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Oligorio

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    Norway Fjords vs Baltic

    in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

    Posted

    Hi All,

     

    Crusing northern Europe is our bucket list, we had an itinerary in the baltic booked for this may, cancelled due to COVId19.

    Looking for options for the new itinerary we found one sailing to Norway Fjords. I think this itinerary might be some how very similar to Alaskan while Baltic should be more like a mediterranean.

    We did an Alaska cruise past 2018. An a Mediterranean on 2016. We loved them both!

     

    The question is: What are the differences between Noway Fjords vs Baltic?  Am I right to assume the Norway one should be more Alaskan like and baltic more mediterranean like?-

     

    Be safe, stay safe,
     

    Regards. 

    7 night vs 11 night in the Baltic?

    in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

    Posted

    Now that you say this, it is true. I remember on out mediterranean cruise that we were all day out then back for a drink then dinner. Some days not even the show.

    I guess its time to negotiate with others in my party.

    I think you would suggest to go to the treads on every port of call in order for me to decide what to do on each of them right?

    Just a brief Q. As far as my research is, almost every in this baltic itineraries are DIY tour friendly, but St.Petersburg right?


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    7 night vs 11 night in the Baltic?

    in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

    Posted

    Hi everyone,

     

    My family and I had a reservation onboard MSC Meraviglia leaving Copenhagen on this May 31st. The sailing gas been postponed fue to the COVID19 pandemic.

     

    We are now trying to decide which ship or itinerary to pick for 2021.

     

    We have 2 options:

    11 nights out of Kiel on the MSC Splendida

    Or

    7 nights out of Copenhagen onboard the MSC Virtuosa

     

    We are a party of 8, with 2 children (8yrs and 5yrs). Our past cruises include:

    1996 - 7 Nights in the RC Majestic of the seas - South Caribbean

    2016 - 7 Nights Carnival vista - Mediterranean

    2018 - 8 Nights NCL Bliss - Alaska out of Seattle

    2019 - 7 Nights MSC Armonia - South Caribbean

     

    Some how we usually end up on big ships (leaving armonia to the side) what do you suggest regarding the two options above?

     

     

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    Everything.. Norwegian BLISS! - launch April 2018 -

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Oops

    Meant to say I Dod NOT like food in Manhattan

    Served cold.

    .

     

     

     

    Ours was not only cold, but fish over cooked when ordered. No waiter to serve us anny drinks. If i decided to have a drink i needed to get up and go to the nearest bar and order one. Not the best of experience with the dinning on NCL. (It was my first NCL)

     

    The local on point, we ended eating at least one meal in local always. Bartenders all over the ship on point!

     

     

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    • Like 1

    Seattle - Help me plan one full day before Cruise

    in West Coast Departures

    Posted

    Two questions. First, where are you staying, and second, are you willing to rent a car for the day?

     

     

     

    The Pike Place market becomes insanely crowded after around 10 or 11 AM most days during cruise season, so it's best to go there for breakfast - as early as possible - and be gone before the crowds get bad. The Space Needle is located at Seattle Center, the former site of the 1962 Worlds Fair, and is next to other attractions like the Chihuly exhibit, the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop) and the Pacific Science Center. You can spend some time in the Center, but note all of the attractions are rather pricey (and in the case of the Space Needle, in my opinion overpriced.)

     

     

     

    Seattle has a lot of places with great views - many that include the Space Needle, which of course you can't see when you're IN the Space Needle - and many of which are free, or at least a lot cheaper. I'd research the following places or activities, all accessible using public transport.

     

     

     

    Bainbridge Island ferry

     

    West Seattle water taxi and Alki Beach

     

    Kerry Park

     

    Gas Works Park

     

    Fishermen's Terminal

     

    Ballard Locks

     

    Fremont Troll

     

    Uwajimaya

     

    Museum of Flight

     

    South Lake Union Park

     

    Museum of History and Industry

     

    Washington Park Arboretum

     

    University of Washington campus

     

    ...for a start

     

     

     

    Regarding the Boeing tour, it's located around 25 miles north of Seattle near the (cute waterfront) town of Mukilteo. There are tours available from downtown Seattle hotels, but these are fairly pricey. If it was me on your disembarkation day, I'd rent a car (shuttles to downtown rental offices available from the cruise terminals) and drive up to the Boeing tour, do the tour and spend the day seeing some of the region, then use the car to get to the airport in the evening. This approach might save money overall as it provides bag storage and airport transportation as well as access to the Boeing tour etc. Just a thought anyway.

     

     

     

    To answer your Questions:

    We’ll be staying @ belltown in

    We can analyze this option

     

     

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    Seattle - Help me plan one full day before Cruise

    in West Coast Departures

    Posted

     

     

     

    Once again!! Thank you.

     

    Let me continue to squeeze your knowledge. [emoji23]

     

    We’ll be in SEA from WED midnight almost TH. And our cruise departs on Sat. So 2 full days in SEA ( TH and FRi).

     

    What you suggest? Should I spend 1 day nearby Space Needle and another day near Pike Place Mkt.? Any other idea?

     

    We do flight out of seattle on the same day of debarkation but late night 10PM. I was thinking of doing the Boeing tour and another thing that day!. What do you think?

     

     

     

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    Seattle - Help me plan one full day before Cruise

    in West Coast Departures

    Posted

    Shiro's is good (although Shiro now owns and works at Suhi Kashiba), I have never tried Tilikum Place but hear it is good, The Crab Pot is fun but touristy and there are better options for crab/seafood. Some Indian casinos in the area have all you can eat fresh Dungeness from time to time :) .

     

    I have not yet eaten there but JuneBaby recently won best new restaurant in the country.

     

     

     

    Thank you. We are from abroad and hot dogs enthusiasts. We try to eat local style hot dogs on every US state we have the chance to walk. Anny suggestions?

     

     

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    Alaska Cruise on Bliss out of Seattle

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Doing an Alaska cruise for first time in 2018 on the new Bliss. Getting ready soon to start booking airline and hotel, just a few questions:

     

     

     

    1. SeaTac is the airport?

     

    2. Cruise port?

     

    3. How far is cruise port from airport?

     

    4. How far is airport from Downtown Seattle (looking at W Seattle for night before embarkation).

     

     

     

    And finally, the one direct flight option returning from Seattle to Miami leaves at 12:55pm. I'm hoping to leave on same day as disembarkation, but want to make sure that I can make that flight?

     

     

     

    There is another flight out of seatac to Mia intl @ 10:23PM. Thats the one we took.

     

     

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    Everything.. Norwegian BLISS! - launch April 2018 -

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    I’ve seen lots of pictures of seafood buffet. Is that on an speciality dinning or is that any given day at the main dining.

     

    Is it hard to get spot on the prohibition musical? Does the ship has a movie theater?

    What is the mood/scenery/ ambience on the Manhattan Room?

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

     

     

     

    Anyone?

     

     

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    Everything.. Norwegian BLISS! - launch April 2018 -

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Review of Norwegian Bliss based onits Maiden Voyage - April 21, 2018 12 Day Transatlantic (TA) Cruise

     

     

     

    Background: This review is based in parton comparisons with our past experience on 2 Celebrity TA’s, 1 Cunard QM2 TA, 1Celebrity TP and 2 Celebrity Caribbean Cruises. We have no connection with thetravel industry.

     

     

     

    Atthe time of our Bliss TA, starting from Southampton UK on 4/21/18, the shipcarried about 2200 passengers - or less than 50 percent of its passengercapacity. Similar to all our other cruises, we had a mid-priced VerandaMini-Suite room on Deck 10 for which the total cost, including all fees, taxes,mandatory gratuities, ultimate beverage package service charge, etc. was$4053.42. That included an Ultimate Beverage Package (UBP), 250 minutes ofinternet usage, and $125 of On Board Credit (OBC.)

     

     

     

    Positive Points

     

     

    - The staff is outstanding everywhere, without exception. Theylean over backwards to solve problems. I would rate them even higher than ourpast cruises on other lines.

     

    - The food is very good in the Manhattan room and restaurantsusing the same menu, such as Savor and Taste. We preferred Taste because it wassmaller, quieter and more intimate. The food in the Garden Cafe buffet was alsovery good.

     

    - The quiet spots in the Deck 15 Observation Lounge are very,very nice, as is the small buffet available there. As the cruise progressed,others discovered this as well and the space began to reach capacity.

     

    - The cabin bathrooms, showers and sinks are wonderful - muchbetter than in the other ships in our comparison.

     

    - The talks on upcoming ports (by Janice Leader) were verydetailed and complete, including maps, pictures and history. These were muchbetter than we have seen on other ships which just seem to guide you to jewelrystores.

     

    - The Jersey Boys, Tenors of Rock and Beatles shows wereabsolutely outstanding. (In contrast, the Havana show team and sets were verygood, but they were tied to a completely forgettable musical score.)

     

    - Internet access was good throughout the ship and the speedand delay much better than on the other ships we have been on.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Minor Negative Points

     

     

    - OBC cannot be used for mandatory gratuities as on otherlines.

     

    - There are no daytime enrichment talks (on sea days) asopposed to the rich lecture series we have seen on other ships. On our other crossingsthere were usually 2 morning talks and an afternoon talk or show in the theateron sea days.

     

    - The cabin light scheme, requiring the insertion of our keycard before the room lights come on, is cumbersome and unsafe at night. Wefinally resorted to having one person hold open the cabin door to let inhallway light, while the other person went in to activate the room lights.

     

    - The soap dispensers in the public restrooms are of very poordesign. Most people could not figure out how to use them, and by the end of theday many were empty.

     

    - We had numerous billing errors which took several days tosort out.

     

    - Early in the cruise, there was a very noticeable smoke smellon the 8th floor covering the area from the elevators to the Atrium. Smoke wasalso sucked into the Cavern club when people came in. This got much better asthe cruise went on.

     

    - There were no seat covers available in the ladies rooms, asthere were on other ships.

     

    - We paid extra for a mini suite, but the available spaceseemed about the same as a standard Veranda cabin on other ships. Shelf/cabinetspace for storage seemed less than on other ships.

     

    - There were no daily world news summary newspapers as on otherships.

     

    - There seemed to be no daily announcements from the bridgegiving weather, sea conditions, location and area facts as we have become usedto on other lines. The daily event announcements were fairly easy to hear. Theart auction announcements were the loudest, most frequent, and most annoying.

     

     

    Most Important Points

     

     

    - Even carrying less than 50% of capacity, there wasinsufficient capacity and excess competition for key events. For example, forevening shows in the main theater (capacity about 870), you needed to line up30-45 minutes before the show to get a fair seat. At the Cavern Beatle show(which is superb) we arrived 30 minutes early and got standing room only. A fewnights later, we arrived 45 minutes early to get a seat. The capacity of thatroom is only about 250, depending on how many standees can squeeze in.

     

    - The same is true of the better specialty restaurants. Thereis a very good computerized display in the main hallways that shows diningavailability. But if you want to eat at the better restaurants you need to bookdays in advance or accept a poor time.

     

    - The Ultimate Beverage Package seems to be a poor value. Youwould have to drink 7 - 8 drinks per day per person to break even. (It also addeda total of $427.20 in mandatory service charges (covering 2 people for 12 days)to our bill.

     

    - Consider the useable value of the Specialty Dining Packagecarefully. You may need to schedule days in advance and may not get in to yourdesired restaurants.

     

     

     

    Overall

     

     

     

    TheBliss is a beautiful ship with an outstanding staff, and we had a very goodcruise.

     

     

     

    Butwe both observed that, even at less than 50% load, there was a competition forresources that we did not like. A cruise should be a relaxing thing and oneshould not have to worry about lining up early for something. I cannot imaginewhat this ship would be like at closer to full capacity. Even a majorre-thinking of the number of shows and venue sizes leaves the specter of theneed for careful advance pre-scheduling for shows and restaurants. This is notlike the casual cruising that we have seen on other lines, and the opposite of thepromise of Free Style.

     

     

     

    I guess this UBP thing is relative. In our case for a 7days cruise we were charged ~15 pppd. That is practically one cocktail. On past cruise we did not get that package as we thought it was not worth it, here it looks like pretty pretty good idea.

     

    It only take a glass of wine with the dinner and a cocktail while walking the cruise... you wont be even drunk and already payed your UBP.

     

    I guess this will be relative...

     

     

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