robinsj62

Shuttle buses ran from around 8:00AM into Amsterdam and the last back was around 10:00PM on the first day. It dropped off at the central station and was okay. We only had a short wait each way. 

The second day had an all aboard time of 2:30PM so unless you were on a trip or just wanted two hours max in Amsterdam it really wasn’t worth the bother. In fact we had a leisurely breakfast, spent an hour in the aft hot tub then went for a walk along the sea wall to the beach. The reply above covers what else to do. We may have gone for a walk into the dunes if we knew they were accessible..

So if you have a similar itinerary then I’d go for a full day in Amsterdam and unless on a booked tour stay near IJmuiden and relax. 

I can recommend Eco Tours Roatan . We had a great time and visited two locations and still had time for lunch and a drink. 

https://youtu.be/7knLXwmRNmk

Has anyone had experience of the shuttle run between Ijmuiden and Amsterdam? How often does it run? Are the morning buses reserved for people on ships tours? Where in Amsterdam is the drop off pick up point or points? Is there a cost effective alternative that is quicker? Does it run through the night? Anything else worth knowing?

I can’t speak for Harmony but the helipad was one of our favourite places on the Navigator OTS. Usually quiet in the evening and very dark and often windy. We took a portable speaker once and had an Argentine Tango under the stars right in the middle of the helipad. It was far too dark and windy but incredibly romantic.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We did a short cruise to Guernsey rather than Hamburg and there was plenty of dancing. In fact we had the dance floor to ourselves from the start of the scheduled pre-recorded music for up to an hour before the build up to the live band. The only down side being that were “up to temperature” when we went off to dinner. After dinner other than the front rows of seats being taken we then danced until after midnight. Enjoy your dancing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We’re booked on on short cruise on the QE out of Southampton and wondered if the demographic differs between short, medium and long cruises and whether there is a noticeable difference of demographic when cruising out of Southampton on a short cruise.

This is mainly aimed at the number of ballroom dancers as that’s what we’re looking forward to the most having not cruised with Cunard before but have been on several RCCL cruises where dancing is hardly catered for.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We’ve just booked our first Cunard cruise after several Royal Caribbean cruises and will be dancing. I can’t speak for Cunard but as on RC we’ll be taking a small Bluetooth speaker and can just about dance anywhere as long as we’re not disturbing anyone else. We even had a midnight dance on a helipad once. Actually that was a terrible idea as it was so dark and windy. But we did it anyway.

Hi, I have two boys whose interest of museums and queues is likely to be the same as your girls. Our driver took us to several places and gave us as long or as short a time period to explore on our own. We didn't go inside one museum or church apart from the one clock tower. We wondered around on our own and arranged to meet up mid afternoon where the driver then took us to a gelato bar off the beaten track. He was also some Kevin Constner in a sharp suit look alike so something for the girls as well. Although the chances of getting the same driver would be very unlikely. We did consider Lucca but he suggested if we hadn't done Florence then we must do that and I'm glad we took his advice. Hope that helps.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We booked a private van with Prestige Rent. We were picked up and whisked away firstly to Pisa before the cruise tours had arrived then to Florence. Best tour we've ever taken and for 6 it would be good value.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Consider Playa Palancar. Taxi was $25 probably a bit more for 7. Journey was 15mins max. Wait for the tours to leave to avoid the queues. Free entry you just pay $5 for sun beds. Enough places to eat and rent snorkelling stuff. Boat trips available. Just no water toys or reefs on the beach itself. We stayed until early afternoon and still had a bit of time to shop and still get back to the ship.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We also went to Playa Palancar. I did a review on tripadvisor. It sounds just the ticket for your needs. Get a massage on the beach as well.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app