Malta cruise port hecklers

[clairedy6]

Hi I have never been to malta before but I heard from a friend that when you get off the ship there are tons of taxi drivers trying to encourage you to go with them and that if you don't they get "offended". Has anyone ever experienced this before because I am worried as we don't want to take a taxi or feel uncomfortable about not doing so. Thanks.

 

[jedijill]

Hi I have never been to malta before but I heard from a friend that when you get off the ship there are tons of taxi drivers trying to pursued you to go with them and that if you don't they get "offended". Has anyone ever experienced this before because I am worried as we don't want to take a taxi or feel uncomfortable about not doing so. Thanks.

I do not recall any heckling or being uncomfortable at all. I just walked up to town (it is a long uphill climb!) past the taxis.

Jill in CO

 

[sissy_ib]

What do you mean by "offended"? Did your friend say they felt threatened in anyway? Or were they just rude? Rude I can and do ignore.

 

[kcashner]

We had an amazing time in Malta, and did it all on foot. I never felt threatened, heckled, or uncomfortable in any way.

 

[castawaycayfans]

We were there in 2010, but did not experience this. We walked up the hill and caught the bus (1 or 2 euros roundtrip) into town, the guy we dealt with was very nice and made us feel very welcome. Malta was one of our favorite ports.

 

[carpenta]

Never experienced anything close to anything as you state. People were very nice in all our encounters. Malta was our favorite stop in 2010. Amazing island. Now Tunisia ( thank goodness they don't dock there anymore) was not very nice at all. VERY aggressive street vendors.

 

[clairedy6]

Thanks for the reassurance everyone, maybe my friend was mistaken

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

I only remember one guy in Malta and he was offering sea plane rides, but wasn't pushy at all. Now in Palermo, Sicily, it was awful.

 

[TDC Nala]

How "offended" could they get? I mean, to the point of getting in someone's face and actively harassing them? Or just being rude? Because rude should just be ignored.

 

[Melcatfish]

Malta was fabulous, Naples was worse but even then it was just annoying not scary. Nothing like as much as you get when you walk round Nassau (in my experience.)

Mel
x

 

[carpenta]

Malta was fabulous, Naples was worse but even then it was just annoying not scary. Nothing like as much as you get when you walk round Nassau (in my experience.)

Mel
x

Wait until the passengers disembark in Jamaica from Disney next year. Talk about harrassment. Borders on scary. That is a definate on-board pool day IMO.

 

[GeneMachine]

That is not the vibe in Malta at all. Palermo, yes, Naples, yes, but not Malta.

 

[clairedy6]

That is not the vibe in Malta at all. Palermo, yes, Naples, yes, but not Malta.

What is it like in Naples?

 

[REM10134]

Have never been to Malta, but many ports have a large group of taxi drivers and street vendors that greet the cruise ships. The most agressive that we've seen was in Antigua back in 2004. And we did end up using a taxi, with "Johnny Redshoes" as the driver. He was great, and had a good marketing gimmick. Especially since I still remember him.

 

[carpenta]

What is it like in Naples?

In Naples the rules of the road DON'T apply. NEVER trust a red light to stop traffic and as we do in the west and cross in crosswalks and most autos stopping...doe not exist in Naples. It has been said that a driver had been beaten to death for stopping at a red light. The culture in Naples is boisterous but not intimidating IMO. But like any big city there are parts you don't want to stray too far.

 

[clairedy6]

I am not worried about the actual city of Naples as we most likely will not be spending time there, I was asking about the cruise port (someone previously posted that malta is nothing in comparison to naples)

 

[carpenta]

I am not worried about the actual city of Naples as we most likely will not be spending time there, I was asking about the cruise port (someone previously posted that malta is nothing in comparison to naples)

The port is older and not bad at all. Security is pretty tight until you walk to the street. The ferry to Capri is the next pier over from where you dock so it is an easy hop-on. If you are on an excursion than they wisk you right onto the bus. Having been in Naples a few times I would recommend an excursion to the Amalfi coast or Pompeii or both, In 2007 we did an excursion that 1/2 day at a Sorrento city/ mozzerella farm/ and 1/2 day Pompeii and to this day it was one of our favorite excursions ever. No need to worry about being hasseled in the ports you are visiting for one they are full of tourists and the cities try to clamp down on fools driving business away through rudeness and two, the locals are quite proud of their cities and love showing them off. You should plan to spend a day or two in Barcelona if you can because that is one city that is truely remarkable.

 

[RedSox68]

We thought the vendors at the Leaning Tower of Pisa were horrible. We finally got behind the tents so they couldn't see us and walked to the entrance that way. They were actually blocking our way to hawk their goods.

 

[woody73]

The port is older and not bad at all. Security is pretty tight until you walk to the street. . .

We've been to Naples multiple times. In 2010, one of our dinner table mates was pickpocketed as she and her husband crossed the street right in front of the port.

Woody

 

[carpenta]

We've been to Naples multiple times. In 2010, one of our dinner table mates was pickpocketed as she and her husband crossed the street right in front of the port.

Woody

Yes unfortunately that problem exists in a number of European cities. We use the Anti-theft bags that are sold on the net, they seem to work just fine.