Quest Port Shuttles

[daju22]

We will be on the Nov. 8, Ancient Empires Quest cruise. The ports are Sorrento, Italy, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Chios, Greece, Istanbul, Turkey, Canakkale (Kepez), Turkey, Bodrum, Turkey, Fethiye, Turkey, Antalya, Turkey, Limassol, Cyprus, Alexandria, Egypt.

Will Azamara provide shuttles into the towns? What are the latest reports?

Thanks for any help.

[rubinstein2r]

We were on a similar cruise on Quest in June. Shuttles were offered at few of the ports (I think three) and information on which ones they would be was not available until too late to book a tour instead. This was one of the few weak points of our cruise (see my review for more details) and we complained about it. I would hope that by now this has been changed and that more shuttles are available and/or information is available further in advance.

--My_AZ

[daju22]

Hi rubinstein2r,
Thanks for your reply. I have read your review and appreciate your thoughts. I hope that someone who is currently on this itinerary on Quest will let me know which ports have shuttles available. As you have said, this would be good information to have in order to plan port time.
Thanks alot,

[cadcruiser]

We will be on the Nov. 8, Ancient Empires Quest cruise. The ports are Sorrento, Italy, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Chios, Greece, Istanbul, Turkey, Canakkale (Kepez), Turkey, Bodrum, Turkey, Fethiye, Turkey, Antalya, Turkey, Limassol, Cyprus, Alexandria, Egypt.

Will Azamara provide shuttles into the towns? What are the latest reports?

Thanks for any help.

Just got off this cruise. It was excellent! Shuttles were provided in Sorrento, Istanbul (both days to the Grand Bazaar), Canakkale, Antalya and Limassol. The cost was $8 for unlimited use for one day. There was also a special which included shuttles in each of the mentioned ports for a charge of $40.

[daju22]

Just got off this cruise. It was excellent! Shuttles were provided in Sorrento, Istanbul (both days to the Grand Bazaar), Canakkale, Antalya and Limassol. The cost was $8 for unlimited use for one day. There was also a special which included shuttles in each of the mentioned ports for a charge of $40.

Hi cadcruiser!
Welcome back from your Quest cruise! So glad to hear it was excellent. Thanks for taking the time to post about the shuttles since I'm sure you are so busy getting back to the "real world" and you just disembarked on Saturday.

$40 sounds like a good deal for unlimited use. Can you tell me what kind of shuttles were provided? We travel with a small scooter and I would like to know if the scooter will fit. Are the shuttles large buses or minivans? Did you use them?
Thanks so much for your time and help.
Welcome back!:D

[Donray]

Hi cadcruiser!
Welcome back from your Quest cruise! So glad to hear it was excellent. Thanks for taking the time to post about the shuttles since I'm sure you are so busy getting back to the "real world" and you just disembarked on Saturday.

$40 sounds like a good deal for unlimited use. Can you tell me what kind of shuttles were provided? We travel with a small scooter and I would like to know if the scooter will fit. Are the shuttles large buses or minivans? Did you use them?
Thanks so much for your time and help.
Welcome back!:D

Keep in mind that the countries your are visiting are not handicap friendly. The bus drivers might not speak English and will not help with a scooter.

Make sure that you have all the help that is needed with you. They use a mix of busses and will most likely have no room for a scooter.

[SkiCruiser44]

Where did the Sorrento shuttle take you? Also were you in port overnight? If so how late did they keep the tenders running?

Thanks,

Kathy

[cadcruiser]

Hi cadcruiser!
Welcome back from your Quest cruise! So glad to hear it was excellent. Thanks for taking the time to post about the shuttles since I'm sure you are so busy getting back to the "real world" and you just disembarked on Saturday.

$40 sounds like a good deal for unlimited use. Can you tell me what kind of shuttles were provided? We travel with a small scooter and I would like to know if the scooter will fit. Are the shuttles large buses or minivans? Did you use them?
Thanks so much for your time and help.
Welcome back!:D

Thanks for the welcome. I'm still trying to get used to the "real world".

I used the shuttle in Sorrento, however there was a local bus you could use for much cheaper. This was a large bus.

The shuttle in Canakkale was a smaller bus and many people were hitting their heads and falling over a step that was a few feet over from the entrance. I don't think I'd recommend this bus if you have a scooter.

The shuttle in Antalya was also a large bus.

In the remaining ports I did a shore excursion or toured independently.

Have a great time on your cruise.

[cadcruiser]

Where did the Sorrento shuttle take you? Also were you in port overnight? If so how late did they keep the tenders running?

Thanks,

Kathy

Kathy,

The Sorrento shuttle took us to the main square. I believe it was called Piazza Tasso. It was a short ride and local buses were available also. We did not stay overnight so I can't help you there.

[daju22]

Thanks for the welcome. I'm still trying to get used to the "real world".

I used the shuttle in Sorrento, however there was a local bus you could use for much cheaper. This was a large bus.

The shuttle in Canakkale was a smaller bus and many people were hitting their heads and falling over a step that was a few feet over from the entrance. I don't think I'd recommend this bus if you have a scooter.

The shuttle in Antalya was also a large bus.

In the remaining ports I did a shore excursion or toured independently.

Have a great time on your cruise.

Thanks cadcruiser for the info about the shuttles in Sorrento, Canakkale and Anatalya. Every little bit helps. I really appreciate your time and will probably use the shuttle in ports that I don't have an excursion planned.
I appreciate your help and thanks for the good wishes.

[2Fltravelers]

We will be on the Nov. 8, Ancient Empires Quest cruise. The ports are Sorrento, Italy, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Chios, Greece, Istanbul, Turkey, Canakkale (Kepez), Turkey, Bodrum, Turkey, Fethiye, Turkey, Antalya, Turkey, Limassol, Cyprus, Alexandria, Egypt.

Will Azamara provide shuttles into the towns? What are the latest reports?

Thanks for any help.

We just returned from the 10/11 Quest Ancient Empires cruise. We took a private tour in Sorrento so we did not take the shuttle but there definitely was one. There was also a shuttle in Canakkale (20 minutes from the ship) which we took one way back to the ship after our private tour dropped us back in the city across the street from the shuttle stop. There was a shuttle in Antalya & Cyprus. We missed the shuttle retrun to the ship in Antalya and took a taxi for 25 Euros so try not to miss it because it is a 20 minute trip. In Cyprus it was less than 10 minutes. The shuttle in each port that it is offered is $8pp R/T or $4 pp for 1 way. The ship offers a package for all shuttles for $40 that you can purchase onboard or just go up to the shuttle and they will charge it to your sea pass. That is how we did it and it worked out fine. Just one caveat---not all ship excursions will drop you off in the city (for example, Antalya) since it is difficult to navigate. So you may end up walking a few blocks if they do drop you nearby. Just be certain that you know in advance where to get the shuttle since the daily paper is not clear where the shuttle stop is. This was a complaint of mine since they should include a map indicating the shuttle stop which they don't.

[maryann ns]

Has anything changed with regard to shuttles in Antalya? I am trying to negotiate a half day private tour which would finish in the old city. We would have time to explore, eat and shop before returning to the Quest.

Does anyone have any more information about the shuttle? Exactly where do you get it for the return trip, and about how long is it before sail time when it picks you up?

Alternatively is there any public transportation to the cruise ship port area? And where is the port from the town - east or west?

[macruise]

We were on the Black Sea cruise on the Quest and visited a few of the same ports that you will be visiting.

Sorrento, Italy, - There is a regular city bus that cost 1E that will take you to town. We actually walked both ways, but you will have to either climb lots of steps or walk up a hill (We took a different route each way)

Chios, Greece, - The ship docks right downtown on the main street. You don't need a shuttle. They did block the street around the ship, so we didn't even need to worry about traffic - not that there really was any as the ship is toward the end of the business district. I think that it is the closest docking spot that I have ever experienced.

Istanbul, Turkey, - Just a very short walk from the port, you will fin a tram stop. The closer one to the port is reached by turning right, once you get out onto the main street. There is also one if you turn right, but it's a few feet farther. We also walked into Istanbul from the port, but it is a fairly long walk - maybe 2 miles. The tram cost 1.50 YTL

These are the only similar ports. Good luck with finding info about the other ports. I do not think that there was a ship shuttle in any of these ports.