santorini instead of Kusidasi ( Jade Adriatic cruise)

[1lovehols]

NCL have dropped a ball by going to Santorini instead of Turkey. Our captain already delayed our tender time into santorini by 2hrs but it wasn't enough.

 

Santorini was a nightmare 4 mid size ships in port at same time meant the narrow streets were jam packed, you couldn't see anything, stop to take time to view anything.

 

Queues were really long & in the end people just pushed in line. No one knew where they were going. They just couldn't cope with us all in port at same time.

 

RC & MSC still visited turkey so hopefully NCL may reconsider port choices or delay the tender till mid afternoon after the other 3 ships guests have done their tours.

 

Really enjoyed the cruise, weather was hit & miss but can't be helped. We had a Haven cabin whic was Bliss. Wasn't too keen on the flow of the ship. I prefer the ships where you can walk round the top decks with having to swap side at certain point in the decks.

[Froggitt]

I am sure everyone else on your cruise is pleased to have swerved Turkey

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2016_Istanbul_bombing

 

On 7 June 2016, at around 08:40 (UTC+3),[2] a bombing occurred in central Istanbul, Turkey, killing at least 11 people and injuring 36 others, three of them seriously.[3] The attack targeted a bus carrying policemen as the vehicle passed through the Vezneciler district[4][5] near the Şehzade Mosque and the Vezneciler Metro station.

 

Istanbul had already been hit by two deadly bombings in January and March 2016, both of which had been claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

[Demonyte]

I'd take Santorini over any Turkey port anyday – already even before the unrestness started.

[NCLfamily]

I'd take Santorini every time, even with the crowds. It was super busy when we were there, you just have to accept the fact and deal with it. Beautiful place.

[Seminole1975]

I'd take Santorini every time, even with the crowds. It was super busy when we were there, you just have to accept the fact and deal with it. Beautiful place.

 

I agree except that on Kusadasi you can go on the Ephesus Tour! That was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

Santorini is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I would like to go back and stay there for a week. I understand they have some beautiful resorts.

[4774Papa]

I'd take Santorini over any Turkey port anyday – already even before the unrestness started.

 

Agree, to some degree, I love the history of Ephesus, but Santorini is great, even crowded. However, Istanbul awesome.

[BirdTravels]

NCL was right on the mark when they dropped Turkey. While NCL organized tours may be able to avoid some of the more dangerous areas, independent cruise ship passengers seem to be attracted to them,,,, all wanting a "trending" video on line. And you can't really avoid the random bomber in tourist areas.

 

We have done Ephesus a couple of times and prefer Santorini.

[1lovehols]

I agree except that on Kusadasi you can go on the Ephesus Tour! That was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

Santorini is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I would like to go back and stay there for a week. I understand they have some beautiful resorts.

 

Santorini was beautifully but would have been better if only 2 ships had of been in port. Or even if we'd have gone to a different Greek island.

[zqvol]

While I enjoy Santorini, Kusadasi is a not to be missed port. It is a shame that the political situation means that you have to miss that beautiful area. I will say to the OP that four medium sized ships is a light load for Santorini. I have been there when there have been 10 ships in a single day and it is not crowded at all, so I'm not sure how four could be an issue.

[1lovehols]

While I enjoy Santorini, Kusadasi is a not to be missed port. It is a shame that the political situation means that you have to miss that beautiful area. I will say to the OP that four medium sized ships is a light load for Santorini. I have been there when there have been 10 ships in a single day and it is not crowded at all, so I'm not sure how four could be an issue.

 

I'm sorry but 8k plus people all trying to get where they needed to be in such a small place is a lot of People. It did cause issues with a cable car queue & tendering as the port is only small to cater for all the excursion boats & tender boats.

[hawkeyetlse]

I will say to the OP that four medium sized ships is a light load for Santorini. I have been there when there have been 10 ships in a single day and it is not crowded at all, so I'm not sure how four could be an issue.

4 ships / 9-10K passenger capacity is not a light load, it's pretty much the highest load I can see in the port schedule (not counting ships with only a few hundred passengers). It happens a few times a month during the summer, so it's not unheard of, either. But clearly it won't be as comfortable as when there are fewer passengers in port.

 

And the question is not whether NCL was right to replace Kusadasi with Santorini, or which port is better (of course everyone is free to cast a vote, but they don't make this call based on a poll of passengers). The question is whether NCL botched this port stop because of the altered itinerary. Sounds to me like it was just a very busy day in port.

Edited June 19, 2016 by hawkeyetlse

[littlelulu01]

Thanks for the report. I was worried when they replaced Kusadasi with a second port day in Santorini. I believe the limit is 8k cruise passengers in a day. Looks like they went over that amount when they allowed Jade that extra day every other week. The saving grace is that if on the two week sailing we will still get Santorini with only a couple other ships. But for the weeks with 8am arrival it looks like it will be a mess.

 

When the announced dropping Kusadasi I was eager to find out what the replacement was. Finding out it was going to be a repeat port with Santorini twice was a little let down but then finding out that they were also squeezed in on those days to allow over the max?

 

The good side of it? They increased the time in Split by a few hours since the ship isn't traveling to Kusadasi so we now have plenty of time to visit Krka. I've been waiting on reports from those who are experiencing the extra Santorini day. We may just decide to make it another sea day, enjoy pools on board and not mess with it. But for those who don't have a b2b it's the only option to see Santorini.

[1lovehols]

My aunt had been before on a small ship & she had said that they was no way you could appreciate the beauty of the island with everyone on top of one & other.

 

I think they'd be better docking at 12 & leaving say 7pm having slightly less time in port to get the crowds down as it did ease off at 3:30pm as the other 3 ships left around 4:30-5:00pm.

[92ufgator]

What was the local time when you arrived? We are doing the 8 day out of Venice on Jade leaving July 15th. Our time into Santorini is 2:00 pm with a 10:00 pm departure. We are doing a sunset/snorkeling tour and I am worried about having enough time to get back if the que is that long. Just wondering if you arrived in the morning or afternoon. This is my biggest concern for our trip.

[1lovehols]

What was the local time when you arrived? We are doing the 8 day out of Venice on Jade leaving July 15th. Our time into Santorini is 2:00 pm with a 10:00 pm departure. We are doing a sunset/snorkeling tour and I am worried about having enough time to get back if the que is that long. Just wondering if you arrived in the morning or afternoon. This is my biggest concern for our trip.

 

We were meant to be 8-4 but they shifted us to 10-6. We were in Haven so were on 1st tender & in port by 10:20. If you are in with other ships & they get there early I think you'll be ok for 2pm just make sure if you do go up to Firia that you leave ample time to either wait for the cable car or walk down the donkey trail steps (35-40 min walk)

[old nutter]

I am sure everyone else on your cruise is pleased to have swerved Turkey

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2016_Istanbul_bombing

 

On 7 June 2016, at around 08:40 (UTC+3),[2] a bombing occurred in central Istanbul, Turkey, killing at least 11 people and injuring 36 others, three of them seriously.[3] The attack targeted a bus carrying policemen as the vehicle passed through the Vezneciler district[4][5] near the Şehzade Mosque and the Vezneciler Metro station.

 

Istanbul had already been hit by two deadly bombings in January and March 2016, both of which had been claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

 

I am afraid that is a somewhat extreme justification for missing out Kusdasi and killing off the chance to visit probably the most significant historic Roman site at Ephesus. Kusadasi is miles away from Istanbul and has not had any issues so far to indicate any problems going there. It is a bit like saying you would not go to Monte Carlo because of the recent Paris bombing, nor wanting to go to Barcelona because of bombings in Madrid or even stopping going to Orlando because of that awful mass shooting last week.

 

There are some pretty awful people around but if you give into their view of the world they will have won. I wonder just how much longer NCL will carry on booking cruises that visit Haifa after the recent incident in Tel Aviv?

 

The other port that they could have changed to so that they would avoid the crush at Santorini is Kotor in Montenegro. The sail in/out to get into Kotor through what is the most southerly (and warmest!) fjords rivals anywhere. And there are some great excursions available there.

 

We are going on a 14-day on the Jade later this year and since we have unfortunately and to us, unnecessarily, been rearranged from Kusadasi would have been much happier returning to Kotor instead of the second day in Santorini, busy or not.

[zqvol]

I'm sorry but 8k plus people all trying to get where they needed to be in such a small place is a lot of People. It did cause issues with a cable car queue & tendering as the port is only small to cater for all the excursion boats & tender boats.

 

There can be one ship at Santorini and there are cable car lines, and tendering is always slow. It is part of the charm of the island, and has been that way ever since cruise ships have been docking. There are alternatives to the top of the mountain, including taking the ferry to Oia, walking up or riding the donkeys. If you think 8K is a lot of people you should be there when there are 20K, which is not uncommon later in the summer.

[littlelulu01]

If you figure out how many passengers are arriving on a given day you can estimate how busy the cable car will be. Our Jade sailing with the 2pm arrival in 2015 worked great because only one or two other ships in port and they left in the afternoon. I think it's the same with our Jade sailing this year on the week with 2pm arrival, which is the originally scheduled and not replacement Santorini day.

 

The cable car can only process 1200 passengers/hour. If 9-10k people in port arriving and departing around the same time I would think there's a huge issue even with providing enough tenders let alone cable car wait times.

 

I read that Santorini officials estimate 10% of passengers were not even getting off ship last year on busy port days and that 30% booked ship excursions on these crowded days vs 10% when only a couple sips in port. That along with the sheer masses of people to process, and much affected ability to enjoy the culture and ambience, led them to the decision to limit the max to 8k per day.

 

I got my email about the drop of Kusadasi and replace with Santorini January 29, 2016.

 

When I looked up how many other ships were arriving same day at same time I wondered how the heck all those passengers would get tendered at the same time. The 10 am arrival makes a little better sense from a tendering prospective but from a passenger view it means when Jade passengers arrive 8k people are already there.

 

The other lines who kept Turkish ports of call are selling for much less than the Jade. Regardless of the validity of safety concerns with Turkey, looks like NCL made the right call from a business standpoint. Many other lines canceled Turkish ports of call or altered at the last minute depending on what's happening on any given week this year. I think I'd rather have a crowded day in Santorini vs potentially pulling into a Turkish port and not allowed to get off ship unless embarking or debarking, which has happened for a few sailings with other lines. I think many of the Carnival sailings just replaced with sea days. I am happy that NCL made the decision to omit Turkey in time to at least get a replacement port. I assume Santorini on a jam packed day was the best they could negotiate but at least they got something.

 

I had a backup cruise planned on Celebrity who kept all ports of call. I ended up going with the Jade, not for fear of safety in Turkey or Israel, but because I figured the odds of sailing around with a bunch of extra sea days if something else happens are much higher on the Celebrity sailing. The lines who dropped Turkey nabbed the other available ports. Those ports are pretty packed as a result. Granted, anything can happen anywhere with all that's going on in this world but The Jade sailing, even with it's flawed extra Santorini day is more of a sure thing itinerary wise.

 

Like other posters have mentioned, if its a mass crowd so be it. Not much we can do about it now. In years past Santorini has had days with 9500-10k passengers in port and they seem to have survived.

[jobry]

We will be on a 14 day cruise Aug-Sept and so will have 2 days in Santorini.

 

I am quite concerned about getting the cable car back down to the tenders, and back to the ship on time.

 

I have a lightweight portable mobility scooter(light enough, and foldable/portable enough for the tenders and cable car) so walking down the steps is not an option.

 

What time do you recommend we start queuing for the cable car to get back ok, the day the ship is scheduled to depart at 10 pm?

 

What about the day we are scheduled to leave at 4pm?

[megaelch]

On our recent cruise in may the captain switched port day in Santorin with Athens, we were informed when boarding in Venice about the change and later on we learned instead of being in port with 6 ships we now had only 3.

[karoo]

I was on the Jade 28th May - June 11th and had two wonderful days in Santorini. The first I got the speed boat to Oia, private bus back to Thira before getting the cable car back to the ship. The second day- cable car up, hired an ATV went back to Oia, then to Kemari Beach, returned to Thira where we dropped off ATV, then walked around Thira before having dinner and watching the sunset at the top. We then got the cable car down with no lines whatsoever. Personally I'm glad we didn't go to Turkey.

Edited June 20, 2016 by karoo

[Minoushka]

We were on Eurodaminearly May...wnt to

Istanbul and Kusadasi which we really enjoyed ....its a shame Turkey isno longerthat safebut we were fine .got to see Hagia Sophia and cisterns ...veryvery dark ....lots of stairs ..booo ...blue

Mosques with very aggressive lady who pulledmy scarfovermy blondbangs ...very hard ....li wastotally coveredbecause it wascool but others were given some kind of skirt to wear even over slacks ...big crowds verywhere ...very few women ....all coveredup ..Turkey haschanged alot ...seemed to have becomevery Islamist ......they. Are losing loads of tourists as few ships are going there .

We had 2 nice young men as our drivers in very nice Mercedes van ...lovedthe shopping here but yes they are persistant ...I got the jacketsI wNted atmy price after muchhaggling...I left ..he ran after me .....bummer. Too small to fitmy hubby ...boohoo

I would go back ....i liked Istanbul ..very vibrant city

[ColeThornton]

We were on Eurodaminearly May...wnt to

Istanbul and Kusadasi which we really enjoyed ....its a shame Turkey isno longerthat safebut we were fine .got to see Hagia Sophia and cisterns ...veryvery dark ....lots of stairs ..booo ...blue

Mosques with very aggressive lady who pulledmy scarfovermy blondbangs ...very hard ....li wastotally coveredbecause it wascool but others were given some kind of skirt to wear even over slacks ...big crowds verywhere ...very few women ....all coveredup ..Turkey haschanged alot ...seemed to have becomevery Islamist ......they. Are losing loads of tourists as few ships are going there .

We had 2 nice young men as our drivers in very nice Mercedes van ...lovedthe shopping here but yes they are persistant ...I got the jacketsI wNted atmy price after muchhaggling...I left ..he ran after me .....bummer. Too small to fitmy hubby ...boohoo

I would go back ....i liked Istanbul ..very vibrant city

 

 

[4774Papa]

We were on Eurodaminearly May...wnt to

Istanbul and Kusadasi which we really enjoyed ....its a shame Turkey isno longerthat safebut we were fine .got to see Hagia Sophia and cisterns ...veryvery dark ....lots of stairs ..booo ...blue

Mosques with very aggressive lady who pulledmy scarfovermy blondbangs ...very hard ....li wastotally coveredbecause it wascool but others were given some kind of skirt to wear even over slacks ...big crowds verywhere ...very few women ....all coveredup ..Turkey haschanged alot ...seemed to have becomevery Islamist ......they. Are losing loads of tourists as few ships are going there .

We had 2 nice young men as our drivers in very nice Mercedes van ...lovedthe shopping here but yes they are persistant ...I got the jacketsI wNted atmy price after muchhaggling...I left ..he ran after me .....bummer. Too small to fitmy hubby ...boohoo

I would go back ....i liked Istanbul ..very vibrant city

 

When we visited Istanbul and Ephesus in Fall of 2013, we noticed more head scarves than we saw in Ephesus in 2010. We talked with some of the Turks about the changes toward more Islamic away from Kemal Ataturk's secular vision. Many Turks are very unhappy about the changes brought on by Erdogan. It seems that he has charge of the country now and has purged many secular military officers out of the military.

[simonaitch]

Its the timings they've got wrong, Santorini was a dream visit between 2 and 10 pm and a nightmare 10 until 6.