Santorini Removed from Itinerary

[bartexas]

17 hours ago, aliaschief said:

We arrive, maybe take  a local tour but do not shop or spend much. Is that the problem? Or are ships just getting so large the industry and locality just cannot absorb?

When we went to Key West last year, we stayed at the Waldorf, chartered a fishing boat, went on a jet ski tour, ate at local restaurants, bought gifts, did a sunset sailing cruise, etc. The locals kept talking about how much they hate the cruise ships. They told us how lucky we were not to be dealing with the crowds that pour in for a few hours, make it difficult to get a drink, table, etc.The water is too shallow, and the boats churn up the bottom, making the water really ugly. Add to that people who “do not shop or spend much,” and I get it. Cruise ships are making it less pleasant for the people who live there, add to it passengers who aren’t putting $, or more than a meal or cocktail, into the economy, plus making it less enjoyable for people like us who do - I’d protest cruise ships, too.

[BermudaBound2014]

18 hours ago, aliaschief said:

We arrive, maybe take  a local tour but do not shop or spend much. Is that the problem? Or are ships just getting so large the industry and locality just cannot absorb?

 

I'm not sure you really want to know the answer, but here goes...

 

My neighbor here in Maui does not know I'm a cruiser. When speaking to him last week he mentioned that he saw POA when they were shopping in Kahalui and was disgusted. I asked why and he said that cruisers are just like Walmart shoppers: overweight and rude. 

 

At a restaurant in Lahaina a few weeks ago, the hostess asked us if we were from the cruise ship. I thought that strange and maybe she was just making polite conversation. Then the server asked the same thing and when we said 'no' I could visible see the pleasure on her face. I asked her why that makes her happy and she said that cruisers are the worlds worst tippers. 

 

Last February I watched a cashier at walmart treat a couple ahead of me a bit harshly, which is not the norm for the Aloha spirit. I thought perhaps the cashier was just having a bad day, but when it was my turn to be rang, he immediately shifted disposition and became cheerful. I mentioned that I was glad he wasn't having a bad day and he responded something along the line of he didn't want to wait on the 'germ-infested' cruise passengers.

 

Now, I certainly don't believe the stereotypes that cruisers seem to have gotten here on Maui, but I do believe that those stereotypes exist. To complicate matters more, there is also a push for sustainable tourism. Not just in terms of cruisers, but tourists in general. There were protests at the airport last year as visitors returned to Maui in numbers. It's a delicate balance on this rock. Clearly tourism is needed to sustain the economy, but many residents believe that Maui has way too many visitors and want to see a cap placed. 

 

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people who Live Aloha, but I believe it's more important than ever that tourists behave respectfully and leave no trace behind. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[ski ww]

I think we have all seen our share of tourist behaving badly. I can see why locals don't like huge cruise ships coming in for a few hours , huge crowds, and don't spend much. Most tourists come for sight seeing, taking pictures not to buy a whole bunch of stuff. I know I would not like to live in a tourist town if 5 cruise ships with 10,000 passengers show up a couple of times a week.

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Sir PMP said:

That's why  cruise lines like MSC, Royal C., Norwegian, Hal, Princess, Carnival etc. should be banned from these beautiful islands and cities.

Or at least have a maximum of how many ships can port at the same time, or a maximum number of passengers allowed at the same time. 

[Homosassa]

14 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

 

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people who Live Aloha, but I believe it's more important than ever that tourists behave respectfully and leave no trace behind. 

Totally agree.

 

We have also had a problem in my home state with out of state visitors who showed  and continue to show no respect for the health of the local population by taking any type of public health measures in the ongoing pandemic. 

[Hlitner]

On 4/20/2022 at 11:02 AM, terrydtx said:

I am beginning to see a pattern here from many CC members, Santorini shouldn't be visited in the summer cruise season. We have a cruise next year that ends in Athens from Amsterdam the end of September. We are going to spend about a week in Athens and we are thinking that we might just fly over to Santorini for the day.

Why?  You certainly fly or take a ferry to Santorini but you should consider spending at least a couple of nights on the island.  If you cannot spare the extra time you might want to consider fewer nights in Athens.  We also recommend that folks consider a few days or even weeks island hopping (using ferries)

between multiple Greek Islands.  It’s fun and a wonderful experience.  Besides Santorini you might look at islands such as Naxos and Paros.

 

Hank

[iancal]

We have done numerous independent Greek island hopping trips.  We gave up on Santorini a number of years ago.    Same for Dubrovnik.    Too many cruise ships have spoiled these places during the day.

 

Cannot count how many times we have sailed by on the ferry but decided not to stop there.

 

As noted above, there are many other beautiful islands where the only traffic is the ferry.

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Why?  You certainly fly or take a ferry to Santorini but you should consider spending at least a couple of nights on the island.  If you cannot spare the extra time you might want to consider fewer nights in Athens.  We also recommend that folks consider a few days or even weeks island hopping (using ferries)

between multiple Greek Islands.  It’s fun and a wonderful experience.  Besides Santorini you might look at islands such as Naxos and Paros.

 

Hank

Hank,

Thank you for your recommendations. How easy is it to shlep luggage on the Ferries? By the time we get to Athens and we will have been gone for 30 days on the trip. We have a river cruise to Amsterdam before we board the Celebrity Apex from Amsterdam to Athens with several land days in Lucerne and Amsterdam. We will have a lot of luggage between the 4 of us on the trip. I like the  idea of doing a couple of islands by ferry.

[Hlitner]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Hank,

Thank you for your recommendations. How easy is it to shlep luggage on the Ferries? By the time we get to Athens and we will have been gone for 30 days on the trip. We have a river cruise to Amsterdam before we board the Celebrity Apex from Amsterdam to Athens with several land days in Lucerne and Amsterdam. We will have a lot of luggage between the 4 of us on the trip. I like the  idea of doing a couple of islands by ferry.

Argh!  I cannot tell a lie and dragging lots of luggage on and off ferries can be a challenge.  
 

Hank

[iancal]

We have done Greece  island hopping three ways.  

 

We usually fly into Athens and go to Piraeus and island hop our way down to Crete.  At least a week in Crete.   Last time it was Corfu and then the other Ionian islands.   Several years we started  ferry hopping in Marmaris, Turkey by heading south to Rhodes.  The smaller, less crowded islands are beautiful.  

 

Cannot imagine doing it with lots of bags.  We do a fair amount of travel by ferry in Greece and in Thailand.   It is one of the reasons we each switched to carry on rollers.  You have to walk on with your bags more often than not  no one to assist you.  We are in our very late 60's.

 

IF you are spending time in Athens before and after you could store you big cases at the hotel, pack a small bag and hit the ferries to various islands down to Heraklion.  Then an inexpensive flight back to Athens.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by iancal

[Stakeout]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:35 PM, kiefaber455 said:

Of all the ports we were looking forward to going to on our Sunsets and Adriatic Gems cruise, Santorini was #1 on the list.

For some reason, HAL has removed it and replaced it with Nafplion. Has anyone ever been there?

Really disappointed.

sorry to hear about the Santorini cancellation... we are supposed to be there on Oct 13 this year... my guess is-- it will be cancelled...  we have 5 back to backs booked on the Oosterdam from Sept 16 thru Nov 19 on our 50th Anniversary cruise.. and with all that is going on in Europe who knows what might else be cancelled...  trying to come up with a 'backup Plan B' in case it all gets cancelled 

 

we were in Nafplion in Oct 2018 on a 38 day cruise on the Oosterdam .. along with Santorini.. here's some pics of Nafplion on my Blog  if you care to take a look.. click on any pic to make it larger..   https://stakeouttoo.blogspot.com/2018/10/day-8-nafplion-greece.html   .. and some pics on our stop in Santorini that same cruise.. https://stakeouttoo.blogspot.com/2018/10/santorini-greece.html

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, Stakeout said:

sorry to hear about the Santorini cancellation... we are supposed to be there on Oct 13 this year... my guess is-- it will be cancelled...  we have 5 back to backs booked on the Oosterdam from Sept 16 thru Nov 19 on our 50th Anniversary cruise.. and with all that is going on in Europe who knows what might else be cancelled...  trying to come up with a 'backup Plan B' in case it all gets cancelled 

It looks like your cruise in October will still include Santorini. It is the earlier Oosterdam ones that lost Santorini like our Aug 5th departure and we also lost Sauda Crete.

[terrydtx]

20 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

It looks like your cruise in October will still include Santorini. It is the earlier Oosterdam ones that lost Santorini like our Aug 5th departure and we also lost Sauda Crete.

I meant our Aug 21st departure.

[GeorgeCharlie]

We visited both Nafplion (May 31) and Santorini (June 14) in 2012, onboard the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

From reviewing our pictures and notes, it seems we did not find Santorini all that crowded - but, of course, that's 10 years ago.

 

There were two other smaller cruise ships, but they didn't arrive until the afternoon, by which time most of the people from our ship were headed back.

 

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

Regarding your question about visiting Nafplion.

 

Like Santorini, tourism is the main industry for Nafplion. 

 

It was a tender port, with the tender passing by the Bourtzi Castle, built on a tiny islet. The Venetians built it in the 15th century, and it’s a textbook example of the fortified defense architecture of the time. It resembles something patted out of a child’s beach bucket. From the town promenade, several small boats travel to the island every hour.
 

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam at anchor, with the Bourtzi Castle islet showing in the upper right corner. Looks like it is about half the size of our ship.

 

 

At the dock area you could catch the tourist train for the tour of the town.

 

 

 

 You could also catch rides up the fortress, which is the main tourist attraction for the town.

 

The fortress commands an impressive view over the Argolic Gulf, the city of Náfplio and the surrounding country. There are 913 steps in the winding stair from the town to the fortress. However, to reach the top of the fortress there are over one thousand. Locals in the town of Nafplion will say there are 999 steps to the top of the castle.

 

 

 

One of the tour busses at the fortress parking lot.

 

When we were there the town was out in full bloom, including the trees, people, and the shops.

 

 

 

Overall, there is not that much to see in town. So, as mentioned by other posters, it may be an idea to take a day-tour of some of the near by sites.

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by GeorgeCharlie

[bennybear]

We love Greece and have visited both Santorini and Nauplio  several times.   Last time we were the only ship, the Koningsdam, that could visit due to the dynamic positioning and winds. Other ships came and left when they couldn’t stay. So larger and newer isn’t always a bad thing. 
 

I would never write off  Santorini, it is stunningly beautiful, but over touristed in some areas.  But go to the other side of the island or Akrotiri and you will see hardly any tourists. 

I would suggest you fly and spend a night or two.  With all that luggage I wouldn’t attempt the ferries. 
 

We particularly love Crete but it is a massive island and we go for two weeks at a time, so far six weeks has not been enough.

 

We also understand the attitudes towards the cruise ships.  We spend winters on an island, where weekly the ship arrives.  We avoid town and the local beach that day.  I think the massive numbers of people are the main Issue.  

[whogo]

The Santorini towns of Fira and Oia seemed built solely for the tourist trade, nothing but cafes and tourist shops with a few scenic churches and windmills, assume the proprietors grouse about the crowds while raking in the cash. Glad we did not visit on a day with 6 ships and over 15,0000 cruisers.

[VMax1700]

Just now, whogo said:

The Santorini towns of Fira and Oia seemed built solely for the tourist trade, nothing but cafes and tourist shops with a few scenic churches and windmills, assume the proprietors grouse about the crowds while raking in the cash. Glad we did not visit on a day with 6 ships and over 15,0000 cruisers.

Wow, cart before the horse.  Built solely for tourist trade? Or maybe they had their integrity destroyed by the tourist trade?