HAL Cruise with unusual ports

[LILynn]

Hi all,

We are trying to finad an interesting cruise for this year. We went on the Grand Princess last year to Italy and Greece and loved it. We decided to go back to Europe again, but I wanted to go to different ports. Although this itinery does overlap a little (Monte Carlo, Florence and Rome) most of the ports are new to both of us. But I have never heard of some of them.

Any comments or suggestions about this itinery would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Amsterdam

Brussels (Antwerp), Belgium

Greenwich, London, England 1

Greenwich, London, England

At Sea

La Coruna, Spain

Leixoes (Oporto), Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Gibraltar, Great Britain

At Sea

Tarragona, Spain

Sete, France

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Livorno (Florence) Italy

Civitavecchia (Rome)

[Globaliser]

Greenwich speaks for itself. It's properly London (as opposed to the usual coastal ports dishonestly marketed by cruise lines as "London"). Greenwich itself is a great place for visitors to London, so you're perfectly placed for that area - and if you're staying overnight (as your list suggests) it is easy to go to central London, too.

 

La Coruna is a good place from which to visit Santiago de Compostela, although I've never investigated what else around the port might be interesting.

 

Gibraltar is a famous port, but it's really quite sleepy and uninteresting. I had go there once to work, and it's like a big village.

 

Don't forget that Livorno is also a good jumping-off place for Pisa as well as Florence.

[dbh62ark]

I think this is a great itinerary. If you decide to sail it, leave another message, and I can give you a lot of details for independent sightseeing. For example, Santiago de Compestella is very easy and cheap to do on your own from LaCoruna, and I highly recommend. The cathedral in Santiago is wonderful, and I thought the village was so charming. We really enjoyed visiting with the pilgrims and just had a great visit there. One major warning though—they are VERY serious about siesta in Spain, so the shops will be closed in the afternoon from approx 1:30 or 2:00 until around 4:00. I had to look at an item that I still regret not buying as we passed through the village on the way back to the train station, and we noticed siesta observed in all the areas of Spain that we visited on that trip. We were just in LaCoruna in September, but I can’t remember how we got to the train station. I don’t remember any issues though, so that means we walked or took a taxi with another couple from our ship. I was very impressed with the trains in Spain, and the train from LaCoruna to Santiago was very nice. See http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html for schedules and note that LaCoruna is “A Coruna” on this site. Once you arrive in Santiago, you exit the train station and walk straight up hill to follow the signs to the cathedral.

 

I also think that docking in Greenwich would be a big advantage because I’ve docked in Dover for London (much longer commute from London to Dover). I liked Greenwich a lot, so hopefully you can spend a few hours there in addition to going to see the sites in London. It’s very easy to get from Greenwich to the sites in London on your own.

 

Amsterdam is really easy to do on your own and very scenic. You’ve probably seen lots of photos of Amsterdam, but don't miss the Anne Frank house as well as the canal boat ride, visit to the flower market, etc.

 

I usually see Bruges listed as an alternative for Brussels, so there may be some advantages to your docking location for Brussels that I am not aware of (we went to Brussels and Bruges on a ground trip after a cruise). It should be fairly easy to make your way to the Grand Place in Brussels, and there’s a nice walking tour of that area in the Frommers Brussels book. If Bruges is an option for the day, I would go to Bruges, but Brussels is wonderful too. Enter Bruges into the search box on http://www.flickr.com, and you’ll see why I love Bruges. :)

 

We were in Oporto last year and had an interesting day. I need to write more about that later if you decide to sail this itinerary (there wasn’t a lot of information available prior to sailing, and we learned a lot). I though Oporto was very interesting and scenic and was surprised to find things like a bridge designed by the same man who designed the Eiffel Tower, etc.

 

We were in Gibraltar last year too, and we enjoyed the taxi tour of the rock. You can take a cable car, but it was fairly warm the day that we were there, so we did the taxi tour. It was a fun addition to the itinerary for us.

 

I love Lisbon. It’s easy to see independently, and you’ll need to make some tough choices there with one port day (more details if you decide to sail).

 

We were due to call into Sete in 2004 and were redirected to Marseille due to high winds. You’ll have opportunities to visit a lot of beautiful villages in Provence from Sete, and Les Baux is my favorite.

 

If you’ve been to Florence, I highly recommend a day tour in Tuscany to San Gimignano and Siena from Livorno. We did that a few years ago, and it was a wonderful day. There are so many options on the French Riviera too; we have been to that port several times and are going again this year and never run out of things to do there.

 

Tarragona is the only port on your list that I haven’t visited, so I don’t have any info on that. I think that by sailing on a smaller ship, you’ll save time and money going from your ports in to see the sites.

 

Donna

[JLT]

I would be very interested in your recommendations for a day in Lisbon on your own. We stop there on a TA this spring. Thanks.

[LILynn]

DBH62ARK -

 

Based on all your wonderful comments, I went ahead and booked the cruise. Thanks so much. I am really looking forward to it.

 

Any additional information that you have would be so appreciated.

 

Thanks again,

 

Lynn

[Ine]

This link of the Amsterdam tourist office gives much info:

http://www.vvvamsterdam.nl/

Visit Ann Frank's house, Rijksmuseum, Van Goghmuseum, canalboatride,to name some options.

[dbh62ark]

I would be very interested in your recommendations for a day in Lisbon on your own. We stop there on a TA this spring. Thanks.

There are 3 docking locations for ships in Lisbon. If you can find out where your ship will be docked in advance, that will help you to plan your day. We always use the rule of thumb to go to the location furthest from the ship first and then work our way back to the ship to ensure that we’re not left behind. :)

 

Depending on the length of your port stop, you would have time to do all of the following. You'll need a map, so you might be able to use the ones at http://frommers.com/destinations/lisbon/54_maps.html. We took a taxi from the ship to go to Alfama in the morning last year and were delighted to see the fish vendors cleaning the fish to get ready to sell and lots of market activity. The taxi drivers will try to talk you into taking a day tour, and that might be a good option if you want to spend the Euros. We were overcharged 10 Euros to go from the ship to the Alfama (the only issue we had with taxis in Lisbon after spending 4 days there during two trips and using them a lot), but he told us in advance, and it was okay with us because we needed transportation quickly to save time.

 

The Alfama is a very charming area, and it’s like stepping back in time. There are several internet cafes in the Alfama that are cheap. We were using a Frommers walking tour, but I’m sure some of the other guide books have similar walking tours. The Se (cathedral) is in this area, and you climb the hills in the Alfama to St. George’s castle. Note that this is quite a climb with lots of steps and might be taxing on hot days, but you can take your time and sit down to rest, if needed. St. George’s castle is basically beautiful ruins with some gardens, so you won’t find lavishly decorated palace rooms there, but the views are just stunning. From there, we saw an electric street car that looked fun to ride, but we weren’t sure where it went, so we took a taxi (there were several waiting in the area). If you take a taxi to Belem at that time, the monastery and coach museums are located side-by-side (check to see if they are closed the day that you are there), and the Tower of Belem is nearby. Since we noted that there were fewer taxis at the tower (to take you back to the ship), I would suggest going to the tower first and then walking from the tower to the monastery and then to the coach museum. After you exit the tower, you would need to turn right to walk along a sidewalk that is next to the highway (there’s a fence, so it’s safe to do this). You will come to a walking bridge that goes over the highway. After you walk over the highway, you will continue to your right until you see some gardens that are across the street from the monastery. I would guess this walk is approx one mile, but you could take a taxi instead. Then you could take a taxi back to your ship after you visit the museums.

 

There are some other nice options in Lisbon, so if I can answer any questions on those, I’ll be glad to, but I think the route outlined above is a good overview of Lisbon and can be done in a port stop.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[dbh62ark]

DBH62ARK -

 

Based on all your wonderful comments, I went ahead and booked the cruise. Thanks so much. I am really looking forward to it.

 

Any additional information that you have would be so appreciated.

 

Thanks again,

 

Lynn

Oh, I think it will be a wonderful trip. :) Do you need information for London? You’ll have so many options there. Frommers usually has some suggested itineraries if you haven’t already spent time there.

 

My husband reminded me that we did take a taxi from the port in LaCoruna to the train station and that it was 10 Euros or less one way (we took a taxi from the train station back to the ship at the end of the day) to go to Santiago de Compestella. When you arrive at the cathedral, I would advise finding a cathedral official to determine the time for the incense ceremony, which is held several times a day. And unless you intend to go to mass, you need to make sure that you have enough time to see the cathedral prior to noon mass because the cathedral closes after the mass begins. There are a few incense ceremonies during the day, and in addition to walking around the cathedral, you will see a line roped off to go through to see St. James’s tomb. If you can arrive at the cathedral in the morning, you will likely see some of the pilgrims arriving for mass at noon. I still get chill bumps remembering our approach to the cathedral following some of the pilgrims who were singing. Then after the pilgrims touch the stone that is over 1,000 years old in the center of the cathedral square, they love to chat with tourists, sing, etc. This is a significant religious experience for young Catholics in Spain and other countries in Europe, so we thought it was really special. After we visited the cathedral, we had some yummy tapas for lunch—there are many tapas bars in the village--and then boarded an open tram right outside the cathedral that did a tour of Santiago. This is hop-on/hop-off and was only 5 Euros. We did not get off at any of the stops so had time to do that with plenty of time to make our return train. Be careful if you get off the HOHO tram at one of the stops because the tram stops running for siesta in the afternoon, so there is a break of approximately 3 hours. We did all this for a small fraction of the cost of a shore excursion that didn’t include the HOHO tram, and the train was fun!

 

Since the information on visiting Oporto as a port stop was so limited—you can see that by doing a search on these boards—we ran into some issues. We took at taxi from the ship into the sightseeing area for around 8 Euros. We had a Frommers walking tour but although the 4 of us have traveled a lot and can read maps :), we were unable to get our bearings, so we walked a couple of blocks to one of the main streets. At that time, we were approached by a tourist representative who talked us into going on a hop-on/hop-off bus tour and a boat ride. We wanted to go on the boat ride anyway, and the price was only 20 Euros per person for both the bus tour and the boat ride. Also, we were on a very port-intensive cruise with only 2 sea days out of 14 and were tired, so this sounded like a good option. We asked how long it would take for the bus to come, and we were advised that it would be 10 or 15 minutes. We then waited for over an hour and found while we were waiting that we had basically been conned. The ticket seller knew that if he had told us it would be an hour, we wouldn’t have ridden that bus. He was approx a block away outside the tourism office, so we knew that if we went to demand our Euros back, the bus might come. So my advice is to ask the taxi driver to take you to the HOHO buses and then choose a bus after you get to the main street. There were several bus companies running that route, and we were on a red one that only ran once an hour or so. The green ones seemed to run more frequently when we were there. I wish we had known about the timing because we could have shopped instead of waiting for that hour, but my husband wouldn’t have enjoyed shopping anyway. :) The main street for the HOHO buses is in a lovely square, and the shops were on streets off that square.

 

The bus tour was nice and scenic with commentary in English, and it dropped us off in the area where the tour boats depart, and that’s where we ran into our second issue. There was a name of a boat company on the tickets that we had been sold, so we walked around and tried to find that boat company (the names of the boat companies are listed on ramps that go down to the water). The boat companies are partnered with the port wine merchants, so there are several boat companies. We are usually treated very kindly in our travels, and one of the ladies running another boat felt sorry for us while we were waiting for our boat to return and asked us to ride on her boat. Her boat was going out anyway (they need a minimum of 10 or 15 passengers), so I don’t think we inconvenienced anyone. These issues often work out for the best in the long run too because we noticed that some of the other boats were very crowded, and ours was not, so we were pleased. The boat ride is approx an hour, and the views of Oporto from the water are very nice. We really enjoyed the boat tour. After you ride the boat, most passengers then go on a port wine cellar tour, but it’s not mandatory. We thanked them and then walked over to the port wine cellars, so we didn’t feel any pressure to tour a particular cellar. I had read that Sandeman was good, and it appeared that the separate entrances to the port wine cellar tours were all located across the street from the boat tours. What we observed is that apparently there is a reciprocal agreement between the boat merchants, and it doesn’t matter that much which boat you ride because the boat tour passengers split up to go in different directions. Knowing what I know now, I would advise getting off the HOHO bus in the boat area and then just buying a ticket there for any boat that is not too crowded that is departing shortly.

 

Although there were some frustrations during the day because we didn’t have clear instructions for touring Oporto during a port stop, we really enjoyed our day in Oporto. We rarely run into issues with independent sightseeing and have a strong preference for that method, and I don’t think we would have seen as much on a ship’s tour anyway, so no regrets. :)

 

In Amsterdam, Ine is the expert. :) The ships dock close to the train station, but I don’t think you would need a train during your port stop, so it’s just a landmark. Our ship ran a shuttle, but you can walk from the ship to the train station in about 25 minutes. The red light district starts near the train station, and Frommers has a good walking tour of that area that also includes the oldest house in Amsterdam, most narrow house in Amsterdam, etc. We started early so did the walking tour first and then walked to the Anne Frank house; it was an amazing experience to visit the Anne Frank house, so we highly recommend. The lines get longer during the day, so it’s best to go in the morning. From there, you will see lots of canal boat tours as you walk around Amsterdam. After our canal boat tour, we used the electric trams to ride to the Van Gogh museum and to the flower market. We saw the outside of the Rijksmuseum but did not have time to tour there. We had a full day with the sites I listed above (my husband walked to the Hard Rock café while we were in the Van Gogh museum, so that is nearby), so it would depend on the number of hours in your port stop and of course on your interests. One note about the electric trams, if you are traveling with another couple, you may only need one ticket. We bought a ticket sheet that had 10 stamps, and some of our fellow passengers were stamped on our ticket, so our ticket sheet was stamped 4 times each time we got on if that makes sense.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[LILynn]

WOW Donna -

 

Thanks so much. All of the detail in your descriptions makes me so excited. I wasn't to sure when I booked this cruise that it was right for us - but now I am so excited, I never went on HAL before - last year we went on the Grand Princess and loved that trip so much. But I am traveling with my mom who has been to Europe a zillion times and I was hoping to find an itinery that was a little different so she would get to go to some new places. It sounds like I hit a homerun with this one!!!

 

Mky cousin is from Londaon - - so I have that port covered. We stopped in Monte Carlo last year and went to Eze in the morning and Nice in the afternoon- I wished we had more time there as I loved the old section of Nice. In Livorno we spent the AM in FLorence and the afternoon in Greve in Chianti (a GREAT ship tour) but I think this time we will just spend the day in Florence. Again, there was so much more that we could have seen, I am excited about going back. Just walking around FLorence was so much fun!

 

I can't begin to thank you for all the information you provided us with - I wish you were coming with us!!!

 

Lynn

[dbh62ark]

- I wish you were coming with us!!!

 

Lynn

Oh, that's so sweet, and I wish I were too! :) I hope you have a wonderful trip and would love to hear what you think about the ports when you return.

 

Donna

[Normandie-BCN]

Tarragona is the former capital of the roman province of Hispania and residence of Augustus Imperator for some years, due to its good climate. It is located 100 km south Barcelona.

 

Tarragona tourist information

 

http://www.tarragonaturisme.es/english/index.asp

 

http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Destinos/Provincias/I/SP/0/Tarragona?Language=EN

 

http://www.costadaurada.org/en/index.asp

 

http://www.virtourist.com/europe/tarragona/Tarragona.htm

[JLT]

I appreciate the information you gave me. I have copied it and info about public transportation from Rick Steves so I think we will have a great time just going on our own. I have several tram numbers and with your description of Belem I hope we are all set.

[NAS-KARR]

I think OCEANIA has some killer itineraries. We're trying them beginning in 08.

CIAO,

[LILynn]

Hi Steve -

 

We looked at Oceania too - but the cost was more than double HAL. So we picked HAL. The itineries are similar but the cost made that differnce to us. We are using Frequent flier miles so airfare was not an issue.

 

Oceania gets rave revues on these bords so that was the first line I looked at but when I found the HAL Prinsendam, we decided to book that one.

 

I hope you have a great time next year!

 

Lynn

[dagny56]

Thanks so much for all the info already posted concerning these ports. My husband and I have only made one cruise, a 2005 Wind Star Greek Isles 7 day cruise which I thought was a dream. Now, I have reserved a place for us on this 14 day HAL cruise late fall 2007. I did not go through a travel agent this time and was beginning to panic until I found this sight. My husband and I would like to explore on our own and I was having trouble figuring out if there would be a difficulty getting transportation from the ship to the closest town if I did not book through the cruise line.

 

dbh62ark stated, "If you decide to sail it, I can give you a lot of details for independent sightseeing." That would really be appreciated. I read your recommendation concerning Santiago. On the night that we have in Greenwich, we would like to attend the theater in London. If I purchase my tickets for the theater before going, is there a problem with getting transportation from the ship to the theater and from the theater to the ship?

 

Our trip starts in Amsterdam. Our flight arrives at 11:40 am and our ship sets sail at 6:00 pm. We will have our luggage with us. Can you advise the best way to see some of Amsterdam and still get to the ship with luggage?

 

I read you recommendation on Bruges, have you been to Ghent and if so would you still prefer Bruges?

 

I would love to know more about London.

 

Lynn, have you already taken the cruise? I see that you are also booked on the Prinsendam. We are booked on the Sept 22 cruise. Thanks, Sherry