Nautica 35 Day Hong Kong to Athens Port Questions

[Captain H]

1. Can anyone tell me at which ports Nautica docks right in the city eg. Saigon, Bangkok, Mumbai, Phuket, Salal, Aqaba, Ashod, Singapore and Haifa. And which ports are notable for being docked a considerable distance from the city centre. Also for the latter which ones if any does Oceania or others supply a complimentary shuttle into the city. Also are there any shore excursions offered that are in your view a "must take"; eg. Petra? Thanks

[jimgib]

1. Can anyone tell me at which ports Nautica docks right in the city eg. Saigon, Bangkok, Mumbai, Phuket, Salal, Aqaba, Ashod, Singapore and Haifa. And which ports are notable for being docked a considerable distance from the city centre. Also for the latter which ones if any does Oceania or others supply a complimentary shuttle into the city. Also are there any shore excursions offered that are in your view a "must take"; eg. Petra? Thanks

 

I did almost the same cruise with O a few years ago.

Saigon you dock very central can use a pedal bike to get around

Bangkok quiet a distance away as we had been to Bangkok only a month before we went to pattya

Mumbai again very central, you can walk from the ship or a short cab fare to centre,

Phuket we docked at a small resort other side of the island to the main town but a nice taxi ride to get there

Salal again a short cab ride but do negotiate! the price shouldnt be much.

Aquaba you can walk into town but you must see Petra its one of my favourite places, the view as you turn the corner and look up...........

singapore being a smaller ship you will probably berth at the new harbour centre large ships cant get there due to the cable car over head. in the centre you have shops but also a subway station which takes you all over the city very clean efficient and cheap.

ashdod and haifa I havent been to either but will be getting on Nautica on June 13th and will be seeing both venues.

 

Regards

 

JimGib

[Earl Rosebery]

1. Can anyone tell me at which ports Nautica docks right in the city eg. Saigon, Bangkok, Mumbai, Phuket, Salal, Aqaba, Ashod, Singapore and Haifa. And which ports are notable for being docked a considerable distance from the city centre. Also for the latter which ones if any does Oceania or others supply a complimentary shuttle into the city. Also are there any shore excursions offered that are in your view a "must take"; eg. Petra? Thanks

 

Hong Kong, Saigon, Singapore right in the city. Bangkok, in the city at Klong Toey, but still 45-60 min from downtown. In Jan there were shuttles in Bangkok and Saigon. Private tours in Saigon with Zoom and in Bangkok with Tour with Tong or Bangkok Day Tours recommended.

[capecodder2]

Taj Mahal side trip was the main reason we took this cruise in 2009 - fabulous. Petra, defnite must as is Jerusalem no matter what your religious affiliation. We also loved our trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. Private tour suggestions are available in the Ports of Call section.

[Captain H]

What was the price for the side trips to the Taj , Petra , and Jerusalem

Thanks

[Captain H]

Taj Mahal side trip was the main reason we took this cruise in 2009 - fabulous. Petra, defnite must as is Jerusalem no matter what your religious affiliation. We also loved our trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. Private tour suggestions are available in the Ports of Call section.

What wer the prices for the side trips to the Taj ,Petra < Jerusalem etc.

Thanks

[Palmetto Lady]

Thought long and hard about the Taj excursion since it was almost $5000 for two. I'm glad we went but unfortunately it was less than fabulous. The atmosphere was very hazy so while we got up early to see the sun rise over the Taj, you couldn't see the sun so no "rosy glow". The haze didn't clear later in the day so didn't bother to go to see the sunset. We could view the Taj from our hotel room. The entire reason for me to go to India was to see the Taj. I don't know the cause of the haze whether it was pollution or just weather.

[Senior Citizen]

We just did the Dubai to Athens portion of this cruise. Just about all the ports are worth taking special tours in except Fujairah. The ship stayed overnight in Ashdod so a group of us went on a private tour and spent the night in Jerusalem. We booked Guided Tours Israel for the two days the ship spent in Ashdod and the one we were in Haifa. On day 1, we went to Jerusalem and Bethlehem (I'd say skip Bethlehem because one day is barely enough to just do Jerusalem). On day 2, we went to the Masada and the Dead Sea. On day 3 (out of Haifa), we went to the Sea of Galilee, Jordan River and Nazareth. The ship also overnighted in Safaga and a group of us went on a private tour and stayed overnight at the Sheraton Luxor. This was a fantastic cruise. You'll have a great time!

 

Ashdod is about one hour from Jerusalem. The ship ports in Haifa so you can go to the Bahai Gardens and tour Haifa if you like. Luxor was a few hours away from Safaga.

 

Going to the Taj Mahal as an excursion from the ship is very expensive. You can do better by taking a tour from the USA if you live here. Various companies run 8 day tours to the Taj, including flights, for around $1,500 from JFK.

[capecodder2]

The Taj excursion may be considered "high" but the flights were charter flights, and everything was included. I didn't really care as we built the cost into our budget in the first place. This was my one-and-only opportunity to see the Taj and the main reason we chose this cruise. India is too far to go for less than 2 weeks and I didn't want to spend 2 weeks there, I just wanted to see the Taj. We, fortunately, had wonderful, if hot, weather.

 

I don't know what O's excursion prices are to Petra or Jerusalem - Petra we did several years ago on another cruise line, and Jerusalem was done by private tour. If you do a search on O's website under shore excursions you should be able to get an idea from this year's prices.

 

I have a small issue when people talk about how expensive shore excursions are. When we choose a cruise (which is no small expenditure in the first place) with certain ports we want to see, we build the cost of excursions (no matter if they are private or the cruise line's) into our budget in the first place. If we were going to fuss about the cost of the excursions, we wouldn't take the cruise. Relatively speaking, they are a small portion of the entire trip and in most cases (for us) the most important part. My thoughts only on that subject.