- I’m Taking My Mom To Greece!
- Guide To The UK Passenger Locator Form & Testing
- How & Why To Use VeriFLY For International Travel
- How To Complete Greece’s Passenger Locator Form
- A Perfect American Airlines Transatlantic Business Class Flight
- Grrr: Our Unlucky London Heathrow Misconnect
- A Lovely British Airways Business Class Experience
- Greece’s (Unfair?) Reputation For Bad Service
- I Finally Visited Crete: My New Favorite Greek Island?
- Review: Domes Zeen Chania, Marriott Luxury Collection
- Review: Blue Palace Elounda, Marriott Luxury Collection
- Ugh: I Was Accused Of Damaging My Rental Car
- Review: SeaJets Ferries Greece
- Our Unexpected Stay At Mystique Santorini #Bonvoyed
- Review: Canaves Oia Epitome Santorini
- Review: Katikies Mykonos Hotel
- Review: Four Seasons Athens Astir Palace
- Review: Emirates 777 First Class Athens To Newark
While I usually review airplanes, airports, and hotels, I also sometimes take trains and ferries, so I review those when I think it’s useful or interesting. During our time in Greece we took two separate ferries — one to get from Crete to Santorini, and one to get from Santorini to Mykonos.
In this post I wanted to share my experience with SeaJets, one of the biggest ferry lines in Greece.
In this post:
Why you’re best off taking ferries between Greek islands
While Greece has some pretty solid airlines (Aegean Airlines, Olympic Airways, and Sky Express), for the most part they don’t offer many inter-island flights. Rather if you want to fly between islands you typically have to connect in Athens, which is a time consuming detour.
Not only does flying take longer, but I find it to be a pain:
- Airports on Greek islands weren’t build to handle the number of passengers they have nowadays, and I find the passenger experience to typically be terrible
- The airlines time their schedules so that you typically have a connection of under an hour in Athens, which can be stressful; there are often ATC delays in Greece, airlines don’t pad their schedules much, and more often than not you’ll arrive at and depart from a remote stand in Athens, so you’ll be running to make your connection
That’s why I generally recommend taking ferries in Greece when you’re traveling between islands that aren’t too far from one another. Not because they’re fun, but because they’re the lesser of two evils.
SeaJets booking & pricing
You can book tickets directly on SeaJets’ website, and it can make sense to do so in advance. SeaJets has multiple “classes,” and I tend to think that paying for the most premium seating (known as Platinum Class) can be worth it if you can swing it, given the modest premium.
To give you a sense of pricing:
- We paid 84€ (~$99.60) per person for Platinum Class seats from Heraklion to Santorini
- We paid 78.80€ (~$93.40) per person for Platinum Class seats from Santorini to Mykonos
I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect with “Platinum” over “Silver” or “Club,” given that there wasn’t much info online. But given the modest price premium (~20%), I figured it was worth giving a shot.
SeaJets schedules can’t be relied on
Unsurprisingly, SeaJets schedules really can’t be relied on. We took two ferries, and had delays ranging from a a couple of hours to one day.
I booked our ferry from Crete to Santorini about a week in advance. Less than 24 hours later I received a notice saying that the ferry had been canceled. The next ferry would be either a day earlier or a day later. Go figure we had to then rework our hotel stays. Since our stay in Santorini was non-refundable, we decided to leave to Santorini one day earlier rather than one day later.
For our ferry from Santorini to Mykonos, I received a message about two hours before departure stating that the ferry would be delayed by 1hr45min, though the delay ended up being even longer than that.
During this time I also discovered a website that’s basically the ship equivalent of Flightradar24, and lets you track where ships are located. This came in handy, since I wondered if the delay could be even longer than posted, or if it might even be moved forward. Fortunately I could see where the ship actually was, and based on that could estimate how long it would take to get to us.
So yeah, SeaJets isn’t terribly reliable.
SeaJets Naxos Jet from Crete to Santorini
Our ferry from Heraklion, Crete, to Thira, Santorini, was operated by SeaJets’ Naxos Jet. This is a ship that was built in 1991, that can accommodate 700 passengers and 75 vehicles, and that’s 243 feet long. The ferry was supposed to depart at 8:00AM and arrive at 9:50AM.
Boarding started at around 7:30AM, and all passengers board via the ramp that also loads cars. Then you take stairs up to the passenger deck.
It’s recommended that passengers leave their bags on the car deck, though I can’t imagine just leaving bags there unattended, so we took them with us.
The cabin was massive, and made an A380 cabin look like nothing by comparison.. There was one main seating area that could seat the bulk of passengers.
While the seats were well padded, the legroom in the main part of the cabin looked tight.
There was also a cafe in this area, with food and drinks for purchase.
The Platinum Class seating was to the very right of the cabin, and was behind a curtain.
The Platinum Class cabin was significantly nicer and quieter. Seating was in a 2-2 configuration, the legroom was much better, there were windows, there were power outlets, and perhaps most importantly, the cabin didn’t seem to have the same percent occupancy as the rest of the ship.
There was a Platinum Class attendant there to take care of passengers. While you still have to pay for food and drinks, they bring them to you. That’s a nice feature, since the line at the cafe was otherwise long. I ordered a cappuccino and a muffin. I’d definitely recommend ordering before departure, since you never know how bumpy it will get during the ride.
We left the port on time at 8AM, and at first I thought to myself that this was quite an enjoyable cruise.
Well, that changed about 30 minutes in, when it got rough. Like, really rough. I’m not someone who has ever gotten seasick or who usually gets motion sickness, but my gosh, I was on the verge of puking. The poor attendant could barely stay on his feet, but kept having to pass out sick bags, as a countless number of people were puking.
The rough waters continued for over an hour. Things finally got better at around 9:45AM, five minutes before our scheduled arrival. Woot, I figured we made it! Then I realized there was no land in sight, so I looked at the map on my phone, only to realize we were only at the halfway point of the journey.
We ended up arriving at a little after 11AM, about 1hr15min behind schedule. I’m not sure if we were going slower due to the rough water, or what, but there was no explanation for the delay.
I was just happy to be back on firm ground.
SeaJets Champion Jet 2 from Santorini to Mykonos
Our ferry from Thira, Santorini, to Mykonos, was operated by SeaJets’ Champion Jet 2. This is a ship that was built in 1997, that can accommodate 1,000 passengers and 200 vehicles, and that’s 285 feet long. The ferry was supposed to depart at 12:35PM and arrive at 2:50PM, but ended up being delayed by over two hours. Nonetheless this ended up being a much better experience than our first ferry.
We ended up having to wait in the port for about an hour, since we didn’t know when exactly our ship would depart. The port in Thira has some cafes and shops set up, and as you’d expect they’re quite touristy. Nonetheless they’re popular, because if you want to get out of the sun and sit in the shade, it’s your only option.
When the ship arrived, boarding was conducted in an aggressively efficient manner, as people were literally shooed onto the ship. I’d guess that the ferry was maybe docked for five minutes before it left, and during that time they loaded cars and hundreds of people.
Once again, it was recommended that people store their luggage downstairs, but that’s not something I’d recommend doing.
This ship had much nicer accommodations for Platinum Class guests, as there was a separate room with a door for those with Platinum tickets.
Not only that, but the seating as such was also more comfortable than on the previous ship, with each guest having a table.
There was even an attendant and a cafe counter in the cabin, so that they could serve you directly from there, rather than having to go to the main cafe.
The menu read as follows:
I ordered a cappuccino, which was surprisingly decent for a ferry.
The ride took just over two hours, and unlike the first one, it was smooth the entire way, and the ride was almost enjoyable. I managed to stay productive for most of the trip, thanks to the fact that there was a cell signal most of the way (since we were passing other islands), so I could tether off my phone.
I guess because the ferry was running late, everyone was advised to already go to the lower deck 10 minutes before the ship arrived in Mykonos, so that we could get off the second it arrived. Once again they rushed everyone off the ship, and it was already on its way a minute after we arrived.
I think SeaJets Platinum Class is worth it
When I booked our tickets, I wasn’t sure if SeaJets Platinum Class would be worth the premium. Having taken two ferries, I can say with certainty that I think it’s a good value. Platinum Class is only marginally more expensive than the cheapest seating option (by ~20%), and the way I view it, the benefits include:
- Significantly more legroom and seat width, and on one ferry we even had a separate cabin
- Service to your seat from an attendant (though you still have to pay for food & drinks)
- The ability to more easily store your bags near you, since you have more space around your feet (I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my bags unattended on the car deck)
- Better odds of having an emptier cabin (on both of our ferries, occupancy levels were lower in Platinum Class than the rest of the ship)
So while there’s no priority boarding, complimentary food & drinks, or other special services, it’s still money well spent, in my opinion.
Bottom line
SeaJets is the largest passenger ferry company in Greece, and it’s definitely the best way to get between islands. While I found SeaJets to be highly unreliable (both ferries had major schedule changes and were delayed on top of that), it’s still better than the other option, which is flying via Athens.
If you come into your SeaJets experience with low expectations you shouldn’t be too disappointed. And if you can pay for Platinum Class, I’d recommend doing so, as the extra space and service makes it worthwhile.
If you’ve taken a SeaJets ferry in Greece, what was your experience like?
Thanks for the info on Platinum class. We are traveling for some time so we have a couple large suitcases.
Is it really ok to bring that size suitcase to our seats without getting the evil-eye and is there room to keep them with us if we do?
I don't understand this review either. Seajet (the name says it all: these are not really "ferries") is all about getting there quickly when traveling between islands - and not having time for a much more pleasant "normal" and much cheaper ferry. That's ok - but never actually pleasant. Unlike on a normal ship, you never sit outside, so it's not a sea nice sea voyage... Delays are common. In bad weather, connections are easily...
I don't understand this review either. Seajet (the name says it all: these are not really "ferries") is all about getting there quickly when traveling between islands - and not having time for a much more pleasant "normal" and much cheaper ferry. That's ok - but never actually pleasant. Unlike on a normal ship, you never sit outside, so it's not a sea nice sea voyage... Delays are common. In bad weather, connections are easily canceled because these ships cannot sail. But: Yes. This is a touristic thing. Greeks use airlines or ferries.
--- With around 30 domestic Greek flights every year, I don't understand what the author is criticizing here - so generalizing. Delays do happen, but they are rare. Athens is a pleasant airport. Apart from Heraklion, Greek airports are usually also pleasant to travel through - they are small, of course, and there is usually no lounge. It is often cheaper to fly with AEGEAN or SkyExpress than with SeaJet. So what...?
My luggage was stolen from Seajets on a ferry from Milos to Athens in June 2023. I have been trying to get reimbursed since then and the company has ghosted me. The most unprofessional company I have ever done business with. We were given the run around on the boat by the officer in charge (he would not give us his name or contact information). We filed a complaint at the port police station and...
My luggage was stolen from Seajets on a ferry from Milos to Athens in June 2023. I have been trying to get reimbursed since then and the company has ghosted me. The most unprofessional company I have ever done business with. We were given the run around on the boat by the officer in charge (he would not give us his name or contact information). We filed a complaint at the port police station and they have a binder 3" think with similar stolen luggage reports. We missed visiting Metorea, because we had to purchase clothing, personal items to use for the rest of the trip as I had nothing. I calculated between, personal items, hotels, rental cars I lost about $6300. They offered me 800 euros, I asked for 2000 euros, and they have ghosted me since June 27th. I will continue to appeal to the company through email, social media (they deleted my comments without reaching out to me) and sites like this until I am reimbursed.
My recent experience revealed that seajet turn turnaround left approximately 30 people stranded at the Naxos wharf wandering what happened. Seajet blame both Naxos port staff and the many stranded passenger. Naxos port staff say they gave boarding calls, that passengers didn't follow. As a passenger waiting well in advance at the marshalling area no boarding call was heard. Surely approximately 30 passengers left stranded show a procedural problem, not a passenger created issue. Whatever...
My recent experience revealed that seajet turn turnaround left approximately 30 people stranded at the Naxos wharf wandering what happened. Seajet blame both Naxos port staff and the many stranded passenger. Naxos port staff say they gave boarding calls, that passengers didn't follow. As a passenger waiting well in advance at the marshalling area no boarding call was heard. Surely approximately 30 passengers left stranded show a procedural problem, not a passenger created issue. Whatever I wouldn't travel with Seajet again.
A few years ago we took a ferry from Santorini to Mykonos. I was seasick ! In 2023 we are going Athens to Sifnos. I booked Platinum class and will take seasickness precautions!
If you book platinum is there a small outdoor deck?
PROS: (1) When the ferries run, they’re fast and the fastest sea route between ports. (2) Basic seating is comfortable enough even though the writer said that leg room is tight. (3) All other aspects were comfortable and most of the online ticketing worked fine.
CONS: (1) One of our trips was cancelled one day ahead of time. The only way I figured that out was that I was unable to complete online ticketing;...
PROS: (1) When the ferries run, they’re fast and the fastest sea route between ports. (2) Basic seating is comfortable enough even though the writer said that leg room is tight. (3) All other aspects were comfortable and most of the online ticketing worked fine.
CONS: (1) One of our trips was cancelled one day ahead of time. The only way I figured that out was that I was unable to complete online ticketing; only when I made a phone call to Seajets was I informed and told of my options. It would have been better if online they simply told me of the cancellation. (2) Boarding and disembarking is quite chaotic. While I’m in great shape at 70, in later years I may not be able to walk as fast nor lift my luggage onto the racks in the auto area. Seajets should have more staff assisting passengers. (3) Two of my 3 trips worked fine with digital tickets with QR codes on my phone. But on one trip the code did not show and I was forced to run back to a ticket agency at the port to have my tickets printed for 1 euro each. Seajets should offer a more reliable digital technology.
Thanks so much this is incredibly helpful!
Horrible service. Not only horrible but also unsafe. Very unsafe! Boats hurry up people while loading. Tickets not checked when loading, checking only when moving, turns out people take wrong boat. They are in the hurry to get people off the boat, so you have to try to walk while holding on to something, so you get thrown from side to side. Masks not worn for many people and it's quite packed on boat.
...
Horrible service. Not only horrible but also unsafe. Very unsafe! Boats hurry up people while loading. Tickets not checked when loading, checking only when moving, turns out people take wrong boat. They are in the hurry to get people off the boat, so you have to try to walk while holding on to something, so you get thrown from side to side. Masks not worn for many people and it's quite packed on boat.
Just too many things to write about unsafe experience unfortunately.
I think I may have just replicated your experience. I just got off Sea Jet 2 from Milos to Santorini this morning. It was quite an experience. People were sick everywhere. The passengers on both sides of me puked at least 3x a piece. People were screaming and bags were flying around the cabin. One woman got off the ferry literally whimpering. Thank goodness I read your review a few weeks ago and came prepared....
I think I may have just replicated your experience. I just got off Sea Jet 2 from Milos to Santorini this morning. It was quite an experience. People were sick everywhere. The passengers on both sides of me puked at least 3x a piece. People were screaming and bags were flying around the cabin. One woman got off the ferry literally whimpering. Thank goodness I read your review a few weeks ago and came prepared. I gave my entire family bonine and we were the only ones not sick as a dog. Thanks Lucky!
If going from Heraklion to Thira(Santorini) please avoid Seajets and take the Santorini palace(Minoan lines) it's on time has a more professional looking crew who were all very nice, cleaner ferry, cleaner bathrooms, bigger ferry, on time. You can take your baggage up top to your seating level because they have baggage storage area's on every level of seating. the prices are inexpensive especially if you join their club which saves 20%. The Vip seating...
If going from Heraklion to Thira(Santorini) please avoid Seajets and take the Santorini palace(Minoan lines) it's on time has a more professional looking crew who were all very nice, cleaner ferry, cleaner bathrooms, bigger ferry, on time. You can take your baggage up top to your seating level because they have baggage storage area's on every level of seating. the prices are inexpensive especially if you join their club which saves 20%. The Vip seating with table is so worth the price, you have your own restrooms (which get cleaned by staff during the trip your own cafe for ordering food. they even have the area roped off with a crew member standing watch. it's also cheaper than Seajets Plat seating. We enjoyed our Sunday morning ferry to Santorini 2 weeks.
Seriously though, I got about a paragraph in thinking hmm...this is similar to something I've read before. Then I realized it was a copy of this. Took me a while.
We are scheduled to take the 3:30pm ferry from Santorini to Heraklion. We are scheduled to arrive at 5:15pm and have an 8:20pm flight to Frankfurt. What are everyone's thoughts on making that flight given everything that I am reading, this might be risky?? Other options that people recommend??
For us was a nightmare, they cancel our 8am ferry from Santorini to Mykonos so we took the next at 11am with more than 1 hour delayed. We didn't get any notification, mail, nothing and the staff was very rude and unprofessional during the boarding process without apologies. Never again and not recommended it.
Don’t know how you ended up choosing the worst ferry companies. I have done ferries in Greece multiple times and never had any significant delays with Blue Star and others. I don’t really understand the mistrust of other passengers and your bags. Lock it and leave it. You’re all on a boat, where are they going to take it? What a pain to carry it upstairs. Just take your personal items/valuables with you. Do you...
Don’t know how you ended up choosing the worst ferry companies. I have done ferries in Greece multiple times and never had any significant delays with Blue Star and others. I don’t really understand the mistrust of other passengers and your bags. Lock it and leave it. You’re all on a boat, where are they going to take it? What a pain to carry it upstairs. Just take your personal items/valuables with you. Do you also not use the overhead bins on a plane in case someone steals your bag while you’re asleep?
My luggage was stolen from Seajets on a ferry from Milos to Athens in June 2023. Have been trying to get reimbursed since then and the company has ghosted me. The most unprofessional company I have ever done business with. I will continue to appeal to the company through email, social media and sites like this until I am reimbursed.
Then there is the high probability of a strike by the ferry workers, which impacted our last trip to Greece. We were forced to leave Santorini one day early to avoid the strike. Fortunately, we were able to check in early to our Naxos hotel, but of course we lost one day of our prepaid Santorini accomodations and incurred an extra day in Naxos. Travel is not without it's challenges.
Good article and advice, especially re upgrading to be more comfortable. Thanks also for the pics.I’ve been to Greece and it’s islands at least 10 times. Since there are over 150 inhabited islands, plane Vs ferry always comes down to where you are travelling to and from ie distance of trip, timetables, availability of plane Vs ferry, how much time you have and personal preference.On average, travelling out of Athens to a more distant island...
Good article and advice, especially re upgrading to be more comfortable. Thanks also for the pics.I’ve been to Greece and it’s islands at least 10 times. Since there are over 150 inhabited islands, plane Vs ferry always comes down to where you are travelling to and from ie distance of trip, timetables, availability of plane Vs ferry, how much time you have and personal preference.On average, travelling out of Athens to a more distant island is best done by plane. All planes are very reliable and usually on time. Aegean airlines has won the IATA award for best regional airline in Europe at least 7 years in a row and they are a professional and well regarded company . Olympic airlines and sky express are also very good.
Agree that ferries can sometimes be unreliable and there can be delays , however you discovered one of the reasons why!! The sea and weather aren’t always predictable, so when the travel conditions are not good, delays can occur, especially in smaller ferries, so sometimes companies delay to avoid rough conditions. Recommend also the website called Ferry Hopper in Greece for ferry and timetabling options. Oh, wish I was in Greece now!!
Hi there!
Employee of a major web portal for ferry tickets here in Greece.
Very nice article, learned some things I didn't know!
A couple of notes:
First, Seajets isn't the biggest ferry company in Greece. That title easily goes to Blue Star Ferries, especially after the acquisition of Hellenic Seaways. Although, as my boss jokes, they're really trying to make Seajets the biggest, as their booking system keeps having problems!
Second, as the vast...
Hi there!
Employee of a major web portal for ferry tickets here in Greece.
Very nice article, learned some things I didn't know!
A couple of notes:
First, Seajets isn't the biggest ferry company in Greece. That title easily goes to Blue Star Ferries, especially after the acquisition of Hellenic Seaways. Although, as my boss jokes, they're really trying to make Seajets the biggest, as their booking system keeps having problems!
Second, as the vast majority of Seajets' fleet is high speed catamarans, they're massively impacted by weather, and the small the the ferry, the bigger the problem.
The fact that you had many delays and changes is no news for Seajets, as they are the ones most prone to it.
Another type of vessel that seems to have issues all the time, are flying dolphins. As these are mostly former USSR vessels, their age is really beginning to show. I would much rather recommended other ferries, if available.
Let me know if you have any questions, I would love to answer them!
What would you recommend to go from Piraeus to Milos? I am very sensitive to movement and took the Flying Dolphin one year from Crete to Santorini. It was so awful. There were so many people vomiting. I would like to take a ferry where we can sit outside on the deck but I can't seem to find the ferries like this when I check my dates in June.
Toula
Thanks you for your helpful information, Ben. We're scheduled to ferry from Santorini to Heraklion next week and now I'm trying to figure out if I can upgrade my ticket (booked on ferryhopper, but I have a seajets confirmation #). It's supposed to be windy too, so maybe I should pick up some dramamine in advance?
Since you did not leave your luggage in the recommended area, where did you end up storing it? Was there luggage storage near the seats? Thanks!
Everyone in Greece treated us well. Airlines, airports, hoteliers, shopkeepers, restaurants, everyone really. Everyone EXCEPT… Seajets. As a universal rule, every Seajets employee and agent was nasty, rude, inattentive, and incompetent. The way they board their boats is chaotic and unsafe, with vehicle and human traffic unguided and intermixed, complete with hectoring from crew members to push onboard. The way they treat customers experiencing weather issues, so that when I tried to reroute, they treated...
Everyone in Greece treated us well. Airlines, airports, hoteliers, shopkeepers, restaurants, everyone really. Everyone EXCEPT… Seajets. As a universal rule, every Seajets employee and agent was nasty, rude, inattentive, and incompetent. The way they board their boats is chaotic and unsafe, with vehicle and human traffic unguided and intermixed, complete with hectoring from crew members to push onboard. The way they treat customers experiencing weather issues, so that when I tried to reroute, they treated me like I was the problem. The way they don’t publish up-to-date information on schedule delays and don’t send email updates when they change schedules. I only have one complaint about Greece and it is Seajets. Whatever you do, find another way to hop islands… even if it appears to add hours or fly through Athens… you’ll be out the time anyways if you hazard dealing with these foul, inept buffons.
My wife and I took SeaJets in 2017 Heraklion - Thira, Thira - Mykonos, and Mykonos - Athens. We went Platinum Class. As you say, it is a much better experience for the slight premium. All our voyages were pretty much on time and, thank heavens, the sea was as flat as a pancake (I get nauseous quite easily). Platinum Class was nearly empty throughout; in covid times this would be a significant attraction. We...
My wife and I took SeaJets in 2017 Heraklion - Thira, Thira - Mykonos, and Mykonos - Athens. We went Platinum Class. As you say, it is a much better experience for the slight premium. All our voyages were pretty much on time and, thank heavens, the sea was as flat as a pancake (I get nauseous quite easily). Platinum Class was nearly empty throughout; in covid times this would be a significant attraction. We had to order coffee, etc. but the steward was efficient and pleasant. (Of course, he had only about 10 passengers to serve). We were also astonished at how efficiently cars and passengers were boarded and deboarded. And yes, I kept our bags in the hold and had no issues. You simply need to go down a bit early to retrieve your luggage when deboarding. If I had a complaint it would be that the cabin was kept at Arctic temperatures and the windows were a bit fogged up. But I was very impressed with SeaJets and would go in their ferries again without hesitation.
My advice to you is, you should have taken Minoan Lines. Quick, fast, comfortable, mainly on time and very good prices.
Kind regards Jo
I would never use seajets. Their ships are filthy (generally) and their schedule is way off. They also just operate in the summer season and not any other time of the year. I’m a big supporter of ferry travel in Greece but will use Blue Star Ferries and Hellenic Seaways. They have huge ships and their food options are generally much much better than seajets and they are much more reliable than seajets.
I had a terrible experience with a ferry in Greece in 1982 -- from Heraklion to Pireaus. We were loaded on the large, car ferry and then we were stuck in port for 3 days and people were actually getting sick on the boat which was docked and hadn't even started moving. The ferry finally left and for 18 hours it rocked back and forth -- so violently that cabin doors wouldn't stay shut, dishes...
I had a terrible experience with a ferry in Greece in 1982 -- from Heraklion to Pireaus. We were loaded on the large, car ferry and then we were stuck in port for 3 days and people were actually getting sick on the boat which was docked and hadn't even started moving. The ferry finally left and for 18 hours it rocked back and forth -- so violently that cabin doors wouldn't stay shut, dishes crashed to the floor, etc. Literally everyone on the boat was sick the entire time. To this day, I will not take a ferry anywhere. Truly the worst experience of my life.
We fly either Aegean or Olympic Airlines when we travel in Greece and even though you sometimes have to return to Athens to re-connect for your inter-island flight, the airport in Athens is truly efficient and we've never had a problem or any huge delays. Last trip to Santorini, the ferries in July were cancelled for 3 days due to high wind and that is not worth it in my opinion. Could wreck a vacation for sure.
Did you know that the owner of Seajets is a murderer? Just google Marios Iliopoulos Brillante Virtuoso!
it is not clear to me why flying is second choice.
much quicker,
reliable time table,
no seasickness.
air ports on islands are small, true, but seldom crowded,
i fly when possible
Ben you should read this German article about the owner of Seajets : Marios Iliopoulos .He is suspected for various crimes. It’s breathtaking …
https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/supertanker-brillante-viruoso-2011-die-77-millionen-dollar-verschwoerung-a-8ce6d2d4-bf51-43ca-a97a-92566804ea74?sara_ecid=soci_upd_KsBF0AFjflf0DZCxpPYDCQgO1dEMph
Ben, We think Seajet is a wonderful way to get between islands. We traveled Santorini-Crete on Seajet 2, Platinum. It was cool to see where we sat in your photo. We were a bit disappointed that we weren't sitting with our traveling companions, but the Platinum Cabin was rather full (August)
Still our seat companions were delightful French professionals and we had a great conversation. Drinks (Greek white wines) were excellent and food was...
Ben, We think Seajet is a wonderful way to get between islands. We traveled Santorini-Crete on Seajet 2, Platinum. It was cool to see where we sat in your photo. We were a bit disappointed that we weren't sitting with our traveling companions, but the Platinum Cabin was rather full (August)
Still our seat companions were delightful French professionals and we had a great conversation. Drinks (Greek white wines) were excellent and food was better than expected - but service was slower than we preferred.
I agree that the regional Greek airlines are very good, and the travel process you described is as we experienced.
I think I took Golden Star from Athens to Santorini. 6.5 hours vs. 4 for seajets. I do not remember getting seasick at all - maybe I chose the longer route for slower speed. So you may have better luck with the slower ferries.
Isn’t there another long haul ferry company? We took several fast catamaran ferry rides Athens & several islands & Naxos.
No cars, one class, very comfy/roomy
Food, not so good.
Fly. Period. There is no debate or discussion.
Also unrelated note on the topic of flying: if you have a layover in Athens, the priority pass Goldair lounges have alcohol, Skyserv lounges do not.
Took ferry from Heraklion to Piraeus and was smooth and enjoyable ride. Overnight ferry tip: join Minoan Lines rewards program, not for the rewards, but it gives you 20%ish off. I stacked it with another promo and got a 110 euros cabin for 72 euros. (Numbers slightly off, too jet lagged to look them up).
I have travelled on Greek ferries around 30 times. I never found them unreliable. Cancelling a week ahead sounds more like a schedule change which is understandable considering COVID. Airlines do this all the time.
As for a delay on the day of sailing I have found they were always weather related. Like you stated boarding and disembarkation always go quickly, within minutes.
I also would recommend leaving luggage below. Why carry luggage...
I have travelled on Greek ferries around 30 times. I never found them unreliable. Cancelling a week ahead sounds more like a schedule change which is understandable considering COVID. Airlines do this all the time.
As for a delay on the day of sailing I have found they were always weather related. Like you stated boarding and disembarkation always go quickly, within minutes.
I also would recommend leaving luggage below. Why carry luggage upstairs, it not only is a hassle but dangerous for other passengers carrying heavy bags on stairs.
The picture "Cruising on the SeaJets Naxos Jet" shows the Mein Schiff 5 from Tui Cruises, right?
I just disembarkated Mein Schiff 6 today. It was a lovely cruise. Mask enforcement and Covid procedures were well executed.
Forget to add:
Loyalty programs of both German cruise companies (AIDA and TUI cruises) suck.
Can't understand who is ever going to sign up for this shitty programs.
Nice review. From my experience, weather also plays a huge part in ferry reliability in Greece. I’ve never taken SeaJets before but they seem decent especially Platinum class
The cancellations don’t surprise me as things had only just started to pick up post Greece’s lockdown. The early parts of coming out of lockdown even had restrictions on moving between districts/islands.
As for tracking ferries, I found the Marine Traffic app quite handy. Seems to have the same data feed as the above website.
I think the recommendation to store bags on the car deck is for safety reasons in case the ferry sinks. Imagine the chaos of trying to evacuate with bags everywhere.
Part of the issue with Ferrys is that they usually start in Athens and end in somewhere like Crete and stop off EVERYWHERE in between so delays are easy to happen.
Pick the bigger "slower" boats for less chance of sea sickness, faster ones are prone to sickness and delays in bad weather.
If you have big bags they WILL stop you taking them up the stairs with you so if you are scared to leave your bag down stairs like Ben then pack light!
Sounds absolutely awful. Why wouldn’t I just fly again? I’ll run to make my connection
Thank you for a good article that is not de rigueur. A good read!
I am curious what you would advise if we are only going to one island from Athens and back. Would you fly then? We are planning to go from Athens to Santorini for a few days then back to Athens. I had assumed we would fly since the ferry is so very many hours and after reading this, I think flying would be better since we are not going island to island? Your thoughts please?
Fly. As Ben said - it's the lesser of two evils for inter island but to/from Athens from Santorini there are plenty of flight options (Ryanair, Volotea, Sky Express & Olympic/Aegean )
Sky express do operate some inter island flights but the schedule is sporadic but worth looking into, I'd prefer that over a boat
@ Loren M -- From Athens to Santorini I would 100% fly. That's a really long ferry ride, so it's different than the much shorter ferries between islands.
Being Greek and having used Sea Jets a few times, I must say delays and cancellations are not directly related to COVID-19 and weather is rarely the cause; they are considered extremely unreliable among Greeks. I nearly missed a long flight connection because of a last-minute cancellation due to engine failure back in 2019. For me the main issue arises from the totally unrealistic advertised schedule and esp. the embarkation/ disembarkation estimation. Generally, all high...
Being Greek and having used Sea Jets a few times, I must say delays and cancellations are not directly related to COVID-19 and weather is rarely the cause; they are considered extremely unreliable among Greeks. I nearly missed a long flight connection because of a last-minute cancellation due to engine failure back in 2019. For me the main issue arises from the totally unrealistic advertised schedule and esp. the embarkation/ disembarkation estimation. Generally, all high speed ships suffer from this problem, moreso in the summer. Seasickness is also very common, because these ships are generally smaller.
Fly
Interesting story about the ferry in Greece. We were headed from Santorini to Naxos, and the information said to be sure and get there 60 to 90 minutes early. We noticed there were a ton of people in line, standing in the hot sun. I couldn't understand why this was the case, since everyone had to have a ticket to board the ferry anyway, right?
So I said, let's grab a drink and a bite,...
Interesting story about the ferry in Greece. We were headed from Santorini to Naxos, and the information said to be sure and get there 60 to 90 minutes early. We noticed there were a ton of people in line, standing in the hot sun. I couldn't understand why this was the case, since everyone had to have a ticket to board the ferry anyway, right?
So I said, let's grab a drink and a bite, so we sat comfortably under an umbrella while people sweltered in line in the burning hot sun a few feet away from us. The ferry finally arrived and disgorged its passengers, and when they opened the gates to let those in line board, people were literally running to get on. We just couldn't understand it.
We leisurely waited until the last few dozen people were boarding, and we had to wait in line no more than five minutes. Once on board, there were literally hundreds of empty seats to choose from.
Why are people such lemmings?
My guess is that have to be something with seats being unassigned or something similar. Anyway for me it's always a gauge of how civilized a country is in general. I'm from the deep 3rd world and I can tell you that's the common behavior in any similar setting, I just can't stand it.