Port maps provided?

[WS80]

Hi all

This Sunday we'll board the Solstice for a 12n Med cruise.

Does X give you decent maps and port info or should we bring our own?

Thanks!

[dforeigner]

Hi all

This Sunday we'll board the Solstice for a 12n Med cruise.

Does X give you decent maps and port info or should we bring our own?

Thanks!

 

They do provide a generic map with your patters but if you need something decent, bring your own.

[dln929]

The maps are pretty basic but you can always pick up something at Tourist Information. All the offices are really close to the ports.

[Orator]

Go to Concierge desk for maps. As has been said by others they are basic. However, don't be like the woman I saw who complained that she couldn't read the street map of Barcelona since the names were all in Spanish. She demanded one that had the streets listed in English. True story!

[WS80]

Thanks for the reactions! In most cities we just want to make a walk and find the shopping streets so I guess the basic maps will do :)

[Lsimon]

The port maps they provide are terrible. They are designed to show where the "recommend" shops (the ones that pay them money to be on that list) are and that is about it.

 

Sometimes there is a little better map provided at an information booth at the pier - depending on where you are.

 

For major ports in the med, like Rome, Florence, Venice, etc. I'd highly recommend getting a tourist map for a few dollars before you leave. My very very favorite maps for walking around the heart of the tourist areas at major ports are the Mapeasy Guidemap series - you can find these at bookstores (like Barnes and Noble and, on short notice, you can probably order from Amazon.

 

The maps you'll receive on the ship will probably be something similar to this, but with recommended stores added: Click here for Rome example from Celebrity Web Site

Or at best something like this one: Rome example No. 2

 

For a comparison you can go to the Mapeasy Guidemap web page for their Rome map (click here). There is a link under the map which says "see inside this map" which will bring up a couple samples of small portions of their map so you can get a very rough idea of what it is like.

[Erik101]

Go to Concierge desk for maps. As has been said by others they are basic. However, don't be like the woman I saw who complained that she couldn't read the street map of Barcelona since the names were all in Spanish. She demanded one that had the streets listed in English. True story!

 

Some people should never be allowed to visit a country where English is not the dominant language.

[FLACRUISER99]

I never ever saw a great port map supplied by a cruise line. An example of what you will get http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/en_US/pdf/port_explorer/europe/Barcelona_EN_CEL.pdf

[Lsimon]

Go to Concierge desk for maps. As has been said by others they are basic. However, don't be like the woman I saw who complained that she couldn't read the street map of Barcelona since the names were all in Spanish. She demanded one that had the streets listed in English. True story!

 

A long time ago the Concierge desk usually had a selection of brochures and tourist maps for each of the port cities available on request. But in recent years when we've asked about this they've had nothing. In fact, I don't even think the Concierge has a desk with any storage or file area any longer - it almost seems that their function has changed more towards being the central point for purchasing optional, extra cost, ship services such as setting up parties or special events on board.

 

For those with longer lead times (months rather than days) another great option is to look on the internet for an official tourism office in the destination city. You can often email a request and receive a large packet of tourist maps and brochures showing points of interest at the city. This is like getting an advance set of the types of maps and booklets that are available at a tourist information center or booth in the city.

[Orator]

A long time ago the Concierge desk had a selection of brochures and tourist maps for each of the port cities available on request. But in recent years when we've asked about this they've had nothing. In fact, I don't even think the Concierge has a desk with any storage or file area any longer - it almost seems that their function has changed more towards being the central point for purchasing optional, extra cost, ship services such as setting up parties or special events on board.

 

Your observation is correct. I did notice on my last cruise (Equinox TA) that several people received print outs from the Concierge. Don't know if this was the exception or the rule but will find out shortly.

[ORDMan]

Hi all

This Sunday we'll board the Solstice for a 12n Med cruise.

Does X give you decent maps and port info or should we bring our own?

Thanks!

 

The provided maps are horrible, even from the concierge. Get a good guidebook-the Rick Steves Mediterranean Ports book was great. Didn't have all the ports we visited, but it did have the "big" ones like Civitavecchia, Naples, Dubrovnik, etc and had excellent information about them, especially about on shore activities like going to Pompeii, Capri, Rome, etc.

[suec12]

Yes, get the Rick Steves book on Med. ports - so many practical tips - but I admit his maps are not very good either!

[Kartgv]

When we plan to do a port "on our own" we print Google maps and take them with us. The tricky part is making sure you know where the pier is, but you can usually get it by including "cruise ship terminal" with the city name when you're doing the search. Once you have a map view, you can add pushpin markers for anything you're particularly interested in. What I especially like is the ability to do a "street view" (just drag the 'little man' symbol to where you want to see). That way you can really get an idea of what the area looks like and whether it's somewhere you'd be comfortable walking around on your own.

[bula squeak]

The port maps they provide are terrible. They are designed to show where the "recommend" shops (the ones that pay them money to be on that list) are and that is about it.

 

Sometimes there is a little better map provided at an information booth at the pier - depending on where you are.

 

For major ports in the med, like Rome, Florence, Venice, etc. I'd highly recommend getting a tourist map for a few dollars before you leave. My very very favorite maps for walking around the heart of the tourist areas at major ports are the Mapeasy Guidemap series - you can find these at bookstores (like Barnes and Noble and, on short notice, you can probably order from Amazon.

 

The maps you'll receive on the ship will probably be something similar to this, but with recommended stores added: Click here for Rome example from Celebrity Web Site

Or at best something like this one: Rome example No. 2

 

For a comparison you can go to the Mapeasy Guidemap web page for their Rome map (click here). There is a link under the map which says "see inside this map" which will bring up a couple samples of small portions of their map so you can get a very rough idea of what it is like.

 

Hi Simon,

 

Are you able to give me the celebrity web site european port home page address that you got the Rome example from?

 

Cheers,

 

Bula

[Hapytocruise]

Unfortunately less and less information is being provided on a port day. On our last couple of cruises only the jewlery shops where highlighted. Nothing about currency, typical taxi rates, highlights of the stop, etc., do as much research as possible and have some sense of what you want to accomplish on the stop. Asking questions on tripadvisor can also be very helpful.

[Lsimon]

Hi Simon,

 

Are you able to give me the celebrity web site European port home page address that you got the Rome example from?

 

Cheers,

 

Bula

No. I found a direct link to Celebrity's site for he map from a Google search. This is the same link as the link posted in the message above. I can't recall the exact syntax of the search.

[ghstudio]

one of the biggest problems with the maps is there is no scale and no way to tell distances. They are slightly better than having no maps but if you can print out a map of each port from the internet, you'll have a far far easier time finding your way around.

 

We were recently in Istanbul and took the ships map on the second day, just so we would know where the celebrity shuttle bus stopped near the grand bazaar. The map not only didn't show where the bus stopped, it didn't have any of the streets near where the bus stopped so it was useless. Fortunately, I have a good sense of direction :)

[Christine Frances]

No. I found a direct link to Celebrity's site for he map from a Google search. This is the same link as the link posted in the message above. I can't recall the exact syntax of the search.

 

If you put "port explorer" (in quotes) in the search box on X's home page quite a few will show up. I should say a lot of them - there are pages!

[hcat]

Best to bring your own little maps--most book stores sell pocket maps & guides...

 

like many things the ship's maps used to be much better but now are really just a shopping guide to their approved stores..

[cruisestitch]

Wow -- talk about something that is buried deep inside the Website -- have never seen any of those pages before -- thanks to Christine Frances for pointing the way. It takes a bit of digging to get to them, but for any city that says "Port Explorer Guide" is available, click on that link, and then you get to a page which describes lots of shore excursions but includes a link to a pdf file of the handout.

[spkinva]

Hi WS80 Not sure if you'll get this... We enjoyed meeting you guys on the cruise. Hope you had a safe trip back to Belgium. Happy birthday (soon)!

 

Steve and Joe

[Wine-O]

Hi all

This Sunday we'll board the Solstice for a 12n Med cruise.

Does X give you decent maps and port info or should we bring our own?

Thanks!

 

I know it's too late for your cruise, but I normally e-mail the local tourist office for the port I am going to visit, and they send maps and all kinds of good info.