sarbah77

June 25: DTW to Vancouver (late arrival)

June 26: Explore Vancouver/hang out with internet friends

June 27: Depart NB cruise

June 28: sea day/inside passage

June 29: Ketchikan - Misty Fjords Explorer, then self-guided tour

June 30: Icy Straight Point - zipline

July 1: Juneau - Harv & Marv, Mt. Roberts tram (weather depending)

July 2: Skagway - Chilkoot Charter: train up/bus down

July 3: Hubbard Glacier/sea day

July 4: Disembark @ Seward - Prince William Sound Glacier tour, airport drop off. Rent a car, head to Girdwood

July 4&5: Two nights in Girdwood B&B (no plans yet)

July 6 - 8: Seward. Only planned a Kenai Fjords Northwestern cruise.

July 9: Anchorage with a very early July 10 flight home

 

There are a lot of gaps, still. We'll get there. We've got the most important to us parts booked!

I'm sorry about your long layover. For me, flights are always the most stressful part of my trip because there are so many factors that I can't control.

 

I do hope things work out for you.

 

5 hours is definitely safer than 30 minutes, so I guess we'll just bring cables to charge our electronic devices and plan on having dinner at the airport. It could be worse... but if we could have gotten a later first leg, then I'd be able to get a half day of work in. Oh well.

 

I'm expecting more changes, still. Kind of surprised that it's been only one!

For those that book their flights early (like me) be sure to check your flight information --- my flights times have changed twice within the last month.

 

We went from a two hour layover to a five hour one. When I asked about taking a later flight, for a shorter layover, the helpful (sigh) suggestion was that they refund my money and I start over.

Our doctor once said to avoid the buffets and eat only where they serve you. One of the reviews I read recently said something about the ice machines not working and they had trays of ice instead, and the passengers were scooping the ice w/ their used glasses. Most ships I've been on at Royal have trays of filled beverages, and the staff whisks used glasses away promptly.

 

If there's a Noro outbreak, you will be served at the buffet. We were on Jewel of the Seas, out of Harwich, in 2010, and we were the second cruise after a major Noro outbreak. We weren't allowed to touch ANYTHING for the first half of the cruise. I mean, we were handed our wrapped silverware, our plates, etc and there was staff doing the serving (including the Cruise Director!). I don't think we saw salt or pepper shakers for the entire trip.

Thanks and Great, that is exactly what I wanted to know. It's so easy and cheap to fly from Kansas City to New Orleans that it makes it really convenient. Is it easy catching a cab from the airport to the cruise ports? And do you know if the cruise lines have reps so you can pay for a transfer from the airport to the cruise port? Thanks again!

 

 

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We cruised out of New Orleans in 2012 on Voyager of the Seas. The whole thing was easy. Once we picked up our luggage, we walked to a taxi stand and a taxi was hailed. When we were there, it was a set price from the airport to New Orleans, so we knew exactly what we were going to pay. On the way back, we took the ship's bus, because it was definitely faster for us than a taxi (but we are a party of two; a taxi would likely be cheaper for a family!).

My parents just got back from their cruise and they stayed their one night, pre-cruise. They said:

I got a good discount via the MTA and for that money we got free transportation from the airport to the hotel, breakfast, and we could have gotten free transportation to the cruiseport. We chose instead to pay the $2.00@ to leave an hour earlier than everyone else and were among the first non-privileged passengers to board the ship!

It's not the Ritz, but it wasn't bad. The biggest drawback is that they claimed to have free internet, but neither of us were able to connect - and I heard from others that they couldn't connect either. (The network was present but no luck. I'm guessing that they were handing out the wrong password.)

...

It was not a palace, but it was clean and (for us) very convenient.

 

 

++++

 

Hope that helps! (We booked elsewhere because we have a few days, but they just spent the night there. They also picked up a couple bottles of wine for their cruise at the hotel. It was pricy, they said, but still a better deal than buying on board!)

Thanks, now I am excited, the guys will love it

 

Come, join our roll call!

 

Maybe next year!:rolleyes:

 

There's always next year!! (I'm married to a Minnesota Vikings fan. It's a common refrain. Shhh. ;))

Anyone cruising next week needs to keep an eye on the weather. The weather guy just said that another storm is supposed to hit south east Michigan. All day Sunday, into Monday up to 9 inches of additional snow is in the forecast. Cold temperatures for Monday, and below zero on Tuesday.

 

Yeah, I've seen as much as 12" predicted for Ann Arbor. I've been on crutches since mid-December, because of knee surgery, and I've been working from home this week. My boss emailed me and told me to plan on it for Monday and Tuesday because of the cold and snow. I'm starting to get a little cabin fever, but so much better than falling right now.

 

I am dreaming of the Allure boarding in 4 weeks-so 'glad' to hear we may get another foot of snow this weekend. Being from Michigan that is why we always fly down the day before.

 

We're boarding Oasis the day before you board the Allure! See you in Florida!

Hi, when flying into Ft. Lauderdale you will go downstairs to baggage

claim and once you get your bags? You will go outside and there are

folks out there who handle the cab stand.....go see them and they

will get you a cab. I have tried to get a cab myself over the years

and they frown upon that:rolleyes:....so the set up sounds like it is just like

New Orleans.

 

Great! Thanks!! (my husband has this dislike/distrust of cabs so the better prepared I am, the easier it is for all of us!) I can't wait - 4 weeks from tomorrow. It's snowing right now and I'm on crutches. Neither of these will be true when I make it to Florida! ;)

I don't have a lot of experience with taxis, so apologies if my question seems inane...

 

when we cruised out of New Orleans and landed there, we were able to walk up to a taxi stand and a taxi was called for us and we were delivered straight to our hotel. Is it a similar set up at the Ft. Lauderdale airport or is it more up to us to flag down a waiting cab?

Great news! Thanks! I'm pretty short, so I think I'll be in even better shape!

Hi all - for those of you who have gone for a ride on the coaster, how were your knees when you were done? I just had knee surgery and - surprise! - instead of a week on crutches it's going to be 4. My surgeon has said I will be "fine" by our cruise (about 7 weeks from now) and he's incredibly conservative with recovery. My concern is did you feel like your knees were banging around? If so, I'm concerned I'll spend the entire ride panicking (right or wrong!) instead of enjoying the ride!

Awesome, this is just the sort of info I was looking for. Cruise Critic, I love you! :D :D

 

Paul! Let me know if you want me to pick up anything for you at FLL - we'll be there in January and we'll see you in September!

We got a day room at the hotel on site. There were only two of us, but it was a nice place to drop our luggage, shower (didn't feel like moving that early on the ship ;)), and chill out. There is a pool your kids could use, as well.

Renaissance is a more elegant quiet hotel and you'll get the reward points that you want. Embassy Suites has a busier feel to it and has a pretty pool area.

 

Thank you! :D

Looking for suggestions - I currently have a two night reservation at the Renaissance and at the Embassy Suites. The Renaissance is $20 (total) cheaper. I realize that Embassy Suites comes with a hot breakfast and the Renaissance doesn't. We're not likely to take part in any evening reception. I have Silver status with Marriott and that would be two nights towards maintaining my status in 2014 at Renaissance...

 

....but I really can't decide otherwise. Breakfast is nice, but we'll be on a cruise with a week of hot breakfasts though it would be convenient.

 

Thanks for any help!

[quote name='royalcruz']If you google "key west day tours" you will find there are several companies that do this from Miami but I didn't find any from Fort Lauderdale. Key West is 8 hrs round trip from Fort Lauderdale if there is no traffic.[/quote]

I found this one: [url]http://www.grayline.com/tours/fort-lauderdale/key-west-day-trip-from-fort-lauderdale-5864_76/#.UheDLHf8K64[/url]

Looks interesting - but, of course, a very long day!

Apart from a few exceptions (like some highway bridges and tunnels and industrial areas) there should be pedestrian pathways almost everyhere in the centers of the nordic capitals. The route you mention is a very nice one along the water and then through the commercial center of Stockholm. Not a slightest problem apart from the fact it is a bit time consuming.

 

The ideal thing for you would be bus #47 that takes you straight from Vasa to the Central Station and the ice bar is just a few blocks away from the latter.

 

If I was in your situation and noticed I had just missed bus 47 I would consider taking bus #44 to Karlaplan and then take the subway to T-Centralen and use the exit to the Central Station but then of course I know Stockholm quite well.

 

http://sl.se/ficktid/karta%2Fvinter/SthlmInnerstad.pdf

 

Wow! Than you so much for your help and links and maps and suggestions. :) It's good to know that we've got a couple of options that fit within our comfort zones!

 

(This cruise is our first international trip, so it's both exciting and overwhelming)

 

Thanks again! I've printed off a copy of the map (and written in your notes).

Sarbah, do you have reservations at the Ice Bar?? If not, you probably won't get in. They have a web site you can check for information. Cost is about $30/person and includes one drink -- is a 45 minute max. reservation.

 

yup! We sure do, which is why I'm trying to figure out how to get there via two feet or public transportation! :)

This is probably a silly question BUT what the heck!

 

My husband is, for reasons I don't yet understand (and we've been married nearly 10 years), strongly anti-taxi, so we'll mostly be using public transportation and our own two feet to get around Stockholm.

 

Is it possible to walk from the Vasa Museum to the Ice Bar? I was looking at the map link someone posted earlier and I just can't tell if there are pedestrian pathways the whole way. (Google indicates it's fairly short - 2.7km - but, you know)

 

If not, what's the EASIEST way to get from the Vasa Museum back in that direction? Would it be the ferry (then walking)?

 

Thanks!!

My favorite store for recorded material in Stockholm is : http://www.petsounds.se/

 

Great selection, some unusual stuff too. It is on Södermalm, not really in the tourist areas though.

 

Al

 

Thanks, Al!

Okay, favorite CD stores in Stockholm? My husband and I are big music fans and we're trying to get an idea of CD stores at each stop on our cruise so that we can pick and stop at a couple, total.

 

(I posted on a music forum we both read and it turns out that one of our longtime friends moved to Helsinki, so that was certainly helpful there... and another poster lived in Gothenburg, but no one from Stockholm! :eek:)

I hope that you all understand me even when my english are not absolutely perfect.

 

I have had no problems understanding you (and you'll note that I'm not trying to talk in Swedish!). Thank you for starting this thread. I'm not going until next summer, but if I start reading now, I'll hopefully have a plan by then! :D

When I booked this cruise, land poriton, and plane tickets... I was working a job where I only accrued 12 hours of vacation a month. Now, I get 2 days a month and suddenly, man, I have almost an extra week. Oh well! ;)

 

6/17: fly to Seattle, spend the night at a hotel near Amtrak. Already confirmed with the hotel that we'll be arriving l-a-t-e. They suggested we eat in their restaurant once we arrive. I'm not sure the GM understands that my body says it'll be 3 hours later than their clocks.

 

6/18: Amtrak to Vancouver and then we'll wend our way to the cruise ship. Debating using the public transportation system they have v. a cab.

 

6/19: Inside passage.

 

6/20: Ketchikan - a Misty Fjords boat trip that my DH really wanted. :) We have half a day in the morning to look around town.

 

6/21: Juneau - Glacier trek & climb with beyondak.com. Will have to remember my camera and my hiking sticks for this! Just call me Gimpy. :) However, that will leave us ~ 8 hours in Juneau and we have nothing specific planned. If the weather is good, Mt. Roberts Tram all the way!

 

6/22: Skagway - Wherein, only a few days ago, I realized that we'd booked one of those excursions that relies on the fast ferry to Haines. Guess we'll see how THAT works out. My DH wants to go to the Eagle Preserve!

 

6/23: Sitka - Bike & hike excursion, and then we'll try to see the Raptor Center and the Russian dancers

 

6/24: Carnival sez Cruise Prince William Sound; Cruise College Fjord

 

6/25: Alaskan Leopard Tours will get us, in a roundabout manner, to Anchorage where we'll pick up our rental car and head to Healy, AK. Check in to Aspen Haus (hey, tripadvisor currently has them as the #2 hotel in the area) for 3 nights

 

6/26: a shuttle to the new visitor center, if it's open, in Denali National Park

6/27: Denali/Healy, no plans!

 

6/28: Leave really early to return the rental car in time (unless we can get it extended without paying 5X what I have it reserved for!!), figure out if there's a way to kill time with our luggage, prior to our 7pm flight back home!

 

6/29: Get home, pat the kitties, crawl into bed until 6/30. ;)

 

7/4: In-laws arrive?!? :eek:

 

+++

 

Funny how laying it out like this reminds me that I should push the DH into helping me fill some of the holes prior to leaving for the trip. Mostly on things like "hey, we should have an idea of how much food we need for the Denali portion before we're standing in the grocery store."