Top 10 Cruise Ports In Europe That Leave You Wondering Where You Are?
Whilst it is certainly not as prevalent in the cruising world, the naming of ports after a much more famous location somewhat nearby to the ports actual destination is something utilised by port authorities and cruise lines in the hope of attracting more visitors and selling more cruises and whilst some make sense as the port is simply an extension of the destination, sometimes it just makes things confusing.
One of the things that we always look forward to when on a cruise holiday is heading up to the top deck or to an observation lounge and watching the ship arrive in port.
This is the first look many of us have of our chosen destination and it is when the excitement for a day onshore really starts to build but some ports just leave visitors wondering where they are.
Our Top 10 Cruise Ports In Europe That Leave You Wondering Where You Are?
Warnemunde
If you have booked a cruise of Northern Europe or of the Baltic Sea, you may have noticed a number of cruise lines listing Berlin as a port of call.
If you are not too familiar with Germany, you may be wondering what is wrong with that? Berlin is a great city and makes for a fantastic getaway but the reason that it ranks so highly on this list, is the fact that Berlin is located 100’s of miles from the German coast.
The port that you will actually normally arrive at is Warnemunde, near to Rostock but 235kms by road from the centre of Berlin which should take around 2.5 hours if you don’t hit traffic.
Civitavecchia
In similar fashion, the Italian capital city of Rome is often listed on a cruise of the Med and it is a popular turnaround cruise port with many great cruise holidays starting off their but despite all of that, Rome is another city with no coastline of its own.
If the itinerary of your next cruise holiday lists Rome, or if you have booked a cruise starting in the city, you will actually find your ship dock in the port of Civitavecchia, which is over 70km away from the eternal city and can take nearly 2 hours in the Rome rush hour to reach the city centre.
Nynashamn
The city of Stockholm makes for a great day on shore as its is big enough to have plenty on offer but small enough to explore by yourself.
One of the highlights of a trip to Stockholm is sailing past the 1000’s of islands that make up the Stockholm archipelago before spotting all of the cities highlights as you dock close to the city centre.
So just why would Stockholm feature so high on this list? Well, the answer is that unfortunately, many cruise lines prefer to dock in the town of Nynashamn on the south coast of Sweden and around 60km’s from Stockholm to save the hours needed to cruise slowly to the centre of Stockholm.
Southampton
If you are from the United Kingdom, or even from Europe, the chances are that you will know that whilst the metropolis of London is on a river, it is not a coastal city but where the confusion often comes from those arriving at Southampton who are from further afield is the fact that many cruise lines promote the port has been London despite been around 80 miles or 2-3 hours away.
Leixoes
The northern Portugal city of (O)Porto makes for a highlight of any Iberian cruise but for those expecting to see the iconic Dom Luis I bridge or any of the other iconic highlights of the city will be surprised to only see containers and trucks as cruise ships actually dock at the port of Leixoes, around 10km away.
Le Havre
When it comes to Paris, there are many things that come to mind, from tree lined boulevards to the Eiffel Tower and from the River Seine to Notre-Dame Cathedral but what you actually get on the majority of cruises to the city is 200km road trip as despite many lines having Paris in their itineraries, they actually call into Le Havre.
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer, on the south-east coast of France is a beautiful port to arrive at in its own right but it is rarely promoted as the arrival port with some cruise lines naming it as Nice in their itineraries and some naming it as Monte Carlo (or Monaco).
Whilst the port is only 7km from Nice, around 25 minutes by road, there is a large headland in the way so you will have no view of the famous Nice Old Town upon arrival whilst the iconic Monte Carlo marina and its luxury ladened streets are around 15km away, or around a 35 minute drive- so do not expect to see the famous hill side luxury apartments and multi-million dollar yachts upon your arrival.
Greenock
Although Glasgow may not have the same iconic skyline or features of many of the cities in this list that you would expect to see as you pull into your port of call, you do expect to see a bustling city, full of high rise flats and offices but with cruise ships with a stop in Glasgow actually arriving at the port of Greenock (around 30 miles from the city centre), the arrival is actually very scenic as you sail past Lochs and into the entrance of the River Clyde.
Piraeus
If you are looking forward to arriving in the city of Athens and setting of for a day of exploring the many historic sites of interest or even wanting to snap the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, you will be in for a surprise as your cruise ship pulls into the extremely busy ferry and commercial port of Piraeus where a 30 minute + bus ride or train journey awaits you before seeing the iconic sights of Athens.
Cadiz
A number of the ports on this list are either commercial ports near to big cities, so it makes some sense in changing their name or they are ports far away from a tourist destination, so again it makes some sense to change the name to the destination most visitors will head for but this one does not fit into either of those.
Cadiz is a fantastic city in its own right and has a fascinating history that can be explored around its historic streets but despite all of that, a number of cruises will name the port as Seville which is of course a fantastic tourist destination and bustling city but it is over 120km away and around a 1.5 to 2 hours bus ride.
