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A new service on A3's site: book a ferry
I read about this in a daily newspaper and then found the press release in Aegean's site. I've never used Ferryhopper to book a ferry, I hope it will be better than most other Greek sites, which are really not the best search/booking engines I've seen. But let's users offer their opinion. :)
FerryhopperAEGEAN Book a ferry is an online booking platform for ferry tickets developed and operated by Ferryhopper in collaboration with AEGEAN. It offers AEGEAN passengers the option to continue their travel to Greek islands where there is no airport connection.AEGEAN Book a ferry offers the ability to book a ferry route that fully meets passenger’s travel needs and budget. It provides quickly, easily and in the most cost-effective way online search and reservation for ferry tickets across most mainland and island ports. Island hopping in Greece is an idyllic way to spend a vacation but one of the most important planning steps for your trip to the Greek Islands is determining how you will travel among them. As a result, we have brought this service which makes ferry travel planning a seamless and efficient experience. We bring passengers more of Greece and connecting them to hundreds of islands waiting to be explored. Use our website to find the best ferry schedule and travel to your desired destinations. You can now travel anywhere! Booking online is easy:
Book now |
I saw this, but since it didn't offer any benefits over using ferryhopper's website directly, I just used that (and I liked their website for booking Greek ferries: you can select all Athenian ports at once to see all departures and it properly discounted my fare based on my ISIC card). If A3 offered the ability to book a flight + ferry and protect the connection in case of a delay, that would be awesome
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Originally Posted by pewpew
(Post 31426211)
I saw this, but since it didn't offer any benefits over using ferryhopper's website directly, I just used that (and I liked their website for booking Greek ferries: you can select all Athenian ports at once to see all departures and it properly discounted my fare based on my ISIC card). If A3 offered the ability to book a flight + ferry and protect the connection in case of a delay, that would be awesome
It would be nice if we'd earn some miles when booking ferries, as the loyalty scheme of Hellenic Seaways is really worthless. |
Originally Posted by unusualtravelblog
(Post 31426895)
That would be too good to be true.
It would be nice if we'd earn some miles when booking ferries, as the loyalty scheme of Hellenic Seaways is really worthless. The Hellenic Seaways (Now part of Attica/Blue Star) SeaSmiles loyalty scheme is not that bad actually. It's almost impossible to earn status - I think you need something like 30 round-trips in a year from Piraeus to the Cyclades to even earn Silver, but, even without status, you basically get one free trip for every ten you take, so that's OK. There are no availability blackouts at all on the free trips either. |
Originally Posted by Knobbgb
(Post 31430974)
Yes, protecting the connection and providing a few miles would be the only reason to make this worthwhile to me. I often continue by ferry (even though there are several ATH-PAS flights) as the prices are crazy due to the ATH airport tax and there is often 12+ hours wait (in the winter when I travel most).
The Hellenic Seaways (Now part of Attica/Blue Star) SeaSmiles loyalty scheme is not that bad actually. It's almost impossible to earn status - I think you need something like 30 round-trips in a year from Piraeus to the Cyclades to even earn Silver, but, even without status, you basically get one free trip for every ten you take, so that's OK. There are no availability blackouts at all on the free trips either. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc9793052a.jpg |
Originally Posted by unusualtravelblog
(Post 31432932)
O wow, I guess they changed their loyalty scheme recently? I was still into the Hellenic Seaways loyalty program... Will throw this card away then lol
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc9793052a.jpg |
Originally Posted by Knobbgb
(Post 31430974)
Yes, protecting the connection and providing a few miles would be the only reason to make this worthwhile to me. I often continue by ferry (even though there are several ATH-PAS flights) as the prices are crazy due to the ATH airport tax and there is often 12+ hours wait (in the winter when I travel most).
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Originally Posted by jerry_greece
(Post 31436640)
Another interesting point is that you cannot book the "competition" routes like Piraeus-Paros. I guess they wouldn't want people to see that you can go to Santorini with 50 euro and not with full Y fare of 136 euro... Overall, it seems a service like booking.com where A3 gets the commission and nothing more.
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"Worth" can be debate-able but your point is valid.
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Originally Posted by N1120A
(Post 31436787)
Even the full Y fare of 136 Euro for 20 minutes in the air is worth it over 50 Euro for 4-8 hours on a boat, especially since JTR is a much easier ride into Fira than the ride from Athinios.
I still feel sick when I think of a boat trip I took as a kid with my father from Athens to Rhodos. The boat took 24 hours to arrive in Rhodos. Built in 1974, I still remember the name of this "horror" boat: Rodanthi. |
Originally Posted by unusualtravelblog
(Post 31439142)
...{snip}...I still feel sick when I think of a boat trip I took as a kid with my father from Athens to Rhodos. The boat took 24 hours to arrive in Rhodos. Built in 1974, I still remember the name of this "horror" boat: Rodanthi.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...64bc9caf29.jpg |
I really miss the old GA Ferries, in a strange way. Who wouldn't want to sit around that "pool" for 7 hours to get to Piraeus instead of spending 3hrs inside a sterile, characterless Highspeed catamaran?
I have quite a collection of photographs of the last few "old" ferries operating in Greece (from 2005 to 2015). If anyone's interested, PM me. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0422779da1.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f0a558c692.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...99cb68163a.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...939c7fdf72.jpg |
Originally Posted by unusualtravelblog
(Post 31439142)
This depends of course how much you value your time. Cyclades are not too far from Piraeus by boat, especially if you take a Catamaran. Some people enjoy a ferry ride, especially if it is not high season, thus not crowded, I can enjoy sitting on a ferry if it is not too long. But, if you have to go to islands such as Rhodos, Crete, why bother taking the boat, except if you are planning to island hop? Then most people will indeed pay for a flight I assume.
I still feel sick when I think of a boat trip I took as a kid with my father from Athens to Rhodos. The boat took 24 hours to arrive in Rhodos. Built in 1974, I still remember the name of this "horror" boat: Rodanthi. |
The GA ferries bring back memories of backpacking in the early 1980s when I certainly couldn't afford domestic tickets on Olympic even with the heavy subsidies! Great time and great memories of the islands and their people.
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Sometime in the early 90s G.A. Ferries started a daily ferry service Piraeus-Heraklion. To beat the competion (ANEK and Minoan), they advertised heavily the night clubs on board and the swimming pools. The latter were never filled with water while there were very few passengers visiting the former (with an arrival time around 5:30 am, no wonder). I think they stopped the service after a couple of months or so. At any rate, the boats' names such as Romilda, Milena, Dimitroula and a few more stayed in the minds of most Greeks as the apotheosis of unreliable ferry service, though there was a vocal minority that simply loved them! :)
PS For Greek speakers I found a rather interesting article on G.A. Ferries' owner, Capt. Makis Agoudimos. Even if not all true, it is well conceived! |
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