IWantToLiveOverTheSea

Thank you for that info. Can I assume that you walked along with the water to your left, which I believe is south, with the beach area (Praia da Rocha mostly likely) beyond? There apparently is a little bit of activity north of the port as well, though I don't think that's as interesting.

The picture above shows the "Bourse" with a nearby statue near the waterfront. (It's Marthe Adelaide). Dabear, I should probably clarify that this is probably not the statue you need to find for a tour. But it (and the Bourse) may provide a bit of reference as to location of the berth along the river for cruise ships. On the attached map, you can see Place de Quincones. There is a very tall statue in that immediate area which I would think would be a good place for a tour to meet. But obviously it could be somewhere else.

I'm on one of Oceania's smaller ships, Sirena, which is same the same size ship. Sirena was in Bordeaux twice this fall (as was one of O's larger ships) and all 3 times the ships berthed at Place de Quincones right near the "Bourse" (old stock exchange). That's a great place, as very nearby are a tram that runs along the river right there, a tourist office within a couple blocks, a "bat" boat going across the river, and the "Mirroir de Eau" (I think) tourist attraction really close. The huge wine museum (Cite du Vin?) s a short tram ride away or a longer walk along the river. Of course, as someone indicated, the port assigns the berth, and yes, there are a number of them. But I'm been obsessive about learning about cruising in Bordeaux, and so far Marine Traffic has shown Azamara, Silverseas, and Seven Seas ships, plus the Oceania ones, berthed at that same place. So I think you'll have an easy time with meeting up there.

If you have time in Istanbul by the port, you really should visit the Killic Ali Pasa mosque, and perhaps the mosque's baths nearby, plus the other mosque right near the port. You may have read a comment by me about Killic Ali Pasa, but if not, I just liked it a lot because it was quiet and lesser-known. A man came in to pray while I was there, but no other people came in. Of course, there are probably many other equally beautiful (and probably also quiet) mosques in the city, but I really enjoyed that one in May. And we went to the Basilica Cistern a few years ago when we were in Istanbul - enjoyed that as well. I took a ferry in May to the Asian side, which was fun because while I was there, we saw our cruise ship sailing practically in front of us before pulling in at Galataport a little ways away. I was certainly not expecting that!

No obligatory carpet demo because we didn't do any excursions. But my husband and I had trouble avoiding the carpet salesmen!

Well, we flew to Istanbul (couple days pre-cruise) and it was apparently the week of Ramadan, with even more people in the city than usual. It took us over 2 hours to get from the airport to our hotel in Sultanahmet. This was our second visit to Istanbul and while I loved the convenience of being able to walk to many places nearby, I may need to figure out something else if I ever get back there. I didn't see any homeless people, but I sure saw a lot of homeless dogs! And there was not much trash, but I did see a pretty interesting water trash sweeper in Eminonu.

We'll be docking in Portimao, Portugal. I've been unable to figure out if a shuttle might be offered to get us to either center city Portimao or the beach below. We'll be there on a Sunday in the spring, which may make things a little slower/less easier than normal. If there's no shuttle, are taxis likely to be waiting near the port (container/cruise port up a little north)? What about a public bus? Google shows a bus stop not far away, but I wasn't sure if 1) that's accurate and 2) that it would be walkable, both in terms of how far it is, whether port allows people to walk out, etc.

Did you embark or disembark in Istanbul? Usually cruise lines don't arrange a shuttle if that's the case. It's not just a Viking thing; Oceania does the same. There's just way, way too much to do/worry about on those days. But I'm glad you found the tram. We used it in May, with same challenges..... and survived the Galataport challenges too! Luckily we found Istanbul to be fabulous...it's not for the faint at heart.

Hello. I'm hoping that cleobella sees this, and if so, could shed any light on any of the following things: Would you happen to know how easy it is to walk from where the ship berths to be able to catch a public bus? (O's smaller ships, plus Silverseas ships and World Traveler, recently berthed at the same container/cruise dock, so at least I don't think I need to worry about alternate berths). But it's difficult to tell where I might need to go to get on a bus, and I haven't been able to determine where a shuttle, if any, drops visitors. Do you know if your ship or the port offered a shuttle, and to where? Did you see any taxis near the berth? Thanks.

Yes, I imagine so. I've never had a problem with mine flying out or whatever, but if it's horribly windy, I'm likely to protect it so I haven't really thought about that possibility. I notice that Staples sells a pack of 5 or 6 plastic card holders that are the size I like (around size of credit card, no larger). I don't remember if they have a plastic seal (like on some baggies) but since I haven't needed that so far, I figure I'll go there if and when my card holder needs to be replaced.

Thanks grmmybtty; that's very helpful, and that's an excellent location for a shuttle, as the top of the tower can apparently be seen from long distance! And several things of interest to me aren't far. I looked on a map and there is a park called Jardim da Cordoaria near the tower (church). So I'll (tentatively) plan on taking the shuttle in for sightseeing on my own. If you happen to have gone to Vilagarcia (port for Santiago de Compostela) or Portimao, and have any info on shuttles, I'd love to hear about them! And Gijon and Santander in Spain.

I've been to Taormina (via Giardini-Naxos) but don't remember how I got there. I didn't save any info from back then other than a map and a bus schedule for "Interbus - Etna Transport" between Giardini-Naxos and Taormina. I vaguely remember a short walk to the bus station. I think we did tender, but don't remember for sure. But I would guess that first you would tender to G-N, and then perhaps there will be a shuttle provided (and paid for if necessary) by Oceania. Oceania DOES arrange/ask for/pay for shuttles in most places as long as you're not in port for embarkation/disembarkation. When in Taormina, if you have extra time, you may want to take a short bus up higher to a little town called Castelmola. We did that and enjoyed it. I've been to Nice, but I forget the details.

We got off in May around 8:30 and there was no queue, plus we only needed one regular-sized taxi. I believe there was only one other ship in port with us that day. But we were on Oceania Sirena, which is a small ship. But I don't remember waiting much when we disembarked in Barcelona before. However, I would imagine wait time can vary due to factors such as when you need a taxi, how many people are on your ship, whether you dock along the long pier in Barcelona or another one, what day of the week it is, etc. But we've found Barcelona port to be very efficient for disembarkation.

Oh dear. I use a lanyard on board - a nice one from Etsy. But I seldom have pockets, don't like having to carry around the card or case with card, and don't need to have anything much with me while on the ship. And I don't leave it anywhere or lose it, and it's easy to just hold out for scanning when I go off the ship. Sorry if I look like a Carnival or Princess passenger. I thought the best way to identify those people was by watching for people who served themselves on the Terrace. On Sirena in May, we were given the usual faux leather card holder.

I walked out with no luggage in about 5 minutes, possibly 10 in May, but that was without luggage, and just to sightsee, not disembark. And I was walking fairly fast and just taking the escalators down, down, down. Then it took another 5 minutes to get out because my key card didn't work and another 5 minutes to figure out where I was once I got outside. Coming back in was a lot easier. But other people have wondered where disembarkation ends up when you are catching a cab. Is it underground? Is there any signage, either for passengers or for cab drivers? Is it in the basement of Galataport or somewhere outside?

Thank you edinburgher and marazul for the helpful replies. I was making an incorrect assumption in terms of where the upper level of the bridge meets Porto. It is actually more or less on the same level as Sao Bento railway station with its tiles, and there is a Metro stop not far from the railway station. Those things are on maps, so it's easier to get to the bridge than I thought - at least from that elevated part of the city. So yes, if you walk "down" (or just "on"?) a few streets from Sao Bento, you can see the walkway for the bridge not too terribly far away. And on the way there, you pass a metro stop. As for the funicular at the waterfront (Ribeira area - which is lower than Sao Bento, Se cathedral, etc.) it goes up to a good level, and then there is a little bit of a walk "over" to where you can get on the walkway for the bridge walk. And from what I learned, you can also take steps that start near the funicular with the same being true - then have to make your way "over" to the walkway for the bridge. And then I believe if you are in Gaia, you can reach the bridge from a couple different ways, though I'd prefer not to use the somewhat expensive gondola for that. And there are no steps on the bridge itself to go up or down on the two levels, so you can't just plan on doing that! Much of this was made clear to me by asking for help on Trip Advisor in the Forums (Europe, "Mediterranean - Other" section (though I don't consider Portugal part of the Med, but whatever!)) And once I got a better idea of where to look, I was able to find street views on Google that helped show things better. So if anyone wants more info on reaching the bridge from the Porto side, reading that thread will help. It's confusing to see Porto portrayed on a google map, and I was really struggling to figure out how to do both the funicular (when open), bridge walk, and some other things in Porto and Gaia. And no, marazul, unfortunately I'm not staying in Porto, which is why I'm trying to get things figured out ahead of time! Cruising often makes you do that. Thanks again.

Well, I would hope that most drivers. including taxi drivers, would know where cruise ships are docking these days. But of course you can't count on that, and even if you see the ship across the way that doesn't mean it's smooth sailing once you get over the right area. What I'm not sure of is where drivers should pick up passengers at Galataport. The port building ("Galataport") has an underground area where cabs and coaches come, but I don't know if drivers are being directed there or not. And we embarked our cruise there, but disembarked in a different city. Our cab driver from the Istanbul hotel to the port was directed to go underground, but then he struggled to find where he should drop us. There was little signage, and only a few people walking around down there. I believe they were crew members and being helpful, and they pointed over to a door. It was a door that opened but from what I could tell it was only set up for people with key cards -- in other words, people who had already checked in/embarked. We had to wait until someone from the port came by, and we flagged them down. It was a mess, but of course, that was for embarking not disembarking, and was in May. Maybe things will be different for you. But I'd definitely make it known to any car service that you'll be leaving the ship, with luggage, and need to know where to meet a driver. You can get ON and OFF the ship through the above-ground entrance to the building, but I don't know what that entry is used for - just walkers with key cards coming from the ship to go in and out, or coming to enbark, or both. You may want to email Efendi Travel or other service to ask them where they pick up at Galataport when you're leaving the ship with luggage. And you're probably wise to use a car service, as I doubt by now all cabdrivers in a huge city like Istanbul know that Galataport is not like the previous cruise terminal building, where you could drive to a particular ship and not have to go underground. I guess if things still aren't clear, you could pick a location very close to Galataport to meet. And if you're going to a hotel, you could also ask at the hotel if they have any drivers they've dealt with. We stayed in a small, modest hotel and found they were quite knowledgeable about things we needed like Covid tests & restaurants.

Posque, yes, I have paid attention to where ships moor/dock in Istanbul. It's where they moored several years before and only the terminal (Galataport) is new, not the location. I was curious about the new terminal, so looked at where ships moored on Marine Traffic before and after our May cruise. Big and small, it was always along the water at Galataport (Salipazari berth, as someone mentions). If you're going to have someone drop you off, just make sure they know how that goes for passengers boarding a cruise ship. I believe the cab driver will be directed to one side of the building, and go down to the basement. But after that, I can't really help other than to caution you to make sure he can find the proper place to drop you. We (well, mostly he, cab driver) had trouble in May, but maybe there is signage now to help. And unless you're on a tiny cruise ship I believe you can plan on being assigned to the Salapazari berth. (For a tiny ship, who knows? Oceania small ships and Azamara ships are small, but not tiny.) We have now stayed twice in Sultanahmet before\after a cruise (once pre-Galataport and more recently in May) and found it to be a good place for sightseeing, especially if you're planning to use public transportation and/or your feet to get around. Getting from the airport wasn't terribly bad, though in May it took forever because it was the end of Ramadan week and the traffic was worse than usual. But we were bogged down with luggage and didn't feel we could manage anything but taxi. (We used Efendi, prepaid, for airport pickup.) Getting to the port from Sultanahmet was reasonably easy & fast (maybe 20 minutes by cab).

I've read a lot about the walk over the Dom Luis bridge in Porto, Portugal. However, I'm having trouble figuring out exactly where to go in Porto (and perhaps in Gaia too, on the other side) to get on the bridge. I looked at Google and figured out where to get on the bridge down at the Ribeira section of Porto, on a street named R. da Ribeira Negra Near there I see stairs with railings that appear to be going up fairly steeply. I think they are called Escadas Barredo. Is that where I go to get up to the upper level of the bridge? I want to walk on the top level And the funicular (Guidais Ascensor) is down on the Ribeira waterfront next to the place where I saw the stairs. I know that funicular, when running, goes up top to a different part of Porto. But is the funicular any help in avoiding the steep climb to the upper level of the bridge? If anyone has walked across the top level of the bridge, especially from the Porto side, not Gaia, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks & obrigada.

Bus is simply called the Aerobus. Haven't taken it, however. I love using local transportation also, but taxis in Lisbon are inexpensive, so that's what we used before and will probably use again. And I hear Uber is popular in Lisbon.

I'm late to post, but just wanted to pop on here and say that I absolutely LOVED Aalesund...so, so beautiful.

Viking Ocean's ships dock there, too. They're larger and with more passengers than Azamara. It was great docking there, especially if a person wanted to take a boat trip to Vigur Island or somewhere else. It was about a block long walk to the little pier for that. If you want to see ships docked in Isafjordur (and the little pier I'm talking about), there's a great webcam that shows where they dock.

I'm not an expert on Lisbon, but I've researched it quite a bit. I haven't been to the Aurea but I would think that would be walkable, since there are no hills down there by the water. I asked google how long it would take to walk from it to the cruise terminal and Google returned an answer of 4 minutes. Of course, that may not be precisely to the ship or to the cruise terminal, but it's probably close. It doesn't look like the most fabulous location in terms of surroundings, or romance, or anything like that. But that doesn't mean it's not in a decent location. But if you're looking for something closer to Alfama but still not terribly far from where cruise ships line up, you may want to look at the Memmo Hotel, if not too expensive or too far from the port. I've read that it's a good place, though for when I wanted to go (early May, and with a refundable reservation), I found it a little pricey. You may also want to look at an apartment rental (may be a 2 night minimum, however - not sure) called On/Set Alfama Cinema Apartments. They have a website and are also listed in TripAdvisor and Booking.com. But it's right in the middle of Alfama, a little bit off the beaten track, so there will definitely be cobblestones and narrow streets around there. I believe you must walk a half block from where taxis can drop you, so it's not for everyone. And you'd definitely need an Ubur, or Tuk Tuk or taxi for a short ride to the port. But taxis are inexpensive in Lisbon..... Hope that helps a tiny bit.

Tons of transportation in Lisbon, including Uber, plus inexpensive taxis (slight surcharge for luggage, and for night if it's after a certain time, but still inexpensive. But that last suggestion, city bus, sounds good to me, too, assuming you have some euro coins if they're needed.