Santorini with 4 other cruise ships

[kleibo]

2 hours ago, megs193 said:

Where do we go for the dome pics?  We booked a ship excursion and should get there early so I want to make sure we go to the best place for pics early.

When you get to the town square.  It’s where everything starts - when you are looking at the water - go right and then go left down the alley ways.   You’ll most likely see a line of people lined up.   The only problem is that some people are there almost doing photo shoots and are taking a million pics.  It gets very annoying.  

[ninjacat123]

5 minutes ago, kleibo said:

When you get to the town square.  It’s where everything starts - when you are looking at the water - go right and then go left down the alley ways.   You’ll most likely see a line of people lined up.   The only problem is that some people are there almost doing photo shoots and are taking a million pics.  It gets very annoying.  

Is that where « flying dress » pics are taken?

[kleibo]

3 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Is that where « flying dress » pics are taken?

That and pretty much any photo op that’s down an alleyway. Which there are many.  Go there first thing.  It backs up quickly 

[ninjacat123]

Just now, kleibo said:

That and pretty much any photo op that’s down an alleyway. Which there are many.  Go there first thing.  It backs up quickly 

I will! Is it far from where the bus drops you off in Oia? Is this pic the dome?

[kleibo]

8 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I will! Is it far from where the bus drops you off in Oia? Is this pic the dome?

Yup both of those shots are to the right and then left down the allys.  I was surprised where you get dropped by the busses - you have to climb up pretty far - some were struggling.  Sorry. Currently on the ship. Upload is hard.  We did have a gorgeous blue sky that day. Perfect for photos 

Edited September 26, 2023 by kleibo

[ninjacat123]

3 minutes ago, kleibo said:

Yup both of those shots are to the right and then left down the allys.  I was surprised where you get dropped by the busses - you have to climb up pretty far - some were struggling.  Sorry. Currently on the ship. Upload is hard.  We did have a gorgeous blue sky that day. Perfect for photos 

Very pretty!! Thx for the intel👍hope your cruise is going great !!

[kleibo]

25 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Very pretty!! Thx for the intel👍hope your cruise is going great !!

Thanks Ninja.  I’ll write a whole review when I get back.   The entire time in Rome prior and the cruise has been great.  The early mornings are a killer.  We take naps every day.  This type of trip is exhausting 

[ninjacat123]

8 hours ago, kleibo said:

Thanks Ninja.  I’ll write a whole review when I get back.   The entire time in Rome prior and the cruise has been great.  The early mornings are a killer.  We take naps every day.  This type of trip is exhausting 

Could you tag me @ninjacat123 so I don't miss your review, please?  We fly out Oct 13.  Soooooo excited and I appreciate your info!! 

I bet the itinerary is exhausting and naps will be needed. 

Thanks!!

Edited September 26, 2023 by ninjacat123

[ninjacat123]

16 hours ago, kleibo said:

Ninja.  Just did the Oia & Thira yesterday.  Going to the old port first was perfect.  We got to OIA early and we’re able to get our pics without much trouble.  Go right to the dome pics as they back up quickly.  We also had time to shop and even had a drink overlooking the caldera 

Do you remember the name of the place you had a drink in Oia?  If I can't have lunch, at least a drink with a view.  Thanks!!

[marazul]

29 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Do you remember the name of the place you had a drink in Oia?  If I can't have lunch, at least a drink with a view.  Thanks!!

There are many restaurants and cafes with a view. You will walk past them.  Can't miss them.  Just pick one.

[ninjacat123]

1 minute ago, marazul said:

There are many restaurants and cafes with a view. You will walk past them.  Can't miss them.  Just pick one.

The restaurants are fine with someone wanting a view table just for a glass of wine?  I've heard of some restaurants requiring a minimum per person.  Thanks!!

[marazul]

7 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

The restaurants are fine with someone wanting a view table just for a glass of wine?  I've heard of some restaurants requiring a minimum per person.  Thanks!!

Some might.  Check the menus by the door before you go in. They might say if they charge a minimum.. You should also tell the waiter as you go in that you only want some wine.  You could also order just an appetizer if you feel like it.  If anyone objects, just leave and go to the next restaurant. 

 

Make your wine the local assyrtiko.

Edited September 26, 2023 by marazul

[marazul]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

The restaurants are fine with someone wanting a view table just for a glass of wine?  I've heard of some restaurants requiring a minimum per person.  Thanks!!

Some restaurants might require a minimum depending on the hour.  If you arrive in the middle of lunch time, they would expect you to have a meal, not just to take a table for the view.  They can easily fill the table with the 5,000 people walking outside their doors.  If you are there at an off hour, say 11 am or 3 pm, the same restaurant will probably be happy to serve you.  

[erby2283]

On 8/30/2023 at 8:22 PM, ninjacat123 said:

Book it now.  You can cancel later.  I booked the "Oia & Thira" one.  

I bit the bullet and booked the Oia & Thira one over the weekend.  Didn't want it to sell out and like you said, I can always cancel it.  Someone on our roll call (on another site) is doing this itinerary now and he said they had to head back to the ship around 1 pm to beat the lines at the cable car (for a 5pm departure).  I really hate that you have to forego half you day in Santorini bc they can't figure out a better alternative to get people back to the ship in a timely manner. 

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, erby2283 said:

I bit the bullet and booked the Oia & Thira one over the weekend.  Didn't want it to sell out and like you said, I can always cancel it.  Someone on our roll call (on another site) is doing this itinerary now and he said they had to head back to the ship around 1 pm to beat the lines at the cable car (for a 5pm departure).  I really hate that you have to forego half you day in Santorini bc they can't figure out a better alternative to get people back to the ship in a timely manner. 

What day is your ship port in Santorini?  Maybe the cable car line back down won't be so bad🤞

[erby2283]

@ninjacat123 9/11/24.  I looked - 5 ships in port that day.🥲

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, erby2283 said:

@ninjacat123 9/11/24.  I looked - 5 ships in port that day.🥲

Ah, I was thinking it was 2023. Oops! I’m doing a live review in two weeks so I’ll report on my experience in Santorini 👍😁

[mar214]

We are in Santorini this coming October 14 with the ship departing at 4 pm. There are 3 other ships there that day. Our ship is the first to leave. Any suggestions for when we should be in line for returning on the cable car? Thanks!

[erby2283]

3 hours ago, mar214 said:

We are in Santorini this coming October 14 with the ship departing at 4 pm. There are 3 other ships there that day. Our ship is the first to leave. Any suggestions for when we should be in line for returning on the cable car? Thanks!

I've never been there before so I'm sure some others with more experience can give better advice.  Our ship leaves at 5, we have 5 ships in port that day and our cruise excursions ends at 1:30.  I pretty much plan to head back right after that bc I really don't want to deal with the headache of waiting around.  

 

Have you looked up the other ships to see how many passengers they hold? That too can be a factor..  If they're smaller ships only holding 800-1000 passengers, that's a big difference over ships carrying 2000k+.

[ninjacat123]

11 minutes ago, erby2283 said:

I've never been there before so I'm sure some others with more experience can give better advice.  Our ship leaves at 5, we have 5 ships in port that day and our cruise excursions ends at 1:30.  I pretty much plan to head back right after that bc I really don't want to deal with the headache of waiting around.  

 

Have you looked up the other ships to see how many passengers they hold? That too can be a factor..  If they're smaller ships only holding 800-1000 passengers, that's a big difference over ships carrying 2000k+.

I have 2 very small ships at 8am (under 200 passengers) and 2 large cruise ships at 8am (ours which is Carnival Pride and MSC, I think) then 2 big ships at 9am.  Our ship excursion is scheduled to finish in Fira at 12:45pm. I'm hoping to have a drink and a nibble with a view and then stand in line for the cable car at 2:30pm. Our ship leaves at 5pm but I think last tender for our ship is 4:15pm🤞

Edited September 29, 2023 by ninjacat123

[margbem]

Lines yesterday for the cable car in the afternoon were 3 hours. 2 small ships, 2 large. Nightmare.

[ninjacat123]

37 minutes ago, margbem said:

Lines yesterday for the cable car in the afternoon were 3 hours. 2 small ships, 2 large. Nightmare.

Yikes!  Thanks for the report.

[Island2Girl]

On 9/28/2023 at 3:58 PM, erby2283 said:

@ninjacat123 9/11/24.  I looked - 5 ships in port that day.🥲

Erby2283, what site are you using to check how many ships are in port?

Thank you!!

[ninjacat123]

I have used https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports

There are probably other sites as well.

[mar214]

Margbem - thanks so much for posting! What time did you have to be back on board and what time did you get in line? You have to wonder if stopping in Santorini, as beautiful as it is, is worth the aggravation getting back to the ship!