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-   -   Greece Ferry Help ?berth seats? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/greece-ferry-help-berth-seats-694714/)

emy79 Apr 7th, 2007 06:25 AM

Greece Ferry Help ?berth seats?
 
Hello! I am trying to book ferries from Naxos to Santorini and from Santorini to Piraeus for our trip in May. I am travelling with my husband and they ask for the gender of each passenger and then put us in "berth" seats. It says I will be put with other people of the same gender. How does this work?? I'd like to sit with my husband. Thanks!

GeoffHamer Apr 7th, 2007 06:52 AM

You don't say which ferry you're trying to book, but it sounds as though you're trying to book sleeping accommodation. The trip from Naxos to Santorini is too short for sleeping.
From Santorini to Pireas, you may be travelling overnight. You should have the choice of sitting in a seat in which case gender is irrelevant. If you want to book a cabin, book a two-berth cabin so that you will be together. Your genders are only relevant if you want berths in shared cabins.

Heimdall Apr 7th, 2007 07:01 AM

Further to GeoffHamer's post: suggest you wait until getting to Greece for your ferry tickets. The only time in May there would be a problem with tickets would be the Pentacost weekend, where some ferries returning to Piraeus on Mon 28 May could be fully booked, but even then only the highspeeds.

You won't need a berth on the Naxos-Santorini leg, as the trip on Blue Star takes only 2hrs 20min. You don't say when in May you will be traveling, but according to www.gtp.gr Highspeed 5 begins its Santorini-Piraeus runs on 25 May, taking only 4hrs. Blue Star, on the other hand, which runs throughout May, takes about 8 hrs, so a cabin could be an advantage. Personally I prefer to stroll around the ferry, so wouldn't want a cabin except for an overnight sailing. There are plenty of places to sit together with an ordinary deck class ticket.

pointofnoreturn Apr 7th, 2007 10:20 AM

To Heimdall - thanks for the tip regarding the 28th. Yesterday, I booked super-economy tickets from Naxos to Pireaus for 10 euros each person. Looks like I'll be lucky on the 28th but I still plan to buy tickets in Greece for Santorini-Naxos on the 25th of May.

20schwarz Jun 18th, 2007 08:19 AM

I have a similar question -- we are a male and female and would like to sit together if possible!

I'm trying to book tix on the Hellenic website for the Flying Cat 3 (Santorini-Sifnos). For "Accommodation Class", there are only two choices: "Business Non Smoking" or "Economy Non Smoking." For "Accommodation Preferences", there are also two choices: "Whole" and "Berth."

When I select "Economy Non Smoking" for Class, the form auto-selects "Berth" for me and won't allow me to change it to "Whole" (hope this makes sense). And, Berth is defined as "Passengers requesting berth in the selected cabin category, will be sharing the cabin with other passengers of the same gender."

Does this mean that my travel partner and I won't be able to sit together?

Also, I'm confused as to why we are getting "berths" when the travel time is only about 2 hours?

Anyway, I hope this post makes sense. As you can see, I'm kinda confused...

brotherleelove2004 Jun 18th, 2007 08:25 AM

20schwarz-

Don't worry, that's just a glitch in the Hellenic Seaways booking system. When you buy generic economy seating there is no gender separation. You won't be getting berths, you'll be assigned seating in the economy section. The Flying Cats don't have sleeping berths or cabins.

20schwarz Jun 19th, 2007 11:52 PM

Thanks for clearing that up, brotherleelove!


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