Prominent on many must-see lists Santorini is invaded by up to 18,000 cruise ship passengers a day. Quite what the attraction of these cruises is escapes me. Being captive to what is really just a floating RSL club with destinations being consistently swamped by fellow passengers, subject to rigid timetables, seeing nothing of the countries between brief stops and being shepherded to retailers of made-in-China kitsch just to tick a place off a bucket list? "We did Santorini on Tuesday." FFS!
Venice, the Cinque Terre, Dubrovnik are also suffering the loved-to-death syndrome. In visiting such places i acknowledge being part of the problem - but to at least make the visits worthwhile the strategy is quite simple - avoid peak holiday season like the plague, stay within or close by "the wonder" and leave the meanderings to the early or late hours before the cruise ships arrive or after they have left and either sit by a pool or explore obscure corners until the rabid plagues have moved on.