Peadar2000

Hiya. I looked at the schedule and there is another large ship arriving at the same time as you. This obviously may have an effect on the queue for the cable car. However, if you are confident you can be among the first to disembark your ship then I believe you should be ok at the cable car. Any wait shouldn’t be excessive. But do make sure you’re off the ship quick smart! As for the paying for the cable car, I don’t know for sure but I would assume that cards would be accepted.

My advice is get off before 8 and try to be among the first of the crowds at the cable car. If the donkeys and walking are out then the cable car is your only real option. Getting caught up in the crush with MSC passengers will mean standing around in a queue for 1 to 2 hours. Once you get up to Fira town you can wander around for a bit, have a coffee overlooking the caldera, basically kill time. That beats being stuck in an endless line below. There are I believe boats that can take you from the old port to Oia but they may be seasonal and if your tour is going from Fira then it’s pointless.

I didn’t see the specific line for that but there were boats at the dock which I presume were used for this. My guess is this would be much less hassle than a throng for the cable car. The main reason I didn’t consider it was our tour was going from Fira and I really wanted to get a good island-wide tour; most of these seemed to go from Fira. If I’m ever at Santorini again I will definitely look into that boat from Fira to Oia as next time all I’d like to really do on Santorini is spend a bit more time in Oia.

Hi again. So we ( husband and I) have arrived back from our cruise and here are some thoughts on our Santorini excursion. As I said before, our tour was not through Celebrity, rather through a local group called Santorini Unique Experience Tour. I found it through Viator where it’s listed as ‘5 Hours Santorini Sightseeing Tour’. It cost us €99 (roughly $108) each. It was the most expensive excursion we took (we did three independent ones) and it was pretty good, if not great. The main ordeal is getting up to Fira from the tender port below. Because there were four other cruise ships in port with us we were told the night before that Celebrity Constellation would have a tender window from 8am. To avoid being lost in the crowd we got up early the next morning at 6am to get our tender tickets (we secured number 7). We then hung around until we were called at 8.15. The tender itself was quick and efficient but when we were deposited at the dock below Fira we could already see a crowd building for the cable car. Despite what Celebrity said about us having a window it seemed most of the other ships had the same window! Anyway, my husband and I decided to take to the zig-zag walking path up the side of the cliff. This also doubles as the donkey path. It was steep and tiring but it was in the shade (at least in the morning) and took us 15/20 minutes; we’re relatively young and fit but it was a real climb! Our tour wasn’t meeting until 10am at the cable car entrance so we wandered around Fira for a bit and had a coffee overlooking the caldera and the various cruise ships below. Approaching 10am we made our way to the cable car station and looked out for our guide. It’s a bit chaotic there as you have guides with sheets of paper, people spilling out of the cable car station, people milling around waiting for tours, and Fira not being known for its wide streets. We eventually located our man and then had to wait for the other passengers. Turns out one pair (from Constellation) were stuck waiting for the cable car which meant we didn’t get to start the tour until after 10.30. The late pair told us that they were up at what they thought was an early time of 06.30 to get the tender ticket. And they actually got dropped at the dock in good time. Unfortunately for them the queue for the cable car was bonkers. Different ship passengers were joining what ended up being a 2 hour wait to get up the cable car (one of them had weak knees so there was no way of walking up the path). So, basically, Santorini has the potential to be an uncomfortable and chaotic landing. But if you’re going in October things should be much calmer. On to the tour. There was 5 of us in total. Our driver/guide was friendly. But his accent was very heavy and we all struggled to understand him well. I also think he struggled to understand us too. It just made things a little awkward. He dropped us at Oia and gave us not very much time to walk through. We were to meet him at the bus station (where his air-conditioned Mercedes mini-van would be parked). Oia was of course a crush but it was lovely. I would’ve liked a bit more time to browse around. I did see a Celebrity excursion coach behind us at one point (‘Highlights of Santorini’ or some such title) and our driver told us that coaches are very restricted on what routes/roads they can use on the island because of their size. So getting a small-group tour is definitely the way to go on Santorini as you have much more freedom. After this - it’s still a bit vague as there didn’t seem to be a defined itinerary despite what it stated when I booked - we were driven to different parts of the island. We went to the monastery on the high peak (lovely) and, for some reason, we were brought to the archaeological site at Akrotiri. This was fine but it was an additional €12 which was not advertised. The others were willing to visit and it was interesting. But I could’ve done without it. We then went to a winery where we sampled some lovely local wines and I ended up buying one (paid €50!! The things you do and buy on holiday!) The visit to the black beach was omitted (the driver said it’s not worth it as Santorini is not renowned for its beaches) and the tour ended with us being dropped back to Fira. We said our goodbyes and my husband and I made our way back to the dock. Again we decided to use the donkey path. This time the sun shone directly on us and it was a busier walk (the passing donkeys will sometimes trot right next to you - and once I saw a young man become part of a donkey-wall sandwich) but it’s easier on the legs downhill although it can get slippery on the dry smooth paving. Definitely be mindful of your step (and the poo). At the bottom the Celebrity crew met us with water, iced towels (seriously, the greatest treat of the whole cruise!) and a sheltered covering while we waited for the tender to bring us back to ship. Overall, I am glad I did Santorini. It is undoubtedly gorgeous with some stunning views and locations. The landing, if you are not on a Celebrity excursion, can be stressful and wearying. The crowds in July were pretty overwhelming (especially in Oia) and the traffic on the roads (from all sorts of motorised vehicles) was kind of surprising. It did slow us down. Our trip ended up being around 4.5 hours. It was a nice overview of the island and we liked the people we were with. But it was a little stilted with our guide’s level of English. Compared to what we paid for a wonderful tour of Ephesus (half the price) it seemed a little on the expensive side, particularly given the extra cost at Akrotiri. Anyway, those are my reflections on our day in Santorini. I’m sorry if I rambled on a bit. Santorini is a jewel. I’m not sure I’d rush back on a hot July day again though. But it’s definitely worth a stop. For you in October I’m sure most of the niggles I experienced or saw will be much mitigated by your off-season timing. And presumably there’ll be fewer if any other cruise ships in port that day which will significantly simplify the cable car process. Good luck and enjoy!

Our cruise begins tomorrow so when we get back in early August I’ll try to remember to give a review of our independent tour of Santorini.

My understanding was all Celebrity excursions were tendered to the dock south of Fira where coaches collected them but I stand corrected!

As far as I know you are not dropped at the cable car dock below Fira. Your Celebrity tender brings you to a different dock further south where you board your bus for Oia. However on the return leg it sounds like you will indeed be left off at Fira where the cable car (or zig-zag donkey path) is your route back to the ship.

The walk up is something I will consider too when I arrive off the tender. I can’t seem to find a rough timespan of the ascent but I would say 30 minutes is the bare minimum, more likely closer to 45 minutes or beyond, depending on mobility. The early morning time should make it bearable too. Have a look at YouTube for videos of people trekking up, just to get an idea. eg this one…

I will be in Santorini in July and recently booked a 5-hour tour with Santorini Tours that I found on Trip Advisor. It will be a small group (maximum of 14) and fits in quite a bit. It costs €99 per person (roughly $109) which is pretty good compared to Celebrity’s equivalent excursions. Our ship (Constellation) gets in at 07:00 and the tour meets at 10:00 at the cable car station in Fira which gives us plenty of time to get there even without a priority tender. If the queue for the cable car is prohibitively long I am willing to try walking up the winding path which, although arduous looking, should be manageable in the early morning. See the attached link for the tour I booked… https://www.tripadvisor.ie/AttractionProductReview-g189433-d12577466-Santorini_5_Hours_Sightseeing_Tour-Santorini_Cyclades_South_Aegean.html

Thank you for your post. A private tour is indeed what we ended up booking. It ticks all my boxes, and includes the Terraced Houses which I hadn’t considered before! Plus it’s significantly cheaper than the Celebrity excursions.

Hi. Two of us (first time cruisers) will be in Santorini on 28th July this summer (Celebrity Constellation). I’m researching various options for when we get there: Celebrity’s own excursions, independent shore excursions, or do it ourselves wandering. I’m sorry if this seems like a silly question, but are the tender boats free of charge? If I have not booked a Celebrity excursion do I pay to get from the ship to the dock? Or is it always included? One option I see on the shoreexcursionsgroup.com website is a small group tour taking in Megalochori, Pyrgos, Oia and Fira, with a winery visit to boot. It’s not cheap but it seems extensive, plus I like the idea of the small group - everything should be more time-efficient. Is it worth visiting the likes of Megalochori and Pyrgos on top of Oia and Fira? Is it a lot more money for more of the same? Or is these villages unique in their own right? Our ship is due in at 07:00. An hour earlier the Norwegian Gem is in and an hour later the much smaller Oceania Nautica is due. And that’s it for the day it seems. Given it’ll be late July any idea if it promises to be particularly busy tendering/getting the cable car up to Fira for say a 09:00 tour? Many thanks in advance for any advice provided.

Thanks so much for the kind replies, they have been very helpful in my research. I have booked us onto a 12 person tour with Curio Travel (found on Viator but booked directly through their website) which takes in Mary’s House, Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis. I have specifically asked (and paid) to also visit the Terrace Houses, a site I hadn’t been aware of before ye lovely people suggested them. The tour lasts 4 hours, doesn’t include lunch (fine by me!) and costs $50/€47 each. I’ve specifically asked not to be brought to a carpet demonstration but we’ll see how that goes. It ticks all my boxes so hopefully it’ll be a fantastic experience.

Many thanks for your response! I have asked for this post to be deleted as I have reposted it in the appropriate Ports section.

Hello everyone. This is my first post (transferred from the Roll Call section where in my ignorance I originally posted it). My husband and I (early 40s) are going on our first cruise this summer aboard the Constellation. It’s a belated honeymoon. For most of the ports we’ll do our own thing, except for Kusadasi/Ephesus. I’m torn between the Celebrity excursions and the independent providers. I have some queries. 1. Group size. How big are the general excursion groups? Are we talking 50/60 people? And does this mean a slow, sluggish slog with difficulty hearing the guide/seeing the monuments? Is it worth looking at the tours with limited numbers? (I’m not particularly interested in the very private tours.) 2. I am interested in seeing the House of the Virgin Mary and the Ephesus complex. I know the Temple of Artemis in Selçuk is one of the seven Wonders of the World but Google Earth suggests it’s little more than some stones in a field these days. If I picked a tour that doesn’t include this would I regret it? 3. I’ve seen competing tours offer pretty much the same sites but one might last 4 hours and another 6 hours. What can account for this time difference? Is the short one going to be ‘bang, bang, bang, you’re done’ and the long one an in-depth, informative dive into history? 4. To lunch or not to lunch! Some tours include a lunch of Turkish meze. To be honest that kind of food doesn’t particularly appeal to me and I wonder too does an included lunch add unnecessary time to the excursion. As it’s our first cruise I’m happy to head back to the ship and graze for lunch there. 5. Another area of slight concern is the carpet demonstrations which seem hard to avoid. From what I can tell they are used to pressure guests into buying largely unwanted products. I have no interest in learning how rugs/carpets are made; can I get duck out of these without too much issue? 6. The Celebrity excursions seem to be more expensive than the ones on Shore Excursions Group and Venture Ashore. Are they all essentially the same offerings? The ones on Viator offer ‘skip the queue’ tickets. I assume all the other ones include entry tickets that also skip the queue? Our trip is in July so crowds will be inescapable but obviously I’d like to keep the waiting around to a minimum. I’m sorry for throwing all these questions at ye, but I would really appreciate any helpful advice. We booked this cruise last September when July seemed so far away but it’s scary how fast the time is passing and now July is coming into sight. I’m getting excited!

Me here again. I’m not even sure this is the right venue for my post above. Perhaps someone could redirect me to a better spot on the boards for my query!