Busy Day in Santorini ??

[cynbar]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but the search feature is down. We'll be in Santorini in May on the Celebrity Reflection, and it seems the new Regal Princess will be there as well, along with a couple of small ships. Yikes! The two big ships alone hold about 6000 passengers. Has anyone had experience in Santorini on a really busy day ? We've been planning to DIY, get to Oia either by boat or bus or taxi, and just generally explore at our own pace. But will this be a nightmare with so many to transport around the island? Any suggestions??

[mskaufman]

The toughest part might be the line to take the cable car down. You can always walk or take the donkeys if you are so inclined.

[24butterfly]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but the search feature is down. We'll be in Santorini in May on the Celebrity Reflection, and it seems the new Regal Princess will be there as well, along with a couple of small ships. Yikes! The two big ships alone hold about 6000 passengers. Has anyone had experience in Santorini on a really busy day ? We've been planning to DIY, get to Oia either by boat or bus or taxi, and just generally explore at our own pace. But will this be a nightmare with so many to transport around the island? Any suggestions??

 

YES. We have been there when lotsa big ships were there.....The unfortunate thing is that the island is VERY crowded. Not to scare u, but when we were there last (2 summers ago), we wereone of the 1st ones up by cable car. It was ridiculously HOT, and once we got off the cable car and wanted to walk off to the right, there were throngs of people wanting to do the same. So we decided to get right back on the cable car a go back down....A 1 hour wait. So. I had the ride of my life that I think cured my fear of heights: my husband said for us to take the donkey back down...thought I was gonna die! Best ride ever---I didn't come out so great in the pictures, but it certainly was an experience....I'd do it again...

 

(And don't flame me for using the donkeys...)

[dreamgear]

I am trying to deal with the same problem. My idea is to charter a boat from below Oia back to the tender dock just before we sail. If we can get a dozen people it will be cheap and fun.

Does anyone have a contact for a boat company or two?

Edited February 25, 2014 by dreamgear
add info

[mskaufman]

You could take the boat from the tender dock to Oia and then take the bus (or walk) back to Fira. Fira will be crowded, especially as everyone makes their way there to make it back to their ship. You still have to make the same choice - cable car line, donkeys, or walk.

[steph7021]

So how do you find out how many ships on a certain day?

 

 

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[cynbar]

So how do you find out how many ships on a certain day?

 

 

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Here is the website I used for Santorini, found it via Google:

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Greece/805-Santorini_Island

 

Click on Ports at the top and you can find your other ports

Edited February 26, 2014 by cynbar

[steph7021]

Here is the website I used for Santorini, found it via Google:

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Greece/805-Santorini_Island

 

Click on Ports at the top and you can find your other ports

 

 

Thanks. Well, looks like we are there the same day...May 29th? We are in the Armonia. So I guess we have the same issue. We were going to do DIY and I'm a little worried because our port time is short.

 

 

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[cynbar]

Thanks. Well, looks like we are there the same day...May 29th? We are in the Armonia. So I guess we have the same issue. We were going to do DIY and I'm a little worried because our port time is short.

 

 

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What are your port times? We have been planning to DIY, but may need to reconsider and go with a ship's tour. I can't imagine even a portion of the 8865 passengers trying to navigate the cable cars and donkeys.

[steph7021]

What are your port times? We have been planning to DIY, but may need to reconsider and go with a ship's tour. I can't imagine even a portion of the 8865 passengers trying to navigate the cable cars and donkeys.

 

 

We are 8-4.

 

 

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[dreamgear]

You could take the boat from the tender dock to Oia and then take the bus (or walk) back to Fira. Fira will be crowded, especially as everyone makes their way there to make it back to their ship. You still have to make the same choice - cable car line, donkeys, or walk.

 

I very definitely don't want to do this, because then you still have to go back down the donkey path or the tramway, and attendant unpleasantness. The boats are going from the dock to Oia - they have to come back!

[Milhouse]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but the search feature is down. We'll be in Santorini in May on the Celebrity Reflection, and it seems the new Regal Princess will be there as well, along with a couple of small ships. Yikes! The two big ships alone hold about 6000 passengers. Has anyone had experience in Santorini on a really busy day ? We've been planning to DIY, get to Oia either by boat or bus or taxi, and just generally explore at our own pace. But will this be a nightmare with so many to transport around the island? Any suggestions??

 

Not sure if you if your situation is like as ours where Reflection was in port in the afternoon onwards whereas the other ships were there in the morning to late afternoon. We were on Reflection this past October and in port btw 2pm to 10pm. MSC Fantasia (3274 pax) and Oceana Nautica (684 pax) were in port 8am to 6pm.

 

We DIY, exploring Fira and Oia. We luckily got to tender early and there was a very short line for the cable car (but I heard it grew during the latter tenders). My wife & friends took the cable car while I walked up the donkey trail. It's not too bad. Some pax from the other ships were starting to head back as I passed quite a few on the trail heading down.

 

We did see some a couple of taxi's available for service in Fira. However, we took public bus to Oia and it was fine. Everyone waiting for it were able to get on but some had to stand.

 

Fira was busy but not overwhelmingly. Oia did not seem busy at all (relatively speaking).

 

Check out my review on the X forum for more detail.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Milhouse

[gosport11]

Nearer the date of your sailing, this site will have all the ships in Santorini http://www.santorini-boatmenunion.com/index.php/en/ these are the people that do the transfers,the down side is that the site is updated monthly so not showing 2014 yet :)