Kotor Question

We go to Kotor on a cruise this year. Kotor does actually have a dock for cruise ships, right? The cruise line has not indicated this as an anchor/tender port, but it looks like many ships tender there. Is that likely because of the size of the ships? We're on a medium sized ship. I assume the cruise line is correct in saying we'll dock, but just wanted to make sure that was a reasonable possibility! (Of course, I do realize things can change, particularly if the port wants to make a change!)

Also, I guess I have a couple other questions:

1. Does anyone know of an official port web site for Kotor? I want to see if other ships will be there when we're there. I know about sites like cruisett, but prefer using the actual port sites to get this information. I can't find one for Kotor.

2. If you have walked up to the castle ruins above Kotor, or partway there, do you remember about how long it took to get to the old church that's on the way?

3. I'm trying to determine how early I might need to get up to see the passage from open sea to Kotor. One poster indicated an hour was enough to see the part from inside the strait (Verige, I believe) to Kotor, but I am curious if the earlier part (from the sea into the strait) is also worth getting up for. If so, about how long might it take for the ship to go through that area?

I know these are hard questions, but I'm hoping someone who has visited beautiful Kotor eventually sees this and can help!

Also, I guess I have a couple other questions:

1. Does anyone know of an official port web site for Kotor? I want to see if other ships will be there when we're there. I know about sites like cruisett, but prefer using the actual port sites to get this information. I can't find one for Kotor.

Here is a link to determine what ships are in port.

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Montenegro/353-Kotor

I think this is it: Port of Kotor. But the cruise ship schedule is not up to date; it only shows September 2014 (which was apparently a very busy month!)

hawkeyetlse, thank you. That's more than I had. At least it answers a couple questions. The Sept. 2014 schedule shows some ships as "sidro," which I looked up (anchor) and the rest as an "X." Also the gallery shows two ships docked alongside a long pier, so there's definitely a dock! Hopefully they'll publish their schedule in the spring or summer when cruise season starts again.

madams, thanks for the link to cruisett, as for now, that's all I have to go by (well, plus another cruise calendar site I've bookmarked). In the past I've found some of the info on those sites incorrect (cruise itineraries DO change sometimes) so when possible, I go directly to the port sites!

Hopefully they'll publish their schedule in the spring or summer when cruise season starts again.

hawkeyetlse, thank you. That's more than I had. At least it answers a couple questions. The Sept. 2014 schedule shows some ships as "sidro," which I looked up (anchor) and the rest as an "X." Also the gallery shows two ships docked alongside a long pier, so there's definitely a dock! Hopefully they'll publish their schedule in the spring or summer when cruise season starts again.

 

madams, thanks for the link to cruisett, as for now, that's all I have to go by (well, plus another cruise calendar site I've bookmarked). In the past I've found some of the info on those sites incorrect (cruise itineraries DO change sometimes) so when possible, I go directly to the port sites!

There definitely is a dock. We docked there on a Celebrity S class. Sorry can't tell you how many berths there are. If you dock it's an very easy walk into the town. Kotor is a kindergarten level DIY port, very easy peasy.

If memory serves me correctly, the hike to the church took maybe 45 minutes at most - with plenty of stops for pictures. DH was not feeling well that day so we stopped at the church.

If it's a chilly day (probably not, given that it will be Sept for you), get a hot chocolate at one of the cafes just inside the gates....it's yummy thick Spanish style.

You are referring to Kotor, Montenegro?

We were there in Nov 2013 on the Celebrity Silhouette and we were the only ship in port that day. We had to tender. I don't remember there being a dock.

See this video and you can see the ship anchored in the Bay while we were in the mountains.

[YOUTUBE]0JhSVihM7M8[/YOUTUBE]

This is my blog post for the visit to Kotor:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/kotor-montenegro-port-of-call.html

You are referring to Kotor, Montenegro?

 

We were there in Nov 2013 on the Celebrity Silhouette and we were the only ship in port that day. We had to tender. I don't remember there being a dock.

 

See this video and you can see the ship anchored in the Bay while we were in the mountains.

[YOUTUBE]0JhSVihM7M8[/YOUTUBE]

 

This is my blog post for the visit to Kotor:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/kotor-montenegro-port-of-call.html

Oh my, you are right! Boy, the memory is starting to go....what I remembered was the quick walk from the tender dock to town. but, now that you mentioned it I remember taking pictures of the ship in the bay when we were climbing the hill.

You are referring to Kotor, Montenegro?

 

We were there in Nov 2013 on the Celebrity Silhouette and we were the only ship in port that day. We had to tender. I don't remember there being a dock.

 

See this video and you can see the ship anchored in the Bay while we were in the mountains.

[YOUTUBE]0JhSVihM7M8[/YOUTUBE]

 

This is my blog post for the visit to Kotor:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/12/kotor-montenegro-port-of-call.html

Hi iLuv. Actually, a few nights ago I found your blogs on your cruise and read/watched them for Istanbul and Kotor, and maybe one other (can't remember now). They were very informative and of course I loved the pictures and comments. Thanks for doing these. I'm a big planner and like to be able to get a preview of what I'll see or do, and how to do it without a lot of bumbling around.

In looking at the port web site, it appears they can have 2 ships dock, but the bigger ships are almost always marked as tendering. Only been on Celebrity (Summit) but their ships seem to be pretty big, so I'm guessing that's why you tendered. But really doesn't make all that much difference, as I suppose everyone ends up at the same place, just perhaps those on tenders a little later than those who are not!

buggins, thanks for the time estimate! I would love to go to the fortress as it looks great (plus the views), but will probably only make it to the church.

Now if I can just find anyone who got up really early (or remembers sailing out before it was dark), perhaps I can get time estimates for how long it takes to get from open sea to Kotor, and whether it's worth getting up REALLY for it. It sounds like it's 2 hours.

Hi iLuv. Actually, a few nights ago I found your blogs on your cruise and read/watched them for Istanbul and Kotor, and maybe one other (can't remember now). They were very informative and of course I loved the pictures and comments. Thanks for doing these. I'm a big planner and like to be able to get a preview of what I'll see or do, and how to do it without a lot of bumbling around.

 

In looking at the port web site, it appears they can have 2 ships dock, but the bigger ships are almost always marked as tendering. Only been on Celebrity (Summit) but their ships seem to be pretty big, so I'm guessing that's why you tendered. But really doesn't make all that much difference, as I suppose everyone ends up at the same place, just perhaps those on tenders a little later than those who are not!

 

buggins, thanks for the time estimate! I would love to go to the fortress as it looks great (plus the views), but will probably only make it to the church.

 

Now if I can just find anyone who got up really early (or remembers sailing out before it was dark), perhaps I can get time estimates for how long it takes to get from open sea to Kotor, and whether it's worth getting up REALLY for it. It sounds like it's 2 hours.

If I get a chance tonight I'll try and go through our pictures of the sail in and see if they are time-stamped. It might give you a clue.

We stayed just outside Kotor on a land trip a couple of years ago. There were ships docked in Kotor most days, but can't remember which ones they were. Kotor is a very pretty town, rather like a mini Dubrovnik. The scenery in Montenegro is stunning and we have always said we would go back, but haven't got there yet. Montenegro is also cheap, so a good place to buy souvenirs.

Roothie, at time stamp 3:04 am (have no idea what one our camera thought it was) we were just looking back from open ocean. 3:37 pictures get more interesting. At 3:52 time stamp I can see the little church on the island that people go to from Perast. 4:19 looks like we're just about in port. 6:14 on dock after tender. And, now thinking back it was a slooowww tender process.

Hope that helps....another thought you might follow a ship into the bay on one of the ship tracking web sites when they start sailing into Kotor this spring to double check.

Correction on last post...have no idea what the actual time was...but those are the camera time. As to climb to the church...cute laundry pic hanging out at start of walk at 9:21 in base of town before starting climb....we're at church at 9:40....and that would have been a slow stroll with lots of pictures. It looks like about only 20 minutes to church, RT could be done in less than 40 minutes from base at back of town.

Thank you so much for doing this, as it's very helpful - and yes, I didn't pay any attention to camera time, as I know cameras don't automatically change over to local time. I just looked at overall times from when you started & stopped. I was really expecting a bit more time from the point of leaving the Adriatic Sea and getting to the port, so perhaps I don't have to get up quite as early as I was thinking to see the whole sail-in. We are supposed to dock, so compared to tendering hopefully it will take a little time to pull in, get tied up, cleared by authorities (if necessary) and have the doors opened. Of course, all I was looking for was an estimate, and I know those things are dependent upon how fast the ship is going, particularly in a bay versus ocean or sea, and stuff like that. I suppose it's actually possible we'll get in really early, as we are only coming from Dubrovnik (midnight), which isn't far.

We do cruise back out (obviously!), but with our leaving at 6pm in very late September, I'm not sure how much light there will be, so I am hoping to get up early, be able to see at least a little, and not have to depend upon seeing anything after 6. Dinner might also get in the way!

I love Marine Traffic, so I'll be looking in April to see how other ships track. There are a couple cruise ships scheduled to call on Kotor in mid April - can't wait!

Thank you for the fortress timing. It gives me hope that I can certainly get up to the church and back without making it a half day event. Can I assume that it's easy to find the path at the "back" of Kotor? I was thinking it was a path but now I realize what I'm really looking for a place to walk the walls, after paying an admission, rather than just follow a path up the mountain!

LondonTowner, thanks for the info. I bet prices are on the rise in Kotor, however. It seems to be growing more and more in popularity.

The path was easy for us to find....town is small. We were there in November, so town was very quiet. In fact, it was so far off season that there was no charge to walk the path. There was a charge for the wall in Dubrovnik, which gets more tourists year round. I can't remember our port times in Kotor - but we were coming from Venice and left that port mid afternoon on the Celebrity S class. We had more than enough time in Kotor, with a break for the hot chocolate and a later lunch break.

Are you on a O or R ship?

The path was easy for us to find....town is small. We were there in November, so town was very quiet. In fact, it was so far off season that there was no charge to walk the path. There was a charge for the wall in Dubrovnik, which gets more tourists year round. I can't remember our port times in Kotor - but we were coming from Venice and left that port mid afternoon on the Celebrity S class. We had more than enough time in Kotor, with a break for the hot chocolate and a later lunch break.

 

Are you on a O or R ship?

Sounds easy.

I'm on a new ocean-going ship - Viking Star. It's bigger than R class but smaller than O class. I forget the dimensions, but it's 930 pax. We love, love, love O - think we have done 9 cruises so far on them, more on R than O. I lean towards the R size but will cruise either, depending upon the itinerary. However, we love river cruises, too, although have taken fewer, so when Viking announced it was building an ocean-goer, we had to try it. As I probably stated before, Viking has Kotor as a docking stop, so assume that's what it will be. I've now seen pictures of some pretty big ships there, and port site lists some pretty big ships as docking, so assume that's what it will be. Works for me.

Latest posted info for my cruise shows the ship arriving Kotor at 6AM - arrgh! Not sure I'll be seeing any of the Bay at all...and it departs at 6. Need to look up sunrise/set for late Sept. there. Oh well. I do at least plan to take a bus to Perast and go visit the island with the church, so I'll see some of the Bay that way. Just wondering how much I can cram in, but it all sounds workable, as Kotor is small and we have a decent day there time-wise.

The Azamara R class ships have always tendered in Kotor to my knowledge. From what I have been told it is worth rising early to see the sail in.

We have not done that but drove to Kotor from Dubrovnik and had a magical day there.

Sounds easy.

 

I'm on a new ocean-going ship - Viking Star. It's bigger than R class but smaller than O class. I forget the dimensions, but it's 930 pax. We love, love, love O - think we have done 9 cruises so far on them, more on R than O. I lean towards the R size but will cruise either, depending upon the itinerary. However, we love river cruises, too, although have taken fewer, so when Viking announced it was building an ocean-goer, we had to try it. As I probably stated before, Viking has Kotor as a docking stop, so assume that's what it will be. I've now seen pictures of some pretty big ships there, and port site lists some pretty big ships as docking, so assume that's what it will be. Works for me.

 

Latest posted info for my cruise shows the ship arriving Kotor at 6AM - arrgh! Not sure I'll be seeing any of the Bay at all...and it departs at 6. Need to look up sunrise/set for late Sept. there. Oh well. I do at least plan to take a bus to Perast and go visit the island with the church, so I'll see some of the Bay that way. Just wondering how much I can cram in, but it all sounds workable, as Kotor is small and we have a decent day there time-wise.

Overall, I don't think we spent more than 4 1/2 hours touring Kotor, so you should have plenty of time for Perast.

I will be interested in hearing your review on the Viking Cruise. Would also be interested in learning if the "start low and work your way up strategy" works as well with Viking as O (we also do your inside guarantee strategy as an initial ante in with O and see where it takes us).

Overall, I don't think we spent more than 4 1/2 hours touring Kotor, so you should have plenty of time for Perast.

 

I will be interested in hearing your review on the Viking Cruise. Would also be interested in learning if the "start low and work your way up strategy" works as well with Viking as O (we also do your inside guarantee strategy as an initial ante in with O and see where it takes us).

Yes, we have used that GTY strategy for years now with great success. I'm just not willing to pay the amount of money O charges for a veranda cabin, and our TA can get a GTY without having to wait until one is posted (if it is), so we always start low. We're not picky about cabin or location, so why not?

As to Viking, I was a little bummed as we booked over a year ago, for a cruise on a ship that was not yet built, and there didn't seem to be any GTYs, or even shipboard credit, available from any TA. I'm kind of missing having a nice chunk of goodies from our excellent TA, and will miss playing the waiting game to see what cabin we'll get. However, it looks like a fabulous cruise line (assuming no major bugs) that is planning to give O a run for the money! I love O, but I'm ready for a change.

Maryann, as for Kotor dock locations, I noticed that an Az ship is there in Aug. or September, and she is tendering. However, another Az ship (or maybe the same one) is docking! All the really big ships are tendering, but it's a mixed bag for the small and medium ships. We're there with a river boat. That should be interesting, as I've never been on a cruise ship docked next to a river boat.

Hi iLuv. Actually, a few nights ago I found your blogs on your cruise and read/watched them for Istanbul and Kotor, and maybe one other (can't remember now). They were very informative and of course I loved the pictures and comments. Thanks for doing these. I'm a big planner and like to be able to get a preview of what I'll see or do, and how to do it without a lot of bumbling around.

 

In looking at the port web site, it appears they can have 2 ships dock, but the bigger ships are almost always marked as tendering. Only been on Celebrity (Summit) but their ships seem to be pretty big, so I'm guessing that's why you tendered. But really doesn't make all that much difference, as I suppose everyone ends up at the same place, just perhaps those on tenders a little later than those who are not!

 

buggins, thanks for the time estimate! I would love to go to the fortress as it looks great (plus the views), but will probably only make it to the church.

 

Now if I can just find anyone who got up really early (or remembers sailing out before it was dark), perhaps I can get time estimates for how long it takes to get from open sea to Kotor, and whether it's worth getting up REALLY for it. It sounds like it's 2 hours.

Thanks for the info. I didn't realise that smaller ships could dock. That would be more convenient for passengers.

Tendering has its challenges. I recall having to queue for tender tickets.

Roothy,

My husband and I are planning to do as much of this walk/hike as possible while in Kotor in April on the Viking Star. Will let you know the timing if we do.

Becki

Latest posted info for my cruise shows the ship arriving Kotor at 6AM - arrgh! Not sure I'll be seeing any of the Bay at all...and it departs at 6. Need to look up sunrise/set for late Sept. there. Oh well. I do at least plan to take a bus to Perast and go visit the island with the church, so I'll see some of the Bay that way. Just wondering how much I can cram in, but it all sounds workable, as Kotor is small and we have a decent day there time-wise.

Hi Roothy

I hope you are lucky with the sail-in as it's one of the best. Perhaps you see it on the way out. This shows it from around 8 am in July. It also has the walk to the fortress, which took us about 40 minutes in scorching heat, with inappropriate footwear and no water :mad: which was all my fault of course. All the best, Tony

[YOUTUBE]fUzQl8KA2Uk[/YOUTUBE]

Hi, the sail in to Kotor is absolutely on my top 5 list, I'm one of those who woke up before dawn, showered & dressed to be on deck for the entire sail in... it takes about two hours from open sea to where you'll be either tendered or docked.

I was on the Silhouette, watched part of the sail in from the front of the ship, at times thinking, there's no way we're going fit through there :D

Ended up having breakfast outdoors at the aft of the ship, table for two against the railing, lovely & peaceful, except for one family who decided to take videos & photos practically in our laps... sometimes people with cameras forget there are others around them, or perhaps it was a cultural thing, luckily, they moved on after a bit. :)

We were tendered, & it was one of the fastest, hassle free tender processes I've ever experienced, we were on one of first tenders of the day.

Post #41 on my review (link below) has my Kotor review/tips

Tony, thanks for the video and info. You do such great videos. I've seen quite a few of them.

hawkeye, thanks again for the port web site. I snooped around and there IS a listing for 2015, and it does have my ship listed. You have to go to "Kruzing" and then push the first selection under there, which is a spreadsheet for 2015. (The way I'm going, I'll actually know a little Montenegrin by the time I get there!)

Becki, hopefully I'll remember to check back with you after your day in Kotor - or Ka TOR as it was pronounced in a program we saw a week or two ago. It was on one of these relatively unknown cable channels and they show a lot of cruise ships going to a lot of places. I love the show, but the narrator has no clue how to pronounce things (and yes, she's American, not Australian or British). I kept having to go to forvo.com or whatever it is and get the correct pronunciation. She even pronounced "terrace" ter-ACE. I forget what else, but it was nuts. Don't these people get any help with pronouncing unfamiliar words or names?

As for my trip, I looked up sunrise/set and it sounds like it will still be light when we leave at 6, sunset at 6:30, and some light for an hour afterwards. I just hope the light isn't blocked by those beautiful mountains!