Martin and Lindsey

Our cruise next month will be stopping in Vigo.

Would love to hear of what others have done there.

Did you use a ship's tour?

Or use a local company?

Or use taxi to get around to see things?

We are doing a Cherry blossom cruise in Japan and one stop at Busan, South Korea.

Are we likely to have problems with mosquitos on this cruise??

That is going to be very helpful, because your trip was in cherry blossom season, which is when we are going.

2 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

sorry about that! Here’s the correct link:

https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/HAL-Westerdam-Japan-01/hal-westerdam-japan-01.html

 

That was quick!  Fantastic!  thank you 😀

On 12/7/2019 at 1:23 PM, Miaminice said:

You might find additional information in our travelogues about our two Japan cruises.

We loved both and already have a third booked 🙂

Japan on Millennium 

https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Celebrity-Millennium-Japan/celebrity-millennium-japan.html

 

Japan on HAL Westerdam

https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Celebrity-Millennium-Japan/celebrity-millennium-japan.html
 

 

I have enjoyed reading from your first link about your trip on the Celebrity Millenium, but unfortunately the second link is the same as the first, so I am unable to read about your Japanese trip on the HAL Westerdam.  I am hoping that you will be able to share the correct link with me. 😊

And probably smoking allowed all over the ship? :-/

Flam train ride stop at waterfall :

I have seen many people posting video clips of a lady with long blonde hair singing by the waterfall. No one has mentioned that she is a type of troll. I have done some research and found this :

The Trolls of Norwegian Myths: Human-Like Huldrefolk

The trolls of Norwegian myths look like humans, except for their tales, which they sometimes hide in clothing.

This type of troll is much smaller then jötunn troll. Huldrefolk are usually handsome and blond, but are set apart from humans by their long tails. They often go about naked, in which case the tails are easily seen. However, sometimes they hide their tails under clothing.

Females of this species, called huldras, ensnare human males through their lovely singing and beautiful appearance. Huldras then use the entranced men to do their bidding or simply keep them as mates or pets. These poor males can be held under a spell for many, many years. Upon release or escape, these males cannot remember what has happened and do not realize that time has passed.

If you are adventurous and want to hear the huldra's song, then travel to place called Myrdal, located nearby Voss in western Norway and take the Flamsbana railway. Fasten yourself by a rope to the train carriage, and somewhere on your travel down to the emerald waters of Sognefjord, you will hear the song (and maybe even see a glimpse of the huldra) calling you to come away.

The Song of the Huldra

A huldra is a female troll who can enchant you with her song.

Here you can (safely) hear to the original song of Huldra, recorded during an expedition of brave men traveling to the Kjosfossen waterfall. Not all of them managed to return—the song of the huldra is hard to resist.

Hold on to your men, ladies!! ;)

I have been rather put off using the Scopolamine patches and I can't use the tablets because of other meds I'm taking, so I guess I will have to use the travel wrist bands with us. Hopefully I won't need them, but we will be crossing the North Sea at the end of April to go on a Norwegian Fjords cruise. It is just the days crossing the North Sea that I feel I may need something to help.

Thank you all for your replies.

There are a number of pages where you can look up cruise ship schedules. Here are few examples for Haugesund- you should be able to find the other ports on those sites

https://www.whatsinport.com/Haugesund.htm

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-haugesund-norway.html

http://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/haugesund-port-239

http://crew-center.com/haugesund-norway-cruise-ship-schedule-2018

 

 

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Brilliant! thank you very much :)

Here's a fresh thread for all things Bergen in 2018. If anyone has any questions about visiting the city just fire away, and I'll do my best to help!

Check out the 2017 thread for loads of extra information.

We will be on the Azura and in Bergen on May 4th. It looks like we will be at the Bontelabo 2 dock from 6.00-14.15.

Do you think we will have time to do the Cable car or Funicular to get some good views, and then explore Bergen and the Bryggen?

Also, how likely is it at that time of year, to be able to get a clear view from those heights?

Azura will be docked in Flåm May 2nd from 8 am to 5 pm - only ship in Flåm that day. Few minutes walk from the dock to the Station.

Port Information at this link.

Hallasm,

I hope that you will see this. :)

I can see that the link you gave takes me to the various ships that will be in Flam port, and how long they will stay, but can't see how to view other ports on our cruise. I am also interested in how many ships will be in each port.

I am hoping you will be able to point me in the right direction for our other port days on the Azura :

April 29 - Southampton - sailing time?

May 1st - Haugesund

May 2nd - Flam - 8.00-5.00

May 3 - Olden

May 4 - Bergen

I hope you will be able to help me.

When we have cruised on ships with lots of Americans on board, we have noticed that they had a small round plaster behind their ear to stop seasickness.

Has anyone tried these, and can we get them in the UK?

I am wondering if we can turn up earlier than our given time to embark on the ship?

Would we be turned away?

This is just my personal taste and others will disagree however I don’t like the Costa coffee on ships. It just doesn’t taste the same as it does at home.

 

It may be the water they use, the way it is made or just my tastebuds but I suggest trying a cup before buying a card.

Thank you all for your replies. I think we will follow your advice Eglesbrech and try the Costs coffee before purchasing a Coffee Card.

We will be on the Azura next month and are wondering if we purchase a Cost Coffee Card, will we also be able to use it to for a cup of tea?

I would also be interested to hear which are the places we could use one, as this is our first P & O cruise.

I can only say about Ventura, when it was my usual lunch on a sea day... a lovely roll with ham and cheese, or salads, fish etc... there were boxes of salads, and boxes of desserts. If you wanted something more substantial, it was situated next to the burger bar, so some people had a plate of chips as well!

Thanks for replying. It sounds like a quick way to get a light lunch.

The Grab and Go on Azura is situated on Deck 15 next to the Coral Bar, while we were recently on Azura it was constantly replenished except on the days when they held the on deck barbecue.

We are on our first P & O cruise on Azura in May. I'm wondering what is available at the Grab and Go?

I am looking for opinions of which is the best to do in Bergen, the Cable car or the funicular?

Does one have a longer line than the other?

Do both of them have a place at the top where we can get a drink?

I am also wondering how much time each of these would take, because we also want to walk around to explore.

Which would be the best to do? The funicular railway or the cable car?

Thank you Ormy and Malch_uk for your replies.

We are now booked on this tour, and really looking forward to it. We have booked with the ship's tour so that we don't need to worry about getting back to the ship on time, as it is a long tour.

Thanks you NoGoals31 and NMLady. It is good to know in advance :)

Has anyone done P&O's or other line's Aakrafjord and Langfoss Waterfall from Haugesund?

It is a long day of 7 hours, but it does sound more interesting than the other tours that are offered from this port.

I would love to hear from anyone who has done this, or a similar tour please. :)

Many itineraries have shorter port calls in Geiranger, because the sail-in and sail-out are the biggest draw, since you're traveling through the fjord itself. The town itself is quite small, so it's mostly just about getting up to some of the higher overlooks to see the fjord from a different perspective. Add in the fact that Hellesylt is typically the same day at the other end of the fjord, and you're looking at a fairly tight schedule. If you only want to do the fjord sailing one direction, most ships usually offer full-day overland tours between Geiranger and Hellesylt.

 

As for Bodø and Haugesund, they're definitely not the most popular destinations. I would expect them to visit to Tromsø instead of Bodø, but maybe the sailing time or port schedule stopped them from going that far north? I've hears some positive reports of taking RIB boat trips to the maelstrom but have yet to make the trip up there to check it out. I have a very good friend who headed to Haugesund to visit family, and I helped her look up things to do while she was there. The tourist website has a lot of options in the area, especially related to viking history, but I'm not sure what's feasible for a port day: https://en.visithaugesund.no/

We are doing a cruise in May and one of the ports we will visit in Haugesund. I am wondering what you did while you were there. There is nothing that really excites me particularly. I am not able to walk for more than an hour or so.

How did you spend your day there?

You can find a lot of information on the Haugesund tourism website:

https://en.visithaugesund.no/

 

The viking cultural exhibits at Avaldsnes are one of the more popular attractions for international visitors, and they offer a dedicated bus to align with certain cruise port calls (2018 dates have not yet been posted, so the current list is still from 2017. Check back in a few months for updates).

We are going to be in Haugesund on 1st May, so probably won't want to spend all our time outside.

The P&O Historic Avaldsnes and Viking Village description says 'there is approximately 2 and 3/4 hours of walking throughout this tour.'

Has anyone done this tour? I am hoping soeone can let me know how this nearly 3 hours of walking is broken up.

I see that the walk from St Olav's Church to the Viking Village is slightly steep and approximately 15 minutes each way.

Has anyone done the P&O ships tour, Norway in a Nutshell from Flam?

I would love to hear about your experience please?

Also, where did you have lunch in Voss? I think it is at a hotel, but which one?