How to find out the different piers your ship docks at

[bellaggio]

We are going on an Oceania cruise in August from Stockholm to Amsterdam

i know where the ships docks in Stockholm Someone already posted the site to check out. Is there a way to find out where the ship docks in Helsinki, St Peterburg, Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam?

Thank you for you help.:)

[pinotlover]

In St. Pete, all the major large cruise ships dock at the same port. Only the smaller vessels go up river toward the town.

 

Berlin seems to change by the day. We woke up and we told we would be docking at a different port in a different town. Seems the tour companies had ample notification as I don't remember any problems with the tours. We ended up in a industrial facility several miles outside Rostock, sitting next to a power plant, looking at a slag heap on one side and a dilapidated warehouse on the other. We were orginally scheduled for Warenmunde.

 

Copenhagen continues to evolve. Last summer, we went out of Nordhaven. However, the entire situation is very fluid in that Copenhagen is in the middle of a huge total redo of it's cruise port facilities, with construction not schedule to be over until 2018. I believe it is highly likely that the final decision of where one ends up in Copenhagen may not occur until a few days before arrival. Nordhaven is very industrial and not practically walkable from City Center.

 

Helsinki appeared to only have one area, about a mile from the main harbor and City Center, where cruise ships came in. O provided shuttles downtown.

[pinotlover]

Let me add a bit of opinion, which I have reason to believe is fairly accurate:

 

Oceania is, in the big scheme of things, a fairly young cruise line. What that means, in a practical sense, is that they are lower on the reservation/priority list than the older lines. If the older firms claim one of the berths, they get it, and Oceania gets bumped. This is especially the case in the Baltic with HAL and a multitude of Baltic State cruise lines plying those ports.

 

We see this same situation with pecking order in Sidney, AU also. The older, established lines get the great berths downtown while Oceania is out and away.

[LHT28]

Just google "port of XXX" it will come up with the port authority for that port

 

Amsterdam probably would be the one next to the Movenpick right in town

[roothy123]

I also google "port of XX" - usually easy to find the port site. If that doesn't work, I try marinetraffic.com - and head over there to get a map of the port and the area around it.

 

I disagree that Helsinki has only one docking location. When we docked there 2 years ago, we docked on one side of the city. Right in town, we saw Regatta docked right where the ferries come in.

 

That's interesting about Berlin. I thought everyone ended up at Warnemunde!

 

Keep in mind that a port could change a docking assignment at the last minute. We also found that in Roatan, we were listed as coming into both docking locations on the same day. Now THAT was interesting!

 

Beware if you are visiting Cork on a British Isles cruise. Most ships dock at Cork, but we got Ringaskiddy. It wasn't all that far from Cork, but had pretty dismal options for getting to Cork, Blarney Castle, and other places that people wanted to visit. There was a huge cruise ship docked at Cork and Oceania was assigned to the boondocks.

Edited May 1, 2014 by roothy123

[JimandStan]

As fascinating as our personal anecdotes may be, the thing to take away from this is that the Port Authority for each Port visited have total control over where the Ship may dock.

 

A tentative plan may be available Online, but as "life happens" the Port has the option of making changes; as they must because ships may seek all matter of Services (Fuel, fresh water, auxiliary electricity) and not all docking locations can support every need.

Most of us who are Tour Organizers begin by stressing out over the lack of a docking location which is set in stone, but soon realize that the Guides and Tour Operators have learned to treat it as a simple fact of life. They would never THINK of going to work without confirming the docking location on that day.

 

Similarly, Passengers touring the Port on their own need to keep their plans (and expectations) fluid enough that a docking change won't provoke apoplexy.

 

If one plans ones' day around the fun of being spontaneous, it is a mistake to micromanage to that level, anyway-

[roothy123]

As fascinating as our personal anecdotes may be, the thing to take away from this is that the Port Authority for each Port visited have total control over where the Ship may dock.

 

A tentative plan may be available Online, but as "life happens" the Port has the option of making changes; as they must because ships may seek all matter of Services (Fuel, fresh water, auxiliary electricity) and not all docking locations can support every need.

Most of us who are Tour Organizers begin by stressing out over the lack of a docking location which is set in stone, but soon realize that the Guides and Tour Operators have learned to treat it as a simple fact of life. They would never THINK of going to work without confirming the docking location on that day.

 

Similarly, Passengers touring the Port on their own need to keep their plans (and expectations) fluid enough that a docking change won't provoke apoplexy.

 

If one plans ones' day around the fun of being spontaneous, it is a mistake to micromanage to that level, anyway-

 

That is SOME picture! Glad I wasn't anywhere near Port Everglades on that day!

[buggins0402]

I

 

Berlin seems to change by the day. We woke up and we told we would be docking at a different port in a different town. Seems the tour companies had ample notification as I don't remember any problems with the tours. We ended up in a industrial facility several miles outside Rostock, sitting next to a power plant, looking at a slag heap on one side and a dilapidated warehouse on the other. We were orginally scheduled for Warenmunde.

 

 

Thanks for posting this - it had me checking exactly where we are porting in Warnemunde,

 

It looks like Marina is going to be in Rostock instead of Warnemunde (port schedule shows LP41) on June 15. Did Oceania have a shuttle into Rostock? If not, I'll have to figure out Sunday bus schedules.

 

Was originally going to keep it a nice easy day, stay in Warnemunde and rent bikes and ride along the seashore (we were in Germany for 11 days last year). Now, it looks like we'll have to choose between an easy day in Rostock or a more complicated (bus, train combo) to get to Warnemunde. Oh well, as Jim and Stan said....one must remain fluid regarding the plans.

Edited May 1, 2014 by buggins0402

[roothy123]

Can't answer your question about a shuttle from Rostock, but from what I've heard, that city has a lot of nice things to explore. A while back there were a lot of posts by someone called "Ani" and she had wonderful info and advice for travelers.

Edited May 1, 2014 by roothy123

[buggins0402]

Can't answer your question about a shuttle from Rostock, but from what I've heard, that city has a lot of nice things to explore. A while back there were a lot of posts by someone called "Ani" and she had wonderful info and advice for travelers.

 

I've been doing web searches this morning....found this old blog with instructions from the commercial port to the town of Rostock.

 

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2010/03/rostock-seaport-germany-getting-around.html

 

It looks absolutely desolate out there at the commercial port and I doubt public transportation would be running frequently on a Sunday! Another option might be to rent a car. If Oceania does have a shuttle it would save the day!

 

Unfortunately, Ani's thread has gotten quite long. I'll have to spend this evening reading through it for infomation about the commercial port in Rostock.

Edited May 1, 2014 by buggins0402

[pinotlover]

The port in Rostock is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. No public transportation.

 

Oceania did run a shuttle, every thirty minutes, into Rostock. The town is pretty enough and we spent about 2.5 hours roaming around town and saw everything there.

 

I would recommend taking the tour out to Mecklenburg Castle. For the ones that did, everyone seemed to enjoy it. O remains in this port fairly late because of the long bus run for the tourist going to Berlin. So if you don't do an alternative tour, consider the time there like a sea day and enjoy the boat. As I stated the view is horrible. A power plant, with its slag pile right next to the boat on one side, and a dilapidated warehouse on the other!:eek: By far the worst place I've ever docked on a cruise ship.

 

We were fortunate to have a La Reserve night the day we docked, so we had something to look forward to.

 

For those going to Berlin. Rostock actually adds nearly an hour to drive to Berlin, and thus cuts out part of the sightseeing. Most of the tour became drive bys. I think few would actually recommend the tour, especially if they had already been to Berlin previously.

[buggins0402]

Thanks Pinotlover - you have been a great help!

 

Think we'll use the shuttle to tour Rostock a bit, then head on the S-bahn to Warnemunde (unless the shuttle driver will let us off at the S-bahn station betwixt the two). We'll only keep the bike rental plan alive if weather and travel "gods" allow. I've checked out biking in Rostock and the potential routes are much better in Warnemunde.

 

It's probably not the usual plan for this port, but given that we spent so much time in Germany only a year ago, our plan was for an easy "touring/experience the culture" day.

[pinotlover]

Buggins;

 

The Bus Drop/Pick up point is at the bottom of the hill by the marina. One walks up the Hill into town to the Old Town. The train is an easy five minute walk from that main street in town. So it is fairly easy. Since it is a late departure, you have plenty of time to explore Warnemunde and get back to the boat with ease.

 

Be prepared for plenty of cranky people from the long bus ride to Berlin!