Judy795

On 3/29/2024 at 12:14 PM, worldtraveller99 said:

Me too ocean sounds! But I read that we don't leave port until the evening, which should allow us to photograph the eclipse on land before we leave? Oops if that isn't so! 

The eclipse will be around sunset (near Spain) and close to the horizon. I would be concerned the view could be blocked by the harbor or by land as the ship sets sail. 

I get motion sickness when the sea is rough. A storm in the North Sea and crossing the Drake to Antarctica. I usually take one Bonine daily unless it’s very flat. The Drake was double and as long as I lay flat I was ok. Got a script for Zofran and added that in when needed. 

I signed up for the bird reserve trip. 

I booked a 21 night cruise on the Rotterdam through Norway next June.I booked it specifically for the itinerary.   It will be our second HAL cruise, the first since the pandemic and the first since 2018 to Alaska. Our previous cruises were only on small ships (650-1000 passengers).
I had very high expectations for the Alaska cruise because my good friends did over 20 cruises with HAL from 2000-2012 and raved about them. 
Most of the Alaska cruise (12 nights) was a big disappointment in terms of food quality, entertainment, and the mobs of people who joined this cruise. I had been to Alaska several times before, we were with friends, and we made the best of it. 
I have read good things now about the Rotterdam, and again I have high expectations. I know there is a difference between a very small ship and a midsize ship. I just hope it won’t be a replay of Alaska. I don’t think so. It’s not an itinerary children would like, and it’s just focused on all thing’s Nordic. 

I will be on the HAL Rotterdam in June 2024, going up the coast of Norway to the North Cape. Is it possible to view birds flying or to see whales from the ship while it is moving?  I am a photographer and trying to decide to bring a longer lens on the trip. Thanks.

I went to Antarctica in 12/19 and had trip insurance through Ripcord Travel Rescue Insurance.  Thank goodness I didn't need to use it but someone fell down a flight of stairs, broke an ankle, and had to be air rescued out.  

On 11/12/2021 at 4:33 PM, tipsygirl said:

 

The medical care provided by MedJet is for medical evacuation, not medical costs. If you are hospitalized for Covid or any other medical reason they can arrange a secure transport to  your hospital of choice back home.They can advance up to $50,000 for medical care, but it is a loan until you can get reimbursed by whatever health insurance policy you have.

Read their fine print, it depends on the country you are in, the country you are returning to, the status of your illness, and all the rules applying to the above.

I did this trip last year in the Fall.  We spent a few days first in Amsterdam.  At the end, we flew from Bern, Switzerland to Vienna, Austria, and joined a Globus tour of Austria and Switzerland.

I had positive feelings about the cruise.  It was our second time on the River Voyager.  The accommodations were fine.  The passengers tended to be 75 and older. The food was fine, if not exciting. Nice to unpack once.  Negatives: not enough time ashore in interesting places, half the time docked too far  from town to walk back to ship. I could see that a train line ran along the river, as well as a road.  It would have been fun to do the trip by train.  But then there is packing and unpacking.  Can't have it both ways.

I have Salomon gortex hiking shoes, as well as their non-waterproof hiking shoe. They are on the wider side for my wide short foot.

Thank you. We are taking this cruise next Sept 20, leaving from Amsterdam and ending at Basel. From Basel we fly to Vienna, and join a Globus tour of Austria and Switzerland, ending in Zurich.

Personally, I find Vantage's pre and post cruise options do not offer enough time and touring in whatever city they offer. One can see that often the port stops are too short to allow much exploration.

We took the Vantage Tulip cruise of the Netherlands, last April, and spent several days in Amsterdam on our own. It is a very easy city to tour, and you can always arrange a Viatour tour if you don't want to be on your own. We will spend a few more days again in Amsterdam at the beginning of this trip.

I am looking forward to all the German wines.

The above post is absolutely correct. Graham's book explained the camera to me perfectly.

This camera is a terrific camera for your daughter. She can start out on auto and work on things like composition, understanding the effect of light, and even beginging video. Then she can take a course, or read the book, or watch the videos and learn how to go off auto, and shoot with the other settings. I did that for several years and now I am moving up to a professional level DSLR, which is quite a challenge after the FZ200.

I still will use this camera on my travels where it doesn't make sense to take a large camera and lenses.

Good luck.

I love mine. Thinking of trying the FZ1000. Eventually.

My new toy--a full frame DSLR and good lenses.

Am I crazy?

We were on the Vantage River Splendor Springtime in Holland and Belgium Tulips and Windmills Cruise April 14-26, 2016.

We arranged our own airfare. After hearing about other's experiences, I was very glad I did this. I realize that not everyone can afford to spend the money or use miles, but the convenience of doing this was wonderful. Other passengers complained about very indirect flights, inconvenient times, and getting picked up at 4am at the airport, being taken to a hotel lobby to wait for 4-5 hours in a lobby before being bused to a ship.

We also arrived several days earlier which allowed us to unjetlag before the cruise. Other older travelers looked exhausted for several days.

In Amsterdam, the Splendor was docked 30 minutes away in an industrial port with nothing near it.

The first day was Kinderdijk where we spent a few hours seeing windmills. Very nice.

The second day was Bruges. We docked an hour away. The guide for our group was quite good but we did not have enough time in town to really enjoy it and we felt pressure to return to the bus, our only transportation.

The third day was Antwerp. Again, not enough time in town.

The next day was Arnhem where we had the choice of the Liberation Museum or the Kroeller-Muller Museum, both an hour away.

The fifth day was Enkhuizen where we walked from the ship to the Zuiderzee Museum, an open air village. We would have liked to spend more time there than alloted, because after lunch was the visit to a local home with very interesting gentleman.

The next day we did get to Hoorn, but traveled an hour to a tulip farm for a rather short visit.

Finally we arrived back in Amsterdam where we docked in town at Central Station for one night, We had a too short visit to the Rijksmuseum, and a terrible optional expensive tour of the old Jewish neighborhood. Our Anne Frank tour was cancelled several weeks before we left home as Vantage said they could no longer get tickets. (Before the cruise, we went about 5:30 pm, stood in line about an hour, and saw it on our own.)

The last day we were bused to the Keukenhof Gardens to see the tulips. Again, not enough time there. We could have managed to return on our own, by taking a bus to the airport, and the train back to Central Station, or just getting a cab, but the weather was rainy and cold so we just went back on the ships bus.

We did an excellent walking tour of the Red Light District which opened our eyes to the horrors of sex trafficking.

Most of the Vantage guides were very good. They had to operate under tight time constraints.

The weather was cold and windy most of the time, with rain at the end. Dress warm with hats and gloves.

I did not realize that I would only see tulips in the Amsterdam region. I thought there would be fields all over the entire country.

The food was appetizing with out being overly gourmet. On a tour of the kitchen I learned that most of what they serve is purchased precooked and finished off on the ship. They make their own sauces, some soups, but not much else. They cook for an American taste.

Our room was fine, the service was fine. I don't have many complaints except about not being in town long enough. When we were close to some towns, it was really too cold or wet to want to stay out longer. The ship traveled at night, so there was nothing to see as it moved about.

Would I do another river cruise? Maybe, as a means of seeing some places easily. I am a very independent traveler and enjoy traveling by train and spending more time in town.

I guess I would do Vantage again. I am looking for cruise for 2017 that does the wine region of Alsace and ends up in Basel so I can continue onto seeing Switzerland.