Port Info for 2014 Marina Itinerary

[yorkiemomjn]

We have booked the Amsterdam to Barcelona cruise on the Marina for Sept. 2014. We have not been to any if these ports, except Barcelona. I would really appreciate any information you may have, especially recommended tour guides where needed and a pre-cruise hotel in Amsterdam.

 

My husband is very interested in going to the Normandy D Day beaches. After researching some of our ports here on CC, someone did tell me it is a possibility from the port of St. Malo. Thank you for any info you can give me. If you would like, please feel free to email me at jkn528 at att dot net. Here are the ports:

 

St. Malo, France

Lorient, France

Bordeaux (Le Verdon) France

La Coruna, Spain

Oporto, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Seville (Cadiz) Spain

Malaga, Spain

 

Thank you!

Judy

[LHT28]

Lots of good information on the Ports of Call forums

 

Amsterdam there are lots of hotels in the Centrum just depends on your budget

We have stayed at the Movenpick & the Barbizon Palace ...both suited our needs

[orchestrapal]

Looking for a 5 star the Pulitzer is a really wonderful hotel.:)

[TERRIER1]

We have booked the Amsterdam to Barcelona cruise on the Marina for Sept. 2014. We have not been to any if these ports, except Barcelona. I would really appreciate any information you may have, especially recommended tour guides where needed and a pre-cruise hotel in Amsterdam.

 

My husband is very interested in going to the Normandy D Day beaches. After researching some of our ports here on CC, someone did tell me it is a possibility from the port of St. Malo. Thank you for any info you can give me. If you would like, please feel free to email me at jkn528 at att dot net. Here are the ports:

 

St. Malo, France

Lorient, France

Bordeaux (Le Verdon) France

La Coruna, Spain

Oporto, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Seville (Cadiz) Spain

Malaga, Spain

 

Thank you!

Judy

 

You should love this itinerary. We did the Barcelona to Copenhagen two years ago and it was great. I pulled my notes and provided the information for the ports we overlapped.

 

St. Malo, France - one of my favorites. This location has one of the greatest tides in world. It is a walled city and wonderful to walk around. Walk along the ramparts for the best view of the bay and the islets at the mouth of the Rance. These walls were built over several centuries; some date from the 14th century. They were reconstructed in the 17th century and restored in the 19th. At low tide, a 15-minute stroll leads to the Ile du Grand-Be, the site of the tomb of Chateaubriand, who was born in St-Malo. Go online and get a tide schedule - you will be amazed. Have lunch in the many small restaurants. Great mussels and wine.

 

Lorient, France - we were suppose to dock here but Oceania changed it to Concarneau which was much better. I did a lot of research and there really isn't much to do on your own in L'Orient. You might want to check others who actually ported here.

 

Bordeaux (Le Verdon) France - we docked in Le Verdon and took a private tour of three of the well respected wineries. Go on tripadviser and look for private tours for the area. Had a great time but you will not get to Bordeaux if you are on the larger ships Riviera and Marina.

 

La Coruna, Spain - never made it here

 

Oporto, Portugal - never made it here

 

Lisbon, Portugal - we have docked here twice. We have taken the train down to Belem, went up to Sintra and just roamed the streets of Lisbon. Rick Steves has some great information and walking tours. You might want to book a private tour with your fellow cruise critic cruisers to see the most of the city and environs.

 

Seville (Cadiz) Spain - we have docked here twice and love it. Both times we stayed in Cadiz.There are great walking tours of the old town and the parks. The second time we took the bus to the beach. This is a stopping off point for Seville so you might want to book a tour to Seville.

 

 

Malaga, Spain - we took the bus up to Nerja and then upon our return went to the the fort Alcazabra which was great.

 

Have a great time. I am jealous.

[yorkiemomjn]

Lyn, orchestrapal, and Terrier,

 

Thank you so much for your suggestions and great info. My wonderful TA saw my posting and emailed me that she has been to all these ports and would send me recommendations, etc. I am embarrassed to say I did not even think about asking her! :p. I have been checking out the port forums, but love to have the opinions of O cruisers.

 

Thanks again!:)

Judy

[Pearl64]

Judy,

I don't know how much time you will spend in Amsterdam but we spent a day there on our Baltic cruise. We were docked way out in the container port with no viable public transit options. We hired a taxi for the day--very reasonable. He took us all over and outside of town for a delightful day. Email me if you want his name. Also, if you are going to the Anne Frank House, get your tickets online ahead of time. That is what our group of 8 did. I got them for everyone so we would all have the same time. When we got there, the line was clear around the block and this was in the am shortly after they opened. We bypassed the line--literally just walked in. Easy peasy. I think you can get tickets for the art museums ahead of time as well.

 

Patty

[Paulchili]

Judy,

It's a great itinerary.

FWIW, here are some of my recommendations.

St. Malo - charming walled city, easily explored on your own.

La Coruna - I would suggest visiting Santiago de Compostela. We did it from Vigo - a very good trip.

Lisbon - enough to do and see here for a first time visitor. I would save Sintra and Cascais for next visit.

Cadiz - definitely go to Seville

Malaga - there are several options here. My first choice would be to go to Granada and see Alhambra. Next time go to Mijo (or other hill town) combined with visit to Malaga cathedral.

All the Portuguese and Spanish ports can be visited in small groups through Spain Day tours (sometimes listed as Top Day Tours). We used them recently to go to Santiago from Vigo and to Granada a few years back - both excellent small group experiences.

For a more personalized tour in Lisbon and around I can recommend an excellent private guide for just two of you, if you are interested.

The last thing I would do is do the ship's tours - if you know what I mean. :)

Enjoy your trip!

Paul

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree with Paulchili about Lisbon--no need to go to Sintra, Lisbon itself is fascinating and beautiful. Lots of up and down walking, but there are also trolleys to take that can be fun and save your feet.

 

Porto is a wonderful little city. So picturesque along the river. Do try to make it over to the port houses, even if you don't do a port wine tour (fun), the views back over to Porto are great. There is also a hoho bus if you like.

[yorkiemomjn]

Thank you Paulchili, Wendy and Patty.

 

Patty, I called and left a message for you. It seems we keep missing each other with our calls!

[surfyachtie]

Hi Yorkiemomjn

We were in Lisbon last week and had a few days there. I would highly recommend the HOHO buses to get around. You can catch them in the Praca Restaurades . There are 3 different tours and will cost you 25E pp for a 48 hr pass which is reasonable.

[GJH123]

Hi Judy:

We are on a Marina cruise in September with a very similar itinerary. I did not arrange any of the tours but you may get some ideas from the roll call.

Regarding Lisbon, I would highly recommend Jorge Bras as a tour guide. We spent one day in Obidos and Lisbon and another day in Sintra, Cascais, and Estoril. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Portugal.

Enjoy your cruise!

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

Leixoes/Oporto is easy to do independently....

 

You can get into Oporto easily by crossing the pedestrian bridge across the river (turn right when leaving the terminal) and you can reach the "Metro do Porto" which is a modern, air conditioned tram network which will take you into the city centre very reasonably. The ticket machines will also work in English, just look for the Union Jack icon. If you want to do one of the wine lodges you can usually avoid the crowds by going to one of the smaller houses......we love Vasconcellos, which is unheard of outside Portugal (their only export customer is Fauchon in Paris)..... Their port is some of the best and more reasonably priced than the big names better known to us in the English speaking world.

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[yorkiemomjn]

Judy,

It's a great itinerary.

FWIW, here are some of my recommendations.

St. Malo - charming walled city, easily explored on your own.

La Coruna - I would suggest visiting Santiago de Compostela. We did it from Vigo - a very good trip.

Lisbon - enough to do and see here for a first time visitor. I would save Sintra and Cascais for next visit.

Cadiz - definitely go to Seville

Malaga - there are several options here. My first choice would be to go to Granada and see Alhambra. Next time go to Mijo (or other hill town) combined with visit to Malaga cathedral.

All the Portuguese and Spanish ports can be visited in small groups through Spain Day tours (sometimes listed as Top Day Tours). We used them recently to go to Santiago from Vigo and to Granada a few years back - both excellent small group experiences.

For a more personalized tour in Lisbon and around I can recommend an excellent private guide for just two of you, if you are interested.

The last thing I would do is do the ship's tours - if you know what I mean. :)

Enjoy your trip!

Paul

 

 

Paul,

Thank you for all your recommendations! You are always so helpful! I would love to have the name of the guide for Lisbon. :)

 

Judy

[yorkiemomjn]

Hi Judy:

We are on a Marina cruise in September with a very similar itinerary. I did not arrange any of the tours but you may get some ideas from the roll call.

Regarding Lisbon, I would highly recommend Jorge Bras as a tour guide. We spent one day in Obidos and Lisbon and another day in Sintra, Cascais, and Estoril. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Portugal.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Thanks so much, Glenda. I have emailed Jorge. :)

[yorkiemomjn]

Leixoes/Oporto is easy to do independently....

 

You can get into Oporto easily by crossing the pedestrian bridge across the river (turn right when leaving the terminal) and you can reach the "Metro do Porto" which is a modern' date=' air conditioned tram network which will take you into the city centre very reasonably. The ticket machines will also work in English, just look for the Union Jack icon. If you want to do one of the wine lodges you can usually avoid the crowds by going to one of the smaller houses......we love Vasconcellos, which is unheard of outside Portugal (their only export customer is Fauchon in Paris)..... Their port is some of the best and more reasonably priced than the big names better known to us in the English speaking world.

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app[/quote']

 

Thank you! This will be very helpful! :)

[yorkiemomjn]

Thank you for all the great information! I was not sure which ports I needed to book tours for and which ones can be a DIY and your suggestions are a great help! I went out today and bought several of Rick Steve's books, too! I love planning a trip almost as much as the actual trip...........almost. :D

[Paulchili]

Paul,

Thank you for all your recommendations! You are always so helpful! I would love to have the name of the guide for Lisbon. :)

 

Judy

 

Judy,

It is Jorge (pronounced George) Bras - you apparently have his contact already.

Very highly recommended - has a very nice Mercedes S, fluent English, very well informed and a true gentleman. Do your homework and decide what you want to see and he will accommodate you.

We paid 200 Euro ($260) for a six hour tour of Lisbon for just the 2 of us. Most ship's 6 hour tours will cost you the same or more on a big bus.

Yes, you could do Lisbon for less on HOHO, but the bus will not get you to the most interesting part of the city - the extremely narrow and crooked streets of old Lisbon (as Jorge did).

Have a great cruise!

Paul

PS I believe he does larger groups as well (4-6 people) in a van so if you get some others to join you, you may save some money. Just ask him about that if you are interested.

[Anna201213]

We stayed twice at Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam. A nice hotel best location

[jo-b]

If you want a hotel near the cruise port in Amsterdam the Movenpick is excellent and actually over the cruise terminal.

[yorkiemomjn]

Judy,

It's a great itinerary.

FWIW, here are some of my recommendations.

St. Malo - charming walled city, easily explored on your own.

La Coruna - I would suggest visiting Santiago de Compostela. We did it from Vigo - a very good trip.

Lisbon - enough to do and see here for a first time visitor. I would save Sintra and Cascais for next visit.

Cadiz - definitely go to Seville

Malaga - there are several options here. My first choice would be to go to Granada and see Alhambra. Next time go to Mijo (or other hill town) combined with visit to Malaga cathedral.

All the Portuguese and Spanish ports can be visited in small groups through Spain Day tours (sometimes listed as Top Day Tours). We used them recently to go to Santiago from Vigo and to Granada a few years back - both excellent small group experiences.

For a more personalized tour in Lisbon and around I can recommend an excellent private guide for just two of you, if you are interested.

The last thing I would do is do the ship's tours - if you know what I mean. :)

Enjoy your trip!

Paul

 

Paul,

 

I am so excited! I was able to get Jorge! He has suggested a combined tour of Lisbon/Sintra pick-up 8:30Am, drop-off 2:30pm. Our ship sails early at 3:00 pm. Do you think we should just stay in Lisbon? What are the must-sees in each city?

 

Thank you!

Judy

[Paulchili]

Paul,

 

I am so excited! I was able to get Jorge! He has suggested a combined tour of Lisbon/Sintra pick-up 8:30Am, drop-off 2:30pm. Our ship sails early at 3:00 pm. Do you think we should just stay in Lisbon? What are the must-sees in each city?

 

Thank you!

Judy

 

If you think you'll be back again sometime, I would do only Lisbon and leave Sintra and Cascais for next time. Otherwise do both, but you'll only get an "overview" as you have a relatively short day.

I like Frommer's guides (you can get it from library or online) and read about Lisbon and Sintra and then decide what you would want to see most as people's preferrences and interests vary.

Enjoy and say Hi to Jorge from us,

Paul (and Marsha)

[BPCruiser]

Judy,

I don't know how much time you will spend in Amsterdam but we spent a day there on our Baltic cruise. We were docked way out in the container port with no viable public transit options. We hired a taxi for the day--very reasonable. He took us all over and outside of town for a delightful day. Email me if you want his name. Also, if you are going to the Anne Frank House, get your tickets online ahead of time. That is what our group of 8 did. I got them for everyone so we would all have the same time. When we got there, the line was clear around the block and this was in the am shortly after they opened. We bypassed the line--literally just walked in. Easy peasy. I think you can get tickets for the art museums ahead of time as well.

 

Patty

 

 

Hi Patty,

 

We will be in Amsterdam for a day soon on our Marina Baltics cruise. We already have our Anne Frank tickets but were unsure how we were getting to the museum from port ( canal boat, public transit etc.) We also hoped to have time to get to Zaans Schas if we had time but unsure of transit options to get there.

 

A reliable, reasonably prices taxi driver would be a great option, we are a traveling group of 4. I would love the info on your taxi contact in Amsterdam to see if he was available to transport us.

 

Thanks!

[Pearl64]

Hi BPCruiser,

 

Email me so I can give you the taxi driver's contact. We did this in 2010. We did the Anne Frank house and Zaans Schaus plus two small villages and so much more. It was a fantastic day. My email is cbmppm at comcast dot net

 

Patty

[kiawahdon]

If you want a hotel near the cruise port in Amsterdam the Movenpick is excellent and actually over the cruise terminal.

I second the Movenpick. Good reviews on TA. Less than a mile from Central Station with the tram right out front and the Blue line canal boat stop a 2 minute walk away. Plus, you can watch your ship dock.

[Caroldoll]

and then any leftover time in Lisbon. Do a private tour, that way you can do both.