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| Essential information |
When planning
a European cruise most first timers book several excursions offered by the cruise
line to be assured they will see all those wonderful places on the itinerary
and not have to worry about being left
behind.
Regular cruisers often organize
a group with a local guide or driver and
some prefer to just walk off the ship and explore independently.
Independent
excursions offer advantages but take lots of pre-cruise planning, time, and
computer know-how. The first advantage
is substantial savings: instead of
$70-100 for a 4 hour group excursion, the same sights can be explored for
a few euro on your own using public
transport with a good map and guidebook.
Knowing the language of the port helps too.
The independent travelers leave and return
from the excursion when they want,
without rising early nor being herded in a group trailing
behind a guide.
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| sail away from Istanbul aboard Azamara Quest |
Over the
years spent as an enrichment speaker on cruise ships and especially after my
latest-and longest- cruise with a ship full of Australians visiting 19 ports in the Mediterranean, Ionic, Aegean and Adriatic
seas, I have noted improvements,
novelties and discovered many new
places.
Here is an eyewitness, up to
date and personal view of Europe’s best and worst ports for the independent
cruiser.
BEST
Istanbul , Turkey–Ships dock right in the heart of the
city, allowing you to independently walk out of the port
area and take advantage of the city’s excellent public transport system. You will need Turkish
lire coins to utilize the metro and for museum entrance fees. Check the Time Out
Istanbul magazine for happenings and Eyewitness Guidebook to Istanbul for
itineraries. Taxi from airport to cruise dock costs about 25 euro.
Check out this article about Istanbul
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| see how people live in Piraeus |
Piraeus-Athens, Greece –Ships dock at the huge Cruise Terminal
in Piraeus where stray dogs wander and the wi fi connection
can often be used by those aboard the ships. Thankfully the infamous taxi drivers have now been organized and are no longer
aggressive and rude. Several hop on/ hop off buses and a mini train (5 euro) are parked just outside the terminal. The
little train gives a good view of the city of Piraeus chugging through the
residential areas, the Marina Mikrolimano
and back to the cruise terminal.
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| walking along the seaside of Kushadasi |
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| Epheseus, the Odeon theatre |
Kushadasi (Epheseus) Turkey-Ships
dock in the center of town making it
easy to walk off and explore the lively Bazaar, catch a mini bus to the nearby
beaches or share a taxi (60 euro) for the short drive to the magnificent archeological site of Epheseus. Take a leisurely walk along the beach front to the new Hilton Double
Tree hotel and visit the new arts and crafts center built in an historic
tannery.
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| Arts Center at the old Tannery |
Corfu, Greece- The Cruise Terminal is located a few kilometers from the
center of Old Corfu town and taxis (a
fleet of shiny new black Mercedes) now charge a flat rate of 10 euro for the
drive in/out of town. From the Esplanade park local buses
bring to further parts of the island. Catch the bus to
Mon Repos or Achilleon palaces for
a visit to these lovely historic house museums.
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| Mon Repos villa and park, Corfu, Kanoni |
Kotor, Montenegro –Only smaller ships arrive to this fascinating
city at the end of a long fiord and they dock right in the center of the walled
medieval city which can be explored on
foot in a morning. There is now a hop on/ hop off bus(full day 20 euro) with an excellent audio
presentation that takes visitors along the fiord to the town of Perast and to
see Roman mosaics then a walking tour of the town. One of the favorite past times for crew members and others
suffering from cabin fever is the hike up
to the Fortress high above the city.
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| islands near Perast and Kotor |
WORST
Civitavecchia-Even though this is my home port and I live
nearby I am ashamed to say that it has become
probably the worst port for cruisers who do not have an
excursion booked ahead of time with their cruise line or a private driver and/or guide. If you want the name of a highly recommended local multi-lingual guide, feel free to contact me.
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| Civitavecchia,checking out the market |
Cruise
passengers and crew are no longer able to walk out of the port at Michelangelo’s Fortress and make the 10
minute walk to catch a train to Rome. Now a port mobility bus “captures”
cruisers and transports them to an enclosed
area several kilometers to the north.
Here without any signage or audio instructions, confusion reigns and
eventually cruisers discover they have two
choices: either walk the long way back, or take a city bus (.80 euro) through the center of Civitavecchia and
then finally, arrive to the railway station.
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| How long does it take to arrive to Rome's Capitoline Museum? |
I asked Alexandra who runs a tour company in Civitavecchia to explain more about the changes happening at the port, which is the gateway to Rome and central Italy, here is what she told me:
"Before May 2014 all passengers were required to take a free shuttle from their ship to the south Port Exit (Michelangelo's Fortress). From there it was an easy 4 blocks walk to the train station or 1-2 blocks to the downtown and market area.
"Before May 2014 all passengers were required to take a free shuttle from their ship to the south Port Exit (Michelangelo's Fortress). From there it was an easy 4 blocks walk to the train station or 1-2 blocks to the downtown and market area.
Now you need to allocate approximately 1 hour to go from the ship's pier to the train station (a little less to the market area).
Cruisers still must take the free shuttle bus from the ship pier to the North port exit .
Once there you can either walk to the train station (20-30 min) or take public transportation (frequency is approximately 20 min + 15 minutes transfer time).
City buses may not have enough capacity to move the large number of people arriving at once.
Don't forget that the same time needs to be allocated coming back from Rome if traveling by train."
For those who planned on seeing
Rome in a day, approximately an hour of precious time (and a huge amount of energy!) is now wasted. Alternatives are to stay in Civitavecchia and check out the market, explore the old center, go to one of the nearby beaches or catch the local
COTRAL bus to Tarquinia to see the UNESCO Etruscan sites (30 minutes) and then take a
taxi back.
For other articles about the many interesting sites all around the Civitavecchia area, browse the archives here on 50yearsinItaly (use the Search button at the top of the page) and study my website Elegantetruria, the only one about the area in English.
You will find the article "Exploring around Civitavecchia" of interest to see what arrival at Civitavecchia port was like in 2011. Now it seems that the Port Authority is sending away arriving cruisers instead of helping them!
For other articles about the many interesting sites all around the Civitavecchia area, browse the archives here on 50yearsinItaly (use the Search button at the top of the page) and study my website Elegantetruria, the only one about the area in English.
You will find the article "Exploring around Civitavecchia" of interest to see what arrival at Civitavecchia port was like in 2011. Now it seems that the Port Authority is sending away arriving cruisers instead of helping them!
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| acqueduct on the way to Tarquinia |
Ashdod, Jerusalem- Most cruisers opt for a 10 hour excursion to
Jerusalem, but if you are not up to that you can stay in Ashdod.
The Terminal
is set amidst a gigantic industrial port and a bus shuttle takes cruisers out and to the
center of a barren, modern and not very
pleasant city that counts the shopping
mall and bus depot as its main attractions. An ultra modern arts and
theatre complex with Louvre-style glass pyramid
beckons but the only part open to the public during the day is a small museum with an entrance fee of 15 euro- but they accept only local currency.
After 2 hours wandering under an oppressive sun most cruisers take the bus back
to the port, check out the Duty free and then go aboard.
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