Embracedbylife

Thanks so much for all the info regarding tipping. We are planning to give something extra to a few who have so far gone above and beyond including Robert in the Terrace. He is so accommodating infact we ate there again last night to avoid the seating in the main dining room and he was so pleasant and we had the whole terrace to ourselves! What a quiet romantic meal!! I had called down to the front desk to ask what time dinner in the dining room was until (hoping to go down late and get a table that others left from) and they said that there is just one seating, everyone eats together and if you come late you will miss 1st and 2nd course...which makes sense. So we chose to eat in the terrace and are glad we did!

We had breakfast this morning in the dinning room close to when it was over (open till 9:30 and we went down at 9:10) and we were fortunate enough to eat alone but that's just plain luck today. We'll try the continental breakfast in the Terrace tomorrow. I really like how they have breakfast and lunch in both the dinning room and terrace so people are more spread out. So we are figuring out how to make the best of this whole dining experience.

As you mentioned PhotoPeg we would do much better by traveling with 2 other couples to make up a table of 6 and it would be incredibly enjoyable then. If we ever return to Viking we will definetly come with another couple or 2. This is the best way to handle it. So far so good! Looking forward to Cologne!! :) Oh, we are doing it all on our own! :) Can't wait to explore the city just me and hubby!! YIPPEEE!!!!

Oh quick question. ...do we tip each day or at the end of the cruise for waitstaff room stewardship etc?

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Just finished lunch and it was lovely! We ate an hour after it began so we had our own table in a quiet atmosphere. Very good food also! Staff continue to be very pleasant but still don't pick up plates as you finish eating. I see lots of empty plates and glasses all over including in the lounge area. I think they are just very busy. Found sparkling water at the coffee station which is really nice! So far a good trip!

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Hi Everyone! So glad to hear you made it home safely PhotoPeg!! And glad your trip was wonderful!!

It's day 2, Sunday and we are in Kinderdijk! Just to give you more info on yesterday:

We were soooo happy to get to our room for a well needed rest. I think we were the last room to settle in, which explains our long wait. Anyway, as many of you mentioned we realized how much the staff were multitasking and how hard they were working on Day 1, after watching them more, which makes sense why things were a little unorganized and not as smooth as we'd expect, so I'm just reporting what I see, as I see it, and as the days go on my expectations and opinions are sure to change!

So after a much needed nap we got refreshed and headed out to see some of Amsterdam. We've been to Amsterdam and Kinderdijk before, so we walked down along the river from the ship to the Train station and realized it was under construction. We started to walk through the station to get to the other side to the streets in front of the station and it appeared that you needed a ticket to walk through (turnstiles at rear entrance) so we walked around the station (a far walk) and then around to the streets. On the way back we saw others walking through the station without tickets so we did this on the way back to save us some time and walking.

In Amsterdam we went to the main street and they had a little Christmas Market set up which was cute and headed to our favorite french fry shop for our fix of fries and mayo (yum!!). Then we just walked some more and back to the ship via the train station this time making it a faster walk back.

After returning we saw they had an intro ship talk going on upstairs and we just watched it from our room tv. Then we went to dinner and were a little disappointed that there are no tables for 2, so we headed back upstairs and had a light dinner in the upstairs lounge. It was so nice to have the room all to oursevels!! Not sure we are really suited for this whole community dinning, so we are figuring it out as we go.

More about our room: I really like the room, although smaller than Princess ship rooms it's modern and the lighting is awesome! The closet is ok, and the bathroom is very nice and although small, it's very nice and easy to use, so no room complaints at all! We are on the 3rd floor and love our balcony! Slept well! You CAN hear poeple walking and running above us on the upper deck but that stopped by about 10pm in time to sleep and started again around 9am after we woke up so that's ok, no issue!

Today we slept in and got coffee and pastry at the coffe station as breakfast was over by 9:30. The tours left at 9:30. We have already been to Kinderdijk before, but we went for a walk and realized that the place in Kinderdijk that we had been to before was different from where we were today so we saw something new. Although I have to tell you the village that we saw on our own a few years ago when we took at train to Kinderdijk was much prettier, so I feel bad that the people on this ship never got to see what we saw on our own before. We had seen an amazing village with various types of windmills and it was incredible. I'll research it for you so you know where it is for anyone who travels to Kinderdijk on their own. But what we saw today was nice, and noone would know the difference if it's their first time here they'd love what they saw!!

Just got back and getting ready for lunch! We came back to a nice arrangment of chocolates and german cookies and a ornange in our room, nice touch!! Oh and we met Robert last night in the lounge as our server and he was very nice and he will get tips from us no question as well as many other staff that are very friendly. Overall not sure Viking is for us (somewhat forced socialization in the dining area) but we'll see how it goes! keeping an open mind!

I thought I'd try to give a live report as we travel with the Viking Rinda from Amsterdam to Basel! We arrived from JFK early this morning at 11am and found our transfer very easily. The transfer to the ship was quick and efficient.

Arriving onboard they held our bags and showed us the buffet to have lunch. Lunch was ok, nothing extravagant but sufficient. We are extremely tired from flying all night and haven't slept. We are still waiting for our cabin when everyone else seems to already have theirs. I am hoping to shower and then walk the city. A few observations: We are so used to Princess Cruises and their top notch service, that we are so far disappointed with Viking's service even though they pride themsleves at being first class. There are plates and cups from the take away coffee area sitting here for over an hour....interesting, but anyway.

oh my room is ready...talk more later!

Thank you so very much everyone for all your info! this really helps a lot. I think we'll just go ahead and do the Viking tours as they are included already, but I wanted to be prepared for the worst LOL. I think we can try to do some walking around on our own in many places and then do the ships tour for the castles and then see the markets. We are doing this cruise for the markets :) Can't wait to see them, and glad to be able to do that on our own. Thanks again everyone :) Appreciate it!

I just had a few questions hoping someone might be able to answer them!

Do you have to attend the lectures or info sessions or can we watch this on our room tv?

Any tips for a couple wishing to eat alone?

Any tips for self guided tours versus tour buses with lots of co cruisers? Are the tours like herded cattle or more like a small private group tour? Thx in advance!

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Update - we used Ramses tours and our guide was Osama Nasef. He was great and our tour was incredible!! :) They replied quickly the day before via email to confirm our tour and were there right on time! What an incredible trip!!

We used Ramses tours when our cruise onboard the Star Princess stopped at Alexandria, Egypt on May 21. We had an excellent day tour to the pyramids and back. Our guide was Osama and he was oustanding. Seamless tour! Highly recommend it! :) Only comment I could make is they promised a convoy and I didn't see one. Otherwise great tour!

Thanks so much. Just got the email from Princess this morning....

Embracedbylife- why don't you contact Ramses as ramsestours@gmail.com and ask for a detailed communication from George. Sometimes the emails can be sketchy and you have to keep asking for clarification but I think it is just the language barrier. Specifically ask for George to correspond with you. I would highly recommend asking for Karim to be your guide if you want to see and do tons of things and go non-stop as he is full of energy and wants to make sure you get to see and do all that you can possibly do in the time frame. He really gave us a fantastic tour. Hope you have a great time!!

Thanks! This is a good idea. I think I'll do that as I get closer to the cruise. I did ask for one of 4 guides based on reviews here. (I did ask for either Karim Serry, Osama Nasef, Islam Said or Mimmo). In my reply they said I would get one of these that I asked for). I'll push for Karim on my follow up email in April. Thanks again for the advice, good idea!

I have a tour booked with Ramses for our cruise in May (assuming we stop there) and my emails back from Ramses tours have been "one-liners" and appear to be form letters. Does everyone receive the same spotty emails back from them or are others getting more concrete conversations? I am beginning to wonder if I should try another company or if this is just normal for them and that I shouldn't worry?

Royal Caribbean has changed their ports eliminating Egypt until at least June. This is their statement on their website:

Protests in EgyptFebruary 9, 2011

Royal Caribbean International has been closely monitoring the situation in Egypt. In an abundance of caution, we have decided to cancel our upcoming port calls to Egypt through June. The sailings that have been modified are:

Mariner of the Seas, which departs Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy on Monday, April 18 will no longer call on Alexandria on Sunday, April 24. Instead, the ship will now call on Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday, April 24 and stay overnight until 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 25.

Mariner of the Seas, which departs Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy on Wednesday, May 11 will no longer call on Alexandria on Wednesday, May 18. Instead, the ship will now spend Monday, May 16 at sea, stay overnight in Istanbul, Turkey from 7:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 17 until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 18 and call on Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey on Thursday, May 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Mariner of the Seas, which departs Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy on Saturday, June 4 will no longer call on Alexandria on Saturday, June 11. Instead, the ship will now call on Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday, June 11 and stay overnight until 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 12.

Mariner of the Seas, which departs Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy on Tuesday, June 28 will no longer call on Alexandria on Wednesday, July 6. Instead, the ship will now call on Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday, July 6 and stay overnight until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 7.

Brilliance of the Seas, which departs Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Thursday, April 21 will sail a modified itinerary.

We did it ourselves just recently and it was a breeze! I was nervous of course about getting there/getting back within time but it was easy and well worth it! Just be off the ship early to get the 9am ferry to St. John. We left our ship at 8:15, got in the cab by 8:25 and just made the 9am ferry. If doing it again we'll leave the ship closer to 7:45 to give plenty of time to walk to get the cab by the ship and in case of traffic getting to the ferry. Redhook ferry was easy to get to by cab and then once in St. John there were plenty of cabs taking us to Trunk Bay. We also gave ourselves time to explore the area where the ferry drops you off in St. John before heading back to St. Thomas. Lots of cute shops and things by the ferry area. Just remember to bring lots of cash as you can only pay chash for the ferry/cabs. You'll love it!

We were in Bonaire recently and did the water taxi from the ship's tour to the snorkel beach and the Samur Sail and snorkel took the exact same route as us and went to the same snorkel site, but went a lot slower. They also couldn't dock at the beach like our little shuttle boat could so they had to use the yellow dingy boats to get to the beach and then they had to leave before us becuase it took them forever to get back to the ship (in fact the ship was waiting for them to leave!). So it looked like fun, but if you are more interested in the snorkeling at the beach (which we did) you'll have a lot more time to snorkel if you just take the water taxi tour. You'lll also be on a boat with less people. If you are intested in seeing the old wooden boat, and experiencing being on board, it did look like a lot of fun - but was just too slow for me! LOL. So i was relieved we didn't do that tour and did the water taxi instead.

I'm in total agreement with everyone else that it is an amazing experience and well worth the money to have a balcony room on this cruise. Of any cruise we've been on this is the one that we used the balcony most and enjoyed it most!! We had a baja deck balcony which is category BE on the Diamond - second to the cheapest balconies and it was wonderful! We usually get Baja 242 or around there on the port side for the classes of ships we were on (Star, Diamond, Emerald, and upcoming on Caribbean). Love being near the front of the ship and up high - not much movement either! And I have a tendancy to get sea sick sometimes, and not once on all of our cruises! In fact our friends had Caribe deck in the aft on our last cruise and we had Baja 238 and there was less movement in our room than their's!

Port side (left side) is the way to go for upward cruises from Vancouver/Seattle to Whittier. Going back down you'll want a Starboard Side room (right side). We went up from Vancouver to Whitter one way and it was incredible!!!

Go for it without question and enjoy enjoy enjoy!!! :)

PS - i should also metion we were on one of the first cruises of the season in May and it was warm most days and just incredible weather to be on the balcony!!

If you'll be in San Juan for almost the entire day you could go onto Priceline and get a room a resort hotel such as the Caribe HIlton or Marriott Stellairus and then use their pools, beach for the entire day. But that would only make sense if you are arriving before 9am and ship is leaving after 9pm. we got out hotel for $100 a night at Caribe Hilton. Check in is later in the day but i'm sure they'll let us hang out at the pool and beach while we wait for our room and hold onto our luggage!

perfect, thanks!:o

Looks about right to me from my research. I also read there are lockers available at Trunk Bay for $3 with a $5 deposit that you get back when you return the key! so that's another $10 or so in case you want a locker!

Hi, We'll have a few hours in the morning before our tour leaves and I was wondering what there is to do by the ship? Not looking to swim/snorkel as we'll be doing this on our tour. Is there any shopping by the ship? Arriving on Caribbean Princess. Thanks!

We were going to do a Princess tour on March 6th while in port but after reading how easy it is to get over to Trunk Bay on our own I think this is what we'll do!!!

So, my concern is catching a cab from the Red Hook ferry back to the ship. Are there taxi's waiting there also?

What time do you think we should leave Trunk Bay to get a cab back to the ship for 4pm. our ship leaves at 6pm - i'm assuming all on board by 5 something. We'd like to be back by 4pm latest to give an extra hour for traffic if necessary.

We are going to book a snuba lesson ahead of time to do at Trunk Bay at 11am, then do snorkeling also on our own before heading back to the ship.

Just got Caribe Hilton for $100 for 2/28 and for $95/night for 3/7 and 3/8. I was hoping for marriott stellaris but no hit on it. heard mixed reveiws about Caribe Hilton, crossing fingers! I did my bidding on resort in San Juan and then expanded to add another town that did not have resorts to get another bid with just resorts and they locked in...so I hope it's a good place!!

The subway/train is the same thing. There is a Metro from the Airport but this is different from the Train. The Metro is a local type of train. The Train/Subway is the main train that you need. When you come out of the arrivals area in Terminal 3 you will walk past some ticket counters then you will see signs showing the Hilton/Metro straight. To the right you'll see a counter that sells train tickets. Purchase your ticket and then take take the entrance to the left of the ticket counter to take you to the proper track. Do not continue straight up to the Metro as this is the wrong way. Just take the Train/Subway and you'll be good!

Train/Subway to Osterport, then transfer at Osterport to Track 5 and take the train to Nordhaven.

Just returned from 6/15 cruise and we took the train from the Hilton airport hotel to Osterport station then transferred to track 5 and took a train to Nordhaven station (1 stop i believe). After coming out of Nordaven train station we headed to the right. Made the first right at the next street, walking under the train tracks. Walked across the highway and then turned left. The entrance to the pier area is on the next right off the highway. Walk up about 3 minutes into the pier area and there is a gate to your right. Follow the blue lines on the pavement to the ship. From Nordhaven to ship about 12 minutes!

We purchased a 24 hour train ticket (diff. from CPH card that allows you into museums but is more costly) and the train ticket allowed us to venture around the day before and then use it again the next day. We did a dry-run to the pier the day before. Took about 30 min's from hilton airport.

Just returned from our stay at Marriott Stellaris booked through priceline! Wanted to give some warning to anyone who has booked this hotel through priceline you are guaranteed a city view room, however we were given the Worst room in the entire hotel. Room 301 right above the band! Thank goodness we didn't check in till 1:30am (maybe that's why we got the worst room??) and the band played till 3am. AFter speaking to the night staff and priceline over the phone we got another room for the other 3 nights. I had to pay an extra $25 per night for an upgrade, but we got an oceanview and it was wonderful! I'll post pics later ont he general board, but please try not to get in room 301 or any room on floors 3-5 - they are just terrible!