Edinburgh: The change of port from Leith to Rosyth

[cdfev]

About two months ago, Sirena was forced to change ports from Leith to Rosyth due to the presence of Nautica (another Oceania ship) already in Leith. We are 30 minutes outside of the city by car and no shuttle to Edinburgh will be provided by the cruise line. I can't say that I blame them as the traffic into Edinburgh will be horrible during the Military Tattoo and The Fringe Festival. The solution given by the cruise line has been to provide a shuttle to Drumferline (the opposite direction from Edinburgh) where one can jump onto a train for 7 pounds per person to Edinburgh. Ubers from the port entrance to Edinburgh are bare minimum 28 pounds. This is not the way to run a cruise line in my opinion.

[ORV]

I believe Nautica has been scheduled for Leith for months. This is nothing new. There are many ports where the city proper is not easily accessed. Cruise lines have been running this way for years. You just need to plan accordingly. 
 

I’m waiting for my flight to Edinburgh as I post this. 

[cdfev]

41 minutes ago, ORV said:

I believe Nautica has been scheduled for Leith for months. This is nothing new. There are many ports where the city proper is not easily accessed. Cruise lines have been running this way for years. You just need to plan accordingly. 
 

I’m waiting for my flight to Edinburgh as I post this. 

This is not the case. When we booked and up until 2 months ago, we were told we were in Leith. Please do not say that this is normal procedure as you are wrong.

[ORV]

27 minutes ago, cdfev said:

This is not the case. When we booked and up until 2 months ago, we were told we were in Leith. Please do not say that this is normal procedure as you are wrong.

All I know is that I’ve been booked on Nautica for 23 months and my invoice has always said Leith.  Probably the reason yours was changed is that it’s a port stop and not an embark or debark. But it is very common practice for cruise lines to port well over an hour from the cities they advertise where they stop. They have been doing it for years. In most instances it’s up to the passengers to determine how to get to the main city. I could give you a long list but I don’t see any reason to. Anyone with cruise experience knows this is the way it is. 
 

Now if your itinerary advertised Leith as your port stop all along and changed it at the last minute I can see how you would be annoyed. But they also reserve that right. You have had a couple of months to make plans. Enjoy your cruise. 

[fruitmachine]

Sirena has been booked for Rosyth (and Nautica for Leith) since at least 7th January 2024 and, from the numbering that I can see, Nautica was boked first..

 

You should also know that buses to Dunfermline are normally funded locally to promote Dunfermline, not by the cruise lines.  I'm not sure if any cruise line provides a free shuttle from Edinburgh to Rosyth.

[cdfev]

2 hours ago, ORV said:

All I know is that I’ve been booked on Nautica for 23 months and my invoice has always said Leith.  Probably the reason yours was changed is that it’s a port stop and not an embark or debark. But it is very common practice for cruise lines to port well over an hour from the cities they advertise where they stop. They have been doing it for years. In most instances it’s up to the passengers to determine how to get to the main city. I could give you a long list but I don’t see any reason to. Anyone with cruise experience knows this is the way it is. 
 

Now if your itinerary advertised Leith as your port stop all along and changed it at the last minute I can see how you would be annoyed. But they also reserve that right. You have had a couple of months to make plans. Enjoy your cruise. 

So it is clear that Oceania told both Nautica and Sirena that they would be at Leith for more than one year before the announced change to Rosyth (whether this was 2 or 6 months ago makes no difference). To then force the passengers on Sirena to cough up $40 each way is not good business practice. For those of you on Nautica who feel that Sirena should make your own plans (which of course we are doing) and not complain about it is very revealing.

 

[Harters]

I can understand how someone might be peeved at this change. Leith is a suburb of Edinburgh, whilst Rosyth is definitely a different town some kilometres away, On our last stay in Edinburgh, we based ourselves at  a hotel in Leith - easy to get into the city centre and very near to two restaurants we wanted to eat at. Indeed, if I was on a cruise that was in port at Leith, my focus for the day would be lunch at one of them (a favourite UK place for us - which we visit when staying a two hour drive further south in Northumberland). 

[ORV]

42 minutes ago, cdfev said:

So it is clear that Oceania told both Nautica and Sirena that they would be at Leith for more than one year before the announced change to Rosyth (whether this was 2 or 6 months ago makes no difference). To then force the passengers on Sirena to cough up $40 each way is not good business practice. For those of you on Nautica who feel that Sirena should make your own plans (which of course we are doing) and not complain about it is very revealing.

 

If the roles would have been reversed I would have made plans accordingly and did my best to enjoy my vacation. Life’s too short to let little things eat you up. I’m just happy to be alive and be able to travel, physically and financially. 
 

I would say the complaints are what's revealing. Hope things get better for you. 

[fruitmachine]

You must not forget that just 24 hours before Nautica's arrival, Windstar's Star Legend failed to get into Leith, sailed around the Firth of Forth for hours, and then docked in Rosyth.  It too was on a turnaround, so the plans of many would have gone awry.  They woke up to find they were still at sea.  Sirena's passengers knew a long time ago.

 

Given that a second storm blew through following this, I was slightly surprised to find Nautica on its berth yesterday morning.  They too could have been alongside in Rosyth!

 

[cdfev]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

If the roles would have been reversed I would have made plans accordingly and did my best to enjoy my vacation. Life’s too short to let little things eat you up. I’m just happy to be alive and be able to travel, physically and financially. 
 

I would say the complaints are what's revealing. Hope things get better for you. 

I never said this ate me up or ruined my vacation. Glad you are so well adapted and happy to be alive and able to travel (perhaps this is a bit condescending). I am stating that Oceania should not market a port for over one year for the same ships and I stand by my opinion. You would not be happy if you were in Rosyth either (after making firm plans on attending the Tattoo with local family members in a Leith Hotel nearby), but we have made plans to overcome the incovenience. Your statements are indeed revealing.

 

Edited August 24 by cdfev

[Woodrowst]

It seems to me that the issue is not so much the change from Leith to Rosyth (it only adds 15 minutes or so to the drive) but that Oceania is not providing direct transportation into Edinburgh.  If the cruise is during one of the festivals you mentioned perhaps it is because the heavy traffic prevents that from happening.  We were in Edinburgh during the Military Tatoo and it was wall to wall people.  Perhaps providing you a shuttle to Drumferline is the best they can do.  I certainly understand your frustration - so near and yet so far from one of the iconic cities of the world.

[FlyerTalker]

9 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

I'm not sure if any cruise line provides a free shuttle from Edinburgh to Rosyth.

 

I have been on several cruiselines that provide shuttles from Rosyth.  Then again, they are luxury lines, not premium ones, so there are pretty much shuttles at every port.  (Note the lack of threads on free shuttles for those lines).

 

6 hours ago, cdfev said:

You would not be happy if you were in Rosyth either (after making firm plans on attending the Tattoo with local family members in a Leith Hotel nearby),

 

If you have absolute local plans, arriving by cruiseship is hardly the best way to assure them.

 

 

[Jancruz]

14 hours ago, cdfev said:

This is not the case. When we booked and up until 2 months ago, we were told we were in Leith. Please do not say that this is normal procedure as you are wrong.

Actually it is normal for Oceania

Jancruz1

[Jancruz]

10 hours ago, cdfev said:

I never said this ate me up or ruined my vacation. Glad you are so well adapted and happy to be alive and able to travel (perhaps this is a bit condescending). I am stating that Oceania should not market a port for over one year for the same ships and I stand by my opinion. You would not be happy if you were in Rosyth either (after making firm plans on attending the Tattoo with local family members in a Leith Hotel nearby), but we have made plans to overcome the incovenience. Your statements are indeed revealing.

 

..but this is getting to be the norm..if you cant adjust to it without being upset maybe you would be happier on a land trip..although I know Tauck just took Jasper out of their train tour two weeks before the trip because of fire..

Jancruz1

[osandomir]

1 hour ago, Jancruz said:

Actually it is normal for Oceania

Jancruz1

I don’t think that it should be normal but this’s the reality. This change of the docking location from Leith to Rosyth while inconvenient is pretty minor. Over the recent years we’ve seen all changes that were much more significant some times made the very last moment. It’s in Oceania contract that they don’t have to compensate the customers for the change of the docking location. And I haven’t seen any shuttles provided from the port locations that were far away from the center of the city. The expense of getting a train or taxi in town is often upon us. Nothing in travel is guaranteed so we set our expectations accordingly.

Edited August 25 by osandomir

[Jancruz]

5 hours ago, osandomir said:

I don’t think that it should be normal but this’s the reality. This change of the docking location from Leith to Rosyth while inconvenient is pretty minor. Over the recent years we’ve seen all changes that were much more significant some times made the very last moment. It’s in Oceania contract that they don’t have to compensate the customers for the change of the docking location. And I haven’t seen any shuttles provided from the port locations that were far away from the center of the city. The expense of getting a train or taxi in town is often upon us. Nothing in travel is guaranteed so we set our expectations accordingly.

Exactly

Jancruz1

[ORV]

Jan are you up late or up early? 
 

Meanwhile it’s a beautiful day in Edinburgh. A little cloudy ⛅️ but with some sun. Should be around 60 f today. 

[SophieM]

Welp, I can’t help but chime in. We are currently on the Sirena docked in Rosyth. While it’s certainly not my first choice of ports, and we were disappointed in the change, we had several months to make our plans to get into Edinburgh. The free shuttle dropped us at the nearest train station where we bought £7 round trip tickets into Edinburgh. After the early Tattoo, we caught the train back and shared a short, inexpensive cab ride back to the ship. The train was packed, but it wasn’t a terribly long ride. And seeing Tattoo was so worth the relatively minor inconveniences. 

[SophieM]

23 hours ago, cdfev said:

About two months ago, Sirena was forced to change ports from Leith to Rosyth due to the presence of Nautica (another Oceania ship) already in Leith. We are 30 minutes outside of the city by car and no shuttle to Edinburgh will be provided by the cruise line. I can't say that I blame them as the traffic into Edinburgh will be horrible during the Military Tattoo and The Fringe Festival. The solution given by the cruise line has been to provide a shuttle to Drumferline (the opposite direction from Edinburgh) where one can jump onto a train for 7 pounds per person to Edinburgh. Ubers from the port entrance to Edinburgh are bare minimum 28 pounds. This is not the way to run a cruise line in my opinion.

Actually, we knew as far back as March. 

[SophieM]

12 minutes ago, ORV said:

Jan are you up late or up early? 
 

Meanwhile it’s a beautiful day in Edinburgh. A little cloudy ⛅️ but with some sun. Should be around 60 f today. 

Enjoy your cruise!!

[cdfev]

LOL. I am not a rookie traveler and have been to more than 70 countries and taken more than20 cruises. Usually, I travel independently and not with a tour or cruise. I am well aware that the cruise line is able to change plans at the last minute. My beef with Oceania is that they marketed for more than one year that two ships would berth into Leith. What changed in 2024? Seems like a classic bait and switch to me. I made plans and changed them. I did not like it. I enjoyed the Tattoo and Edinburgh. For those of you who are congratulating yourselves on your adaptability, good on you. I don't want or feel that I need compensation. In my opinion, this is not how you win repeat customers.

[tine-tine]

Just a wee bit of Scottish input into the equation. The City is called Dunfermline and not Drumferline which may help with the google searches! Dunfermline is one of the ancient seats of the Kings and Queens of Scotland and has a wonderful history (the Royal court moved around unlike others being in one city) https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/dunfermline-abbey-and-palace/history/#:~:text=Dunfermline's story stretches back to,Durham Cathedral to build it.

Dunfermline is also the home of Andrew Carnegie whose libraries exist around the world and he is commemorated having gifted his Estate to the citizens for a local park. https://dunfermline.com/andrew-carnegies-legacy

I can totally understand why you would be disappointed not having easy access to Edinburgh as it is a truly wonderful city to visit and that comes from someone who lives on West Coast Scotland where there has always been a wee bit of banter and rivalry between Scotlands two main cities Glasgow in the West and Edinburgh in the East.

Trains and busses are a great way to get round Scotland and are fairly frequent and mostly reliable unless there is industrial action or weather related issues. Ubers are not yet a thing in most of Scotland and exist mainly in the big cities, the festival being on in Edinburgh may impact their availability so I would lean towards public transport.

[osandomir]

52 minutes ago, cdfev said:

 My beef with Oceania is that they marketed for more than one year that two ships would berth into Leith. What changed in 2024? Seems like a classic bait and switch to me. I made plans and changed them. I did not like it. I enjoyed the Tattoo and Edinburgh. For those of you who are congratulating yourselves on your adaptability, good on you. I don't want or feel that I need compensation. In my opinion, this is not how you win repeat customers.

I don’t think Oceania did that just to irritate their customers. Also, it wasn’t necessary bait and switch. It is possible that far in advance they planned on the additional berth in Leith. Obviously you didn’t like it, but they notified you about the change when they were more certain of the berth availability. Actually, it happens more often than we’d like. And they gave you enough time to plan how to get where you wanted to go. Glad you were able to enjoy Edinburgh and the Military Tattoo. Adaptability is often what we all need.

[ORV]

2 hours ago, SophieM said:

Enjoy your cruise!!

We took a tour to St Andrew’s today. Enjoying the walk around town. I think it’s going to be in the 90s all week at home. 

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, osandomir said:

I don’t think Oceania did that just to irritate their customers. Also, it wasn’t necessary bait and switch. It is possible that far in advance they planned on the additional berth in Leith. Obviously you didn’t like it, but they notified you about the change when they were more certain of the berth availability. Actually, it happens more often than we’d like. And they gave you enough time to plan how to get where you wanted to go. Glad you were able to enjoy Edinburgh and the Military Tattoo. Adaptability is often what we all need.

I agree, and we're on this cruise.

 

It looks like O originally planned for both the Nautica and the Sirena to both be in Leith at the same time.  But something changed and O was forced to move one to Rosyth, and O chose the Sirena because it was an embarkation port for the Nautica.  I don't think that O would have changed it if it hadn't been forced to.

 

We got our notification of the change on March 5, more than 4 months before embarkation, plenty of time in advance, and although it was a disappointment, it was nowhere close to a deal-breaker.  We adjusted.

 

And we found that Dunfermline, to town to which the Rosyth Port shuttle took us was a charming town, rich in history, ancient ruins, the crypt of Robert the Bruce, and the birth home of Andrew Carnegie, among many attractions.  Well worth a day trip.

 

Edited August 25 by 1985rz1