Delos/Mykonos day question

[Rocket4Oh]

Our cruise is scheduled for Delos from 8 AM to 11 Am then Mykonos from 1 PM until 11 PM. Does the ship stop (anchor) off Delos then weigh anchor and sail to Mykonos?

or

Does it anchor at Mykonos and take the pasengers to Delos via ferry?

[meow!]

In October, 2008, the Nautica did not manage to stop at Delos (the sea was too rough for tendering), and we were told that Delos had only ancient ruins, so not much lost. A few hours later, it did manage to anchor at Mykinos, and we tendered ashore. It was windy, so we just walked up and down the "strip" of shops, bought a postcard (mailed at the postal box there back to ourselves as we would usually do), and some other small souvenir. We went to one restaurant (enclosed with plastic sheets to shield from the wind), ate some local fast food, and gave some to a thin cat wandering inside that restaurant. We were so happy to be able to give it food .. meow!

[LAexNY]

In May '09 we tendered to Delos. There is not a lot there - archeological ruins and a museum. There is a nice mountain to hike up and admire the view. We then proceeded to Mykonos which is lovely. I believe we docked at Mykonos.

[Marebear]

In October, '09, we tendered at Delos and were amazed at the ruins and the museum and felt it was very worthwhile. We then sailed into Mykonos and were also tendered there. Since it was October, we did not go to see the beaches but instead stayed in the main part of town where we had a delicious dinner.

[meow!]

... I believe we docked at Mykonos.

We doubt there is a pier at Mykonos?!

[LAexNY]

We doubt there is a pier at Mykonos?!

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=15946437

[LHT28]

Keep in mind these ports are often missed due to the sea conditions.

 

Lyn

[LHT28]

We doubt there is a pier at Mykonos?!

 

http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/map.2026.1217.php

[cbb]

We anchored off of Delos in April '09 and tendered into the dock (~15 min ride) and there were vast amounts of wild flowers everywhere so as you can imagine with the ruins it was absolutely gorgeous. Our guide was a retired archeologist who had spent 40 years digging there; he was fantastic and told us stories of many of the ruins and what they had uncovered there. We then tendered back (after free time) and set sail for Myk and tendered there and loved it. The juxtaposition of the 2 sites was awesone; what a day! (If you arrive on a Monday, we were told, the only way to visit Delos is with an organized group-- as in a ship's tour)

[JBVols]

I agree with Cbb don't miss Delos. I believe we had the same quid as you.

[meow!]

So there is a pier at Mykonos. It must have been occupied when we were there. The captain tried so hard to tender, over an hour, and sent a tender out to test the waters before letting it take on passengers. If a dock space were available, it should have been easier!

[wildduck]

There is a pier at Mykonos but it is solely used by the ferries which sail to the various islands. Nautica has always tendered to shore.

I agree the others who say Delos is worth a visit, we explored the island on our own, but if it is hot we advise you to take some water with you.

Judy

[Rocket4Oh]

Thanks to all of the responses. Somewhere (and I can't find it now) I thought I read where "the ship" anchored at Mykonos and had their own private ferry over to Delos. I just wanted to confirm the two different anchorages.

[orchestrapal]

In 2006 we anchored at Delos in the morning (tour is worth taking) and docked in Mykonos in the afternoon. We were the only cruise ship at the pier. :)

[jpalbny]

Our cruise is scheduled for Delos from 8 AM to 11 Am then Mykonos from 1 PM until 11 PM. Does the ship stop (anchor) off Delos then weigh anchor and sail to Mykonos?

 

In October, '09, we tendered at Delos and were amazed at the ruins and the museum and felt it was very worthwhile. We then sailed into Mykonos and were also tendered there.

 

We anchored off of Delos in April '09 and tendered into the dock (~15 min ride) ... We then tendered back (after free time) and set sail for Myk and tendered there and loved it. The juxtaposition of the 2 sites was awesone; what a day!

 

Sounds consistent with the way we did these two islands. The only problem is that you may "arrive" at Delos 8AM, but by the time you dilly-dally with the tender, you might get ashore by 8:45 if you're lucky. Though you "leave" at 11, you have to start lining up for tenders before the last tender at 10:30. So you don't have enough time to see the whole extent of the archaeological ruins. It's too rushed, and a shame that they can't spend a little more time there to allow for a more relaxed walk around the island.

 

We were scheduled for 8-12 and we felt rushed. We can't imagine seeing anything with an additional hour cut out of the visit.

 

There are day ferries available from Mykonos to Delos but you'd have to find out about that on your own - and I don't know how much shore time you have in Delos with those operators. They were pretty obvious in Mykonos. Here's a photo of one from our balcony while we were repositioning from Delos to Mykonos; if you can read Greek, I think it's the Margarita X.

[TERRIER1]

We were there in early June '09. The ship tendered in Delos in the morning. At first glance we thought Delos wouldn't be that interesting but it was great. In the afternoon, we tendered in Mykonos. As soon as the ship rounded the straight from Delos the winds picked up. We took the bus to the beach on Mykonos and it was delightful. I know of other cruises were Mykonos had to be cancelled due to the winds at that time of year.

[gr'aunt]

I agree whole-heartedly with jpalbny...Delos was magical, awesome, fascinating...I wish we had been given the option of staying on Delos and ferrying to Mykonos later in the day to join up with the Insignia. A couple of hours on Myk was all we needed. The tender back to the ship in the afternoon was an E ticket ride! (for those who remember the ticket system at Disneyland). And like wildduck says, take some water with you! There is nothing there in the way of a snack bar, restaurant, etc., but that's part of the magic. It's not commercialized at all. (hint: order a room service sandwich to be delivered to your stateroom in the am, and take it with you if you have the luck to spend more than a few hours wandering the ruins).

 

Terrier1, I believe we were on the same cruise as you:rolleyes:

[CintiPam]

I just wanted to confirm the two different anchorages.

 

Confirmed!

 

Also, following up on Terrier1's comment, we had two vastly different experiences. The first, in September 2008, we arrived off Delos but the seas were too rough to attempt a tender there or at Mykonos, and we sailed several hours on to Milos, which never gets cruise ships, for the afternoon. (Lovely beaches.)

 

Disappointed spouse did his homework, read about the meltemi (sp?) winds that start up in that area of the world in late July and we decided to try again to visit Delos and Mykonos the following June.

 

Second experience, June 2009, the seas were smooth as glass, and we got to enjoy special Delos and trendy Mykonos as scheduled.

[TERRIER1]

Hi gr-aunt. We were on the same cruise. Believe we shared some shore excursions.

[frqttrvlr09]

I visited Delos and Mykonos (same day) on INsignia in October 2009. Delos was quite hot, very dry, but the ruins and the small museum are quite interesting. Our local guide was outstanding. The ship anchored off Delos, which is an uninhabited (except for caretakers) island. We then sailed to Mykonos and anchored offshore. Myknos was delightful. I wandered around the narrow cobblestone streets that are picture perfect with white washed houses with bright red, blue, or green doors, lots of flowers. There were some nice out of the way shops where I found some beautiful handmade silk and wool scarves, unique jewelry and pottery. I had lunch at a delightful oceanfront cafe/restaurant that was as popular with the locals as with the tourists; it had a view of the windmills and was just around the corner from the more expensive jewelry shops that front the dock. Also at the pier is a gelato shop that is small but superb. You can pick up a map of the island on shore or on the ship and do a self-guided walking tour. Mykonos to me was the visually quintissential Greek island. Santorini was more spread out, but also not to be missed (we went there twice on 2 back to back cruises and I loved the town of Oai, with its wonderful little art galleries and spectacular view). Just hope the ship arrives before the large cruise ships do; the wait for the tram up can be quite long, unless you are on a ship planned shore excursion and then the ship lets you off on a separate beach (by tender) before it repositions to go to the main pier (tender also). Your alternatives are to take a donkey, which in retrospect I would have done regardless of the guidebooks advising they are ill-treated (they are not), or the several hundred stairs.

[roothy123]

Our experience was the same as Mare Bear's - tendered at Delos, then ship moved on to Mykonos and we were tendered in. The tendering at each place went pretty quickly, and it was not a long ways between Delos and Mykonos. It was raining hard in Delos, but the tour was a go, and I found it pretty worthwhile. No, there's not much there, but if you like history and ruins, you might as well go. If not, you can just stay on the ship for a while, as my husband did. We were there on a day when the island is normally closed (ferries don't go there - believe on Mondays, but not sure) but Oceania had arranged a tour.