MSC Excursions in Mykonos and Santorini

[RavenCruiser]

We will be on the Divina for a Med cruise starting May 17 in YC.  I had previously commented on the very small number of excursions available at the various port calls, generally just three to five at each stop.  I am considering the Delos excursion in Mykonos and the Best of Santorini excursion in Santorini.  I was a little surprised that the Delos tour says, "you will return to the port on your own by shuttle boat".  I had assumed we would be returned to the ship as a group.  My concern with the Santorini excursion is the eight hour length. 

 

For context, we will be in Mykonos from 1PM to 11PM and Santorini from 8AM to 6PM.  I greatly appreciate any thoughts you may have if you've taken either of these tours.  Previous comments had said it was unlikely that additional excursion options would be available once we've boarded the ship so I'm going on the assumption the limited choices provided beforehand are all that I can choose from.  Thanks in advance.

[notley-cruise]

Mykinos town has two harbours, the old one in town, and a new harbour where the cruise ships dock or anchor.

 

MSC will either tender boat or dock at the new harbour.  Delos tours depart from the old harbour. 

 

There is a Water bus service between the two harbours 2€ each way,  MSC also charters a Water bus for their guests but charge double the regular price 8€ return.

The regular service was quicker and cheaper in April, but in high season you would want to use the MSC charter.

[edinburgher]

On 4/14/2024 at 7:14 PM, RavenCruiser said:

you will return to the port on your own by shuttle boat".

Not sure if this is helpful or not, but when we did a shorex to Delos, we went directly from the ship using ship tenders and returned to the ship the same way. Then we went ashore. Maybe, just maybe they operate the same way?

Edited April 17 by edinburgher

[MeHeartCruising]

Last summer on Royal Caribbean, I took their Delos excursion.  We were docked in the new port.  We left our ship and walked a short distance to a ferry boat that took us to Delos.  The ferry left after dropping us off.  While we did our guided tour on Delos, the ferry returned to Mykonos and picked up the regular  passengers.  We were the only one touring Delos at that time.  The ferry returned to Delos with a full load of passengers and they got off and our excursion group hopped on.  We were then taken to Mykonos Old Port and dropped off to explore the town on our own.   We were also given a free ticket for the shuttle boat that runs between Old and New Port.  We could go back to the ship in the New port at any time we wanted.  Our ship was docked just a few feet from the shuttle boat dock. 

Edited April 17 by MeHeartCruising