Our cruise next May includes a stop at Santorini, and we would love to see it, and preferably visit Oia, but we're not sure if we will need to use a ship excursion (obviously no details of what they are yet), or if we can manage it ourselves. The problem is we are both overweight and unfit - there's no way we can walk up the steps from the old port to the town, and even if we were allowed on the donkeys we wouldn't because it would be animal abuse (my husband is 6'5" and weighs 23 stone). So the cable car seems like the only option, which is fine with me, but my husband has a big problem with heights, had a severe panic attack on the London Eye a few years ago, and has given a flat 'No way' to that idea.
I have seen that you can get a boat trip from the old port to Ammoudi, including a bus to Oia, but it appears that it then returns to Fira by bus rather than boat, leaving us with the issue of getting back down to the port. I know it's possible to walk down the steps, but it would be great to hear from anyone who's actually done it, as I've heard different reports about it being either fine, or slippery, smelly and dangerous!
Otherwise we'll have to rely on whatever coach tours are offered from the ship, so if anyone has experience of those and can recommend or otherwise we'd be grateful 😊