If Athens is skipped, what might be substituted?

[hal2000]

I'll be on the Navigator of the Seas in October, which is due to spend a day in Athens. I expect that it will go smoothly, but with the current situation realize that there is a (small) chance that RCI could change its plans and either re-order some sites or substitute a different port for Piraeus.

 

What I feel quite ignorant on is what port could be substituted for Piraeus. If I knew what the possibilities were I could do some research now when I have time (and which I'm really enjoying!) so that if there were a last-minute switch I'd have an idea off what might be good to do in the new location.

 

Thanks!

[cruisemom42]

What are your ports before and after Piraeus?

 

When Ruby Princess skipped Piraeus (only once; scheduled port day coincided with a large general strike), the ship stayed in Venice an additional day. Venice was the port before Piraeus. Although I'm sure it was disappointing to miss Athens, staying in Venice an extra day doesn't seem like too much of a hardship.

[D4]

I'd recommend monitoring all of the cruises before yours for YOUR ship (as long as they are the same itinerary.)

[sunsetbeachgal]

It has been my experience that when a stop is skipped at the last minute, that it is just that-skipped-and I don't think I ever remember a port being substituted. As a prior poster said, you might end up with more time at a port just prior or after the skipped port.

[hal2000]

The previous day is a sea day, though the port before that is Naples, so there would be plenty to do there -- the full schedule is:

 

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

Naples, Capri, Italy

[sea Day]

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

Rhodes, Greece

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

[sea Day]

Alexandria, Egypt for 2 days

[sea Day]

Messina (Sicily), Italy

[sea Day]

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

 

I was thinking that one ship (not RCI) had substituted one port for another, and with a last-minute switch I wouldn't know what I might even want to do. But if it's only skipped or an extra day somewhere I've already looked into, that particular issue wouldn't come up. [And I realize the chances of this anyway are small -- I'm just trying to avoid the "Oh, if only I'd known..." scenario!]

[cruisemom42]

It used to be more common for ships to substitute a different port if one port had to be skipped. However, there are so many ships in the Med now that they would have to find a port that was not only close enough to not cause a disruption to the schedule but also that could handle the ship at short notice -- not so easy.

 

Looking at your ports of call, I suppose it's possible that they might substitute Mykonos, Santorini, or Crete, all of which would be relatively in line with your ship's route from Naples to Rhodes. Or possibly Corfu (on the nearer side to Naples).

 

Who knows? It's really not possible to make an accurate guess.

[Keith1010]

More than likely if a change will be made it will be made right before the cruise as it will give RCI time to substitute a port and to also put in place shore excursions for that specific port. The odds are that you will still go to Athens.

 

Keith

[rlse9]

If it does get changed, it wouldn't be until the very last minute, especially with how things are in Greece, one minute there's a full strike, an hour later it's been changed. It's messed up over there right now.

 

I'd guess Crete. The Navigator is a pretty big ship and I think they'd try to avoid ports with tendering, which I believe most other Greek islands use.

[rian90]

I was about to ask the same question. We are going in September. I will be very disappointed if we don't go to Athens as that was one reason I chose this particular itinerary although Crete was a close second so I will hope we go there if we can't go to Athens. Santorini looks nice too but I was hoping for some nice archeological sights.

[CoralReef]

Santorini looks nice too but I was hoping for some nice archeological sights.

 

Unfortunately, the Santorini Akrotiri site is (still!) closed, but there is a very decent museum highlighting the findings:

http://www.santorini.com/museums/prehistoric_museum.htm

 

I agree, though, Crete would be the best 2nd choice!

[hal2000]

Thanks for all of your insights about this, both why port substitutions are less common and which ports would be possible substitutes in the unlikely case that it did happen. :) I'm constantly impressed with and grateful for the wealth of information on these boards.

[cynbar]

I just want to remind everyone that there is so much info on these message boards, you'll never be caught flat footed with no idea what to do if there is a last minute substitution. Just come right to cruise critic and the Ports of Call boards, and also go to the more "official" Port Review site. You can get a lot of ideas in a very short time.

[Freckles_51]

I was about to ask the same question. We are going in September. I will be very disappointed if we don't go to Athens as that was one reason I chose this particular itinerary although Crete was a close second so I will hope we go there if we can't go to Athens. Santorini looks nice too but I was hoping for some nice archeological sights.

 

We would be so disappointed to miss Athens as well. I read recently that NCL substituted it with a day in Santorini, and then a half day in Athens in place of Nafplion.

 

We'll be in Santorini the following week and while more time there would be nice, a half day in Athens would def mean a ship tour there for me.

 

I hope they give us enough notice if they cancel Athens, we would need to cancel our Athens Walking Tour (paid up front) by Thursday before cruise departure in order to get a refund :(

[cruisemom42]

I hope they give us enough notice if they cancel Athens, we would need to cancel our Athens Walking Tour (paid up front) by Thursday before cruise departure in order to get a refund :(

 

My feeling is that they will not cancel Athens unless there is a general strike that would either close the sites or affect their transportation (or both). Such strikes have been scheduled well in advance throughout the spring and summer of this year. You can either keep monitoring the travel boards for strikes on your date or set up a news alert to let you know.