Cruise itinerary change from Santorini to Olympia

Are you able to cancel this cruise and find another one that does include Santorini. If it makes you feel better, Santorini is the only place we disliked in Greece, over the top touristy!

We had Mykonos cancelled overnight because of a brutal rainstorm. But the replacement, Monemvasia, was superb.

You have provided insufficient overall itinerary info, but my answer is 98% No.

Have you booked your flights yet. Perhaps you can fly to Athens 3 or 4 days before the cruise and just fly to and then fly back to Athens for the cruise. Same idea would work if you fly to Santorini after the cruise.

This year Aegean and perhaps sky express have introduced direct flights to some of the islands. Both seem to fly between Santorini and Heraklion Crete and Rhodes to Santorini. It may be possible to find out if your connection can be made. that will get you back to the ship in time.
As I recall we were on a cruise once where one destination was dropped. A few people arranged to get off the ship in one port, then flew to their destination and then flew back to the ship at the next port a couple of days later.

There is no way to make a round trip to Santorini from your ports of call in just one day, the easiest would be from Crete but that would require spending at least one night in Santorini.

And I think I can guess why your cruise won't go to Santorini:

https://www.afar.com/magazine/greek-island-santorini-to-charge-tax-for-cruise-passengers

In truth, doing a day trip to Santorini can be challenging, but it’s possible, especially from Crete. To make it work, you’d need enough time to catch the ferry around 8:30 AM and return to Crete with the same ferry between 6:30 and 7:00 PM.

It’s worth noting that Santorini Princess canceled its Santorini stop last year due to the heavy congestion on the island. that an old video. However, there is a way to make passengers’ experience easier: instead of using the cable car, cruise lines can take passengers directly to the new port. This avoids the long wait for the cable car entirely.

I know for sure that Royal Caribbean Cruises offers this option. They charge €20 for a round-trip bus ride to Fira, which is only €8 more than the cost of the cable car and saves a lot of hassle. That’s what I typically recommend to my clients from Royal Caribbean—it’s a smoother and more convenient option for getting into town.

To date, the ferry schedules between Crete (Heraklion) and Santorini are the same as last year:

08:00 Heraklion → 09:35 Santorini

Return to Heraklion:

15:30 Santorini → 17:05 Heraklion

If the port of call in Crete is Chania, to my knowledge there is no ferry to Santorini

Crete is possible as per the post above, but unless you are docking there for at least two nights, I wouldn’t risk it lest you miss your boat.

You could possibly in theory catch an early morning flight from Athens and a late night flight on the same day back. That being said, unless you are highly committed to seeing that particular island, and or this is probably the only time in your life, you’ll get to Greece, I would skip Santorini in favor of somewhere else in the summer, especially. Better to go on a separate trip and do it in the off-season if possible because it’s mobbed in the summer.

Your choices are to either go to Santorini before or after your cruise if you haven’t already booked your flights, otherwise you should do it in a separate trip altogether. Or, if you’re able to get a refund, cancel the cruise altogether and just head to Santorini.

In my opinion, avoid the ferry from Crete—it's too busy. I agree that if you absolutely want to see Santorini while traveling to Greece, the best option is to fly from Athens before your cruise. You can arrange an overnight stay or two at a nice hotel in Oia or Fira and then head back to Athens for your cruise. Even if you change your ship, no one can guarantee that it will dock at that port and won’t be canceled.