Joanne G.

By chance were Copenhagen and Nynashamn (for Stockholm) among the ports you visited where a shuttle was available into the main part of town? I could probably handle public transportation for Copenhagen, but we will apparently be some distance from Stockholm city center, and currently Carnival is offering no excursions at all.

My upcoming B2B is in Europe, from the port of Dover. I hope to leave the ship to visit Dover Castle on the turnaround day. Has anyone been through the process at Dover? I booked the 2 cruises at different times, but with the same travel agent. I will make sure she has them linked as B2B. Despite booking at different times, I lucked out and got the same cabin for both cruises. First time back on a ship since 2019. VERY excited!

@ozpom51, thanks for the tips and the encouragement. I had to cancel the upcoming cruise I mentioned in my post last July, because I got covid 😷. My upcoming cruises this year are in July and September. After one more booster and a case of covid (mild), I am a little less worried than I was last year. But not unworried, so I will still be trying to keep my distance from others where possible.

Yes, that's the cruise I am on. Are you on the roll call? I will keep you in mind if I come across something.

After giving up a few weeks ago and booking a Norway fjord cruise with a friend on Royal Caribbean, I gave up again and booked a solo Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity with a great itinerary. Besides simply wanting to finalize plans for 2024, what ultimately convinced me to go with the Celebrity cruise was the ability to browse the excursions that would likely be offered in each port. I am still waiting for Carnival to offer anything on two of the ports on my July 2023 B2B European cruises, and for one of the ports, only 3 choices are offered. I will probably keep checking Carnival out of curiosity. I expect if Carnival does have a ship in Europe next year, the cruises will be less expensive that my Celebrity cruise. But I am now looking forward to the Celebrity experience and their more varied excursion options.

I am on Carnival's British Isles cruise in July. As of today, no excursions are available for Portree. The two companies whose names I came across in my searching are either no longer in business (Skye Minibus tours) or are no longer doing their shore excursion tour planned around port times (WOW Scotland). While the town looks charming, the scenery in the surrounding area is quite spectacular, and that's what I would like to see. I keep hoping Carnival will offer something, but if they don't, what other options can I explore? Any possibility of arranging something upon arrival with a local tour guide? It does not look like a big city at which a line of taxis will be waiting! Thanks for any information.

I thought maybe I would buy a few bottles from the Fun Shop ahead of time instead of buying the package onboard - but those purchases are limited to 2 bottles per cabin. And the online in-room purchases come with restriction that the wine must be consumed in the cabin. Not sure how that's enforceable, but that's their rule. I will go with the package, and I will assume from the responses above that I will be able to enjoy it in my cabin one way or another. Thanks to all, including the OP who brought this up. I had the idea since Carnival was pushing Cheers so much that the wine package wasn't available anymore.

The prices listed by bigdog and the selections within each price group are on Carnival's website - along with this restriction: You may drink the wine in the dining room only. My sister and I used to be able to pick up a bottle from our package (and a couple of glasses) at one of the bars or at the dining room other than at dinner time, in order to enjoy it on our balcony. Or we could take an unfinished bottle from dinner back to our cabin. Are these not options anymore?

Thank you! From the information on that site, Apple Pay and Google Pay will work, too.

I hope Carnival provides a shuttle on my upcoming July Baltic cruise, but if not, thank you for the above information. Is currency - bills or coins - needed for the train fare? Or are credit cards accepted? My cruise has two stops in Sweden (this one and Gotheburg) and in Copenhagen, and I am trying to decide if I need local currency for the countries that don't use euros. I have no problem obtaining local currency if needed, but if credit cards are widely accepted even for small purchases (public transportation, maybe a bottle of water or a snack, maybe some postcards or other small souvenirs), that makes for easier planning.

They are a mystery to me too, but they wouldn't be on all the major cruise lines if they didn't make money. By the way, when a print is described as "giclee", that's French for "ink jet." 🤣

I gave up, too. A friend and I want to do a Norwegian fjords itinerary in 2024, and we just booked a Behemoth of the Seas. We would prefer a ship of the size of the Legend, and we like the (usually) good value of Carnival. But we wanted to settle our plans, and we have no indication of when Carnival will release those itineraries. I wonder what's taking so long. NCL has 2025 out! By the way, I am also frustrated and disappointed that Carnival hasn't released any excursions whatsoever for 3 of the ports on my upcoming July Baltic and Great Britain b2b cruises. Sometimes I explore independently, but that isn't always practical, and I at least like to see what the cruise line offers before finalizing my plans.

Have you considered taking the layover at a U.S city rather than Heathrow? That way after the long overnight flight to Europe, you are at your destination. I am looking at a Royal Caribbean cruise next year that leaves out of one of the ports now used instead of Venice. Currently, there are no non-stop flights to Venice from my home airport, which is busy O'Hare. If that's still the case next year, I will take a layover in Newark or Philadelphia or Atlanta or even Toronto (the current options) rather than Frankfurt or Zurich or Lisbon or any number of other European cities. If you get to O'Hare, you can currently go direct to Rome, Barcelona, Athens, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and others. So, I should stick cruises out of those ports LOL.

My feelings exactly. And for the same reason, I wouldn't want to use my phone, either. I used an Oyster every day on a London vacation last summer and found it very convenient, while my credit cards and phone stayed safely in my purse. It was easy to monitor the balance as remaining funds were displayed with every tap. I kept it for my short pre- and post-cruise visits next summer. As for the London Pass, I agree with others who say you probably wouldn't get your money's worth for just a few days, and typically those days have to be consecutive. Decide which sites you most want to see and see plan accordingly. Usually, you can buy timed tickets in advance (Westminster Abbey, the Tower, Buckingham Palace if it's open, London Eye) in order to avoid standing in lines.

Well, that's concerning LOL! Is that typical? As it appears credit cards are the way to go for even small purchases, I wasn't planning on getting Danish (or Swedish) currency for my July Baltics cruise. But how would I get coins other than by getting bills and buying something in order to get coins as change??

😄 Or this:

I don't believe adding it to your wish list does anything. When I put my name on a waiting list for a sold-out excursion, I was notified by email that a spot had opened up. I had a certain time period - I believe 48 hours - to book and pay for it. They did not automatically charge me, and if I had not paid for it within the time period, I would have gone to the bottom of the waiting list. As it was an excursion that I really wanted, I checked my account almost every day to see if a spot had opened up. That probably wasn't necessary, as I did get an email. But I didn't want to miss my chance if the email had gone astray!

I agree. And despite my earlier post on this thread about planning to take only a carry-on to London, I ended up checking a bag from O'Hare to Heathrow. It arrived safely and was not in one of those horrific piles that we saw in pictures last summer. I was very relieved! I do appreciate the information about these services, but I don't think I will be looking into them any further.

If it's an itinerary I like at a price I am willing to pay for a cabin of my choice, I would book that far out. However, I would want to be clear about whether or not the deposit is refundable, and the size of the required deposit would factor into my decision. I like that NCL puts their itineraries out long before the other major lines. It makes me happy to have cruises booked well into the future. 😀 As for the ship not yet sailing - well, there is a risk to that. But then booking anything that far out on any ship has some risks - itinerary canceled or altered for some reason, ship gets chartered, ship unexpectedly needs dry dock, any number of possibilities.

I have never been able to sleep on a long flight, even when I splurged on a lie-flat seat for a flight from Chicago to London. I doze fitfully, but otherwise I just read or listen to soothing music. If I have a choice, I pick a flight that's closer to my usual bedtime rather than a late afternoon or early evening one. When a friend and I landed in Rome before a Celebrity cruise some years ago, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and then took a Hop-on, Hop-off bus around the city. Sure, it's touristy, but it was our first time in Rome, and it was a low-effort way to see the major sights in our jet-lagged state. We got off and walked around at several stops. I absolutely agree with those who have said to get out, be active, get some sunlight, and avoid a nap. Power through the day; excitement and adrenaline will probably help. Have an early dinner and go to bed early. You will probably feel fine the next day.

You are welcome. I have used the Heathrow Express a few times in both directions, and I like it. It's easy to find at the airport by following the signs. It runs frequently. It has enough space for luggage. It's faster than a cab in traffic, and it doesn't have intermediate stops like the Tube routes. For me traveling solo, even a last-minute ticket is cheaper than a cab for the same distance. I used the Tube every day on a vacation in London last summer. It was fast and easy for getting around for my sightseeing, but I probably wouldn't use it with luggage - though many do, and you have gotten suggestions here on how best to do that. Have a great trip!

If you decide to use the Heathrow Express, the cost is as low as £5.50 if you purchase the ticket 90 days in advance. It's about £25.00 if purchased at the last minute.

I agree about the Palace of Westminster tour; very interesting. I didn't do the night ceremony of the keys at the Tower, but I did a tour of the traditional opening ceremony, also with keys, that started before the opening to the general public. We were then in the first group to see the Crown Jewels, avoiding the line that forms quickly. I bought the tour through Viator.

I went strictly solo. I considered a tour, but I thought I might feel more alone as a solo among probably all couples than I would feel simply traveling alone. More importantly, I wanted to plan my days around what I wanted to do with no time spent on things that didn't interest me - art museums and long walks along the coasts, yes; Guinness Storehouse and Jameson Distillery, no LOL. Being on my own meant doing a great deal of research - hotels, public transportation systems, distance between the things I wanted to see and how much time people typically spend at those sites in order to plan how much I could do in a day. I even looked up what time the sun would set so I knew how much daylight I would have. I split my time between Dublin and Galway, and I took one day trip by train to Belfast to see the Titanic exhibit. If I have any regrets about not doing a bus tour, it would be that there are so many other parts of Ireland that I didn't see. But I just discovered that NCL put out a 2025 itinerary that circles Ireland, sailing out of Southhampton. That is an uncommon itinerary that definitely interests me. ☘️ As for that October solo cruise (Princess California Coastal) that I mentioned in my previous post, I got covid the week before and had to cancel. 😥 Next up for my long-awaited first solo cruise is Northern Europe on the Carnival Pride in July next year. What I am looking forward to a solo cruise, as opposed to a solo land vacation, is the evening activities on a ship. As I was reluctant to go out alone after dark in unfamiliar cities, the evenings in the hotel rooms were sort of boring.

I agree. And I wish more people posted reviews. I am looking at excursions for my upcoming Pride cruises in Europe, and there are very few reviews. I know that Carnival hadn't had a ship in Europe for a while, but, as far as I know, they did sail this past summer, presumably with many of the same excursions offered for next year. The excursions are pretty expensive, so it would be good to know peoples' experiences. I will be posting reviews in order to help others make their decisions!