marys350

Thanks for posting all your beautiful pictures from your stop in Ponta Delgada They bring back fond memories of our 7 day land vacation there in September, 2019. Stayed in a hotel in Ponta Delgada and hired a private tour guide for our party of 6 people for  4 days of touring all around the island of Sao Miguel. Fabulous scenery and very reasonable prices for hotels, restaurants, and tours. 

I found the following website helpful in comparing options for doing a transfer from Heathrow to Southampton for our cruise in 2024.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/heathrow_southampton.htm

For our party of four, we decided to book a private transfer with Paragon Taxis, a company based in Southampton.

Is this the information you're looking for? It's from Norwegian's website under FAQ.

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/how-do-you-contact-someone-cruise-ship

The health questionnaire will become available one day before your sailing and is just a few quick questions. If you don't complete it ahead of time, you can do it at embarkation.We chose to bring copies of our vaccination dates in case it was required for any ports, but we were never asked for it.

You might want to check out Paragon Taxis, based in Southampton. We have booked a transfer from Heathrow to our hotel in Southampton with a Windsor Castle tour for the day before our cruise in 2024. Adrian responded promptly to my email inquiry and answered all my questions before I decided to book and the booking process was easy. They also do day tours from Southampton. I also read excellent customer reviews of the company on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor before booking. Good luck in your search for a private tour out of Southampton.

https://paragontaxis.co.uk/

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

It was a much shorter tour than that. Yes, tours are sold at the port. There are buses that go out to do tours. You buy a timed ticket for the tours.

Thank you. Approximately how much did the tour cost and was it just sightseeing or were there any stops along the way?

On 8/20/2023 at 2:04 PM, ontheweb said:

Next port was Geiranger. We woke up early and went to the top decks to watch us sail into the fjords there, spectacular! After we disembarked, we booked a local bus tour that took us around the sites. What spectacular scenery.

 

Was this a 3.5 hour Mt. Dalsnibba and Eagle Road Tour or a shorter local tour? We are doing the same itinerary next June and currently researching options for non-ship sponsored tours. Will probably book a tour in advance but wondering if there are tours available for purchase on the day of arrival.

Enjoy your dinner at Tuscan Grille. We ate there twice on our Summit cruise in September and our meals were excellent!

On 7/15/2023 at 1:50 PM, marys350 said:

You might want to check out Quebec Bus Tours, which offers several different tours at reasonable prices.

https://quebecbustour.com/home/

We have booked a tour with them online for our upcoming cruise in September.

We enjoyed our Quebec Bus Tour (Tasting Tour on the Isle of Orleans), in September. The bus meeting point was beside the Hotel Frontenac and walking distance from the cruise terminal if you take the funicular. We took a taxi ($15 CAD one-way) from terminal to meeting point and walked back to ship via funicular ($5 CAD per person).

PhillyTravelBug, In Geiranger, did you have to tender to shore or did you walk off the ship onto a dock? It's hard to tell from your photos. Our Prima itinerary for June, 2024 lists Geiranger as a tender port. We want to book a private tour and wonder if it took very long for you to get off the ship. Loved reading your review and got some great ideas from your pictures and posts. Happy travels!

Maybe make a reservation for 6 and a reservation for 4 and choose the same time slot. Go to the reservation desk in the main dining room as soon as you board the ship and ask if the two reservations can be combined into a table for 10 or if you could be seated at two tables beside or near each other.

Find out if Celebrity has a special email address for dining requests. Royal Caribbean used to have one that I used when travelling with groups of 10 or 12. We linked our reservation numbers together and were able to reserve a large table for our group. I haven't traveled with a large group since 2019 so I don't know if it is still possible to do that.

How much of a step up or down is it to enter or exit the boats? Just wondering if it would be difficult for an older person with slight balance issues?

We were also on the same Summit cruise as Vickykay and agree with her comments about the food and ship. We enjoyed  the variety and quality of food offered for breakfast and lunch in the ocean view cafe and main dining room. We purchased a 3 specialty dinner package pre cruise at a great sale price, and enjoyed the combination of eating dinner in the main dining room, Tuscan Grill, and Le Petit Chef. Excellent variety of entertainment and activities on board.

Contact the special needs department. You can find contact info and special needs form here:

https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs/medical-needs

We have purchased AIG Travel Guard insurance policies with the waiver for pre-existing conditions for many years and have been happy with their services. We had to cancel a cruise once for medical reasons and our claim was processed and paid efficiently.

Tenders dock at Town Pier. Walking map shows location of Town Pier.

https://ontheworldmap.com/usa/city/bar-harbor/bar-harbor-walking-map.html

PaperSniper4,

Log into your reservation account on Celebrity's website. Select Manage Reservation, then select Dining, where you can make your anytime dining reservations for each day. Do it as soon as possible as certain dining times fill up fast. If you can't find a time that works for you, you can always go to the dining room on the first day and make reservations. We are cruising in September and we were able to make our pre-cruise reservations last summer.

Portland is a great port for DIY exploring within walking distance of the ship, with restaurants, shops, breweries, etc. You might want to check out Portland Discovery Tours, which is walking distance from the cruise terminal. They offer several different tours at reasonable prices. We enjoyed our land and sea combo tour. Also check out their page with info for cruise ship passengers.

https://portlanddiscovery.com/tours

Enjoying your review and pictures. What is the name of the tour company for your Golden Circle Tour? Was it a large group coach bus or a small group minibus or van? We've booked this cruise for June, 2024 and are really looking forward to it.

We enjoyed our one night stay at Blue Horizon Hotel, a boutique hotel on Robson Street. Walking distance to a variety of restaurants, stores, pharmacy, and liquor store. $10.00 CAD for taxi to cruise terminal.

https://www.bluehorizonhotel.com/

We enjoyed the quaint cobblestone streets in the old part of the city.

https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/quebec-city/cutest-streets

We also enjoyed a 3 course meal from the Table d' Hote menu at Aux Anciens Canadiens Restaurant.

https://auxancienscanadiens.qc.ca/

We purchase foreign currency through our local AAA office before our trip and it's usually available within 1-2 days of placing our order. Very convenient.

Try doing a Google search for each port of call using the words "wheelchair accessible excursions in (Boston, etc)". I just tried it for Boston and came up with this website, which you might want to check out for ideas. Good luck in your search and enjoy your cruise.

https://www.getyourguide.com/boston-l260/wheelchair-accessible-tc239/

We enjoyed our 3 course meal at Aux Anciens Canadiens Restaurant. They have  great reviews on Tripadvisor. I believe they are open daily noon until 9:00 pm, but I'm not sure.

https://auxancienscanadiens.qc.ca/

5 minutes ago, Grumpella said:

I booked Paragon about 2 weeks in advance. He sent me an invoice to pay on Foursquare and then sent a confirmation email once I paid the invoice.

Thank you! Enjoy your cruise.