how do i contact and arrange a taxi share in place of excursion?

[porkyandsheppy]

i recently joined and put a message on re Taxi share to Bruges and return . we are cruising 13.december 2013 on the Queen Elizabeth. I am looking for others to share a taxi but although i can see others want the same i do not know this works? do we make contact before the cruise or meet up on board etc. Pauline:confused:

[CruiserBruce]

First of all, knowing European taxis, sharing one, with baggage, will not be easy.

 

Second, sharing rides and excursions is arranged on your roll call, which I see you have already found.

[rwr235]

i recently joined and put a message on re Taxi share to Bruges and return . we are cruising 13.december 2013 on the Queen Elizabeth. I am looking for others to share a taxi but although i can see others want the same i do not know this works? do we make contact before the cruise or meet up on board etc. Pauline:confused:

 

As CruiserBruce said above...your Roll Call is the correct place to arrange this. Just FYI, we shared a Taxi in Bruges...arranged everything with the other couples on the Roll Call and thru email...and then met at a pre-arranged spot onboard before disembarking to get the taxi...worked great !

 

Enjoy

 

Woody

[John Bull]

i recently joined and put a message on re Taxi share to Bruges and return . we are cruising 13.december 2013 on the Queen Elizabeth. I am looking for others to share a taxi but although i can see others want the same i do not know this works? do we make contact before the cruise or meet up on board etc. Pauline:confused:

 

For Bruges from Zeebrugge you can pre-arrange taxi & sharers, or you can pick up a taxi at the quayside, where you'll also almost-certainly find sharers. You can also agree to share with folk you meet on the ship, and go ashore mob-handed - though this may be a little difficult if it's a mini-cruise or the first port of call.

Current rate is €50 one-way, whether pre-booked or not. That's pretty heavy money for a ten-mile journey, but not so bad if divided by four or more. Especially since it's ship to centre, not possible by ship's "Bruges on your own" coaches or the train.

 

If you're going to do it on-the-fly, be aware that most taxis are regular saloons (4 passengers), but some are minibuses ("vans" in American) & carry 6, 7, even 8.

And the price is the same.

So get on the quayside early, with or without sharers, to get a big 'un for a lower per-head price.

You'll want to be dropped at the Belfry in Grotemarkt, right in the centre of the cobbled historic centre. Arrange for the driver to collect you from the same place for the return to the ship.

 

If you plan to pre-book, do make sure that the price per head is attractive to sharers, & line-up sharers via the RollCall before you commit. Or simpler to get your names down with someone else on your RollCall who's looking for sharers.

 

We only fix in advance more expensive/complicated private tours, car-hire etc, & contact sharers via RollCalls.

We swap e-mail addresses, & cabin numbers in due course, and fix a meet on-board a day or three before the port, to avoid last-minute confusion. But that's possibly over-kill for a simple shared taxi ride.

 

Alternatively, the train is cheaper at under €6 return and shuttlebuses to Blankenberge station, 3 miles from the ship, are free (that's likely to change next year).

But the train service is hourly & because of the shuttlebus it's impossible to be sure of arriving at the station at a convenient time.

Murphy's Law says you'll have a 55-minute wait. :rolleyes:

If that happens, there's a taxi rank at the station & I'm told they're cheaper cos they've got no port fees to pay.

 

JB :)

 

PS to Bruce. This is a port-of-call. No baggage, no worries :)

[Keith1010]

I agree that likely you might not have a room to share a taxi but if you want to just see if you meet up with someone else while on the cruise who would share it with you.

 

Again, taxis will be on the smaller side so it might not even be possible.

 

Keith

[LHT28]

I agree that likely you might not have a room to share a taxi but if you want to just see if you meet up with someone else while on the cruise who would share it with you.

 

Again, taxis will be on the smaller side so it might not even be possible.

 

Keith

 

We have an 8 seater booked so they are not all small taxis