Whereas most cruise ports are situated precisely the place they are saying they’re, there are some which are over 120 miles away from the place they’re marketed.
Once you’re researching cruises, you’ll typically see ports listed as one metropolis, however then have one other listed in parenthesis. A typical instance could be: La Havre (Paris).
Those in parenthesis are often a serious metropolis like Paris or Rome whereas the primary is the precise port. How shut are these main cities to the ports that you just arrive at?
There are some which are simply the subsequent metropolis over. For example, when visiting Piraeus, you might be proper subsequent to Athens.
On a current cruise out of the port, I stood on the pool deck and appeared out and will see the Acropolis within the distance. It’s comprehensible why cruise traces would label it as Piraeus (Athens) because it’s proper there.
Nonetheless, some cities listed may be so far as a number of hours away. Here’s a have a look at a few of these ports so you’ll be able to correctly plan forward in the event you’re visiting certainly one of them on an upcoming cruise.
These are all ports that I’ve visited (at the very least twice every) and have skilled first hand.
La Havre (Paris)
That is by far probably the most deceiving. La Havre is nearly at all times marketed as Paris by all cruise traces however how shut or far is Paris away from the port? Spoiler alert, you’re not hopping in a cab and taking a journey into town.
I’ve made the drive twice between the 2 on completely different visits. The port in La Havre is roughly 125 miles (200 km) away from the Eiffel Tower. Relying on visitors, it may be wherever from 2.5 to three hours every means.
Sure, shore excursions to Paris are supplied however put together your self to spend shut to 6 hours in a bus simply going there and again.
If that is your solely probability in life to go to Paris then I’d do it. In any other case, I’d go to someplace native.
Now river cruise ships will dock proper within the coronary heart of Paris on the Seine. Viking has secured premium docking areas for his or her ships which are only a 15-20 minute stroll away from the Eiffel Tower.
For ocean ships, Google Maps has it as a forty five hour stroll from the port to the Eiffel Tower. So if you wish to do a cruise to Paris, take a river cruise.
IJmuiden (Amsterdam)
There are two completely different ports that your ship could dock at when visiting Amsterdam. There’s the commonest one proper within the coronary heart of town and one other on the North Sea (IJmuiden).
A couple of yr in the past, I visited with port officers at IJmuiden they usually informed me since cruise traces promote it as Amsterdam, many visitors assume that’s the place the ship will dock at.
They mentioned that visitors typically ask if they will stroll to the Rijksmuseum or the Anne Frank Home, not realizing that they’re truly 40 minutes to an hour bus journey away (relying on visitors).
There’s a proposal to ban all cruise ships from coming into town heart by 2035. If this goes by way of, all ships will probably cease at IJmuiden.
Civitavecchia (Rome)
One of many largest cruise ports in Europe, Civitavecchia is the cruise gateway to Rome.
From the cruise port to the Colosseum, it may be wherever from an hour and 10 minutes to an hour and a half away. All of it depends upon visitors and they’re 55 miles aside.
The nonstop practice takes 47 minutes from the port to the guts of Rome (Termini) and is a superb possibility. I’ve taken it each methods and I want it in comparison with taking a cab or utilizing a non-public automotive service. It is usually a ton cheaper.
Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur)
Two of my cruises out of Singapore had Kuala Lumpur (KL) listed as a port cease, however it was truly in Port Klang, about an hour away.
On our tour to KL, a number of passengers requested if they might do their very own factor half means by way of the day. Our tour information informed them that because the port was so far-off from KL, a cab wouldn’t solely cost them for the journey to Port Klang, but additionally for the journey again. They possibility to stay with our tour.
Port Canaveral (Orlando)
That is one the place Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line promote it as cruises from Orlando (Port Canaveral) and Carnival labels it as Port Canaveral (Orlando).
Port Canaveral is 50 minutes to an hour away from Orlando and 45 miles away from the Orlando Airport (MCO).
Not each port does this nonetheless. I’ve by no means seen Southampton marketed as London, though that doesn’t imply it doesn’t occur.
With all of that being mentioned, I didn’t write this to discourage you from visiting these ports. Amsterdam and Rome are two of my favourite cities to go to on the earth.
I simply don’t need you to reach in IJmuiden and ask which route you’ll be able to stroll in to achieve the Rijksmuseum. And even worse, you arrive in La Havre and count on to take a brief taxi journey into Paris. Plan forward and have an ideal go to to all of those areas.
