Constanta,Romania

Has anyone visited Constanta,Romania? :confused:

This was a new port added on a Black Sea cruise after the Ukraine ports were cancelled.

What I have read so far is not great, and any comments would be helpful.

Thanks.

On our upcoming Black Sea cruise on the Ocean Princess, we're taking the Princess all day excursion to the capital Bucharest. It's an all day trip with a significant amount of time on the bus getting there and back, but I think it will be a lot more interesting than staying in Constanta.

I have read about some interesting Greek/Roman ruins near Constanta, if that kind of thing interests you:

http://wikimapia.org/9325418/Ancient-Greek-City-of-Histria-the-Romanian-Pompeii

Some people seem to have had negative experiences in Constanta (in the city itself) but I think there are more options if you look at doing something other than just staying in Constanta.

On our upcoming Black Sea cruise on the Ocean Princess, we're taking the Princess all day excursion to the capital Bucharest. It's an all day trip with a significant amount of time on the bus getting there and back, but I think it will be a lot more interesting than staying in Constanta.

Yes,we have that option also,but the two hour drive there is somewhat daunting.

Unfortunately,with the negative comments about Constanta we might just have to bite the bullet and take that excursion.

I have read about some interesting Greek/Roman ruins near Constanta, if that kind of thing interests you:

 

http://wikimapia.org/9325418/Ancient-Greek-City-of-Histria-the-Romanian-Pompeii

 

Some people seem to have had negative experiences in Constanta (in the city itself) but I think there are more options if you look at doing something other than just staying in Constanta.

Thank You for that information,cruisemom.

I wasn't that impressed with the morning Hristria ruins tour but in the afternoon when I spent four hours in the hellhole Constantia, I was sure glad I went to Hristia. Constantia does have one great church worth going to.

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I wasn't that impressed with the morning Hristria ruins tour but in the afternoon when I spent four hours in the hellhole Constantia, I was sure glad I went to Hristia. Constantia does have one great church worth going to.

 

 

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A day on the ship is looking better and better....:(

We visited Constanta during a Black Sea cruise last year. The worst port of call ever! The port itself is huge and very industrial. The city reminded us of our hometown of Christchurch, NZ, immediately after one of our major earthquakes! Many roads and footpaths in very rough condition and quite dangerous for the less sure footed. The casino building, which could be very impressive, is derelict and taped off. The cathedral was in the best state of repair, and quite impressive. We only had a half day in Constanta, so did not have time to do any of the tours which could, I believe, have been worthwhile, such as to the Danube Delta or to Bucharest. If you have a full day in Constanta, definitely don't bother with the city itself.

We were mugged in Cosantana. Very savy New Yorkers but the scam of being goverment agents cought us by suprise. Elite pax on Princess, never a problem anywhere. DO NOT GO TO THIS HELLHOLE. Police were of NO, repeat NO help.

Thank You for your replies.

It's a shame that the ships choose this port to visit.:(

We visited Constanta on a Prinsendam cruise and would simply say that Constanta is one of the very few ports in the world that will never again see our presence. Discounting our friend having to fight off a mugger (they actually rolled around on the street with fists swinging) we did not see any redeeming value to the port other then to show us that this is a miserable city that should be avoided by cruise ships. Even the local tourist official who was on our shuttle bus (from port to town) gave us a warning about the major safety problems in the city (and she was correct). This part of Romania has a very high unemployment rate and the desperation of some locals to survive does not make for a pretty picture.

Hank

Hank, I'm sorry to hear your experience (and your friend's) wasn't a good one, to say the least!

Having read about Constanta, last summer we booked the Pacific Princess ship's tour to Bucharest. A tour seemed the only comfortable way for us to go. Yes, it was a long bus ride, a 12-hour tour, but not a bit like the Gilligan's Island experience! It went fairly quickly on good roads. The tour guide was great and told us stories that made the time pass. The tour of the Palace of the Parliament building was very impressive and worth the trip alone in our opinion. A decent lunch with wine was provided at a hotel and we had a quick stop at an open-air village/park that had buildings brought from other sites in the country. There was a gift shop there with things that weren't our style so we skipped it. Be warned, you needed local currency that virtually no one had time to get. People were ticked that they took time to select their purchases and couldn't pay for them! I scored a small, original watercolour of Dracula's Castle for $10US from the artist, standing near the bus, who took cash;). He would have taken $10Euros - guess he didn't know the exchange rate! We figured that for this port, the trip to Bucharest, nicknamed "Little Paris" (we drove the boulevard and saw the Triumphal Arch), was worth it. Mind you, we didn't have any free time, that was fine with us, except at the park. We really enjoyed the day and would recommend this tour. A long day like this is not for everyone but we rested on the bus. We always get off the ship and do something, saying that we can rest at home for "free".:)

I want to reiterate that my negative comments were very specifically aimed at Constanta...and not Romania as a whole. We have talked to friends who loved traveling around Romania so are convinced that there are places in the country worth a visit. So a 12 hour drive to another city might be a good option for those that enjoy 12 hour tours :). Having been to Constanta we think even 12 hours on a bus would be a better option then 5 seconds in Constanta.

Hank

I want to reiterate that my negative comments were very specifically aimed at Constanta...and not Romania as a whole. We have talked to friends who loved traveling around Romania so are convinced that there are places in the country worth a visit. So a 12 hour drive to another city might be a good option for those that enjoy 12 hour tours :). Having been to Constanta we think even 12 hours on a bus would be a better option then 5 seconds in Constanta.

 

Hank

Absolutely.

Originally,my question was only about Constanta.

I have to agree that Constanta is not on my list of ports to re-visit. The ugliness begins at the port itself, with giant cement "jacks" lining the entrance. We took a ship's excursion to a Roman excavation that was mildly interesting but not well cared for as you would expect a mosaic floor to be. I noticed above the excavation that there were Victorian-era buildings in bad shape, and thought that they would have been lovely in an earlier era, before Ceacescu's terrible rule. His reign is still visible in the main part of town, which seems composed of gray concrete buildings. We ended up waiting for the tour bus to return us to the ship, having no desire to explore the area any further than the "mall" and the one souvenir shop. We took photos of one shop with the name "Transylvania" in it -- the only amusing thing we could find.

I just remembered that the guide said that Constanta is very proud of its Roman heritage and is different than the rest of Rumania. We visited a museum that was fairly interesting with Roman artefacts, even though the once-lovely building was not maintained well and was stifling on a warm and humid day.

This was in 2008, so perhaps the chance of muggings was less then. We had no real fear for our safety but were not eager to just wander around, either. On the bus, the guide pointed out a beach resort with forlorn-looking rides and rundown hotels.

I hope that this city can take advantage of the diversion from Ukrainian ports and improve its economy. In 2008 we figured that ms Rotterdam would not have called at Constanta unless it was a refueling stop. We were glad to get back to the ship.

Mrs M

I posted this on the Holland America board but thought it might be helpful here as well:

I discovered on the ship's excursions that HAL has a mini bus with driver and guide. We have a decent group (10-12), so we are going to book this and set out with our itinerary along with the guide's input. This way, we have our private tour but are still under HAL's umbrella.

It worked out to be more reasonable than a HAL tour of 40 people so we are going to try to "have our cake and eat it too".

I did find one private tour guide who was very highly rated but other than the first reply to my email, the remaining emails have not had replies.

So we looked for options and found this. We are certainly not going to stay on the ship and not set foot in Romania:D

Just in case it helps anyone here searching.

Has anyone visited Constanta,Romania? :confused:

This was a new port added on a Black Sea cruise after the Ukraine ports were cancelled.

What I have read so far is not great, and any comments would be helpful.

Thanks.

not much in port of Constanta, for sure, but I can highly recommend private guide Cati Patrichi. contact her at ecaterina.patrichi@gmail.com. spent a wonderful day w/Cati (very personable, great guide, speaks fluent English, among other languages, and full of wonderful stories! an absolutely delightful young lady! our small group enjoyed a wonderful day w/her in late Sept. 2014) -- highly recommend visit to small boutique winery, Clos des Colombes -- go for wine tasting with lunch. check-out reviews on Trip Advisor -you will not be disappointed! was highlight of our day in port of Constanta!! our group was wishing we had allowed several hours there. we went for tasting w/snacks only vs. full lunch. just ask Cati for suggestions, day tour - I'm certain she will arrange a great day!

I have to admit I was dubious about our visit to Constanta off the Ocean Princess earlier this month, but it turned out delightful. Six of us hired Alina Brasoveanu for a four hour walking tour ($120 for all six). Yes, it's an ugly port, but once out of the port, Alina took us to some unique spots in the city. We also stopped for coffee in a very nice coffee shop on the main historic square, and later had a fabulous lunch at a VERY nice restaurant ($20 for two with delicious Romanian wine). Alina told us and showed us how the city is renovating the historic district, and how much had been done during the summer. Sure, it's not Venice, but Alina is charming, vivacious, speaks great English, and makes it come alive. And despite the other postings, we at no time felt it was dangerous. If interested, Alina's email is: brasoveneau.alina@gmail.com

Thought this might help others. It wasn't easy finding a good tour guide.

Bruce

So good that you found a good guide. I too agree Constanta on your own is a disaster. We were there in May of 2013 and did the ship trip to the Danube Delta. We were on Sea Dream Yacht Club. Actually i enjoyed seeing the countryside and the guide was quite informative about the issues facing the people of this area. The Danube cruise was OK, not outstanding, but it was better than our friends experiences in Constanta!

Heading there in Sept...would be interested in a tour company that runs smaller tours to get us to Bucharest and back...any recommendations?

If we ever returned to this port we would book some kind of tour (and we hate tours) to Bucharest :). As to Constanta, we have an additional tale. Last summer we had dinner at a favorite Myrtle Beach...Italian restaurant and our waiter turned out to be from Romania. We talked to him about his country and mentioned our experience with Constanta. He just laughed and said that even Romanians do not like Constanta :).

Hank

A hell hole city. I took a morning ship tour of pretty good ruins about an hour away. In the afternoon I wandered through the city. It did have one really large and very good Roman mosaic that was inexpensive to see. A beautifully painted interior of one church was also worth seeing. The rest of the city was an ugly construction zone that looked like it would be worthless once the construction was done.

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Note that Histria was the ruins tour a took that while not great was much better than the city.

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Note that Histria was the ruins tour a took that while not great was much better than the city.

 

 

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Were these all in Histria or were some in Constanta? We are part of a small group going to Histria but believe we are taking a short tour in Constanta as well. Safety sounds like a definite issue..:(

I have heard that the Casino is worth seeing (note - not a gambling casino but an art deco structure) but a fellow cruiser or a recent stop said that the town had a bit of a deserted feel (mind you, this was in May). Maybe a day for the spa?

Note also that depending on where your ship docks it is a bit of a walk from the ship to the area where the taxis wait at the exit to the port. I heard a fellow cruiser say that they didn't feel like it would be a good walk after dark -for what it's worth.