Santorini- Celebrity rocked it with tendering!

[Wine-O]

No they are not lit. You'd have to either walk by the light of the silvery moon or carry a torch. :)

If you were on your way down before 8pm doubt you'd have any problem at all, and a spectacular post-sunset view depending on what month you plan your travels. (Sunset Cafe in Oia is an excellent place to watch the sunset btw.)

 

Well, sunset when we are there is at 6:32pm, so there will be no walking down. :rolleyes:

[debandbruce]

We were on the same sailing and booked a shore excursion through the ship, the tendering process was great. Our tender took us to the far end of the island where we boarded our tour bus. It was a very early tour, 7:15am. When the tour was over we were let off in the shopping area. For those with mobility issues beware, the buses can not stop right in the shopping area as there is no room. We were let out at the bottom of a hill and had to walk up and then walk a good distance to the cable cars. My Mom has a very bad hip and the hill almost did her in but we just stopped when needed and took a rest and she did it. Our tour guide recommended that to avoid a line at the cable cars we should wait until 3:00 and they would be quieter. It was just after noon and we did not wish to spend 3 hours shopping so made our way to the cable cars. We arrived there at around 12:30-12:45 and had no line whatsoever. We were down the cable cars, the tender was just pulling up and we were in the oceanview having lunch by 1:15. If we had waited until 3:00 the line up was horrendous. Our neighbours said they were told 2 hour wait so walked down the donkey path. There was a group of them and they took between 30 and 50 minutes to walk down. So glad we came back earlier!

[Petoonya]

We were on the same sailing and booked a shore excursion through the ship, the tendering process was great. Our tender took us to the far end of the island where we boarded our tour bus. It was a very early tour, 7:15am. When the tour was over we were let off in the shopping area. For those with mobility issues beware, the buses can not stop right in the shopping area as there is no room. We were let out at the bottom of a hill and had to walk up and then walk a good distance to the cable cars. My Mom has a very bad hip and the hill almost did her in but we just stopped when needed and took a rest and she did it. Our tour guide recommended that to avoid a line at the cable cars we should wait until 3:00 and they would be quieter. It was just after noon and we did not wish to spend 3 hours shopping so made our way to the cable cars. We arrived there at around 12:30-12:45 and had no line whatsoever. We were down the cable cars, the tender was just pulling up and we were in the oceanview having lunch by 1:15. If we had waited until 3:00 the line up was horrendous. Our neighbours said they were told 2 hour wait so walked down the donkey path. There was a group of them and they took between 30 and 50 minutes to walk down. So glad we came back earlier!

 

Very important!

Reiterating that the line for the cable car for THIS cruise was a nightmare only because there were FIVE ships in port. This was exceedingly unusual, and ordinarily this is not a problem! There are only a few days this summer with so vast a number of visitors on one day. Just be sure to check how many ships are in port for your cruise. If there are others besides yours check their itinerary, departure time and plan accordingly. If just your ship and maybe another small ship in port, getting in line at the cable car two hours early should be PLENTY of time.

 

If it's just your ship in port, oh happy day!

Plan to enjoy your day and not spend it worrying about the cable car line. Or the donkey path. :) :) :)

[Petoonya]

Well, sunset when we are there is at 6:32pm, so there will be no walking down. :rolleyes:

 

Well...if this helps....

I live on the ocean. And for at least an hour after sunset in the summer there is more than enough light to make it down a messy donkey path. If we had one. :)

Again, if your ship is the only one in port that evening you should not worry about getting down via cable car if in line two hours prior.

(I fear the situation on our cruise may have started a panic among cruisers when there should not be. Ours was a highly unusual day. In previous visits we've NEVER had a problem returning to the ship.)

[JessicaRVN]

This year we are coming to Santorini on Silhouette (Aug, 20). According to cruisetimetables.com it seems the day might be hectic - there will be 4 (!) ships tendered.. Although, their arrival times are a bit different (Silhouette - 7 a.m., Riviera - 8 a.m., Seabourn Quest - 8 a.m., Jade - 1:30 p.m.), I am wondering what should we expect ? Any suggestions ? We haven't booked any excursions yet.

[Petoonya]

This year we are coming to Santorini on Silhouette (Aug, 20). According to cruisetimetables.com it seems the day might be hectic - there will be 4 (!) ships tendered.. Although, their arrival times are a bit different (Silhouette - 7 a.m., Riviera - 8 a.m., Seabourn Quest - 8 a.m., Jade - 1:30 p.m.), I am wondering what should we expect ? Any suggestions ? We haven't booked any excursions yet.

 

Four is a lotta ships and close to what we had at five ships. However a key is noting the capacity of those ships and checking their itinerary to see what time they depart.

Two of the five other ships that were in port with us on May 7 carried somewhat close to what we had on Silhouette, we at about 2500 and they around 1800. Then add crew to that.

 

Riviera and Quest are much smaller. I'd be comfortable being back in Fira about 2pm and checking the line first thing. If not too bad you'd have enough time to shop around Fira for a bit. The cable car departs right in the center of the major shopping area in Fira, so you can monitor the line pretty easily that way.

 

One other bit of caution. Some people use the ships tours as a way to get to Oia early and then ditch the bus. There were people who were very upset that the bus had to wait for the "lost souls" for 30 min. resulting in the rest missing part of the tour. There are some very good private tour companies. Check that board. Or you can rent a car like we did.