Chocolate Teapot

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. 

From experience, yes, there will be shops and places to eat and drink open. If the weather is good, I recommend a boat tour on the canals, and there are several different points you can take the tours from. (You will arrive back at the same embarkation point)

There are contrasting opinions here about Bruges and Ghent! 

I would probably say that Ghent is more of a working town than Bruges, although I am very fond of both of them.

I used Barcelona Day Tours for a half-day tour with drop off at the airport. They were very professional and I am happy to use them whenever I am in Barcelona.

Depending on when the Cannes day is during your cruise, it might be a nice opportunity to relax after some more hectic days of sightseeing.

I did the toy train which left from the quayside and travelled along the promenade and around the town. That was fun, then there was the covered market which had lovely fruit and vegetables. I remember sitting on a bench overlooking the sea and eating gorgeous cherries and apricots.  

6 hours ago, Beedrill said:

We booked an excursion for « Pompeii, Sorrento and Amalfi Coast » in August. In the confirmation email, I saw that the guide will not be with us on the site of Pompeii. He will not be with us to guide us and give us some informations. Can someone confirm this ? So we need to do the tour by ourself on site of Pompeii ? What can we do to be sure we will learn everything ? Can we buy a ticket for our guide ? Loll Thanks for your help.

I remember from doing this tour a few years ago that a driver/guide collected us from the port, drove us to Pompeii, then a second guide met us and did the tour of Pompeii, so perhaps that's what they mean?

I have only used Italy Tours once (unfortunately there were not enough people interested in another tour I wanted to do), but I have always been very happy with the professional service from them.

I had a tour in Palermo, which covered Monreale, Cefalu, and ended with a short drive through Palermo before returning to the ship. It was an excellent, personalised tour and I thought I saw far more than on a ship's tour. Silvano, the driver was very good and ensured we (there were only 3 of us) returned to the ship on time. I would always use Italy Tours if they could offer a tour in a particular port.

I usually buy a fan, but then I normally cruise during the summer and it's necessary!

Leather goods (bags, shoes, wallets and purses)

If you are in Barcelona, there are a lot of Gaudi inspired souvenirs. Things like mugs or placemats with Sagrada Familia or the Parc Guell mosaic pattern on them.