Mykonos, Greece

[crjj]

We'll be visiting Mykonos aboard the Brilliance of the Seas (RCCL) in July 2009. Is this a port where you tender or dock? Due to rough seas do ships have trouble getting into Mykonos? Is it often bypassed due to safety concerns about tendering, etc.,? Thanks.

[tom_uk]

We'll be visiting Mykonos aboard the Brilliance of the Seas (RCCL) in July 2009. Is this a port where you tender or dock? Due to rough seas do ships have trouble getting into Mykonos? Is it often bypassed due to safety concerns about tendering, etc.,? Thanks.

 

Both are possible.

 

There's a traditional harbour at Mykonos town which is too small for cruise liners, so ships anchored offshore and passengers tendered in to this old harbour.

 

A few years ago a new harbour was built at a place called Tourlas, about a mile and a half up the coast from Mykonos town. Most ships now dock there, and the cruise line will arrange a shuttle bus into town (which they'll usually charge for). However, on a busy day there may not be room for all ships to dock so some would still have to anchor and arrange tendering. That said, I think it's unusual for that to happen. I've been to Mykonos twice, and we docked at Tourlas both times.

[crjj]

Both are possible.

 

There's a traditional harbour at Mykonos town which is too small for cruise liners, so ships anchored offshore and passengers tendered in to this old harbour.

 

A few years ago a new harbour was built at a place called Tourlas, about a mile and a half up the coast from Mykonos town. Most ships now dock there, and the cruise line will arrange a shuttle bus into town (which they'll usually charge for). However, on a busy day there may not be room for all ships to dock so some would still have to anchor and arrange tendering. That said, I think it's unusual for that to happen. I've been to Mykonos twice, and we docked at Tourlas both times.

 

Thanks for the background and insights. It is very helpful. The family and I are looking forward to the trip. Again, thanks.

[mek]

We were on the Brilliance three years ago and docked.

[sammiedawg]

We docked on Princess and paid $5 or 10 for round trip shuttle to town.

There was also a cruise ship tendering passengers into town

 

You do not need at our of Mykonos, it is easy to tour the main area on your own. Very relaxing to tour at your own pace, have a nice lunch, etc

[janchor]

We were tendered from Emerald Princess in May/08. Hmmmm! So I wonder how the decision is made???. I think we were the only big ship there that day because it was not all that crowded!

[cruisemom42]

It can be windy around Mykonos. I think that it's more an issue with the smaller boats (like the ferry from Mykonos to Delos, which is often cancelled due to wind) than with large cruise ships. I think that up to 2 ships can dock at Tourlas.

[ffnole]

It was a beautiful morning but high winds made it too dangerous. We sat offshore for several hours and then cruised to an evening arrival (instead of the next morning) in Kusadasi. Really hated to miss the island. The captain said it happens from time to time here. Santorini is protected and doesn't have the same issue.

[photographia]

We docked at Mykonos on the Orient Queen last summer. When we arrived, ours was the only ship there. But right behind us, within only a few minutes of each other, were two or three other cruise ships--and the last ones there had to tender, because the rest of us were already docked and there was no more space.

 

After touring Mykonos for a couple of hours, I was walking back to the ship and saw that buses carrying some of the pax from the ships using tender boats were just driving into town! Tendering takes FOREVER compared to just letting everyone off at the dock. And in this case, it was just the luck of the draw, we got lucky because we were a couple of minutes ahead of the others.

[Ladyvdr]

DH and I have been there twice. Once in July 2006 and again this July. Each time we were scheduled to anchor and tender into town, but each time we somehow managed to get docking space.

 

Both times it was pretty windy, but this last trip we had 50 to 60 mph winds. If we had not docked, the stop would have been cancelled. The ship was really rocking and rolling. Dishes and food in the buffet were rolling around in the Windjammer on the way there. The ferry to Delos was cancelled, so the passengers that had that excursion planned were out of luck. We had seen it on our previous visit, so we were okay with that.

 

We were charged $2.00 each for the shuttle to the town from the dock. Usually they charge more, but since we were originally supposed to tender without a charge, the ship took care of the extra $8.00. Even so, there were some people gripping about the $2.00. It was only $2.00 people, jeesh.

 

We only spent about 3 or 4 hours ashore this trip. With the wind it really wasn't a pleasant stop at all. If we had missed it, I would have been okay with that. I prefer Santorini anyway.

[Sailingscots]

We were in Mykonos earlier in the month on Thomson Emerald. We docked a little way out of town and Thomson provided shuttle buses free of charge.

 

It was very windy that day and I don't think we would have been able to get off the ship if it had been a tender port. I was certainly glad we hadn't booked the trip to Delos.

 

Sailingscots