Please help us with this...

[Tammiko]

Another person from my roll call and I have been trying to find out about how we will tender in Santorini. We have been getting some confusing, conflicting responses so I'm thinking that maybe it has to do with the cruise line, or maybe even the size of the ship? :confused: Trying to figure out what time to arrange for private drivers, or whether or not to take ship tours, etc. This makes a huge difference as we are scheduled to arrive at 7:00 am but the last tour is not to leave the ship until 8:30 am. So if they get off first... It would be awesome if someone who has recently done the Splendour of the Seas could answer this!!!!

 

Please can anyone tell us...

 

Does the ship anchor in one place and drop all those taking tours and then go to the next spot and anchor where the rest of the pax can go up by cable car.

 

Or...

 

Does the ship anchor in one spot with tenders going in both directions?

 

Now my question is if it does only anchor once does the tours get off first? (We are on the Splendour of the Seas, so I don't know if that is large enough to have them disembarking from both ends at the same time as I have heard that at least one ship has done in the past.)

 

Thank you very much, it will be wonderful to have a definitive answer! :)

[ILoveScotland]

I've been to Santorini twice in the last but didn't take a ship's tour so don't know how the tendering works for those. And I wasn't on the Splendour.

 

For all others I seem to remember on Celebrity last fall that we had to get a ticket for the tender with early times being given out first, etc.

 

Once on shore you have three options for getting to the top: cable car, walk, donkey. Cable car is fastest, but there can be lines depending on how many ships in port and what time you get ashore.

 

The ship will anchor and stay in one place while you're on shore--at least that's what seemed to be the case. If it moved it didn't move far.

 

Unless you really have a place on Santorini you want to see that's on a tour it's quite easy to do on your own. I took a bus both times to Oia and just walked around, had lunch, etc. Some people rent cars or scooters for the day as well, and I believe that can be done once in Fira.

 

There are also lots of taxis that will take you where you want to go.

 

Have I muddied the waters even more now?

[MusicalCruiser]

We were there in November on Splendour. The ship stays anchored where she stops, out from the "pier". This is where the tenders will drop you off to do the island on your own. As the previous poster stated, you'll need to take the cable car, walk, or do the donkey ride to get "up" to Fira (make sure you have your camera ready!) and the bus/taxis. I believe that if you take a cruise tour, the tenders will take you to a spot further down the coast where buses are able to drive down to the water and pick you up.

 

I can't remember who gets off first. It probably depends on the tour times, but they usually get "first offs".

 

Six of us rented a car in Fira and drove from one end to the other (Oia). We took the cable car. Yes, there was a line, but it really moved pretty quickly.

 

If you go to the the main CC page-Ports of Call-Europe-Med and do a search for Santornini, you should find all the info you need.

 

BTW, the Splendour cruise was one of the best we were on!

 

Enjoy!

Judy

[MusicalCruiser]

We were there in November on Splendour. The ship stays anchored where she stops, out from the "pier". This is where the tenders will drop you off to do the island on your own. As the previous poster stated, you'll need to take the cable car, walk, or do the donkey ride to get "up" to Fira (make sure you have your camera ready!) and the bus/taxis. I believe that if you take a cruise tour, the tenders will take you to a spot further down the coast where buses are able to drive down to the water and pick you up.

 

I can't remember who gets off first. It probably depends on the tour times, but they usually get "first offs".

 

Six of us rented a car in Fira and drove from one end to the other (Oia). We took the cable car. Yes, there was a line, but it really moved pretty quickly.

 

If you go to the the main CC page-Ports of Call-Europe-Med and do a search for Santornini, you should find all the info you need.

 

BTW, the Splendour cruise was one of the best we were on!

 

Enjoy!

Judy

[MusicalCruiser]

Sorry, double post.

[Tammiko]

Thank you both!

 

So, just to confirm... They do NOT anchor twice. They only stop one time, but tender to two different places from the one spot.

 

Correct?

 

Oh, and Judy, it is soooo nice to hear that the Splendour was one of the best you've been on! As much as I take the reviews with a grain of salt, it is somewhat disturbing how many negatives there seems to be on there about the Splendour! We are truly looking forward to this Cruise!

 

Did you find that you had enough time with your car rental? Or were you rushed? Did you also have the 7 to 5 times? How silly of me... that was a long time ago, I'm sure you don't remember.

[Toronto Maple Leaf Fan]

We just got of the Splendor this past weekend and we did a private excursion in Santorini. This is what happens.

 

The ship slows down (stops) and lets those with Ship Excursions off at 7 AM where they tender to an area where buses can park. Once the final tender boat is finished, the ship moves to another area closer to the cable cars and donkeys.

 

They then call those with tender tickets 1-5 all at the same time (around 8:30) where they can then tender in. The ship never anchors at any time and just gently floats around. Captain Tommy is always driving the boat on this day even though it doesn't appear the ship is moving at all.

 

Hope this helps. If you get on the first tender, you can be at the top of Fira by 10:00 AM if you walk! If you opt for the cable car, it will depend on how many ships are tendering to this point.

 

Hope this helps

 

Kim

[MusicalCruiser]

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, I forgot to add email notification when I subscribed.

 

I believe that we did have the 7 to 5 slot. We rented the car online before we left on the cruise. We didn't get off right away; we let the masses off first so we didn't have to wait in such a long line for the tram.

 

There was a bit of a misunderstanding about the rental, so we lost about 1/2 hour there, but that was ok. We drove to the black sand beach (after we stopped at a winery right behind one of the tours). We went back past Fira on the road that goes along the coast (a beautiful drive btw) and ended up in Oia, where we walked through the town and the shops.

 

We drove the car back to where we picked it up, parked and left the keys under the mat (per the agents instructions). We still had time to go through more shops on the walk back to the trams and had a late lunch on the ship.

 

We ended up with several hours in the car, a great trip around the island and could have stayed for several hours more had we chosen to, so you should have as much time as you need when you're in Santorini.

 

We were on the Splendour in 1999 and enjoyed her just as much on this trip. The staff and crew were wonderful and we enjoyed the food.

 

You cruise is mostly what you make of it. I believe that many of the complaints on these boards are from people who wouldn't be happy no matter what line they cruised with. Just go on your vacation with a positive attitude and everything will be great!

 

Enjoy,

Judy