Azura 23rdJuly to Med ~ Need Advice on Excursions ~ Pls Help

[Flowie]

Hello Everyone :)

Need some advice regarding what excursion to book or should we just explore on our own for Malaga, Katakolon, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Venice, Korcula, Gibraltar.

Would really appreciate it if you all would share your experience/infos of these ports and the ship itself... it's our 1st time with P&O.

Thanking you in advance for your help :)

[MrsTW]

I'm on this cruise too and atm I'm doing some port research. ;)

 

No ship's excursions booked............... hoping to DIY. Probably Hop On Hop Off bus in Malaga, take a minibus tour in Gibraltar, walks the walls in Dubrovnik, potter around Corfu, Korcula and Katakolon. P&O are usually very good at providing free shuttle buses wherever possible if the ship docks a fair distance out. I understand there'll be a cost of £14 return for the water shuttle bus in Venice though. :eek:

 

Join the Roll Call on this site for this cruise..............it needs more postings! :D

[Flowie]

Thanks for the infos, Mrs,.TW :)

Will join the roll call but cant find the thread...

[kevinyork]

We did this cruise in May so can give you some info. Malaga-There is the

HoHo if you only want to stay in Malaga and the shuttle is free. We took the Alhambra tour which was nice but there is a lot of walking involved. Katakolon-the only thing to see is Olympia. Its a half day tour so you still have time to wander into the port itself which is a sm ll town with one steet of shops and some waterside cafes. There is a train from the port to Olympia but you miss the first one so it makes it very tight to get to Olympia, tour the site and get back and if any trains are missing or late then you could end up stranded. We did the simply Olympia tour which we thought was good value.

 

Free shuttles into Corfu town-very frequent then the town is nice to walk around.

 

Dubrovnik-relaively small, walking the walls is lovely and takes a good hour. The tender docks by the entrance to the walls.

 

Venice-you can get P&Os transfer at a price. However there is a free shuttle to Plaza Roma where the main Vaperattos leave from. They dont publicise the free bus for obvious reasons. If you get the Vaparetto from Plaza you can see the whole of the grand canal-its superb whereas the transfer boat doesnt go down the grand canal. its easy to negotiate the Vaperettos boats which have digital info boards. You buy tickets by the boat docks in Plaza Roma.

 

We didnt stop at Korcula due to high winds but having been before its small and easily walkable.

 

Gibralter-worth doing the tour if you have not been before.You see a lot in the 2 hours and unless you do the tour there isnt a lot to see.

 

Enjoy.

[MrsTW]

We did this cruise in May so can give you some info. Malaga-There is the

HoHo if you only want to stay in Malaga and the shuttle is free. We took the Alhambra tour which was nice but there is a lot of walking involved. Katakolon-the only thing to see is Olympia. Its a half day tour so you still have time to wander into the port itself which is a sm ll town with one steet of shops and some waterside cafes. There is a train from the port to Olympia but you miss the first one so it makes it very tight to get to Olympia, tour the site and get back and if any trains are missing or late then you could end up stranded. We did the simply Olympia tour which we thought was good value.

 

Free shuttles into Corfu town-very frequent then the town is nice to walk around.

 

Dubrovnik-relaively small, walking the walls is lovely and takes a good hour. The tender docks by the entrance to the walls.

 

Venice-you can get P&Os transfer at a price. However there is a free shuttle to Plaza Roma where the main Vaperattos leave from. They dont publicise the free bus for obvious reasons. If you get the Vaparetto from Plaza you can see the whole of the grand canal-its superb whereas the transfer boat doesnt go down the grand canal. its easy to negotiate the Vaperettos boats which have digital info boards. You buy tickets by the boat docks in Plaza Roma.

 

We didnt stop at Korcula due to high winds but having been before its small and easily walkable.

 

Gibralter-worth doing the tour if you have not been before.You see a lot in the 2 hours and unless you do the tour there isnt a lot to see.

 

Enjoy.

 

Thanks! :) Lots of helpful tips there!

 

Where does the free shuttle bus in Venice go from? Is it one supplied by Venice cruise port for all ships in that day? Or is it a P&O one that's mainly for crew etc? :confused: Sounds like taking that and then buying a Vaparetto day ticket is a great idea!

[kevinyork]

Thanks! :) Lots of helpful tips there!

 

Where does the free shuttle bus in Venice go from? Is it one supplied by Venice cruise port for all ships in that day? Or is it a P&O one that's mainly for crew etc? :confused: Sounds like taking that and then buying a Vaparetto day ticket is a great idea!

 

It leaves from the dockside at the front of the ship. They are local buses and have 'Azura' on the front. You cant miss them either by the ship or in Plaza Roma. P&O told us that they were for disabled passengers only and didnt mention it in the newspaper for the day at all presumably to ensure they maximised on their transfer tickets. If you get a day ticket (think it cost 16 Euros, then you can hop on and off the Vaporetto and could even go out as far as Burano or Murano pretty easily.

[MrsTW]

It leaves from the dockside at the front of the ship. They are local buses and have 'Azura' on the front. You cant miss them either by the ship or in Plaza Roma. P&O told us that they were for disabled passengers only and didnt mention it in the newspaper for the day at all presumably to ensure they maximised on their transfer tickets. If you get a day ticket (think it cost 16 Euros, then you can hop on and off the Vaporetto and could even go out as far as Burano or Murano pretty easily.

 

Great! Thanks! :)

 

Was yours the cruise that didn't get to Korcula because it's a tender port and there were high winds? Such a shame for you. :(

[LibraLass41]

Hello Everyone :)

Need some advice regarding what excursion to book or should we just explore on our own for Malaga, Katakolon, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Venice, Korcula, Gibraltar.

Would really appreciate it if you all would share your experience/infos of these ports and the ship itself... it's our 1st time with P&O.

Thanking you in advance for your help :)

 

 

I did the 'Venice ' cruise with a few of the same ports as you (Venice, Dubrovnik,Corfu and Gib)

 

Venice -yes a water boat shuttle takes you from ships berth along the canals to the square and you can use the ticket all day, so if you want to go back to the ship for lunch you can! We ate pizza in Venice at a restaurant by the canal. You can then spend the day exploring Venice yourself, plenty to see.

 

Dubrovnik - We did a tour 'Dubrovnik by land and sea' from the ship a coach took us to a landing stage at a Marina where we caught a schooner, and sailed around the coast to Dubrovnik town, wonderful. Then a hour walking tour with guide, and a hours free time to shop, have a coffee, well worth doing. You can then stay on in Dubrov and take a free shuttle back or go back to ship on the tour coach.

photos in link below of this day,

 

Corfu

Free shuttle to Corfu town, go to the fort where you are dropped off, worth a look around, and in there is a little sign that says 'refreshments' follow it.... down a windy path to a cafe for wonderful views and good coffee.... photos in link

 

Gib

Someone said a 'minibus' tour, not sure if he / she meant just the 1e pp fill up the minibus and drive you into the highstreet from dock minibus, or a 1/2 day tour.

But we did the war tunnels. cable car to the rock of Gib and saw the apes, and St Michaels caves . Had a great english guide - ex bobby from London, only about 20 of us on tour, really good. We were there for a full day, so after this 1/2day tour its either back to ship, or if a full day, they dropped us off in the town where we had a pub lunch and did the duty free shopping .

 

PHOTOS HERE, STARTING AT DUBROVNIK.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/AuroraPartyCruiseSueV/VeniceCruiseMay2008#5202922603724424258

 

CLICK LINK,

[Flowie]

Thanks sooo Much... Kevinyork & LibraLass41 for your help with the infos :D

[vsgbromley]

Hello. We are doing this cruise on 5 September 2010 and it would be great if when you get back you could add to this post what tours you did and comments about them. Have a great time and let us know how you get on. Thanks

[LibraLass41]

Highly recommend the 'Dubrovnik by land and sea' schooner photo in link on previous post. There is time in the afternoon to explore by yourselves and have lunch as well, Walking the city walls is also good, but needs to be done early in the morning as it gets hot,

Sue

[C at Sea]

We did the DUBROVNIC LAND AND SEA tour 3 yrs ago! unfortunately it was cut short cos it was so rough (the sea, not the tour!!) It got a bit hairy when the boat was rolling in the swell and you could put your hand in the water!! Then halfway through the crew decided they'd better do a safety drill!! I've never been so glad to get back on terra firma!! Dubrovnic was interesting and easy to wander ashore yourself although this can depend on where your berth is.

[LibraLass41]

C at Sea

Was it the same boat (photo in link above) ?

 

We were lucky with the weather, and enjoyed it.