CCJack

A good DIY hike in Juneau is take the tram up the mountain, then hike the trails at the top.    Beautiful views, inexpensive. 

However i can also say that juneau (and ISP) are great whale watching ports.   Not inexpensive, but our ISP whale watching was fantastic.

Agree,   the wilderness tour increases chances of seeing wildlife.    Plus, unlike other national parks Denali is not easy to  experience on your own with just a couple hours.   It is very vast.  We did have a nice 1/2 day hike near our lodge but that was just outside of the park.   

When we were on the joy last September you could reserve comedy shows, etc.  after boarding.   You pretty much needed a reservation as well,  all shows were at capacity from what i could tell.  

There are lots of threads on this topic... you can read the pros and cons for days..... Personally, I disagree that it is the way to go for Europe.  I would be much more inclined to let someone (or a computer) chose my flights for a domestic trip than for an overseas trip.   For a trans Atlantic trip, I would much rather pick my flights, seats, class and most importantly layover times..

No question, however, you can save some money.  Good luck.

If time is not an issue, it is great to explore a new city on your own.

However, in this case, time is an issue.  I like the idea of a local, highly rated,  private guide that spends all day with you.  I have rarely regretted hiring a local guide in our travels.   They will know all of the small things... best walking route between sites, time of the day when lines are shortest, when to walk vs. taxi or subway, where the restrooms are....etc.   End result is a much more efficient day (not necessarily "hurried", but more efficient.) 

If this is the travelers only time in Rome, it would be money well spent.

all good advice....   Note that our cruiseline (Cunard) said nothing to us about FJord schedules, etc.   I was the only person on deck at 5 am.   It was likely the most beautiful part of the trip.  Of course you sail out as well but the evening sail out could be worse (or better) due to weather, winds, sun, and of course dinner plans....

They would not let us use non-refundable OBC for Starbucks gift cards or Starbucks merchandise (mugs, etc.)    You could use it for food or drinks from Starbucks  (we were on the Joy in Sept 2023).

I had similar non-refundable OBC that I had to spend.  I ended up purchasing phone charger cables in the ship's store.   Reasonably priced and you can never have too many charger cords!

You may want to download a marine navigation app on your phone..   Install the necessary sea maps before you leave.   In that way you can track your ship real time on your trip.   Note, sometimes I have to be on my balcony or near a window for the GPS to update.   I have found that using these navigation apps makes the trip more interesting. 

I can't add much, I have only been there once.  However, for our stop (Celebrity cruise - only 1 ship in port) we had no wait for a taxi from port to downtown and also no wait for the return.  I seem to remember a shuttle bus  (not HOHO, and not city bus) that was also waiting at the port and there was no line.   We could purchase tix for the shuttle bus on board the ship.

Good luck.

Hard to say for sure, but it sounds reasonable.  I typically say self disembark puts you off of the ship 1 hour after posted dock time.  You are giving yourself 3 hours before the flight which sounds reasonable with some wiggle room for the unexpected.   

2 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

I spent about 3 hours at Titanic Belfast

 

 I read everything and took my time, as I found the exhibits interesting and very well done.  It can be seen in less time if you move a little faster than I did.

 

 

I agree... I think we spent 2 1/2 hours there.   I am sometimes skeptical of Titanic venues as they seem to be everywhere, however, this is a really nice museum.  Gives you a good idea of what life was like in Belfast in the early 1900s - I almost think this is more of a Belfast museum than Titanic museum.

We took taxi from ship to museum, then after the museum we walked downtown which was a pleasant walk.

correct, the statue is on the port side for the sail in and starboard for the sail out.  

Saguenay was our favorite stop of our cruise (next to embarkation at QC).   The sail in and sail out of the fjord at Saguenay is very nice.   We took the excursion to go hiking in the national park which was very nice as well.   All that said the view of the statue from the ship was a bit underwhelming, not saying it was not an impressive construction, but from the middle of the fjord you are a ways away.  Also for us, we passed the statue right at dinner time (however we were dining outside on starboard side coincidentally.) 

Enjoy your cruise, we really liked ours.....  

4 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

It really depends on what your kids like or don`t like.

If i had to decide which port/city/country the kids could skip easiest without having missed a lifetime experience i would say it is Majorca. From the port you can take the shuttle bus or public bus to Palma,stroll around the city and go back to ship.

Marseille is also a city which imho is not necessarily a must watch city.

 

I agree.   Marseille and Majorca would be my votes to skip if you want / have to skip.   I would skip Marseille 1st and Majorca next just because you can take a short walk off of the ship in Majorca and have a nice 1 hour walk  if you just want to stretch your legs.   Not so much in Marseille, it is a big city and you need some sort of excursion planning.

On 3/22/2024 at 5:41 PM, flahagan said:

May 4th on HAL Rotterdam, out of the Rotterdam port.  I'm coming to Amsterdam early to see the tulips at Keukenhof Gardens, have booked a tour on May3rd.  The cruise is to the Norwegian fjords.  I know it's early and will be cold and wet, but I've always wanted to see them and I've also always wanted to go to the tulip festival so I'm doubly excited!  I'm a little sad that I no longer have friends that are capable of traveling (I'm a widow), but I'm in excellent health and I'm going to just travel alone as long as I'm fit!

Ditto on the positive energy...... I wish you the best on your Norway cruise and hope you have a great time.

My two cents worth of advice on a Norway cruise is this... if you are traveling down any long Fjords (such as ports Flam or Geiranger) do a little homework ahead of time and figure out about what time in the morning your ship will be entering the Fjord.    It may be early like 4:30 am (it may be sunrise about this time) and the sail in could be several hours.   On our cruise I was the only person on the deck at 5 am for over an hour before others showed up - it was really beautiful.   Note that our ship told us nothing about fjord sail in schedules...   

Have fun....

Will you be seeing a glacier elsewhere on your cruise?   If so, consider skipping Mendenhall.  

If not, probably worth seeing, but I think 90 min or 2 hours would be enough.

We took the tram up to Mt. Roberts and then did hiking at the top of the mountain, a really inexpensive excursion with great views....  

we were on a 9/13 cruise from QC to NYC last year.   The temps on shore were really comfortable, but when the ship was moving, it was pretty cold.   Hardly anyone on the ship's decks.    

I think the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Canadian Maritimes are a really beautiful part of N. America at any time, I think color change might add some to the experience, but not really a decision point for me... I remember seeing lots of evergreens!  (However, we had no stops in Maine, or Mass we only had Canadian ports.)

For me, this would come down to pre or post cruise plans and flight costs.  I like to stay a couple nights pre cruise in the departure city rather than post cruise.  In that way, you allow some cushion for lost luggage and delayed flights.  Both Boston and QC would be great cities to explore.

All else equal, I probably would go for the earlier option just for slightly warmer temps.

Can anyone make a recommendation on NCL excursions in Crete?  It looks as if most either stay near Heraklion, or head west to Rethymno or east to Agios Nikolaos..

13 hours ago, roddy good boy said:

It’s odd, because the excursions offered for our Sept 1 cruise are limited. As CCJack mentioned, there’s nothing listed for Ephesus. I just checked for Istanbul and the classical Istanbul isn’t offered, nor is the religious history tour in Rhodes. I’d love to book both of those tours. Nine years ago, I do recall that some excursions for our ports (Venice, Kusadasi, Croatia, and Athens) were uploaded a little closer to the sail date.  I wonder if that’s still the case. 

Yes,   I booked our 9/1 cruise last October and check a couple times a week and there has never been any excursions listed for Kusadasi, or the classical Istanbul.    Lots of NCL excursions for Rhodes but not the religious history... I am wondering if they change the names sometimes.

I think the NCL website and excursion booking is not NCL's strength.   There are lots of inconsistencies it seems.   

However, I have to give them credit for such value pricing for children on the Rhodes Kayak Adventure. 

1 hour ago, Sthrncrusr said:

CCJack,

do you recall who you used in Genoa for your tour? That sounds perfect for our family!

thanks

gogenova tours   .    Sandra was a wonderful tour guide, we had our teenage kids along and she was great with keeping everyone interested.   We used public transportation but with a local along, it goes much faster and stress free. 

25 minutes ago, mcmomny said:

We were on The Jade last August and had purchased the FAS Plus package so we had $100 per excursion savings plus our Latitude discount so we opted to use only NCL excursions where in the past we have booked privately.

 

We were in Greece when it was 100 plus degrees so we basically booked the cheapest excursion as they would provide transportation so some of our excursions ended up being free due to our $100 port excursion costs

 

Our tour guide for Ephesus was fantastic and we felt we had plenty of time even thou it was a short stop!

 

 Istanbul, our guide was great and kept us moving so we could see all the major sights and when we were given free time to shop the market we asked her for advice to go somewhere for a drink and snack she she pointed us in the right direction for a great experience!

 

Santorini, we also booked NCL so we could avoid the cable car lines up as they tender you to the old port where the buses are, nice scenic drive and a nice stop at a winery before being dropped at Oia where we walked around and took the cable car down. We lucked out with no lines but we heard other complain later about the long lines.

 

Rhodes, because all that was left was The religious history tour we booked for the transportation but boy this was the high light of all of our tours!  Our guide was great and we learned so much history and really were glad we had booked this excursion!

 

Mykonos, again a bus ride to tour the island but we also had free time so worked out great.

 

Each port we had enough free time to sit at a scenic cafe for a cold beverage and snack and watch the world go by! Our favorite part of travel!

thanks this is helpful.   Can you tell me in Istanbul, was the NCL excursion on a bus or walking with a guide (and using trams, etc.)   

We are on the 9/1/24 Getaway out of Athens (Piraeus).    

For Kusadasi (Ephesus) there have been no NCL excursions listed on the NCL website for several months (at least when I log in).  So I booked a private excursion through Ephesus Shuttles.   I cannot vouch for them as it is our first visit, but they were very prompt with email replies and were fully aware of the limited time in port for our ship. Does your ship go to Kumasi ???

For Santorini, I booked the NCL Oia excursion simply to avoid the cable car up.   (still need to take the cable car down, but walking down may be an option for us.)   Plus with the FAS this excursion seemed like a good value. 

For the other ports, I am still investigating as you are.

In general, I can say we used to always do private excursions, however, the last couple years we have been moving back to ship excursions.  The price benefit of private doesn't seem to be as much as it used to be.  Plus, we have had several cruises where getting off of the ship has been an issue due to mechanical problems / issues.  (even with ships that are docked).  The cruiselines  prioritized their excursion passengers to get off first.   Sometimes this was an hour or two delay for others. 

In summary, I look at all options (private vs. ship excursion vs. DIY) and try to make a reasonable decision !

Have fun planning!

Without question, if you have not been to Quebec City, then I would go there - it is a wonderful city to visit.

On 2/8/2024 at 5:16 AM, SoloAlaska said:

Juneau this year I am taking the tram up and hiking from there. 

We also did this, and it is was a great hike, and  very cost effective.   The tram was crowded but once you start hiking above the tram we pretty much had the mountain to ourselves.  You can hike as far or as little as you want up there.  It was a bit windy, however.    The views down are spectacular.

It looks like the big difference is if you want to see Northern Norway or the traditional Fjords (Flam) plus coastal cities like Bergen.   I have not been to these Northern ports (but they look like fun!), but it seems many people would want to see one of the long fjords like Flam on a trip to Norway.

Also, I would guess flying to Tromso / Reykjavik  would be a more expensive airfare than the Reykjavik / London option. 

This decision may also depend on if you have been to London or want to spend time there.

Have fun... ! 

They both look like great trips.  I like that they emphasize Norway (which is a better cruising destination) but give you a taste of Iceland (for perhaps a future land based Iceland trip.)

I would vote for the first.   2 long Fjords plus more daylight.   The sail into the Fjords is beautiful, but sunrise time can be important.   As an example, if you dock in Flam at 7 am, you could be entering the Fjord at 4 am or so.   I would get up at sunrise (maybe 5 am in July ?) to enjoy the scenery.   More daylight in the evening doesn't hurt either.  

Have fun....