Greek ferry causing tourists to get seasick with…
Tourists have dubbed Greece’s high-speed ferry the “vomit comet” — sharing horror tales of rogue waves, flying barf baggage and seasick children turning inexperienced mid-crossing.
The stomach-churning rides have turn out to be an unlucky ceremony of passage for island-hopping guests, with a flood of social media posts documenting brutal crossings on the Aegean Sea.
“A week ago I was on a so-called ‘vomit comet’ from Athens to Naxos and then back to Naxos — my advice to anyone who gets seasick easily — choose the largest ferries,” one X person, Alek Asaduryan, wrote.
Some passengers said their dream holidays had been wrecked as they fought to keep their lunch down, calling the speedy vessels their “worst nightmare,” incomes the boats the “vomit comet” nickname.
Passengers disembark from a ferry at Athinios Port in Santorini, Greece, on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
“They were going around fanning people, handing out barf bags left and right,” Austin Croteau, 38, told The Wall Street Journal of her journey from Syros to Athens with her husband and 4 children.
“It wasn’t even worth trying to get to the bathroom.”
Conditions appeared calm at first, but just minutes after leaving port, big waves started crashing into the ship, rocking it violently back and forth as water engulfed the home windows, she said.
When Croteau appeared over at her kids, she was horrified by what she noticed.
Tourists have just lately reported seasickness on the high-speed ferries while hopping between Greek islands. Maridav – stock.adobe.com
“I’ve never seen my kid’s face go completely green,” she told the Journal, including, “I realize now, that’s where the cartoons get it from.”
The high-speed ferries can rocket across the Aegean at virtually 60 mph, permitting tourists to bounce between Greece’s postcard-perfect islands in a fraction of the time it takes slower vessels.
But when the summer time Meltemi winds whip up the sea, those speedier boats can flip into floating curler coasters, the Journal reported.
A resident leads a donkey past tourists in Oia village on Santorini, Greece, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Choppier waters can also increase movement illness. ftlaudgirl – stock.adobe.com
One passenger, Emily Savage, 25, noticed her journey to Greece with her best buddy flip into a six-hour battle for survival on a ferry from Naxos to Milos.
“The waves would make the boat jump, and you would fly up a couple inches,” Savage told the Journal, describing passengers desperately closing their eyes and passing around Dramamine, the anti-nausea medication.
“It was kind of a bonding experience,” she joked.
The wrongdoer won’t essentially be the ferries themselves, but moderately the mixture of velocity, smaller vessels and Greece’s notoriously fierce summer time winds, according to the report.
Cruise ships and passenger ferries dock at the Port of Piraeus in Piraeus, Greece, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Tourists take footage at sundown in the village of Fira in Santorini, Greece, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. NurPhoto via Getty Images
Travel advisor Kelly Shea recommends guests go to Greek islands by airplane, particularly if they get seasick. Aleksej – stock.adobe.com
The Cyclades, home to vacationer magnets including Mykonos, Naxos and Milos, can get hammered by the seasonal Meltemi winds, churning the Aegean into a washer just as hundreds of thousands of tourists descend on the islands.
And because there are a lot more tourists getting on those boats — 21% more vacationers from January through May in contrast with the same period last 12 months, according to the Bank of Greece — consultants imagine that could also be why there was an increase in reviews.
“People like to throw those chaotic videos online,” Sophie Jansen, a frequent Greek traveler who said she has taken almost 100 island ferries and only had one really dangerous expertise, to the Journal.
“It makes it look as if that happens every day, but that’s definitely not true,” she said.
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