Seeking info on Somaneset pier in Sandnes, Norway

[Turtles06]

We are booked on a Norway cruise in July aboard the HAL Rotterdam, that is scheduled to dock in Stavanger on July 13.  Although HAL hasn't officially announced this yet to everyone affected, there is very good reason to believe (including from the port's official web site) that we will instead be docking at Somaneset pier in Sandnes.

 

Many of us have a fjord cruise booked that morning out of Stavanger, and will want to get there quickly (probably by taxi).  Is Somaneset a pier where we can just walk out to the street and meet a cab (pre-booked if possible), or is it a commercial port where we have to take a shuttle bus somewhere to get to the streets, cabs, etc.? 

 

And if anyone has any other information about Somaneset and Sandnes, I'd very much appreciate it, thanks!

[kaisatsu]

Sandnes is a small town that's basically a suburb of Stavanger. I definitely wouldn't expect to walk off the ship and find a taxi, but it's also such a small place that you probably won't have to worry about walking too far to get out of the port area. Google Street View can give a pretty good idea what kind of area you'll be in: https://goo.gl/maps/zh6bK8CZWTkyEJpz9

 

Sandnes does have its own taxi company, so you might be able to download their app to order a taxi pickup: https://www.sandnestaxi.no/  Uber could also be a possibility if you're early or book it in advance (since I wouldn't expect a lot of drivers to be in the area).

[Turtles06]

17 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

Sandnes is a small town that's basically a suburb of Stavanger. . . .

 

Thanks for your reply and information!

 

The reason I'd asked about walking off the ship is that if we do wind up in Sandnes, we won't be docked at the pier close to the town, but rather at Somaneset, which as I understand it is a few km away.  I'm sure we'll need to pre-book a taxi, but what isn't clear to any of us is whether the Somaneset pier is within a commercial port, such that we'll have to take some sort of shuttle bus out of the entire port area, and to where.

 

Thanks again!

[Sea42]

I would be surprised if there wasn't a shuttle set up to take passengers into Stavanger.

[Turtles06]

1 minute ago, Sea42 said:

I would be surprised if there wasn't a shuttle set up to take passengers into Stavanger.

 

It would be nice, but it's a 20 minute or so drive, and just think how many buses would have to be hired to deal with a 2500-pax ship without making people wait for a really long time.  And these are the cruise lines we are talking about, short on cash, cutting back everything they can and raises prices at the same time.

[Sea42]

That's all true of course but they do offer shuttle almost everywhere else in these situations. The problem will be lack of buses to charter in that area.

What I hope happens is that HAL arranges for all of the ship excursions to begin at Somaneset. They already had the vehicles booked so I wouldn't think it would be that hard to change the pick up spot. Those with private excursions could also arrange with their tour providers for a Somaneset pick up (probably higher cost). Then it's a matter of finding shuttle arrangements for those not on any type of  excursions. Not easy if there are other ships in Stavanger that day.

Not a great situation for sure.

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Those with private excursions could also arrange with their tour providers for a Somaneset pick up (probably higher cost).

 

Sorry, not so for a lot of us.  One of the most popular private tours in Stavanger is the Rodne Fjord Cruise, on which many of us are already booked.  This is a boat tour up the Lyesfjord, and a sail past Pulpit Rock.  (HAL has a similar tour that costs more than $100 more per person!  I can only imagine how much more it will be if HAL has to bus people to Stavanger.)

 

Some of us have already contacted Rodne, and they don't do any pickups (from anywhere), since their tour is a boat ride starting right near the cruise ships in Stavanger.  In other words, just walk over.  (If you are docked in Stavanger.)

 

I've been checking, and one-way taxi fares to Stavanger from Somanest are about $50 US.    

[Sea42]

13 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Sorry, not so for a lot of us.  One of the most popular private tours in Stavanger is the Rodne Fjord Cruise, on which many of us are already booked.  This is a boat tour up the Lyesfjord, and a sail past Pulpit Rock.  (HAL has a similar tour that costs more than $100 more per person!  I can only imagine how much more it will be if HAL has to bus people to Stavanger.)

 

Some of us have already contacted Rodne, and they don't do any pickups (from anywhere), since their tour is a boat ride starting right near the cruise ships in Stavanger.  In other words, just walk over.  (If you are docked in Stavanger.)

 

I've been checking, and one-way taxi fares to Stavanger from Somanest are about $50 US.    

And the bus will probably take about 45 mins so depending on the tour time it might not be an option for that boat tour.

[kaisatsu]

On 3/7/2023 at 2:48 PM, Turtles06 said:

The reason I'd asked about walking off the ship is that if we do wind up in Sandnes, we won't be docked at the pier close to the town, but rather at Somaneset, which as I understand it is a few km away.

The streetview link I posted was the port facility at Somnaset. You should have no problem walking off the ship and out of the port, and if you book a taxi, it could hopefully find an open parking space in front of the Sandnes Havn (Harbor) office if it needed to wait.

[Turtles06]

28 minutes ago, kaisatsu said:

The streetview link I posted was the port facility at Somnaset. You should have no problem walking off the ship and out of the port, and if you book a taxi, it could hopefully find an open parking space in front of the Sandnes Havn (Harbor) office if it needed to wait.

 

Thanks again, you've been hugely helpful!

 

(Meanwhile, HAL is insisting there's been no itinerary change, even when the publicly-available information suggests otherwise.)

[tutucarla]

We are on the Rotterdam Norway cruise in September, and we have the same situation.  HA first told me that we were docking in Stavanger, but the fjord cruise company told me that the port schedule showed the ship in Somnaset.  So I called HA back again twice, and both times they said they didn't know where the ship would be docked.  Very poor customer service!

[Joey_L]

On 1/27/2024 at 9:27 PM, tutucarla said:

We are on the Rotterdam Norway cruise in September, and we have the same situation.  HA first told me that we were docking in Stavanger, but the fjord cruise company told me that the port schedule showed the ship in Somnaset.  So I called HA back again twice, and both times they said they didn't know where the ship would be docked.  Very poor customer service!

We're on the Rotterdam as well in September (10 - 20) and if, and it looks like it, our ship docks at Somaneset we're thinking of buying a 24 hour transportation ticket and taking a public bus from a stop close to the terminal north to Stavanger. From there a ferry (included in the 24 hour ticket) to the Island of Vassøy. There's limited time as the ship departs at 3.00 pm.

[Joey_L]

15 hours ago, Joey_L said:

We're on the Rotterdam as well in September (10 - 20)

Oops. I got my next two cruises mixed up. Rotterdam cruise is in June. In September we're in the Mediterranean on a whole different ship.

 

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