Visiting Santorini on a cruise just got more complicated
In summer 2025, visiting popular cruise destinations in Greece during peak season became more expensive as the country rolled out a new cruise passenger fee to support port infrastructure improvement projects and other tourism-related initiatives.
Cruising to the most popular Greek ports of Santorini and Mykonos now comes with a 20-euro per-passenger fee from June through September. For other Greek islands, the peak-season fee is five euros.
To encourage more off-season travel, Greece cuts its cruise passenger fees significantly outside of peak season. In Santorini and Mykonos, the cruise passenger fee drops to 12 euros per passenger in October and four euros from November to March. In April and May, the fee goes back up to 12 euros per passenger before the peak-season fee sets in. Smaller Greek ports charge three euros per passenger during April, May, and October, and one euro during the winter.
In addition to the cruise passenger fee, Santorini set a strict 8,000-passenger cap to help control the crowds on the in-demand island, which previously saw as many as 17,000 passengers flooding the island per day during peak season.
Now in summer 2026, cruise rules in Santorini are being further tightened to better manage how passengers arrive to the island under the 8,000-passenger limit. And the new policy could mean longer wait times for transportation between the cruise port and the island's popular villages.
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Santorini is pushing cruise passengers away from Athinios Port
With two main cruise ports, Athinios Port and the Old Port of Fira, Santorini can receive as many as five cruise ships of various sizes each day during the summer. Passengers are shuttled to shore via tender boats, but if everyone arrives at the same port, congestion can continue to be a problem, even with the passenger cap in place.
To better manage the passenger flow onto the island, Santorini is implementing a new cruise passenger distribution system for the two cruise ports in summer 2026. Under the new system, up to 70% of passengers from each cruise ship are required to disembark at the Old Port of Fira, while only up to 30% are permitted to come ashore at Athinios Port.
Related: Booking excursions outside of your cruise line
That means that the majority of cruise passengers arriving to Santorini will need to use the island's cable car to travel between the Old Port and the village of Fira above. Although the cable car ride is only a few minutes long, wait times to ride it can be up to two hours at peak times. And with more passengers now required to arrive at the Old Port, cable car wait times could be even longer on the busiest days.
Keeping this in mind, cruise passengers visiting Santorini during the summer should plan extra time to get ashore for excursions and to get back to the ship after a day exploring the island.
"If you are visiting Santorini on a cruise this summer, allow extra time for getting back to your ship and check with your cruise line or tour operator regarding your arrival arrangements," local Santorini tour company operator KathrinSantorini advised Royal Caribbean cruisers on Reddit.
New Royal Caribbean beach club excursion expected to help ease Santorini congestion
The new Santorini cruise arrival system is rolling out as Royal Caribbean debuts a new exclusive beach club on the island this season: Royal Beach Club Santorini. Visits to the beach club are included as part of an Ultimate Santorini shore excursion designed to help minimize crowding by distributing participants between three sites: Royal Beach Club, Fira, and the picturesque village of Oia.
Participants are divided into groups with different departure times, which determines their excursion's itinerary order. Some visit Royal Beach Club first while others start their day with an island tour visiting Fira and Oia.
Related: A first look at Royal Caribbean's new beach club in Greece
No matter where they come ashore, those booked on the new excursion don't need to worry about cable car waits since participants are transported from the port by bus.
Whether you're cruising to Santorini with Royal Caribbean or another cruise line during the summer season, booking a shore excursion that includes transportation from the port may be a good idea if you don't want to worry about the potential for long cable car wait times.
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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 6:06 AM.