Santorini Shore Excursion

[Techno123]

 

On 4/25/2024 at 4:28 PM, Mary_ said:

I am in Santorini at the end of Aug on Oceania.  I called my travel agent to ask about a way to avoid the cable car and my agent said all Oceania excursions that day will require you to get back on the bus after each stop and we will end at port.  (Great news to me).  Can anyone confirm?   The port has 13,000 passengers that day.  

 

Are you on the Vista? Your TA probably means you are taken to Fira which is the port town. From what I can see there only appears to be 2 ways up and down the cliff - cable car and the steps the donkeys take

[Vertygo]

We’re in Santorini with Vista Aug 6 with 3 other ships, about 10K people. After reading Hank’s review of the horrible Boutari winery excursion, which I’d also scheduled, I cancelled & booked a private catamaran tour from the tender port. I realize we’ll see everything from the water, but I don’t relish huge crowds or standing in hot sun for a long time.

[deadzone1003]

When there are over 10,000 passengers in port that day, the only sensible path is to book a ship's tour which bypasses the cable car going up, but drops you off at Fira when done.  However, depending on your ship's departure, you have the option of either walking down the donkey path to the tender or wait until evening when most of the ships have departed and catch the cable car going down.  The latter is an option if you wish to see the sunset from Fira.  Go to cruisetimetables.com and check port schedule to see when all your fellow ships arrive and depart, and plan accordingly.  Do not skip Santorini if you have never been there before.  Would you skip Venice because of crowds if you never been there?  (Last tip, you have to properly assess your physical ability to walk down that donkey path plus if you have the proper shoes as well as not rushing down that path.)

[edgee]

36 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

When there are over 10,000 passengers in port that day, the only sensible path is to book a ship's tour which bypasses the cable car going up, but drops you off at Fira when done.  However, depending on your ship's departure, you have the option of either walking down the donkey path to the tender or wait until evening when most of the ships have departed and catch the cable car going down.  The latter is an option if you wish to see the sunset from Fira.  Go to cruisetimetables.com and check port schedule to see when all your fellow ships arrive and depart, and plan accordingly.  Do not skip Santorini if you have never been there before.  Would you skip Venice because of crowds if you never been there?  (Last tip, you have to properly assess your physical ability to walk down that donkey path plus if you have the proper shoes as well as not rushing down that path.)

And after completing your walk down the donkey path and get back to the ship, plan a trip to the gym to grab a bunch of lysol wipes to clean up your shoes😁

[cswhistler]

In May  2023 while on the Marina we were indeed lucky there was only one 300 passenger ship in at that time. Ten minute wait up, no wait down. A week or so later the Vista had huge crowds.

Look on line to see who's in port.

I enjoyed walking up to the church along the ocean side path while husband sat and watched the crowds. Good experience for us both.

[JL87]

Looking in on this board because we are considering a trip. Our last two cruises were on Azamara and we had a great time on both. Love the destination focus. I understand Oceania is somewhat similar. When we visited Santorini we had a ship excursion around the island that started with a tender to the pier where the busses pick up and ended there also with a tender back to the ship. Never saw the cable car except from afar. Not sure if these exist on Oceania but if they do, it was a very easy day.

[clo]

4 hours ago, deadzone1003 said:

When there are over 10,000 passengers in port that day, the only sensible path is to book a ship's tour which bypasses the cable car going up, but drops you off at Fira when done.  However, depending on your ship's departure, you have the option of either walking down the donkey path to the tender or wait until evening when most of the ships have departed and catch the cable car going down.  The latter is an option if you wish to see the sunset from Fira.  Go to cruisetimetables.com and check port schedule to see when all your fellow ships arrive and depart, and plan accordingly.  Do not skip Santorini if you have never been there before.  Would you skip Venice because of crowds if you never been there?  (Last tip, you have to properly assess your physical ability to walk down that donkey path plus if you have the proper shoes as well as not rushing down that path.)

You are very wise. And good at math 🙂  It's one of very few places I wouldn't return to because of the crowds.

[Carnevale]

1 hour ago, JL87 said:

Looking in on this board because we are considering a trip. Our last two cruises were on Azamara and we had a great time on both. Love the destination focus. I understand Oceania is somewhat similar. When we visited Santorini we had a ship excursion around the island that started with a tender to the pier where the busses pick up and ended there also with a tender back to the ship. Never saw the cable car except from afar. Not sure if these exist on Oceania but if they do, it was a very easy day.

We had a similar experience on a Princess cruise where our ship’s excursion started with a bus picking us up and at the end returning us directly to the tender port. It worked very well and those who wanted time in Fira had the option of leaving the excursion there and taking the cable car or path down while the rest were driven back to the tenders. We didn’t get off Vista to go into Santorini this past week due to the number of ships in port and the need to deal with getting back down to the ship. We were disappointed to miss this port but felt it was the right decision for us given what O had on offer with all excursions leaving guests in Fira.

[deadzone1003]

4 hours ago, clo said:

You are very wise. And good at math 🙂  It's one of very few places I wouldn't return to because of the crowds.

Then would you skip Venice because of the crowds?  It is such a beautiful place that it is difficult to say no.  Best way to see Santorini is to fly there and stay for 2 or more nights.  Going on a cruise ship is a little bit hectic and crowded.  We went back to Santorini for a 4 night stay last September.  

[clo]

2 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

Then would you skip Venice because of the crowds?  It is such a beautiful place that it is difficult to say no.  Best way to see Santorini is to fly there and stay for 2 or more nights.  Going on a cruise ship is a little bit hectic and crowded.  We went back to Santorini for a 4 night stay last September.  

Actually we took the ferry to Santorini and then Naxos and Paros. And rented cars. And, as you know, being anywhere after the ships have left is better. Believe it or not I've done very little of Italy Here's what the NYT had to say:

"Venice is so congested that it has become the embodiment of overtourism. Each year millions of tourists flock to this small city, home to a dwindling local population of 50,000, and the hordes in St. Mark's Square are legendary.Aug 2, 2023

[Techno123]

Venice has now implemented a €5 euro day tripper charge with significant fines if you are found in the city without having paid it.
If you are staying overnight you don't pay it but still have to register. The local mayor has said that knowing how many people will be there will help with service planning.

Whether that will make any difference whatsoever who knows.

[deadzone1003]

14 hours ago, clo said:

Actually we took the ferry to Santorini and then Naxos and Paros. And rented cars. And, as you know, being anywhere after the ships have left is better. Believe it or not I've done very little of Italy Here's what the NYT had to say:

"Venice is so congested that it has become the embodiment of overtourism. Each year millions of tourists flock to this small city, home to a dwindling local population of 50,000, and the hordes in St. Mark's Square are legendary.Aug 2, 2023

I was there in summer of 1973.  I thought that Venice was crowded then.  It was the most crowded place that I visit during my 10-week tour of Europe.

[Vineyard View]

We were in Venice last May 4 nights  prior to a cruise. It was lovely mornings and after 4 - evenings were magical. Late morning to 4 - time to wander away from central Venice. Even then you could find back streets in the shade, or a shop/restaurant/gelato bar to enjoy time.  We went back into the city on our last day (was a RT itinerary) and it was crazy busy. We chose a restaurant on the canal, and spent several hours there. It was quite perfect. 
We were to go to Santorini next month on O before medical required canceling. I had booked a ‘private yacht’ via excursions using SM.  It sounds similar to JL87. Was a 1/2 day, and we  figured we would play by ear going back via cable later in the day if we chose to…..because of the number of ships in port that day. 
For me that is a different scenario from Venice…..only one option to get out off Santorini and the long line in the heat. 

[Mary_]

19 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

We were in Venice last May 4 nights  prior to a cruise. It was lovely mornings and after 4 - evenings were magical. Late morning to 4 - time to wander away from central Venice. Even then you could find back streets in the shade, or a shop/restaurant/gelato bar to enjoy time.  We went back into the city on our last day (was a RT itinerary) and it was crazy busy. We chose a restaurant on the canal, and spent several hours there. It was quite perfect. 
We were to go to Santorini next month on O before medical required canceling. I had booked a ‘private yacht’ via excursions using SM.  It sounds similar to JL87. Was a 1/2 day, and we  figured we would play by ear going back via cable later in the day if we chose to…..because of the number of ships in port that day. 
For me that is a different scenario from Venice…..only one option to get out off Santorini and the long line in the heat. 

Yes   Loved Venice 2 summers ago, even with the crowds as i could get back to my hotel at most any time when I had enough. 

 

Its very different with the cable car in Santorini.  I think Oceania is saying that they will have the tour bus return us to port and not have us wait for the cable car, due to the crowds in port for that day.  Recently, a Princess cruise cancelled due to crowding.  I think this is new, but I am afraid to trust it.   I cant get any confirmation and would cancel if this is not the case.  My agent tells me this, but I just dont know.  When you call Oceania you get nothing.

[Vineyard View]

I hope that is the case for you! Let us know what you might find out Mary_

[mamaclark]

On 4/24/2024 at 4:37 AM, Techno123 said:

You can walk down (if able) in about 20/30mins from Fira can't you? Obviously, need decent shoes on and to avoid the donkey droppings but beats standing in a queue in the sun.

We walked down and I have never seen so much donkey doo in my life. The stench was awful. We covered our noses and it was far quicker than the other options.

[SATaxman]

2 minutes ago, mamaclark said:

We walked down and I have never seen so much donkey doo in my life. The stench was awful. We covered our noses and it was far quicker than the other options.

On our October Marina cruise, we chose to stay on the ship. Although it is lovely to eat in a great restaurant at the top, we decided "been there, done that" and stayed on the ship. 

[mamaclark]

38 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

On our October Marina cruise, we chose to stay on the ship. Although it is lovely to eat in a great restaurant at the top, we decided "been there, done that" and stayed on the ship. 

We did have a lovely meal and enjoyed the time we had walking around. It is definitely worth seeing once.

Edited April 30 by mamaclark

[SATaxman]

3 minutes ago, mamaclark said:

We did have a lovely meal and enjoyed the time we had walking around. It is definitely worth seeing once.

We had been there before.

 

[clo]

1 hour ago, SATaxman said:

On our October Marina cruise, we chose to stay on the ship. Although it is lovely to eat in a great restaurant at the top, we decided "been there, done that" and stayed on the ship. 

Yup. We had a car and drove to a wonderful place overlooking the volcano. Just lovely but totally "been there, done that."