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Port shuttle in Manta, Equador?


comcox
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HAL's Zaandam is scheduled to dock in Manta at 5 am, but I know this is a commercial port and we are not allowed to walk out. Does anyone know how early the port shuttle starts running to take you to the port gate?

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We stopped in Manta this past February during our cruise on the Norwegian Sun.

 

The ship docked at 8:00 A.M., and we got on the port shuttle bus at 9:21 A.M. (only because we were not in a hurry, and lingered over breakfast).

 

The shuttle took about five minutes to get to the main street, and was free.

 

I had the impression that the shuttle bus operated from the time the ship docked, and it was easy to get back and forth to and from the port entrance.

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We stopped at Manta on our recent cruise. The port is industrial and walking is not allowed. Two shuttles were available: one went to the port entrance for easy access to taxis or a short walk to the beach, the other to a busy square with a tourist market and some bars/restaurants. Not our favourite port.

 

 

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On our cruise which went all around South America we found the port cities on the west coast to be lacking as destinations in themselves. These are places where you have to take a tour if you want to see what's interesting to view in the area.

 

If you're just interested in seeing a mall, then there usually is a shuttle.

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We've arranged a private tour here and guide wants to pick us up at port gate at 7 am (we dock at 5 am). I tried getting info from HAL about port shuttle but got the usual we don't know anything type of answer.

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We've arranged a private tour here and guide wants to pick us up at port gate at 7 am (we dock at 5 am). I tried getting info from HAL about port shuttle but got the usual we don't know anything type of answer.

 

Sometimes they really don't know. Things changed while we were on our recent SA cruise. The port guide told us one thing and the port authority would change things up.

 

In some ports we were told that even if you were on a cruise excursion you would have to take the shuttle to the gate/terminal and then when we got there they changed their mind and allowed tour buses to come up to the ship.

 

Like I said on an earlier post they were taking people to the local mall in Manta, someone else posted there were two shuttles, the other just going to the gate. We didn't use them so I can't say for sure.

 

I would assume that a shuttle will at least take you to the gate/terminal. That's the minimum we got at every port. Have your tour guides cell phone number just in case there is a change at the last minute.

 

Oh and sometimes the shuttles didn't start until a certain time. It varied by port so although one would hope you could get off the ship and onto a shuttle as soon as it clears that might not be the case. They may start at 8AM or even later.

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  • 3 weeks later...

On the Zaandam in March, we were told there was a free shuttle to the port gate (actually to a parking area just down the street) where there was a welcome tent set up. We were also told there would be a paid shuttle (about $15-$20 per person, don't recall exactly) that would go to two stops -- the mall and the central square. We took the freebie to the welcome tent and, waddaya know, the mall was right across the street, a beach with cafes was a very short walk, and the central square was about a 20-minute walk.

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