Athens to Venice Which ports require tenders

[Maddies Mom 46]

We will be cruising on the Insignia to the following ports: Delos, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Santorini, Aghios Nikolaos, Corfu, Sarande, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Umbria, Pula, and Venice. Which of these ports require tenders? Also, which ports can be toured without booking excursions? Thanks for your suggestions.

[hoffdahl]

Your itinerary sounds like the same as that of 10/17 on the Nautica. According to my info from Oceania the ports requiring tenders are Pula, Sarande, Santorini, Delos, and Mykonos. I would love to find out the answer to the second part of your question myself. I hope you get some responses.

[hoffdahl]

Your itinerary sounds the same as Nautica 10/17. The info sent by Oceania says the following ports use tenders: Delos, Mykonos, Pula, Sarande, and Santorini. I would love to know the answer to the second part of your question - I hope someone responds.

[debsjc]

We did a different routing, but we did stop at Corfu, Dubrovnik, Kotor and Venice, and none of them were tender ports.

 

Here is a cut and paste of my previous post, showing what we did in those 4 ports. :)

 

Corfu - Had a rental car from Sunrise Cars who are at the port, and were excellent. Drove to Paleokastritsa to see the monastery, had lunch in a wonderful spot over looking the beach, then went onto Achillion Palace, then back to the port - a very inexpensive and enjoyable way to see the island.

 

Kotor - Took a taxi to the village of Perest for 10 Euros, don't take the ones right by the dock they asked 50 Euros, walk 5 mins away and look for a company like 'Red taxi'. There were no taxis around in Perest, so may be a good idea to ask your driver to come back for you if you go there... we came back by bus for 1 Euro (you can buy the bus ticket on the bus) - explored the old town of Kotor, which is wonderful.

 

Dubrovnik - Taxi into the old town for 10 Euros (same price for 4 or 2 people, so share if you can) - visited the Franciscan monastery which is pretty but quite small, and not very much to see. After that we waked the city walls, which is about 2km and took just over an hour - this is a 'must do' for this city, fabulous views.

 

Venice - We bought a 'Vaporetto' water bus 12 hour travelcard for about 14 Euros which was a fantastic buy. You can use them as transport to take you to central area from the port, or as a sightseeing tour.....sit outside at the very front or very back, and get some wonderful photos of the canals.

 

You can pre-book an entry time for San Marco Basilica online and it's free to do, but for us there wasn't a line anyway so we didn't use our pre-booked voucher. It's worth taking the elevator up the Campanile bell tower for the views, I think it costs 8 Euros.

[capecodder2]

Tenders are required for Delos, Mykonos, Santorini, and Sarande. I don't know about Umbria or Pula. I find that the Greek Islands can mostly be toured on foot or using public transportation. I bought a good tour book and did our own in Delos, Mykonos, Santorini, and Aghios Nikolaos (we took the little train and walked a lot). You may want to tour the Knossos Palace on Crete in which case you are better off with a tour as it is a long distance (we had done it before). Sarande is a truly 3rd world port and country. The only interesting sight is the Roman ruins in Butrint and you should take the ship tour for that. Language, poverty, and inexperience in the tourist business make it difficult to navigate on your own and the city does not have ANYTHING to offer - I doubt half of the passengers even got off the ship when we stopped. Those who took tours other than to Butrint said they were awful - we did enjoy Butrint. If you have never been to Kotor or Dubrovnik, both old cities are worth the time to walk and explore. Kusadasi I would definitely take a tour, either the ship or private to Ephesus. Corfu, we took a ship tour around the island but it could be done by taxi if you can get a English speaking driver. Venice, well, it is lovely. We had a good tour book, planned our route, and bought a pass on the vaporetto. A tour would probably be a faster, more efficient way to do it but we were going to be there 2 days at the end of the cruise so that worked for us. Do your research and buy good tour books to do it on your own no matter what port it is.

[debsjc]

I forgot to mention in my last pot - On a previous cruise I have been to Santorini, and I would really recommend visiting Oia, which is beautiful with stunning views. I think you can either take a ships excursion or a taxi or maybe even a bus.

[legaleaglegreen]

Depending on port conditions weather and how many other ships are there) Dubrovnik can be a tender port. Sometimes they tender directly to the old city and sometimes to the new port, from which you can get to the old city by bus or taxi. I agree Butrint is worth seeing and requires a tour, but we arranged a private tour that was excellent rather than using the ship's tour. At Kusadasi, if you want to go to Ephesus (and you should if you haven't been before) you should arrange either a group or private tour. Venice, Santorini (Fira and Oia), Mykonos, Delos and Dubrovnik are all easily doable on your own using feet, taxi or bus. So is Corfu if you want to see only the town, but if you want to see the rest of the island, you will need to rent a car or taxi or join a tour.

[Maddies Mom 46]

Thank you all for your help. How do you get to Oia?

[CintiPam]

Thank you all for your help. How do you get to Oia?

 

Bus from the Fira bus station for one Euro, I believe, each way, running every 30 minutes; taxi, for either 10 or 20 Euros each way. Sorry I do not remember the taxi charge for Fira to Oia because on our two port days in Santorini (last September and this past June), we rented a car for the day for 40 Euros and had the freedom to go at our own pace. Driving is easy, and parking free and easy everywhere on the island.

 

In June, the only large ship was not arriving until the afternoon, so we had Oia almost to ourselves all morning, and then had the opportunity to explore more of the rest of the island in the afternoon, after our lovely lunch with a caldera view in Oia and the purchase there of an copy of an Akrotiri wall painting. (There are several lovely art galleries in Oia.)

[roothy123]

Here's a partial answer to your question about which ports you can tour on your own: I've been to Mykonos, Santorini, and Delos. If you're interested in Delos, you should take the ship's tour. Entry onto the island is very limited, and while they do run a tour boat over there from I-forget-where, you'll be on a cruise ship, and if it's like our cruise, it only goes to Delos for a morning and then goes on to Mykonos. I don't think Oceania will tender you to the island unless you are booked on the excursion. It wasn't too expensive, and I found it worthwhile. I was glad I went - although it started absolutely pouring rain when we got there, and everyone got VERY wet! (There is only one small building with tables for shelter.) For Mykonos, we just got off the tender and wandered the twisty streets. You really don't need a tour there. In Santorini, we rented an ATV four wheeler and drove to Oia. That was our favorite place, although I've heard the town of Imerogli (spelling?) is similar and very worthwhile (less visited, I suppose). There are car rental places once you make it up to the main commercial street (after taking the cable car or donkey up). We had rented a car, but then when my husband saw that ATV, he wanted to give it a try. It was NOT, however, very comfortable for me, riding in the back! We drove around half of the island - to Oia, down south a ways, to a beach, etc. - and had a wonderful time.

 

You'll be on the cruise that I've been drooling over. Unfortunately, I don't think it's offered in 2010 - or is it?

[lunarella]

Is it really true that Oceania will not tender you to Delos unless you are booked on their excursion? Roothy123 thought that might be the case. I hope not.

[StanandJim]

Is it really true that Oceania will not tender you to Delos unless you are booked on their excursion? Roothy123 thought that might be the case. I hope not.

 

Absolutely untrue

Anyone can get off of the ship at Delos

[CintiPam]

Is it really true that Oceania will not tender you to Delos unless you are booked on their excursion? Roothy123 thought that might be the case. I hope not.

 

They tendered us in in June, no problem.

 

However, the issue I have seen often raised is if your visit there is on a Monday, when the island officially is closed to visitors, like many other government-run sites in Greece, such as the fantastic Museum of Prehistoric Thira in Fira on Santorini.

 

Cruise ships that arrive in Delos on Mondays arrange with the Greek authorities for special tours if arriving there that day, when the museum there is closed, and pay fees based on the numbers visiting.

 

It truly is unclear to me whether you can visit there on a Monday without a prepaid tour. For sure, you cannot get a boat to Delos from Mykonos on Mondays, but because Oceania anchors right off Delos, I am not sure of the answer.

 

I would love to hear from any who arrived on Monday without a tour.

[roothy123]

We did arrive on Monday, but I went with the Oceania tour, so I can't tell you for sure if you can get in without taking the tour. My sense, however, is that you can, since when we went, there WAS someone in the ticket office when we first got to the island. We went there to exchange the tickets given to us by Oceania (or I guess the tour guide) for admission tickets. There was a tour guide who met us when the tender deposited us on the island, and after we got our tickets, she took us on the tour. I'm not big on tours (get impatient standing around listening to huge amounts of information) and I'm not even that interested in history, but I certainly enjoyed that tour. However, there is absolutely nothing else to do on the island, except perhaps purchase a soda in the one building for tourists, so if you go, I hope you're interested in history, and hope you can walk a bit, as the terrain is pretty basic! If not, the ship is usually only there for 3 hours or so, and you can just stay on-board. That's what my husband did. It was really nice on Monday, by the way - not many people, quiet, steeped in history.....

 

If you take the tender over, Monday or no Monday, I'd suggest asking when the tender will be back. It's just not the kind of place where they run the tenders back and forth continuously, since most people (I think, anyway) take the tour. Therefore, you may have to wait longer there than in other ports like Mykonos.

 

I don't know how much the admission is, and whether it includes a guided tour, but unless it's a lot less than what Oceania is charging for the tour (I think it was $49 3 years ago), I'd probably play it safe and take the tour - especially if you come on a Monday.

[meow!]

Foe some ports, such as Athens, you will always dock. For some others, such as Venice, you always have to "tender" .. meow! For the in-betweens, it depends a bit on luck, on whether Oceania happens to be able to get a dock space. Perhaps you would like to read our report on that (reverse) itinerary last October http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=869685

[neepawa]

In 2006, we docked in Venice.

 

Don

[Yaya&Papu]

Just got back from Insignia - Istanbul to Athens. Aghios Nicolaus in Crete was a tender also. There were at least 2 other ships at the dock so we had to take a tender in. They run about every half hour and we almost missed lunch (straight back from a tour) - got back just minutes to 2pm. Wind was so bad that we had to skip Mykonos. Delos was windy but we made it. Anyone who wanted to go ashore could. Those on ships tours went first, then those who were going it alone could take the tender over.

[Maddies Mom 46]

Thanks for all the great information. Since we're going to be cruising in October, I'm trying to prepare myself for the possiblity of missing some of the ports due to weather. I was surprised to read that Venice is a tender port?

[meow!]

It depends on your definition of "tender port" and "docking". In a real "docking" port, once you walk off the ship, you are on land joined to tourist destinations, and you take land vehicles to go places. In a strictly "tender" port, you walk from the ship directly onto a tender, which takes you onto land. In Venice, while the ship is "docks" to land, you cannot get anywhere without taking a water taxi or water bus, so the "land" you "dock" at is just like a "platform". Since some form of water transportation is required before you can go anywhere, it is de facto "tendering" rather than "docking". Of course, as for those who stay on the ship, this situation will still be "steadier" than "anchoring". So perhaps as a compromise, we can call it a "tender port" without "anchoring"!

[Traveler5]

We just returned from Istanbul to Athens and did all the tours on our own. We tendered at Delos, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. Missed only Mykonos due to strong winds. Otherwise, it was fine. We rented a car on Santorini and were unsure as to when the driver could meet us because of tender and tram up to the top. We suggested 10am but in the end could have done it by 9:30am. Renting a car for ourselves was great. Went to Oia which was fantastic and the drive was lovely....no problems. Had to drive standard, but that's okay for us. Got to Oia before the tour buses which was great.

We had a terrific guide in Ephesus named Ertunga...highly recommended. He had a driver and met us at the port. We hired a car in Crete to go to Knosses and then hired a guide inside...very reasonable and fun.

[vbfamily]

We just returned from Istanbul to Athens and did all the tours on our own. We tendered at Delos, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. Missed only Mykonos due to strong winds. Otherwise, it was fine. We rented a car on Santorini and were unsure as to when the driver could meet us because of tender and tram up to the top. We suggested 10am but in the end could have done it by 9:30am. Renting a car for ourselves was great. Went to Oia which was fantastic and the drive was lovely....no problems. Had to drive standard, but that's okay for us. Got to Oia before the tour buses which was great.

We had a terrific guide in Ephesus named Ertunga...highly recommended. He had a driver and met us at the port. We hired a car in Crete to go to Knosses and then hired a guide inside...very reasonable and fun.

 

We leave for the reverse cruise next week and are still trying to figure out what to do on Crete. Where did you rent a car in Aghios Nikolaos? Was it easy to find Knossos? Is the drive nice? I would appreciate any information you can give so I can make my plans. Thank you.

[calvin81]

When we were in Crete in June we expected to tender, but a place opened up and we were lucky to dock there. The town of Ag. Nik. isn't much and several people onboard talked about the beach right by town, but if you've been to any nice beach in FL or the Carribean you wouldn't be too excited about it. I had looked on the tripadvisor.com site for Ag. Nik. and the people who responded suggested a trip to Spinalonga, an island off the coast that used to be a leper colony. There are afternoon boat trips out of Ag. Nik., but they were 4 hours and included more time in the sun than we wanted. So we followed the advice we had received on the tripadvisor forum and took a taxi to Eulonda, which was about 15 minutes away and took a boat from there. The taxi was 12 Euros; we found out later there was a bus, which of course was much less money, but the times were limited. There are boats that leave almost every half hour to the island and they take about 20 minutes and cost 10 Euros each. They drop you off at the island and pick you up in an hour, which is enough time to walk around the site (2 E each to get in). There were some tours going on, so we listened in a bit, but the site was lovely and very picturesque even without a detailed tour. We actually liked the town of Eulonda better than Ag. Nik. and stayed there a while to look around and have a bite to eat. There was a nice internet cafe there that saved us from the ship's high rates too.

[vbfamily]

That sounds like a good plan. I too had noticed on Tripadvisor people talking about the leper island. It is nice to hear from someone who actually went there and liked it. I would also like to visit an internet cafe while there. Thank you for your suggestion.

[vbfamily]

That sounds like a good plan. I too had noticed on Tripadvisor people talking about the leper island. It is nice to hear from someone who actually went there and liked it. I would also like to visit an internet cafe while there. Thank you for your suggestion.