Chocolate Teapot

Recently on Norwegian Star, I noticed that the Whiskey bar had 2 large TV screens which appeared to be permanently showing sport. (Roland Garros tennis and some non-American football spring to mind)

18 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

And to add to this, unless there's been a dramatic change, in order to "kiss" the Blarney Stone, you must lie down on your back and pretty much bend the top part of your body backwards over the edge to reach the stone, while an Irish guy is holding onto you (maybe in places you don't want to be held).   😁  

Yes, once you lie down on your back and grip the 2 upright rails, with the sturdy Irish gentleman holding onto you, you then have to stretch backwards over a 10-12 inch gap and the Blarney stone is the smooth grey stone further down and not the first one you see.

Unsurprisingly, it is recommended to put any bags to one side, remove glasses and empty pockets. The other sturdy Irish gentleman will assist if necessary, and there is also a camera set-up so you can buy your photo of kissing the Blarney Stone once you are back on solid ground.

NB. It's likely to be very unflattering. 

4 hours ago, zqvol said:

It really has delayed the time when regular cabins are available until between 2:30 and 3:00 on most sailings. I don’t know what if any impact it has had on suites and Haven 

Yes, on my recent cruise on NCL Star everyone was milling around the atrium waiting for the cabins to be available. I think the announcement came through about 3.00pmish.

On 5/21/2024 at 6:37 PM, John Bull said:

 

 

Good thinkin' @phabric

 

International Friends is a well-established and reputable coach tour operator.

Their tour/transfer options are specifically for cruisers - they pick up at the cruise terminal and drop off at Heathrow or central London hotels. Or vice-versa for pre-cruise.

 

Their post-cruise tour-transfers are the better value, because the time allowed is not  constrained by a cruise checking-in time.

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html

 

JB 🙂

 

I used International Friends for an excursion to Stonehenge and drop-off at my hotel in London and thought they did an excellent job. I would certainly use them again. Admittedly it was a busy Saturday in London, and our poor driver kept being diverted due to road closures, but it ended up being a good way to get my bearings in London.

My experience of the ports on the list (using NCL):

Cobh (Cork) - NCL Star was docked a short walk from the town centre. I used Paddywagon Tours for an excursion to Blarney Castle, Cork and Kinsale.

For anyone reading this who does want to, I noticed that even if you are fairly mobile, climbing up to kiss the Blarney Stone is quite strenuous, as the spiral staircases are very steep and handrails are limited. Nevertheless, the gardens are very pretty.

Dun Laoghare - NCL Star used tender boats to the quayside, then it was a short walk to the train station and a 20 minute ride into Dublin.

Invergordon - This was some years ago, but I used Wow Scotland for an excursion to Brodie Castle and Culloden battlefield.

South Queensferry - NCL used tender boats here too, then I remember taking a taxi into central Edinburgh.

To share my experience from staying in Portsmouth* several weeks ago, I did a full day at the dockyard and it was quite intense. I started at about 10.30a.m. and only left about 4 in the afternoon, and that was just the Nelson and HMS Victory stuff and the Mary Rose, with a break for a scone and cup of tea promotion in the cafe.

As Victory is currently being restored and covered in scaffolding, I didn't think I would get to see inside, but it turned out I could. Do watch out for the low ceilings though. According to the cashier in the souvenir shop, only banging your head once is a good result!

*I got an extremely good deal at the Portsmouth Ibis hotel and was loathe to change it when NCL decided to depart from Southampton instead. 

From last week's experience on the Star, on the first day in Dun Laoghaire, tenders ran until 8.00pm (I think), then started at 7.00am the following morning. I know some people did stay overnight in Dublin.

On 5/19/2024 at 6:58 AM, gizfish said:

Hot cocoa packets used to be available at the buffet, but I don't know if that is the case now.  After breakfast, the buffet juice machines change to sugar free sweetened flavored water, I believe it's peach/mango and kiwi/strawberry.  I think lemonade may be available, but I'm not sure.

I was on NCL Star last week and did see sachets of cocoa/hot chocolate in the Garden Cafe. I also ordered lemonade one lunchtime. (NB. Lemonade meaning a still lemon water drink like sweetened citron presse rather than a fizzy Sprite/7-Up)

Just got home after my NCL Star cruise around Ireland, so this is still fresh in my mind!

NCL Star had an overnight stay in Dun Laoghaire, and when we alighted from the tender boats, there was a small tourist information kiosk and several people in red and green jackets promoting the 2 hop-on hop-off bus tour lines. I think there was a deal for a day's hopping on and off and the return train ticket, but I found it was better value to buy a EUR 5 day return and a 48 hour hopping ticket.

The very helpful man at the DART station recommended getting off the train at the Tara Street station. This is a few minutes walk from Trinity College and then crossing the river to the GPO. 

Yes, they are supposed to.

19 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

then to the platform

 

 

 

The train diagram in the bottom right hand corner of the sign is useful so you can have an idea of where your carriage is going to be located on the platform. However I did once or twice stand in what appeared to be the correct spot, only to discover the train came in the opposite way around, so I had to dash to the other end of the (very full and busy) platform!

Regional trains in Germany are usually called Regionalbahn or Regionalexpress. The sign on the platform with the train number will have the letters in front of it.

So: RB 12345 or RE 54321

12 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

 

Random observations

 

I had no idea that One Night in Bangkok was from Chess: The Musical (written by the ABBA dudes).

 

But then once you know it was composed by Benny and Bjorn, you can't not imagine the chorus being sung by Agnetha and Anni-Frid.

Brussels has grown on me over the years, but I tend to use it as a base for visiting Bruges, Antwerp or the seaside. Bruges is a nice compact size for a day trip and there are lots of shops and places to eat and drink.

On 4/6/2024 at 9:06 PM, KeithJenner said:

Contactless, or Apple Pay/Android Pay or whatever, is probably the most common way of paying in most places these days,

 

I can't remember the last time I used by PIN number.

Certainly Contactless has become common since the pandemic, however I still sometimes get requested to add the PIN to the card reader. It might be because of the value of whatever it is I am buying. (e.g. a cup of coffee versus an expensive souvenir)

6 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Second the recommendation for Spain Day Tours.  Have gone with them many times and always very good and reliable.

Never used Spain Day Tours, but their sister company Barcelona Day Tours has always been terrific whenever I did the Epic 1 week Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona. Their other sister company, Italy Day Tours was very good too. (They did the excursion to Florence from Livorno I mention above) 

In some bars and cafes there will be a sign saying there is a charge of EUR 1 to use the toilets if you are not buying a drink, or even that toilets are only for the use of customers.

On the subject of card payments, smaller shops and businesses might be cash only, or a minimum spend. Also, I don't know how common chip and pin cards are in the US, but in Europe, it is normal to pay by card and put in the 4 digit code rather than signing the receipt. 

I find the solo gathering really depends on the attendees. I did the Epic Mediterranean cruise for several years, and sometimes there would be a regular group of people who went for dinner every night, other times the solo lounge would be almost deserted.

There was one Epic cruise where I went to the first night Solo traveller gathering and the lounge was packed. I had never seen it so full before. However, it became clear that all the people were part of existing friend groups travelling together and were not interested in meeting new people. 

You might also find the SNCB's official website helpful: www.belgiantrain.be

One point worth remembering is that reserving seats is not possible on Belgian trains, unless you happen to be part of a (very) large group. 

I recommend Van Oost, Depla and The Chocolate Line for Bruges specific chocolate, as well as Mary, Galler and Neuhaus for shops with branches across Belgium. The latter three are suppliers to the Belgian Royal Court, so their chocolate must be good!

I was in Bruges today and can confirm the boat tours which go from Katelijnstraat and Wollestraat both take credit cards. 

I agree with Turtles06. If the port is some distance from the place you want to visit, an NCL excursion will give you peace of mind that you will get back in time. 

The Destination on your own excursions might be interesting if you want to make sure you get transportation to/from the ship, but don't want to be part of a tour group. 

By Virgo, do you mean Vigo, which is the port for Santiago de Compostela? If so, I did an NCL excursion once which went into the city. It was some time ago, however I recall there was some walking from the coach park into the centre, a guided tour and then some free time to coincide with the service in the cathedral. 

My excursion in Lisbon was a guided walking tour with a ride on the famous yellow tram, again with some free time.

For Majorca, again it was a guided walking tour, stopping off at a pearl shop, however there are regular shuttles from the ship into the city, so it is easy just to go for a walk around. I also once did an excursion into one of the villages outside Palma. In all cases, the guides were excellent.

I would suggest looking at the difficulty rating of the tours, depending on the mobility of your party. For example an excursion with NCL could involve a walk to/from the coach park, whereas an independent tour might use minibuses/people carriers which are allowed into town centres. Whilst it wasn't on your list, I had this experience in Florence.    

I have used Wow Scotland Tours, although this was before the pandemic. However it was a very good tour which covered Culloden and Loch Ness amongst other things.

5* Shore Excursions & Tours from Invergordon | WOW Scotland (wowscotlandtours.com)

On 2/28/2024 at 9:35 PM, travelbuds said:

Do you have a boat tour company recommendation? Will credit card be accepted? Thank you.

 Not sure about credit cards, since the last time I did a boat tour (with a friend who had never visited Bruges before) we paid cash. We took the tour from the bridge at the end of Wollestraat, which is a good shopping street for gifts and souvenirs.