Tell Me About Santorini, Greece

[lawtyger]

Hi,

 

My parents will be taking their first cruise on the Celebrity Soltice on August 17, 2009, and because their computer/internet skills and knowledge are limited, I'm trying to help them by posting a series of posts about the ports they will be visiting. We've also purchased a book on cruising the Mediterranean which has given some excellent information such as what to expect at each port in terms of coming ashore (i.e. tender or no tender), what some of the popular tourist sites are, etc.

 

However, being a frequent contributor in the Caribbean forums, I know the power of Cruise Critic when it comes to members sharing their actual experiences at a port. Again, since this is their first cruise and to top it off first trip to Europe your experiences and advice regarding each of their schedule ports is, well, invaluable.

 

So, if anyone can describe their experience at Santorini or give suggestions for what is "the thing to do" in Santorini, it would be greatly appreciated. Is this a port you want to book and excursion or a port where you can see what to see on your own? All tips, advice and suggestions are welcomed :) and hopefully after some suggestions are made I can help my Mom (and Dad) get their feet wet by having them start using Cruise Critic and asking follow-up questions are their own.

 

Thanks for your help.

[tom_uk]

With the greatest of respect, have you done a forum search? Questions (and answers) about Santorini are probably tied with 'How to get from Rome airport to Civitavecchia' for the #1 spot here. Just entering 'Santorini' in the 'Search this Forum' box will bring up 250 threads.....

 

But here's a tip: the number of other ships there on the same day will affect things. (The search results will tell you in what way.) You need to look at this website to find this information. Click on 'Cruise Schedule for a Port', then on Greece, then select Santorini, then the right month & day.

[Susan-M]

Is this a port you want to book and excursion or a port where you can see what to see on your own?

 

That's very nice of you to help your parents get the most out of their Med cruise.:)

 

Based on what you've mentioned I would lean towards encouraging them to do a ship's tour here.

 

Santorini is a beautiful island, and exploring beyond Fira (the port town) is highly recommended. Many people take the bus to Oia to explore a bit further, but buses can be crowded (sometimes to the point of having to push your way onto it or get left behind waiting for the next bus when trying to get back from Oia). Taxis are another option to go between Fira and Oia.

 

Others rent a car to explore the island for the day (it's a small island with many incredibly scenic views and interesting towns to explore.) We did this and had a fantastic day ... but it was late September, past the height of the tourist season (July/August), and on a day when not a lot of other cruise passengers were competing for the cable car.

 

Tom's advice re checking for other ships in port is probably more important here than any other port if you are going to tour on your own. The cable car between the dock and Fira can get quite congested with long waits if there are several cruise ships in port ... especially if their arrival/departure times are similar. In August the island will be busy with other tourists as well (more competition for buses/taxis). Those who takes ships' tours are tendered to a dock where buses meet them, so no need to use the cable car.

 

Depending on your parents' physical abilities (going on your own usually involves a lot of walking), their comfort level with using local transportation in a place they aren't familiar with, and how crowded Santorini is that day, will help decide whether to do it by ship's tour or DIY.

 

One other suggestion (which you may already have done) is to encourage them to join the roll call for their sailing to see what others will be doing in various ports and perhaps to join some private tours.

[lawtyger]

Susan, thanks so much for your post, it is exactly the time of post I think will really help them because they seem very overwhelmed. I've printed out the Celebrity excursion list with was 40 some pages and they are having difficulty trying to decide which ports to do an excursion and which they can do on their own (it's just to expensive to do an excursion at all 8 stops).

 

I have gotten them signed up in their ships roll call but it is a little slow right now. Hopefully it will pick up a bit. Fortunately there were several first time cruisers in the thread so they felt a little more comfortable with their jump from never cruising before to cruising Europe for 12 days to celebrate their 30th anniversary. My only intention of this thread, and the other things my wife and I are doing for them relating to their cruise and travel, is to help my parents :).

[Fafos]

Santorini is of one of "must see" places in Greece..

 

The best "points" are Fira (or Thira), Oia and Akrotiri (archaelogical site)

 

if your parents stay more than 7 hours in island they can see all these sites very easy..

 

There are many tours with busses, mini vans and taxis: http://www.santonet.gr/tours/ - http://www.santorinicarhire.com/tour_guide.php

 

if they find another couple they can hire a taxi and visit all sites (all taxi drivers at Santorini speak English)

[Susan-M]

Lawtyger...you're welcome. I can relate to what your parents are going through, and if it's any consolation, all of the effort of wading through a ridiculous amount of information in guide books and on the internet, and anxiety over what to do and how to do it, will be well worth it because it is such an enjoyable experience doing a Med cruise. (We celebrated our 30th anniversary doing a Baltic cruise..our first cruise, but not our first time in Europe.)

 

One thing that I've found helpful is to have a binder with sections for each port, plus sections for hotels and travel arrangements, to take with you. On a port intensive cruise it's helpful to be well organized so that when you're on the cruise and preparing for the next day's port, you can simply pull out that section, review it quickly, and put it into your backpack or bag (I put the notes into a ziploc bag and then into my backpack.) If they start the binder now, they can keep notes on each port separate and refine it as they make their plans.

 

I've been to some of the other ports that they are going to (but not Rhodes, Messina or Ephesus) ... so will be glad to offer opinions on other ports if needed.

[Susan-M]

 

The best "points" are Fira (or Thira), Oia and Akrotiri (archaelogical site)

 

 

Hi Fafos,

 

Has Akrotiri reopened?

 

One town that we really enjoyed is Pyrgos.

[Fafos]

Hi Fafos,

 

Has Akrotiri reopened?

 

No:mad:.. they plan open the summer of 2011!!:eek: they trying fix this

shelter from 2005!! but you can see the area, you can not see up close the area..

 

Greek phenomenon:p

[David]

Having cruised to Santorini and also stayed there for 5 days, I can say that this is one of the most spectacular and beautiful places I've been to. The most important thing to factor in is your parent's ability to get around and, if pretty good, their willingness to be adventuresome. On our one day cruise stop we took the tender and then the cable car to Fira town, the largest and most crowded place on the island. You can spend half a day there just wandering through the streets and alleys, and having lunch high atop the island overlooking the Caldera. It's even more spectacular at sunset, but we have done both and completely enjoyed both.

 

also on our one-day cruise stop we took a bus from Fira to one of the beaches on the south side of the island (cant' remember the name -- but the beach had soft, but black sand from the volcano, and there was a taverna there.

 

During our 5-day stay we rented cars and covered many parts of the island, including taking a winery tour and visiting the volcanic island across from Fira (after which we opted to hike up the steps to Oia -- which turned out to be very adventurous since w shared those steps with donkeys and mules who came bounding down the hill like a stampede -- frankly I would not do that again). It's tough to fit too much in on a one-day stop, and the island can be incredibly congested if there are several ships in port. If that is the case, or if your parents are less adventurous, they should consider the ship's shore excursions. Otherwise, doing it on your own usually allows you to see more and provides plenty of flexibility.

 

Hope they have a great time. Santorini is not to be missed.

[vakamalua]

You didn't mention the ages of your parents, but please make sure they understand that it will be VERY, VERY HOT. Whatever they decide to do (ship tour, DIY...), they need to be prepared to walk on uneven and hilly streets, keep hydrated and wear lots of sunscreen.

 

Santorini is breathtakingly beautiful but can be very overcrowded in summer, so be sure to check out how many other ships will be in port. If more than two, I'd think about taking a ship's excursion to avoid the long wait at the cable car.

 

Kudos to you for wanting them to be prepared and get the most of their vacation!

[CintiPam]

Here is the Santorini portion of my cruise review from our first visit there last September:

 

"We took the cable car up to Thira (a 40-minute wait because many ships were in port), visited the small, old archaeology museum right by the cable car entrance, and then toured the absolutely fabulous new museum built to house the Akrotiri artifacts. This is a do not miss; the wall paintings alone are worth the trip. We had planned to rent an ATV to explore, but G. felt very unstable on one, so we simply rented a car from Europcar on the main driving street (40 Euros for the day), which even had automatics available (I cannot drive a stick shift). We drove directly to the lovely Oia, explored, ate lunch with an amazing view over the caldera, and then completed our driving circuit down the non-caldera side. I purchased some lovely linen items in Thira, and we took the cable car back down around 5 PM, with no wait at all."

 

I highly recommend a visit to the Museum of Prehistoric Thira, both for the fabulous Akrotiri exhibit (the best outside of the small exhibit at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens) and the excellent a/c and bathroom facilities! As many of you have read from me (probably all too often): this museum offers what is known today of the ancient Aegean civilization who were as ancient to the Classical Age Greeks as those Greeks are to the Greeks of today.

 

This June, we again will rent a car and explore the southern end of the island, including the Red Beach. We found that once outside of very crowded Fira, it was easy to drive, park and enjoy the lovely views.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Pam

[cjones0627]

I agree with the other posters....we were there in October and it was very hot. Also it is important to find out how many other ships will be there that day and that may be the determining factor whether to take a ship's tour or do it on their own. While it is very easy to DIY there are a limited number of taxis. When we were there we managed to get a taxi to take us to Oia and asked him to come and pick us up three hours later. Well you guessed it...he never came back for us and we could not get another taxi. There was a HUGE line of people waiting for the bus (which don't run that frequently). We were worried we wouldn't get on when it did come. Well, we crowded onto it and made it back to Fira to the cable car...the line up for this was also huge. We did not have time to wait to get on as our ship was leaving early (3:00 p.m.) so we had to run down the steps of the donkey trail (that was an experience!) We made it to the bottom just in time to get the last tender back but that was too close for comfort.

So I would say if there are going to be a lot of other ships there on the same day, or if they are scheduled to leave early, they should take the ship'e tour. If they have a lot of time there,DIY. (And make sure they have sun screen and water...)

Hope this helps....

[lawtyger]

Thanks everyone! I've made my parents aware of this thread and the helpful information posted so far so hopefully they'll see this tomorrow (My Mom uses the computer at the library since she doesn't have one at home but maybe she'll get to the library tomorrow). Fortunately, they both are in good health and don't really have any physical limitations (my Mom is 61 and my Dad 57) so based on what I've read so far it sounds like an interesting port which they should enjoy - I can see them actually riding the donkeys :).

[FiggyWig]

I have gotten them signed up in their ships roll call but it is a little slow right now. Hopefully it will pick up a bit. Fortunately there were several first time cruisers in the thread so they felt a little more comfortable with their jump from never cruising before to cruising Europe for 12 days

 

Hi Lawtyger - you should have seen my name crop up on the afore mentioned Roll Call - I (that is me DH & DS) are one of the 1st time cruisers on Solstice on 17 August that you mention. Unlike your parents, I have been spending way WAAAY too much time researching all the ports on our cruise (DH thinks I've deserted him for preference to the laptop:D) Never having cruised before I'm trying to get as much info together before the trip. I am creating folders for each port containing places to visit, transportation, buses, beaches (for me:rolleyes:) and water parks (for DS &DH:D) maps etc etc... I've checked the Celebrity organised tours but the costs to me seem quite pricey - We have travelled Turkey and Greek tourist areas before on land holidays, and given that we are inclined to do our own thing then I don't think we will be doing many if any organised excusions.

 

Your right though, the roll call does seem somewhat slow - but if you can get your mum/dad to check back there often (what name do they go under ?) - then I would be more than happy to share any details I've been able to find in my own research.

 

Figgywig

[lawtyger]

Hi FiggyWig,

 

I'd drag my Mom to my house or the library today but I'm at Disney World today celebrating my birthday. Hopefully she'll get to the library on her own today. They have been researching the trip, it's just not been via new resources like the internet. They have maps and information from AAA, and have looked at books and maps and will soon have a book specifically on cruising the Mediterranean (the one we bought them - my Mom's birthday is this Tuesday). She'll get better with the internet and does check the roll call but it's just so knew - at first she thought it was a chatting instrument which she didn't want to get involved with.

 

Anyway, just wanted to acknowledge your post. I should be getting a birthday call this morning from her so I will mention to her again to take a trip to the library :). By the way, while my wife and I haven't been beyond the Caribbean cruising we do enjoy hearing about other people's experiences. To us, cruise critic isn't just about logging on to ask a specific question or just answering specific questions for others. Hearing about other people experiences excites us. Heck, we want to do a Mediterranean cruise now too.

[Fafos]

lawtyger.. is your parents use donkeys at Santorini for transfer tell them ask from drivers don't run when go down the stairs because I am sure they will very afraid.. Drivers rush to carry much other tourists and forcing the donkey to run (special high season). This is not dangerous but do passengers to fear..

[FiggyWig]

Hi FiggyWig,

 

I'm at Disney World today celebrating my birthday.......... Heck, we want to do a Mediterranean cruise now too.

 

Many happy returns of the day...... hey I'm sure there's still availablilty on our sailing... why not make a rash impromptu decision??? :D:D The Med is wonderful even if a little hot in August - but as someone from the UK (well me in particular) who is sick of cold, wet English summers, I'm always keen to experience baking hot sunshine and blue seas.

[DoniaG]

I'll be making my much anticipated first visit to Santorini next month. I posted a couple of questions on the Celebrity board about the tendering procedure, and here's what I learned.

 

• The folks taking ship's excursions are tendered ashore first - and to a landing where buses can pick them up.
  
• Then the suite pax and others who are entitled to priority service go to a different landing to catch the funicular up to Fira. (Exactly who qualifies for this perk seems to be the subject of some mild disagreement. It also appears that different ships honor it in different ways.)
  
• Then everyone else gets to board the tenders. Evidently the tendering is done by locals rather than the ship's boats here, and I have no idea what the capacity of them is. (No one has complained about them, so they must be fine.)
  
• Once you finally get ashore, you have three ways to get up to Fira - ride the funicular (which is evidently NOT a form of mass transit); ride the donkeys up a steep path; or walk up the same steep path - sharing it with donkeys going in both directions.
  

On the advice of some posters over on the Celebrity board, we elected to make this the only day that we take a ship's excursion to avoid the possibility of spending so much time waiting for the tenders and the funicular that we don't get to soak up as much as we want to. There's a half-day excursion that is a general overview of the island. They leave you in Fira with a return funicular ticket about midday. From there, you can ride the bus or take a taxi to anything you saw that you want to spend more time with.

 

Summit is 2000 pax; Solstice is almost 3000. And it looks like our cruise is already close to selling out. According to CruiseTT, we'll be the only ship there. However, I'm told that the European based lines and smaller lines aren't always included on their lists. Don't know about your date on Solstice.

 

We're all about the same age as your parents and we have no fears about the physical challenges of Santorini.

 

Donia

[sea-explorer]

I have never been to Santorini but just popped in to highlight a couple of points. However, I see DoniaG has explained the first much more clearly than I could have. It can be difficult and/or time consuming to disembark & reach the stop, unless you take a ship's shore excursion.

 

Secondly, yes it can be very important in your planning to know how many ships are in port. However, to me Cruisett is not worth using as it does not list all ships in port. You could arrive expecting one & find there are a dozen. The only reliable source I know of is http://www.cruisecal.com. It is a subscription service but you can join for just a month for a few $ & glean all the information you need.

[Susan-M]

The only reliable source I know of is http://www.cruisecal.com. It is a subscription service but you can join for just a month for a few $ & glean all the information you need.

 

Sparky, I think that's an excellent suggestion ....that's what I would be doing if I had concerns about the # of ships in a port. We had 3 ships in Santorini, but our times were staggered. With 1900 people on our ship, tendering wasn't a big issue. We had to wait an extra 45 minutes, but our day there was long (7 a.m. - 11 p.m.) and worth waiting for the tender in order to enjoy a day of exploring on our own.

[mountainmare]

It is wonderful for you to help your parents plan a great trip. You said that this is their first cruise, is this the first time they have been to Europe or have they taken a land tour or rented a car to DIY?

If you do a search you will find that many posters here are DIY fans (I have never taken a ship tour and rarely use private guides). You should have your parents figure out what their travel style is and what their comfort level for DIY is. We just traveled with friends who after one day decided that ship tours were best for them because they simply were not comfortable not knowing exactly what to do or where to go. Like you--I went over the ship tours with them in advance, but it took one day of DIY for them to figure out it wasn't their style.

As far as what to do--everyone is different...for me it is about Red Beach and sunset in Oia. Next time we're hiking from Fira to Oia.

For others its about the little shops.

I know how you reacted to the search suggestion--but if you do decide to search you'll find alot of different ideas and when your parents go to the rollcall they will have a better idea of what to do instead of relying on just a few suggestions.

I did ride the donkey up (I knew that down would be an adventure) and it was a ton of fun.

[Cherokeemoon]

If your parents are only 61 and 57, then they are young enough to really enjoy the fantastic sights of Santorini. It is an amazing and magical island even with the crowds of tourists that visit.

 

I sailed on NCL Jewel in September 2006 with my 73 year old mother. We elected to take a cruise tour and were extremely happy with our choice. The ship's tours get tendered first and we took a bus around the island. We enjoyed an all-day tour with lunch, a winery tour and tasting and time at Oia. Our tour ended at the city of Fira where we were then free to explore on our own and take the cable car down to the ship tenders.

 

I would also recommend carrying water bottles because it will be very hot in July and there is no shade.

[jane02]

Whatever your parents end up doing, they will love Santorini. I was married there in 2005 and it really is the most beautiful place.

We are staying there post cruise in September and can't wait to go back.

[bossytyger]

Hi, Everyone. I'm Chris' Mom and I've been reading through the helpful posts everyone has sent. Santorini sounds like a beautiful spot. The donkey ride sounds most challenging to me, but I'm not sure about my husband, James. We'll definitely look into all your suggestions. Hopefully, I can wait to book some of the cruise tours until we're onboard, and they won't all be full. I live in Florida and love hot weather, so the heat shouldn't be too troublesome. I'm definitely going to bring a notebook to the library so I can jot downall the ideas I've heard. Thanks again and I'll try to link on more often. Chris, an overwhelmed first timer.

[FiggyWig]

Hi, Everyone. I'm Chris' Mom and I've been reading through the helpful posts everyone has sent. Santorini sounds like a beautiful spot. The donkey ride sounds most challenging to me, but I'm not sure about my husband, James. We'll definitely look into all your suggestions. Hopefully, I can wait to book some of the cruise tours until we're onboard, and they won't all be full. I live in Florida and love hot weather, so the heat shouldn't be too troublesome. I'm definitely going to bring a notebook to the library so I can jot downall the ideas I've heard. Thanks again and I'll try to link on more often. Chris, an overwhelmed first timer.

 

Aah Haa .... Hello Bossytyger ?? (Chris's mum / James's wife:D) - So you too are on the only 12 nighter cruise. Welcome to Cruise Critic. Have to say our roll call is pretty slow - was hoping to pick up lots of tips and conversation as other roll calls seem to be doing - but it just doesnt seem to be the case... maybe when we closer to sail date.

 

We are 1st time cruisers too and all I can suggest is to spend as much time as possible going through these boards - both on the Celebrity threads and here on ports of call. We plan to do as many DIY trips as possible - ships tours seem rather pricey.... so it's all research, research research.

 

Have fun.... and call in again on roll call soon - perpaps we can generate some more enthusiasm to post.

 

Figgywig