edinburgher

Both are ancient historic cities so not much will be "new". In addition to watching your videos, if you have not already searched for and read past threads for both, you might find some of these offer useful info. Dubrovnik https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=dubrovnik&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=149 Split. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=split&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=149

Not our problem indeed! But not all of that 500 will be waiting for tenders as a good proportion of them will be waiting in line for the cable car.

You should look at the Lisbon Airport website which has a section on "how to get to/from the airport" (I think almost every international airport in the world has this)listing all the options including taxis, metro, public bus, airport shuttle bus etc. and looking at the options should help you decide. As for where to stay, given the steepness of some of the Lisbon streets, as already mentioned above, I recommend you look for one in the Baixa area which is mostly flat and convenient for metro, buses and airport shuttle. Anywhere around Rua Augusta, Rua da Prata, Praca do Comercio, Praça da Figueira would be good as well as convient for the porting locations..

Having given your question some thought, Ihinking that you forgot, or did not know, that ship calls to Santorini are staggered, meaning they do not all arrive and depart at the same times. They arrive and depart at different times of the dayfrom early morning up until very late evening, meaning those which arrive early morning may leave around mid afternoon or early evening and those arriving mid afternoon may leave quite late in the evening. Those on more typical day timings might arrive mid morning and leave late pm or very early evening. As a result, tenders from some of the various ships will usually be running almost continuously throughout the day, with passengers from one or two ships being taken ashore and passengers from a different one or two returning to their ships depending on their timings.

Viking Ocean, Azamara, Oceania, Holland America. would all be good starting points.

There appears to be some changes to the Honduras entry requirements as this very recent thread on the UK cruisers board is another example. Whether it would be helpful or not for you to read it I do not know, although there may be one or two little leads or clues to be found which might help or at least point you in the right direction https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3021696-honduras-visa-requirements-uk-citizens/

I believe that is a question only the authorities could answer.

In a few quiet moments today I was browsing cruise news in general and picked up on some recent Santorini news which will impact cruise passengers. I thought some of it might have already been reported by fellow members, but as it has not, here goes. 1) Passenger numbers waiting at the old dock. to either board the cable car up to Fira, or who are waiting in line for tenders back to their ships are now limited to 500, --total, not per ship. Once that number is reached, cruise ships must reduce the number of tenders until numbers are sufficiently low enough for them to increase again. This will have the effect of slowing down tender access for cruise ship passengers TO Santorini, also tender access back to their ships. In addition to "cruise news" websites, this was reported on a recent CC "live from" post where the member quoted from a Princess flyer distributed to all passengers prior to their Santorini call. 2) Cruise lines can no longer set up water stations at the old dock for their passengers waiting for tenders to return to their ships.Given the sometimes very high temperatures on Santorini, especially in summer, passengers should carry water with them. 3) A 10 euro pp disembarkation tax will be payable by each passenger, initially in Santorini, but expected to extend to other ports such as Mykonos which could follow by the end of this year.

Spoiled for choice of sherry tasting options in the Cadiz area so you need to switch from regular wine to fortified wine to make the most of it. Closer than Jerez, actually less than 10 miles from Cadiz, is El Puerto de Santa Maria a nice litle town with beaches and a small number of sherry bodegas. You can get there by public bus from Cadiz, or by train, or by taking the little boat shuttle bus which leaves and returns to very close to your ship, operates on a frequent timetable and carries you over to the centre of El Puerto in a few minutes. Info and images will be found online for El Puerto de Santa Maria and the bodegas which are open for tours and/or tastings. Also info for the little shuttle boat Can personally recommend Bodega Osborne Cheers!😁

And thre was me thinking "shoulder"meant the periods before or after peak season, and "low season" would be winter.

Marella usually visit Casablanca but may have changed post pandemic,I do not know, but you could check your booking confirmation or the online itinerary on their website as you should know where you are going to visit to help you plan your time there. Or check their "Morocco" shorex even if you don't want to book one as the name of the city/town should be listed..

We just turned up and waited in line. We paid before getting onto the toboggan.

I am not convinced that a "shoulder season" even exits in Europe any more, as the most popular and well known cities, towns and areas appear to be busy most of the year unless it is during the winter months when they will be fewer tourists than at other times of the year.

Another vote for Split being an enjoyable port call. We visited three times over the years and enjoyed each visit. We are others who actually prefer it to overcrowded Dubrovnik. And Split is not yet entirely given over to tourism in the same way that Dubrovnik already is.

As it is Viking Ocean specific, maybe try cross posting on the Viking Board where members who sailed this itinerary would be more likely to see it. And have you already checked the REVIEWS section here on CC just on the off chance that someone posted a review?

You could consider driving a short section of the scenic Seward Highway, one of the most scenic highways in N America. There are some past threads about it you might find interesting to read. These ones https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q="seward highway"&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=33&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy

Read about it on the news this morning. How long do you think before cruise ships calls are reduced. in number?

Over the years we have been caught out in several cities across Europe when there is a "free entry day" to museums, monuments, castles palaces etc Our experience has been that there are often extremely long lines for entry, occasionally due to capacity having been reached, with the line controlled on a "2 out/2 in" (or whatever number) basis. And once inside too crowded. We learned the hard way to avoid "free entry" dates but perhaps you will have more luck than we did..

You should be able to read many reviews of this restaurant on Tripadvisor instead of hoping that a CC member may have dined there AND has found your thread by chance. Always better to scroll through a number anyway as reviews can sometimes be "variable" to say the least, but a sort of consensus of opinion can emerge. Personally, we find looking at the lower scoring Tripadvisor reviews is helpful.

I am certain that future passengers considering a similar private excursion will be interested to read this, so thank you for taking the time to post. It sounds like an amazing day and evening. I only hope the weather gods smiled on you and it remained dry throughout, as surprising though it may be, we do occasionally experience rain in Scotland.😉

And if you enjoy a few tapas this is an excellent city to try some. Note that in this Basque Country they are known as pintxos.

Perhaps the cruiseline had inflated the cost too much.

Passengers on cruises do not usually have the flexibility. of dates enjoyed by residents . I had referred to shorex tickets selling out quite quickly once they are offered by cruiselines as there is usually only one date when passengers can attend, and they have no way of knowing in advance if their one and only date might still have availability on that evening for independents who would prefer to go it alone. And shorex will usually include transport both ways between the ship and the venue and that is reassuring for passengers especially for those docking some distance away. The OP khurley20 had expressed an interest in a shorex offered by Princess, and given their docking at Greenock, although costly, taking a shorex would be the most stress free way to attend knowing that the ship would wait should there be a delay on the return route which is quite a long drive. Wishing we had your contacts fruitmachine as complimentary tickets would be welcome given the cost increases year on year.😀

This a heads up for your next year itinerary. Keep a close eye on Princess shorex for your sailing as the shorex may come available sooner than you think. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3025201-2025-royal-edinburgh-military-tattoo-tickets-already-on-sale/#comment-67825852

Most will take the ship shuttle which will drop you off next to the historic Old Town, and a few minutes walk from there will bring you to the waterfront walkway and the Guggenheim, which even should you not want to enter, is definitely worth a look at the outside. Check shorex for an indication of highlights and what could be doable within your port timings. And check the usual "Bilbao Tourist Iinformation" websites including Tipadvisor, Frommer's Fodors, YouTube, and any others which appear in your results for images, info and suggestions of the sights which appeal to you personally. And maybe read some of the past threads. If you have not already searched for and read a few, choose from these. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=bilbao&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=465 BTW, for best replies, your thread should ideally be on the Spain and Portugal Board, not this one, althought the Mods may move it across.