bkreative

We have lost luggage traveling from the US to Europe. It took 4 days for our things to finally arrive. After that experience, I prefer carry-on luggage which limits the amount of clothing/shoes you can bring. For my husband, one outfit of fine evening wear with shoes can fill up an entire piece of carry-on luggage. Somehow, we manage to acceptably dress up, and have been fine on Princess and Oceania cruises. Like others stated, when on vacation, I like being comfortable. Where I'm from, we call it "California Casual". As mentioned previously on this post, there are multiple dining options; no one goes hungry!

Happy & Safe Travels to All!

Not sure if there is a shuttle for Messina port, but even if there is one, it won't be taking you to Taormina.

We’re on O this past April. There was not a shuttle to Taormins. We took the O Excursion there. Sorry but I don’t recall if O offered a shuttle into Messina.

Updated Shuttles list - with thanks to ANZA (Post 292) and to everyone else. Please feel free to quote and add to / or amend the list as things change. (And no guarantees that the info is accurate)

 

Akaroa NZ .................... Tender

Alesund ........................ Dock at town so no shuttle

Antofagasta .................... Free shuttle to town

Bangkok ........................... Free shuttle to town

Bar Harbour ..................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Barcelona ......................... Free shuttle to town (worldTrade Centre)

Belfast ............................ Free shuttle to town (near City Hall)

Bilbao ..............................Free shuttle to town

Bordeaux (city) ................. Dock at town so no shuttle

Bordeaux (Le Verdon) ........... shore excursion required

Buenes Aires .......................... Free shuttle to town

Cadiz ..................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Cairns Aus .............................Dock at town so no shuttle

Callao (Lima) .......................... Free shuttle to town

Casablanca ............................ Free shuttle to town

Civitavecchio (Port /Rome) ........ Free shuttle to Civitavecchio

Cobh..................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Concarneau .......................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Copenhagen .......................... Free shuttle to town – however reports of it being difficult see post 301

Coquimbo .............................. Free shuttle to town

Corfu ..................................... Free shuttle to town

Corner Brook ........................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Darwin Aus ............................. Free shuttle to town

Dublin ....................................Free shuttle to town (kildare St)

Dubrovnick ............................... Free shuttle to town

Dunedin NZ .................................. Free shuttle to town

Eden Aus .................................. Tender then shuttle but only short walk

Geiranger ................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Gisbourne NZ ........................... Free shuttle to town but short walk

Gothenburg .............................. Shuttle to City Hall

Halifax .....................................Dock at town so no shuttle

Hamburg ................................... Shuttle provided by Port to City Hall

Helsinki ...................................... Free shuttle to town/ Shuttle provided by port from Westport to the cruise terminal closer to Market Square

Hobart (aus) .............................. Dock at town so no shuttle

Invergordon ................................ Dock at town so no shuttle

Koper ............................................Dock at town so no shuttle

Kotor ............................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

La Coruna ...................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

La Rochelle .................................... Free shuttle to town

Le Havre .......................................... Free shuttle to town

Le Verdon ......................................... Free shuttle to town (Soulacsur Mer)

Lerwick ............................................. Dock at town so no shuttle

Lisbon .............................................. Free shuttle to town (or dock in town)

Livorno ............................................. Free shuttle to town

Marseille ......................................... Free shuttle to town (fort Saint John)

Monte Carlo ................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Murmansk ....................................... Need to book a tour either O or private for visa

Oporto ............................................Free shuttle to town

Palma de Mallorca ........................... Free shuttle to town (cathedral)

Picton NZ ........................................ Dock at town so no shuttle

Pisco ................................................ Free shuttle to town

Portland ........................................... Free shuttle to town

Rio ................................................... Free shuttle to town

Rome (Port of Civitavecchio) ........... Free shuttle to Civitavechio

Saint John NB ........................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Santos .......................................Free shuttle to town

Sorrento ................................. Free shuttle to town

Split ........................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

St Malo ...................................... Dock at town so no shuttle

St Jean De Luz ............................ Dock at town so no shuttle

St Petersburg ............................. Need to book a tour either O or private for visa

Sydney N.S. ............................... Dock at town so no shuttle

Sydney Aus ................................ Free shuttle to Darling Harbour centre

Tallinn ....................................... Free shuttle to gates of old lower town (main road outside city wall)

Valencia ..................................... Free shuttle to town

Venice ......................................... Free shuttle to town

Boston.......................................... Free shuttle to town

Had a fantastic time.

12 day blue Danube & 3 nights in Prague . Aug 2-12 extremely hot & humid. Get whatever socks to prevent blisters! The cobblestones are very hot! Ur weather may be different.

Docked in Vienna at Nussdorf @34. Could not get

Clarification from gate 1 on the particulars of the Vienna tour, so 4 of us hired private guide . The tour directors & local guides were wonderful everywhere we went however.

Due

To low water levels

On Danube we docked after Salzburg / Passau at a small town and shuttled to all other cities starting w regensberg.

We went to classical concert in Vienna & did Salzburg. So glad we did. Many loved cesky krumlov. Didn't go cuz had to be careful w heat and steep walking.its suppose to look like a village right out of a fairy tale.

2 men in our group wore shorts to every dinner. We had washcloths.

The boat was clean, staff fantastic, great fellow passengers.

Unfortunately with late connections, our luggage was lost by Alitalia on our outbound flights from LAX to Budapest for 3 days. We arrived 2 days in advance to get over jet lag. tDelta also lost luggage on our return for 3 days. Bring some clothes in carry on. Boat staff was extremely helpful. We did get luggage 15 minutes before we set sailed.

All 4 of us just loved this travel experience w gate (1.

Now I want to go to Croatia. Smart tours has an attractive promotion on travelzoo right now. Any advice or recommendations for smart tours?

Thank you!

You Ladies are the BEST!

Thank you so much for all the information, travel tips, and follow-up information regarding the Vienna dock. It is so appreciated.

Four of us on are taking the MS Sound of Music with Gate 1 starting in Budapest and ending with 3 nights in Prague. We have made reservations for the Salzburg excursion and the Vienna Classical Concert.

We are very excited about the entire journey!

Again, many thanks and happy travels!

Greetings Kat in CA,

We also are going on the MS Sound of Music for a Danube River Cruise this summer.

Questions:

Do you happen to remember the name of the Dock/Pier in Vienna?

At the various docks, are you allowed to leave the riverboat after dinner and revisit the cities?

Did you take foreign currencies that matched the locations?

From California, did you find the weather pleasant or cold? Any packing suggestions?

I truly appreciate your taking the time to write such a comprehensive review. Also thank you in advance for your responses to my questions!