jakes47 Posted May 15, 2011 #1 Share Posted May 15, 2011 We have just booked a cruise on Marina - 11days, Venice to Athens from 22nd April 2012. The ports of call are - Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Monemvasia, Aghios Nikolaos, Santorini, Ephesus, Delos, Mykonos and Athens. Can anyone tell me where the ship docks, if it is a port or tender? I can’t find any information on Oceania website and it would be nice to know for planning purposes how close to the action the ship will be. Do we need to organise transport or tours or can we step off the ship into the heart of a town? We are so excited to be cruising with Oceania and thanks to all on this site who have convinced us to do so. Thanks :) Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted May 15, 2011 #2 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Venice - docked but depends on which port. One is an easy walk and easy access to vapareto, the other is in pretty much an industrial section but there is a new "people mover" rail to take you into town but still a long walk or easy vapareto to St. Mark's. I recently read that O provided shuttles in this port. Dubrovnik - docked - probably require a taxi into town (shuttles may now be provided but taxi is easy and not expensive) Kotor - docked - directly adjacent to town Corfu - docked - taxi or a 20-30 minute walk into town, car rentals are available at the pier Monemvasia, Aghios Nikolaos - no idea Santorini, - tender. Can be a painfully long process to get "up the hill" if there are other ships in port Ephesus - docked but you are quite a distance to the ruins and will require either a tour or car rental Delos, Mykonos - tender, sea was too rough for us to see these ports so can't comment further Athens - docked, you will require either a tour or a taxi to get to the major points. They are rather spread out as well so taxi between points will be beneficial if you are trying to see a lot of sites in one day. Can anyone tell me where the ship docks, if it is a port or tender? I can’t find any information on Oceania website and it would be nice to know for planning purposes how close to the action the ship will be. Do we need to organise transport or tours or can we step off the ship into the heart of a town? We are so excited to be cruising with Oceania and thanks to all on this site who have convinced us to do so. Thanks :) Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted May 15, 2011 #3 Share Posted May 15, 2011 You can also tender in Dubrovnik depending on how many ships are in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capecodder2 Posted May 15, 2011 #4 Share Posted May 15, 2011 We were docked in Aghios Nickolaos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Line Dancer Posted May 15, 2011 #5 Share Posted May 15, 2011 We have just booked a cruise on Marina - 11days, Venice to Athens from 22nd April 2012. The ports of call are - Venice, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Monemvasia, Aghios Nikolaos, Santorini, Ephesus, Delos, Mykonos and Athens. Can anyone tell me where the ship docks, if it is a port or tender? I can’t find any information on Oceania website and it would be nice to know for planning purposes how close to the action the ship will be. Do we need to organise transport or tours or can we step off the ship into the heart of a town? We are so excited to be cruising with Oceania and thanks to all on this site who have convinced us to do so. Thanks :) Bev We were tendered in Monemvasia...October 2010....great walk up steep hill to see unique city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakes47 Posted May 15, 2011 Author #6 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Great! Thank you so much - that is very helpful. I was hoping to skip the tours and put some time into research so we can head out on foot to explore the nearby town and it sound like this will be possible. Thanks also for the tip on Santorini. It may pay to be up and out on the first tender. Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted May 16, 2011 #7 Share Posted May 16, 2011 There are two piers in Mykonos: one industrial large pier about 1/2 mile from town (on the other side of the bay) and a small tender dock right in town. So, cruise ships can sometimes dock in Mykonos; if so, it's in the industrial port which is further away from the town center. We tendered when we visited, which let us off right at the smaller pier in town. We saw a larger ship docked off in the distance. More convenient to tender, actually, IMO. There's no line to walk up the hill in Santorini...:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 16, 2011 #8 Share Posted May 16, 2011 There's no line to walk up the hill in Santorini...:) There may be no line but it's a "slippery slope" (the donkeys have been there)! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted May 16, 2011 #9 Share Posted May 16, 2011 There may be no line but it's a "slippery slope" (the donkeys have been there)! :D Paulchili - Good one! Thanks for the chuckle. It bothered us more going down the hill. Much easier to slip that way on wet cobblestones, especially after a few glasses of wine... Going up is a bit of an obstacle course, because after the donkeys climb up with the first load of tourists, they walk down on their own, unladen, to pick up the next group. And being donkeys, they don't exactly keep in an orderly line, and they will try to run you over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakes47 Posted May 16, 2011 Author #10 Share Posted May 16, 2011 :D:D:D Thanks for the tips – we would like to do the donkey trail just for the experience. I know from experience the perils of cobble stones and always travel with well tractioned (4x4 type) walking shoes. I suppose we could always hail a donkey if the journey gets too rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudiaF Posted May 19, 2011 #11 Share Posted May 19, 2011 The cable car is the way to go..:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charleylake Posted May 19, 2011 #12 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Just back from a similar cruise and there were shuttles at all the ports where you were a distance from town. Dubrovnik and Corfu were about 15 minutes from the heart of the city. The shuttles are a great service. The Venice People Mover is not finished so that will not be an option for awhile. We were docked at Maritima and they provided shuttles to the Bus terminal where you bought the tickets (another line) for the vamporetta into St. Marks. 16 E for 12 hr. pass. The water buses were very crowded as was Venice. We missed Amalfi and Taormina (both tendered) because of weather, but they substituted Sorrento and Messina (one tendered and one docked). Have fun - you'll love the ship and ports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted May 19, 2011 #13 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I understood that the People Mover began operating in April 2010 and joins the Marittima terminal and Piazzale Roma. :confused: The Venice People Mover is not finished so that will not be an option for awhile. We were docked at Maritima and they provided shuttles to the Bus terminal where you bought the tickets (another line) for the vamporetta into St. Marks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 19, 2011 #14 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I understood that the People Mover began operating in April 2010 and joins the Marittima terminal and Piazzale Roma. :confused: I also believe we saw it "in action" (but did not use it) last September. Maybe it broke down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charleylake Posted May 19, 2011 #15 Share Posted May 19, 2011 People Mover - we asked, the Concierge on the ship inquired and we saw the signs, but we found that it has only opened partially and will not help cruisers at this time. Eventually it will go to St. Marks's. It will be the perfect answer in Venice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted May 19, 2011 #16 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I understood that the People Mover began operating in April 2010 and joins the Marittima terminal and Piazzale Roma. :confused: You could email them and ask if it is operational & to where http://www.asmvenezia.it/index_eng.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakes47 Posted May 20, 2011 Author #17 Share Posted May 20, 2011 The Hotel we have booked in Venice says there is a port shuttle coming and going from Piazzale Roma and from there it is meant to be an interesting walk to the St Marco area. Having 3 days pre-cruise in Venice I think we should be able cover the area. It is great to hear that shuttles are widely used in most, if not all ports as I would prefer to avoid tours if possible. I am pleasantly surprised by the inclusions on Oceania. I was also surprised to read that all but Privee and La Reserve specialty restaurants are included. It would seem that alcohol and gratuity is the only thing we need to allow for. :) Thanks to all for your input. Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 20, 2011 #18 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Eventually it will go to St. Marks's. It will be the perfect answer in Venice! Venice already has the perfect answer - it's called a vaporetto. The best way to get from place to place and see the city as well - esp. the Grand canal. In Venice it's all about water :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CintiPam Posted May 21, 2011 #19 Share Posted May 21, 2011 People Mover - we asked, the Concierge on the ship inquired and we saw the signs, but we found that it has only opened partially and will not help cruisers at this time. Eventually it will go to St. Marks's. It will be the perfect answer in Venice! The purpose of the people mover is to get people from the Tronchetto, the island with all the city parking and where all the tour buses go, to Piazzale Roma, the motor traffic terminus for Venice (and bus stop from the airport and elsewhere). An added benefit is the stop in between at Marittima terminal cruise ship port. When we spent three days in Venice in late April 2010 before our last Oceania cruise, it was up and running from Tronchetto to Piazzale Roma, but simply not yet stopping in between at Marittima. I wonder why a year later it still does not stop there? I venture to guess that the taxi companies, who make fantastic fees taking rich cruise ship passengers from Marittima to Piazzale Roma and back, perhaps are influencing this ridiculous delay. BTW, our hotel host, a native Venetian, informed us that a new cruise terminal will be built in the next ten years many miles away on the mainland because the big cruise ships are churning up the lagoon too much, weakening the pilings that hold up all the structures of Venice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Citizen Posted May 22, 2011 #20 Share Posted May 22, 2011 We were just in Athens last week post-cruise. Two hop on-hop off bus companies have a stop at the port and you can buy tickets on the bus. We rode the bus and found that it gives you a great overview of the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpver Posted May 29, 2011 #21 Share Posted May 29, 2011 We were 2 years agoo in Pireaus with ms Nautica. Oceania has in several port an hospitality desk where somebody of the local tourist office (not their agent) gives information. The easiest, quickest and cheapest way to go to Athens is the subway/metro. A walk of approx 15 minutes on the Pireaus waterfront boulevard. The metro did cost us 1 euro per person in each directions. In 20 minutes you are at the Partenon, and you have the old town Plakia next to it. These are if fact the most interesting things to see. In Delos it is a tender right to the entrance. We were there just before the opning time. Result ws that only passengers from the Nautica had Delos for us! When leaving the small tourist boats from Mykonos came in in mass! Santorini is tender. The shore excursions leave on an other acces where buses are comming. The people without excursion are tendered to the Skala, where you can take the cabe. The nicest part is the little town of Oia. In Fira you go to the public bus station and take the comfortable public bus. Do this first and visit Fia afterwards coming back. Dubrovnik can be port or tender. (We were there with Windstar for departure) If at anchor the tender arrives right in the little old port of Dubrovnik. The terminal is at the other side. You can take the Libertas public bus for no money or taxi wich is not to expensive. Anyway you will arrive at the "Port Pile" where you will walk into the beautifull old Dubrovnik.(is only walking no traffic allowed) Visit the walls (2 hours depending the time you stop at different places) Dubrovnik can easily be visited without excursions (where you will walk also of course!) Ephesus. You will in fact dock at Kusadasi. We used Ephesus Taxi (via their website. You do NOt pay in advance, only back after your trip!) They pick you up at the terminal. Drive you privately to Epesus where they drop you at the higher entrance. You visit the time you want and go out at the lower entrance where you find yr driver and they bring you back to Kusadai! We paid only € 40 euro for this plus the entrance at the site of course. Compare to the ships excursion!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Rosebery Posted May 29, 2011 #22 Share Posted May 29, 2011 People Mover - we asked, the Concierge on the ship inquired and we saw the signs, but we found that it has only opened partially and will not help cruisers at this time. Eventually it will go to St. Marks's. It will be the perfect answer in Venice! Concierge is confused. No way that the people mover will go to St. Mark's. Even the Italians aren't that nuts. Many posters have used it from the cruise terminal to Piazzal Roma and found it cheap and easy. Quote We used the people mover several times when we had 2 nights in Venice last year. It's really fast and smooth. As you go into Piazza Roma from the canal, keep over to the right, with the buses on your left and go to the far right hand corner, just past the left luggage office. You need 1 euro coins. We thought it was very smooth and fast, with a regular service every few minutes. I'd say it's less than 5 minutes walk from the time you leave the train to the dock entrance. We used the People Mover after we arrived at Santa Lucia station when we were embarking and even with luggage it was no problem at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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