12-day Northern Europe 7/31/22 Pride review

[NCTribeFan]

I thought of something I was going to ask and by the time I got over here, I'd forgotten.  I'll probably remember in the middle of the night.

 

LOL at the luggage.

 

My DD, SIL and DGD (turns 2 in two weeks) are headed to the UK tomorrow.  I'm driving them to the airport.  Can't wait to see how much luggage they have.  Lots and lots of stuff for the toddler, I'm sure.

[cyntil8ing]

Day 3 - La Coruna, Spain

 

Travel: The port is downtown. You can get off the ship and walk.

 

We walked in a large loop (about 5 miles) from the port around to the Tower of Hercules, then back through town, stopping for lunch at a restaurant that had the most awesome mussels I have ever had.

 

 

 

If you're looking for a beach, this was a nice one. But the water was absolutely frigid and there were no services.

 

 

 

We were not able to go up in the Tower. The next available tickets were for 3pm, which would have had us just hanging around for a few hours and missing out on time in town. There were beautiful views from the bottom of the tower, so we didn't miss it at all.

 

 

 

 

Back to the town

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sail away

 

 

 

Steps: 18k

[TrqoisWtrs]

Love the tips for London.  I'm also doing 4 days prior in London so bookmarked your links.  Re the shuttle from the train to the port - is it something you prebook or is it just sitting there waiting?  Thanks and looking forward to more.  :)

[cyntil8ing]

12 hours ago, cruisin*tigger said:

Re the shuttle from the train to the port - is it something you prebook or is it just sitting there waiting? 

 

It was waiting. When we exited the station, it was kind of a madhouse with people milling around. The bus was just to the left and there was a line to stow luggage before boarding. There was also a guy walking around telling folks about the shuttle. He took my bags from me and showed me to the line. The bus filled and we were on our way.

 

My husband and daughter had to wait for the next bus. He said while they were waiting, the mad rush from the arriving train was over, and with another one not due for an hour, there were taxi drivers offering their services for £8. This may be a better option if you have less luggage.

 

Because of being split between buses, we ended up accidentally not paying. Hubby thought I had paid, and I though he had, and no one noticed. I suppose it just as easily could have gone the other way and we both paid.

 

The distance from the station to the port was less than five minutes. When we arrived, all the luggage was pulled off the bus. Tagged luggage was swept away and untagged sat next to the bus waiting to be claimed. We had tagged our luggage at the station while waiting to put it on the bus, so we didn't have to deal with it at the port.

[ninjacat123]

15 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

Day 3 - La Coruna, Spain

 

Travel: The port is downtown. You can get off the ship and walk.

 

We walked in a large loop (about 5 miles) from the port around to the Tower of Hercules, then back through town, stopping for lunch at a restaurant that had the most awesome mussels I have ever had.

 

 

 

If you're looking for a beach, this was a nice one. But the water was absolutely frigid and there were no services.

 

 

 

We were not able to go up in the Tower. The next available tickets were for 3pm, which would have had us just hanging around for a few hours and missing out on time in town. There were beautiful views from the bottom of the tower, so we didn't miss it at all.

 

 

 

 

Back to the town

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sail away

 

 

 

Steps: 18k

The food looks awesome!  My family was so impressed with the tasty dishes we enjoyed while in Amsterdam and Paris.  Your pics make me hungry!😄

[cyntil8ing]

Day 4 - Leixoes (Porto), Portugal

 

Travel: The port is about 30 minutes from town. We took an Uber each way. To town, it was €9, but coming back due to high demand, it was €24.

 

Port guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/Leixoes.htm

 

In Porto, we had pre-booked a Tuk Tuk tour. If you have a Chase Sapphire card, either Preferred or Reserve, you can book Viator tours with points at a 25% discount using the Chase Travel site. It's rather clunky and cumbersome though. I would find a tour, then search Viator to find it so I could see details and read reviews, as details are limited on the Chase site. Our 90 minute tour, which was this one — https://www.viator.com/tours/Porto/Historic-Porto-1h30-Private-Tour-on-an-Electric-Tuk-Tuk/d26879-277252P1, cost 6,570 Ultimate Rewards points. 

 

Our driver/guide was wonderful, very personable and safety focused. We were driving in traffic, but I never felt uneasy. The tour was a "pass-by" tour, in that we simply drove past most of the sights, stopping only twice to get out for photos. As we were ending the tour, we passed by the Portuguese Centre of Photography, which is housed in a former prison. Our guide suggested we might be interested in the architecture and best of all, it was free!

 

After ending the tuk tuk tour, we found a bakery for a snack. My daughter had to register for her next quarter's classes, so we hung out at bit while she took care of business. We then walked through a lovely park Jardim da Cordoaria, then headed to the museum. After the museum, we found a cafe for a drink and a snack, and then we called an Uber to take us back to the port.

 

One of the highlights of Porto, which we did not visit because of a huge line, was Livraria Lello bookshop. I really regret not making the time to visit. See https://portoalities.com/en/discover-lello-bookstore-porto/ for details. 

 

The Leixões port building was unique

 

 

Porto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Registering for fall classes

 

 

Jardim da Cordoaria

 

 

Fun fact about this art. As soon as I saw the guy on the upper right, I said it looked like an art piece on the Celebrity Summit, the only ship we've been on more than Carnival Pride. Sure enough, some googling found more information about the art and the artist, Juan Muñoz. http://www.patrickcomerford.com/2019/02/13-laughing-men-without-age-in-time-and.html

 

 

The statue on Celebrity Summit

 

 

 

Portuguese Centre of Photography

 

 

 

Sao Bento Railway Station

 

 

 

We found a cafe for a drink and a snack

 

 

 

 

Sail away

 

 

 

Steps: 13k

Edited August 17, 2022 by cyntil8ing

[kwokpot]

39 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

One of the highlights of Porto, which we did not visit because of a huge line, was Livraria Lello bookshop. I really regret not making the time to visit. See https://portoalities.com/en/discover-lello-bookstore-porto/ for details. 

You can prebook tickets for that bookstore, then there's a separate line for those that have tickets. I didn't know about the bookstore until the day before, and I made the reservations while on the Pride the day before. Part of the admission fee is rebated back if you buy something, which we did! 

[ninjacat123]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

You can prebook tickets for that bookstore, then there's a separate line for those that have tickets. I didn't know about the bookstore until the day before, and I made the reservations while on the Pride the day before. Part of the admission fee is rebated back if you buy something, which we did! 

Wow! That looks like something out of a Happy Potter movie!👍

[kwokpot]

20 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Wow! That looks like something out of a Happy Potter movie!👍

I'm not sure if you were aware but it is rumored the bookstore was one of the inspirations for JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. I've never researched whether she actually confirmed this. 

 

And here's a photos of the crazy hoards of people trying to enter the bookstore that cyntil8ing was talking about.

Edited August 17, 2022 by kwokpot

[peteandpris]

Great review thank you.

 

[ninjacat123]

2 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm not sure if you were aware but it is rumored the bookstore was one of the inspirations for JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. I've never researched whether she actually confirmed this. 

 

And here's a photos of the crazy hoards of people trying to enter the bookstore that the cyntil8ing was talking about.

No, I had no idea.  We have been kinda binge-watching the Harry Potter movies, first to last for the last 10 days.  It looks like a movie set.  Thx for posting the pics!

[cyntil8ing]

JK Rowling tweeted that she has never been to the bookshop, though she did at one time live in Porto.

 

https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1263377779338481665?s=20&t=XqU9x8RbxkRQeF1-GNfzHA

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by cyntil8ing

[kwokpot]

4 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

JK Rowling tweeted that she has never been to the bookshop, though she did at one time live in Porto.

 

https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1263377779338481665?s=20&t=XqU9x8RbxkRQeF1-GNfzHA

 

Rumor debunked!

[ninjacat123]

20 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Rumor debunked!

Sure....and Snape was a bad guy.  Hmmmm, I say!🤣

[Runaway Parent]

Did you happen to do Chef's Table? I'm sorry if I missed that in your posts--just scrolled through quickly.

[cyntil8ing]

25 minutes ago, Runaway Parent said:

Did you happen to do Chef's Table? I'm sorry if I missed that in your posts--just scrolled through quickly.

No. 

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, Runaway Parent said:

Did you happen to do Chef's Table? I'm sorry if I missed that in your posts--just scrolled through quickly.

I'm doing Chef's Table on Sunshine over Labor Day weekend.  I'll report back👍

[cyntil8ing]

Sorry for the delay. First week back at work.

 

Day 5 - Lisbon, Portugal

 

Travel: The port is in town.

 

Port Guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/Lisbon.htm

 

Arriving in Lisbon, you go under the 25 de Abril Bridge. It will definitely remind you of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, because of the color. But the design is closer to the Bay Bridge. It was the same builder.

 

 

There were a ton of jellyfish in the water!

 

We had a private tour with Spain Day Tours that picked us up and dropped us off at the port.

 

Our pick-up time was 8:30. We rushed off the ship to find our driver waiting for us, again with a sign. The kids are already getting jaded; they didn't think it was such a big deal this time. Our driver, Manuel, led us to a new Mercedes van. The kids and I sat in the second row and my husband sat up front with Manuel. The two of them became fast friends by the end of the day!

 

For building this tour, we started with the Lisbon, Sintra and Estoril tour (https://www.spaindaytours.com/lisbon-tours/lisbon-sintra-estoril/), but we wanted to add more beach time, and weren't really interested in touring the palace. This is what led us to switch to a private tour. It really wasn't all that much more. We paid €436 for the day. Less than any of the Carnival excursions!

 

Our  first stop was the Praca do Comercio, the plaza.

 

 

Next, we drove through the city to Parque Eduardo VII, for a lovely view.

 

 

Next, we stopped for an overlook of the Aquas Livres Aqueduct.

 

 

Next, we were off to the town of Sintra. This was a quaint, lovely little town. We walked around for an hour or so, had some coffee and breakfast.

 

 

 

We sampled the water from the spring-fed fountains.

 

 

Next we were off to the westernmost point of Europe - Cabo da Roca. So, now we can say we've been to the easternmost point of the US (on St. Croix) and the westernmost point of Europe.

 

 

Our next stop was a beach on the way to Cascais. It was chilly and windy, so we didn't venture out.

 

 

We continued on to Cascais where we spent a few hours wandering around and had lunch. This would definitely be a place I'd love to return to. In fact, it was probably my favorite stop of the entire cruise (well, maybe not better than Amsterdam, but close!).

 

 

 

The weather had cleared up and the beach was protected, so we did dip our toes before we left Cascais.

 

 

We headed back to the port, with some photo stops along the way.

 

 

Manuel asked if we wanted to be dropped off in town or at the port. It was about 3:15 and all aboard time was 4:30. We were all worn out, so we opted to go back to the ship. Later, after sail away, I stretched out to rest before dinner, and we all ended up sleeping through it. Hubby and the kids had dinner from Lido at 9:30.

 

Steps: 14k

Edited August 19, 2022 by cyntil8ing

[cyntil8ing]

Day 7 - Bilbao, Spain

 

Travel: The port is about 20 minutes from town.

 

Port Guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/Bilbao.htm

 

We had a small group tour with Spain Day Tours that picked us up and dropped us off at the port. Spain Day Tours Bilbao

 

On our way to Bilbao, we stopped to see the Viscaya Bridge. It is a transporter bridge, where the base moves from side to side via suspension cables. It was built in the 1890's and has been in service continuously.

 

 

Next, we stopped at an overlook to see the city.

 

 

In town, we did a walking tour, with an hour or so on our own for lunch. Then we met at the Guggenheim Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

In Porto, I noticed a  Laughing Man statue that I recognized from the Celebrity Summit. The same thing happened in Bilbao! I haven't yet found the name of the artist.

 

 

On the Celebrity Summit:

 

 

teps: 14k

Edited August 19, 2022 by cyntil8ing

[cyntil8ing]

Day 8 - Bordeaux (La Rochelle), France

 

Travel: The port is about 10 minutes from town. There is a Carnival-provided free shuttle.

 

Port Guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/La-Pallice-La-Rochelle.htm

 

This was a picturesque town. We did not visit any touristy sites, such as the towers. We just walked the streets, did a little shopping, then had a wonderful lunch at a crepery. The day just flew by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steps: 16k

 

[cyntil8ing]

Day 10 - Le Havre (Paris), France

 

Travel: The port is about 2.5 - 3 hours from Paris. We booked a Carnival excursion to make sure the ship would wait.

 

Port Guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/Le-Havre.htm

 

We booked the Carnival Paris On Your Own excursion. My goal for the day was to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. In retrospect, I would not encourage this. It ended up being the only thing we did/saw that day. I spent the afternoon stressed about the lines, worrying we wouldn't make it back to the bus in time. We didn't even have time for lunch. We bought a baguette in a shop to eat on the bus on the way back. But if you're determined, here's what I did.

 

There are three types of Eiffel Tower tickets -- Stairs to the second floor, Lift to the second floor, and Summit (Top). The Summit tickets go on sale 60 days in advance. I put it on my calendar and got my tickets the day they went on sale. They sold out that day, so don't wait! Information and ticket sales are here: https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/rates-opening-times

 

The Carnival site did not have the times for the buses, so I estimated that we would need to be leaving Paris at about 4:30. That led me to booking 2:00pm tickets. I thought 2 hours, with half hour to get back to the bus would be ok. In the end, it was, but whew, I wish I had booked for 1:00pm instead. Our bus meetup time was 4:15, but stragglers had us waiting until about 4:40. We arrived back at the ship about 15 minutes past all aboard time of 7:30.

 

I was also a little concerned about ship time vs port time. There is an hour difference between Dover and Paris, and based on many past Carnival cruises (admittedly only in the Caribbean), Carnival does not change ship time. So, I was concerned that our 8:30 excursion departure would be 9:30 in Paris. It turned out we did change ship time, so that hour wasn't really a factor, except that our 8:30 departure was really closer to 9:15. Anyway, just mentioning it because time is always an issue when you do things on your own.

 

Our excursion tickets said to meet in the show lounge at 8:00am for an 8:30 departure. Evidently, EVERYONE's tickets said that, because at 8:00am, the line to get bus number stickers wrapped the entire length of the ship and halfway back again. After finally getting our numbers (23), we still had to wait about 20 minutes to leave the ship for the bus. We ended up arriving in Paris about 12:30. There was a rest stop break about 2 hours into the trip. 

 

Anyway, enough blabbing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo Is of the Niemeyer Cultural Center near the port in Le Havre. My daughter noticed and captured the skateboarder at the top as we passed on our way back to the ship. I saw the building, which houses a theater, but didn't notice the skateboarder until I was uploading photos. More info: http://unesco.lehavre.fr/en/discover/the-niemeyer-cultural-centre

 

 

And our room steward outdid himself today with the towel animals.

 

 

 

Steps: 13k

[cyntil8ing]

Day 11 - Zeebrugge (Bruges), Belgium

 

Travel: The port is about 20 minutes from town. We used Cruise Express. I am not going to give their web site because I would not recommend them. It was €20 per person round trip. We arrived at the pickup point about 3:45, but neither the 4:00 nor 4:30 shuttle showed up. Finally, just before 5:00, two buses arrived. We returned about 10 minutes after all board time due to traffic. Luckily, some of the Carnival buses were late too.

 

Port Guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/Zeebrugge.htm

 

Like La Rochelle, Bruges is a beautiful town with plenty to wander around and find. There was a market in the center of town, but by the time we finally wandered there, around 1:00pm, it was closing for the day. I wish we had made it there earlier. 

 

For lunch, we tried our usual plan of TripAdvisor, but many restaurants were open for lunch between noon and 2:00, then closed until re-opening for dinner. The highly rated one we found that was open had over an hour wait, so we made our way back to the central plaza and just picked on of them. We usually like to choose something a few block off the main, as it's less expensive, less busy and less touristy, but hungry beggars can't be so choosy. Anyway, the restaurant we chose was very good. We had mussels, again. Not as good as they were in La Coruña, but very good, and filling. My daughter had to have a real Belgian waffle. After lunch, we found a chocolate shop.

 

We made our way back to the bus pickup point about 3:45 and waited, and waited. No 4:00 bus. No 4:30 bus. I started checking for Ubers and there were none. Started searching for taxis when the buses finally showed up about 4:50.  Ugh. Too close for comfort! Very glad the Carnival buses hit the same traffic we did. We knew this because of roll call and social media site group posts (which I highly recommend joining). When we got back to port, we didn't have to go through security. They just waived us through to the port bus which took us back to the ship. There were Carnival buses still arriving. We were about 30 minutes delayed from departing Zeebrugge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steps: 14k

 

[ninjacat123]

38 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

Day 11 - Zeebrugge (Bruges), Belgium

 

Travel: The port is about 20 minutes from town. We used Cruise Express. I am not going to give their web site because I would not recommend them. It was €20 per person round trip. We arrived at the pickup point about 3:45, but neither the 4:00 nor 4:30 shuttle showed up. Finally, just before 5:00, two buses arrived. We returned about 10 minutes after all board time due to traffic. Luckily, some of the Carnival buses were late too.

 

Port Guide: https://www.whatsinport.com/Zeebrugge.htm

 

Like La Rochelle, Bruges is a beautiful town with plenty to wander around and find. There was a market in the center of town, but by the time we finally wandered there, around 1:00pm, it was closing for the day. I wish we had made it there earlier. 

 

For lunch, we tried our usual plan of TripAdvisor, but many restaurants were open for lunch between noon and 2:00, then closed until re-opening for dinner. The highly rated one we found that was open had over an hour wait, so we made our way back to the central plaza and just picked on of them. We usually like to choose something a few block off the main, as it's less expensive, less busy and less touristy, but hungry beggars can't be so choosy. Anyway, the restaurant we chose was very good. We had mussels, again. Not as good as they were in La Coruña, but very good, and filling. My daughter had to have a real Belgian waffle. After lunch, we found a chocolate shop.

 

We made our way back to the bus pickup point about 3:45 and waited, and waited. No 4:00 bus. No 4:30 bus. I started checking for Ubers and there were none. Started searching for taxis when the buses finally showed up about 4:50.  Ugh. Too close for comfort! Very glad the Carnival buses hit the same traffic we did. We knew this because of roll call and social media site group posts (which I highly recommend joining). When we got back to port, we didn't have to go through security. They just waived us through to the port bus which took us back to the ship. There were Carnival buses still arriving. We were about 30 minutes delayed from departing Zeebrugge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_1397.mov 55.53 MB · 0 downloads  

Steps: 14k

 

Just curious, do you remember how much the Carnival excursion/transportation was to Bruges?  That kind of delay would have made me sweat!  I'm glad it worked out!

[cyntil8ing]

3 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Just curious, do you remember how much the Carnival excursion/transportation was to Bruges?  That kind of delay would have made me sweat!  I'm glad it worked out!

There was a Bruges On Your Own that popped up a few weeks before the cruise. I want to say it was $79, maybe $69, but I am not sure. It was nearly as much for one as we paid for all four of us.

 

it seemed to me Carnival tries to sell the more expensive excursions, then adds the On Your Own later on. I know this was the case with Amsterdam. 

[EllieinNJ]

Really enjoying your review.  I love how you start each port with the travel info.  So helpful.  And how detailed you are about the ports.