What to do in Chania, Crete?

[SunFunCruiser]

Has anyone been to Crete recently? I can't get a straight answer from anyone if we are allowed to go on our own at this port.

[bennybear]

12 hours ago, SunFunCruiser said:

Has anyone been to Crete recently? I can't get a straight answer from anyone if we are allowed to go on our own at this port.

From what I’ve read, it depends on your cruise line so worth checking with them. 

[SunFunCruiser]

2 hours ago, bennybear said:

From what I’ve read, it depends on your cruise line so worth checking with them. 

It's Celebrity Apex and for some reason no one knows and it's the only port not listed on their protocols.

[bennybear]

6 hours ago, SunFunCruiser said:

It's Celebrity Apex and for some reason no one knows and it's the only port not listed on their protocols.

We had friends on the Apex a week ago,  as far as I recall there was only one port where they had to do the cruise line tour, I think it was Mykonos.   They did their own thing in .Santorini and Rhodes.  

 

  Not sure they went to Chania though,  perhaps ask the question on the Celebrity board.  

[SunFunCruiser]

On 9/18/2021 at 10:07 PM, bennybear said:

We had friends on the Apex a week ago,  as far as I recall there was only one port where they had to do the cruise line tour, I think it was Mykonos.   They did their own thing in .Santorini and Rhodes.  

 

  Not sure they went to Chania though,  perhaps ask the question on the Celebrity board.  

I have no one knows lol we are the only cruise going there as far as I know. 

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, SunFunCruiser said:

I have no one knows lol we are the only cruise going there as far as I know. 

 

I managed to look up Celebrity's FAQ on current Travel Requirements but although they list most of their other frequent calls for this summer for Europe, Crete isn't listed. 

 

Travel Requirements for Cruise from Athens | Celebrity Cruises

 

I assume you've already checked the roll call to see if anyone else has found out the answer?

[bennybear]

14 hours ago, SunFunCruiser said:

I have no one knows lol we are the only cruise going there as far as I know. 

Yikes,  makes it tough to plan.  The good thing is Chania is easy to explore on your own,   So you can plan for that and if you have to change to a mandatory cruise tour you’ll need to be flexible. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I managed to look up Celebrity's FAQ on current Travel Requirements but although they list most of their other frequent calls for this summer for Europe, Crete isn't listed. 

 

Travel Requirements for Cruise from Athens | Celebrity Cruises

 

I assume you've already checked the roll call to see if anyone else has found out the answer?

I can't answer the poster's question about touring.  However, I can tell you there are tons of ships visiting Crete right now.  Be aware there are several different ports for Crete - Heraklion, Chania, Agios Nikolaos, possibly more.  Many cruise lines put "Chania" as the port, but generally if that's the case, you'll dock in Souda Bay, a few miles away from Chania, with a shuttle bus from the port to Chania near the market area (sometimes free, sometimes 2 euro, depending upon whether the cruise line has paid for it, I think)  Chania looks to be a very pretty port, especially along the waterfront, mostly walkable. It sometimes shows up as Xania, not Chania, by the way.  I hope to visit it on an Oceania cruise in late May.  I'm mostly interested in what's in the city, and the Venetian lighthouse there.  But there are other things to do too, of course.  Also Rethymno (spelling may be slightly off) is a somewhat similar pretty harbor town not far away.

 

Greeka.com probably has good info on Chania and other cities in Crete. There may also be more info in the Ports of Call section here on Cruise Critic.

 

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Oh, never mind.  This IS the Ports of Call section!  But just in case it helps, I have cruise excursions Oceania mentions which may (or may not!) be offered in May 2022.  They are 1) Knossos ruins & Arolithos - all day excursion, 2) Chania water cruise around harbor & walk through historical district, 3) Arkadi Monastery & Rethymno walk 4) Agia Triada Monastery, Akrotiri & Chania.  

[bennybear]

8 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Oh, never mind.  This IS the Ports of Call section!  But just in case it helps, I have cruise excursions Oceania mentions which may (or may not!) be offered in May 2022.  They are 1) Knossos ruins & Arolithos - all day excursion, 2) Chania water cruise around harbor & walk through historical district, 3) Arkadi Monastery & Rethymno walk 4) Agia Triada Monastery, Akrotiri & Chania.  

Not sure what you mean,   people are just trying to help find out the rules.  
 

Knossos is over two hours each way from Chania.  Much easier to reach from Heraklion.

Edited September 20, 2021 by bennybear

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

3 hours ago, bennybear said:

Not sure what you mean,   people are just trying to help find out the rules.  
 

Knossos is over two hours each way from Chania.  Much easier to reach from Heraklion.

I was giving info to reply to the original poster, with the title of that post being "What to do in Chania, Crete."  But I didn't realize the original post was from 2020, and that after sitting around for a long while, someone else posted asking about the rules.  So unless someone wants to know what to do in Chania, they should just ignore my posts. Sorry for the confusion!

[SunFunCruiser]

Thank you all. We dock in Souda Bay. I will just wing it that day.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Sun Fun, if you're still following: 

 

I just read on a Facebook post that people on a Viking Ocean cruise were just required in Chania to go with a ship's excursion and then stay with the tour guide and the group.  She mentioned they went past But it's unclear whether that was a Greece, Crete, Chania, Viking or tour provider requirement.  Viking hasn't been requiring that unless the country or port being visited requires it, but who knows?  Things can change so rapidly now, it's great you (apparently) are flexible.