Colombo, Sr Lanka Cruise Port

[tring]

Has anyone been here in the last couple of years on a cruise ship and if so, can you tell me about the port?

 

We will be embarking Boudicca there next February and I am interested in what facilities are/are not available at the port.  We are planning a pre cruise stay, but will not arrange to travel a long way to the port on embarkation day if facilities are thin on the ground (which I suspect is the case as it is not a well visited port).

[berkshireboy]

On 2/23/2019 at 8:25 PM, tring said:

Has anyone been here in the last couple of years on a cruise ship and if so, can you tell me about the port?

 

We will be embarking Boudicca there next February and I am interested in what facilities are/are not available at the port.  We are planning a pre cruise stay, but will not arrange to travel a long way to the port on embarkation day if facilities are thin on the ground (which I suspect is the case as it is not a well visited port).

 

We were there most recently in April last year on an Azamara cruise.  As you would probably expect the facilities seemed basic but don't know what it would be like to board there as we were just passing through.

 

As it happens we will be getting off Boudicca as you get on as we are on the Cairns - Colombo leg of this cruise.  So we have even more concerns, as disembarking will probably be worse than boarding!  [I still remember with horror disembarking at Mumbai one year].  However, I'm sure that Fred will have it all organised!

 

Alan

 

 

[tring]

Thanks for the reply.  The main thing I am interested in is if there are any toilets on the keyside, which is not sounding likely.  We have now gone for it and arranged our stay in Colombo at the start, followed by a 6 night tour and a 5 night beach break just short of two hours south of Colombo, so will likely need to arrange a drink, (and more importantly toilet stop), before we get to the port.  We had a similar stay in Sri Lanka a couple of years back and really liked our four nights in Colombo, but as cruise passengers I think you are always targeted as you tend to turn up a bit green about the local costs of taxis etc.  I found the Trip Advisor forums really helpful regards our Sri Lankan holiday, which was added to at very short notice since it was planned as a post cruise stay after a cruise on Voyager, but company went bust a month before we were due to go out to Hong Kong.

 

Going from the airport in Sri Lanka is good as there are fixed price taxi desks which work well, but if independent, you may need to book a transfer ahead, unless you are just taking a short hop to a local hotel.  Let me know if I can be any help regards hotel(s) etc.

 

We have just been to Myanmar for 2.5 weeks followed by Thailand and again really loved our four nights in Yangon, but unfortunately the cruise port is a bit out, so some sort of tour probably needed from the ship.

 

Enjoy your cruise,

 

Barbara

[berkshireboy]

On 2/25/2019 at 4:32 PM, tring said:

Thanks for the reply.  The main thing I am interested in is if there are any toilets on the keyside, which is not sounding likely.  We have now gone for it and arranged our stay in Colombo at the start, followed by a 6 night tour and a 5 night beach break just short of two hours south of Colombo, so will likely need to arrange a drink, (and more importantly toilet stop), before we get to the port.  We had a similar stay in Sri Lanka a couple of years back and really liked our four nights in Colombo, but as cruise passengers I think you are always targeted as you tend to turn up a bit green about the local costs of taxis etc.  I found the Trip Advisor forums really helpful regards our Sri Lankan holiday, which was added to at very short notice since it was planned as a post cruise stay after a cruise on Voyager, but company went bust a month before we were due to go out to Hong Kong.

 

Going from the airport in Sri Lanka is good as there are fixed price taxi desks which work well, but if independent, you may need to book a transfer ahead, unless you are just taking a short hop to a local hotel.  Let me know if I can be any help regards hotel(s) etc.

 

We have just been to Myanmar for 2.5 weeks followed by Thailand and again really loved our four nights in Yangon, but unfortunately the cruise port is a bit out, so some sort of tour probably needed from the ship.

 

Enjoy your cruise,

 

Barbara

I certainly can't remember toilets on the quayside itself. There was a collection of stalls set up for the tourists but when a larger ship arrived in a different part of the port  they all moved to the new ship!

 

We are on the Fred arranged charter on this cruise so hopefully no need for taxis!

 

We were in the same situation as you on the Voyager.  We were booked Cape Town home via the Ascensions etc. and had flights booked to South Africa and a hotel in Cape Town together with private tours for the few days before we would have boarded.  Didn't happen of course but we recovered the majority of our outlay over the following months.

 

We have been to Myanmar a few times, but only on cruise ships [most allow two or three days in port].  Last April we had our Azamazing evening there in Yangon , celebrating the Water Festival with a special private show.  Ended up getting very wet!

As you say its a drag from the port into Yangon. Although we had a police escort to clear the way for our coaches it still took over a couple of hours each way.  Still, not something we are likely to experience again.

 

We enjoy all our cruises!

 

Alan

 

[tring]

15 minutes ago, berkshireboy said:

I certainly can't remember toilets on the quayside itself. There was a collection of stalls set up for the tourists but when a larger ship arrived in a different part of the port  they all moved to the new ship!

 

Alan

 

 

I like it 🙂

 

If you were in Yangon for the water festival, that would have increased travel time as well.  I have read a lot on the TA forum and it sounded fun though.  We were there early January and then moved on to the other main tourist venues - Lake Inle, Bagan and Mandalay before going to Chiang Mai to rest for  a week.  A great holiday.

 

We were booked on Voyager from Hong Kong to Colombo and had booked a post cruise tour/stay with Kuoni.  When All Leisure went down we had disruption insurance, so my husband was thankful we could cancel and get a full refund, but I said 'Why', so we extended the stay and booked flights independently and had an excellent holiday in Sri Lanka with a few days in Dubai on our return.  It has given us the confidence to book independently, so has changed our travelling style quite a bit.  A long haul cruise now is something to add an adventure to and also means we can avoid those overnight flights by scheduling stop offs.  We have used the airside hotel in Dubai airport a few times, which also means we can fly direct from Manchester, which is great for us.

 

Thanks for all your help,

 

Barbara