Astoria

We were in Astoria in September and tried to take advantage of the $7 shuttle bus from the pier to various stops in downtown. The line was soooo long just to buy the ticket then the line became 10 or so across and the buses were not every 15 minutes as they said. It was terrible. Either they didn't have enough buses or there was a mix up or something, but it took quite some time in the sun. We were ok, but many folks just couldn't stand that long. If you asked, they said 'we have plenty of buses, one should be here soon' and still nothing in sight. When we asked about the trolley, we were told it doesn't run 'all the time' and only a small number of people can fit on it -- and our purchased bus ticket didn't apply. We made it and enjoyed our time in town and the ride back was fine.

Does anybody have any information on the ship going through the Columbia River Bar? It seems obvious that we must stop and have a bar pilot board. Does the bar pilot take the ship to the pier, or do they get off before getting to the pier? Is there any excitement or scenery to watch?

Does anybody have any information on the ship going through the Columbia River Bar? It seems obvious that we must stop and have a bar pilot board. Does the bar pilot take the ship to the pier, or do they get off before getting to the pier? Is there any excitement or scenery to watch?

The Columbia River Bar is one of the roughest if not the roughest river bars in the world. We’ve been across the Columbia River Bar many times in a 56-foot fishing boat, the salmon fishing off the mouth of the Columbia River is great. A few times it was very scary and I mean scary dangerous. Go on You tube and enter “Columbia River Bar pilots”, you’ll see how rough it is. To answer your question, the pilot gets off the ship before the ship gets to Astoria.

http://columbiariverbarpilots.com

From HAL Zaandam

https://youtu.be/_snq0BqOUF8

A Columbia River Bar Pilot

Thanks for the replies- I found a recent post that a cruise ship had to cancel Astoria due to the bar conditions.

Thanks for the replies- I found a recent post that a cruise ship had to cancel Astoria due to the bar conditions.

You should be prepared for that to happen as it is the most commonly missed port on the west coast

On our repositioning cruise they dropped the pilot by helicopter! That was really cool to see. On departure he was taken by boat.

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On our repositioning cruise they dropped the pilot by helicopter! That was really cool to see. On departure he was taken by boat.

 

 

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That's really neat. If you have a picture of the Pilot coming in by helicopter - please post it. It would be interesting to see.

I actually took about a 2min long video from the 'crows nest' (we were on NCL). This is a screen shot from the video.

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I actually took about a 2min long video from the 'crows nest' (we were on NCL). This is a screen shot from the video.

 

 

 

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Wow!!! That's incredible!! Thanks for sharing!!

Thank you for your response. I am very interested in going to Fort Clatsop. How far is it from the cruise pier? I am wondering if we could get a taxi to take us there if it's not too far. We are a group of six adults.

Taxi definitely goes there, but I would rent a car and drive to Fort Clatsop. Then afterwards you can drive over to Fort Stevens, check out Battery Russell and the wreck of the Peter Iredale. You could also drive over the Astoria-Megler bridge to Washington. Check out Dismal Nitch if you are interested in Lewis and Clark, then Station Camp where they originally were for the first month, and on to Cape Disappointment. Take time to drive on the beach at Long Beach. This is not something everyone gets to do. If you want to check out movie stuff besides the Goonies, then you can check out the school in Astoria from Kindergarten Cop, or Young's River Falls from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3. The promenade at Seaside is nice to go to, and if you get to Seaside, be sure to get some salt water taffy from the candy store in town. You can rent pedal cart bicycles there and pedal all over town.

Astoria can have rainy and cool weather in September, certainly variable weather. Our port visit to Astoria this past September was rainy and cold. The week before had been cloudy and cool. There were long lines for the shuttles and trolley and only a few hardy cruisers on foot exploring the town.

The Maritime Museum and its adjacent U.S. Coast Guard lightship museum are good destinations on a rainy day.

Fort Clatsop is interesting but is forested and can get muddy in a rainstorm. The living history costumed interpreters are not featured after Labor Day. The physical site, buildings and museum are open year round.

https://www.nps.gov/lewi/planyourvisit/fortclatsop.htm

It's good to be flexible in planning your Astoria port day. Pack a quality rain jacket (with a hood) and enjoy this friendly and interesting coastal town.

There are a few things of interest in Astoria. Alternatively, you might want to rent a car a drive down the Oregon coast as far as Seaside.

http://oregoncoast.ca