Sunset Oia boat — Attraction in Municipality of Thira

Took a sunset dinner cruise yesterday with this company. Pick up at 1:25 PM from a parking lot near the touristy area of the Fira portion of the Caldera (Opp Daedalus Hotel) was late - turned even later by tardy guests. Driver was courteous and apologized, and then drove post-haste for 45 mins to the Oia marina for our tour. The marina area is quite interesting - chock-full of tourists and vehicles on an extremely narrow access road down a cliff face. Our driver was very skilled in driving under these conditions - he did a superb job of backing all the way down the access road as options to turnaround and head up are scarce. Upon arrival, we were directed to a check-in desk where our names were verified and we were issued blue stickers (others were issued red or other colored stickers or bracelets, depending on the boat they were to take). Soon, we were called to board a catamaran. We were 20 in number, almost all from the US. Our crew, Capt. Alex, and deckhands, Angela and George, were very welcoming and efficient - we were asked to deposit our footwear in baskets and following a safety briefing on the lower deck, we set off. The tour took us from Oia around the Caldera, with three stops to swim and snorkel : volcanic warm water spring, and white and red sand beach areas. George and and Angela provided a welcome drink of wine, sodas, water, or beer, following which they set about explaining the geological and cultural history of the places we visited. They were fantastic in the way they cared about our comfort, enjoyment, and safety. They took lunch orders of grilled chicken/pork/veggies and George soon set about grilling the meats. Angela threw a fantastic Greek spread consisting of pasta, Dolmades, Tatsziki, Potato Salad, Greek Feta Salad, Shrimp Saganaki, Pita Bread, and veggies; and of course the meats. The food was excellent and represented the flavors of Greece. Following lunch, we coasted around the Caldera taking in superb views. A few hours later, and as the sun was beginning to set, we floated past Fira port and made our way back toward Oia to set up a vantage point view of the sunset. The latter of course was spectacular. The 20 guests onboard were a lot of fun and with music from the 80s to present-day blaring over the speakers, there was dancing and chatter. George and Angela joined in the fun, singing and dancing, while taking time off to prep and serve evening cocktails - strawberry daiquiris. George then offered to take photos of the customers against the sunset - he gamely showed up in quite a few of them! The crew was a real hoot - funny, engaging, truly passionate about their jobs, and extremely solicitous of our needs and wants. The tour ended just after sunset and due to the rush of retuning vessels at tiny Oia marina, the company transported us via fast boat to the marina so as to save time. We were then put back on our return transfer, which took long as customers had to be dropped off at their hotels along the way. Finally, made it back to our hotel around 10:44 PM. Therein hangs a cautionary note - do not schedule this tour around early next day flights as the return could take a lot longer than anticipated or advertised. Leave a full free day to enjoy this activity with a light schedule the following day. One of our group had a 6:00 AM flight to catch from Santorini, with a 4:00 AM transfer from the hotel! Needless to say, not much sleep was possible and the lateness of the return placed added stress. Plan accordingly. Overall, a fantastic experience made even more special by Capt. Alex, Angela, and George - they were such fun! Do tip the crew for the genuine effort they put in to make the activity enjoyable. As I tipped generously, was a bit dismayed to see how little was in the box. These youngsters out in their heart and soul - least we as customers can do is appreciate their efforts not just in words, but also monetarily. Highly recommend this activity/experience, and if you are lucky, you will again be in the company of Capt. Alex, Angela and...

We wanted to do a sunset cruise in Santorini today and there were so many to choose from. So I chose sunset Oia tours and it was a big mistake. Announcements were not made at the start. The young man who cooked did not come to fetch the people including me at the back of the boat when he did his hot springs speech at the front so only the ones at the front heard him. My husband was at the front and he heard nothing said about where to swim. All he said was people with 5 conditions should not swim at the hot springs. Then when I went into the water after some others I had ear plugs in as I have had ear surgery so I hear nothing. We were in the water just a couple of minutes and we had to get out. The 23 year old captain, who had told us earlier he’s only been doing the job for one month, stood at the top of the ladder and told us that if we don’t want to listen to instructions then we can’t swim. What instructions? He claimed to have said we had to stay right next to the boat. No one appeared to have heard that. Especially me with ear plugs in. He was rude. He would not listen and suddenly I felt that I did not feel safe under control of this young man. The other young man stood next to him was saying that he had told us all the rules. When? One young woman swam away from the boat but not us. Everyone was shocked and many hadn’t been in the water yet. So they asked, “now we know the rules can we start over and swim?” and he refused. So many did not get to swim the hot springs. Well at 110 Euro which was $193 Australian, that was unacceptable. There was no spare toilet paper in the toilet, just the scraps at the end of the roll. The hand soap bottle was empty. There was supposed to be safety brochures but I saw none. Milos adventures continually wiped wet floors, these did not do that once. None of the drinks were cold except the wine and beer. Unlike the other cruise that we thoroughly enjoyed with Milos adventures, these had cool drink bottles warm on the bench that we had to pour into paper cups and eventually there was ice bought out to put in the cups. Milos had lovely cold cans in esky’s of ice. They also had a crew of 3 including a 22 year old captain and they were marvellous. Attentive, professional, helpful, well mannered, clear with instructions, of which 2 of the Sunset Oia crew were not. The young woman was very nice. They told us they do not like Americans. Not that we are American, but we found that unprofessional. I contacted the man on WhatsApp that I bought the tickets from and he did not believe me. He believed his 2 crew. He actually accused me of not following instructions and being away from the boat. I am always nervous of a current and hang around the ladder. So we also found that unprofessional. So I warn you all, if you want an amazing cruise do not go with this mob. I think they have lots of boats, this one was called Sunset Amorgos. He told me his crew had been with the company for a long time when in fact the captain had been with them for one month and it’s his first season. There are plenty of boat companies to go with so I would suggest you avoid this one. Im sure that most of their boats are ok according to the good reviews and that it’s the crew that are not good with this boat however I have to question the integrity of them when the supervisor did...

In general a nice experience. We made a reservation in the platinum cruise (and were upgraded to the diamond for free because of some inconvenience). They really tried to make us feel as comfortable as possible, yet some important points could have been made better

Pros: 1)The stops are all in beautiful areas, I would recommend to see them all for sure if you are in Santorini.

2)The boat is really clean and has comfortable areas to lay down an enjoy the sun.

3)Food was really delicious and well organised

4)The staff (all except the captain unfortunately) were extremely nice and really cared to offer anything we needed, for example I had sea sickness for half an hour and they immediately offered some help which thankfully worked and I could enjoy the rest of the trip

5)Pickup and drop-off was comfortable in a bus to the nearest area of our stay

6)The sunset view they stopped to show at the end was absolutely mesmerising

Cons:

1)The day of the trip we called to prepare for the pickup, but we spent around 15 minutes on the phone where we were told they can't find the reservation..(although it was paid and confirmed). After that they said they'll check and call back. They did find it at the end and also offered a free upgrade to the diamond cruise which sas convenient.

2)Well, the captain behavior! All the staff were extremely nice and explained everything we are allowed or not allowed to do. But the captain was unfortunately not friendly at all! first during the cruise I went to the toilette, and I mistakenly apparently used the staff cabin instead (they really all looked the same btw). So he said -not so politely- "that's my cabin by the way you know?" I apologised and the other staff really were nice and explained where the toilettes are and all good. Later during the trip me and a friend were about to sit in an area on the front of the boat as the other places where taken (which is like a net and a cushion where you can put your head on), in this area more than once people have sat and laid and no one from the staff have made notice that it's not allowed or so (it's even prepared so you can lay on), unfortunately the second we stepped the captain made the loudest horn sound possible and scared the hell out of everyone! As he was rolling his eyes up and getting angry for some reason we still didn't understand. I and my friend moved immediately and thought maybe because he was moving the boat fast? Yet later after half an hour people where literally dancing on this net while we where moving and I saw no comment or reaction. There might have been a specific reason at that time for why we weren't allowed to but no one explained or mentioned it from the staff before or after that. And to get kind of yelled at from a staff member and treated so unprofessionally without even giving a notice or apologising later wasn't the kind of service we expected at this price tbh, and is the only reason why I wouldn't make a reservation again (or recommend it to a freind) in this company. I believe such a behavior could be taken care of, more than that, to possibly let the client feel...