PBJ63

I just got off the Wonder yesterday and there were loads of people picking up their liquor at the port as they left the ship. I think it is the same as printed above.

That video of the road clearing is impressive! WOW!! It's hard to imagine how they even know where the road is located. Thanks for sharing!

We will be on the first Disney cruise sailing on June 6. We have booked all of our tours through them, but I know they will be operated by locals. Should we tip our tour guides, and if so, what would be an appropriate amount? What about the bus drivers or boat guides?

First, a little clarification - GTY is not a discount. When a certain percentage of rooms within a category have been booked, the category goes "GTY". You can still book that category, you just can't select a specific room. The cost for these bookings is the same as if you select a specific room.

 

*GT are the reduced last-minute restricted fares. These are for a type of room (interior; oceanview; verandah), not a specific category. They typically are offered after the Paid in Full date for each cruise.

 

The only way to find them is to keep checking the different cruises that you are interested in. They just show up one day.

Thanks for the clarification. I was afraid of that. I'll guess I'll just start constantly checking the sites for the ones I am interested in sailing.

Is there a way to be notified or find out when GTY rates are posted by DCL, or is it just word of mouth and constantly searching the website? I can sail on the "spur of the moment" as it were, and would love to know about these just in case something is appealing to me.

Is that the time for the general public to be able to book? Gold and Platinum castaway members should be able to do so a day earlier.

Gold and Platinum can book tomorrow (3/25) by phone. Everyone else can book 3/26 by phone or on-line.

I don't know about a regular schedule, but Disney has announced on their DCL Facebook page that the summer 2016 cruises will be announced sometime this week.

I do know that Disney will be releasing it's summer 2016 cruises sometime this week, so you will see the lowest fares you can probably get for Europe at that time. I have also sailed quite a lot with Royal Caribbean and feel they are an excellent mid priced line. I don't know exactly what, if anything, that they have with Norway, but they do sail the Med in the summer. I agree with you, that I am not personally interested in Carnival either for the same reasons you mentioned.

Lara

 

We wanted to do a walking tour of Copenhagen but we wanted to do it ourselves. We wrote to the Copenhagen Tourist offices and asked for whatever info they could send us, particularly walking tours. They sent us wonderful info, maps and a great walking tour to do on your own. We really weren't interested in facts and figures that a guide might give us, we just love to go at our own pace, seeing what we wanted to see and for as long as we wish.

 

Most of the main attractions in Copenhagen are in about a 2 mile radius and easily viewed via any good walking tour in maybe 5 hours even at a leisurely pace.

 

As for the particular tour you linked, we didn't take it, Sorry

 

Cheers

 

Len

That's exactly what I'm looking for!! Thank you! I'm off to contact the tourist office.

I believe I have read that it may be a little cheaper to buy things like that after you have sailed because of the taxes. Once you are in international waters, then local taxes no longer apply.

I have a Canon SX50. It is a crossover style, but I am strictly point and shoot. I set it on automatic and go. The only thing I adjust is the zoom. It has an amazing 50x zoom.

I can only speak about Viking, but I was very impressed with them on our cruise last summer. We often took what they referred to as the "leisurely" tour. It covered the same itinerary as the regular one, but without steps, etc. There was one couple with a wheelchair and others using canes who traveled regularly in this group. You never have to go on a tour, and you can just go on your own. Sometimes, however, the ship will sail on while you tour and your group will be bussed to the next port. Or you may be docked at an inconvenient area to just walk on or off the ship. Shuttles were usually provided for in those instances.

We cruised Viking in Europe last summer. We had access to free wireless internet service plus there were a few computers on board for public use. Sometimes our connections were weak, but if we moved from our stateroom to the lobby, it was usually stronger. I don't know how the connections would be in Asia. We were one of the newer longboats and it was very nice. Everything was included in the price, including shore excursions every day. Wine is included at meals, but liquor is extra. There are some extra shore excursions that can be purchased but are optional.

We were on an RCI cruise in January to the Western Caribbean and we changed our clocks with the time zones.

Just had a very frustrating call to Capital One where we have a Quicksilver card because it charges no foreign transaction fees. We used our strip only card last summer in Amsterdam, Germany, etc. without issue. After reading all the comments about Norway and Denmark, where we travel this summer, I decided to request a chip/pin card, realizing I would probably get a chip/signature card. I was told they were in the process of replacing all their cards by the end of this year, and we could not get a speeded up processing. It would come whenever it comes. Two different people told me "not to worry, if they accept Visa they had to accept this strip/signature card" although they might have to call Visa, etc. I let them both know I was definitely unhappy with this customer service, but there was little I could do. Even mentioned that I might be changing to another company! I will be using Apple Pay where it is available, but we shall see where this goes.

We spent a few days in Amsterdam last summer before our Viking River cruise. We stayed in the Radisson Blu and it was very nice and convenient to walk to most of the tourist sights. If you have time and want windmills, take a trip out to Kinderdyjk.

Another method of payment that is starting to become quite regular is to pay with your mobile phone.

I have Apple Pay, so is this what you are referring to. Also, can it be done while the phone is in airport mode? I don't want to have huge data fees just to use my phone to pay. I admit to being quite ignorant on this point. :confused:

Oh, my, what a wonderful thread with a wealth of information. I just spent the last 2 hours scrolling through it! We just last week booked on the Disney Magic, sailing June 6. I discovered on this thread that that is its first Norwegian voyage. I can't access and book tours until March 8 and it is driving me crazy. I now know what I want to do in Alesund and Geiranger (which I had never heard of until last week). Thanks, I Cruiser, for all the great information.

No answers, but signing on here as we, too, are sailing to/from Copenhagen. I'm looking for good sight seeing tips for senior citizens who aren't big walkers, as well. We sail in early June.

We just completed our first river cruise in June. It was amazing and I am so glad we did it as the itinerary was wonderful. But, that being said, we probably won't do another river cruise. We found the small ship to be just too confining for us. We don't do the shows or casinos, but we enjoy being able to walk around a lot and see various things. We also missed the variety in food offered on a large ship. The food on our river cruise was excellent, but there just weren't many options. Every night was a 3 course 2-3 hour affair. We just don't handle that all that well for night after night. Again, I love that we did the river cruise, but found it just wasn't our "cup of tea."

We had a cocktail time from about 5:30-7 in the Aquavit Lounge. The daily briefing (for the next day) was at 6:45 in the Aquavit Lounge, followed by dinner at 7.

Thank you for these links. I have the Castles on the Rhine book you mentioned and it has some beautiful pictures. I now just have to figure out which ones we will actually sail past on our cruise. I just went to the Rick Steves site and downloaded four podcasts as well as printed out the maps to accompany them. We are spending a few days in Amsterdam before hand and I found the 3 walking tours he had for there. Time to buckle down and research this trip as we leave in less than 2 weeks.

Thank you so much for this post. We are sailing next June 1 on the Magni on this same itinerary. It is good to read your tips and ideas about the trip. I am so excited to celebrate my retirement with this cruise. It will be our first river cruise and our first time to Europe.

This was my first time to try price line. I use biddingtraveler.com to guide me. I went lower than they suggested and started at $80 and won on my first try. I got the Radisson for Dec. 21-22. I'm pretty happy with that.