hallasm

Sailing through Geiranger Fjord is amazing - Geiranger as port is not that great -

Here you have two videos from the fjords and Geiranger port.

Storfjord and Geiranger Fjord, Norwegian Fjords Cruise

[YOUTUBE]JII3U8eJbCQ[/YOUTUBE]

Geiranger, Norvegian Fjords Cruise June 2013

[YOUTUBE]JII3U8eJbCQ[/YOUTUBE]

Constellation will dock Friday 18 July from 10AM to 6PM at LANGELINIEKAJ

From Østerport there will be trains to Helsingør (North bound) every 20 minutes at .12, .32 and .52

Departure times from Helsingør is .10, .30 and .50

It will take you 1 h 6 min from Østerport to Helsingør

Walking distances:

From Langeliniekaj to Østerport station - 0,7 km, 12 minutes by walk

From Helsingør station to Kronborg slot 1,4 km, - 25 minutes by walk

That will allow for a bit more than three hours at the castle.

Prices for the train

Standard ticket is DKK 108,00 one way (9 zones)

You can buy a 4 zone Multi ride ticket (Klippekort) with 10 tickets klip which is a total of 40 zones, for kr. 250,- at the station.

Then you have to use 5 tickets (klip / 20 zones) for out bound and 5 tickets (klip / 20 zones) going back - you can travel 2 people at the same Klippekort.

For Kronborg information and prices please visit: http://www.kronborg.dk/english/

I do not know of any combined train/entrance fee discount at a lower price.

I have not done both, yet - unfortunately - but here you will find two videos, where you can discover some of the the differences -however, might not show all the beautiful sceneries.

Cruising the Magnificent Fjords of Norway

[YOUTUBE]_ZzhGY8x_2E[/YOUTUBE]

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

[YOUTUBE]E0oUvR8UaTY[/YOUTUBE]

Tickets for Flåm Railway including reservation can now be bought online at visitflam.com - Link to booking.

On busy days with several ships in Flåm the trains will be sold out.

You can check ship arrivals for Flåm (Aurland Habour) for 2014 and 2015

Here you can also see if ship is docked or tendering.

Additional information at aurlandhavn.no/cruise/ with links to map of harbour area and maps showing walks in Flåm

[YOUTUBE]yjnzGcyWPIk[/YOUTUBE]

My favorites RCCL photos are my RCCl cruise videos - here are some examples:

Cruising the Magnificent Fjords of Norway

[YOUTUBE]_ZzhGY8x_2E[/YOUTUBE]

Vision of the Seas, Baltic Cruise June 2012

[YOUTUBE]YPGCy4Szn5o[/YOUTUBE]

Highlights - 7 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise, January 2012.

[YOUTUBE]3hMpzngURXI[/YOUTUBE]

Serenade of the Seas, February 2012

[YOUTUBE]SSaLqAH0HbE[/YOUTUBE]

Some good advice by pkay414. But very much depending on traveling west or east and the time of arrival. Flying west is much easier then flying east.

If travel west and arriving afternoon/evening stay awake as long as possible.

Flying east and arriving in the morning you might need to get some sleep during the day. In general, adapt to the time zone as quick as possible.

You just register for the internet package at the iCafe.

As our ship was in Bergen the day before Flam, we bought our tickets for the 11.05 train at Bergen railway station. When we docked at Flam there was no need to rush off and we headed up to the station about 40 minutes before departure.The inspector at the end of the platform checked our tickets and then we walked onto the platform to join a queue of about 20 other people.Just before 11.00, the barrier was opened and we were free to get on any carriage that did not have a reserved sticker.

Will work, except if trains are sold out on busy days.

Another question, if it says, that we will be in port at 7 in the morning, is that the time we arrive, or the time we can leave the ship? :-)

Ship must be cleared - expect 30 minutes from arrival before you can go ashore.

Do you have to validate the tickets / que if you do it this way? Or if you buy the tickets at Bergen train station?

Yes - tickets bought at NSB or at the web are open tickets with no reservation - need to be validate at arrival in Flåm.

Looks like you can buy tickets including reservation at Flåm Railway web - see link in previous post

Looks like it's now possible to pre-book tickets for two people at the web

Try this link:

https://booking.visitflam.com/en/to-do/a594953/the-flam-railway/showdetails

One suggestion that has been made here is to buy your Flamsbana tickets at another Norwegian railway station before you reach Flam, if your ship's itinerary makes that possible. Apparently, this avoids the queues at Flam and the (very real) risk of sold out trains.

 

We would have done this if our group had not opted instead to make a group booking.

Buying a ticket at another NSB stations doesn't work - this will be an open ticket with no seat reservation - tickets need to be validated in Flåm.

Only way for reservation is a group arrangement for a minimum of 10 people.

A snapshot of the monitor when I arrived to the ticket counter.

Check number of ships in Flåm - link to cruise ship arrivals 2014

From a Dane to another Dane in English!

Que for flåmsbanen will depend on the number of ships at the day, but my advies is to be early - normally long queus and sold out trains - do not buy tickets in advance at the web. These tickets has to be validated using the same queue as buying tickets for the train.

God tur!

[YOUTUBE]yjnzGcyWPIk[/YOUTUBE]

For transportation you have two options - Shuttle service ($50) or yellow taxi ($25)

Marriott has some corporations with VIP LINK Transfer Service - link to Vip Link

The airport taxis are registered and safe. The New Mariscal Sucre International Airport Cooperative is the official provider of taxi services at the airport. It operates 24/365 and may be identified by its hallmark "Taxi Servicios".

For your inspiration some links to my Galapagos preparations, Stay in Quito as well as Galapagos review - click on links for the reviews:

- Quito; Pre- and Post- Xpedition Cruise Tour

- traveltogalapagos.info - extensive Galapagos review

- Planning our cruise to Galapagos - tips for the planning

One option is from the cruise ship, another is Kohtuotsa Vaateplats

http://www.360cities.net/image/kohtuotsa-vaateplats-view-point#333.10,2.10,70.0

There is also a nice view from the the Lounge 24 bar at the top of Radisson Blu Sky Hotel

City Center and AROS is 2.5 km and 'Den Gamle By' Open-Air Museum is 3 km from the pier - there is no HoHo in Aarhus.

This is want you can do during your visit:

Great shopping in Aarhus

http://www.visitaarhus.com/ln-int/denmark/shopping/great-shopping-aarhus

Den Gamle By - Open-Air Museum

http://www.dengamleby.dk/the-old-town/

ARoS Aarhus Art Museum

http://en.aros.dk

The Viking Museum

http://www.moesmus.dk/en/exhibitions/the-viking-museum/

Brief history:

Aarhus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical centre of Denmark. Aarhus is the seat of the council of Aarhus municipality with 323,893 inhabitants.

The bishopric of Aarhus dates back to at least 948, and archaeological findings date back some 1,300 years to Viking times. The city itself is presumably older than 770 AD, making Aarhus the oldest big city in Scandinavia

During the Middle Ages the city was called Arus, and in Icelandic chronicles, it was known as Áróss. It is a compound of the two words ār, genitive of ā ("river") and ōss (mouth). The name originates from the city's location around the mouth of the stream Aarhus River - Å being the Danish word for a small river.

how much did it cost to hire a car? It has its attractions as you are in charge and not hanging about waiting for others. What about finding your way around, what about knowing what you are looking at (tours have guides), how easy is the driving, etc, etc.

 

lots of questions I know, but you posed the suggestion :D

Price will be USD 100 to 120 - depending on time and type of car.

You need to do some reading but this ia an easy job - Thingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss - This is what you will see! Sure - a guide will tell you a lot about Iceland and the history

Not that many roads in Iceland and easy to find you way and easy to drive - good roads and few cars.

I like the sound of doing the Golden Circle Tour with this firm

http://www.igtours.is/eng/

partly because they take into consideration the restriction of time if you are from a cruise ship and partly because of the price which is nearly half that of P&O!!!

Maybe also compare price of rental car - I did the tour by car.

Some short videos from the Golden Circle Tour:

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And if time permits:

We were in St. Petersburg May 28

We arrived into SPB a bit late and the ship was cleared one hour late.

Immigration was smooth - a line of 10 to 15 people when we went ashore (not at peak hour).

Our tour went well and we only met happy people - as happy you can be when heavy rain!

I did not sense any differencse from our last visit in SPB in 2012 (except for the weather).

The following day in Helsinki, Finland the arrival and clearance of the ship was also running late.

Clarification:

 

Since ship arrives from Hel in morning and leaves in the evening, you have choice of staying in SPB for 10 hours (return by same ship, you keep your cabin), 34 hours or 58 hours (in last two cases, St Peter line arranges hotel for you at additional cost)

 

110 Euro cost included one Breakfast buffet which was not worth the money but saves precious time as one can do it before disembarkation.

Still without visa?

My reading of Hal's post is that their ferry "bus shuttle service" allowed them up to 72 hours in SPB, all visa-free :)

No - this is not 72 hours in St. Petersburg- might well be at bit more than the RCCl tour. This is an overnight ferry from Helsinki to St Petersburg - shuttle to Issac square and back, and then overnight ferry back to Helsinki. So total of two nights.

Different options are offered for DIY - ST PETER LINE does offer a bus shuttle service at a ticket’s price of EUR 25€ (example in this thread).

As an other example: Royal Caribbean does offer 'Walk Along Nevsky Prospect with Shopping' for USD 39.

I do not really see the difference between the ST PETER LINE "bus shuttle service" and RCCL 'Walk Along Nevsky Prospect with Shopping'.

Both tours are considered 'organized tour' and both will give you some time on your own.

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get thru Russian immigration without a visa?

In accordance to the legislation of Russian Federation (RF Government Resolution №397), foreign tourists travelling on ferries or cruise lines without visa may arrive to the Russian Federation without Russian visa for the period of 72 hours being part of organised excursion group.

All passengers travelling visa free have to reserve sightseeing program in St. Petersburg in advance.

Different options are offered for DIY - ST PETER LINE does offer a bus shuttle service at a ticket’s price of EUR 25€ (example in this thread).

As an other example: Royal Caribbean does offer 'Walk Along Nevsky Prospect with Shopping' for USD 39.

Both examples are still considered ' sightseeing program'