MeHeartCruising

43 minutes ago, Family5Travels said:

My family of 5 will sail aboard the NCL Getaway through the Greek Isles in June.  I understand that the tendering at Santorini can be challenging.  Any tips on how to make it a good experience?  We are staying in the Haven.  Many thanks!

Are you planning on taking a ship excursion?  If so, the tendering process OFF the ship is easier and the ride up the hill is included in that.  Getting back on the ship, however, is still subject to the cable car lines (or walking down the donkey trail, which I did with no problems). 

3 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

 Just to be clear, this is the studio cabin not the solo cabin.  Solo cabins can now be insides, oceanviews and balconies.  The studio cabin is the smaller one person cabin mentioned in this post.  

You are correct.  I meant to say studio cabins, not solo cabins.  Thanks for the correction.

If the solo cabin price and a standard cabin price is the same, I would pick the standard cabin.  The solo cabins are fine, but smaller.  I prefer the space over being in the dedicated "solo cabin" area.  Other's will have a different opinion since some people really like the solo lounge area.  I didn't find it added value to my experience.

Ravenna is a relatively new port for NCL.  They don't have a long history there.  So they are likely still pulling together tours from local vendors.  Also, Ravenna hasn't historically been a popular port stop for larger cruise ships at all.  So there may not be many tour operators in the region that can provide these services.  In recent years, Ravenna has started to become an embarking/disembarking port for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, but those type of stops don't usually have excursions.  All you can do is wait and see what they do.  Or arrange your own day.

First, both are fine ports, but it would likely depend on your preferences and not mine.  For Split, the most common thing to do is to walk off the ship and spend the day exploring Diocletian’s Palace, which is full of Roman architecture and history.  Modern stores and cafes and such are intermingled in the ruins so you can do a little shopping and eating if you wish.  It’s a very nice day.  For Kusadasi, most will probably go by bus on tour of nearby Ephesus - an Ancient Greek site with some very impressive ruins.  Try to include the Terrace Houses, which are usually an additional cost.  This is also a very nice day.  You would possibly have time to also walk around Kusadasi for some shopping.   I loved my day in both. 

I’ve bought CruiseNext certificates for years.  But, No more.  I much prefer the CruiseFirst process over buying on board the ship.  

Breakaway provided this service last week.  You could drop bags off at the Bliss Lounge. 

17 hours ago, ihate2cruise said:

Another question: We get a Behind the Scenes Tour, when I try to book it it charges 99.00/pp. Do we have to book this on board?

You need to go to the Latitudes desk soon after you board and get on their list for this Platinum Behind the Scenes Tour.  They sometimes limit the number of people that can go on the tour.  If there are a LOT of Platinum (or higher) passengers on the ship, it could fill up.  

Also, if there are 2 in your party and only 1 is Platinum, then only the Platinum member can go on the tour.  You can ask to get a non-Platinum partner on the tour, but it is usually rejected.  

Every hotel that I have ever arrived at early (even super early) will hold your luggage for you until check-in.  I've never been to Iceland, but I'd be shocked if that were not the case there too.  You could certainly contact them and confirm this.

Airbnb's will not typically offer this, although you can ask what they might be able to do for you.  You could always book it for the previous day in addition to your arrival day.

Whether a hotel will let you check in that early is almost always dependent on whether they have an available room to give you.  If they are full with guests, they will need to clean rooms after those guests check out before they could give it to you.  Some hotels will let you check in early for free (if they have a room) and some will charge an added fee.  You could ask the hotel what their policy is in advance.  They probably won't be able to guarantee you an early check-in unless you pay for the previous night as well.

Also, I would suggest you try to skip the nap and just power on with your day.  Get out in the fresh air.  I have found the secret to jet lag is to do this so that your body starts acclimating to the local time as soon as possible.  Try to make it until early evening at least before heading to bed.  But, if you are lucky enough to get a room, a quick shower before going back out to see the sights that morning will help you stay awake longer.

No hotel is going to have single rooms for 5 people.  The above suggestions are the way to go.

I would take a taxi, if you aren't doing the HOHO bus for other reasons.  I would not walk there.  I actually did walk to the Storehouse.  But I was staying in Dublin for 3 days so I had ample time.  But for a day visit, doing the walk takes up too much of your time, in my opinion.

This video of the museum popped up in my YouTube feed today.  This looks like a great place to visit. 
 

22 minutes ago, benel204 said:

Thanks -- yes that's what we were thinking. Being there on a Sunday changes things.

I wonder now if Mdina + Valetta, and skip the Hypogeum would be a best option.  (Even though I already bought our tickets, I don't want to feel obligated.)  Perhaps we can decide in the moment, since we'll have a taxi or driver. 

My visit was also on a Sunday.  Nothing was open in Mdina that morning, so it really was just a walk thru the streets to a nice viewpoint and then head back to the taxi.  I believe we went in the local cathedral there, but I can’t be sure.  I have pictures of the outside, but not the inside.  So either we did not go in, mass may have been going on, or they just didn’t allow photos.  I can’t recall.  So one hour was about right. We would have taken longer if more was open. 
 

I will add that I regret not going to the Hypogeum.  I would try to fit it in if you can. 

52 minutes ago, benel204 said:

Thanks for the information. I'm curious if it was a long wait to get your taxi at the port?  That is, were there a lot of passengers trying to do the same thing? 

I have also found drivers online (Viator) who charge about $250 for about 5 hours.

Very minimal wait. Minutes.  No real line anywhere in the process.  HOWEVER, I was with my senior citizen parents at the time.  We likely were not in the initial rush off the ship.  But there was still a line of taxis waiting too.  I don’t recall if you could skip the tent and just approach the taxis yourself and zoom off more quickly.  I rather liked getting payment negotiated and paid up front.  

When I was in Malta, taxis were available at the port that could be booked by the number hours you wanted them.  I think we paid 65 euros or so for 3 hours, but that was many years ago.  You paid for this at a tent that was set up along the walk toward the taxis.  You paid and the person discussed with you where you wanted to go.  They wrote it all on a slip of paper and you handed the slip to the first driver in the taxi line and off you went.   
 

We went to Mdina and Rabbat and Moste.  Our driver waited for us as we walked around seeing what we wanted.  Mdina was the longest stop.  Probably 45-60 minutes.  He then took us back to Valletta where we tipped him a little (he was very personable, spoke English, and talked freely with us — he did not have to as we had not purchased a tour guide).  We then explored Valletta on foot before heading back to the ship on foot.  
 

I can’t help with Birgu.  Based on how we were treated, I would think a driver would wait for you while in the Hypogeum. 
 

It was a great day.   Enjoy Malta.  I’d love to go back and explore more.  

6 hours ago, cravecruising said:

Hi.  Does anyone know if Royal offers a transfer from the port into Ravenna?  If so, can you book it in advance or on-board?  We are staying in Ravenna for one night after our cruise ends.  Thanks.

Royal offered this shuttle in May 2023 when I was there on the Explorer.  I don’t know if you could book in advance, but I would think so since you could purchase transfer to Venice in advance.  I know you could purchase it on the ship.  It was a couple (few?) buses that ran fairly continuously to the Ravenna train station and back.  It was also picking up passengers who had arrived by train for the cruise just starting and bringing them to the ship.

I agree with euro cruiser.  Try for that earlier ferry.  You'll appreciate that extra 90 minutes of fewer crowds on Capri.

Google Maps shows it as about a 40 minute (1.8 miles) walk.  It would be a pleasant walk along any number of different routes.  Through the central core area of Amsterdam.

A few thoughts…

Valletta, Malta

Kotor, Montenegro

Santorini, Greece

Istanbul, Turkey

Venice, Italy (but you can only do that on small ships now)

4 hours ago, victory2020 said:

So if there is a price drop they will adjust price & you will retain full certificate price? I would be using a travel agent.

Yes. A CruiseFirst Credit never changes value.  And, no, you do not need to cancel and rebook in order to take advantage of a price reduction prior to final payment.  You just call and ask them to reprice it to the currently offered price.  They can do this in seconds and you retain the same Booking Number. HOWEVER, when you do this, you are also going to get the current  promotion benefits/perks offer/terms.  They may be different from the offer/terms in place at the time of your original booking.  So be sure you know what the current promotions are when repricing.  I also always ask them to confirm the CruiseFirst (or CruiseNext) credit is still applied. 

Amsterdam cruise port is very close (walkable) to the central city area where you likely want to explore.   It is probably a 10-20 minute walk for most people.  However, if you prefer, there are public transit trams that you can hop on (with a ticket) if you don't want to do the walk.  You might also want to hop in a taxi if your destination is far enough away.  The ship will dock beside the Movenpic Hotel if you want to look for it on Google Maps.

Note:  Sometimes cruise lines say they are stopping in Amsterdam but actually they dock in the town of Ijmuiden.  This is usually shown as "Amsterdam (Ijmuiden)" or similar in the cruise documentation.  For of like they say "Rome (Civitavecchia)" or "Florence (Livorno)".  If you are truly in Ijmuiden, then this is not walkable to Amsterdam.  You will need to arrange transportation of some sort and from what I have read, public transit is not really an option.

1 hour ago, jmcross said:

I guess my question is do suite guests get to board first or do I need to wait for my assigned check in time?

If I can board first with expedited check in then why do I need an assigned time?

This is one of the only perks associated with the higher cost of a Junior suite.

The Junior Suite perk is "priority boarding".  Not priority check-in.  

Check-in refers to getting into the check-in area and finalizing all your cruise information with the agent.  Boarding refers to physically getting on the ship.

If you are in the waiting area, when the boarding process begins, you will be one of the first to board due to your Junior Suite status.

IF they decide to enforce check-in times, you will not be in the waiting area until after 2:30.  By that time, you will likely be able to walk directly on the ship after checking in.

As mentioned above, they don't always enforce the checkin time.  Go early and hopefully they will let you in the doors to check-in area upon your arrival.  If you do this early enough to get in the waiting area prior to the boarding processing starting, you will then be one of the first to board the ship due to your Junior Suite status.

If they won't let you in the doors early, then you won't be boarding early.

@Eno In 2022, I purchased my London Waterloo to Southampton Central train ticket using trainline.com.  I believe I purchased it on the web, but they also have a phone app where I was able to see and use my ticket (barcode).  They may charge a little more (I'm not sure), but for a £9.20 ticket it was minimal.  I created an account on trainline.

I just purchased one as well.  I'm on an NCL cruise in one week and could have just bought CruiseNexts, but decided since this matched that deal financially, I'd just buy one now so I won't have to fill out paperwork on the ship or deal with a salesperson (who usually speaks in circles as they try to upsell you).

It showed up in my account in about 5 minutes.

Just make sure you notice it must be used for a cruise that is at least 120 days in the future.

I guess the other thing I'll add is that for almost all my cruises, when the itinerary says the port arrival time is 8:00, that is when the ship literally pulls up to the dock.  Sometimes a few minutes early.  Rarely later than that.  But they still need to then tie the ship to the pier, lower the gangway, set up security, get the photographer off the ship to take pictures of you, etc.  I would not expect anyone to be getting off the ship until at least 8:15 - 8:30.  So I'm not sure what the excursions will do.