Live from the Golden

[Bettcc]

Hello all you July 11 Cruise Critics. Hope eveyone is either home safe or still safe in London. I got home safe yesterday after, like the rest of you, went through another nonsense on Wednesday. I was lucky and got into London early off the ship and missed the shut down. I want to thank all of you that came to the party and made the cruise a realy fun time. Hope to see you on another cruise and please keep in touch.

 

 

Mike Yarman[/quote

 

Glad to hear you arrived home safely Mike, thank you for all your work organising the C.C get togethers, it was a great cruise our first on Princess and we are already looking forward to our next on August 20th. I hope everyone else had safe journeys home, it was lovely to meet such a friendly group.

 

Elizabeth and Reg. :) :D

[blackpool belle]

Carolyn, Hope by now you feel much better than on your last day on board.

 

We had a smooth, straightforward journey home. Couldn't believe it when I switched on the TV to see the events happening in London. Wow, did I do the right thing in switching my tickets to go home via a different route than having to change in London because with the original tickets we had we would have been crossing from Waterloo to Euston at the exact time the "incident" at Warren Street (next stop to Euston) took place.

 

Thanks Mike for arranging the CC party with Richard. Hope Sooty hasn't given you a hard time since your return. My sister-in-law's 2 cats always give her the cold shoulder whenever she returns from holiday.

[fsdorado]

Hi all,

 

Mickie (Frederick's wife) hijacking his computer.....

 

Here is a link to the photos we have up so far. Mostly shots from the ports.

I don't claim to have any photographic talents, but we had a good time.

 

Enjoy, Mickie

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/dmdorado

[Host CJSKIDS]

Hi all,

 

Mickie (Frederick's wife) hijacking his computer.....

 

Here is a link to the photos we have up so far. Mostly shots from the ports.

I don't claim to have any photographic talents, but we had a good time.

 

Enjoy, Mickie

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/dmdorado

 

Hey Mickie, great shots! Glad to see you made it home safely, hope your flight went well.

 

Carolyn

[Host CJSKIDS]

Carolyn, Hope by now you feel much better than on your last day on board.

 

We had a smooth, straightforward journey home. Couldn't believe it when I switched on the TV to see the events happening in London. Wow, did I do the right thing in switching my tickets to go home via a different route than having to change in London because with the original tickets we had we would have been crossing from Waterloo to Euston at the exact time the "incident" at Warren Street (next stop to Euston) took place.

 

Thanks Mike for arranging the CC party with Richard. Hope Sooty hasn't given you a hard time since your return. My sister-in-law's 2 cats always give her the cold shoulder whenever she returns from holiday.

 

Thanks Gail. I feel much better now. I'm so glad you both got home safely. Thank God you had changed your tickets. Aren't you going back on the Golden soon?

 

Carolyn

[blackpool belle]

I made enquiries whilst on board for the 10th August sailing but it's another full house. Fully booked, and that is the last date for sailing from Southampton without flying.:mad:

[tennis4me]

Just thought I would check in too. We were at the airport at the time of the attempted bombings but didn't actually hear about them until we were home. Carolyn... I'm envious of your upgrade! We were squashed in traveler. We had a rough take off and it was bumpy pretty much the entire flight. We all felt like kissing the ground when we landed!

 

 

We really enjoyed meeting everyone and it was great running into familiar faces both onboard and ashore! And on the expressway as well!!!

 

Did any of you happen to hear anything about the group photo that was taken? We were so busy during the cruise that I didn't even think about it again until we were home.

 

Karen

[paulmichael]

Just thought I would check in too. We were at the airport at the time of the attempted bombings but didn't actually hear about them until we were home. Carolyn... I'm envious of your upgrade! We were squashed in traveler. We had a rough take off and it was bumpy pretty much the entire flight. We all felt like kissing the ground when we landed!

 

 

We really enjoyed meeting everyone and it was great running into familiar faces both onboard and ashore! And on the expressway as well!!!

 

Did any of you happen to hear anything about the group photo that was taken? We were so busy during the cruise that I didn't even think about it again until we were home.

 

Karen

 

Hi Karen: The group photo turned out great, I least I think it did. I got one. It was great meeting eveyone, I was back at the hotel when the bombings started again so I just stayed in until my flight Friday. Hope to meet up with some or all of you again on another cruise.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[J18ktleo]

Hey, you all...I've been monitoring your board for along time and waiting for some tidbits of gold to leave with...we sail on Sunday on the same itinerary (I think)...leave for London on Friday...anything you can think of that would help those of us yet to go??? :rolleyes:

 

Jeani

July 31st Western European Capitals

[fsdorado]

Hey, you all...I've been monitoring your board for along time and waiting for some tidbits of gold to leave with...we sail on Sunday on the same itinerary (I think)...leave for London on Friday...anything you can think of that would help those of us yet to go??? :rolleyes:

 

Jeani

July 31st Western European Capitals

 

Jeani,

 

Make sure you get some local currency before getting off the ship. There wasn't always an ATM easily accessible. You can use the currency exchange machines on the Golden.

 

Here's some port info:

 

Zeebrugge - The ship dock in the middle of a very large industrial port; there's nothing nearby. There were cabs available in the morning. There was also a shuttle service to Blankenburg for $12 (or 10 Euros) roundtrip. It drops you off right at the train station. There were trains to Bruges every 30 minutes, departing around 10 and 45 after the hour. Normally, the trains run only once an hour but run more frequently in the summer. The train was 4.60 Euros a person roundtrip (kids under 15 are free) and took about 10 minutes. The center of Bruges is about a one mile walk from the train station (just head for the Cloth Tower - you can't miss it!). There is also a train that goes from Zeebrugge-Strand to Bruges. The shuttle goes right by the train station but I don't know how often it runs. You'd probably need to take a cab to the Zeebrugge-Strand train station. Here's the Belgian Railways web site: http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/

 

 

Oslo - The ship docks right in town. It's a very short walk to the ferry dock and sightseeing boats. Make sure you get Kroners as the ferry to the museums doesn't really take other currency. You buy the tickets on the ferry (50 kroners for two adults and a child, good for two hours). You can also easily walk right into the center of town from the ship.

 

Copenhagen - The ship docks very near the Little Mermaid. There's a train station within walking distance of where the ship docks. There's no need to go to the main train station if you're going to Fredericksborg Castle in Hillerod. There's a public bus that stops right where the ship docks that will take you into the center of town. Be sure to get Danish Kroners for the bus. There are also abundant cabs available.

 

Hamburg - The ship docks at the new Cruise Terminal. There are lots of cabs available. There were a couple of security people who could call a cab by radio if you needed a larger van. Many of the cab drivers don't speak English so Princess recommends that you carry a postcard with a picture of the Golden with you. If you're interested in going to Berlin, buy tickets in advance at

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. It's about a 7 Euro cab ride to the train station. It was a piece of cake getting to Berlin. There's a Hop-On/Hop-Off bus stop right at the train station in Berlin.

 

Rotterdam - The ship docks in a commercial dock. There was a free shuttle into town. We did the Amsterdam on Your Own ships tour (which was nice but you didn't have much time in Amsterdam) so we didn't see much of Rotterdam.

 

LeHavre - Again, the ship docks in a commercial dock. There nothing nearby. We did a private tour of the D-Day Normandy beaches (Handmaid Tours - HIGHLY recommended!!) so we didn't see much of the area right around the dock.

 

Have a great cruise!! This is a fantastic ittinerary!! If you have any questions, please let me know.

 

 

Frederick

[J18ktleo]

Thank you Frederick!

We have private tours already set up with other cc'rs in all ports but...all ports! :p

We were thinking about getting euros at Heathrow when we land (as we wait for the others in our little group to meet up with Cheryl/Woodruff Limo service) as most places take euros but the question of money did arise for Denmark and Oslo...is the ATM onboard the best bet and reliable (we've heard/had not good past experiences with the shipboard ATM)

Hope you all had a wonderful time and left some decent weather for us? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the quick reply

Jeani

[fsdorado]

Thank you Frederick!

We have private tours already set up with other cc'rs in all ports but...all ports! :p

We were thinking about getting euros at Heathrow when we land (as we wait for the others in our little group to meet up with Cheryl/Woodruff Limo service) as most places take euros but the question of money did arise for Denmark and Oslo...is the ATM onboard the best bet and reliable (we've heard/had not good past experiences with the shipboard ATM)

Hope you all had a wonderful time and left some decent weather for us? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the quick reply

Jeani

 

Jeani,

 

We actually bought Euros before we left for London from Travelex. I'm sure you can do it at Heathrow too; it might not be the best rate though. We were able to use the currency exchange machine on the ship to change dollars to kroners. There are two machines onboard; if one was broken, the other was usually working. We didn't use the shipboard ATM machine.

 

Cheryl's service was absolutely top notch. Collin even managed to explain Cricket to us on the way from Southampton to London!! :D

 

 

Frederick

[goldencruiser]

Hi,

We are staying in Southampton on Saturday before we board the Golden this Sunday -- is there a place in Southampton near the Holiday Inn to buy wine before boarding the ship? Also, can we buy wine at our different port stops and bring it on board to drink in our rooms? This way we would not buy as much in Southampton and could taste other wines as well.

 

Thanks

Diane

[J18ktleo]

Thanks again, Frederick!

We were planning on using Travelex at Heathrow...but knowing we can get kroner onboard is great! Don't remember...is it better to use cash to change or traveler's checks? And, if you use the ATM do you get a choice of what monies you get (euro or GBP)?

 

Jeani

[GottoCruise]

Appreciate your information Frederick! :D

 

We're all set for July 31! :p

 

Renee

[Host CJSKIDS]

Jeani,

 

We actually bought Euros before we left for London from Travelex. I'm sure you can do it at Heathrow too; it might not be the best rate though. We were able to use the currency exchange machine on the ship to change dollars to kroners. There are two machines onboard; if one was broken, the other was usually working. We didn't use the shipboard ATM machine.

 

Cheryl's service was absolutely top notch. Collin even managed to explain Cricket to us on the way from Southampton to London!! :D

 

 

Frederick

 

We also bought Euros before we left. If you go through the Bank Of New York's website which will then bring you to Travelex, you will get a better exchange rate than if you go through travelex directly. Their exchange rate is better than travelex, Amex and AAA. If you order over $500 it's free shipping. I actually ordered Euros, GBP, and kroners for Denmark and Norway from here and then used the ATM machines throughout Europe.

[J18ktleo]

Unfortunately, we're leaving in the morning and I can't IMAGINE we can get delivery that fast!

So...we'll take our lumps and pay the price! :cool:

 

thanks for all your help...I'll be checking mail thru tonite if you think of anything else!

 

Jeani

[fsdorado]

Thanks again, Frederick!

We were planning on using Travelex at Heathrow...but knowing we can get kroner onboard is great! Don't remember...is it better to use cash to change or traveler's checks? And, if you use the ATM do you get a choice of what monies you get (euro or GBP)?

 

Jeani

 

I don't think you can use travellers checks in the currency exchange machine. We used cash and credit cards everywhere. We did not use the ATM machine on the ship. (For that matter, I don't really recall seeing one anywhere, but I wasn't paying that much attention.) There is a place to exchange currency in Oslo right outside the ship. I don't know if the exchange rate was any good though. We couldn't use our ATM cards in Oslo at any of the machines we tried. We eventually found a currency exchange machine in one of the banks to change dollars to kroners.

 

Have a great trip!!

 

 

Frederick

[calikak]

If you have a Visa debit card as your ATM card, you can check out the Visa website to see where ATMs are that will take your card. We found that just going to an ATM as soon as we got ashore got us the best exchange rate, because luckily our bank doesn't charge a big fee to use foreign ATMs.

[J18ktleo]

Thank you, both!

We just went to our bank and got some euros to last a few days and I'll check for the ATMs...

Have money CAN travel easier! :p

Ready to go now!

Take care,

Jeani

[susancruzs]

ATMs are usually everywhere in Europe, more so than in the US. The key to using a debit card is having a 4 digit PIN, numeric no letters. Mine is through Visa and my local credit union and it worked in tiny towns in Italy last year, no outrageous fees.

 

I always take some currency with me so I have it as soon as I get there just in case.

I don't go to a bank, a local travel agency at a mall handles currency as well and the exchange rate is good.

 

Susie

[fsdorado]

ATMs are usually everywhere in Europe, more so than in the US. The key to using a debit card is having a 4 digit PIN, numeric no letters. Mine is through Visa and my local credit union and it worked in tiny towns in Italy last year, no outrageous fees.

 

I always take some currency with me so I have it as soon as I get there just in case.

I don't go to a bank, a local travel agency at a mall handles currency as well and the exchange rate is good.

 

Susie

 

Just for clarification, Oslo was the only place that we had problems with our ATM card. I would agree that there are ATM machines everywhere, but not necessarily right where the ship docks so it's always a good idea to have a little local currency in case you need to take a cab or public bus that doesn't take credit cards.

 

 

Frederick

[Host CJSKIDS]

Just for clarification, Oslo was the only place that we had problems with our ATM card. I would agree that there are ATM machines everywhere, but not necessarily right where the ship docks so it's always a good idea to have a little local currency in case you need to take a cab or public bus that doesn't take credit cards.

 

 

Frederick

 

Frederick is right, there were many places where the shipped docked that didn't have an ATM machine. Zeebrugge is one, if you grab a cab to go to Brugge as we did, there were no ATM machines at the dock or even exactly where the cabs drop you off in the square. We had euros so we could pay our cab driver nor problem but if we hadn't it certainly would have made it more difficult!

[blackpool belle]

I cant believe we have all been back home a week now. Hope you are all back in the swing of things. Have a great week-end:)

[mason525]

Hi all-

Got home last night but am still on a travel high from a great cruise & fun London/Scotland trip w/my son Ian. Good to hear how everybody's filtering home -safe & sound. Frederick & Micky your pix look great! Miss you all. Meg