Tag Archives: cruises

Villefranche-Sur-Mer

June 9, 2020 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

Villefranche is a beautiful gateway port to the French Riviera. Most ships will dock at Nice or Monaco, but smaller ships will drop anchor and provide tenders to shore. The best part — no crowds! Once on shore, there is a tourist office and old port area with shops and restaurants. Just a little ways up the hill towards the Citadelle de Ville is a bus top that can take you to Nice or Monaco.

I decided to wander around the Citadelle and was rewarded with breathe-taking views and some amazing artwork. The Duke of Savoie, Philibert, built the Citadel in 1557 after the Turkish fleet’s attack of the port in 1543. The official name is the Citadelle de St-Elme. Now it serves as the town hall, a congress centre, a police station, a summer outdoor theater, and it houses four art museums.

My favourite museum is dedicated to the sculptures of Antoniucci Volti. The museum is housed in cave-like room carved from the walls of the fortress and in an open, sunny patio.

My visit ended, as usual, with a nice espresso and some shopping.

2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Estonia, Europe, Travel Notes

Port of Tallinn, Estonia

February 11, 2019 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

The Port of Tallinn, Estonia is compact and has easy accessibility to the old city. It is about a 20 minute walk to the main gate of the walled city centre. Most cruise shops docking at Tallinn will have a shuttle bus that drops passengers to the gate and there is a hop-on-hop-off bus stop at the port as well. There is also a tourist information booth will have maps and other tourist highlights.

On my visit, I took one of the first shuttle buses, arriving at the main gate as shop keepers were setting up for the day. It was nice, walking through these cobbled streets as the city started to come alive. Soon, there would be tables filled with people in the central plaza and people filling the markets. It was a nice way to get to experience this portion of Tallinn.

Here are some of my favourite photos from Tallinn.

2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Guernsey, Travel Notes, United Kingdom

S = St. Peter Port

April 21, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports = St. Peter Port

St. Peter Port is the main port for the Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. While this may be the main port, it is not large. In fact, it is easy to do a tour around the island while you are in port! This also means that you have to use the ship’s tenders to get to St. Peter Port. It also has it’s own currency and, while most stores will accept British pounds, you will receive your change will be the local currency.

St. Peter Port is a laid-back port and very easy to walk around. There is an interesting fort, Castle Coronet, that guards the port, nice walks and gardens to see throughout this town. This is a very relaxing port to enjoy.

Chapel on Guernsey

Here is a past post about St. Peter Port.

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2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Russia, Travel Notes

R = Russia’s St. Petersburg

April 21, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports: Russia’s St. Petersburg

There are a couple places for cruise lines to dock in St. Petersburg. Most ships will dock at a port with a typical cruise terminal with souvenir shops, however some smaller ships, such as the ones used by Azamara, can dock right in the center of St. Petersburg near the Hermitage. No matter where you are docked, it is important to know that you have to have a special traveler’s visa for Russia. This means you have to plan your excursions before you dock in St. Petersburg. If you are on a ship’s excursion, this is taken care of for you. However, this does not mean that more independent travelers cannot make plans. A group I met through the Cruise Critic Roll Call made plans with SPB Tours and we had a great time. There were eight people in our tour van for two days of seeing the sights, including eating in local restaurants and riding the subway. Our tour guide made the most of our stay, including a few things not on the planned itinerary. There were also options for evening trips.

Here are some of my highlights from St. Petersburg.

Peterhof fountains

Peterhof

Cat Starr at Peterhof

Catherine’s Palace

Griffen

Grand Staircase Hermitage

Russian Passport control

Catherine’s Palace

Because everyone needs a special Visa to visit Russia, it means going through Passport Control. I wrote about this experience in a previous post about Immigration.

Here are my posts about the St. Petersburg “marathon” as well as other past posts of this port.

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2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Scotland, Travel Notes, UK, United Kingdom

Q = Queensferry, Scotland

April 19, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller 2 Comments

A to Z Ports: Queensferry, Scotland

If you are on a cruise around the UK, the closest port to Edinburgh is Queensferry. But don’t count on a pier! You will dock near the Forth Railway Bridge and have to take tenders to the small dock. From there, you have many choices to finding your way into Edinburgh. The ship will, of course, push for shore excursions, including one called “Edinburgh on your own” which is really just a shuttle into the city. There are alternative ways to get into Edinburgh and you can find out more and this list may be handy. This is what you will see at the port of Queensferry.

So really, most people will head to Edinburgh — and why not? It is beautiful and has a rich history. And I am looking forward to another trip there soon! Here are some of my favorite photos of my time wandering through the city.

If the pictures seem a little foggy, I can blame the day which was grey with a light mist. I thought I was dressed warm enough, but sadly, I was not and I had to find something hot to drink!

I hope you enjoyed my brief trip to Edinburgh. There will be more to come!

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2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Greece, Travel Notes

P = Piraeus, Greece

April 18, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports: Piraeus, Greece for Athens

Piraeus is a major port for Greece and the closest one to Athens. It is very busy, with ferries that sail to all the Greek Islands, three separate docks for cruise lines, commercial operations and military ships. If you like ships, you can see just about any kind here. But few cruisers spend a day in Piraeus, especially with Athens so close. And most cruise lines will arrange various excursions to help you see the most of the highlights of Athens. But, if you’ve been there before, or if you want to go it on your own, it is very easy to get to Athens from Piraeus. From most of the cruise docks, it is about a twenty-minute walk to the train station to catch a train to Monastiraki Plaza. The train will take about the same time as a cab — and the cost will be much less!

Sights on my walk to the train station in Piraeus

Just like in Toronto!

My walking companioins

Monastiraki Plaza which is a great place to start your journey in Athens. It is at the heart of the Plaka — with the flea market on one side, a collection of restaurants on the other with lead to the shops of the Plaka. It is also below the Acropolis, near the Agora and, if you get there before 10 AM, you can easily walk down the pedestrian street to the Parliament buildings to see the Changing of the Guards.

Changing of the Guards in Athens

“Restaurant row”

Monastriaki Plaza before the crowds

View of the Acropolis form the New Acropolis Museum

Of course, you can spend an interesting day in Piraeus and miss all the crowds in Athens! At the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus you will find a collection of sculptures that include grave monuments and dedicated reliefs, pottery and a bronze statues of Apollo from the 6th century BC. There are plenty of tavernas — the better ones are a bit farther from the port.

Here are links to some of my past posts about Athens:

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2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Greece, Travel Notes

O = Olympia

April 17, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports = Olympia’s Katakalon

Katakalon, Greece is a very small port and resembles a sleepy town, until a cruise ship enters the port and can more than triple the number of people. Why do cruise ships call into this port? It is the closest one to Olympia — the site of the original Olympic games. Of course, there are ship excursions to the site. There is also a train the runs from the port to Olympia. How you go, is up to you — the trip is worth it.

Olympia is a large archaeological site. Next to it is a museum and the town of Olympia that has shops and restaurants catering to the tourists.

Here are a couple of past posts about Olympia

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2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Italy, Travel Notes

N = Naples

April 16, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports = Naples, Italy

Where you dock in Naples really couldn’t be any better. You are docked at Stazione Maritima with quick access to Naples city centre. There are several choices — fast ferries can take you to the Isle of Capri, and a short walk will take you to the Metro Station. Or head to the large castle on the left of the port and you will find the central stop for the hop on, hop off buses. You can also head to the train station to go to Pompeii. There will be all sorts of tour guides at the front of the port terminal. This is a port with a lot of options.

The other thing you can be certain of is construction — it will be everywhere! Many people take off for the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii or Capri, but there are some wonderful things to see in Naples, even if all you do is get lost wandering its narrow streets. And, if you want to see the treasures of Pompeii, but don’t want to make the trip, go the the Archaeological Museum, as it is the home of some of the best of Pompeii.

Here are some of my previous posts about Naples

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2018, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, South America, Travel Notes, Uruguay

M = Montevideo

April 16, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports = Montevideo

Montevideo, Uruguay is a small port that allows you to simply walk off the ship and into the center of this capital city. My plan was to just walk around the city, however that changed when I talked to a tour operator and soon a group of eight of us were driving along the coastline. The driver was very happy to share information about his city and its sites. and it was nice to see things that I would not have seen, had I stayed in the city central. We concluded our tour at the Capitol Building and were given the choice of going back to the ship, or staying in the city. I opted to stay, so I could walk through the market and back to the ship. It was a nice walk, with many small shops and restaurants along the way.

L = Lisbon

April 16, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports: Lisbon, Portugal

The port of Lisbon is very popular with cruise ship lines. Most ships will dock at Doca de Alcantara, which is near the 25th of April bridge, which is very similar to the San Francisco Bridge. There is no reason to stay on the ship with all that Lisbon has to offer!

Most ships spending the day in port will offer a shuttle to Praca do Comercio near the pedestrian area of central Lisbon. This is a very central location and easy place to find transit to other areas of Lisbon. Two trams are of special notice, if you have limited time in Lisbon, Tram No. 28 is a old-fashioned wooden tram that goes to the Castelo de Sao Jorge and Tram 15 goes to the Belem area.