Visited both Mykonos and Santorini on cruises in the past. Revisited again in the last year what a difference. In the past wandering around the lovely streets of both was such a pleasure. This time we could not move for the crowds crushed into the narrow streets. Shops and cafes crammed to the doors. All we wanted to do was get back on the ship. Just too many people!! 🙁🙁 These smaller ports are just not suitable for the huge cruise ships now sailing. It’s sad but they have to do something to limit the numbers.
Hey Don, I think a lot of these ports are looking at all the new mega ships especially the smaller ports and know they can't handle all those passengers at a time. Really can't blame them.
Just got off Celebrity Infinity, which visited Santorini and Mykonos-both of which I loved loved loved. They were full of people but it was too early for the summer hordes. 👍 I can well understand the call to limit the number of cruise passengers though. Hearing about people waiting in line 2 hours for the cable car in Santorini clearly communicates there is indeed “too much of a good thing,”
If you have more than one or two ships in port on these small islands at a time, it does make it unbearable for everyone. No one enjoys it whether you are a passenger or a local.
The cruise ships made their decision to make bigger ships without input from countries:ports. Most cruisers are quickie tourist where they only go to places easily accessible so they the other businesses who are farther do no benefit. Many need tourist to rents hotels etc but cruise ships are hotels. Cruising may seem beneficial to cruisers in the long run it creates inequity and like it or not jealousy
I think that cruise ships arriving in Santorini and Mykonos should be limited. I have been on 15+ cruises in the Mediterranean, and I can recall only a few times when I actually got off the ship in Santorini and Mykonos because there were just too many ships in port. Waiting in line for the cable car, blocks away for an hour or more, is not enjoyable in the heat. The first time I cruised in the Mediterranean was in 1988, and we were the only ship in port, which was a wonderful experience. However, when I visited two weeks ago, there were four boats in port, with an estimated 20,000+ passengers. Considering that the population of Santorini and Mykonos is only 10 to 15 thousand, adding an additional 20,000 people just leaves no elbow room. If the ports limited their daily arrivals to two cruise ships (one mega and one small), the problem could be solved.
You know Don, it makes complete sense for towns to limit cruise passengers and not other forms of tourism. The truth is that if you visit one of these towns through other means, you are much more likely to stay for a longer time and thus put more money into the towns themselves. Plus most other forms of arrival aren't putting between 2,000 and 4,000 passengers at a time into these towns. I love cruising, but think the limits are necessary.
Santorini is water shuttle and a nightmare when more than one ship there. Also, if you have a fear of heights you won't want uo go up the gondola and the 2 other options in over 100 degree heat like riding a donkey up a steep climb or walking that steep climb is not good. Also, the area at base where water shuttles arrive is small and people line up to get up the mountain to the town. I say visit wgen u can fly in. Doing off a cruise is terrible option.
It’s refreshing to see a city and the cruise lines working together on a project. Good for Greece to limit the amount of cruise ships in port at any one time. Larger cruise ships are not helping. Santorini is a bucket list cruise stop for me…but hopefully on a small ship someday.
I’m not surprised about the change in Mykonos and Santorini. I cruised theGreekIsles last year and after having a two hour wait for the cable car to get up and walking down the 558 stairs in Santorini, I vowed to never cruise there again!
Ive been to those Greek ports and the towns struggle with normal sized ships to be honest so there's a cat in hells chance of the local authorities letting the mega ships arrive en masse. Maybe the likes of RCI should have thought about the size of the towns that people want to visit before building them, because they are now driving nails into the cruising coffin of so many others.
We totally understand the Greek Islands situation. We were there in May. Way over crowded. 5 ships in Port when we were there. Sad, as it's a place to visit for sure and Santorini and Oia were the highlights of our cruise. .
We were just there in April and Santorini was packed. And it was supposedly their slow season. 5 ships in Port. I could just imagine when it's summer peak.
Going for the first time cruising Greece (Oct '24) and yes, Mykonos & Santorini are on our itinerary! If we skip these ports, we will be so disappointed!
Not surprised! We were in Santorini 9 days ago and experienced the mess of 4 big ships in on that day. We never got off, as our tender was called at 4:30, appx 4hours from when we got there. They kept announcing that the pier could not handle the number of passengers and had to slow down. We figured it would probably take a couple of hours to get the lift up and a couple down, so much stress we decided to stay onboard. Many people who did go had to walk down the stairs because there was a 2 hour wait to come down on the funicular. We love cruising but I must admit this cruise has left a bad taste. The other disaster was docking in Livorno! We had to queue up for one hour to buy shuttle tickets to get out of the port area because you were not allowed to walk out of the port. Three big ships in port, trains were on strike and cabbies were gouging for anyone willing to go Pisa or Florence.
Port fees & taxes have gotten unreasonable!! JJ Cruise is supposed to go on Villa Vie, hope they all get to go- not cheap and everyone made plans ahead of time! Satorini, is beautiful, but it’s become a tourist trap and too crowded!!
No surprise the cruise lines are rapidly installing shore power provisions on their ships. It won't be long before most ports require using shore power. Best to be ready for it.
I am not surprised that Santorini and Mykonos are limiting cruise ships. We went to Santorini on Marella and it was the only ship in that day but by mid-morning the crowds were horrendous with very long lines for the cable car. Santorini needs the people who are actually going to stay there and spend the money, not cruise passengers who flock in for half a day and leave!
So how does that work? WHO decides on the ship who can get off? If 6 ships stop that day how is it decided how many per ship is allowed off? What if a ship has to make an unscheduled stop? So many unanswered questions 🤨
You should at least mention the port that the Villa Vie Odyssey will be going to for the residents to embark. It is currently in a Belfast, Ireland dry dock.
My sister just went on a Mediterranean Princess cruise returning tomorrow and Santorini was canceled last minute prior to her departure. They subbed Crete instead. Reason given is exactly what you said Don. Too many ships at the same time. She was very disappointed that they couldn't go to Santorini
I've been to Santorini twice. The first time, there were 4 ships, one of which was a big one. It was a little crowded. The 2nd time there were 3 big ships and us and it it was a freakin nightmare. I'm in favor of this. Not to mention the amount of totally inconsiderate cookie cutter tourists that were off the ships. I can see why they're pushing for it. How can I tell they were off the ships? The dozens of flags and whatever the tour operators were waving over their heads. If you have never been there, you wouldn't understand.
I visited Santorini about 5 years ago and it was horrendous. Couldn't enjoy the island as you were constantly looking where you were going. It was just a massive procession of tourists. The need to limit the numbers is unfortunate but inevitable.
Don...please help us get the point across about high Port fees in Australia. Our cruise group currently has an ePetitiin awaiting approval. I have also contacted our Federal Member for Tourism Senator Don Farrell seeking his support to get the Port Authorities to lower our port fees, otherwise our cruise industry in Australia is buggered. Cheers, Tom Tyndall, Semin of Cruise Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific & the World.
Hi Don, this is really disappointing news that they are closing the two Mediterrian ports to cruise ships. Those are the two places that I would love to visit. As for the fee, it is getting more expensive to go anywhere now. When is inflation going to end ???
I wonder if the limit on cruise ship tourism versus other types on the small islands is because overall they make more money all around with the other types (i.e., bottom line is better with non-cruise ship tourism)?
Santorini was a complete disaster when my family and I cruised there last August. It was very crowded, disorganized, confusing, and people were very aggressive waiting for the cable car both ways. Never again!!!
residential cruise ships are risky as one company folded and the others are continually delayed. Greece is experiencing the same thing Alaska is too many all at once. That's what will happen when you keep building bigger now you have less places to go and I know I won't sail the same stop repeatedly.
All the increases in the port fees is good for the port but that is one more thing driving up the prices of crusing. Its a shame they starting to limit passengers in those ports. For some those are bucket list places to see. Hopefully, that will change.
I am in Tenerife with alot of guests from ville vie . In fact had one week extended to just under 3;weeks. Greece should just allow passenger ships with no more three thousand possibly a little less. They need to cut down daily passenger count not cruise ships. Most of my world cruises stop in either Santorini or mkynos but they are smaller ships
This is bummer news...if they follow through. I booked a B2B next April on Odyssey of The Seas from NJ to Rome and then Rome to Greek Isles. IF they cut out Mykonos or Santorini, I will most likely cancel that cruise. This is VERY disappointing to me. Those are buck list trips for me.
Cancel today. We got off the same cruise on Sunday. Our tender left at 4:00pm for Santorini. We only had 4 hours there. Next day, we were told there were 80km winds on Mykonos and we were unable to Port. I was so disappointed, as that was the reason for taking this Royal Carribean Cruise. Also, you can rarely access the internet on this cruise, and are unable to check the facts. After reading the comments on this blog, I feel scammed. Will never take another RC cruise. I have cruised on 4 other cruise lines. RC is not worth the extra cost. Hope this helps you with your decision. There is a lot of money and also time at stake. Biggest regret of my life.
@tkovacek100 as far as wifi, I have been on Odyssey twice before and it was excellent. I guess it must have been the location. Both of mine were in the Caribbean
You summed it up when you said when you picture Greece you picture Santorini. Santorini is struggling, it’s overrun with tourists from cruise ships, and people who want to come and stay there on holiday and spend money locally are being put off. People from cruise ships don’t spend much money as they don’t need to, but they create massive overcrowding and congestion. The island is no longer a nice place to visit. I’m glad I went years ago for a 2 week stay when there was a lot less ships. There are literally hundreds of Greek islands but everyone goes to the same ones with Santorini top of the list as it’s had so much exposure on social media, instagram etc. Something needed to be done for the sake of the island.
It's unfortunate that popular ports are starting to limit the number of cruise ships but I can understand their rationale. It's not uncommon to see 4 and 5 ships in some ports at the same time. I appreciate you passing this information on to us so we can plan accordingly. Some things are out of our control!
Cruising is getting ridiculous- too many changes due to overbooking! Celebrity will now have many children. being they’re going to Coco Cay! We saw lots on our last sailing. I love kids but not unruly ones!
The day we called at Santorini there were 2 ships in and it was seriously busy Apparently the day before there were EIGHT ships in That seems like greed from the island So yes limit the number of ships for everyone's sake !!!
So the cruise ship pays for port power infrastructure to use for 1 day a week? Is the area power grid able to support that surge requirements or do locals have to have brown outs when ships are docked?
Biggest plane that lands at Santorini (JTR) ir an A320 so about 140/150 pax but granted, a number of flights in the morning arrive. And those would be much if they are tourists, they are likely to get hotels, eat at restaurants, but would not be very interested if the place is overcrowded with 5000 cruise passengers filling up the interesting places and those passengers don't contrbute as much as those who end up staying on island. (and locals would also like to be able to live in their own city instead of sidewalks and shops being filled y cruise tourists who browse around). When cruise ships become too big, they overwhelm a city/island and make living and tourism far less iteresting. Consider how much a gang of tourists overwhelmed Ottawa a few springs ago with their camping on Wellington, complete with the hot tub, loud horns and the bouncy castle. Not that many people, yet managed to put the city in a stand still. Imagine 5000 people essentiually doing the same every day as they descend into a small island.
Shame on customs for not moving agents to allow a city that wants them maybe take a bunch from bar harbor as they wont need as many i think all the cruise lines should give them what they ask for and not go at all
Ok Cruise Companies - keep building & building ships so every port in the world starts limiting will cruise visitors. Pretty soon, there’ll be no ports of interest to travel. Thanks a lot!
All the hotels are upset because their clientele can't have a good time when the streets and beaches are jammed with cruisers who spend virtually nothing on the island. The cruise industry is literally destroying both Mykonos and Santorini.
Well, We are on the sailing of the Emerald Princess in 4 days (14 Days Canada / New England with 7 stops scheduled all the way to Quebec). Ft. Lauderdale to Quebec, Canada. The stop in Newport was cancelled a few weeks ago. ??? So, Rhode Island didn't want cruisers being tendered from the ship to the port. This is so freaking ridiculous. I wouldn't give them a penny in revenue. They really SUCK !
I had the sun princess booked for Greece in May of next year and I changed my plans. SOUNDS LIKE I MADE A GOOD PREEMPTIVE CHOICE!!! What is the point if you can't visit Santorini....just saying
What do you expect when you dump thousands of cruise passengers all at once for a 5-6 hour port stay. Airlines don't have near that many and neither do other forms of transportation. Seems cruise lines are building themselves out of business and for what purpose... money..
We cruised to Mykonos & Santorini, we chose a ship excursion in Santorini and had no problems getting around, yes there were crowds awaiting the cable car, we chose not to do that & returned by coach , fingers crossed for our 2025 cruise taking in those ports
I can understand why some people are attracted to these new Mega Ships because of the sheer amount of varied entertainment that they can offer . Some have many attractive spaces on board which are particularly attractive to families. This attraction might wear off if the majority of destinations for such vessels become the fabricated , company owned islands in the Caribbean which do not really give the authentic feel of the region. If it is just Fun , Sun and entertainment that the passengers are seeking they might as well just stay on the ships! As other people have already commented here the financial benefits to ports hosting this type of ship could be questionable and environmentally undesirable overall. My wife and I started cruising about 15 years ago and enjoyed it for the possibility of seeing different cultures .we particularly liked the opportunity of experiencing the special feeling of dressing up for certain occasions - it had a bit of theatre which is more often missing now that modern life is becoming (for us anyway)too boringly casual. I may be a minority in this view at present but I think cruising on this massive scale has a very limited future. Thanks Don
I'm not surprised about Santorini & Mykonos - they are simply too small to handle the new, larger cruise ships.
Could the new ships with 5,000 to 6,000 passengers be part of the decision to limit cruse ships?
Mega ships r causing overcrowding😢
2ships for Santorini should be the max. We were there recently, we saw 4 cruise ships. It means waiting waiting waiting. 😢
Visited both Mykonos and Santorini on cruises in the past. Revisited again in the last year what a difference. In the past wandering around the lovely streets of both was such a pleasure. This time we could not move for the crowds crushed into the narrow streets. Shops and cafes crammed to the doors. All we wanted to do was get back on the ship. Just too many people!! 🙁🙁 These smaller ports are just not suitable for the huge cruise ships now sailing. It’s sad but they have to do something to limit the numbers.
Just got back from Santorini and it was way too crowded to truly enjoy. There were 4 ships in port.
I thought santorini placed a limit a few years ago to 8000 passengers a day. What ever happened to that? Then again even that is too much.
Hey Don, I think a lot of these ports are looking at all the new mega ships especially the smaller ports and know they can't handle all those passengers at a time. Really can't blame them.
A 230% increase is ridiculous. Its price gouging. Maybe if no ships stop they will think twice about the fee.
Newport survived the fleet setting sail in the 1970s. That hurt their economy far more than seasonal leisure lose will.
What are they to do, the island is overrun and being spoiled for residents and tourists alike
Just got off Celebrity Infinity, which visited Santorini and Mykonos-both of which I loved loved loved. They were full of people but it was too early for the summer hordes. 👍 I can well understand the call to limit the number of cruise passengers though. Hearing about people waiting in line 2 hours for the cable car in Santorini clearly communicates there is indeed “too much of a good thing,”
If you have more than one or two ships in port on these small islands at a time, it does make it unbearable for everyone. No one enjoys it whether you are a passenger or a local.
The cruise ships made their decision to make bigger ships without input from countries:ports. Most cruisers are quickie tourist where they only go to places easily accessible so they the other businesses who are farther do no benefit. Many need tourist to rents hotels etc but cruise ships are hotels. Cruising may seem beneficial to cruisers in the long run it creates inequity and like it or not jealousy
I think that cruise ships arriving in Santorini and Mykonos should be limited. I have been on 15+ cruises in the Mediterranean, and I can recall only a few times when I actually got off the ship in Santorini and Mykonos because there were just too many ships in port. Waiting in line for the cable car, blocks away for an hour or more, is not enjoyable in the heat.
The first time I cruised in the Mediterranean was in 1988, and we were the only ship in port, which was a wonderful experience. However, when I visited two weeks ago, there were four boats in port, with an estimated 20,000+ passengers. Considering that the population of Santorini and Mykonos is only 10 to 15 thousand, adding an additional 20,000 people just leaves no elbow room. If the ports limited their daily arrivals to two cruise ships (one mega and one small), the problem could be solved.
We are sailing late September on explorer and stopping at Mykonos and Santorini hope we still get to stop there 🤞🏻
You know Don, it makes complete sense for towns to limit cruise passengers and not other forms of tourism. The truth is that if you visit one of these towns through other means, you are much more likely to stay for a longer time and thus put more money into the towns themselves. Plus most other forms of arrival aren't putting between 2,000 and 4,000 passengers at a time into these towns. I love cruising, but think the limits are necessary.
Santorini is water shuttle and a nightmare when more than one ship there. Also, if you have a fear of heights you won't want uo go up the gondola and the 2 other options in over 100 degree heat like riding a donkey up a steep climb or walking that steep climb is not good. Also, the area at base where water shuttles arrive is small and people line up to get up the mountain to the town. I say visit wgen u can fly in. Doing off a cruise is terrible option.
I also agree, when there are multiple large ships in port, its not enjoyable.
I'm never going to be on the initial cruise of any cruise ship, especially the residential ones. I don't have the patience for it.
It’s refreshing to see a city and the cruise lines working together on a project. Good for Greece to limit the amount of cruise ships in port at any one time. Larger cruise ships are not helping. Santorini is a bucket list cruise stop for me…but hopefully on a small ship someday.
Better to fly to Santorini and stay avoid doing on a cruise ship
Los Angeles had the ships plug in to the solar powered electric when I was there in February 2019.
I’m not surprised about the change in Mykonos and Santorini. I cruised theGreekIsles last year and after having a two hour wait for the cable car to get up and walking down the 558 stairs in Santorini, I vowed to never cruise there again!
Actually, cancelled a Sun Princess cruise because there were 5 ships scheduled for Santorini; cruiser overload…
Ive been to those Greek ports and the towns struggle with normal sized ships to be honest so there's a cat in hells chance of the local authorities letting the mega ships arrive en masse. Maybe the likes of RCI should have thought about the size of the towns that people want to visit before building them, because they are now driving nails into the cruising coffin of so many others.
We totally understand the Greek Islands situation. We were there in May. Way over crowded. 5 ships in Port when we were there. Sad, as it's a place to visit for sure and Santorini and Oia were the highlights of our cruise. .
230 percent is craziness. I qould hate to wait 2 hours for a cable car. Hopefully not the same wait time to return.
We were just there in April and Santorini was packed. And it was supposedly their slow season. 5 ships in Port. I could just imagine when it's summer peak.
Glad I visited them last month
Don when Melbourne, Australia, raised its port fees, mainly cruise lines took Melbourne off their ports to visit.
The cruise lines shouldn't deal with these ports implementing these crazy fees. Just go to another port.
Going for the first time cruising Greece (Oct '24) and yes, Mykonos & Santorini are on our itinerary! If we skip these ports, we will be so disappointed!
Not surprised! We were in Santorini 9 days ago and experienced the mess of 4 big ships in on that day. We never got off, as our tender was called at 4:30, appx 4hours from when we got there. They kept announcing that the pier could not handle the number of passengers and had to slow down. We figured it would probably take a couple of hours to get the lift up and a couple down, so much stress we decided to stay onboard. Many people who did go had to walk down the stairs because there was a 2 hour wait to come down on the funicular. We love cruising but I must admit this cruise has left a bad taste. The other disaster was docking in Livorno! We had to queue up for one hour to buy shuttle tickets to get out of the port area because you were not allowed to walk out of the port. Three big ships in port, trains were on strike and cabbies were gouging for anyone willing to go Pisa or Florence.
Melbourne Australia is paying the price on raising their port fees.
Port fees & taxes have gotten unreasonable!! JJ Cruise is supposed to go on Villa Vie, hope they all get to go- not cheap and everyone made plans ahead of time! Satorini, is beautiful, but it’s become a tourist trap and too crowded!!
Good for the cruise lines and Seattle❣️
Hurray for my closest cruise port, Seattle, for shore power ⚓️
No surprise the cruise lines are rapidly installing shore power provisions on their ships.
It won't be long before most ports require using shore power. Best to be ready for it.
I am not surprised that Santorini and Mykonos are limiting cruise ships. We went to Santorini on Marella and it was the only ship in that day but by mid-morning the crowds were horrendous with very long lines for the cable car. Santorini needs the people who are actually going to stay there and spend the money, not cruise passengers who flock in for half a day and leave!
How is your health Don..i praying for you..
So how does that work? WHO decides on the ship who can get off? If 6 ships stop that day how is it decided how many per ship is allowed off? What if a ship has to make an unscheduled stop? So many unanswered questions 🤨
Big cruise ships are already ready for shore power, its the ports that needs to install the connection for it.
You should at least mention the port that the Villa Vie Odyssey will be going to for the residents to embark. It is currently in a Belfast, Ireland dry dock.
The residential trip prospect doesn't seem to work out too well for passengers. Hope it sails soon for these people.
Glad to hear that villa vie is taking care pf the problems with shilp and customers
Loosing Santorini is very sad. That is the island I would love to go back and experiences it for a longer time
230% is definitely crazy!!
???? It is only $7. Check out the port fees in Bermuda.
My sister just went on a Mediterranean Princess cruise returning tomorrow and Santorini was canceled last minute prior to her departure. They subbed Crete instead. Reason given is exactly what you said Don. Too many ships at the same time. She was very disappointed that they couldn't go to Santorini
I've been to Santorini twice. The first time, there were 4 ships, one of which was a big one. It was a little crowded. The 2nd time there were 3 big ships and us and it it was a freakin nightmare. I'm in favor of this. Not to mention the amount of totally inconsiderate cookie cutter tourists that were off the ships. I can see why they're pushing for it. How can I tell they were off the ships? The dozens of flags and whatever the tour operators were waving over their heads. If you have never been there, you wouldn't understand.
Hi Don, it’s not Newport. It’s East port. In Eastport, a lack of customs officers dampens hopes of boom in cruise traffic
I visited Santorini about 5 years ago and it was horrendous. Couldn't enjoy the island as you were constantly looking where you were going. It was just a massive procession of tourists. The need to limit the numbers is unfortunate but inevitable.
Thank you for the updates
We're cruising on Voyager of the Seas to Mykonos and Santorini in August.
Mykonos and Santorini! Say it ain't so! You're on my bucket list!
200+ percent increase is staggering. I know everything is inflated but that's a bit much.
Don...please help us get the point across about high Port fees in Australia. Our cruise group currently has an ePetitiin awaiting approval. I have also contacted our Federal Member for Tourism Senator Don Farrell seeking his support to get the Port Authorities to lower our port fees, otherwise our cruise industry in Australia is buggered. Cheers, Tom Tyndall, Semin of Cruise Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific & the World.
Never heard of shore power, interesting. Yay for working together. Wow , doesn't make sense but totally makes sense. Got to still get money flow
And is there any indication that Newport’s 230% increase in port fees is actually going to be used to bring in more customs inspectors?
Hi Don, this is really disappointing news that they are closing the two Mediterrian ports to cruise ships. Those are the two places that I would love to visit. As for the fee, it is getting more expensive to go anywhere now. When is inflation going to end ???
Happy Saturday
I wonder if the limit on cruise ship tourism versus other types on the small islands is because overall they make more money all around with the other types (i.e., bottom line is better with non-cruise ship tourism)?
Maybe now Seattle will improve their port!
Santorini was a complete disaster when my family and I cruised there last August. It was very crowded, disorganized, confusing, and people were very aggressive waiting for the cable car both ways. Never again!!!
Same for us last July. Would only go if I fly in
Keep up the good work!
I agree if a port is raising fees to limit ships, then ships should stop going to that port
residential cruise ships are risky as one company folded and the others are continually delayed.
Greece is experiencing the same thing Alaska is too many all at once. That's what will happen when you keep building bigger now you have less places to go and I know I won't sail the same stop repeatedly.
these prices on fees are crazy
All the increases in the port fees is good for the port but that is one more thing driving up the prices of crusing. Its a shame they starting to limit passengers in those ports. For some those are bucket list places to see. Hopefully, that will change.
Do your bucket list with land trips. Will be much better and you will be able to see more for your money
I am in Tenerife with alot of guests from ville vie . In fact had one week extended to just under 3;weeks. Greece should just allow passenger ships with no more three thousand possibly a little less. They need to cut down daily passenger count not cruise ships. Most of my world cruises stop in either Santorini or mkynos but they are smaller ships
The problem with most governments worldwide is that they raise taxes and fees like this and still can't meet their budgets.
230%
No.
Hey Don
This is bummer news...if they follow through.
I booked a B2B next April on Odyssey of The Seas from NJ to Rome and then Rome to Greek Isles. IF they cut out Mykonos or Santorini, I will most likely cancel that cruise. This is VERY disappointing to me. Those are buck list trips for me.
Cancel today. We got off the same cruise on Sunday. Our tender left at 4:00pm for Santorini. We only had 4 hours there. Next day, we were told there were 80km winds on Mykonos and we were unable to Port. I was so disappointed, as that was the reason for taking this Royal Carribean Cruise. Also, you can rarely access the internet on this cruise, and are unable to check the facts. After reading the comments on this blog, I feel scammed. Will never take another RC cruise. I have cruised on 4 other cruise lines. RC is not worth the extra cost. Hope this helps you with your decision. There is a lot of money and also time at stake. Biggest regret of my life.
@tkovacek100 as far as wifi, I have been on Odyssey twice before and it was excellent. I guess it must have been the location. Both of mine were in the Caribbean
Raising the taxes is just a money grab for the ports
10:11 why do you ask TWICE to hit subscribe button?
Hi Don
You summed it up when you said when you picture Greece you picture Santorini. Santorini is struggling, it’s overrun with tourists from cruise ships, and people who want to come and stay there on holiday and spend money locally are being put off. People from cruise ships don’t spend much money as they don’t need to, but they create massive overcrowding and congestion. The island is no longer a nice place to visit. I’m glad I went years ago for a 2 week stay when there was a lot less ships.
There are literally hundreds of Greek islands but everyone goes to the same ones with Santorini top of the list as it’s had so much exposure on social media, instagram etc. Something needed to be done for the sake of the island.
It's unfortunate that popular ports are starting to limit the number of cruise ships but I can understand their rationale. It's not uncommon to see 4 and 5 ships in some ports at the same time. I appreciate you passing this information on to us so we can plan accordingly. Some things are out of our control!
Seems to be killing the golden goose.
I see a lot more ports putting limits on cruise-ship tourism; unfortunately, it seems I chose to begin cruising a little too late. :(
Cruising is getting ridiculous- too many changes due to overbooking! Celebrity will now have many children. being they’re going to Coco Cay! We saw lots on our last sailing. I love kids but not unruly ones!
Bas news for santorini…😢
The day we called at Santorini there were 2 ships in and it was seriously busy Apparently the day before there were EIGHT ships in That seems like greed from the island So yes limit the number of ships for everyone's sake !!!
Are you ok?
So the cruise ship pays for port power infrastructure to use for 1 day a week? Is the area power grid able to support that surge requirements or do locals have to have brown outs when ships are docked?
That amount is way too much but they can get away with it.
Biggest plane that lands at Santorini (JTR) ir an A320 so about 140/150 pax but granted, a number of flights in the morning arrive. And those would be much if they are tourists, they are likely to get hotels, eat at restaurants, but would not be very interested if the place is overcrowded with 5000 cruise passengers filling up the interesting places and those passengers don't contrbute as much as those who end up staying on island. (and locals would also like to be able to live in their own city instead of sidewalks and shops being filled y cruise tourists who browse around).
When cruise ships become too big, they overwhelm a city/island and make living and tourism far less iteresting. Consider how much a gang of tourists overwhelmed Ottawa a few springs ago with their camping on Wellington, complete with the hot tub, loud horns and the bouncy castle. Not that many people, yet managed to put the city in a stand still. Imagine 5000 people essentiually doing the same every day as they descend into a small island.
An increase of 230% is ridiculous.
Always gets the little guy with fees and taxes
Shame on customs for not moving agents to allow a city that wants them maybe take a bunch from bar harbor as they wont need as many i think all the cruise lines should give them what they ask for and not go at all
Ok Cruise Companies - keep building & building ships so every port in the world starts limiting will cruise visitors. Pretty soon, there’ll be no ports of interest to travel. Thanks a lot!
Too much of a jump too quick in port fees
Santorini is insanely crowded due to cruise ships. Unpleasant. Happy to hear they will end these ports. For the sake of Santorini.
Just need to stop these stupid mega ships going to the smallest ports
Why anyone would go on these ships beats me.
The price increase is 330%, not 230%
All the hotels are upset because their clientele can't have a good time when the streets and beaches are jammed with cruisers who spend virtually nothing on the island. The cruise industry is literally destroying both Mykonos and Santorini.
Well, We are on the sailing of the Emerald Princess in 4 days (14 Days Canada / New England with 7 stops scheduled all the way to Quebec). Ft. Lauderdale to Quebec, Canada. The stop in Newport was cancelled a few weeks ago. ??? So, Rhode Island didn't want cruisers being tendered from the ship to the port. This is so freaking ridiculous. I wouldn't give them a penny in revenue. They really SUCK !
We're supposed to be happy aboutmore, outlandish fees.
Glad I visited 42 years ago when travel wasn't this stupid.
Wassup
I had the sun princess booked for Greece in May of next year and I changed my plans. SOUNDS LIKE I MADE A GOOD PREEMPTIVE CHOICE!!! What is the point if you can't visit Santorini....just saying
Sad
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What do you expect when you dump thousands of cruise passengers all at once for a 5-6 hour port stay. Airlines don't have near that many and neither do other forms of transportation. Seems cruise lines are building themselves out of business and for what purpose... money..
We cruised to Mykonos & Santorini, we chose a ship excursion in Santorini and had no problems getting around, yes there were crowds awaiting the cable car, we chose not to do that & returned by coach , fingers crossed for our 2025 cruise taking in those ports
I can understand why some people are attracted to these new Mega Ships because of the sheer amount of varied entertainment that they can offer . Some have many attractive spaces on board which are particularly attractive to families. This attraction might wear off if the majority of destinations for such vessels become the fabricated , company owned islands in the Caribbean which do not really give the authentic feel of the region. If it is just Fun , Sun and entertainment that the passengers are seeking they might as well just stay on the ships! As other people have already commented here the financial benefits to ports hosting this type of ship could be questionable and environmentally undesirable overall. My wife and I started cruising about 15 years ago and enjoyed it for the possibility of seeing different cultures .we particularly liked the opportunity of experiencing the special feeling of dressing up for certain occasions - it had a bit of theatre which is more often missing now that modern life is becoming (for us anyway)too boringly casual. I may be a minority in this view at present but I think cruising on this massive scale has a very limited future. Thanks Don