Cochin was quite an easy place to spend a low key, DIY day – other friends walked to a landing point for small passenger ferry across to the old town and spent a nice day there looking at the old Indo Dutch buildings, theChinese fishing nets and doing some shopping before returning to the port by Taxi – if we return to Cochin in the future that will be our plan for the day.
Tag Archives: Cruise Port Guide
Sitka, Alaska – Cruise Port Guide
Sitka, on the Pacific Coast of Barenof Island in Alaska, is one of the more unusual Cruise ports to visit featured on an Alaskan itinerary. Originally built by Russian traders in the early 1800’s, when it was known as the city of ‘New Archangel’, Sitka has a very different feel to the wild west, gold rush, mining towns that form most of the other ports of call in Alaska. It is definitely worth a visit if you get the chance!!
Stornaway, Scotland – Cruise Port Guide
Stornoway, on the east coast of Lewis, is a busy port and a popular stop on Round Britain cruise itineraries. A new cruise terminal with deep water berth is under construction but at present only smaller vessels can moor alongside, larger ships tender passengers ashore to the CalMac pier. Cruisers are met by a team of Cruise Ambassadors, local volunteers, who are on hand to offer information and assistance. The currency here is the Scottish £ and, whilst Gaelic is a frequently used language on the islands, locals also speak English. The Sabbath is strictly observed here so most shops are closed on a Sunday.
Juneau, Alaska – Cruise Port Guide
Juneau, the capital of Alaska since 1906, was our first port of call. It is the only American State Capital not accessible by road – everything and everyone arrives by boat or air! Named after one of the two men -Joe Juneau and Richard Harris – who discovered gold in the area back in 1880, the town quickly grew up as mines flourished in the hills above and by 1906 Juneau was centre of the worlds gold mining trade. Unfortunately it was a short lived title and by the 1940s labour shortages due to WW2 meant that the mines closed. Today the cruise industry is the main source of income and employment history of Juneau for the town and the Mendenhall Glacier is its most promoted attraction.
Havana, Cuba – Cruise Port Guide
I am going to preface this Havana Port Profile with an explanation and a warning. Whilst Cuba is an amazing place to visit, unfortunately it was listed as a ” State Sponsor of Terrorism” by President Trump as he left office in 2021. This means that tourists from the USA are NOT able to visit and no American cruise lines visit the port. However three European companies (Marella, Ambassador and Fred Olsen) have added Cuba on itineraries from January 2023 onwards so we thought that a bit of information might be useful to those passengers. The main point to consider if you are booking a cruise to Cuba is that you should keep up to date with the latest situation in relation to subsequent ESTA applications to the United States.
Muscat, Oman – an evening in the cruise port
We only had a short visit to Muscat on a repositioning cruise from Dubai to Singapore with sunset falling about 4 hours after our planned arrival time so we took the advice of the Cruise Addicted Facebook group on our options and the best spot for a perfect sunset view. As you know, I am a sucker for a sunset and I’m happy to report that the advice was spot on so I am sharing here with you too!
Muscat, Oman – Cruise Port Guide
Muscat is the capital city of the Sultanate of Oman and a popular winter cruise destination for Middle East itineraries and repositioning cruises. It has a completely different feel and none of the showiness of its close neighbours Abu Dhabi and Dubai with their massive high rise buildings and glitz. Abu Dhabi is elegant and restrained in comparison, partly because all new buildings are required to be built with traditional features such as a dome. This is largely due to the influence Sultan Qaboos, the countries hereditary absolute monarch since 1970 when he began the “Renaissance for Oman” project. Huge investment on health, education and welfare has transformed the country into a prosperous world economy without losing any of its charm or heritage.
Rosyth, Scotland – Cruise Port Guide
Rosyth Cruise Port in Scotland is a great place to visit. The sail in takes you under the three famous Firth of Forth briges and from here you can visit Edinburgh, Leith, Dunfermline, North Queensferry, the Rosslyn chapel..
Naples, Italy – Cruise Port Guide
Naples is a port that features on many Mediterranean itineraries so you will probably find yourself there more than once. Although Pompeii, Vesuvius and Capri are the more obvious trips I highly recommend that you spend a day in the town at some point, Naples is a special place that deserves a little exploring!
Warnemünde – A Cruise Port Guide
Warnemünde, a popular cruise port on Baltic itineraries I’d often labelled ‘for’ Berlin. Situated on the mouth of the river Warnow, it is a both a busy port and an elegant ‘fin de siecle’ seaside town. Warnemünde increasingly features on the Baltic Cruise circuit and its large modern terminal, which has two berths, is home port for AIDAdiva and AIDAmar. The entrance to the harbour is guarded by a new lighthouse – it is a very deep channel but it does look a dramatically tight entrance, especially from the shore!