Suggestions for Koper

[Vineyard View]

Sounds like great memories. Thank you for sharing edinburgher. I am not sure if any ships sail to Seville now but that would be a big bonus. 
 

‘I will come back and post on these threads post cruise. I am not getting much response on other small ports we are visiting, and possibly information on them would be helpful to some. 

[cruisemom42]

Yes, I will try to make a note so I don't forget to come back and update these ports in particular (as well as some of the others I mentioned that are a bit off the track).

 

I love the small ships too, and have sailed on Swan Hellenic back in the day, as well as multiple cruises with Voyages to Antiquity (350 passenger ship). What I miss most about those options were the enrichment speakers onboard -- always excellent.

 

Oceania's and Azamara's R-class ships are my last bastion against the larger ones; I hope they keep them running for the foreseeable future. They are still able to dock places others can't -- Seville, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Bordeaux -- instead of several hours away downriver.

 

I have found with Azamara in particular that itineraries tend to be expensive when first offered but the prices often drop. I was able to re-fare my October cruise and not only saved several thousand but also acquired $800 onboard credit!  And after avoiding Oceania for years (less solo-friendly prices than A.), I've just booked one itinerary in August this year that does Iceland and Greenland. They finally wised up and made a few solo cabins available on their R-class ships.

 

[Vineyard View]

Good to know you like Azamara. We have a couple of theirs catching our eye.  Smaller ships is one reason we chose Seabourn on an incredible promotion last year. Per day penciled out less than the others and itinerary drove decision. Viking in the past was good, but their pricing and repeated same itineraries drove us to look elsewhere   

[edinburgher]

I was able to re-fare my October cruise and not only saved several thousand but also acquired $800 onboard credit!

 

Unfortunately Brits do not have that option.  The price we pay is the price we paid at the time we booked. It can be done, but usually only if we cancel the booking and re-book, but that means losing the deposit paid at the time of booking and any OBC or other bonuses in place at the time of booking.  Some calculations are needed as the re-booking gain may be more than the deposit loss, but that isn't always the case.

 

We did (I think )at least 6 with SH and yes, their lecturers were almost always excellent apart from a few who were too pedantic. The after lunch lectures often found a good number of pax fast asleep!

Also sailed R8s with PandO and Princess when they had one each.

 

The ships are pretty old now and despite refits, may not have many more years left so make the most of them while you can.

[mchell810]

On 2/26/2023 at 9:57 AM, Vineyard View said:

Sounds like great memories. Thank you for sharing edinburgher. I am not sure if any ships sail to Seville now but that would be a big bonus. 
. 

Just an FYI: Azamara still sails into Seville. I had two nights there in November on their Pursuit. It was the driving factor in selecting the itinerary; it was lovely! 

[Vineyard View]

Thank you Michell810. That is great information. Their intensive Spain and Italy look interesting. 
We have not sailed Azamara we javelin enjoyed Viking on several trips and have Seabourn lined up this year. If you have sailed them open to input. Bit knowing that there is sail in to Seville is really tempting. So thank you. 

[Mrs Miggins]

We are on Azamara Intensive Spain in June - both Seville and Bordeaux - lovely itinerary.  We are also regulars on Viking - did Azamara, Viking and Scenic last year.  Viking was not quite as good as in the past so havent booked anything with them.  They also need to come up with some new itineraries.

Second time in  Koper in April on Azamara - just wandered around - actually quite interesting - good museums, churches, Venetian Gates and Roman ruins -  but next time will try Piran.  Love a local bus.

 

[Vineyard View]

Thank you for this further feedback. That intensive Spain itinerary really does look lovely - and some ports we haven’t been. Totally agree with you about Viking itineraries. Mediterranean are the same year after year, and we’ve already been to a lot of them on Viking. I am reading that a lot of lines are struggling with being at pre Covid standards. 
Glad you enjoyed Koper. It seems that several smaller lines are going here, so it could likely be a repeat in the future should we be fortunate enough to find ourselves with travel continued! 

[bennybear]

Just jumping in to this interesting discussion.   I desperately wanted to see Ljubljana but we weren’t in port long enough, I think it’s highway driving.  So we took an excursion to Piran which was a cute town to wander around in, but not much more than that.  The tour was really just transportation.
 

We too are looking for different ports.  Saw some interesting ones for Greece.  Gythion should be good too!  
 

We need a thread on good deals on unusual itineraries.  

[Vineyard View]

I agree that we need a thread on unusual itineraries. It’s hard to get information on “off the beaten path” ports. I’ve tried to find more on Koper, but also a small island in Croatia - Vis. Result = Crickets. It’s not the only one. There are several on this upcoming trip. Part of the attraction of this itinerary are the unusual ports. Yes, I look at the ship excursions to get an idea of what might be of interest. In the past, pre Covid, there were independent tours more readily available than there appears to be now. I could  find them here as well as on TA.  Maybe it’s just me and I am missing the more up to date places to find these options. 
 

Thank you for your feedback on Piran. I think of it weren’t our last port on our trip, I might be more inclined to push it. As it stands, I quite honestly haven’t decided yet - and that is okay. I do know if we were to visit again we would likely want to travel further out because I feel fairly certain that staying close by in Piran and Koper will be a “one and done”. 

[cruisemom42]

9 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

In the past, pre Covid, there were independent tours more readily available than there appears to be now. I could  find them here as well as on TA.

 

COVID put paid to a lot of small operators -- especially ones not located in major tourism magnets like Italy or France. The tourism infrastructure is still recovering in most places. I'm on a 28-day cruise around Japan next month that is rescheduled from 2020. On our 2020 roll call, we had many private tours arranged. This time, it has been difficult. (Granted, Japan only reopened to tourism last fall....)

 

That said, I don't know that there is much "there" there in Vis. It's a small, pretty island but with a bit of a dark history if the show I saw recently is anything to judge by -- during the cold war days of Tito, it was more or less a fortress and a submarine hideout. Lots of concrete bunkers around, as well as a tunnel where subs could enter and be hidden from airplane surveillance. Unfortunately nothing gleaned that would interest me much.

 

 

 

[Vineyard View]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

 

That said, I don't know that there is much "there" there in Vis. It's a small, pretty island but with a bit of a dark history if the show I saw recently is anything to judge by -- during the cold war days of Tito, it was more or less a fortress and a submarine hideout. Lots of concrete bunkers around, as well as a tunnel where subs could enter and be hidden from airplane surveillance. Unfortunately nothing gleaned that would interest me much.

 

 

 

It is difficult finding privates. It’s sad actually. We always found our guides to be highly educated individuals with a passion for what they did. It seems most have had to move on in order to survive during Covid. I wonder if they will venture back at one point. I hope that they do, for them and for travelers. I believe that they not only seemed to enjoy, but I hope that it provided a fair/good income. 
 

Vis - agree. Seems the best option would be to take a boat excursion around the island and visit beautiful beaches and caves. I am just not so sure that the water will be warm enough last of May for swimming. Oh well. We will make the best of it and enjoy being on vacation. Thank you for checking for me. 

[mchell810]

On 2/28/2023 at 9:56 PM, Vineyard View said:

Thank you Michell810. That is great information. Their intensive Spain and Italy look interesting. 
We have not sailed Azamara we javelin enjoyed Viking on several trips and have Seabourn lined up this year. If you have sailed them open to input. Bit knowing that there is sail in to Seville is really tempting. So thank you. 

I haven’t sailed Viking nor Seabourn; I’m shifting more to Silversea now. I would still sail with Azamara for a special itinerary. As long as one knows what to expect it will be good (I find the included wines are hit or miss & that is an issue for me).  I love small ships and the decor of the R-ships is appealing; however, they are aging— newer ships have much to offer. I hope this helps. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by mchell810

[Vineyard View]

It does help. Wine selection is a big piece for me as well. On Viking their beverage package, reasonably priced offers some we are okay with. I am just now discovering the expectation of included wines on Seabourn. Completely unimpressed and that surprised me. I expected much better. Both lines allow wine brought on board with no corkage fee - so that is a plus but I definitely hear what you are saying. 
Azamara - really interesting itineraries. A little worried about other aspects. I am looking at 2024 itineraries on several lines and Azamara  holds the most attraction, albeit with concerns outside of the actual itinerary. So we will see how this sailing with Seabourn goes first. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by Vineyard View

[cruisemom42]

12 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Azamara - really interesting itineraries. A little worried about other aspects. I am looking at 2024 itineraries on several lines and Azamara  holds the most attraction, albeit with concerns outside of the actual itinerary.

 

I am on their newest (most recently acquired and updated) ship, Azamara Onward, in October. When I come back to these boards to post reviews on places like Rovinj and Koper I will also try to remember to give a few of my impressions of the ship.... although I'm not that fussed by things like cabin space and included wine selections, lol. 

 

 

[Vineyard View]

We were scheduled last year with one of the first sailings of Onward and unfortunately had to cancel. They had a bumpy start, but sounds like a lot of that was supply chain issues. I think that has all smoothed out. Will look forward to your review and hoping you have a great experience. 
I am happy that this thread started. It has provided Koper options for more than one visit, as well as additional good information! 

[edinburgher]

as well as additional good information! 

 

Of which at least two of you will hopefully be adding more?

[Irish110]

On a port stop to Koper in 2021, we booked a private shore excursion with Koper Trips and would highly recommend this company. We ended up going on their Predjama Castle (a cave castle) and Postogna Cave shore excursion. Our driver/guide was excellent and we spent an enjoyable day seeing parts of Slovenia and still had time to explore Koper on our own after the tour.. They offer different shore excursions to others parts of Slovenia as well. For those looking for a private tour option other than the ships excursions, I would recommend checking out their website. 

[cruisemom42]

12 hours ago, Irish110 said:

On a port stop to Koper in 2021, we booked a private shore excursion with Koper Trips and would highly recommend this company. We ended up going on their Predjama Castle (a cave castle) and Postogna Cave shore excursion. Our driver/guide was excellent and we spent an enjoyable day seeing parts of Slovenia and still had time to explore Koper on our own after the tour.. They offer different shore excursions to others parts of Slovenia as well. For those looking for a private tour option other than the ships excursions, I would recommend checking out their website. 

 

Did you have to get your own group together? 

 

For me, the excursions don't offer any additional choice. The combination tour of Ljubljana and Lake Bled still does not include an actual boat ride and visit to the island at the second destination....  I think it's just too much for one day.

 

[Vineyard View]

On 3/8/2023 at 7:13 PM, Irish110 said:

On a port stop to Koper in 2021, we booked a private shore excursion with Koper Trips and would highly recommend this company. We ended up going on their Predjama Castle (a cave castle) and Postogna Cave shore excursion. Our driver/guide was excellent and we spent an enjoyable day seeing parts of Slovenia and still had time to explore Koper on our own after the tour.. They offer different shore excursions to others parts of Slovenia as well. For those looking for a private tour option other than the ships excursions, I would recommend checking out their website. 

We are also interested in knowing more. Since Covid, it seems that putting small group excursions together on roll calls have all bit disappeared. Thank you for this information

[dronnygirl]

We have holidayed in Slovenia a few times and love the country.  If you have time for a longer day trip I would recommend Lake Bled and Ljubljana, both lovely to visit. You can walk round the lake and there are plenty of cafes in the town as well as the castle and Ljubljana is a lovely city. It's compact and easy to walk round.

For a shorter day visit Piran by bus or taxi, it's only small but brilliant if you want lunch out as there are lots of fish restaurants by the sea.  You can then walk to nearby Portoroz, about 30-40 mins walk, it's a seaside place totally different to Piran and bigger. You can then take a bus or taxi back to Koper. You would need to check bus times obviously but you would see 2 very different places 

[Vineyard View]

10 hours ago, dronnygirl said:

We have holidayed in Slovenia a few times and love the country.  If you have time for a longer day trip I would recommend Lake Bled and Ljubljana, both lovely to visit. You can walk round the lake and there are plenty of cafes in the town as well as the castle and Ljubljana is a lovely city. It's compact and easy to walk round.

For a shorter day visit Piran by bus or taxi, it's only small but brilliant if you want lunch out as there are lots of fish restaurants by the sea.  You can then walk to nearby Portoroz, about 30-40 mins walk, it's a seaside place totally different to Piran and bigger. You can then take a bus or taxi back to Koper. You would need to check bus times obviously but you would see 2 very different places 

Thank you for these further tips. Great infomation!

[Irish110]

On 3/9/2023 at 8:23 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Did you have to get your own group together? 

 

For me, the excursions don't offer any additional choice. The combination tour of Ljubljana and Lake Bled still does not include an actual boat ride and visit to the island at the second destination....  I think it's just too much for one day.

 

I believe we booked through Viator as a share tour but there was 4 of us so we ended up with a private tour just for our party. This was back in the Fall of 2021 and they were just coming out of the lockdowns.

[ColonyGirl2]

Sorry was posting about Kotor, not Koper.

Edited April 9, 2023 by ColonyGirl2
wrong port

[millybess]

@Vineyard View  We will be in Koper in May with Viking and we have booked this excursion with GetYourGuide

 

From Koper: Piran and Panoramic Slovenian Coast Tour