Stuart Suss

I have had several positive experiences with SAS (rideSAS.com).

Yes, the Coral Way Trolley provides free transportation to and from Dodge Island and your cruise ship. Please be aware of the following which is based upon my actual usage in December of 2021. Study the location of trolleys on this map. The arrival time for your trolley may vary between 15 and 45 minutes. https://publictransportation.tsomobile.com/webtracker/webtracker.htm?labels=false&tkn=81E39EC9-D773-447E-BE29-D7F30AB177BC&lan=en The best disembarkation point on Dodge Island is Stop #45 at Atlantic Way and North Cruise Boulevard. From there it could be as much as a 20 minute walk (NCL) or a 30 minute walk (Royal Caribbean) to your cruise terminal, assuming you are transporting (rolling behind you) only one suitcase. For the journey into Miami, the best embarkation point on Dodge Island is Stop #47 on North America Way. You are shaded from direct sunlight and the trolleys pause there for several minutes before starting the return journey to Coral Gables. You can meet the Coral Way trolley at either the Vizcaya or Brickell Metrorail stations and at any other stop along the way. Allow for 1 hour and 15 minutes travel time if you board at Stop #1, Giralda Avenue. There are hotels in Coral Gables which are easily accessible from Miami Airport by either the #37 or #42 southbound bus from the airport bus terminal. These hotels are near the Publix Market on Douglas Road. It is an easy walk from these hotels to the Coral Way Trolley. Please be aware that this is the free Coral Way Trolley NOT the Coral Gables Trolley which is a different service.

In the past, I never paid attention to shore excursion booking or prices. I always booked shore excursions with private entrepreneurs at the destination. Now, with $50 shore excursion credits, the situation has changed. I am aware that the $50 shore excursion credit is a marketing ploy. It is similar to cruise lines which raise the cost of a beverage package from $150 to $200 one week, than offer it on "sale" the next week for 25% off of the new $200 price (which is also $150). I understand that the cruise line may increase the price of a shore excursion by $50, then offer me $50 off the higher price. The following questions arise from my recently completed New England/Canada cruise. 1. When booking shore excursions online, prior to departure, some stated prices did not show the $50 discount until you had almost completed the booking process. For other excursions, the stated, online price already reflected a $50 discount. Why the difference? Was this merely a poorly coded web page? 2. Very few shore excursions were available for booking online, prior to departure. My booking was at the last minute, so I assumed that the other excursions had already sold out. Yet, after boarding, the shore excursion desk booking form offered many more options than those offered online. Does NCL hold back shore excursion space for those who book after boarding the ship? When should a passenger book a shore excursion in advance of departure and when should a passenger wait until boarding the ship, when all of the options are known? 3. I noticed that some excursions were priced at less than $50. With the $50 credit, those excursions were free. Does NCL assume that there are two persons in every stateroom? Therefore, with the $50 credit limited to one passenger per stateroom, this becomes, for a couple, a buy one shore excursion at full price and receive the second excursion free. As a solo passenger, did I stumble into a windfall benefit? 4. Boston offers a "Duck Tour" which enables you to travel one time around Boston in an amphibious vehicle. If I booked the tour directly with the tour company, online, the senior citizen price would be $40 plus another $4 in taxes and fees. If you were not a senior citizen, the price would be approximately $10 higher. NCL offered the tour for the list price of $89!! After applying the $50 credit the price was reduced to $39. For those at a certain level of Latitude points, there was another 10% credit for a total cost of $35.10. So there was either a $9 or $19 savings for booking the Duck Tour through NCL. However, NCL's offer was limited to one, morning departure time, even though the Duck Tour departs on several occasions each day. Who was actually offering the discount, the Duck Tour company or NCL? Why was it limited to one specific departure time? 5. Similar questions for the Hop On Hop Off Trolley tour. If booked directly with the company, the price was $60 with a 10% discount for booking online, in advance. NCL offered the Trolley for the list price of $55. After applying the $50 credit the price was reduced to $5. The $5 price was only available for the 9:30 am departure time which was sold out despite three trolleys being at the port, ready for passengers. On the date of our visit to Boston, it was pouring rain at 9:30 am. The trolleys run all day. I wanted to take the trolley tour later in the day when the weather forecast predicted dry weather. NCL refused to sell me a departure at any other time than 9:30 am. The trolley company was happy to sell me a different departure time, but I would have to book directly with them and forfeit any $50 shore excursion credit. Who was actually offering the discount, the trolley company or NCL? Why was it limited to one specific departure time? Thank you for your advice and assistance as I look forward to planning future cruises.

Was the showing of the World Series on the Prima a unique arrangement made for a ship departing from Galveston and likely to contain a high percentage of Astros fans, or is the World Series available throughout the NCL fleet?

Replying generally, and specifically to posts #19 and #28. I just completed an NCL Canadian Maritime cruise. NFL Football, yes. No baseball. Even when 8 teams remained in the playoffs, there was insufficient passenger interest to make any requests to show baseball. However, my AM radio was able to pick up WFAN throughout the North Atlantic and either ESPN 1000 from Chicago or ESPN 1050 from New York for most of the journey. I had to be willing to sit outdoors, in the cold, in a quiet area of the ship, in order to listen to the games. My AM radio was able to receive signals from several 50,000 watt AM stations from around the U.S. Unfortunately, many were not broadcasting post-season baseball. I am aware of a passenger mutiny similar to that described in post #19. In 2017 NCL was not carrying the Astros-Dodgers World Series. In Aruba we met a Carnival ship which had departed from Galveston. The Astros fans were sufficiently indignant about the absence of World Series coverage that Carnival made a last minute decision to purchase rights to the games.

I visited Ephesus on a cruise ship excursion offered by a private company, Ephesus Shuttle. The service was high quality. The tour guide was excellent. There was no pressure to visit a carpet store or any other store or restaurants. Options for those who wished to shop or eat were presented politely. https://www.ephesusshuttle.com/tours/mini-group-tour-1-option-with-terrace-houses?tur_id=22 I wholeheartedly agree with the others. Pay the surcharge ($10 from this company) to include a visit to the Terrace Houses.

I have a slightly different opinion about the Voyager of the Seas Cruise from Stockholm to Copenhagen from July 31 to August 10. Agnes ("Dragon") reported that the "furniture in our suite looked very clean and the upholstery looked new." However, I was in a standard, inside cabin. My carpet was stained and the sink had scratches and a small gouge. Perhaps there is an ongoing refurbishment effort which has started with the suites. Perhaps it will reach ordinary staterooms someday. My stateroom rattled along with the motion of the ship. When I reported the problem, maintenance workers used double sided tape to do something that I do not fully understand. It was almost as if my stateroom was taped to the skeleton of the ship. That ended the rattling. To the staff's credit, the response by the maintenance workers was prompt and effective. I thought the main dining room entrees were bland/flavorless/unseasoned. The better tasting food was in the Windjammer. The food was not bad, merely average. I thought the entertainment was also average. The exception was the ice show which was very good. I agree that the service by concierge lounge waitresses was slow. I had the same issue in the Diamond Lounge. On the other hand, the Diamond Concierge, Matty, was quite helpful in resolving miscellaneous minor issues. I had been onboard the Oasis for 14 days in December of 2021. Perhaps I was spoiled by the grandeur and quality of that ship. This ship was not of Oasis level quality. I missed not having a Central Park, a Park Cafe, and a Solarium Bistro, especially for breakfast. That said, even an "average" cruise ship experience is still enjoyable, particularly given the destinations.

Agnes (Dragon of the Seas) and I both arrived on the same 80X ferry departing from Nybroplan at 10:45 and arriving at Frihamnen at 11:27 on Sunday, July 31, 2022. It is the perfect way to arrive as the ferry drops you off right at the boarding terminal. Scenery and convenience can't be beat.

Agnes, Thank you for all of your information prior to and during the cruise. Final statistics Started the cruise: 1336 Boarded during the cruise: 27 Leading nationalities: USA: 550 UK: 175 Mexico: 143 Spain: 74 Canada: 45 I hope everyone has enjoyable post cruise visits and safe journeys home. Stu

Oslo Guided tours in English mostly take place at either 13:00 (1:00 pm) or 14:00 (2:00 pm). I have two days (Friday and Saturday) during which I may choose tours. Which of these tours would you recommend in order of quality? Opera house tour (only available on Friday) https://operaen.no/en/your-visit-at-oslo-operahouse/guided-tours/ Guided tour at Akershus Fortress (listed as a drop-in tour) https://kultur.forsvaret.no/forsvarets-festninger/akershus-festning/besokssenteret-akershus-festning Walking tour offered by Oslo Guidebureau (only available on Saturday) https://gotobooking.io/en/adventure/122-in-the-heart-of-oslo-green-walking-tour Guided tour of the Royal Palace (more flexible scheduling) https://www.royalcourt.no/artikkel.html?tid=29623&sek=179512

The 24 hour Copenhagen Card costs DKK 439 (pay in local currency, not in U.S. dollars - unfavorable exchange rate). The Card includes a 24 hour transit pass. You will need to decide if you will make enough qualifying visits to sites or tours with admission prices totaling DKK 359 so that together with the transit feature (value at least DKK 80) you will pay for the value of the card.

Agnes (Dragon Lady), I hope this information about the shuttle from the ship to the Orientkaj metro station is helpful. http://www.latecruisenews.com/2022/04/27/free-electric-shuttle-buses-between-ocean-quay-and-the-metro-for-cruise-guests-in-copenhagen/

In one of the other roll calls, a Helsinki resident has posted a detailed walking tour. In the subsequent posts information is provided on both the history of Finland and current etiquette. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2824835-july-3-2022-voyager-of-the-seas-stockholm-7-night-scandinavia-russia-cruise/?do=findComment&comment=63304338

I am the original poster. I posed my original question in an email to MBayley. I pointed out that museums and other sites in Stockholm are closed on Mondays. I wanted confirmation that I could check in, place my suitcase in the stateroom, and then leave the ship to visit those sites in Stockholm on Sunday. Today, I received a response from Adrienne Bennett of the Executive Office. Here is what she wrote: I understand you are inquiring about the departure process for your sailing on Voyager of the Seas departing on 07/31/22, and I am more than happy to provide you with the information requested. I reached out to the pertinent teams to confirm that check-in is for the first day only. Once you are checked in and fully settled on board you can freely disembark the ship and visit your museums that won't be opened [sic] on Monday. They also advised that there isn't a set time for you to embark again once you disembark, as long as you're on the ship before 4:30 PM on Monday when the ship is set to depart. You can always reach out to Guest Services while onboard if you have any further questions regarding this. I now have official confirmation of the answers that each of you provided to me. Thank you, all.

In the main dining room: 1. Ask your waiter to identify the chilled soup of the day. 2. Ask for "savory bites," a kaiser roll with poppy seeds. However, the roll is the size of a cherry tomato.