Live - Aboard Star Princess

[troywest]

Now sailing out of Athens aboard Star Princess.

 

Prior to arrival, we were told that a general strike would stop all buses, trains and taxis.

 

A heavy (and quite successful) effort was made to get passengers to purchase shore excursions.

 

Upon leaving the ship, I had no trouble finding a taxi, and there were plenty of Ho-Ho buses and local tour operators on the dock. The city buses and the subway system WAS apparently shut down.

 

After returning to the ship, conflicting announcements were made about Mykonos, the next scheduled port.

 

First, we were told that the ship would be docking (not tendering as per the brochure). They then announced a 6 hour delay in the Mykonos arrival time.

 

It should be noted that many persons selected this trip for the 1:00 A.M. arrival in Mykonos. Even more crew were looking forward to a night in the Mykonos clubs.

 

At the suggestion of an unhappy staff member, at least one passenger called the bridge (14000) to determine the problem. He got no clear answer - some complaints about noise from early docking, vague possible wind issues.

 

Then, instead of trying to respond to complaints, Princess was trying to determine who passed out the bridge phone number.

 

 

Otherwise, some government museums and sites closed in Olympia due to strike, a full ship with some lines, and much better than expected weather.

[lovevacadays]

Looking forward to reading your live from

[troywest]

We're back on board - leaving Mykonos.

 

We docked (not tendered as per brochure)

 

Since we weren't where we were supposed to be, Princess charged most passengers € 7.50 for transfers to and from a bus area 1/4 mile from town.

 

The enlightened took taxis for € 5 each way. Each taxi held 4 passengers, and went to the center of town, not the remote bus lot. (€ 2.50 per passenger round trip).

 

Many crew and a few passengers angry about missing their night clubbing in Mykonos.

 

One guy said he called the bridge, and they hung up on him.

 

Some wind on departure.

[weaselwatchr]

Thanks so much for the updates. We are on this itinery in 2 weeks. Do you happen to know if the ferry to Delos in Mykonos was still running? We were planning on doing a on our own tour of Delos. Thanks

 

Danica

[troywest]

Yes, it was running - but the last one was at 11:00 AM.

 

Some people were told by the ship that there was a ferry at 1:00 P.M. - There is not.

 

Also, The ferry does not operate on Mondays.

[caribill]

Also, The ferry does not operate on Mondays.

 

An important fact because the island is thus only available to those on Princess tours on that day.

 

We stopped at Mykonos on a Monday and many people on board were surprised to find they could not go to Delos on their own and that the only alternative, a Princess tour, was not available because it was fully booked.

 

They blamed Princess for not telling them in advance about the ferry not operating that day.

[troywest]

It is always important to do your own research.

 

No cruise line provides (or is obligated to provide) accurate port information.

 

On this sailing, by telling people that there would be no taxis or public transportation in Athens, they sold many more shore excursions, to the great benefit of Princess.

 

In fact, there WAS a taxi strike, and if many people were not shifted to shore excursions, there may not have been enough taxis for the Princess staff and for the passengers that DID do their online "homework".