Hello. My wife and I are traveling to the Greek Isles for the first time in June and July. We have never traveled on any ferries in Europe before or with the Hellas Flying Dolphins outfit and have a few of questions (probably ignorant ones) about their services.

For background, we are currently planning (and I understand schedules can change at random) to take the HighSpeed 4 from Pireaeus to Naxos ... then take the Express Poseidon from Naxos to Santorini ... Then the High Speed 3 from Santorini to Paros ...

Questions

1. Can we check luggage like you do with airlines?

2. How is the VIP area on the HighSpeeds differ from the Business and Economy classes? We will spend the money if there is some benefits.

3. Are economy cabins available on the Express Poseidan and other normal-speed ferries? What are generally the rates for them? Are there "VIP cabins" too?

Thank you in advance for your time and any help you can give us on this.

1/ No luggage is not checked airport-style .
You carry them as you board the ferry or the highspeed(leave them at some designeted areas)

2/On the highspeed ,when Vip class is available, do not hesitate to pay the premium for added comfort, separate non smoking seating etc...
If you have the possibility to board the highspeed 4 ,do not hesitate!
She is splendid!and it will be a travel experience.

3/ Do not book the expess Posseidon...it is an old ferry ready to be removed fro the service!

If you need to take a classic ferry then opt for the brand new ones of the www.bluestarferries.gr, they are fast,clean,elegant with full amenities including a fast food restaurant Goodie's and coffee shops.
Just book a 1st class lounge ticket and try to board the ship earlier in order to get one of the panorama's lounge seats ...for mega-views on the sea!

I disagree very strongly with the last response. The EXPRESS POSEIDON is around thirty years old but has been well maintained. She has lots of cabins of various types (she was built to run between Ireland and France, a 20-hour journey), lounges, lots of open deck space and a cafeteria serving meals. The modern Blue Star ships are very cramped and catering is limited to a burger bar. It's all a question of taste: I don't want to spend my holiday sitting in a burger bar.
The trip from Naxos to Santorini is fairly short, so I don't see the need for a cabin, but they are not expensive on Greek ships. If you have a cabin on a Greek ship, a steward will carry your luggage to the cabin.

Thanks for the info!

Just to clarify: There is no luggage check but after you board there are designated areas that will hold your luggage for the trip? What is the cost?

According to the local rules 30 years is the life-limit for a ship to serve the greek waters.
It is true that the Posseidon served the North Sea years ago.... and now is just good as 'bon pour l'Afrique'!!!

I specified that the best lounge,very elegant and not at all cramped is the first class lounge on the blue star ferries.
The economy class allows you the possibility to sit near a burger bar,a coffe bar and a lounge area among other options.
For security reasons I would prefer a brand new ship to a 30 years old one.

Usually on the classic vessels if you book a cabin, a steward carries the luggage only from the reception area to your cabin (a few yards away)
You have to manage to board the vessel take the stairs and escalators up to the reception.

The luggage storage on the highspeed is free of charge,the crew will assist you to handle everything and store the pieces.

1. There is NO check in of luggage you will have to carry this yourself.
2. The hi-speeds are perfectly satisfactory in the cheapest class.
3. The Express Poseidon is pefectly OK you are not on the ferry long enough to worry about booking cabins or not. The BlueStar ferries are not any better even though they are newer. Just relax and enjoy the view, no worries

Just back from a trip and used both bluestar and hellas ferries.

Most of hellas regular speed passenger-car ferries are about 30 years old:

http://www.dolphins.gr/HFDWeb/en/fle...d=2&type=6

We definitely prefered the bluestar boats. cleaner, roomier and just all around better. One thing I really hated about the hellas boat was that their non-smoking areas were helter-skelter around the boat -- so close that smoke from other areas filtered in from all sides. Not so in the bluestar areas, especially the wonderful air seats. Plus hellas made no-attempt to enforce the non-smoking rules, while bluestar did.

Can't speak for 1st or VIP class, although both looked nice on both companies.

If you do buy economy seats, my recommendations is to claim a couple of good seats first (Airseats in blue stars, pullman seats in hellas), then poke around later.

I don't know what cafeteria on the Express Posideon was like, but the Express Santorini cafeteria was one of the few bad things of my month in Greece: overpriced, overcooked steam table food. My son's small souvlaki serving was the worst prepared and highest priced of the trip (nearly 10 euros for meal and fanta).

Hi. My advice when traveling in Greece is to fly whenever possible. No carting of luggage onto the ferries and no mad scramble to recover it when arriving at the port. Much faster travel time, most flights well less than an hour. Usually no problem getting a taxi at the airport, can be very difficult at the port. Most flights seem to have an average cost of 75-80 euros, slightly more than double the cost of a high speed ferry ticket. I would take the ferries for short jumps between islands but never for any of the longer runs.