Shuttle Buses

[Red Leicester]

Visby - No shuttle buses at all provided officially although one was alledgedly seen shuttling back and forth but I never saw it.  Mein Schiff 4 was also in and had bagged all the shuttle buses including the Hop On Hop Off fleet.

 

For the first time I've known we got a memo the night before advising of no shuttles and that the walk to town was 1km (signposted as 1.3km on the ground).  It said the walk was uphill to town and would take 20 mins over a mix of paved and park type ground.  It also stated coming back should be easier.  It also advised those who weren't strong on their feet could struggle.  Limited taxis could be available and would cost c15EUR.  The message read as think, and think again if you can make the walk.

 

On the ground the 20 mins was correct, it was 1.3km but you also have to negotiate a scaffolding built bridge.  This is a basic bridge, obviously safe but Mrs RL did not like the movement nor the fact you could see through the structure.  It also contains three flights worth of stairs each side and no ramps or lifts.  There is an option to cross a busy road but not sign posted.  It is uphill to town and a large crowd was doing it all day in both directions from both Britannia and Mein Schiff 4.  

It absolutely lashed it down on the way to town and the parkway path was wet and puddled.  Worth bearing in mind when picked out clothes and shoes.

[Red Leicester]

Last port call today.

 

Copenhagen - shuttle bus provided and took a good 20 - 30 mins depending on traffic, I did it twice.  Again was free to Select passengers. Mix of buses and coaches with separate accessible minibuses provided for those who needed.  Unless you were a strong and keen walker you needed the shuttle.  There was a local bus stop outside the terminal but the Metro station was a good mile / mile and half walk I'd say.

 

Drop off was on Norregade near Sankt Petri Passage.  A short walk and you were in the main centre.

 

If you paid then bang for your buck this was by far the best out of Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and Copenhagen.  Kiel and Visby were devoid of shuttles, not needed in Kiel, Visby needed some I feel but see my previous post.

Hope this is all of use to some.  Maybe a compilation of such things could be a useful thread.  I'm not sure how often pick up / drop off points vary.

[TigerB]

On 9/27/2022 at 7:15 PM, Red Leicester said:

Visby - No shuttle buses at all provided officially although one was alledgedly seen shuttling back and forth but I never saw it.  Mein Schiff 4 was also in and had bagged all the shuttle buses including the Hop On Hop Off fleet.

 

That was the accessible bus, which we used; I think they had two running, and we were dropped off near Wisby Strand. On the return trip, although it was supposed to be for passengers that needed it, it was full of crew.

 

I heard two different excuses for why shuttles weren't provided for all; one was that they weren't allowed because it was a Unesco heritage site, and the second was because there weren't that many on the island.  It was probably more likely that TUI/Mein Schiff got their towels on them first.🙄

 

[Aulanis]

 

I know this is an old thread  but we just booked through an agent and there is

nothing on the paperwork to indicate we have taken "select " other than a wodge of OBC 🙂

Consequently we do not know which ports might have shuttles.

Should I be able to see this  list somewhere other than having to make a dummy booking

and then closing it?

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, Aulanis said:

 

I know this is an old thread  but we just booked through an agent and there is

nothing on the paperwork to indicate we have taken "select " other than a wodge of OBC 🙂

Consequently we do not know which ports might have shuttles.

Should I be able to see this  list somewhere other than having to make a dummy booking

and then closing it?

Have you chosen your cabin of so you have booked Select, if not then you have booked Early Saver/Saver.

[majortom10]

Some TAs especially the high street multi national are totally incompetent with regarding cruises. If you want to book they should tell you the different types of fares, the different prices and what each one involves.

[binman2]

Guess you have select as offer of a wodge of extra obc is for aelect bookings and as majortom says you should have selected your cabin no 

[Aulanis]

Thank you - yes I am sure we did book select , all I am asking, is there any way

to see which ports have shuttles that will be included  in the select fare

without having to  do a dummy booking.

[happy v]

9 minutes ago, Aulanis said:

Thank you - yes I am sure we did book select , all I am asking, is there any way

to see which ports have shuttles that will be included  in the select fare

without having to  do a dummy booking.

You won't be able to see which ports have shuttles anywhere. If there is any distance to be walked a shuttle will be provided

[Sheila127]

4 hours ago, Aulanis said:

 

I know this is an old thread  but we just booked through an agent and there is

nothing on the paperwork to indicate we have taken "select " other than a wodge of OBC 🙂

Consequently we do not know which ports might have shuttles.

Should I be able to see this  list somewhere other than having to make a dummy booking

and then closing 

Not sure which cruise you are on but having just come off the Iona there were shuttle buses at Alicante, Barcelona and Lisbon and, I believe a port provided shuttle which was payable in Gibraltar.

[Aulanis]

2 hours ago, happy v said:

You won't be able to see which ports have shuttles anywhere.

Thanks - One of the cut backs?   I tried the dummy booking as suggested in a post last September and it no longer seems to work.

 

1 hour ago, Sheila127 said:

Not sure which cruise you are on

Thanks it is the Arcadia Norway & Scandinavia  6 June  ( Changed from Baltic I think)

so none of those ports,  nor on our med cruise in March.

[Interestedcruisefan]

For those not on select fares do you need cash to pay for shuttles or do they take card?

[Sheila127]

12 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

For those not on select fares do you need cash to pay for shuttles or do they take card?

Your cruise card is scanned and costs added to your account.

[Interestedcruisefan]

38 minutes ago, Sheila127 said:

Your cruise card is scanned and costs added to your account.

Thanks Sheila

 

That's nice and straightforward

[Fionboard]

14 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Have you chosen your cabin of so you have booked Select, if not then you have booked Early Saver/Saver.

Not necessarily. With select booking you have the option to choose cabin or let P&O choose it for you. 

 

[davecttr]

13 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Not necessarily. With select booking you have the option to choose cabin or let P&O choose it for you. 

 

Also if you have a late booking like me you don't get the choice to select your cabin. You do get location, forward, mid etc.

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Not necessarily. With select booking you have the option to choose cabin or let P&O choose it for you. 

 

Always booked Select and always picked my own cabin that is why you pay extra. I choose cabin where I want and not where P&O want to put you which might be in poor position of the ship. If you are letting P&O choose cabin you might as well book Early Saver.

[Fionboard]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Always booked Select and always picked my own cabin that is why you pay extra. I choose cabin where I want and not where P&O want to put you which might be in poor position of the ship. If you are letting P&O choose cabin you might as well book Early Saver.

I always book select, mainly for the fixed dining (no point on Iona) but also to choose cabin. 

[Aulanis]

On 1/24/2023 at 1:56 PM, majortom10 said:

Always booked Select and always picked my own cabin that is why you pay extra. ............... If you are letting P&O choose cabin you might as well book Early Saver.

That was not the case for us 🙂      We had already decided this was going to be a cheap cruise , for us.   Its a while since we were on P&O  so were fitter and the shuttles were of little interest.  As we didnt use P&O to book always assumed  select would cost  lots more so

on a lowest grade inside cabin  we never bother to  look. 

     On this occasion the TA queried why we didnt want select  and went on to say that on our cruise the select price  extra was less that the amount we would get back

in OBC .   So  it was a no brainer.   We  will survive whatever cabin we get  and will maybe save on a few shuttles  and have a few extra drinks .

Edited January 28, 2023 by Aulanis

[majortom10]

11 hours ago, Aulanis said:

That was not the case for us 🙂      We had already decided this was going to be a cheap cruise , for us.   Its a while since we were on P&O  so were fitter and the shuttles were of little interest.  As we didnt use P&O to book always assumed  select would cost  lots more so

on a lowest grade inside cabin  we never bother to  look. 

     On this occasion the TA queried why we didnt want select  and went on to say that on our cruise the select price  extra was less that the amount we would get back

in OBC .   So  it was a no brainer.   We  will survive whatever cabin we get  and will maybe save on a few shuttles  and have a few extra drinks .

That is why whenever you book a cruise you should ask, or your TA should tell you, different pricing. Your TA obviously did their correct job on making you aware.

[tring]

Just to add that everyone's cards are scanned as you get on shuttle buses, but only saver fare passengers are charged onto their account.

[elmsliebev]

On 1/28/2023 at 10:43 PM, Aulanis said:

That was not the case for us 🙂      We had already decided this was going to be a cheap cruise , for us.   Its a while since we were on P&O  so were fitter and the shuttles were of little interest.  As we didnt use P&O to book always assumed  select would cost  lots more so

on a lowest grade inside cabin  we never bother to  look. 

     On this occasion the TA queried why we didnt want select  and went on to say that on our cruise the select price  extra was less that the amount we would get back

in OBC .   So  it was a no brainer.   We  will survive whatever cabin we get  and will maybe save on a few shuttles  and have a few extra drinks .

tt's been our experience too. We've often booked Saver and been fine with our choice of cabin, had our preferred dinner time and not really used the shuttle. This time we've booked Select as the OBC was so good. It will pay much of our drinks bill! 

[Bagpuss]

We haven't cruised for years, and never with P&O, but are just looking at possibly booking one for the summer (just doing some research as reviews don't seem to be favourable, but that's for another thread!). Anyhow, the TA explained the saver fair doesn't include shuttle buses, but the select fair does (with other benefits). Didn't even know this was a thing as they were just included back in the day!!! So can anyone advise how much the shuttle buses are each way please, 2 adults, 2 children, and which ports we might need them on the Canaries Cruise? Thank you.

[terrierjohn]

42 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

We haven't cruised for years, and never with P&O, but are just looking at possibly booking one for the summer (just doing some research as reviews don't seem to be favourable, but that's for another thread!). Anyhow, the TA explained the saver fair doesn't include shuttle buses, but the select fair does (with other benefits). Didn't even know this was a thing as they were just included back in the day!!! So can anyone advise how much the shuttle buses are each way please, 2 adults, 2 children, and which ports we might need them on the Canaries Cruise? Thank you.

You could easily manage a Canaries cruise without shuttles. Madeira is quite a walk maybe 15/20 minutes to the main promenade, the Lanzarote shuttle only shortens the walk into town by about 10 minutes and Lisbon is quite a pleasant 10 minute walk into the main tourist area. The rest are just a short stroll into the main centres

. 

[Bagpuss]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

You could easily manage a Canaries cruise without shuttles. Madeira is quite a walk maybe 15/20 minutes to the main promenade, the Lanzarote shuttle only shortens the walk into town by about 10 minutes and Lisbon is quite a pleasant 10 minute walk into the main tourist area. The rest are just a short stroll into the main centres

. 

Thank you very much🙂. Do you know how much the shuttles costs, should we choose to jump on one in Madeira for example?