Experience/Opinions 11 day Southhampton to Hamburg,Amsterdam,Bruge, "Paris","Bordeaux",Bilbao : Oct. on Getaway

[DrUrsula]

Hello!

 

   This will be our first time taking a European cruise in the fall and a European cruise that is NOT to the Med! Looking for any insights on this Getaway cruise. We have sailed on Getaway 4 or 5 times and enjoy the ship. Saw a great price for the 2 weeks we have set aside for this vacation and booked on a whim. That our daughter lives in Bilbao is a plus; we will be spending the day with her.

   We understand that  "Paris" is not really Paris ( unless 6 1/2 hours on a bus is one's idea of seeing Paris as they whip you past the Louvre)  and that " Bordeaux" is a 2 hour drive from the cruise port  so we are not going in to this blind. 

 

I am seeking any comments, advice, opinion and the like from anyone who has taken this itinerary or something close. I suppose I'm still wavering a little bit in my overthinking mind!  We will be spending several days in London on each end of the trip. 

 

Thank you so much

[complawyer]

we did a similar cruise last summer. while it's true paris is a few hours away from the port at le harve, i booked the lunch cruise on the seine for my wife and i. it wasnt overwhelming, but i've always wanted to se the eiffel tower. on the bus trip coming back, we were able to take a nap so all in all it wasnt that bad. There are a lot of ports that are not close to the major cities. rome, florence, tel aviv all require time on a bus. in places like rome, florence, hamburg, amsterdam, brussels, dubruvnik, naples etc, we took the excursion brochure, rented a cab and showed the driver exactly where we wanted to go. there were 3 of us splitting the cab care and it worked out great. i would say at least 75% of the time we hire a cab

 

in naples, ncl no longer had the excursion to the amalfi coast, so we got a cab. it was amazing and breathtaking. 

[FLAHAM]

In Bilbao, demand that your daughter take you to the Guggenheim Museum.  In Amsterdam, go to the Rejyksmuseum to see Rembrandt’s masterpiece “The Night Watch.”

Edited April 11, 2023 by FLAHAM

[Steff79]

love London, stay there some days is great.

 

is it the first cruise in october? and you will be at october 3rd/4th in Hamburg?

the Oct. 3rd is a festival day in germany for the german east and west reunion, so most shops will be closed at this day. ( restaurants and such things will be open )

i like Hamburg very much,

https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/?_gl=1*uwakl3*_ga*NDgzNzgzOTI1LjE2NzYwNTg5NTc.*_ga_QD4ZHC411D*MTY4MTIzOTE0Ny44OS4wLjE2ODEyMzkxNDcuMC4wLjA.&_ga=2.153032057.191050867.1681239149-483783925.1676058957

 

 

 

the miniatur wunderland i like realy mucht, if you want to go there i would give you the advice to buy tickets in advance at the website. special for the fistival day ( most people don´t have to work at that day, but museums, the miniatur wunderland and such things are open )

not far away is the elphilharmonie, you can go there to the plaza for free ( you get a ticket there at the desk just in time when you want to go )

 

your cruise port will be in steinwerder:

https://www.cruisegate-hamburg.de/en/terminals/cruise-center-steinwerder/page5?showcanceled=0#anlaeufe

 

to walk to the Landungsbrücken ( tourist hot spot at the harbour and a metro station is there ) is via Elbtunnel ( tunnel under the river elbe, it is a tourist hot spot too ) about 45 Minutes. not sure if NCL offers a shuttle to the city or harbour.

from monday to friday there is a ferry not far away from Argentinienbrücke to Landungsbrücken

https://hadag.de/en/routes/73/

but i´m not sure if the ferry is in service at a festival day ( festival days are offen like sunday, and sunday is that ferry line not in service ) . Argentienbrücke you can see at the map, it is maybe 10 minutes to walk from Steinwerder.

Edited April 11, 2023 by Steff79

[The Traveling Man]

5 hours ago, DrUrsula said:

Hello!

 

   This will be our first time taking a European cruise in the fall and a European cruise that is NOT to the Med! Looking for any insights on this Getaway cruise. We have sailed on Getaway 4 or 5 times and enjoy the ship. Saw a great price for the 2 weeks we have set aside for this vacation and booked on a whim. That our daughter lives in Bilbao is a plus; we will be spending the day with her.

   We understand that  "Paris" is not really Paris ( unless 6 1/2 hours on a bus is one's idea of seeing Paris as they whip you past the Louvre)  and that " Bordeaux" is a 2 hour drive from the cruise port  so we are not going in to this blind. 

 

I am seeking any comments, advice, opinion and the like from anyone who has taken this itinerary or something close. I suppose I'm still wavering a little bit in my overthinking mind!  We will be spending several days in London on each end of the trip. 

 

Thank you so much

It can get quite cool in October, so be sure to pack appropriately.  Options for Hamburg would include a tour that stops at the city hall (Rathaus) and drives by the theater district (including the place where the Beatles got their start).  The number one tourist attraction in Hamburg, however, is Miniatur Wunderland, an absolutely amazing model railroad.  In Amsterdam, be sure to book in advance for the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, and/or the Van Gogh Museum.  I would rank them in that order, but your interests may vary.  The city is quite walkable, plus there are trams from the Centraal Railway Station that go to all the popular destinations.  The port of Zeebrugge is a short bus ride from Bruges.  It takes a bit longer to get to Brussels.  I would recommend the "Bruges on your own" tour.  You'll have several hours to explore the city before returning to your bus.  A canal boat ride is a great way to break up a day of walking around town.  In Le Havre, a walking tour of Honfleur makes for a great afternoon.  Depending on your schedule, you may be able to take the Le Havre port shuttle bus to spend a little time in Le Havre itself before returning to the port to meet your tour to Honfleur.  Another wonderful tour, though it involves a considerably longer bus ride, would be to visit Monet's home and gardens in Giverny.  There also usually are tours available that stop at both Giverny and Rouen.  Consult your Rick Steves guidebook for recommendations.  I can't offer any personal suggestions for the Le Verdon or Bilbao stops, but in Southampton you may find the Titanic Museum worthwhile.  Have an enjoyable cruise!

[sansroof]

OP, I am on this cruise with you and I am loving this discussion!  I can't contribute experience with the itinerary like others can, but to the extent that you are wavering, I can say that I did a ridiculously exhaustive amount of debating and spreadsheets to narrow down which cruise we would take this fall among all of the Europe cruise options on NCL, and I have had no regrets since booking - just getting more excited by the day to explore these ports!  

 

We won't be doing Paris or Bordeaux because I don't have the patience for spending 2 hours each way on a bus, but I'm excited to explore Honfleur and Le Havre itself on the "Paris" day.  We haven't figured out the "Bordeaux" day yet - honestly none of the options seem great so we may end up chilling out on the ship and enjoying the lack of crowds.

[Steff79]

not sure if you know that,

there are special forums for the ports here at cc:

only for your information

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

Edited April 11, 2023 by Steff79

[Travelling2Some]

2 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

It can get quite cool in October, so be sure to pack appropriately.  Options for Hamburg would include a tour that stops at the city hall (Rathaus) and drives by the theater district (including the place where the Beatles got their start).  The number one tourist attraction in Hamburg, however, is Miniatur Wunderland, an absolutely amazing model railroad.  In Amsterdam, be sure to book in advance for the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, and/or the Van Gogh Museum.  I would rank them in that order, but your interests may vary.  The city is quite walkable, plus there are trams from the Centraal Railway Station that go to all the popular destinations.  The port of Zeebrugge is a short bus ride from Bruges.  It takes a bit longer to get to Brussels.  I would recommend the "Bruges on your own" tour.  You'll have several hours to explore the city before returning to your bus.  A canal boat ride is a great way to break up a day of walking around town.  In Le Havre, a walking tour of Honfleur makes for a great afternoon.  Depending on your schedule, you may be able to take the Le Havre port shuttle bus to spend a little time in Le Havre itself before returning to the port to meet your tour to Honfleur.  Another wonderful tour, though it involves a considerably longer bus ride, would be to visit Monet's home and gardens in Giverny.  There also usually are tours available that stop at both Giverny and Rouen.  Consult your Rick Steves guidebook for recommendations.  I can't offer any personal suggestions for the Le Verdon or Bilbao stops, but in Southampton you may find the Titanic Museum worthwhile.  Have an enjoyable cruise!

Excellent advice here.  We have done most of these by land rather than on a cruise but did spend a port day at  Miniatur Wunderland and can definitely recommend it.  As many say, we expected to spend an hour there and could not tear ourselves away.  Be sure to get tickets in advance as it is very popular.  Bruges is just fairy tale lovely.  Take a canal boat ride, see the main square and stroll the central streets stopping into some chocolate shops. 

[DrUrsula]

4 hours ago, Steff79 said:

love London, stay there some days is great.

 

is it the first cruise in october? and you will be at october 3rd/4th in Hamburg?

the Oct. 3rd is a festival day in germany for the german east and west reunion, so most shops will be closed at this day. ( restaurants and such things will be open )

i like Hamburg very much,

https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/?_gl=1*uwakl3*_ga*NDgzNzgzOTI1LjE2NzYwNTg5NTc.*_ga_QD4ZHC411D*MTY4MTIzOTE0Ny44OS4wLjE2ODEyMzkxNDcuMC4wLjA.&_ga=2.153032057.191050867.1681239149-483783925.1676058957

 

 

 

the miniatur wunderland i like realy mucht, if you want to go there i would give you the advice to buy tickets in advance at the website. special for the fistival day ( most people don´t have to work at that day, but museums, the miniatur wunderland and such things are open )

not far away is the elphilharmonie, you can go there to the plaza for free ( you get a ticket there at the desk just in time when you want to go )

 

your cruise port will be in steinwerder:

https://www.cruisegate-hamburg.de/en/terminals/cruise-center-steinwerder/page5?showcanceled=0#anlaeufe

 

to walk to the Landungsbrücken ( tourist hot spot at the harbour and a metro station is there ) is via Elbtunnel ( tunnel under the river elbe, it is a tourist hot spot too ) about 45 Minutes. not sure if NCL offers a shuttle to the city or harbour.

from monday to friday there is a ferry not far away from Argentinienbrücke to Landungsbrücken

https://hadag.de/en/routes/73/

but i´m not sure if the ferry is in service at a festival day ( festival days are offen like sunday, and sunday is that ferry line not in service ) . Argentienbrücke you can see at the map, it is maybe 10 minutes to walk from Steinwerder.

Thank you so much!!!!

[DrUrsula]

3 hours ago, Steff79 said:

not sure if you know that,

there are special forums for the ports here at cc:

only for your information

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/8-europe/

Yes, thanks. I've been there a few times so far!

[DrUrsula]

5 hours ago, complawyer said:

we did a similar cruise last summer. while it's true paris is a few hours away from the port at le harve, i booked the lunch cruise on the seine for my wife and i. it wasnt overwhelming, but i've always wanted to se the eiffel tower. on the bus trip coming back, we were able to take a nap so all in all it wasnt that bad. There are a lot of ports that are not close to the major cities. rome, florence, tel aviv all require time on a bus. in places like rome, florence, hamburg, amsterdam, brussels, dubruvnik, naples etc, we took the excursion brochure, rented a cab and showed the driver exactly where we wanted to go. there were 3 of us splitting the cab care and it worked out great. i would say at least 75% of the time we hire a cab

 

in naples, ncl no longer had the excursion to the amalfi coast, so we got a cab. it was amazing and breathtaking. 

Great tips Thank you! Most of our Europe cruises were with our 3 kids so we found it much more fun to hire a private driver/tour guide. Made the experience more personal and no waiting on other guests. And the price was not bad ! 

[Debibecker]

My husband and I will be on this cruise starting 10/1/2023. We usually tour on our own. For the ports where you must travel a ways to get to the town, like Bordeaux and Paris, are there usually private (not tours thru ncl) vehicles or vans you can buy a ticket to get there and back? How much are they?   At Bordeaux I would love to find a group on this cruise who want to share a van and go to a tasting and tour of a vineyard and onto Bordeaux to sight see the city some. If there are any who want to share expenses for such let me know.  If there are any cruisers who want to share transportation to Paris let me know, also.

[DrUrsula]

12 hours ago, Debibecker said:

My husband and I will be on this cruise starting 10/1/2023. We usually tour on our own. For the ports where you must travel a ways to get to the town, like Bordeaux and Paris, are there usually private (not tours thru ncl) vehicles or vans you can buy a ticket to get there and back? How much are they?   At Bordeaux I would love to find a group on this cruise who want to share a van and go to a tasting and tour of a vineyard and onto Bordeaux to sight see the city some. If there are any who want to share expenses for such let me know.  If there are any cruisers who want to share transportation to Paris let me know, also.

Head over to our roll call! Several people are looking for small groups to share costs at various ports.

I have been unable to find a private tour to Bordeaux and just gave up. The operators I contacted are too busy with harvest to run their tours in early October.

 

For Paris, Viatar and others have multiple private options.

 

Welcome!

Edited June 11, 2023 by DrUrsula

[UKstages]

On 4/11/2023 at 3:39 PM, The Traveling Man said:

be sure to book in advance for the Anne Frank House

i was there last week, as the prima called in amsterdam. highly recommend!
 

note for the mobility impaired: the museum involves a good deal of walking, including climbing several very steep and narrow staircases that are more like ladders than stairs.

 

i can add that tickets go on sale exactly six weeks before the day in question and they sell out quickly, within a few hours, as capacity is limited. they are timed admission tickets, in fifteen minute windows, and are only available online directly from the museum. (you can stay as long as you like, but your entry is timed. the average visit will take 60-90 minutes.)

 

any tour operator that tells you they can get you into the anne frank house is stretching the truth. they can get you near the anne frank house, but they can’t get you in. NCL itself runs a tour of “jewish amsterdam” or some such… but it doesn’t include this museum. 

 

i recommend an early morning visit, so you have the rest of the day free to explore the city or book formal tours. it’s very much a city to walk around in… I walked 13 miles that day!

Edited June 11, 2023 by UKstages

[Minesinger66]

Late to the game on this post but great info all round. Thanks All. We are on the Oct1 cruise as well. Bordeaux is a tough one. Definitely need to do the wine tasting/tour. going to look at the roll call. Debibecker will be in touch with you. Getting super excited with your postings above.

[schmoopie17]

Can't believe nobody has suggested doing a Normandy tour in Le Havre. As a Veteran, that's a bucket list destination for me.

[Minesinger66]

52 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Can't believe nobody has suggested doing a Normandy tour in Le Havre. As a Veteran, that's a bucket list destination for me.

Agree, we are doing a private Normandy tour and think this could be the cruise highlight