sktutor

I am booking Blue Star Ferries from Santorini to Naxos in July. When I went to book it online, I noticed there were lots of options for accomodation class. Does anyone know the differences between "economy class", "economy super", "air seats", and "business class"? If I choose "air seats", there are many options. There is Lounge 3, Lounge 2, Lounge 1, Lounge 4, and Lounge 5 in that order. What are the differences between these lounges? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

GeoffHamer

I'd just buy a ticket in Santorini. It's not a long journey and the ship is extremely unlikely to be full: they might be fully booked to or from Pireas, but not between Santorini and Naxos.
If you really feel a need to buy a ticket in advance, just get the cheapest: you can upgrade to the more expensive lounge on board.

travelerjan

These ferries carry thousands of people. So if you buy a ticket the day before, at a Santorini ticket agency, you will be fine.

The trip to Naxos is quite short -- 2 hours? -- and so you don't need to buy more than the regular economy class. That entitles you to a deck seat, which you will want anyway in sunny July... and you can go in and sit in the cafe area if you tire of the sun.

Don't over-engineer these things.

Angiep

Is there any reason to make reservations for ferries in advance?
Our hotel in Naxos wants the name of the vessel a week in advance, since our rental vehicle will be waiting for us at the port.
We plan on leaving Pireaus on Monday July 7th to Naxos and then leaving Naxos for Mykonos on Friday 11th and then leaving Mykonos for Pireaus on Monday July 14th.

I hope it is okay to ask question instead of posting another question about ferries?

Thank you all so much.

brotherleelove2004

If you take the morning Blue Star "Paros" to Santorini you'll be leaving Athens/Piraeus at 7:30 AM, arriving Naxos at 12:40 PM. This ferry is a constant.

Angiep

Thank you so much for your reply.

Heimdall

Angiep, no one answered your question about booking in advance. It isn't strictly necessary for Blue Star, even in July (it holds about 1,400 passengers), but if you are certain when you are travelling, you may as well go ahead.

The plastic chairs on the outside decks of Blue Star get taken very quickly, but if you reserve an 'airplane seat' you can still walk around on deck or go for a coffee without fear of someone else taking it while you are gone.

There will also be Hellenic Seaways highspeeds to Naxos that get there a little quicker, and they should be posting their timetable and taking bookings sometime next month. For highspeeds in July, advance booking would be a good idea.

bozama

I took the ferries years ago , what I recall was the airline seats are inside, and inside was stuffy and nasty.
We sat out on the deck most of the time.

PS Bring your own snack and water bottle.

brotherleelove2004

Bozama I suspect that you didn't take one of the newer Blue Star ferries. They are a relatively recent addition. They have A/C and are quite clean and comfortable inside.

Angiep

Dear All,

Thank you for the great info. Since I am the youngest of the group planning a trip for 4, I want to be sure that I have it covered. Especially since we have 62, 64, and 75 year old traveling.

You have been so helpful.

bozama

Oh, didn't realize you had elder travellers, I would definately get a seat then as opposed to deck class. You can always wander out onto deck , but sometimes there are no chairs left so its best to at least have a reserved seat inside since I imagine when I am 75 I would be less inclined to enjoy sitting on floor of deck. LOL

Heimdall

Blue Star Ferries have three ships (Paros, Naxos, and Ithaki) that run in the Cyclades, and all are relatively new. Yes, they are air-conditioned inside, unlike the old rust buckets operated by some other companies.

Last September I traveled back to Piraeus with a Greek friend, and to sit with her, spent an extra €3 for a reserved airplane seat. When I got up to walk around, all the plastic chairs on the outside decks were taken. All the seats in the Goodys restaurant area were also taken, mostly by passengers who weren't even eating.

Should you choose to go by highspeed instead, tickets will be issued by seat number, and the seats inside. There are both smoking and non-smoking sections. The non-smoking sections on Blue Star are better isolated from smoking areas than those on the smaller highspeeds.

I agree with brotherleelove - get reserved seats.

sallyjane3

bookmarking

repete

The separation between smoking and non was a big plus for us compared to other lines. We enjoyed Blue Star's Paros as the best ferry we've used.

The airline seats are very nice, especially for longer trips.