Bruges excursion recommendations please

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We will be on the Star next June on a family cruise.  Our 14 and 18 yr old grandchildren have never cruises, or been to Europe.  I have been to every port on our itinerary except Bruegel/Bruges.   None of the excursions on NCLs website, or Trio Advisor, for that matter, jump out at me.  We ordinarily do private tours but I’m not even sure what to expect.  Any recommendations?

[hallasm]

Bruges is not Northern Europe - you might get better answers in the British Isles / Western Europe Forum 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

[John Bull]

Your port is Zeebrugge.

Most folk head about 8 miles inland to Bruges, a delightful and historic cobbled town.

Transfer options include taxi or private shuttlebus or ship's shuttlebus to Blankenberge then train or ship's "Bruges on you own" option.

Details by typing Bruges into the search box on the western Europe forum linked by @hallasm

 

Or take the coastal tram (kusttram)  https://www.delijn.be/en/lijnen/5501/?richtingCode=1 to the pretty port town of Ostend (Oostende), or just beyond Ostend an important section of the "Atlantic Wall" used by Germany in WW1 and WW2 - many guns etc still in situ https://www.raversyde.be/en/atlantikwall-raversyde or stay on the tram to the seaside resort town of De Panne

 

JB 🙂

[Host Kat]

On 8/19/2023 at 2:57 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

We will be on the Star next June on a family cruise.  Our 14 and 18 yr old grandchildren have never cruises, or been to Europe.  I have been to every port on our itinerary except Bruegel/Bruges.   None of the excursions on NCLs website, or Trio Advisor, for that matter, jump out at me.  We ordinarily do private tours but I’m not even sure what to expect.  Any recommendations?

 

@MagnoliaBlossom

 

To help you out your thread has been moved to the Ports of Call - Europe - British Isles/Western Europe forum where it will be on topic. Some of the ports discussed are Amsterdam, Brugge, Dublin, Edinburgh and London (Dover, Harwich, Southampton).

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[kctwinmommy]

When we were there 6 years ago (on a different line), they had a bus that was making hourly trips to and from Bruges. It was/is one of our favorite cities!! We just walked around the main square area, visiting a variety of things on our own. We did a canal boat ride (I recommend doing that earlier in the day, as it got very busy in the afternoon). We had some Belgian waffles, hit a chocolate shop, a couple of churches, and even went to the Torture Museum - very creepy!! Oh, and our son was 14 at the time as well. It's a very easy city to get around, lots to see on your own.

[kctwinmommy]

I do have our day in Bruges written up in my trip review, which is in my signature, with pictures. 😃

[MagnoliaBlossom]

18 hours ago, Host Kat said:

 

@MagnoliaBlossom

 

To help you out your thread has been moved to the Ports of Call - Europe - British Isles/Western Europe forum where it will be on topic. Some of the ports discussed are Amsterdam, Brugge, Dublin, Edinburgh and London (Dover, Harwich, Southampton).

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

Thank you, but I already looked there and there was nothing on Bruges that I could find.

[gnome12]

30 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Thank you, but I already looked there and there was nothing on Bruges that I could find.

I found 2,082 results searching for Bruges or Brugge. 
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?&q=Brugge Bruges&search_and_or=or

[meadowlander]

On 8/19/2023 at 3:57 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I have been to every port on our itinerary except Bruegel/Bruges.   None of the excursions on NCLs website, or Trio Advisor, for that matter, jump out at me.  We ordinarily do private tours but I’m not even sure what to expect.  Any recommendations?

Spent the day in Bruges in 2019 and hope to go back next year. The port call was in Zeebrugge as John Bull indicated. Could not walk from the ship to the terminal as it is also a working port. Buses were provided free of charge and drop cruisers as the terminal.

 

Rather than using the train, I found a shuttle bus better suited my schedule. Cruise Express was the name of the company. They provided directions from the terminal to their location. It was 2-3 minute walk and directional signs were placed along the route. Checked in at a table in a parking lot, boarded the bus and it departed minutes later. I opted for round trip transit, no tour. 

 

In Bruges, all shuttle buses drop off and pick up passengers at a large parking lot at one end of town near Hotel de Barge. There is a free shuttle van from the train station but the walk there is nearly as long as the walk into town.

 

Bruges is a beautiful city with matching architecture. Fantastic chocolate and the best french fries I have ever had was in Grote Markt at a green stand that looks like up a pop up vendor, directly in front of Belfort tower.

[MMMCruiser]

Thanks for asking this question.  I came here looking for the same information.  I normally book private tours as well, and I'm just not sure about Bruges.  Right now I'm hoping to find a 2-3 hour walking tour of the city, but I haven't found someone to book with as of yet.  I figured we could take a taxi or a shuttle from Zeebruge to Bruges.  Our ship has a "Bruges on your own" kind of excursion, but that doesn't allow for much flexibility.

[PLee]

While we were in port, we took the quick bus shuttle into Zeebruge.  From there, it was an easy walk into the adorable cobblestoned village.  You can easily make a day out of that.  Take the boat ride around the village, enjoy the amazing french fries, chocolate, shops and friendly people.