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We will be in Guernsey on Liberation Day. From those of you in the know, should we stay in town and enjoy the opportunity to share in the festivities in hopes that we will return one day, or try to see as much as reasonably possible outside of town on this visit?

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I think that staying in town would be great! I lived on the island for 10 years. There is probably a web site for the event that you could check out.

Thanks somuch...how I love my CC family of support!!:)

I am thinking about booking my first river cruise. I have usually booked with a TA for ocean cruises. Is there an advantage in booking directly wit the river cruise company?:)

Thanks for your input!

Bumping this with a question. What is the earliest flight we could comfortably book on day of disembarkation? Marilyn

We docked at 6:00am in Amsterdam and walked off the ship 15 minutes later and caught cab promptly and had plenty of time for our flight at 10:00 at Schiphol. Ther were plenty of nay sayers...maybe it depends on the cruise line/individual ship but it certainly couoldn't have been any easier to self disembark!

I am looking for a restaurant that has excellent food in Amsterdam, not too pricey, where a group of us can have a pre cruise dinner. The restaurant would have to take reservations.

 

Thanks,

Sandra

We ate at MAX in the Jordaan district on Herenstraat. We had reservation for 8 of us and had the Indonesian Ristafael (rice table). It was excellent and mid range priced! You will not be disappointed!

Thank you for that information, just what I needed.

Hey Mary....we can figure it out together if you like...we are going to Chester too!! I think it will be easy!

Penny

Any experiences to share for disembarking in Amsterdam? How soon was the ship cleared after dockng to allow people to self disembark? :)

Penny, see you next week, I haven't forgotten the tender tickets:)

Hi Geeta! Thanks so much! See you at the sail away!! Yay!

Penny:(

We just returned home from our July 15 Silhouette BI sailing. Our port stop in Guernsey was by far the one we enjoyed the most. We were so lucky to have a beautiful sunny day and calm seas. Even the tendering process was fairly smooth, without any major problem. St. Peter Port is such a pretty town. After our fabulous walking tour with Annette Henry (she is truly amazing), we wished we had more time to explore the town and elsewhere on the island. We did visit Ben Le Prevost and his fabulous chocolate emporium, and brought home some very tasty samples of his work. We also did the round the island bus trip....only 1GBP....what a deal! We got to see some of the fabulous beaches on the other side of the island. We promised ourselves we would definitely come back some day.

 

Sam

So happy that you enjoyed this beautiful part of the world! You have given me hope that I will make it ashore to see old friends!!! Thanks for posting!!

Penny

So now I would love to know who your wife is if that is not too personal a question? I also attended Elizabeth College...took an A and S level there!!! Blanchelande didn't offer the Biology course I needed!!!My maiden name was Hutton.

Penny :)

 

My wife started at Blanchelande 2 or 3 years after you left.

 

I remember you and your 2 friends at the College, indeed a small world, even spooooky. Won't mention how many years ago.

 

Nigel

We are looking forwards to coming ashore...a few of my "old" classmates are getting together and so Guernsey will be the highlight od our cruise! i am meeting one of my friends who also attended Elizabeth College with me in Amsterdam...the other one I shall see in Guernsey! Yay...by the way we would appreciate sunny weather and calm seas!!!

You have inspired me to write a review after our British Isle cruise next week...the weather isn't so good at the moment so I may not have to battle with lounge chair hogs but I am winding up for the MDR tight bun lady!

Happy cruising everyone!

Hi Nigel,

Love your blog! I hope to get ashore ....onboard the Silhouette in August. I grew

up in Guernsey...went to Blancelande and have a bunch of friends waiting for us....send out a dinghy if the ship doesn't put out tenders!!!!Ha!:)

Hi,

Rather strangely my wife was principal for 14 years at Blanchelande and spent her whole career there!!

Nigel

So now I would love to know who your wife is if that is not too personal a question? I also attended Elizabeth College...took an A and S level there!!! Blanchelande didn't offer the Biology course I needed!!!My maiden name was Hutton.

Penny :)

Nigel, how often does Guernsey get cancelled, we're on the Silly's Aug 8 sailing, its our second port after le Havre. I'm particularly keen on visiting Guernsey, fingers crossed for good weather...

Hi,

Sorry for delay in getting back to you, just got back from holiday. If you asked me 2 years ago, it was not a good year for liners visiting, especially early in the season. This year seems OK, with a few, but not many cancellations due to the weather. Hope you make it, it is a lovely Island to call home and we are very proud of it.

Nigel & Lesley

Hi Nigel,

Love your blog! I hope to get ashore ....onboard the Silhouette in August. I grew

up in Guernsey...went to Blancelande and have a bunch of friends waiting for us....send out a dinghy if the ship doesn't put out tenders!!!!Ha!:)

It's now 2:00pm and we're still at the small island in Greece. The Red Cross came onboard, as well as the Greek Child Protective Services because there were apparently a number of minors included in the 117 refugees from Syria. They had to get clearance from the local authorities to remove the children from our ship and take them into Greece.*

 

The captain just came on the intercom and said that all of the refugees are safely on shore and we're free to go as soon as we put our lifeboats back up. He also said that instead of going to Istanbul (it's now too far away and we won't make it in time), we will be spending tomorrow in San Torini, Greece. I don't know anything about it, but people on board cheered when it was announced (if you know anything, please tell us!). The shore excursions desk asked for 2 hours to get tours ready for us (pretty spectacular to get that going in only 2 hours in my opinion) and they would have info sent to our cabin.

 

We just started moving again and the captain tells us we'll *be in San Torini tomorrow from 8:00am to 8:00pm.

We were there a few years ago..beautiful. Take the cable car up and walk intotown and go into a travel shop and you will find cars and guides who will take you to Oia! They will drop you off for you to walk and then pick you up at the end!

It is the most beautiful walk in the world! Enjoy!:)

Used Departure Hall 2 yesterday evening. The security line was not very long but it moved very slowly. The line divided into 2 separate lines and one line had 3 security channels open while the other line had only one security channel. There were 2 dedicated channels for business class passengers.

 

It was so slow moving that I asked for the duty manager. I was told that the duty manager was 'off duty' :eek:.

 

I boarded at a D gate near the end of the pier, so in total from check in (self-service) to arriving at the gate took about 50 minutes.

 

Two things to note:

1. after check in it is necessary to go up one floor to the security area and then come down one floor again when airside. There are elevators at both sides.

2. Schiphol is currently undergoing a major re-work and some of the signage is not correct.

Thank you for this info!! It helps to plan!!!

Penny:)

Have you heard anything about the new terminal? I was reading yesterday that people had to stand in a line for over an hour just to check in their luggage? Also, that it was over a 30 minute walk to end up at their gate, including moving sidewalks? Thank you for all of your great information, we are very excited about visiting your beautiful country.

Hi Mary,

We are going to check in on line the day before while on board the ship. Then when we get to the airport we will do the self baggage drop which should save the line for check in. Then it is straight up stairs to the mezannine to the central security followed by passport check by the Dutch Miltary police then on to D1 for Americans flying american carriers and then you get your gate # which I believe will be in the D Concourse (at least it is for Delta). I think this is correct!

So online check in should save time by avoiding that line!

Penny

What have been your expierences clearing through the new central security system at Schiphol? How long did it take you to get to your gate from the time you checked in? The new system started at the beginning of June.

Thanks!

We did Celebrity out of Amsterdam to Baltic, Norway and Arctic Circle and there were NO immigration requirements upon returning to Amsterdam.

 

I don't think it would be any different with your ports.

 

We carried our own luggage off at the end of the final cruise and could have gone off at 6.30 am.

So the gangplank was down to exit around 6:30? That would be great if that would happen for us!

We are docking in Amsterdam at 6:00am following British Isles cruise leaving from Amsterdam. My question is regarding disembarking. I understand that the ship has to clear customs before passengers are allowed to disembark. I plan on self disembarking but wonder when I should ask my taxi to pick me up. Does it take an hour following docking before passngers are allowed off the ship? What has been your experience?:)

So we are docking in Amsterdam following British Isles cruise aboard the Silhouette leaving from Amsterdam. My question is how soon can you disembark after docking at 6:00 am? It is my understanding that ship clearance for customs takes an hour and then passengers are allowed to disembark...can you give me your experiences? I need to know when to have my taxi booked for pick up to make an early flight at Schihol airport! Thank you for your input!:)

My ship got cleared entirely. I was on the Celebrity Silhouette' date=' from Amsterdam to Dover Guernsey, Ireland, Scottland, Wales (although we could not dock), France, and back to Amsterdam. I walked off of the ship, grabbed my luggage, and was free to get a taxi. Maybe because my ship went outside the eurozone, and then back into it?[/quote']

 

What time did you dock and what time did they let you get off the ship???

My ship got cleared entirely. I was on the Celebrity Silhouette' date=' from Amsterdam to Dover Guernsey, Ireland, Scottland, Wales (although we could not dock), France, and back to Amsterdam. I walked off of the ship, grabbed my luggage, and was free to get a taxi. Maybe because my ship went outside the eurozone, and then back into it?[/quote']

 

So, my next question for those who have gone before..when the ship docks at 6:00 am what time does customs for the ship allow for disembarking? Is it typically an hour before passengers can start disembarking? I know there is no individual customs check for passengers but wonder how much time is needed for the ship customs clearance? I need to clarify the time for my private taxi on picking us up and whisking us to the airport? The dock in question (if that makes a difference) is in Amsterdam(sailing from and returning to)!

Thanks again!:(

To add to what CathyCruises said, we disembarked in Amsterdam on June 9. Once we picked up our bags it was just walk out...we were told that they clear the ship as one so there is nothing in the way of customs and immigration. We has sailed from Stockholm but I don't think that makes a difference. Making it to and thru Shipol in time is going to be tricky. We did not have a flight that day but when we did fly out, it was about 30 minutes to the airport and then another 90 minutes before reached our gate. Lines for check in can be long, lines for security can be long. The walk to our gate was listed as 30 minutes with the moving walk ways once you get checked in. Oh, there was also a long long line for taxis the day we disembarked so the only way you are going to make it is self disembark as fast as you can and make sure you have a driver waiting for you..

Yes, I am self disembarking and have a private taxi booked...I will also check in on line aboard the ship! I have mapped out the airport...I am relieved that there is apparently no customs to clear dockside.

Where is your cruise coming from?

 

On our last visit there, sailing from Ireland, we had a passport check only, no customs. However it was only two agents checking (and stamping) 2000 pax getting off the ship.

Leaving from Amsterdam and returning there!

If your previous port is in the EU (which I am guessing it is) there will be no customs to go through. I disembarked the Silhouette last week in Amsterdam and there were no delays and no customs at the cruise terminal. The problem was at the airport. Be prepared for lots and lots of crowds and delays. It took me nearly 2 hours just to get checked in, drop my bag, go through security before finally making it to the gate.

 

And definitely do self-debark and have a private driver waiting for you!

 

Good luck!

Thanks so much for this! We sail from Amsterdam and return there! I will self disembark and have a driver picking us up and think that I have about 3 hours to get through airport!

Thank you...you have actually eased my mind because I was worried about additional delays slowing my arrival at the airport!