edinburgher

Wishing you an enjoyable walk down memory lane reliving your youth.

It isn't actually essential to book a tour for Bilbao. The ship shuttle buses usually drop off and pick up next to the Old Town, and the Guggenheim is only around a 10 minute walk from there alongside the river. (book your tickets online at a time to suit your plans You can also rent an audio guide) It isn't always necessary to pre-book entry. We turned up without and could walk in.The old town area is mostly pedestrian. and you could always join a walking tour if you thought it would be helpful. We didn't walk further along along the walkway from the Guggenheim to the bridge.

Thank you. There are a small number of us local to Edinburgh and we try to help when we can. Something I should mention. Should you follow the West End/King's Stables Road/Grassmarket/ Victoria St routing, you would miss the Floral Clock, which is at the opposite end of that western section of Princes St gardens, next to the staircase at the foot of The Mound. But that assumes it is in place at the time of your visit (it is seasonal) Which month will you visit? And how long will you have in the city, remembering that Newhaven is a tender port? And you may want to enjoy a stroll through that section of the gardens which has lovely views of the castle and the white higgledy piggledy houses at Ramsay Garden next to the Castle Esplanade.. The other section of the gardens lies between Waverley Bridge and the National Galleries at the foot of the Mound, and it too has lovely views and is a pleasant place to walk through. I think that, should the weather be good that day, Calton Hill should be visited, but when you come down onto Regent Road, you only need walk the very short distance to Waverley Bridge where you can enter that eastern section of the gardens, and at the end of that section, you simply cross the road at foot of the Mound, enter the western gardens section by the gateway there, and the Floral Clock is right there next to the staircase. and from there, a tram from St Andrew Square or a taxi. Hmmm port planning is rarely easy,or long enough especially for a first visit to a city with much to offer.

Thanks for clarifying fruitmachine. I bow to your superior knowledge.😀 A trip down memory lane then, how lovely for you as it will add an extran dimension to your visit.😁 Will you be able to visit the actual location where you did your research? Or the area where you lived?

Beadwork is a local craft and the ladies make quality items. These were the nicest souvenirs we saw, apart from the carved figures in Nuuk, but they were $$$ priced.☹️ You should browse/buy at any tables you see before sightseeing, as they will only have a certain number of items with them, and they may sell out if you leave buying until later in the day.

Will you be first time visitors to Venice? if so, reading this recent, and still quite current thread should be of interest to you, as there are a few challenges you should be considering to add to your "wish list" of accommodation requirements in addition to possibly rethinking your preferred "near St Marks" location as it is nearly at the opposite end of Venice compared to P. Roma. Remember that walking Venice is easy, walking with luggage not so much, and there are a few other considerations you may not yet be aware of, such as bridges with luggage, vaporetto stops and private docks. post #13 in particular, but all posts are worth reading. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2996093-venice-experts-help-needed-first-time-to-venice/#comment-67049896

If you want the fastest, that would probably be a taxi, but taxis in both directions will probably cost more than the 4 X round trip bus tickets although that I do not know, and you would need to check that with local taxi companies ahead of time. By far the slowest but cheapest would be the public bus operated by Lothian Buses, a flat fare I think of £2 pp each way so maybe £16 round trip, but it will take much much longer in each direction as there are frequent bus stops serving the public, unlike the X99. You would see estimated timings on the LB website for the route. You could check the Lothian Buses website, for, I think, the #43 route, or whichever it is, and for info on where in S Queensferry the stop would be, also the best stop for you in Edinburgh city centre. the X99 picks up and drops off next to the tender point at Hawes Pier. It has never been inexpensive to travel as a family. Some day you will find there are only two of you and you will be thinking "how cheap it is here", but of course it won't be, the difference will be that you will be paying for 2 instead of 4. Until then, unfortunately you need to accept the cost of travelling as a family of four. UPDATE. I just now thought to look at the "getting around" section of the cruiseforth website (S. Queensferry.) they say nearest public bus stop is a 10 minute walk, and they also give taxi contact info. https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/getting-around-south-queensferry/

Excellent plan. Be certain to buy tram tickets from the machines BEFORE boarding as ticket inspectors constantly patrol the trams and will fine you if you have no ticket, no excuses accepted. If you are already on the High St/Royal Mile, Cockburn street is downhill from there, not up, but I can't imagine what is of interest to you on Cockburn St. OTOH, Victoria St and the Grassmarket are worth a look. You could actually access both from the boundary at the west end of Princes St Gardens, close to the Ross Fountain, along Kings Stable Road which brings you on to the Grassmarket which you would walk through onto Victoria St then uphill to George IV Bridge, take a left and the Royal Mile is only a few steps away. Or you could access both from the Royal Mile by turning right at George IV bridge then sharp right onto Victoria St and down to the Grassmarket. Hope you have a lovely day in the city and that you may even be tempted to return for a land visit which would give you more time to explore.

Not so much "out of respect", but more for being essential. Read this very recent thread, especially the early posts (3/4/5) referencing buying souvenirs from local ladies who set up tables to sell the crafts they made over winter. Cash would be the most practical way of paying as they are most unlikely to be within any card system for payment. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2995710-nanortalik-and-qaqortoq/#comment-67060958

We saw 2 or 3 of them running freely along a street in Honningsvag. (port for the North Cape if that on your itinerary)

Additional info here: https://www.lothianbuses.com/cruiselink-x99/

No tour is needed for Totem Bight as so easy and inexpensive to visit independently. Multiple past posts and threads have explained the bus, I think still only $2 or $3 pp each way and entrance is only around $5pp. But thanks for including the link above as others hoping to visit may find it useful.

My apologies fruitmachine. I had a senior moment earlier and mistakenly "quoted" you instead of the OP which means you will have been alertedto my post instead of the OP Love 2 Travel, I refer you to my post #4 above 😀

An alternative and cheaper option to a taxi back to Newhaven, would be a tram from St Andrew Square, a 5 minute walk from the foot of Calton Hill on Regent Road. Check the Edinburgh trams website for info. Just a thought as you are asling about taxis back to Newhaven. Did you check your transport options from and to Newhaven on the Cruise Forth website. You can check if there has been a change to your ship location on "find my ship" and the "getting around" section for transport info. https://www.cruiseforth.com/

If you planned to cruise Alaska for the sights, scenery and experiences, just this one time perhaps you could consider rising earlier and eating breakfast more quickly😀 I don't recall the public bus taking an hour to Totem Park, thinking it was more like 25 or 30 minutes, but you could check that online. Past threads mentioning Totem Bight and transportation to and from can be found here https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=totem bight&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=33&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=and

You could read past threads for all of the ports in the itineraries listed as reading about each port call might help you decide. alesund is indeed a favourite port of call by many as ships dock in the centre of town, there are a number of sights/attractions and it is very easy to DIY. Should you want to consider doing your own thing in Alesund, this thread has much info and some images to help you decide. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2826391-alesund-norway/#comment-62526938

BDEM, be aware that should you decide to visit the Alhambra (the #1 attraction in Spain) it is essential to pre-book timed entry tickets as visitor numbers have a capped daily figure due to the millions who visit each year. It is not possible to arrive without a reservation and expect to enter. As daily entrance tickets sell out, should you want any, book as soon as your date opens up on the booking system..

Perhaps it would have been good idea to look into the Venice accommodation and luggage challenges before booking rather than after? Having said that, once there, Venice is an amazing city to explore.

I also do not think this is a new rule, only Carnival finally enforcing an old rule. Blocking hallways with anything is a hazard, especially in the event a speedy evacuation would be required in the event of an emergency, such as fire.

At the very least, they should inform you of the name of the closest public vaporetto stop and the number of bridges needed to cross from there to reach the apt. (my post #13, bridges and docks) I think it unlikely, but you could ask if they either have their own private dock, or if a private water taxi has the right/permission to access a private one nearby which is owned by someone else. I do think that, should there be no private dock access, a public vaporetto and the left luggage could be your best option.

Should you decide against Florence and are looking for alternative ideas,reading past threads would be helpful. Search in the usual quick way, although this thread has a number of suggestions and would be a good starting point. You only need ignore the reference to driving as it quickly changes to mostly independent sightseeing suggestions from la Spezia. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2911139-la-spezia-anything-to-do-within-a-short-drive/#comment-64723978

Referencing my post #3, although a number of train strikes can be planned, they do not always go ahead, but unfortunately ours did and we had to cancel our planned Florence overnight. I would advise you keep a close eye on the Italian websites which list potential strikes, and book accommodation which can be cancelled at short notice without penalty, just in case.

Many first time visitors do not understand that P. Roma is, as already mentioned, the last point for vehicular traffic in Venice, with easy bus connections to the aiport also to the main train station, and for that reason many will choose accommodation on P. Roma or very close to it, especially if they have luggage. In Venice, it isn't necessarily the amount of walking with luggage which needs to be taken into account, it is the number of bridges which need to be crossed, as luggage must be carried up, across and down the other side. and most bridges are stepped. For those with luggage, after P. Roma hotel locations, hotels with private docks for private water taxis and hotels close to vaporetto stops are popular for that reason. For others, the left luggage option mentioned above is a solution, as visitors need only carry a small backpack or overnight bag with them to reach their accommodation and when they leave it. And the excellent and highly recommended Europe for Visitors/Venice website should be your first stop for all the Venice information a first timer could possibly need, also for information you didn't even know you needed. They even have a section on "how many bridges to your hotel?". The more you look into that website, the more you find. https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/bridges/ And the public vaporetti can be very very crowded, so do not even think about a group of 8 seniors with luggage travelling together on one of them.

Athens is inland, and the port of Piraeus does not, as far as I am aware, have a beach, so the beach bar must be in a different location out of the city. You could search on line for taxi prices from Piraeus, and read online reviews for further information to help you decide. And if the beach bar has a website, you would possibly find further information on it. The good news is that there are usually many taxis to be found at Piraeus, but depending on your timing on the day and the number of ships disembarking at that time, you may need to wait for a time unless you can pre-book a pick up.

you will need a longer day for CT than you will for Lucca, charming though Lucca is. Unfortunately while cruising is a great way to get brief visits to new places, sightseeing time in each is often too short.