Azura (Corfus>Split>Zadar>Dubrovnik) port advice & dress code

[ARainyDay]

Evening all

First time cruiser here, so apologies if I've posted on the wrong topic. I'm due to sail with Azura on the Corfu>Split>Zadar>Dubrovnik route, and I was wondering how I can find out, if at all, where exactly the ship will dock at the ports? (I think there might be a tender for Dubrovnik)...I'm trying to work out how easy it would be to walk from the port into the centre of the towns, and go a bit DIY without having to book the excursions...has anyone done this route before and what would you recommend? Also for the celebration night, is the formal wear required or optional? (Ie. could you still just wear evening casual)?

Many thanks in advance

Helen

[Presto2]

9 minutes ago, ARainyDay said:

Evening all

First time cruiser here, so apologies if I've posted on the wrong topic. I'm due to sail with Azura on the Corfu>Split>Zadar>Dubrovnik route, and I was wondering how I can find out, if at all, where exactly the ship will dock at the ports? (I think there might be a tender for Dubrovnik)...I'm trying to work out how easy it would be to walk from the port into the centre of the towns, and go a bit DIY without having to book the excursions...has anyone done this route before and what would you recommend? Also for the celebration night, is the formal wear required or optional? (Ie. could you still just wear evening casual)?

Many thanks in advance

Helen

Hi and welcome to CC 🙂

 

Off  the top of my head re the ports that I can remember.

Split. We docked close to town and it was really easy to just walk in to town and wander around. Have a meal and a nice stroll. No need to do an excursion

Dubrovnik.  We have never tendered, but if you don't you just get the transfer in to town. It stops outside the city wall. I think the place to get tickets for the walls is on the right as you enter. Have a walk around the walls (it is a hard walk) and then a walk around the town and harbour. 

Sorry can't remember re Corfu. I think we did a jeep safari with P&O and it was fab.

Zadar - we haven't been, sorry

 

Re the celebration night. Most people do dress up, but if you don't want to you will be restricted in terms of where you can eat and the bars you can use (I think). If you want to avoid you can still book a speciality restaurant, which is something we'd recommend. 

 

Hope this helps. We like Azura and am sure you will enjoy 🙂

 

[purplesea]

We did a similar route on Azura last year and Dubrovnik we docked at Gruz harbour which is about 1.5 miles from the old town. We did a P&O tour in the morning and then caught the shuttle bus into town on our return.

Split we docked near the town and it was about a five/ten minute walk to the centre.

Zadar, again we took the P&O shuttle into the old town, which dropped us off near the Monumen to the Sun and the Sea Organ, and spent the day wandering around.

Corfu, is a port that I haven't been to.

 

A site worth checking out is  whatsinport.com as it has lots of information on the various ports.

Edited July 22, 2023 by purplesea

[Britboys]

As others have said, you are likely to berth at Gruz Harbour for Dubrovnik, where you can get the shuttle into the town. It's a lovely place to wander around and easy to diy. Have a look at the Ports of Call section here on CC and/or check out whatsinport.com. Lots of places for lunch or refreshments and some stalls selling fabulous ice cream 😋

Zadar is beautiful. Again, there is a shuttle into the Old Town, which is on a peninsula. It is compact and as long as you are fairly mobile, lovely to wander around, with plenty to see if you like history and old buildings. There are lots of cafés for drinks and lunch. It is very flat with lots of narrow streets for shade. Zadar was my surprise hit on my cruise last year. I loved it.

Sorry, not been to Corfu or Split.

[SeaJane]

I agree with what others have said about Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar and we have wandered around all of these ports. We have been to Corfu several times. There is usually a shuttle which drops you close to the main town and it is pleasant to walk around and find a restaurant for lunch. We usually end up walking back to the ship rather than getting the shuttle. It is worth noting that if you pay select price P&O shuttles are free. If you are on a saver fare the shuttle usually costs about £4 or £5 per person per trip. 

[tring]

22 hours ago, ARainyDay said:

Evening all

First time cruiser here, so apologies if I've posted on the wrong topic. I'm due to sail with Azura on the Corfu>Split>Zadar>Dubrovnik route, and I was wondering how I can find out, if at all, where exactly the ship will dock at the ports? (I think there might be a tender for Dubrovnik)...I'm trying to work out how easy it would be to walk from the port into the centre of the towns, and go a bit DIY without having to book the excursions...has anyone done this route before and what would you recommend? Also for the celebration night, is the formal wear required or optional? (Ie. could you still just wear evening casual)?

Many thanks in advance

Helen

 

We were on a similar itinerary last October and even slightly off season both Corfu Town and Dubrovnik were heaving, so worth heading to those early in the day.  Split pretty busy as well, but we could find slightly quieter places there, also walking uphill out of Corfu Town was worthwhile.

 

You could just take an ordinary suit and tie for the celebration night if you want to go into the main dining room or one of the more upmarket speciality restaurant that night.  It does not have to be full black tie attire, but shirt and trousers will not be acceptable for those restaurants on formal nights.  Ladies get away a bit more, but expected to look pretty decent, not casual clothes.

 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by tring

[kruzseeka]

Dubrovnik - the cable car ride is worth doing and there's a cafe at the top with fabulous views.  Easy to DIY but would definitely recommend getting the shuttle bus from the port as early as you can as there can be long queues for the cable car.  The shuttle drops you at Pile Gate one of the entrances to the city - walk left and skirt the city walls - the cable car isn't far along that road.  When you come down you can enter the city by the harbour entrance and explore the city on foot and/or do the walls as already suggested. 

 

Split - Easy walk from the port into town.  You can see where you need to go so not a problem.  There's a lovely promenade with cafes around the harbour and Diocletian's Palace is extensive and interesting to explore.  It's free and very atmospheric. 

 

Corfu - its a doable walk from the port into the Old Town which is lovely.  Iirc there is a local bus from the port gates too. Perhaps you can research that online.  You might be able to pick up a map if the tourist people are at the port (or download one before you go so you can see where the town is in relation to the port). We've also caught the local bus to Kanoni only a few Km out of town. 

 https://www.greeka.com/ionian/corfu/sightseeing/corfu-kanoni-mouse-island/. 

You can visit the church and there are some elevated cafes with great views here too.  They also overlook the planes coming in and out of the airport.  Quite an interesting spot to visit. 

 

Zadar we haven't visited but it's easy nough to explore independently at the other destinations and if you haven't been before, plenty to explore without the need to do excursions. 

 

Hope you enjoy your first cruise. 

[ARainyDay]

Thank you all for your assistance and advice. I didn't realise there was a shuttle bus service- is it usually very busy? I'm imagining there's probably long queues to board?

Many thanks

 

[P&O SUE]

12 minutes ago, ARainyDay said:

Thank you all for your assistance and advice. I didn't realise there was a shuttle bus service- is it usually very busy? I'm imagining there's probably long queues to board?

Many thanks

 

I haven’t been on a fly cruise but I’ve been on Azura from Southampton and normally the queues aren’t too bad. It’s not just one bus but several going in and out all the time. The worse one for us was in Bilbao when it seemed the Spanish coach drivers must have stopped for lunch as we waited for half an hour or so on a very hot day then suddenly 3 turned up at once! This was going back to the ship, was fine going into town.

[kruzseeka]

6 minutes ago, ARainyDay said:

Thank you all for your assistance and advice. I didn't realise there was a shuttle bus service- is it usually very busy? I'm imagining there's probably long queues to board?

Many thanks

 

If the port isn't close to the town there is usually a shuttle bus to take passengers to a more central point.  This may be provided locally/by the port authority or P&O.  They will be free if locally provided or as already mentioned free if it's a P&O shuttle and you've paid Select Fare.  If you're on  Saver Fare they will swipe your cruise card and that will be charged to your onboard account (£5 each way I think on our last trip).  There is a local bus or perhaps it was a tram which ran on the road right in front of the port.  It was very packed though. If there is shuttle service we always pitch to get off early.  That's especially important in Dubrovnik as it get very busy.