Santorini excursion-which one?

[elaine5]

which is better?

Oia and Fira town: 4.15 hours

• Oia: Discover traditional Cycladic cave houses, awe-inspiring seascapes and more while leisurely exploring one of Greece’s most postcard-worthy villages.
• Fira: Visit Santorini island’s beautiful capital village surrounded by panoramic vistas.
• Roundtrip transfers: Your tour includes motor coach transportation. 
• or
• Island of Santorini and Fira town: 5.30 hour
• Oia: Meander along winding cobblestone paths perched high above the volcanic caldera, peeking in art galleries and artisan shops.
• Santorini: Drink in the island's world-famous wines with a tasting of three varietals accompanied by locally produced cheese, olives and tomatoes.
• Fira: Enjoy free time to explore this buzzing cityscape, shop, dine on Greek cuisine, or snap selfies with the caldera.
•  

[marazul]

The second is the same as the first, but it  adds a winery.

[elaine5]

how does getting back to ship work? can we stay in Fira and eat lunch?

[mapleleaves]

18 minutes ago, elaine5 said:

how does getting back to ship work? can we stay in Fira and eat lunch?

what's your port time, or, how much time do you have left after the tour?

Keep in mind that it could be a very long wait at the cable car to get back down to the tender. You might want to do a search and find out how many other ships are in port with you and their departure times.

Edited January 14, 2023 by mapleleaves

[elaine5]

End of August!

in port 7am to 8 pm. Excursion is 7:45 am (5 1.2 hours). 

3 ships with 12,500 passengers arriving 7am

1 ship with 2,500 at 9am.

 

7,500 leaving at 7pm

7,500 at 8 (us)

 

I'm guessing long lines at 4pm onwards? So, maybe we just get back on ship at 2pm? 

Edited January 14, 2023 by elaine5

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, elaine5 said:

how does getting back to ship work? can we stay in Fira and eat lunch?

The norm is that you tour will end in Fira where you will ultimately be on your own to take the cable car down to the tender pier.  The cable car lines can be quite long, but that is just the nature of the beast as that cable car can only move about 600 persons per hour (each way).   However, lately we have heard of a few cruise ship excursions that will end back at the small ferry port of Athinios where folks are tendered back to their ship.  We have never seen such a tour, but apparently a few cruise lines are providing that option.

 

Hank

[Over from NZ]

On 1/15/2023 at 8:39 AM, elaine5 said:

End of August!

in port 7am to 8 pm. Excursion is 7:45 am (5 1.2 hours). 

3 ships with 12,500 passengers arriving 7am

1 ship with 2,500 at 9am.

 

7,500 leaving at 7pm

7,500 at 8 (us)

 

I'm guessing long lines at 4pm onwards? So, maybe we just get back on ship at 2pm? 

Your excursion will finish in Fira where the cable-car is. You're there till 8pm - so no panic at all. Spend a few extra hours or the afternoon in Fira after the excursion. 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, Over from NZ said:

Spend a few extra hours or the afternoon in Fira after the excursion. 

Don't miss the little museum. It has some really nice stuff from Akrotiri.

Edited January 16, 2023 by marazul

[elaine5]

On 1/14/2023 at 6:26 PM, Hlitner said:

However, lately we have heard of a few cruise ship excursions that will end back at the small ferry port of Athinios where folks are tendered back to their ship.  We have never seen such a tour, but apparently a few cruise lines are providing that option

It says RT from Athinios-- looks like the description shows. I guess we could decide on the fly to get down on our own if we wanted to stay. 

[MeHeartCruising]

 

20 minutes ago, elaine5 said:

It says RT from Athinios-- looks like the description shows. I guess we could decide on the fly to get down on our own if we wanted to stay. 

 

The wrinkle in that plan will be if they decide to visit the sites in a different order than stated in the excursion's description.  They usually reserve the right to do this on most excursions.  In fact, I've seen them do this to spread the multiple excursions out so that all the buses don't all visit each location at the same time.  There may be 5 or more buses all doing the same excursion if there is enough demand.  It may turn out that the Winery is your final stop before heading back to Athinios.  And you won't really know this until you are on the bus.  It is a last minute decision, not one that your cruise line call center agents will know anything about.

 

Now, while that could happen, I would think they will make Fira the last stop so that you could stay there for the rest of the day and then take the cable car or donkey path walkway down on your own if you so choose.   I hope that's the case for the OP since they are going to be in port for several hours after the excursion appears to end.  You won't probably be escorted around Fira much.  The visit there is mostly about shopping, dining, drinking, mixed with some sightseeing.

Edited January 16, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[Hlitner]

9 minutes ago, elaine5 said:

It says RT from Athinios-- looks like the description shows. I guess we could decide on the fly to get down on our own if we wanted to stay. 

If your excursion returns you to Fira, near the end of your tour, you could certainly tell your guide that you want to leave the tour and go back on your own.  Keep in mind that the only way you can get back on your own is to get to Fira and then make your way down to the tender pier via the Cable Car or walking (lots of steps and some donkey poop).  You are probably already aware that taking the cable car down can often involve a very long queue at the upper station (especially if there are multiple ships in Santorini).

 

This relatively new trend of having some cruise ship excursions take folks back to Athinios does offer the advantage of those folks not needing to deal with getting down to the tender pier located below Fira.  The ferry port of Athinios (this is NOT the same place as the tender pier located below Fira) is the one place where tour buses and other vehicles can access a pier.  The norm on Santorini is that everyone uses locally owned shore-based tenders which are actually significantly larger than the ship's own tenders.

 

The Authorities on Santorini have been trying to resolve the issue with Cable Car queues (at Fira) which cause many cruise ships to delay their departure in order to get their folks back to the ship.  We have seen the cable car queue delay folks by at least 2 hours as several thousand all want to get down at the same time.  It can be a lousy ending to what would normally be a fantastic day on this wonderful island.

 

Hank

[elaine5]

thanks to all. I think we'll just do the longer tour and if it swaps stops and goes back to ship, call it a day.

[MeHeartCruising]

Given your long day in port, even if the excursion takes you back to the ship directly, you could then hop on the regular tenders and go back up to Fira via the cable car.  And then back down in time for departure.  Being mid-day, the ride up shouldn't be too long, I would think.  Back down may be busy, however, as always.  You'd probably have time for several hours to do this.

Edited January 17, 2023 by MeHeartCruising