High C's

1 minute ago, EV2008 said:

We are doing that next year for the Baltic cruise, we are flying in to Berlin and spend a few days there and will take the train to Copenhagen, already have the EZflight booked with no problem

 

That is GREAT!  We want to fly to Edinburgh, take in the Tattoo, and then grab a one way flight to Copenhagen.  Our flights are still not available, so I haven't been able to play around to see if this could be done.  Many thanks!

Would someone be able to advise if it is possible to book via EZAir to a point that is NOT the embarkation port for the cruise?  We are cruising out of Copenhagen next year, but would like to start our vacation in a different city about a week earlier, and make our way there.  Is this possible?  Many thanks in advance. 🙂 

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

We have noticed most shops seem to close around 6:00pm when we have been there a few days pre-cruise even when there were ships day porting. Yes.. restaurants, bars stay open late.

Thank you 🙂  Clearly if we want to browse OSJ we will have to race off as soon as we arrive!!!!

12 hours ago, Guatiao said:

Hi! Not all stores stay open until night, mostly restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops usually stay open when ships leave at night.

Thank you Guatiao!  I wish we arrived earlier in the day.  It would have been perfect if we could have had the entire day to visit, and then the evening to enjoy the restaurants/bars!

Would someone kindly advise what time the stores in OSJ close.  We will be visiting in November, but sadly we don't dock until 3:30 pm.  We leave at 11 pm.  Very strange hours to visit a Caribbean Island IMHO. 🙂

Thanks in advance

3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

We're with you. Even with the old, slow Internet access we haven't used up our free minutes on the last several cruises. While we are used to having Internet access at all times (it's amazing how often I just ask my phone a question) we certainly don't need that kind of access while cruising.

We only ran out once, and that was because I forgot to log out!!!!!!!!  Lesson learned! LOL 🙂

5 minutes ago, idahospud said:

Yes, they are still offered. 

WHEW!!!  🙂   Many thanks Idahospud!

Forgive my ignorance, but our first medallion cruise will not be until next year.  Would someone please clarify if the free internet minutes that used to be offered to Elite members is still offered?  We usually don't use up the "free" minutes, so I don't anticipate benefiting from unlimited minutes in our case.  TIA 🙂

PIA'S BACK!!!!!! Best day ever! My friend - I am so sorry for your loss, and I hope that your many wonderful memories cruising with Mike will bring you joy.

Look forward to "cruising along" with you. xo

Your photos are absolutely stunning! Thank you so much for taking the time to post them and share them with us!

 

I’d highly recommend the bridge - especially if it’s a nice day. It is a bit of a walk but well worth it if no issues with mobility. Both these views were taken from across the other side. You may have to zoom in but the path is along the cliff edge; the bridge shot gives a bit of perspective to height.

If you have more questions don’t hesitate to ask. We were there in June (pre-cruise, which was very fortunate for us as our ship couldn’t port into Belfast due to extreme wind conditions!).

 

 

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Oh my goodness - it really is stunning! Thanks for posting them. :))

Really nice walk to the bridge with beautiful views over the sea towards Scotland. It is a bit of a trek, over a mile each way, mostly on a good path, but there are gravel covered steps which I negotiated with care. Easier coming back than going. One part is quite steep. Didn’t go over the bridge, have problem with heights!

 

Definitely not as bad as the walk to the causeway.

Thank you! That's encouraging!!!! Maybe I'll suck it up and give it a shot! ;p

We loved Giants Causeway, we did a private that also went to the rope bridge which also had dramatic and beautiful scenery. By having the visitor center card you will have access to more bathrooms. For those who did not have the visitor center admission there was only one toilet for each. Long lines as there were a lot of visitors!

 

 

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Would you mind telling me about the walk down to the rope bridge? Is it as long a walk as it is to the Giant's causeway from the visitor's centre? We are visiting in September, and I am trying to determine what the walk to the bridge will be like (I know about the causeway as we've been there before). We are hoping to cross the bridge, but the walk to/from it will need to be taken into consideration for our group. Many thanks in advance!

Loving every minute of this. We have a week in London in early September, before boarding the Royal for her trans-atlantic back. I've already made a note of "Liquid History Tours" :)

Was bit confused with some of the above comments and then realised it must have been a Norway cruise docking back on 23rd. We were on the 14 night Norway cruise leaving on 23rd. Yes weather a bit iffy at times but mainly good with the exception of Honningsvag - North cape but what do you expect and that was mainly overcast and windy - We did own tours in Stavanger, Geiranger (from above comments book this 4 hour trip online before you leave) Honningsvag and Gravdal - All excellent and significantly cheaper than ship ( Factor of 3 !! in Stavanger) Other ports mainly walked - In Bergen this time weather was overcast and as we had done Funicular before we just walked;ked around Old town markets and cathedral - Happy to share experiences

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. We will be in Bergen in September on a TA cruise on the Royal. We have a boat cruise booked for the morning - "Rodne Fjord Cruise". It departs at 10 am for a 3 hour cruise. We are wondering if we should tour via the HOHO bus afterwards, or just meander through the market on our way back to the ship. We are in port from 8 am to 6 pm. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, we booked and also got the cabin we wanted. :D

Jackie...that would be great to see both of you again & if they're still valid I have your email addresses (Hotmail/Gmail) to communicate with you. :D

 

Soon the cruises should be available to book & I'm waiting for a call from my TA to confirm our reservations for the 7 & 21 day cruises which we calculate would result in the best net price for us.

 

Looking forward to a cruise reunion...I highly recommend retirement! :D

 

The fare chart showed an OS category & on the Princess website they show that's apparently true on the Sky:

 

 

 

Oceanview

• Approx. 146 to 206 sq. ft.
  
• Standard amenities include a hair dryer, refrigerator, TV, closet and bathroom with shower
  
• A spacious picture window for memorable views
  

Interesting re the OV cabins! It would be MUCH easier if we could have seen the deck plans before booking!

As both of us know, not everything we’re told is accurate. ;)

 

Good friends sailed the Majestic & said the La Mer location was awful & did not dine there. It’s one thing to have passengers walking through a bar but is terrible for dining particularly at what’s promoted as a paid more upscale dining experience. Since La Mer is not being promoted on the Sky then my guess is they realize that Crooners generates more income than the restaurant.

 

We’re not thinking of booking...we are booking on Wednesday morning when elites can make reservations. :D Using the fare chart with the beginning prices we’ve given our cabin preferences to our TA for 28 days. Then will watch for a better net price & hope for another 3 for Free in September which we’ve used for all of our recent cruises.

Hey Frank! :D Chris and I are going to book the 21 day TA on the Sky later today (once its all open). We had thought of booking the 28 day - and its still not 100% ruled out - but as I get closer to retirement, I am trying to "save" 1 - 2 weeks of vacation time over the next 2 years in order to retire a month earlier.

Let's plan on getting together!!!!

have to be out of hotel at 11am and our flight is not until 10:45 pm. Any suggestions for the day?:cool:

We just returned yesterday. Our flight was at 10 pm on Monday night. We booked our condo until Tuesday. SO GLAD WE DID! We were able to completely enjoy ourselves right up until the last minute. Had our showers and got ourselves all ready late in the afternoon. Never felt like we were "hanging around waiting to leave". The late flight home is exhausting enough. I can't imagine how we would have felt had we not been able to relax on that last day.

We did consider it but only 2 of us so driver wouldn't be able to relax & enjoy the views

Precisely why we are doing it as a tour. We wanted the day to be relaxing and enjoyable for both of us, as it will be our first visit to Maui. Well, technically our second, but the first time we were there we did a whale watching tour (which was incredible), so I don't count that as we really didn't see "Maui", but rather the water surrounding it! LOL

We are travelling with friends who have visited Maui several times, so they won't be joining us. But the 4 of us are renting a car on Hilo. It is indeed much more cost-effective. But sometimes, especially on vacation, you get what you pay for.

:)

 

Thank you, we have got in touch & received a response very quickly. Looking at same tour as you. Have you been asked to prepay it?

Will you be able to let us know how your day went? Thank you.

Yes, we did prepay. I will try to remember to post back (memory isn't what it used to be!! ;p ) We are in Honolulu after the cruise until mid-October, so if I haven't come back to update here, please post again to remind me.

We have booked with Holo Holo Maui for our upcoming visit. Tour with them on Sep 30th. We booked a private tour "Road to Hana". While I can't comment on the tour itself, obviously, I can tell you that they have been absolutely wonderful to deal with. They answer my emails very promptly, and have been a pleasure to deal with.

Safe travels, and thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Your annual trip blogs are always enjoyable. :)

There have been some who have complained about overcrowding on this ship. They added the riviera deck some years ago which

Means there are 500 more passengers on this ship than other Grand Class Ships.

 

If the ship is full,3100 passengers you may find the public areas overcrowded . You may need to get to the shows at least a half hour early to get a seat.

 

Many of have said overcrowding is not a problem. I am looking at a 2 week cruise next year. Probably would take a chance as I like the itinerary

 

If you can find an itinerary on another ship that has not been modified,I would do that.

This is very true. And on our sailing, it bothered some people an awful lot to have to be in the theatre early. We only went to shows that we really wanted to see. We worked our dinner time around it, and planned on the extra time there. We'd read our books and enjoy an after dinner drink. It is what it is. We didn't let it bother us.

What an intriguing itinerary! Wish we were retired! :o