At Piraeus port (Athens), do people still need to line up for a shuttle bus for embarkation?

[juneaubliss]

The reason I ask is because of the following video:

 

At the 2 minute 47 second mark of this video from early 2022, we can see there is a very long line up outside the Piraeus port which is near Athens, Greece. It's for Norwegian Getaway passengers "who had made their own way [eg. by taxi] to the port." The uploader said: "I asked the staff at the port what the issue was and I was told that passengers are not allowed to walk past the port gates (it is still quite a distance to the ship). I don't know if it is always the case but there was only one transfer bus operating and covid restrictions meant limited numbers of passengers on each trip which explains the very long queue (there is only one queue which you cannot bypass if you are a Haven passenger - the couple in the cabin next to ours had to queue for over ninety minutes to get into the port as they made their own way)"

 

The uploader arranged an airport transfer with NCL and was able to bypass the line. Because of this positive experience, he advised people to take the transfer every time.

 

90 minutes is a crazy long time, especially for those who paid for the Haven. So obviously my main question is: was the lineup outside Piraeus seen in this video a result of the covid situation back then that no longer applies? Can every cruise passenger in Athens nowadays just take any taxi to Piraeus and walk right up to the embarkation zone next to their ship?

 

My second question: with NCL, is it possible to book a transfer from your hotel to the ship instead of from the airport, for people who aren't flying in on the same day of embarkation?

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@juneaubliss

 

When we last joined a cruise ship in Piraeus you could not walk from the port gate nor could Private vehicles go through the port gates.   BUT we went straight through by taxi.

[KeithJenner]

The video was a couple of years go, when Covid was much more of an issue.

 

We sailed out of Athens that year and this question has brought back vague memories of stories about queues on embarkation, which I assume was due to reducing crowding in the terminal.

 

We arrived by taxi and were dropped off right outside the terminal.

 

I expect that, as with most things, it is quite different now compared to 2022.

[Bulk-head]

Just last month embarked on the Viva out of Piraeus. Taxi was able to enter and were dropped off within a few meters of the baggage collection area.

Taxi from city center hotel was around 35 euro.

[zqvol]

You will not be able to book an NCL transfer from a specific hotel unless NCL booked your hotel, and maybe not even then. It will be less expensive and more convenient to book a cab. We recommend George’s Taxi. 

[Rob_H]

Back in September 2023 we had no problems walking in and out of the port.  We had a day there between two b2b cruises, so spent the day in Piraeus.

 

We also Ubered in from central Athens (20 euros) at the start of cruise 1, dropped right at the ship.  At the end of cruise 2, we got a regular taxi from the long line next to the ship, to the airport (around 50 EUR cash fixed price per taxi if I remember right).

 

 

Edited August 14 by Rob_H