Riga - Royal Caribbean

[hal2008]

Have to be prepared to take Bolt taxi back if shuttles have long lines.

How much would they cost approximately to the ship?

(presume lot cheaper than Copenhagen or Stockholm hopefully)

[Stuart Suss]

Another business day has come and gone in Riga, Latvia.

 

Still no reply from the port authority at the KS Terminal.

Still no reply from the Latvian national tourist office.

The municipal tourist office for the City of Riga has stopped answering questions and referred any questions to Royal Caribbean.

 

I did receive a reply from Bolt Taxi.  I asked about fares. Their answer was that we should install their app and make a reservation.  Then, we would learn the fare amount.   I have pleaded with them to provide a sample fare from the KS Terminal to Old Town Riga.  So far, no reply.  Bolt Taxi seems to have dynamic pricing like other rideshare companies.

 

I hope that one day I will be able to provide good news, or, at least, informative news.

[adam7392]

1 hour ago, Stuart Suss said:

Still no reply from the port authority at the KS Terminal.

Still no reply from the Latvian national tourist office.

The municipal tourist office for the City of Riga has stopped answering questions and referred any questions to Royal Caribbean.

 

I sent email to royalcustomerserviceuk@rccl.com last thursday asking about shuttle services at Riga -  still no response other than the automated reply about responding in 7 days.

[pghflyer]

Don't get me wrong, this stinks and not thrilled about it, but it is common practice for cruises to dump you in a port far from the actual city.  One of my favorites is when you go to "Berlin" and they dump you in Warnemunde about 300KM (3H) away ha ha

[JKHawaii]

Wow!  I'm just amazed by this blog.  A year ago, we couldn't cruise at all on Royal Caribbean.  Now, despite huge losses by the cruise lines during COVID shutdown, coupled with much higher fuel, food, etc, costs, staffing problems, and the need to cancel St Petersburg stops due to a WAR, we have people whining because the ship can't drop you off at the front door due to the constraints of the cruise terminal ...................... even though the city apparently offers a free shuttle.

 

After spending thousands on my cruise in August, I'll just have to spend another 20 bucks or so to secure reliable transportation back to the ship if I have to.

 

First world problems, just have to shake my head.

[adam7392]

22 minutes ago, JKHawaii said:

Wow!  I'm just amazed by this blog.  A year ago, we couldn't cruise at all on Royal Caribbean.  Now, despite huge losses by the cruise lines during COVID shutdown, coupled with much higher fuel, food, etc, costs, staffing problems, and the need to cancel St Petersburg stops due to a WAR, we have people whining because the ship can't drop you off at the front door due to the constraints of the cruise terminal ...................... even though the city apparently offers a free shuttle.

 

After spending thousands on my cruise in August, I'll just have to spend another 20 bucks or so to secure reliable transportation back to the ship if I have to.

 

First world problems, just have to shake my head.

If the thread bothers you that much why bother reading it or replying?.  We are discussing the realities as it affects our cruise, that as you say we have paid thousands for, and we are trying to figure out the best solution and inform fellow passengers.  That is the point of cruise critic.

 

Either offer some relevant comment or move on.

 

You could use 'first world problems' as an argument against any post on here so why bother?

[lionheart]

5 hours ago, Stuart Suss said:

As I stated in post #21:

 

According to the city tourist office, the free shuttle delivers passengers to the Riga Palace, near the intersection of the streets called "11-Novembra Krastmala" and "Polu Gate" which is located on the embankment (river) side of Riga Palace. 

Thanks any idea on hours of operation?

[Stuart Suss]

We do not know the hours of operation for the shuttle.  We hope to have multiple shuttles available during peak hours and a reasonable amount of evening service on the night that we are spending overnight near Riga.

 

I have received a response from Bolt Taxi.

I have checked the estimated prices that are currently visible in the Bolt app and I want to inform you that the price [from KS Terminal to Old Town Riga] is from 9,20€ to 15,50€ depending on the car category.

 

The fare can change depending on the demand and the final price can also change due to factors like traffic, weather, road constructions, taking a different route, or changing the destination mid-trip. . When the demand is increased there will always be an arrow that is pointing up next to the category and price which is informing about the high demand.

 

I understand how important is the pick-up, but unfortunately, we don't have information if the port authority does or does not allow access by private vehicles.

 

The last paragraph is the most significant.  We still do not know whether taxi cabs and private tour guide vehicles are permitted inside the port area.

 

The last time I checked, 1 Euro costs approximately $1.04 U.S. and 0.87 Pound Sterling.

 

 

[pghflyer]

Thanks great info! This is only my second RCL cruise, so not sure about the specifics but I am sure some folks get early disembark privileges (ex. high ranking Crown & Anchor members or perhaps with the concierge for those who got a suite) so that may be an option for some of you.

[Cruise Wonderland]

Voyager of the Seas is too large to berth at the city centre. As shown from the port schedule, she will moor at KS Terminal.

 

https://rop.lv/sites/default/files/2022-06/Copy of Kruiza kugu saraksts_13.06_.pdf

 

 

[pghflyer]

Great map!! On the plus side, we are the only ship in port that day so less busy.

[SusanZebal]

On 6/14/2022 at 3:43 PM, JKHawaii said:

Wow!  I'm just amazed by this blog.  A year ago, we couldn't cruise at all on Royal Caribbean.  Now, despite huge losses by the cruise lines during COVID shutdown, coupled with much higher fuel, food, etc, costs, staffing problems, and the need to cancel St Petersburg stops due to a WAR, we have people whining because the ship can't drop you off at the front door due to the constraints of the cruise terminal ...................... even though the city apparently offers a free shuttle.

 

After spending thousands on my cruise in August, I'll just have to spend another 20 bucks or so to secure reliable transportation back to the ship if I have to.

 

First world problems, just have to shake my head.

Well said ! ! !

[hal2008]

6 hours ago, SusanZebal said:

Well said ! ! !

 

Humbly disagree that  the rant by JKHawail was "well said".

 

There is a reason why mere utterance of word "first world problem" is banned in so many groups.

 

This entire cruise critic web site and all its boards and posts in a way are "first world problems" if you really want to apply that logic.

 

Most people come to CC to gather info to plan and work out potential kinks and give/get suggestions.  One certainly doesn't have to read (let alone post) if one doesn't think the post/thread is important.

 

Few posters here are justifiably concerned about this particular port for this particular ship. It is not a question of whining. There are genuine questions.

 

1. Even if someone offers shuttle (city/tourist board or even RCL), are they going to be enough to handle pax load of a cruise ship (especially while returning)?

 

2. How bad is traffic situation in the afternoon that can affect the return trip?

 

3. If private vehicles are not allowed to enter the restricted port area, how much of walk is remaining?

 

These are fair logistics questions for which CC has been traditionally quite useful.

 

The fact that this ship's porting is an oddball compared to 95% of other cruise ships visiting Riga means that kinks may not have been thought through. let alone worked out by local authority and RCL.

 

Thanks Stuart, for staying on top of this and keeping us all informed.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by hal2008

[SimplyMarvie]

As to the traffic situation, have a look at a map of Riga -- if you're coming from Old Town back to the ship, you'll need to cross the River. There are only two main traffic bridges, each of which is two lanes in either direction. Most of the working folks in Riga need to also get across these bridges, which means there's a lot of backups.

 

Still, Riga is a small city. I go from the center city to the outskirts for work each day across the bridge on Valdemara Iela. The afternoon traffic adds 10-30 minutes to my afternoon commute, depending on the day of the week, whether there is road construction (there is currently) and if there's an accident/dead bus/etc. on the road. It would be the same in the morning if you're coming from the terminal into the old city -- you'll miss the worst of the traffic, but things will be slow getting over the bridge. 

 

You can use Google Maps to estimate the travel time at different times of day. It's not going to be spot on (They can't predict the fender-benders) but it will give you a sense of what to expect.

[janetmojo]

I'd just like to thank you for this post.  We are coming in later in July on Apex and I have found this information very useful.

[hal2008]

This might be a better thread for this question.

 

Any recommendations for walking tour of Riga old town and art Nuevo district? 

[pghflyer]

We did the bike tour from this company, and they were great (they don't cover old town OR the central market on the bike tour, so definitely don't miss those in your spare time):

 

https://www.rigafreetours.com/

 

It is a really sad arrival spot in the middle of a cargo shipping field without any cruise ship facilities...but they had 10 buses ready for us when we disembarked and tourism staff from the city were there to answer questions.  Took about 20 minutes to arrive, but due to traffic took about 35 to return.  Last shuttle to the ship was 6PM, and we caught the 5:30PM and it was PACKED with people standing / sitting on the floor.  They drop you on the main road by the river, right next to a public toilet (link below), a few blocks from the old town and tourism staff meet the buses there too and provide maps and mark locations for you, HOHO buses are there as well. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/DAeaqysnk69oURX6A

 

**Should share an important piece of info which is that since this "port" is inside an active shipping port facility, taxis are NOT allowed to enter (and some refuse to go this far away to the middle of nowhere where they won't get a return fare). Some ship staff tried catching taxis to get back on time and had to be dropped off at the facility entrance, far from the ship and catch the bus from there**

 

Overall, Riga is a glorious beautiful city and it is a shame the first impression is so bad, but they are doing the best they can with their port situation and larger ships.

 

In addition to the sites seen on the bike tour (including art noveau district), our favorite spots were the old town, the central market (incredibly large and diverse but more for getting a "taste" of local shopping goods, not tourist crap), and the Library (easy walk across the river, a cool modern building with a few free exhibits inside).

Edited July 6, 2022 by pghflyer

[DragonOfTheSeas]

55 minutes ago, pghflyer said:

They drop you on the main road by the river, right next to a public toilet (link below), a few blocks from the old town and tourism staff meet the buses there too and provide maps and mark locations for you, HOHO buses are there as well. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/DAeaqysnk69oURX6A

 

Thank you this is good information.  . . . Do the toilets take euro coins? 1 or 2 euros? TIA

[pghflyer]

When I was there, that particular one-room stall was open with no fee required.  Our itinerary had a particular lack of public toilet facilities in the ports, this one included. We just used this one, the free one in the library, and the free one at our bike tour meeting point.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

4 hours ago, pghflyer said:

When I was there, that particular one-room stall was open with no fee required.  Our itinerary had a particular lack of public toilet facilities in the ports, this one included. We just used this one, the free one in the library, and the free one at our bike tour meeting point.

No toilets would be an issue for one in our group.  We will need to be careful with him to use the ones available.

[pghflyer]

WRT Riga, the buses didn't have toilets, the tourist office didn't have toilets, but I am sure if you patronized a restaurant by purchasing a snack/ coffee, they would make one available. Honestly, even NYC is bad for public restrooms but I empathize with the challenge as I love my coffee a little too much myself and that is even without adding significant medical complications.

[Scottishclover]

Due to this thread I realised that our ship Celebrity Apex will be docking at KS terminal so thank you Cruise Wonderland for finding and posting the schedule. We have a tour booked through a private operator and I’m wondering if anyone knows where pick up for this port would be? We like a walk so would not bother us to walk to the facility entrance if allowed (I’ve had a look at some images and it does look very industrial.)  I am pondering whether it would be best to get the shuttle and arrange pick up from Riga itself. I got in touch with our tour guide today to see if he can advise and am waiting on a reply but would appreciate anybody’s input who has had some experience with this.

[pghflyer]

I was told by crew and other guests that the industrial facility was not allowing outside parties into the area.  This is really the middle of nowhere, so even if you knew where the outside of the restricted area was, not sure I would trust the other party to find it.  If it were me, I would definitely just have them pick you up at the shuttle drop point in town.

[Scottishclover]

I contacted our tour guide last night and he said he has experience of meeting groups outside the main gates, in fact he did this yesterday with some people from Voyager of the Seas. He has suggested that he drops us back off at the shuttle point at the end of the day. He said shuttles in the morning are a problem due to traffic jams so picking up at KS terminal is better. I’m just a bit concerned about finding the main gates - a bit of a walk does not bother us as we are going on a hike in a national park. Our tour guide is great with communication so I’m sure he can give a rough idea of timings.

[hal2008]

On 7/7/2022 at 11:53 AM, pghflyer said:

I was told by crew and other guests that the industrial facility was not allowing outside parties into the area.  This is really the middle of nowhere, so even if you knew where the outside of the restricted area was, not sure I would trust the other party to find it.  If it were me, I would definitely just have them pick you up at the shuttle drop point in town.

 

Would strongly second that.

 

KS site is horrible looking with no infrastructure.

Even shuttle buses dont have proper roads within the port premises.

 

Meeting guide at shuttle drop off (near Polu gate and Riga Castle?) might be more advisable.