About how long does it take to take the cable cars up?

[D4]

About how long does it take to take the cable cars up?

 

DH just said the cable car ride was very quick - about 2 minutes. Of course that's assuming you can get on it right away. It's also a tender port so you have that hassle also.

[tom_uk]

About how long does it take to take the cable cars up?

 

I did a whole blog entry about this after a visit on 2007 on Galaxy.

 

As suggested by another poster, the issue isn't the transit time in the cablecar, it's the potential waiting time to get to the cable car.

[Softball20]

Next question: How long does it take by donkey?

[D4]

Next question: How long does it take by donkey?

 

I actually typed that in my last response and then deleted it since it didn't pertain to your question.

 

The length of the donkey ride varies quite a bit. If a donkey handler happens to be riding up/down at the same time, it will be quicker because the donkeys know who the bosses are. Otherwise the donkeys are free to meander at their own pace. They stop and look around and take it easy. Whenever mine would stop, I'd let go and take beautiful scenic photos on the way up. I guess that it took about 30 minutes and I loved every minute of it.

 

On my way down, a donkey handler was bringing about 25-30 donkeys with no riders down, so it was him, me, and a lot of donkeys. I had to hang on the whole way because we went at a quicker pace. There was no opportunity to let go and take photos but it was still fun.

 

We didn't go ashore right away and were lucky to not have a line to tender. So when we got to the island there was not a bottleneck for the cable cars or donkeys. We were also the only ship in port. We also headed back before the end of day rush.

 

The donkeys were a real highlight of my trip.

[Softball20]

Sounds very cool! I think that we'll have to try it at least one way. Thanks

[texancruzer]

I have to agree ---- the donkey ride was once in a lifetime experience !!!

 

We were on the very first Med cruise for Solstice - last May. 2pm-10pm.

 

Originally planned to take the cable car up.....but due to getting a late tender time we didnt get ashore until almost 4 pm :eek: Then dh said he wanted to walk up the stairs...... I did not want to ride cable cars by myself. Then he said I could ride and he would walk by me...... well as I was getting on a donkey I looked back and he was getting on one too :rolleyes: By plan or just a whim ??? He still won't say.

 

Anyway it was a blast ! I was scared at first but donkeys know the way. The views were amazing and I will never forget that experience. My dh was petrified however....LOL

 

The time slot for this port is indeed not the best when on an early season (such as May) or late season (fall) as the sun sets earlier. But we enjoyed our day here. We also hired a taxi to Oia and he waited for us. Good idea.

 

As far as congestion.....there were 2 other ships when we were there. Once left early in the day - didnt affect us at all. The other arrived at @ 8am and left at 5pm.....so as many were going up from our ship - those leaving at 5 pm were going down. Didnt slow anything down as far as I could see. Going down later @ 8-8:30 was just our ship......fairly quick.