Tendering question for Celebrity cruisers that have visited Santorini, Greece

[CruisinManiac]

I am posting this question here in hopes of getting a better response than I would on the European/Mediterranean boards. ;)

 

For anyone that has taken a Celebrity cruise to the Mediterranean with a stop in Santorini, Greece, could you tell me about the tendering process? Does anyone recall having to wait for excursion passengers to get off the ship, before they were allowed to go onshore? With HAL, we took a ships tour to Oia. We tendered to a separate dock where buses awaited us to start the steep up climb over to Oia, and not to the cable car/donkey dock. Since we were the first off of the ship, I am not sure what the non-excursion passengers had as far as a wait.

 

What I am trying to find out is if Celebrity also uses separate tenders for their tours to Oia, than the tenders going over to the other dock. In other words, do non-excursion passengers have to wait for the excursion tenders (the tenders going to the Oia dock) to complete the excursion drop-offs before being able to take passengers over to the cable car dock, or does Celebrity have enough tenders that everyone going ashore can start the process about the same time? Sorry, this question was difficult to phrase. :o

 

There may also be the possibility that Santorini has their own tenders for helping get passengers over to Oia.

[Lsimon]

I think the tendering to the separate dock for excursion passengers is pretty standard - and absolutely so if one's ship excursion includes bus transportation.

 

We were in Santorini over three years ago in September. I'd read on these boards advice to take a short excursion to some place on the island other than Oia or other places easily done on your own and then to do those places on your own in the afternoon. The thought was that this would not only be fun but help avoid long lines to ride the cable car up the cliff to Fira or the other, less appealing, ways up to the city.

 

Turns out the day in September we were in Santorini we were the only ship so the crowds probably were not as much of a problem as they might be on busier days but we really enjoyed our morning trip which included some fantastic views from the highest peak on Santorini. After returning to Fira after the end of our ship's excursion we took a taxi to Oia and had a very nice afternoon there. What a fantastic island!

 

I have some photos here:

http://simon-pics.smugmug.com/Cruises/Europe-Sept-07-Millennium-Med/Santorini-Greece/3581223_LRaDj#203440923_yZeic

 

Of course the best place to look on Cruise Critic for updated advice would be the port of call forum for Greek Ports: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594

[CruisinManiac]

That's all fine, but we do not arrive in Santorini until 2:00, so we want to make the best of our time there. Having been there before, we would rather go straight to Oia and spend more time there, and then head back to Fira for a watch of the sunset before we have to get back on the ship.

 

Of the three excursions offered through Celebrity for our cruise, one is a volcanic hotsprings tour which is off island, the other goes to Pyrgos Village and the third goes to Oia, a winery and then Fira (we are interested in this tour if we do not tackle the island on-our-own.) :)

 

Where did your excursion start out...from the buses or the cable cars? Is it your opinion that there are two separate SETS of tenders...one for excursions to the buses, and one for the cable cars? That's what I am trying to find out. If they are separate, then we will wait and go on-our-own with priority tendering. If not, and we would have to wait for the tenders to come back form the excursion drop offs, then we will book an excursion to get off of the ship faster. ;)

 

I didn't post over on the Ports of Call board because I am only interested in what Celebrity does, and not what others have experienced. It would take longer for Celebrity cruisers to respond over on the Greece forums. ;)

 

Beautiful photos, BTW. I have some spectacular photos from the island as well. :) I never tire of looking at them, and Santorini is my favorite island, to date.

[Lsimon]

I can understand the difference with the late, 2PM arrival.

 

The tender dock for the buses is indeed different than the dock but I can not recall if we used ships tenders or different ones. I also did not pay attention as to whether some of the ship's tenders were used for the non-tour passengers to the dock by the cable cars at the same time, although I suspect this would be the case.

[Bet & Peg]

We were on the Summit in 2008 and stopped at Santorini - but earlym can't remember exactly but I'd say we arrived about 8am. We were in a Concierge Cabin and told to met at a certain designation for disembarking - we weren't on a tour so we didn't have to meet in the theater. We didn't plan it but were there very early, with another couple just the 4 of us waiting. A staff member came along and told us to just go to the tender - we did and went into the dock with the photo crew - them and about 8/10 other "early birds"! We even had to wait about 5 minutes for the cable cars to begin loading passengers!! We went up to Fira and then took the bus to Oia - fabulous town - walked down the 200 steps to Amoundi for a memorable lunch at Sunset Tavern. Then took the bus back to Fira. It's something we still talk about!!!!

 

My suggestion - try and learn what area they'll be using for tendering and just get there early! Goold Lucka nd have a fabulous cruise!

[RDC1]

I was there a couple of years ago on the Summit.

 

The process as I recall is that the tenders taking passengers on excursions go over to the freight port first. Then they start shuttling back and forth over to the old port (where the Donkeys are).

 

I remember them making announcements to that effect and that passengers not on tours needed to make sure that they did not go on the tenders heading to the freight port, but needed to wait for the tenders going to the old port.

 

The ships life boats were used for all tenders.

 

Not sure how long the wait was because we were off on one of the first tenders for an excursion.

 

All passengers returned through the old port.

[Onessa]

We were on Solstice in November 2009. Excursions departed from the port side on their own tenders, they docked and boarded buses at a separate port that had a very winding road to the top of the island. Non-excursion pax departed on the starboard side on their own set of tenders to that docked at Fira to board cable car / mule /walk up.

 

As someone else indicated that is pretty standard for all major cruise ships in Santorini now.

[CruisinManiac]

I can understand the difference with the late, 2PM arrival.

 

The tender dock for the buses is indeed different than the dock but I can not recall if we used ships tenders or different ones. I also did not pay attention as to whether some of the ship's tenders were used for the non-tour passengers to the dock by the cable cars at the same time, although I suspect this would be the case.

 

Your memory is the same as mine. Not very good when we do not notice our surroundings. lol :D

 

 

We were on the Summit in 2008 and stopped at Santorini - but earlym can't remember exactly but I'd say we arrived about 8am. We were in a Concierge Cabin and told to met at a certain designation for disembarking - we weren't on a tour so we didn't have to meet in the theater. We didn't plan it but were there very early, with another couple just the 4 of us waiting. A staff member came along and told us to just go to the tender - we did and went into the dock with the photo crew - them and about 8/10 other "early birds"! We even had to wait about 5 minutes for the cable cars to begin loading passengers!! We went up to Fira and then took the bus to Oia - fabulous town - walked down the 200 steps to Amoundi for a memorable lunch at Sunset Tavern. Then took the bus back to Fira. It's something we still talk about!!!!

 

My suggestion - try and learn what area they'll be using for tendering and just get there early! Goold Lucka nd have a fabulous cruise!

 

Great! I suppose that this is as close to finding the information that I need than anything I will get. :) I think that settles it...we will get to the tendering area early (shouldn't be too hard with a 2:00 pm stop as we will be up and ready hours earlier.)

 

Could you give me some more information on where the 200 steps to Amoundi is located? I have heard of the steps and Amoundi, but not sure where the steps are located in Oia. Dumb question: Do you have to walk back up the steps to catch the bus, or is there a bus stop in Amoundi? :o

[CruisinManiac]

I was there a couple of years ago on the Summit.

 

The process as I recall is that the tenders taking passengers on excursions go over to the freight port first. Then they start shuttling back and forth over to the old port (where the Donkeys are).

 

I remember them making announcements to that effect and that passengers not on tours needed to make sure that they did not go on the tenders heading to the freight port, but needed to wait for the tenders going to the old port.

 

The ships life boats were used for all tenders.

 

Not sure how long the wait was because we were off on one of the first tenders for an excursion.

 

All passengers returned through the old port.

 

We were on Solstice in November 2009. Excursions departed from the port side on their own tenders, they docked and boarded buses at a separate port that had a very winding road to the top of the island. Non-excursion pax departed on the starboard side on their own set of tenders to that docked at Fira to board cable car / mule /walk up.

 

As someone else indicated that is pretty standard for all major cruise ships in Santorini now.

 

OK, I take that statement back! :D I was typing as y'all were both posting. Thank you! I guess with the Solstice class ships being larger, they have more tenders. We will be on the Equinox, so my plan will work.

 

Thanks again, everyone!

[Orlandocruiser]

Solstice Oct 2009 ( also arrived at 2pm)- Our tour took us on a separate tender to reach the bus. The tour brochure said we could choose to return by bus but they dropped off the entire tour in Thira - there were several people on the tour that had mobility issues and they were really angry as it is a bit of a walk to the cable cars (up a steep hill and lots of steps). Since the ship didn't leave until late there was lots of time to walk around in Thira and catch the cable car back to the ship (long wait for the cable car). There is a great museum in Thira that house artifacts from the archaeological dig on the island (Akrotiri) It was only a couple of Euros to enter and was on of the highlights of the day for us. Your guide can point it out to you as it was very near where the busses dropped us off in Thira.

[CruisinManiac]

Is that the museum that is across from the church and shops near the bus stop? We were sorry that Akrotiri was not open when we last visited, and will remain closed for our next.

 

Our tour went back to the ship. My parents and brother took the bus back, while my sister and sister-in-law stayed behind to have lunch and shop. Had the bus not gone back, my parents would have had to hire a taxi to get up the hills back to the cable car. :eek:

[Dunmore2]

We were on the Equinox in May of 2010. Went to the ticket line at 1:00 and after a short wait, we had tickets for tender#1. Our tender left at 2:05. Took the cable car up and had a great day exploring the town of Fira. friends of ours walked with us as far as the bus depot as they were headed to Oia . We were on a Celebrity tour that included Oia in 1996 so seeing Santorini was our goal. We had gyros in a small tavern near the bus depot and across from an internet cafe (great rates). Just before sunset we shared an enormous baklava in a place with incredible views.

in 1996 we waited 30 minutes to take the cable car back down. Last May we did not have to wait at all. There were just a few people waiting in line for the return tender. Once on, we waited about 5 minutes for a few more passengers before heading back to the Equinox.

[CruisinManiac]

Thank you Dunmore2! :) We will be on this coming May. Do you remember where the ticket area was on the ship? Was that the time you were told to line up, or did you just go an hour earlier then arrival? Also, did the ship arrive earlier than posted?

 

Also, once you got off of the cable cars, how did you get to the bus depot? Is there just one stop? Sorry for all of the questions. :cool:

[NorthernLite]

I wish I had known about the tenders going to the buses for excursions when we went on the Galaxy in 2006. I specifically wanted to visit a religious shrine. I had questioned friends who were HAL fans and they said I should just grab a tender and wait for the town bus. Surprise when not only were there no tenders to the other side unless we bought an excursion but they really did not want to let someone in a wheelchair use the life boats. Yes, I had asked this question of the "special needs" department well ahead of time. I have learned that except for Labadee that there are no tenders just life boats for Celebrity excursions. When booking local excursions in EU countries they do have accessible buses, even Thera has 1, by law and real tenders.

[dancermom5]

For anyone that has taken a Celebrity cruise to the Mediterranean with a stop in Santorini, Greece, could you tell me about the tendering process? Does anyone recall having to wait for excursion passengers to get off the ship, before they were allowed to go onshore? With HAL, we took a ships tour to Oia. We tendered to a separate dock where buses awaited us to start the steep up climb over to Oia, and not to the cable car/donkey dock. Since we were the first off of the ship, I am not sure what the non-excursion passengers had as far as a wait.

 

What I am trying to find out is if Celebrity also uses separate tenders for their tours to Oia, than the tenders going over to the other dock. In other words, do non-excursion passengers have to wait for the excursion tenders (the tenders going to the Oia dock) to complete the excursion drop-offs before being able to take passengers over to the cable car dock, or does Celebrity have enough tenders that everyone going ashore can start the process about the same time? Sorry, this question was difficult to phrase. :o

 

There may also be the possibility that Santorini has their own tenders for helping get passengers over to Oia.

 

Hi CruisinManiac: First off let me tell you Santorini was the best part of our Med crusie in terms of breath taking views--love to retire there for a few months of the year. To answer your question there were no special lines for tendering that I recall. We just waited in line with everyone else to get to Fia cable/donkey ride/ to start the tour of Santorini. Hubby and I, with a great couple from NZ, rented a taxi to tour the island. :) The tendering went quickly so don't worry. I don't recall the tendering boats so not sure if it was Celebrity's or locals.

[CruisinManiac]

I wish I had known about the tenders going to the buses for excursions when we went on the Galaxy in 2006. I specifically wanted to visit a religious shrine. I had questioned friends who were HAL fans and they said I should just grab a tender and wait for the town bus. Surprise when not only were there no tenders to the other side unless we bought an excursion but they really did not want to let someone in a wheelchair use the life boats. Yes, I had asked this question of the "special needs" department well ahead of time. I have learned that except for Labadee that there are no tenders just life boats for Celebrity excursions. When booking local excursions in EU countries they do have accessible buses, even Thera has 1, by law and real tenders.

 

That's too bad, I am sorry you missed seeing your religious shrine. :(

 

Thanks dancermom5. I agree that Santorini is the best! :) That's similar what I told my DH when I returned from my cruise in 2008...that if I could pick anywhere in the world to have a vacation home, it would be Oia.

[derf5585]

I don't recall the tendering boats so not sure if it was Celebrity's or locals.

 

I believe they are called tenderizing boats:D;)

[Dunmore2]

Thank you Dunmore2! :) We will be on this coming May. Do you remember where the ticket area was on the ship? Was that the time you were told to line up, or did you just go an hour earlier then arrival? Also, did the ship arrive earlier than posted?

 

Also, once you got off of the cable cars, how did you get to the bus depot? Is there just one stop? Sorry for all of the questions. :cool:

 

I think we picked up the tickets at the excursion desk. They did not announce that they were passing out the tender tickets, we just went. Only one bus depot that I know of in Fira and we had a little map that I downloaded by searching online. Our ship did dock a little early, as we did at all the ports.

[Jdell]

We visited Santorini this past July on the Equinox and I have to say, it was a mess. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely go with a Celebrity excursion at this port as it skirts the whole cable car/donkey mess--which on the day we tendered was a mob scene with about 4 or 5 ships in port.

 

I've read on these boards where people have arrived up top with no issue. Maybe it was the luck of the draw that day, but there was barely enough room to stand on the dock/port and line up for either the cable car or donkey. People were pushing and shoving--it was absolutely insane.

 

I was so rattled, I went back to the ship. My husband and teens tried the donkeys but my daughter became distraught with the men shoving and hitting the donkeys. They wound up walking all the way up and down.

 

Suffice to say, with such high expectations for this gorgeous place, our day just didn't turn out right.

[CruisinManiac]

I think we picked up the tickets at the excursion desk. They did not announce that they were passing out the tender tickets, we just went. Only one bus depot that I know of in Fira and we had a little map that I downloaded by searching online. Our ship did dock a little early, as we did at all the ports.

 

I see if I can find a map. However, after reading Jdells story, I am back to thinking about the excursion. :rolleyes: I just wish that the tour went to the winery first, and then Oia. That way, we could leave the tour and stay in Oia. I guess we could stay anyway, and skip the winery, but if it is a different winery than the one before, I'd like to see it. Maybe there will be a bus stop nearby.

 

Does anyone know which winery Celebrity tours goes to? I may ask this on the ports board.

 

Jdell, I am sorry that happened to you and your family. I'm with your daughter. Now I am not sure I want to even walk down the steps if I have to see what your daughter saw. :(

[elpam]

We were on the Equinox also last May, and deliberately chose the Celebrity tour to Oia, the winery and finished up with plenty of time in Thira. It was a great tour, but wish we had a bit more time in Oia. Views from Oia and the winery were wonderful. We went to the theatre, got a #, went to the tender, arrived at a dock where we boarded busses which went up to Oia. We did not have to go up the cable car or ride the donkeys, and we had more time everywhere. People who lined up and waited for tenders were often unhappy with time wasted. I do recommend the Celebrity tour. The line back to the cable car in Thira was long, but moved quickly. Just don't wait to leave too late. The winery served very good wine and some nibbles, which made that stop nice actually - plus the awesome views. Have a wonderful time. It was definitely a spectacular visit.

[CruisinManiac]

We were on the Equinox also last May, and deliberately chose the Celebrity tour to Oia, the winery and finished up with plenty of time in Thira. It was a great tour, but wish we had a bit more time in Oia. Views from Oia and the winery were wonderful. We went to the theatre, got a #, went to the tender, arrived at a dock where we boarded busses which went up to Oia. We did not have to go up the cable car or ride the donkeys, and we had more time everywhere. People who lined up and waited for tenders were often unhappy with time wasted. I do recommend the Celebrity tour. The line back to the cable car in Thira was long, but moved quickly. Just don't wait to leave too late. The winery served very good wine and some nibbles, which made that stop nice actually - plus the awesome views. Have a wonderful time. It was definitely a spectacular visit.

 

Do you remember the name of the winery, or perhaps you have a photo of the winery or the view?

[waylon]

I am also sorry your daughter had to see such horrible treatment. We are going to try to avoid seeing those poor animals. This has been on our minds since we first heard about the donkeys and unfortunately our suspicions have now been realized. How cruel.