Oia on your own excursion

[MikeMary4449]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

Island of Santorini and Oia Village

Does anyone have a description of this excursion or is there a way to look up a past excursion?  I have order summary but that is it.  I’m curious if I just misunderstood what we were doing.

Have you tried looking at your tour in Cruise Planner?  You should be able to see the full description of the tour you have booked.  If that doesn't work, we suggest you call the Captain's Club.  Good luck.

[zitsky]

30 minutes ago, MikeMary4449 said:

Have you tried looking at your tour in Cruise Planner?  You should be able to see the full description of the tour you have booked.  If that doesn't work, we suggest you call the Captain's Club.  Good luck.

I’m referring to a past tour.  I don’t have access to it in Cruise Planner.  I don’t keep a description of each tour.  Maybe I should.

 

I can’t find the exact tour on the current sailing.  There is a comment similar to mine.

 

”Guests wishing to stay in Fira…. Must take the cable car.”  So what if you do NOT want to stay in Fira.

 

I take credit for my own confusion.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by zitsky

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

I’m referring to a past tour.  I don’t have access to it in Cruise Planner.  I don’t keep a description of each tour.  Maybe I should.

 

I can’t find the exact tour on the current sailing.  There is a comment similar to mine.

 

”Guests wishing to stay in Fira…. Must take the cable car.”  So what if you do NOT want to stay in Fira.

 

I take credit for my own confusion.

 

 

So the VITAL information is in the last line of the tour description " The tour may return by Fira or by Athinios depending on tour departure time". In other words, they CAN and WILL use both ways to get back to the ship. Either Cable car down from Fira then the regular tenders back to the ship, OR bus from Fira to Athinios port then special tender back to ship. Looks like it's dependent on scheduling, port schedules, morning or afternoon tours. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by kwokpot

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

So the VITAL information is in the last line of the tour description " The tour may return by Fira or by Athinios depending on tour departure time". In other words, they CAN and WILL use both ways to get back to the ship. Either Cable car down from Fira then the regular tenders back to the ship, OR bus from Fira to Athinios port then special tender back to ship. Looks like it's dependent on scheduling, port schedules, morning or afternoon tours. 

I’m asking if anyone saved their description because the language in my tour did not include that text and the title was different.  I suspect they may have changed the language after complaints from passengers.

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

I’m asking if anyone saved their description because the language in my tour did not include that text and the title was different.  I suspect they may have changed the language after complaints from passengers.

My sense is if that's how that tour was conducted in the past, then it will be the same. In other words how you get down from Fira will depend on a variety of conditions. 

[HeddaGarbled]

Yeah, that last line has definitely been added since I booked.

[kwokpot]

Just to add some additional information, there's a trip report current on the Celebrity boards where someone posted about taking a Celebrity Tour in Santorini. It was basically an all day highlights tour, where they tendered you from the ship to Athinios Port, and in a coach took you to a winery, some ruins, lunch, a visit to both Oia and then Fira, where one can EITHER stay in Fira and sightsee some more and then take the cable car down or walk the path and thake the regular Celebrity tenders, OR stay on the bus which will take you back to the Athinios port where you take the special tender back to the boat. The OP said only about 20% of the tour participants stayed in Fira and the rest stayed on the bus back to the Athinios port. This would match up with what the disclaimer in Celebrity tour description posted on this thread.

 

[zitsky]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Just to add some additional information, there's a trip report current on the Celebrity boards where someone posted about taking a Celebrity Tour in Santorini. It was basically an all day highlights tour, where they tendered you from the ship to Athinios Port, and in a coach took you to a winery, some ruins, lunch, a visit to both Oia and then Fira, where one can EITHER stay in Fira and sightsee some more and then take the cable car down or walk the path and thake the regular Celebrity tenders, OR stay on the bus which will take you back to the Athinios port where you take the special tender back to the boat. The OP said only about 20% of the tour participants stayed in Fira and the rest stayed on the bus back to the Athinios port. This would match up with what the disclaimer in Celebrity tour description posted on this thread.

 

The wording on my excursion did not at all mention the cable car and I was expecting to be bussed back to the tender.  Lesson to me to write down every little bit of info about my cruises.

[Moon Orchid]

I know this was the old post but I need help with Santorini day. I just got an email today from Royal:
 

Dear Guest,

Recently, the tour operator for your Village of Oia On Your Own tour has revised their description. To avoid delays in your return to the ship due to lines at the cable car, your tour now includes an hour of free time in Fira. Please note, you'll also receive transportation back to the Athinios port for direct access to tenders which will take you back to the ship. Guests who wish to remain in Fira for an extended period should advise their guide.

So does it mean that after Oia the bus will bring us back to Fira ,wander around for an hour then use the cable car to go down  to catch the tender back to ship ?
And the other choice is taking the bus back to the Athinios port, then take the tender straight  to the ship ?
For some reason I am so confuse with this port ☺️. TIA
 

[zitsky]

10 minutes ago, Moon Orchid said:

I know this was the old post but I need help with Santorini day. I just got an email today from Royal:
 

Dear Guest,

Recently, the tour operator for your Village of Oia On Your Own tour has revised their description. To avoid delays in your return to the ship due to lines at the cable car, your tour now includes an hour of free time in Fira. Please note, you'll also receive transportation back to the Athinios port for direct access to tenders which will take you back to the ship. Guests who wish to remain in Fira for an extended period should advise their guide.

So does it mean that after Oia the bus will bring us back to Fira ,wander around for an hour then use the cable car to go down  to catch the tender back to ship ?
And the other choice is taking the bus back to the Athinios port, then take the tender straight  to the ship ?
For some reason I am so confuse with this port ☺️. TIA
 

 

You should ask your tour operator to clarify.  I have been there and specifically booked this kind of tour -- "take us directly to the tender port by bus, NO cable car."  But at the end of the day they handed us cable car tickets and we waited for about 45 minutes.  Our tour description was a little vague and I could have misread but all the other tours specifically said "cable car".  So I would double check if I were you.

[Moon Orchid]

5 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

You should ask your tour operator to clarify.  I have been there and specifically booked this kind of tour -- "take us directly to the tender port by bus, NO cable car."  But at the end of the day they handed us cable car tickets and we waited for about 45 minutes.  Our tour description was a little vague and I could have misread but all the other tours specifically said "cable car".  So I would double check if I were you.

Thank you I will double check. Look like Viking Sea and Norwegian Getaway will join our ship Odyssey on August 31st.

[Miaminice]

5 hours ago, Moon Orchid said:

I know this was the old post but I need help with Santorini day. I just got an email today from Royal:
 

Dear Guest,

Recently, the tour operator for your Village of Oia On Your Own tour has revised their description. To avoid delays in your return to the ship due to lines at the cable car, your tour now includes an hour of free time in Fira. Please note, you'll also receive transportation back to the Athinios port for direct access to tenders which will take you back to the ship. Guests who wish to remain in Fira for an extended period should advise their guide.

So does it mean that after Oia the bus will bring us back to Fira ,wander around for an hour then use the cable car to go down  to catch the tender back to ship ?
And the other choice is taking the bus back to the Athinios port, then take the tender straight  to the ship ?
For some reason I am so confuse with this port ☺️. TIA
 

 

Yes, all the tours visiting Oia will bring you back to Fira. 
Both tender ports are in Fira - the old port and the new (Athinios) port.

 

The old port is the port with the stairs and cable car. It´s the port that the tender boats for passengers without excursions use.

The excursions including a bus tender to the new Athinios port.  Is the ferry port and it can be reached by car and bus. 

Most excursions actually involve a mix - bus in the morning and cable car in the afternoon.

However, the message you received clearly reads that you are given a choice

#1 to be taken back down to Athinios by bus or

#2 to stay in Fira for longer - in which case you´ll have to make your way down to the old port on your own. By cable car or walking down the stairs.
 

BTW: if you want to do  Oia (and Fira) on your own, why do you book a tour with the cruise line? You can also book the boat to Oia at the pier for much less. Granted, you´ll have to make your way down to the port in Fira on your own - which we never saw as a problem.

 

We´ll be in Fira again in June on Ascent - for the 10th time or so 🙂

 

Looking at post #18 might also help you. I tried to give an overview there.

 

 

Edited May 29 by Miaminice

[zitsky]

4 hours ago, Miaminice said:

 

Yes, all the tours visiting Oia will bring you back to Fira. 
Both tender ports are in Fira - the old port and the new (Athinios) port.

 

The old port is the port with the stairs and cable car. It´s the port that the tender boats for passengers without excursions use.

The excursions including a bus tender to the new Athinios port.  Is the ferry port and it can be reached by car and bus. 

Most excursions actually involve a mix - bus in the morning and cable car in the afternoon.

However, the message you received clearly reads that you are given a choice

#1 to be taken back down to Athinios by bus or

#2 to stay in Fira for longer - in which case you´ll have to make your way down to the old port on your own. By cable car or walking down the stairs.
 

BTW: if you want to do  Oia (and Fira) on your own, why do you book a tour with the cruise line? You can also book the boat to Oia at the pier for much less. Granted, you´ll have to make your way down to the port in Fira on your own - which we never saw as a problem.

 

We´ll be in Fira again in June on Ascent - for the 10th time or so 🙂

 

Looking at post #18 might also help you. I tried to give an overview there.

 

 

About a year ago I was booked on a Celebrity excursion.  We got to a port by tender then on to a bus.  We returned by bus to the cable car.  Then tender.  So I don’t think my experience matches your description.  Has it changed?  

I looked for an excursion that specifically mentioned buses with no mention of cable car.

[ijscheer]

On 9/3/2023 at 10:49 AM, Eloise4Ever said:

 

We'll be visiting Santorini in a couple of weeks on Reflection and are trying to figure out what, if any, excursion to book. I am considering "Destination Highlight: Island Drive and Village Oia". The description of that makes it sound as though guests will be bussed back to the port from Fira - see below:

 

 

 

Would love to hear whether those with experience think this description is correct or not?

We took this Celebrity tour about 15 years ago. As you state, it is not clear how you get back from Fira.  On our tour, we spent some time in Fira, had lunch, then joined the queue for the cable car down.  I believe we were provided with cable car tickets, but the queue was very long; at least 30 min IIRC.

[Miaminice]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

About a year ago I was booked on a Celebrity excursion.  We got to a port by tender then on to a bus.  We returned by bus to the cable car.  Then tender.  So I don’t think my experience matches your description.  Has it changed?  

I looked for an excursion that specifically mentioned buses with no mention of cable car.

It does match my description... 🙂
 

To clarify:
There are two ports, both belong to Fira

# 1 Old Port = Stairs and Cable Car, NO street
# 2 New Port = Street for buses etc.

There two types of booked excursions which involve buses

1. Tender to NEW port in the morning, drive up and around in a bus.

    Return to Fira Town and then take the Cable car down to the OLD port.

    Tender back to the ship from the OLD port
 

2. Tender to NEW port in the morning, drive up and around in a bus.
    Eventually return to the NEW port by bus and tender back to the ship from the NEW port.

    So no cable car.

 

Now if you are looking for a tour without cable car it would be a tour like the second one.
However, TBH if the tour description does not explicitly mention "No cable car" it could be either one.

The tour described by the OP specifically mentions the return to Athinios port and direct access to tenders - so he or she will not have to take the cable car for sure.

Edited May 29 by Miaminice

[AstoriaPreppy]

12 hours ago, Moon Orchid said:

I know this was the old post but I need help with Santorini day. I just got an email today from Royal:
 

Dear Guest,

Recently, the tour operator for your Village of Oia On Your Own tour has revised their description. To avoid delays in your return to the ship due to lines at the cable car, your tour now includes an hour of free time in Fira. Please note, you'll also receive transportation back to the Athinios port for direct access to tenders which will take you back to the ship. Guests who wish to remain in Fira for an extended period should advise their guide.

So does it mean that after Oia the bus will bring us back to Fira ,wander around for an hour then use the cable car to go down  to catch the tender back to ship ?
And the other choice is taking the bus back to the Athinios port, then take the tender straight  to the ship ?
For some reason I am so confuse with this port ☺️. TIA
 

 

As others have pointed out, there are two places tenders go in Santorini. If you have an excursion booked, you'll take a tender to the "new port," get on a bus and do your excursion. If you're touring on your own, you'll take a tender to the "old port," which is where the cable car/stairs/donkeys are. 

As of last year, a lot of excursions would tour you around Santorini via bus, then drop you in Fira where you got a cable car ticket for the ride back down to the tenders at your leisure (the stairs are treacherous and filled with donkey poop, speaking from experience). 

 

The issue is that Santorini is getting WAY more people and ships than the cable car can efficiently handle. It's from the early 80s, and not like a modern gondola system that you'd find in a ski resort or Disney World. I think the Fira cable can can handle around 30 passengers MAX per trip up/down, which at the end of the night results in thousands of people stuck in a slow moving line winding around town, and hour+ waits. 

We did the Oia on Your Own excursion on the NCL Gem last year, and decided to not heed the tour guide's suggestion to take the cable car down early. Instead, we went and chilled out at a cliffside bar as the sun set, only to discover a total mess as nearly every passenger from the five ships in port waiting for the cable car back down. It sounds like the solution from some providers on the island is to just tour you around, and then take you back down to the new port via bus for a tender directly back to your ship. It's not ideal, but will absolutely save both the lines and the passengers major headaches on guided tours.

[cw2go]

On 9/2/2023 at 6:18 PM, zitsky said:

Just a warning.  I was sure I had booked an excursion with tender transfer both ways. But at the end we were handed cable car tickets and a 45 minute wait.  So check and double check.

This happened to me as well. I even had a screenshot on my phone to verify that I wasn't mistaken! The write up and what was delivered didn't match! 

 

Patty 

[Moon Orchid]

On 5/29/2024 at 1:50 AM, Miaminice said:

 

Yes, all the tours visiting Oia will bring you back to Fira. 
Both tender ports are in Fira - the old port and the new (Athinios) port.

 

The old port is the port with the stairs and cable car. It´s the port that the tender boats for passengers without excursions use.

The excursions including a bus tender to the new Athinios port.  Is the ferry port and it can be reached by car and bus. 

Most excursions actually involve a mix - bus in the morning and cable car in the afternoon.

However, the message you received clearly reads that you are given a choice

#1 to be taken back down to Athinios by bus or

#2 to stay in Fira for longer - in which case you´ll have to make your way down to the old port on your own. By cable car or walking down the stairs.
 

BTW: if you want to do  Oia (and Fira) on your own, why do you book a tour with the cruise line? You can also book the boat to Oia at the pier for much less. Granted, you´ll have to make your way down to the port in Fira on your own - which we never saw as a problem.

 

We´ll be in Fira again in June on Ascent - for the 10th time or so 🙂

 

Looking at post #18 might also help you. I tried to give an overview there.

 

 

Thank you for your advices, after reading your post and see this video I decided to cancel the excursion with Royal, that way we can get back to the ship when we like to ( of course not too late ) 😊