Advice on Oosterdam Med cruise

[Ilovesailaway]

 

DW and I will be cruising on Oosterdam with this itinerary. I believe that some of these ports are tender ports. For those that have done this itinerary or been to these ports with HA did you find the tender process to be quick and reliable?  I ask because I am considering booking private tours but would like to know if that is advisable.

Also what nights would be our gala nights? And if you can provide any other specific advice for cruising HA with this itinerary I would greatly appreciate it. This will be our 2nd HA cruise.

Thank you

 

Tuesday, May 30    Barcelona, Spain        5:00pm
Wednesday, May 31    Marseille, France    8:00am    8:00pm
Thursday, June 1    Cannes, France    7:00am    6:00pm
Friday, June 2    Florence / Pisa (Livorno), Italy    7:00am    7:00pm
Saturday, June 3    Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy    7:00am    7:00pm
Sunday, June 4    Naples, Italy    8:00am    7:00pm
Monday, June 5    Strait of Messina (Cruising)        
Monday, June 5    Taormina (Giardini Naxos), Sicily, Italy    10:00am    11:00pm
Tuesday, June 6    At Sea        
Wednesday, June 7    Corfu, Greece    8:00am    6:00pm
Thursday, June 8    Kotor, Montenegro    8:00am    11:00pm
Friday, June 9    Dubrovnik, Croatia    7:00am    6:00pm
Saturday, June 10    Trieste, Italy    2:00pm    
Sunday, June 11    Trieste, Italy    Disembark    

[OlsSalt]

Great itinerary. Very port intensive, but you have lots of variety.  

 

A couple of good  travel writing books (not tour books) cover the context and sweep of  history for some these ports, which may be of interest:

 

1. Kaplan's "Adriatic" https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/robert-d-kaplan/adriatic/

2. The Middle Sea. 

 

Dressy nights are usually on at-sea days or early embarkation days, which is a bit of a problem with this port intensive, full day schedule itinerary. So my own best guess (?) would be the first 6pm embarkation day - Cannes, and the later dressy night would be the at-sea day.

 

We know it is not the first night and it is not the last night. And it certainly won't be the 11pm departure nights. So it is anyone's guess about those other 6pm departure nights. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by OlsSalt

[vicd1969]

I did a similar itinerary a few years before COVID, except replace Cannes with Monaco. The Taormina tender was not a problem for getting back to the ship.  Kotor has a small port - unfortunately HAL is drawing the short straw and another ship gets to dock right in front of the town main entrance.  But I don't expect the tender there will have to cover a long distance like a tender at Half Moon or Grand Cayman.  Given that the Oosterdam isn't a huge ship and the short tender distances involved,  I think you'll be safe scheduling a private tour an hour after arrival time.

 

At both Taormina and Kotor, four of us just grabbed a taxi for the day, and the drivers waited while we walked around the spots we wanted to go, with some advice from them. I haven't been to Cannes but would only consider getting a private tour if you're set on exploring the countryside regions outside Cannes.

Edited February 15, 2023 by vicd1969

[CruiserBruce]

First, I think you are going to have only one "dressy" night...the sea day.

 

Second, Taormina and Kotor are the only tender ports. Any port can be a tender port if there are more ships than docks, but that is fairly rare. (Note the fifth ship at Juneau, for example). Corfu is one place where sometimes there are too many ships.

 

Third, if you book a private tour, yes, an hour after scheduled arrival should be fine. Remember, if its a truly private tour...just for you and your group...you own the tour. They will wait for you.

[crystalspin]

5 hours ago, Ilovesailaway said:

Also what nights would be our gala nights?

Agree with @OlsSalt-- Cannes and the sea day. A third might be the evening after Dubrovnik.

[Pickalily, Wilts]

If you like volcanoes, be sure not to miss the approach to the Strait of Messina.  You'll pass Stromboli, which rarely disappoints - it seems to put on a show approximately every 20 minutes!  Giardini Naxos is in the shadow of Mt Etna and that is also active.   When in Naples, you may even see Vesuvius smoking..   The area is a volcanologist's 'heaven'.  The sail into and out of Kotor is delightful.

 

In all, you have a very good itinerary - have a lovely trip.

[newtocruiseinblue]

I did this itinerary in 2018 and was the best trip of my life. You will enjoy it. Every morning felt like Christmas morning, waking up in a new destination. 
 

With six countries (7 if you visit the Vatican), it is a great way to get a taste of the Mediterranean.

 

by the time we got to Corfu, we were so exhausted that we spent the day sitting in a cafe along the Espalanade just people watching, morning cappuccino turned into lunch and beers and we just people watched. One of my favorite memories and these will happen organically and can't be planned.
 

if you want to splurge on some ports but save on others, then I would do my own thing in Dubrovnik as you can easily walk the wall on your own and Kotor can easily be done on your own. Venice is another city that doesn't need a shore excursion as many people will say "just get lost" in Venice.

 

Be prepared for a lot of walking on this trip. We had 2 formal nights. I'm jealous! Enjoy!!

[Ilovesailaway]

Wow so happy I posted this. Thank you everyone for your responses. I am even more excited for this trip now. 

[Hlitner]

Tendering is generally reliable (weather permitting) but it can be a slow process on HAL and most other mass market lines.  If you are taking a cruise line excursion, the tendering will be pretty simple as you would likely be told to meet in the lounge and go ashore as a group.  But, otherwise, the tender process favors those who have priority while others need to get tender tickets (the daily schedule will tell you when and where to get tender tickets) and wait until it is your turn.  Depending on the port, this can take several hours.  You will tender at Cannes (it can be slow since they must use the ship's tenders) and Giardini Naxos.  Kotor can sometimes involve tendering when there are too many ships for all to dock.

 

Hank

[Sea42]

For Dubrovnik, we left the ship and took a cab to the gate closet to the wall walk entrance and did that first before the tour groups and crowds arrived. We then took a ferry over to Lokrum island.

https://www.dubrovnik-travel.net/lokrum-island/

It was great place to walk around and was a nice change from all of the city visits on our cruise. We went for a swim, enjoyed the beer gardens and played bocce. There were some gardens and the ruins of a monastery.

We then took the ferry back and explored the city for a couple of hours before returning to the ship. It was a very nice low key day.

[cruisemom42]

As mentioned above, the sail in to and out of Kotor is breathtaking. You'll be leaving too late (11:00 pm) to see much on the way out, so be sure to be up early and outside (preferably at the bow but at least on deck to watch the sail in -- at least 60 minutes ahead of arrival.

[OlsSalt]

Great itinerary. Very port intensive, but you have lots of variety.  A couple of good  travel writing books (not tour books) cover the context and sweep of  history for these ports which   may be of interest: Adriatic (new publication) and The Middle Sea. 

 

Dressy nights are usually on at-sea days or early embarkation days, which is a bit of a problem with this port intensive, full day schedule itinerary. So my own best guess (?) would be the first 6pm embarkation day - Cannes, and the later dressy night would be the at-sea day.

 

We know it is not the first night and it is not the last night. And it certainly won't be the 11pm departure nights. So it is anyone's guess about those other 6pm departure nights. 

[OlsSalt]

(Sorry about the double post - caught in some CC editing glitch)

 

Rick Steves wrote "Mediterranean Cruise Ports - which is a helpful introduction for new cruisers into this area, He has an excellent self-guided city tour of Naples, leaving from the cruise port -an under-appreciated city full of lavish architecture, art and .....street chaos. But he skillfully navigates you around the best this city has to offer. Including it great culinary highlights.

 

Another over looked Naples tip is the one hour ferry leaving from the cruise port area going to the very small and walkable island of Procida, the sleeper little sister of the more glamours and impacted Capri. This is the isle of lemons and limoncello. Worthy of a good side trip - for scenery and dining.

[Sharon in AZ]

We did this itinerary last June on the Oosterdam.  I pulled out my When & Where so I could tell you the times, tenders and Dressy Nights.

 

Barcelona - all aboard 4:30pm, Casual

Marseille - all aboard 5:30 pm, Casual

Villefranche-sur-mer  (not Cannes) - last tender was 4:30pm, Dressy

Livorno - all aboard 6:30pm, Casual

Civitavecchia - all aboard 6:30pm, Casual

Naples - all aboard 5:30pm, Casual

Taormina - last tender 10:30pm, Casual

At Sea, Dressy

Kerkira (Corfu) - all aboard 4:30pm, Casual

Dubrovnik - all aboard 11:30pm, Casual

Kotor - last tender 5:30, Casual - we were unable to tender here due to high winds so it ended up being a sea day

At Sea - Casual

Trieste - disembark

 

The tender at Taormina was very easy and quick but I didn't go until early afternoon for a wine tour so don't know how it was earlier.  Taxis are readily available at the tender drop off.

 

The sail in and out of the Bay of Kotor is beautiful, so make sure to plan accordingly.  Even though we couldn't tender the ship stayed in the bay for quite a while waiting for new crew to board.  Montenegro is an important country for crew to join because no visas are required there.

 

I hope this helps.

 

 

 

[Torquer]

We have been to all of those ports except for one, but over several different cruises.  You will really enjoy them, but take time to do good planning pre-cruise for what you want to see.  I would highly recommend Tom's Port Guides; they are free and have lots of detailed practical advise.

https://www.tomsportguides.com/

[aa7yy]

Livorno, Civitavecchia and Naples are all 3 ports where we tend to over tour. Maybe some conservative tours so that you don't burn out. (leave a reason to return.) If you hit all 3 hard it will start to feel like you need a vacation.

[terrydtx]

We did a 14 night Oosterdam cruise last August from Venice (Trieste) and they had terrible heat waves in both Italy and Croatia. Loved the cruise and the ports. Kotor and Dubrovnik are both located in fiord like inlets and have spectacular views sailing in and out. Only tour mistakes we made were choosing ones that included a lunch, in all cases the lunches were late in the afternoon, 2-3pm and were not great. This year we are doing a cruise from Amsterdam to Athens and all of our tours are booked with private companies that are in small groups of 14 or less and do not include meals, we get to choose when and where we have them. You will love the itinerary.

 

If you are into wines, and when in Taormina, look for a tour of Mt Etna that includes a winery on the slopes of Mt Etna, called Gambino Winery. We did this last year on another cruise line with a private tour and it was one of the best shore excursions with a winery we have ever done. We shipped home a case of their wine and since have found Total Wine here in our city sells some of their wines.

Edited February 16, 2023 by terrydtx

[Ilovesailaway]

Amazing info. Thank you all for taking the time to give such detailed helpful responses. 

[terrydtx]

29 minutes ago, Ilovesailaway said:

Amazing info. Thank you all for taking the time to give such detailed helpful responses. 

If you are interested here is the Mt Etna, Taormina and winery tour I told you about earlier and it is available on June 5th. The snacks at the winery is more of a complete lunch with so much food and over 10 wines tasted.

 

Etna Wine Experience with Taormina | Giardini, Naxos Shore Excursion | European Cruise Tours (shoreexcursionsgroup.com)

[Ilovesailaway]

21 hours ago, terrydtx said:

If you are interested here is the Mt Etna, Taormina and winery tour 

Thank you for that link. It looks like an amazing experience.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Ilovesailaway said:

Thank you for that link. It looks like an amazing experience.

Here is a link to the winery they visit. Mt Etna was also amazing as it is one of the most active Volcanos in that part of the world. BTW we used that same Shore Excursions group for most of our tours in Italy and Greece, they were the best of any we did from the ship. Always got us back to the ship on time too.

Best Vineyards in Sicily - Sicilian Wines | Gambino Winery

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Ilovesailaway said:

Thank you for that link. It looks like an amazing experience.

You also stop in Livorno. last year since we had been to Florence 3 times prior, we did this full day tour of Tuscany that include two wineries and a lunch at one of them. We also got free time in San Gimignano one of the most beautiful Mid Evil villages in Italy that still has 12 of the original towers. This was a fantastic tour too.

 

Full Day Tuscan Countryside and Wine Tasting | Livorno Shore Excursion | European Cruise Tours (shoreexcursionsgroup.com)

[bfgood2]

Ilovesailaway, 

 We'de like to have you join our Roll Call for this cruise. We have a number of shore excursions  the Spreadsheet that one of our CC members has generously moderated. It's a very active roll call  with 700+ posts and a few shipboard events posted too. We're looking forward to this itinerary, which several posters here have given the thumbs up. Hope to meet you onboard!

Bobbie & Fred

 

[pirate cruiser]

Four of us ( 2 couples ) are doing this same cruise in Sept. for the first time to the Med. so I will be anxiously awaiting any tips or suggestions-have a great time !

[Ilovesailaway]

8 hours ago, bfgood2 said:

 We'de like to have you join our Roll Call for this cruise.

Ty, funny thing is I asked my DW to look for a roll call because she is more social than me but she is new to CC. I am a research and planning person so I have used CC for that but I have never been into the roll calls.

She said she will look again tonight. We have a lot to plan for on this cruise so I appreciate the help I know the roll call can provide.