Ferry strike announced in Greece for the 3rd of July 2019
Ferries will remain docked at Greek ports for 24 hours after the Seamen's Union strike
The Greek Seamen's Federation has announced a 24 hour strike. Ferries will remain docked at the Greek ports from 00:00 until 23:59 on the day.
Ferryhopper will notify all customers immediately about any itinerary modification that may occur.
All the itineraries that are planned to sail on these days will be affected, either canceled or modified. Thus, if you are planning to travel from the ports in mainland Greece to the Greek islands or vice versa, we recommend that you take pro-active actions to assure the minimum effect on your trip.
The reality is that there is no golden rule on how to deal with a strike. The reason is that a strike does not necessarily mean that all ferries are cancelled. Some operators might wait until the last minute before announcing a cancellation, while other operators might try to reschedule their itineraries and “bypass” the strike, either by pushing them on the 23:59 on the day before, or by performing only a segment of the scheduled itinerary.
Find a complete guide on how to deal with ferry strikes in our blog post from 2018, "Ferry strike in Greece 2018 - Tickets, Schedules & Hints".
Some quick tips are listed below.
How to deal with ferry strikes in Greece?
On our side, the first thing that we do is try to inform all our customers of the upcoming strike via targeted e-mails and list the options that they have beforehand, in order to allow them some flexibility and make their lives easier. Our general guidelines are:
- Avoid collecting your paper coupons until the day of departure. Even though you are eligible for 100% refund, coupons should be returned to the company or to the agency that issued the tickets in order for the passenger to be compensated.
- If you hear about a possible strike contact Ferryhopper or the ferry company (or the agency that issued your tickets) as soon as possible, and consider the possibility of modifying your travel arrangements accordingly. Especially if you have corresponding flights or non-refundable accommodation arrangements, this plan may save you a lot of money, time and stress.
- If you have the option of changing your travel dates, it is advisable to search for an alternative itinerary on the day before the strike, as itineraries on the days following the strike might also be affected by the general re-scheduling.
