Transport into Port Town

[jeeee]

I am new to Oceania. I read somewhere that they provide free bus transportation to and from the ship at each of the port towns . Is this true?

Edited March 19, 2014 by jeeee

[LHT28]

NO

 

There may be free shuttles at some ports some are run by the port authority some may be hired by O

There are some shuttles in some ports that are fee based

There are some ports where you can just walk to the local town

 

it all depends

 

Lyn

[Hawaiidan]

there may be some shuttles but all I have seen are not free or non existent

Plan on walking or cab. In many cases "town is many miles" from the pier.

 

In Hilo for example I watch passengers going to walk into town from the pier not realizing it is 3.5 miles one way!!! Then again in places like Bora Bora or moorea, there is no town at all.

 

 

Research your ports , look at maps read roll calls of cruises stopping at similar or the same places.

[pacheco18]

there may be some shuttles but all I have seen are not free or non existent

 

I disagree. In recent years, in response to cruisers requests, O has increased the number of shuttles available. There have been threads where cruisers have listed which ports had shuttles available (of course past shuttles are not guarantee of future shuttles).

 

You might post your ports and some of us can tell you if a shuttle was offered (or needed) in the past. Of course, if you have a shore excursion (private or ship) you won't need a shuttle.

[pinotlover]

Let me give you an example. On the Baltic Tour, Oceania lists Gdansk, Poland as one of the stops. The ship actually docks in Gdynia, which is about 25 miles away. One can walk into the small town of Gydnia from the docks, but must pay for a tour or a taxi to go to Gdansk.

[Floridiana]

Let me give you an example. On the Baltic Tour, Oceania lists Gdansk, Poland as one of the stops. The ship actually docks in Gdynia, which is about 25 miles away. One can walk into the small town of Gydnia from the docks, but must pay for a tour or a taxi to go to Gdansk.

 

There is a train link.

http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/gdansk/arrival-transport/publictransport/Public-Transport_34513v

[qldtraveller]

Hi

Find it interesting reading the comments.

In most ports where one can get access to the town or city by walking then there are no shuttle buses provided

EG livorno(walk to bus and catch to station), Singapore cruise terminal(MRT at the dock), Cadiz(town right there), Auckland(city right there), Bora Bora(tender in and right there, hir e a car great fun)

Ports like Oporto, Marseiile, Puerto Montt O provide shuttle buses due to distances.

If you need an idea of the distance between the port and major city/town go to http://www.whatsinport.com and thru the process identify the country and port and it provides very good info. On location, transport etc. This will also provide an insight into whether O May provide shuttles?

We use this web site constantly as it is also tells what other vessels will be in port that day and if the area is going to be crowded.

 

I can assure you O and RSSC provide very good ground transport services for no charge. Sorry, we have never had to pay in port where it has been provided

[jeeee]

Thank you everyone. We've been on several Regent cruises and there has been no problem. Looking forward to Oceania where will can and will be more independent.

 

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Forums mobile app

[roothy123]

There is a post somewhere that was started to get an idea of which ports have shuttles and which do not. It may be worthwhile to try to search for it in this (Oceania) section. Of course, what someone reported a year ago for one particular cruise may not be true today for each cruise. I know, for example, that in Helsinki, the shuttle did not run for 2 hours at lunch time. In a port in the Caribbean we visited last month with another cruise line, the shuttle didn't run on Sundays.

 

In general, in the past 2 years for our Baltic and UK/Norway cruises, both on Marina, I would estimate that in at least half the ports, a free shuttle was provided about half the time. In another fourth, no shuttle was needed, and another fourth, no shuttle was available. There was one port where people on Cruise Critic reported having to pay for a shuttle, but we did not have to, at least on Oceania on the day we visited. As someone else said, it all depends! Of course, if you're like me, and want to get off the ship as soon as possible and do your own thing, you may want to just take a cab (or bus if you're really independent!), as the shuttle doesn't necessarily start running 5 minutes after the doors of the ship are opened. In almost all cases, availability and location of a shuttle is mentioned in the "Currents" paper delivered in your stateroom the night before.