Shuttle Buses in Europe

[Catnappers]

Hi

 

I can't seem to find any information on whether NCL provide shuttle buses from the ship to the city in Europe, all I can see are bookable excursions.

 

Can anyone help please?

 

Thanks

Gilly

[chrispb]

Where in Europe ?

[Fishbait17]

Yes, exactly which cities? Are you looking for a free shuttle or paid transportation into town? Any "shuttles" they offer are usually listed under paid excursions as "Rome On Your Own" for example. Many of the cities you might be visiting are located a bit far from the port, so you would need to take one of these "On Your Own" excursions, or hire a private operator or taxi, or take public transportation.

 

Robin

[Mooder]

But if you mean Venice, yes, NCL runs a free shuttle bus between the pier and Piazzale Roma. But calling NCL ahead of time is no help. I tried and they had no idea, and the information was not listed anywhere. The best way to find out is to read reviews by people who have been to the cities you are wondering about and/or ask here or on the port of call threads about the specific cities.

[Catnappers]

Hi

 

Thanks for your replies. We're going on Jade to Dubrovnik, Split, Athens, and Izmir out of Venice.

 

We usually use Cunard who provide a shuttle service from the ship (nominal fee) into the town centre. We've never used them and usually book excursions by thought we'd be a bit more independent this trip.

 

Thanks again

Gill

[sunshine nana]

You can easily walk into Dubrovnik and even Venice. Athens you can take public transportation, watch out for the taxis. Read on CC about how to deal with them. We had a private tour with others from our roll call and he was able to navigate the strikes and protests and get us to and from the sights. You will need a tour from Ismir, it is a long way to Ephesus. We didn't go to Split.

[Fishbait17]

Hi

 

Thanks for your replies. We're going on Jade to Dubrovnik, Split, Athens, and Izmir out of Venice.

 

We usually use Cunard who provide a shuttle service from the ship (nominal fee) into the town centre. We've never used them and usually book excursions by thought we'd be a bit more independent this trip.

 

Thanks again

Gill

 

Just did this trip in May. As mentioned, Venice has a shuttle into Piazzale Roma. Depending on your hotel location (if you are staying the night before the cruise), this might work, or you can take a vaporetto or water taxi as well. There is also a "people Mover" directly from Piazzale Roma to the port. Taxis directly at the port (or P.Roma) can take you directly to the airport as well. If you haven't been to Venice before, this website can help a lot with getting around http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/ .

 

In Dubrovnik, you will likely be anchored and tendered directly to "Old Town". In Split, you will have direct walk-off access into town.

For Athens, you can either take a taxi or the Metro directly into the city (be careful of dishonest taxi drivers - they can be tricky, one tried to palm the 50E we gave him and show us a 20E that he "said" we gave him). We generally start at the back of the Acropolis (by taxi), taking in the Acropolis Museum, then walking up to the Parthenon, decending down the other side through the Agora and Forum, ending with a late lunch, a walk through the Plaka, and a metro ride from Monastiriki station back to Pireaus. You can do this by metro as well, it's just a bit of a walk to "start" on the other side of the Acropolis.

 

Izmir is a different story. We have been to Izmir several times and done different things. If it's your first visit, do plan to go to Ephesus in the very least. It's quite a way from port and will require either a ship excursion or a privately booked tour. We have done it twice privately (along with the House of the Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis, St John's Basilica) completely on our own with private driver and guide. You can also join a private group tour - Check with your roll call if you want to share a tour to these places, I am sure someone has one arranged for less than booking it completely on your own.

 

If by chance you have already been to Ephesus, you can easily just walk off the ship directly into Izmir on your own. We have done this a couple of times, taking in the markets, a genuine "turkish bath", and some great times dining along the waterfront (turn right upon exiting the port to walk up the beautiful waterfront). There are lots of cool things to explore in this city.

 

You should definitely join your roll call for this cruise. The Jade is probably my favorite ship as her crew is amazing, and you can meet many of the officers during your "Meet and Greet".

 

Have a great trip!

 

Robin

[garycarla]

As said above, each port is different. Some like Rome, offer a shuttle to the port entry. So, always be specific in your questions.

 

Make sure you visit the ROLL CALL and PORTS OF CALL message boards for more information.

[dalgirl]

For Venice, there is also a people mover from Piazalle Roma, but it does involve some walking to the ship.

 

Dubrovnic is a tender shuttle directly to the old town.

 

Athens - we did an excursion since we wanted to see the whole city. Make sure to check out the Athens port board to compare the ships excursion to a private one.

 

For Turkey we went to Ephesus with Ekol tours - they were excellent. Some of those who took the ship excursion were very disappointed in what they saw - too much time at the rug store. If you only want to see Izmer, then you can walk into town from the ship.

 

Split is another tender right into the old town.

 

It was a wonderful trip - have fun!