Anyone taken the short Princess tour at Santorini, and then left tour early?

[Wishing on a star]

I have heard of this, but do not know if anyone has done this from a Princess cruise.

This is just wishful thinking, for maybe 2024.  We would want to get on the Island without the cable car lines, and then leave the ships tour, maybe at Oia, and possible meet a private tour driver for the rest of the day.

 

The short Princess tour should get you back to Fira, and then you are on your own anyhow.

So, it would be just bypassing that last part.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Wishing on a star

[Rick&Jeannie]

You are certainly not being held "captive" on *any* excursion.  It should be no problem to leave a group, understanding that it is now totally your responsibility to get back to the ship on time.  You need to make certain that the group leader/tour operator understands that you are leaving...don't just BAIL!

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, of course!  

That is how I was thinking.

That means you are paying THAT much just to get on the Island, early, without those cable-cars.  But, with my Central Vertigo, it might be worth it.

[Essiesmom]

But you are going to have to find your way down to the port after you get back to Fira.  Are you going to walk down the donkey poop steps, or take the lift?  EM

[JimmyVWine]

I would think that the Princess excursions assemble and depart the ship on the early side. If you are up and ready that early, the line for the cable car won’t be terribly long so you might as well head there. All of the people on ship excursions are headed in a different direction. The morning lines for the cable car are nothing compared to the afternoon lines when even people who arrived via the excursion dock return via the cable car. I would save the money and just plan to get off the ship early. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

54 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I would think that the Princess excursions assemble and depart the ship on the early side. If you are up and ready that early, the line for the cable car won’t be terribly long so you might as well head there. All of the people on ship excursions are headed in a different direction. The morning lines for the cable car are nothing compared to the afternoon lines when even people who arrived via the excursion dock return via the cable car. I would save the money and just plan to get off the ship early. 

On a recent Greek Isles sailing (on NCL) they did things a bit different.  You still tender in to the base of the mountain where you would normally have to catch the tram...but those who had signed up for the excursion we're talking about immediately got on another boat and were transported around to the northern (I think) tip of the island to start their excursion.

[Skai]

There is a ferry-shuttle service in the old port of Fira where the ship's tenders drop off.  

 

The ferry transports to Ammoudi Bay, where one walks up a short hill to a (connected)bus that shuttles ferry passengers the rest of the way up to Oia.  The tickets are around 15€ pp, IIRC.

 

The service also provides for a return trip (via bus) back to Fira that departs every hour.

 

It's a very simple process.  We had to wait a few minutes for the ferry boat to fill-up with enough passengers before departing.  We were in Oia about 35-40 minutes after hopping on to the dock from the tender.  

 

Upon returning to Fira (later in the afternoon), the line for the cable-car was way too long for our tastes; so we opted to hike down the stairs instead.

[JimmyVWine]

12 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

On a recent Greek Isles sailing (on NCL) they did things a bit different.  You still tender in to the base of the mountain where you would normally have to catch the tram...but those who had signed up for the excursion we're talking about immediately got on another boat and were transported around to the northern (I think) tip of the island to start their excursion.

Either way, the people who are on ship excursions do not take the cable car up the mountain.  So the morning line to board looks nothing like the afternoon line to return, as long as you get an early start to the day.  

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, I have heard of different options to getting ship Exursions over to the other Port.  There is one catch to the ferry over to Ammoudi.  If a lot of people are there and are doing that, you are okay.  But, you could also wait for a long time, sometimes quite a long time, as they do not like to leave and make the run until the boat is full.  I haven't checked for the schedule of ships in Port.  We are looking at mid to late May.

 

So, if you are like me, and want to avoid the cable cars as much as possible, with bad 'central vertigo',  That ships excursion might be the best option.  No matter how much it adds to the cost for your day.

 

I do not know.  But I hear that, due to the problems and waits at the cable cars, Santorini is allowing more options, especially for Ships Excursions, to get onto the Island, and also back down to the ship.   Of course, it is winter now.   But it will be interesting to follow some reports here online, once the 2023 season kicks in!

Edited January 23, 2023 by Wishing on a star