Piraeus, a port full of ferries! [8270]
The port of Piraeus is Athens' major shipping hub, and is 8km southwest of the city centre. Traffic is heavy, but each of the 4 trips we took there or back were pretty quick, only about 20 minutes. "Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating back to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when plans to make it the new port of Athens were implemented." Wikipedia. Pireaus is a big port and its best you know where you are going when you arrive there. The gates are clearly marked, and our drivers were well briefed, whether it was to get on the Sea Cloud or for the inter-island ferries.
A SeaJets Power Jet coming into Naxos Town, Chora. [8384]
In the course of this trip, we have taken three Aegean ferries spaced by a week each, Pireaus to Naxos, there to Santorini, the back to Pireaus. They were all high-speed SeaJets (made in Perth, Australia it's good to see) and they were convenient and comfortable, and very popular. All you have to do is arrive at the port 15 minutes before departure, although we saw some travellers cut it much finer than that. There are no formalities, just show your ticket once you've arrived in the cabin and someone might point you towards your seats. Seat numbering is random and allocations seem to be mostly irrelevant, although some passengers insist on their spots. So much more convenient than flying, but you do have to manhandle your own luggage onboard. There are, however, baggage racks on the car decks before you have to climb any stairs. The baggage racks have nowhere near the capacity of the ferries and overflow runs into the car bays. if someone stole your bags there would be no recourse. There must be elevators somewhere because there are wheelchair signs. In the cabin, Business Class is marginally more comfortable and spacious than Economy, but you do have to climb another staircase.
SeaJets Worldchampion Jet in Piraeus. This ferry established a world speed record on its delivery from Australia to Europe. [image by George E. Koronaios, Wikipedia]
Enroute, the SeaJet ferries are fast and smooth. Occasionally in high winds, it got pretty rough, but the passengers were unconcerned, unlike on the Sea Cloud. These are no Sydney Harbour ferries, you're not allowed out on deck away from ports (so no fresh air, and it can be quite stuffy inside), and the windows are covered in foam and scum, so not a good view either.
Seen in Pireaus, the Wind Spirit, a 5300t 134m four masted cruise ship holding 148 passengers and 90 crew. Unlike the Sea Cloud, this modern ship has computer controlled sails. [8287]
However, the embarking and disembarking process is an unpleasant free-for-all, up to over 1000 pedestrians mixing it with vehicles, but it takes place in less than 5 minutes. We saw this repeatedly, because our trips were never direct, with multiple stops on the way. It's certainly well choreographed and efficient - the crew show an incredible sense of urgency - but this process is "no country for old men" and is extremely crowded and uncomfortable, maybe suitable only for young carefree back-packers. The waiting rooms for the SeaJets departures are mere sheds which hold no more than 10% of the capacity of the ferries, totally inadequate. It's hot in the long queues which form outside these sheds, but we have to say that crowd behaviour was pretty good and very orderly. We quickly learned to settle into a nearby shady cafe until the last momemnts. The ferries themselves have huge electric signage at the stern to show what their stops are, but that's no help until the ferry actually arrives and you're in a position to see it. The sheds themselves (at Naxos and Santorini at least) have no signage to indicate which shed is for which ferry - you actually have to ask someone. What a simple improvement helpful signage would be! There are apps for phones to show where the ferries are and predict their times.
SeaJets ferry offloading foot passengers at Paros. [8301]
We don't regret taking the ferry between islands rather than flying. Downtown ports, the informality and no need to arrive early make them very convenient, but the bun-rush at boarding and unboarding, which certainly makes for quick turn-arounds, detracts from the experience. We could not recommend these ferries to the elderly and frail, or indeed anyone who places high importance on comfort.
The map below shows the rough routes our three SeaJet ferries took. Stopovers are not necessarily correct, but the destinations are!
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