Santorini in a day.

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

But at least for our ship both times, (Oceania) we were required to have a tender ticket given out by Oceania, and of course, as is the case for many lines, they are looking to get their excursion passengers off the ship in time for getting on coaches (not on top, but lower down on mountain/hill) or up top by cable car.  So they may not allow independent cruisers off on the first or even second tender.

So don't plan a jam-packed day, go early to inquire about tickets, and be patient and flexible.

 

Yes, most cruise lines issue tender tickets, usually on the morning.

They'll announce the where (a bar, the theatre, or wherever) & the when the previous evening and in the ship's newspaper, in elevators etc.

If you're keen to get off early,  get to the ticketing venue half-an-hour or more early - if you get there at the appointed time you'll find there's already a line. Just one of you can usually go on behalf of a small group (take their cruise cards in case you're asked).

You are then free to do your own thing anywhere on the ship, while listening for your numbers to be called to go to the tender point.

 

But on some ships  you go to the appointed place (usually a dining room or the theatre) when you're ready to leave - you stay there until you're called & you're accompanied in a group to the tender point. Sounds horrendous, but every time we've encountered that system it has worked very well. 

 

Yes, ships always prioritise their tour groups.

But on Santorini the tour groups are taken further down the coast by one set of tenders to the little ferry-port of Anthinios, where the road goes down to the port.

The rest are taken to the pier below Fira by a different set of tenders - I've never heard of any tour groups being taken to that pier., so there's usually no priority for tour groups tendering in Santorini.

 

NB. Taking a ship's tour avoids the cablecar / donkey / ferry options, so is relatively quick to depart. But most ships' tours end in Fira, with tour passengers joining the line for the cablecar to get back to the ship.

Just pre-Covid one cruise line (Celebrity I think) returned their tour groups via Athinios, thereby avoiding the long cablecar lines. It's worth checking whether your ship will be doing that, which will avoid all the hassle getting back.

 

Finally, a reminder of my earlier post - for any tendered destinations the "last tender time" to get back is usually 60 minutes before sailing (30 minutes in berthed ports). 

But that's when you have to be on the pier, not when you have to be back on the ship - so the length of the line for tenders is irrelevant.

 

JB 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[John Bull]

2 hours ago, afick12 said:

This is great information. I wonder why you cannot take a "ferry" from Oia back to the tender pier?

 

 

I do wonder that myself, there's surely demand for it late in the day.

Mebbe because it has a scheduled route round the island.

Or mebbe to do with adverse currents.

 

Does anyone else know?

 

JB 🙂