Valencia

[TippySue]

How far from the cruise port is it to the center of Valencia?  Are taxis readily available?  Are there til tuks?

[edinburgher]

Have replied to your other thread with this:

 

Valencia you would probably want a local bus or taxi to take you to and from the historic area which is quite compact and flat with sights in close proximity to each other so easily walked..  The official Valencia Tourist Info website has much info on it and you should include looking at it as part of your research.

 

If taking a taxi, you could ask to be routed past the futuristic area en route to the historic area as Valencia is a city of two parts.

Edited March 31, 2023 by edinburgher

[MAVIP]

17 hours ago, TippySue said:

How far from the cruise port is it to the center of Valencia?  Are taxis readily available?  Are there til tuks?

Last time we were in Valencia, Holland America (or was it the port?) had a shuttle bus availabla to the entrance of the inner city. A taxi to the Plaza de la Reine takes about 15 minutes.

[pdmlynek]

13 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Valencia you would probably want a local bus or taxi to take you to and from the historic area which is quite compact and flat with sights in close proximity to each other so easily walked..  The official Valencia Tourist Info website has much info on it and you should include looking at it as part of your research.

 

 

Valencia wil be our embarkation and disembarkation point.  Is the bus that you are referring to Bus No. 4?  Do you know which EMT bus stop passengers should get on the bus? Manuel Soto Enginyer - Comandància Marina bus stop (39.4557N 0.3303W), or Ponte de les Drassanes bus stop (39.4550N 0.3300W)? I presume the latter, but I'd like to check.

 

[edinburgher]

 

Valencia wil be our embarkation and disembarkation point.  Is the bus that you are referring to Bus No. 4? 

 

We used the #4 to reach the plaza at the town Hall (Ayuntamiento) then explored the historic area before taking a different bus back from the opposite end of the historic area from a stop beside one of the towers.  it returned us to the port but on a different route,  this time passing the futuristic area.

 

But if you are both embarking and disembarking at Valencia, you will have luggage and I suggest that you would be better taking a taxi each time as public buses and luggage are rarely a good mix.

 

if you do take a public bus, choose whichever stop is best located for you, as it will make no difference where you get on as the bus will stop at all the stops on its route, unless of course it is full in which case it won't stop unless passengers are getting off.  And on busier buses you will maybe have to stand.This are two reasons why you would be better with a taxi door-to-door.

 

But if you are embarking and disemaarking there, perhaps your cruiseline will have shuttles organised to/from a central location.

[pdmlynek]

On 4/1/2023 at 5:05 AM, edinburgher said:

 

Valencia wil be our embarkation and disembarkation point.  Is the bus that you are referring to Bus No. 4? 

 

We used the #4 to reach the plaza at the town Hall (Ayuntamiento) then explored the historic area before taking a different bus back from the opposite end of the historic area from a stop beside one of the towers.  it returned us to the port but on a different route,  this time passing the futuristic area.

 

But if you are both embarking and disembarking at Valencia, you will have luggage and I suggest that you would be better taking a taxi each time as public buses and luggage are rarely a good mix.

 

if you do take a public bus, choose whichever stop is best located for you, as it will make no difference where you get on as the bus will stop at all the stops on its route, unless of course it is full in which case it won't stop unless passengers are getting off.  And on busier buses you will maybe have to stand.This are two reasons why you would be better with a taxi door-to-door.

 

But if you are embarking and disemaarking there, perhaps your cruiseline will have shuttles organised to/from a central location.

Thank you! I appreciate your help. 

 

I really wish that MSC would be more helpful on what transportation to take, and just exactly where the check in is. MSC just states the name of the port, but not really where to go to check in. They provide Lat./Long. coordinates, but those are in error -- they end up in an industrial tank farm. 😞

[edinburgher]

they end up in an industrial tank farm. 😞

 

Not exactly helpful then!

Have you tried looking at the offiial Port of Valencia website?  This because many ports show which of the berths a cruise ship will use, assuming of course  there is more than one berth.  Check for a 2023 cruise  ship calendar on their website.

[pdmlynek]

23 hours ago, edinburgher said:

they end up in an industrial tank farm. 😞

 

Not exactly helpful then!

Have you tried looking at the offiial Port of Valencia website?  This because many ports show which of the berths a cruise ship will use, assuming of course  there is more than one berth.  Check for a 2023 cruise  ship calendar on their website.

 

Yes, I've figured it out.  No problem for me.  I am just commenting that MSC services are not really all that helpful.  🙂 

[edinburgher]

Absolutely not.  An indusrial tank farm is not where you expect to find yourself trying to embark!

[pdmlynek]

On 5/1/2023 at 8:39 AM, edinburgher said:

Absolutely not.  An indusrial tank farm is not where you expect to find yourself trying to embark!

I totally agree.  But here is what likely happened:

 

Someone programming the computer that generated the ticket thought that he was being smart by including the coordinates of the port, and simply added the very approximate coordinates of the port, namely, quote 39°27'00N - 00°19'30"W" on quote.  This is obviously an approximation, and the poor formating (namely, no double primes before N, and an extra double prime after W) shows that the service personnel either don't know how to use GPS or don't care.  

 

The coordinates 39°27'00"N 00°19'30"W are within the port, but far away from the real embarkation point, which is at 39.4549°N 0.3270°W (or 39°27'18"N 0°19'37"W).

 

These coordinates provided by MSC are totally worthless.  Any moron can google where the Valencia port is.  What passengers really need to find out is WHERE in the port they are supposed to report to.  Because Valencia is visited by cruise ships infrequntly, there does not appear to be a dedicated building to cruise passengers, so it took me some digging that we are supposed to go to a ferry building.

 

Unfortunately, the directions provided by MSC to help people find the embarkation point by car are similarly useless.  To wit: "Valencia Port is easy to get to and well accessed from the city center. Take the V30 highway if arriving from outside the city."  Likewise, directions if arriving by plane: "Valencia’s Manises Airport is just 9 miles from the port. If driving, follow the airport road to the junction with the V-30 Madrid-Valencia highway, which will take you directly to the port."

 

MSC does not seem to understand that nobody, I mean nobody, has a problem finding the port.  However, nobody really knows where in the port to go.  They are simply providing useless information, and useful information is not provided.

 

I am not sure if MSC is so clueless, or if MSC is doing some sort of a favor to the Valencia taxi drivers (who obviosly know where the embarkation point is) .  

 

Anyway, I am looking forward to the cruise.

 

[edinburgher]

Probably only clueless.  At leasst you are looking for a sizeable object, ie a cruise ship and not a needle in a haystack.😀

 

Because Valencia is visited by cruise ships infreqeuntly,

 

Not a all.  Valencia is a popular port call due to the city having much to offer.

 

Thinking your best option for the actual docking area might be to contact the official Port of Valencia Authority and simply ask.  if anyone should know the location, it is them.

[pdmlynek]

On 5/4/2023 at 9:51 AM, edinburgher said:

Probably only clueless.  At leasst you are looking for a sizeable object, ie a cruise ship and not a needle in a haystack.😀

Well, sure, a cruiseship is easy to spot, but finding where to check in may not be easy.  The cruise terminal in Valencia is actually several km away from where the ship docks.  🙂 

Valencia is a working cargo port, and people can't just wander around trying to cut through a pier full of containers to get to the ship.  

Edited May 6, 2023 by pdmlynek