yoolykeme

5 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Have you  frequently flown on  longer haul flights heading west and are one of the rare folks who never suffered jetlag? And your mother?

 

If you have not, jetlag may come as an unwelcome surprise for either or both of you on your first 2 or 3 days, and for many, a casual unplanned day 1  is their choice, not a full-on busy day which even includes a rental to venture out of town to see "stuff". (even driving part of the Golden Circle will take a few hours) Perhaps you could  consider dropping some of your ideas, but keep the Sky Lagoon  which sounds like the perfect antidote to jetlag and enjoy strolling central Reykjavik which is quite compact, followed by dinner and an early night.

Oh, we are boarding a TA cruise out of NYC on Thursday.  I should have clarified.  We get to Reykjavik on Day 8 and have 23 hours in port.  I assume that we will be adjusted to time by then.

I agree that driving around to find stuff might be too aggressive.  Lunch on boat, Lagoon, drive around town to shop and dinner.  Mom can go to sleep, I can go find a nightclub.  Then in the morning, coffee and stroll then back to ship.

44 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Unless you plan to be there in the winter, forget searching for the Northern Lights. Summer time is pretty much light 24hours/day.

Oh, I'm going next week

Hey there.  I'n trying to put together a 23hr itinerary for Iceland with my elderly mom.  She down to do stuff, just walks a little slow.  Would like to get as much experience in as possible.  What do you think about this itinerary?

We arrive at 2pm on Thursday and leave 1pm on Friday, so we maybe have 21 hours of usable time.  I'm thinking that I rent a car from Blue or whatever is local to the port, check in at a hotel downtown, spend a couple of hours at Sky Lagoon, drive around in whatever route makes sense to see stuff, have dinner and maaayyyyybe try to search for the northern lights that night, sleep.  Then the next morning just have coffee and do some shopping and get back to the boat around 11a.

Does this sound feasible?  Would you add or change anything?  Please and thanks.

11 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

Just to follow up, were you able to disembark in Le Havre?  In the past Le Havre was not a regular port of embarkation for NCL, which might have been a factor in whether you could get off there or not.  Recently, however, NCL has begun using Le Havre as a home port for some sailings, so I wonder if that helped you accomplish your goal.

Yes, I think I posted the resolution in the other thread where you gave me Katty's info.

Her office called me and informed me that they approved my downline.  The status is that since I've already been granted entry into the EU by stopping in Ireland prior, I am simply a tourist in the region.  I am allowed and able to disembark, and once I do, my status on the ship is null, and I am on my own.  No immigration events needed.

Thanks again for providing that info.  

1 hour ago, linkee said:

Hi, 

  Just trying to gather information. We have a NCL departing from Greece to Venice, now that the ship is not going to Venice but to Ravenna instead just for a port stop, then onto to Trieste to disembark.  I want to disembark in Ravenna, because I'm doing a RCCL embarking in Ravenna the next day.      ( I originally had it all planned until NCL change it to stop in Ravenna) now it wold be so great to get off here)  So far NCL said I have to wait and ask once on board.

Any help please.

   Thanks Cheryl

you should be fine.  The cruise isn't in the USA.  Email Katty, as referenced above, ahead of time and ask.

So here is a definitive answer:

Katty Byrd's office called me to say that they approved the downline, and that it's in the system.  I just need to confirm once I get on the ship.  Also, once I leave the ship at my early port, I can't get back on, so make sure that I have everything.  Also, I have to carry my own bags off.  I can also cancel the downline and finish the cruise, should I reconsider before my downline port.
 

Now, I need to read threads on how to get to Paris city from the port lol.

Oh super cool. Thanks for this. I was about to ask if anyone had the email address to inquire. 

Update:  Someone at NCL finally told me that you can do it, but you have to ask while on the ship.  

I'm traveling transatlantic repositioning NYC-Southampton England next month.  NYC is the only US port on this itinerary.  I would like to get off the day before in Harve (Paris)

All the front line has no idea on how to accomplish this.  Any insight is appreciated.

So I'm doing a New York to Southampton, London in a couple of months. 

My mom just called me and said that she doesn't want to go to London, and would rather get off the stop before the last, which is le Harve, Paris.

From what it seems, I should email guest services and ask if I can disembark one-stop early, correct? 

I'd appreciate any current insight, if available. thanks in advance.

Just got back from my  cruise, and Ephesus was a stop.  I thought that it would suck, but it's pretty awesome how everything is so orderly and preserved.

After all your sightseeing, it's inevitable that someone will try to sell you something.  You'll be locked in a room with carpets, fashion models, leather jackets, bags, whatever.......

I like buying stuff, and so do many of you, so let's try to have a conversation about what stuff should cost, bc trust me, most of you will find yourself in a situation, with either a really sweet or really aggressive salesperson, and you might actually want to buy something.

Carpets:

No one thinks they are going on a cruise to buy a rug, but after being fed lunch, seeing the nice ladies harvest the silkworms, and knit the carpet, you might want one too.

They always start high, like crazy high.  They tell you that it takes xxx months to make, that the women make $400/month, so a 3 month carpet is like $2,000 after everything.  They will roll out so many and ask you to lay on them.  the pretty girls will give you wine and coffee and they will ask you yes yes questions.

I find that they will take maybe 25% of their original price, and that whatever calculation they use to value things is irrelevant.  Mind you, there will be a lot of back and forth, that they will appeal to your emotions, greed, whatever, and they are really good at it.

Regardless, being sold a carpet in a locked room is something that you should all experience at least once.  Like my tour guide said.  All the ruins are external. Being sold something is part of Turkish culture, and you should experience that too lol.

Apparel:

IMO, this is where they get you.  Mind you, they have really nice stuff, and the quality is awesome, so you will find super fakes, but remember - they are still fake.

I did the math:

As nice as lamb leather is, it's super common out there, since they breed and eat lambs all the time.  Labor is super cheap too, so no matter how nice that

 purse of jacket is, it should never cost high-hundreds of dollars.

A square foot of lamb leather costs like $1.  Prep, dye, and labor can't be that much.  Yea, it looks like a real Gucci jacket, with the quality to match, but even thought the real thing costs $4K, the fake version shouldn't be any more than 300, and even less if you have time to haggle.

Super fake bags in Asia cost like $75, so maybe pay a little premium more just for Turkish leather and craftmanship.

That's my quick take from my experience.  Looking to hear more from others.

I just realized that there are so many trains leaving from Termini on a daily basis. 

3 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

 

That is a train back to port.  It's not the Civitavecchia Express, if that's what you are asking.

Yes, correct. 

The express gets back too late for the  comfort of my mom, who walks a little slowly. 🥲

Just wanted to make sure that it goes back to the port and I can access rhe shuttle from there. 

Delos is mainly ruins, right?  I'd like to go, but I think my mom will be so tired of ruins by then lol.

So I think it'll be Chora and Ornos Beach.  Should I consider a different beach?

As for Santorini, it seems that even the shop excursion requires using the cable cars.  Here is an excerpt:

• This tour ends in the town of Fira, at the cable car station. Guests have the option of returning directly to the cruise ship via cable car (additional cost), or stay a bit longer in Fira at leisure and later take the cable car, in order to connect with a local boat transfer back to the cruise ship. On busy port days, long lines at the cable car should be expected.

I just saw a video of the donkeys, and now I'm sad 😕

Hi  Is this the correct train back to the port?  Please and thanks

Okay, so what you are saying is that unless I take a cruise ship-sponsored excursion, we will have to endure some extra travel in order to get to the public area in order to take public transport or an independent tour guide, correct?.  That may prove difficult, since I'm going to be with my elderly mother.

I agree, but my mom will end up yelling at me all week, if we can't go back on the boat lol

Hey there.  Going to be hitting both Mykonos and Santorini on next week's cruise.  Wanted to ask for some insight.  Bringing my mom with me, but she is cool lol.

Mykonos (11 hrs in port) looks like it's more of a beach place, with the towns being underwhelming, so I thought that a good idea would be to take a boat to Delos, spend a couple of hours, then back to Mykonos, take a bus to Mykonos Town/Chora for lunch, then take a bus to whatever the crazy party beach would be for a couple of hours, then back on the boat.

Would you have any insight on which Delos boat providers are out there, and if my idea of bussing to town and beach, then back to the port make sense?  Also, which is the fun party beach?

Santorini (12 hrs in port) looks like bussing to Fira and Oia for the day, then back.  Should I fit in anything else?  

Please and thanks.

I was thinking this: 

Get rental car in cannes. Stop at nice and Monaco for the day, then make way to Florence when done and return the car at the local Hertz there. Spend day in Florence, then transfer back to the ship that evening in Carrara. 

The issue is that a transfer from Carrra for a day trip is really expensive, where gas and a hotel cost significantly less, and you have more time on land. 

5 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Yes, it has been discussed before, quite a few times. You should notify the ship, because they will be looking for you at sail away from the first port involved. You are responsible for anything that goes wrong, like for some reason they can't dock at the second port, and you now have to continue to a third port. You will not get any reduction in your cruise fare for any of this.

 

Florence is 90 or so minutes from Livorno...don't know how far it is from Carrara...could be an expensive cab.

Oh, good point about maybe the ship not being able to dock.  The next stop is Pireaus, and that's kinda really far.

Okay, maybe this is a bad idea.

Thanks, Hank, for the insight.

Will definitely verify with Hertz that the airport location is open.  I have contracted to return the car, after hours, to the downtown Cannes location (147 Rue d'Antibes).  Perhaps, I should verify that too.

So it seems like a good plan would be to get my rental car as early as possible from Cannes airport, make our way to Nice to see St. Paul de Vence and the flower market, then make our way to Monte Carlo Casino, which opens at 2pm, anyway.  Then around 4pm, I can make my way back to Cannes, drop off the rental car, and walk back to the ship, which departs at 7p.  Does that sound practical?

Like forreals.  I'm sure that this has been asked or tried before.

My cruise stops at Cannes on one day, then goes to Marina di Carrara (kinda Florence/Pisa, the next day).  Carrara is a terrible port and doesn't have many excursions on your own.

So what I want to do is rent a car in Cannes from hertz and return in it DT Florence, then just take a taxi back on the ship on the second day.  I already checked with Hertz that I can do this, so not worried about the car, and getting a transfer from Florence to the ship should be easy enough.

The question is, how will the ship handle me not re-boarding, and will I not be allowed on the next day.  Can I ask for permission to do this?  What if I don't?  I've been on like 30 cruises in my life, so I'm not new to the travel type.

Thanks for your insight.

Did I map the incorrect tender drop off?  

I get there on Sunday. The location on town is closed, as most of them are. 

Lol I am the OP 😛

I just tried, but looks like there Uber in Cannes? 

Ya, I'm not bringing my plane this time, so that sucks 😕