leavesofapple
-
Posts
51 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by leavesofapple
-
-
1 minute ago, leavesofapple said:
On the Onward right now (in Tenerife). In an ordinary veranda stateroom.Yesterday morning we got an invitation to a bridge tour at 2 am that day.
12 visitors to the bridge for two hours and we saw everything!!
No idea why we out of 700 were invited.
Pm of course.
-
On the Onward right now (in Tenerife). In an ordinary veranda stateroom.Yesterday morning we got an invitation to a bridge tour at 2 am that day.
12 visitors to the bridge for two hours and we saw everything!!
No idea why we out of 700 were invited.
-
3
-
-
On 1/23/2023 at 3:42 PM, LHT28 said:
I think Aza does it for dinner & not sure any other dining venues are open
I think I read it is the party BBQ or room service I could be wrong
Standing in line to pick up food is not my favourite thing 🙂
It is for dinner, a buffer on deck with music and dancing. The MDR is open (at least it was on our cruise in september).
-
1
-
-
On 5/13/2022 at 8:57 PM, ldubs said:
If things go according to plans, we will visit The Last Supper in Milan later this year. Apparently they limit viewing to small groups of 15. Hopefully that will improve the experience.
I"ve been talking to Mrs Ldubs about one of these days visiting Waterloo because of what happened there. I suspect it will be pretty disappointing. But I would still would like to just be where it all happened I guess.
You get only a short time with The Last Supper (10-15 minutes if I remember correctly) but with the small group it is enough for a good look. And the monastery in itself is a beautiful and quiet place.
We did Waterloo with a group and a guide. If you’ re not an expert yourself I think a good guide is important. The Museum was recently updated and interesting. We arrived back at the bus at the very last minute.
-
1
-
-
17 hours ago, ldubs said:
I was I awe of standing where the sacrifices made to accomplish so much happened. I understand why it is held in reverence. I feel that way myself. But just looking at the brick and mortar, I can see how some could be disappointed.
Even as a European I found the Alamo interesting both in itself and because of the reverence shown it.
-
Thank you.
-
Is testning before boarding and masking on board still requiered on Azamara ships in Europe? Can’t find information about this on the website.
-
Walk around the ship and look at all the interesting works of art on display everywhere.
-
1
-
-
10 hours ago, millybess said:
When we docked in Stockholm with Viking it was at Nynäshamn, right downtown.
Can’t have docked in Nynäshamn of it was ”right downtown”. Nynäshamn is a town a distance from Stockholm.
-
1
-
-
12 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:
They would have to remove the dressing area which diehard Princess fans seem to like. Personally I hate the sight of the open closet the minute you walk into the room. It's very unappealing and looks like a cheap hotel upon entry. If you can't fit one upholstered chair in hospitality room setting there is something wrong with the design. I can't eat breakfast sitting on the bed either, also I don't always want to watch TV sitting in bed, especially dressed up for formal night while I wait for DW to get made up and dressed.
Interesting. The open dressing area was one of the best things in the stateroom on my one Princess cruise (Royal P), the thing we often
mention we would like to see on other cruise ships.
-
4
-
-
This discussion is really interesting.
Someone mentioned Dubai for ex. My impression is quite different. So much to do! Shopping, sure. But also the informative Dubai Museum, the beautiful Dubai Fountains, dhow boat cruises, the Miracle Garden and much more.
In general, do you think your negative impression of a place could be influenced by things like bad weather, beeing overcharged for a cup of coffee, huge crowds or other negative experiences?
Sorry for any strange spelling. My phone tries to autocorrect everything into swedish.
-
1
-
-
43 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:
Do you mean the pictures that are being sold on the ships ?
No. The art all over the ships. In stairwells hallways and other public areas.
-
1
-
-
On 9/7/2020 at 8:56 PM, lenquixote66 said:
What is your favorite activity on a cruise ship that is rarely discussed on a CC thread ?
Mine is shuffleboard.
”Art tour” walking around the ship looking at all the beautiful and interesting works of art everywhere.
-
1
-
-
6 hours ago, John Bull said:
I concur with other posters - the Baltic.
It's port-intensive, so the itinerary is more important than the ship.
Even 9 days isn't really long enough, and cruises starting in Britain or Amsterdam will use up a couple more days. So look for an embarkation port in the Baltic, with good air connection from home - Copenhagen is probably your best bet.
Might be difficult with a max of 9 days, but St Petersburg definitely warrants two days so look for a cruise with a overnight there.
(nb visiting Russia needs a rather expensive and complicated tourist visa unless you pre-book a visa-free tour, but be wary of misleading cruise line phraseology which gives the impression that only ships' tours are visa-free
. Tours offered by local operators are also visa-free and far better than ships tours - in 16-seat vans, far more personal & flexible, beat-the-lines at busy sites, quicker and with closer parking than big buses, and tour prices that compare very favourably with ships' tours. See the Northern Europe forum for names of operators - and they're all very good.)
The sail-in to Stockholm is one of the best in the world - about 4 hours sailing through the archipelago of islands so close that you feel you could reach out and touch the trees.
But mega-ships are too large to sail through, so they berth at Nyneshamn - it's on the coast, no glorious sail-in, and an hour from Stockholm by road or rail.
Stockholm's Stadsgarden (sp?) pier is most convenient, Frihamnen is also quite close to the city centre - but try to avoid an itinerary which says "Stockholm (Nyneshamn)"
Warnemunde is on some itineraries. Tours are offered to Berlin, but it's about 3 hours each-way so even though ships depart late into the evening you only get about 5 hours in Berlin - 5 hours in a city which is worth 5 days
.
Do it if you've not been and this might be your only chance, but better to put Berlin on the back-burner for a "proper" visit at some time in the future. Warnemunde and nearby Rostock are very pleasant but missable.
All the ports except St Petersburg (and Berlin from Warnemunde) are easy to DIY so no need to break the bank.
Do check the hours in port, especially Costa & MSC which often include half-days.
Old-town Tallinn is pretty easy in a half-day, other ports need a full day & St Petersburg two days.
I do love spending other people's money for them
, but do give yourselves at least a full day in your embarkation port
JB
A few years ago we did a cruise with 3 days (two nights) in St P. Even that is not enough for such a magnificent city. We sailed with RCCL.
-
Thank you. Will look into your suggestion.
-
Thank you. Useful information.
-
We have booked a cruise with HAL Amsterdam - Rome September 2020 with a stop at Gibraltar.
When I look at the ships tours offered (early I know) they don’t seem have a tour covering all/most of the places of interest.
I would be grateful for information on good private tours.
-
On 6/10/2019 at 6:35 PM, DogLover said:
When we did our Regent Baltics cruise in September 2015, our ship stopped in Klaipeda. We took an excursion to visit the Soviet Nuclear Weapons Site which was fascinating. The tour also stopped at a local restaurant where we sampled traditional foods. Don't know if your ship offers a similar excursion but if so, would highly recommend.
We did the same excursion a couple of years ago on a cruise with RCCL. Rekommended!
-
Just returned home from same cruise. Seventh cruise but first on HAL. Enjoyed it a lot and agree with initial post on most things.
A few additional comments:
Volume in rock venue much to loud at times. Painfull.
We appreciated the classical music in Lincoln Center Stage.
I get the impression HAL is trying to be a little different from other lines with the musical theme on the ship. Successfully in my opinion.
The Post-Modern Jukebox-show was a disaster. Large part part of the audience walked out during the performance.
We observed one couple in line for the MDR told they could not be seated until the man had changed from shorts.
Lots of interesting art all over the ship. We did our own art tour one day, walking down all three starwells.
In all a very pleasant cruise on a well run and beautiful ship. We would happily consider HAL again.
-
Vizcaya, wow!!!!
-
We did the Soviet Missile tour in September 2015 (sailing with Regent) and it was a highlight for us. Very well presented exhibits, interesting inside of the silo. I highly recommend it!
I can only agree. We did the tour to the Missile Site two years ago. Unique and interesting. A tour to remember.
-
Addition to the previous: Many people here, especially the young, don' t carry cash at all anymore.
-
At least here in Sweden almost everyone use cards for even very small purchases, amounting to a couple of dollars/euros.
You could possibly have a problem using cards if you want to by a small souvenir or some fruit in a market stall or something like that. But many of those take payment by card too.
-
In nice weather it would be an easy and pleasant walk of 20-30 min (depending on your walking pace, and how often you stop to snap photos). The staff at the Lydmar will almost certainly have a map and will be able to show you the different routes you could choose. A very slight detour will take you past the Royal Castle.
And you should probably ask the hotel staff about restaurants too. They come and go, change chefs, get different reviews over time. The staff at a good hotel like Lydmar should know.
That said, I have had nice dinners at Bistro Bestick on Bryggargatan 8, close to the Ice Bar in the Nordic C Hotel.
. Tours offered by local operators are also visa-free and far better than ships tours - in 16-seat vans, far more personal & flexible, beat-the-lines at busy sites, quicker and with closer parking than big buses, and tour prices that compare very favourably with ships' tours. See the Northern Europe forum for names of operators - and they're all very good.)
.
, but do give yourselves at least a full day in your embarkation port
Seeking Recommendations for Post Cruise Luggage Storage in Stockholm
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea
Posted
I’m Swedish and have stayed at a lot of hotels all over the country. No hotel has ever refused to store my luggage for free pre check-in. Or after check-out either if I needed that.