Useful Port Guides - or not!

[WestonOne]

I have been looking through the port guides for my next trip and they seem somewhat lacking in usefulness.   I started by looking at Southampton, which I know well, and came across this:

 

Does that give any useful information at all where it is?  Is it near the port, or miles away?  Is there a road name for reference?  No, nothing.   You could, of course ask a taxi driver to take you, but the map has not helped in any way.  Then there is from Akureri:

It looks like the things you can't find anywhere else in the world are hard to find here as well, since it is never open.  Was there a lot of point telling us about it?

Then of course all of the guides seem to focus very intensively on coffee shops and pubs, and while it is a matter of opinion, I don't think the ones listed for Southampton are the best, so I expect that is true for other ports as well.

The old guides used to at least include a ,map of the town, but these don't.  We can perhaps use smartphones, but then data charges might be a consideration.

 

Do people find these guides useful, ignore them, or find alternative guides?  

Edited May 22, 2023 by WestonOne

[Angel57]

38 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

I have been looking through the port guides for my next trip and they seem somewhat lacking in usefulness.   I started by looking at Southampton, which I know well, and came across this:

 

Does that give any useful information at all where it is?  Is it near the port, or miles away?  Is there a road name for reference?  No, nothing.   You could, of course ask a taxi driver to take you, but the map has not helped in any way.  Then there is from Akureri:

It looks like the things you can't find anywhere else in the world are hard to find here as well, since it is never open.  Was there a lot of point telling us about it?

Then of course all of the guides seem to focus very intensively on coffee shops and pubs, and while it is a matter of opinion, I don't think the ones listed for Southampton are the best, so I expect that is true for other ports as well.

The old guides used to at least include a ,map of the town, but these don't.  We can perhaps use smartphones, but then data charges might be a consideration.

 

Do people find these guides useful, ignore them, or find alternative guides?  

Having browsed thru it for my upcoming Aurora cruise I came to the conclusion it was just one big advertisement for coffee shops and bars in port (I wonder if P&O gets paid for that). I do find Peter Dagnal’s port guides from that other well known social website far more helpful……

[Fionboard]

24 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

Having browsed thru it for my upcoming Aurora cruise I came to the conclusion it was just one big advertisement for coffee shops and bars in port (I wonder if P&O gets paid for that). I do find Peter Dagnal’s port guides from that other well known social website far more helpful……

Just google the port and download a map! 

[WestonOne]

23 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Just google the port and download a map! 

Yes, of course.

Such maps are much better than nothing, but as likely as not do not contain as useful information as a good port guide and may be misleading, especially regarding landmarks.  Here is a 'Bing' map of the Old Town, Southampton

 

You see that blue camera showing Westgate Hall as an interesting place to visit?  Well, you will be disappointed in it if you do, because the photogenic Westgate Hall is actually that brown area next to 'The Pig in the Wall.'

I know this because I am local.  But that leads me to have a similar level of distrust of the online maps for ports.

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, WestonOne said:

I have been looking through the port guides for my next trip and they seem somewhat lacking in usefulness.   I started by looking at Southampton, which I know well, and came across this:

 

Does that give any useful information at all where it is?  Is it near the port, or miles away?  Is there a road name for reference?  No, nothing.   You could, of course ask a taxi driver to take you, but the map has not helped in any way.  Then there is from Akureri:

It looks like the things you can't find anywhere else in the world are hard to find here as well, since it is never open.  Was there a lot of point telling us about it?

Then of course all of the guides seem to focus very intensively on coffee shops and pubs, and while it is a matter of opinion, I don't think the ones listed for Southampton are the best, so I expect that is true for other ports as well.

The old guides used to at least include a ,map of the town, but these don't.  We can perhaps use smartphones, but then data charges might be a consideration.

 

Do people find these guides useful, ignore them, or find alternative guides?  

Try this

https://www.visitakureyri.is/en/see-and-do/museums/the-aviation-museum

 

IOf you ever visit Bodo there is an excellent aviation museum out by the airport

[WestonOne]

6 minutes ago, davecttr said:

Try this

https://www.visitakureyri.is/en/see-and-do/museums/the-aviation-museum

 

IOf you ever visit Bodo there is an excellent aviation museum out by the airport

That sounds like it is the one they are claiming is closed, though the website suggests it is open!

Edited May 22, 2023 by WestonOne

[davecttr]

Just now, WestonOne said:

That sounds like it is the one they are claiming is closed, though the website suggests it is open!

It is only open on Saturdays in winter but can be visited by special appointment

[Ardennais]

I don’t find these new style port guides useful. As noted, they’re full of references to coffee shops etc. We found the old style paper ones very useful. 

[Cathygh]

The maps on the old ones were useless, but the info was helpful, as were the port talks.

[Britboys]

The new online guides are about as useful as a chocolate teapot... Imho of course...

[Goosebear Mum]

We appreciated the old ones, the new ones are totally useless and pointless. Our recent Aurora cruise just listed cafes, and random shops, etc. The map was pointless, didn’t even show where we’d be docked. Total waste of development time. Even more confusing for new cruisers.