thuyronald

Thank you MeHeartCruising for your information.

Your pictures look beautiful, even with the fog. Were all the photos taken during the train ride and walk around town? There was a beautiful waterfall where everyone was taking photos. Was this near town where we can walk to?

After posting this question, I did get an answer from Flamsbana office and they told me there were 94/96 seats in each carriage. They also mentioned if you have a group booking, seats will be allocated for the group, so that is good to know.

Twee

Hello everyone,

I was wondering about the specifics of the group booking on the Flamsbana train in Flam.

I want to do a group booking with a minimum of 10 people for our upcoming trip next June. I understand that if you buy individual tickets, there are no seat assignments and you may end up jostling with the crowds to get seats. Therefore, I want to put together a group so we can get a reserved carriage.

Question#1_ how many seats are in one carriage?

Question#2_If I have only 10 people, will we still have to jostle for seats in our assigned carriage?

Question#3_Some previous cruisers had arranged a group of 30 people. Is it advantageous or worth the hassle to form such a big group? I prefer to keep if below 16 people.

Also, any tips or suggestions for group bookings or relevant information about the Flam train you're willing to share?

Thanks in advance.

Twee

Hi everyone,

We will be visiting Geiranger & Alesund, two of several Norwegian ports on Serenade of the Seas in mid June.

My reasoning for not doing Trollstigen from Alesund are:

1) Avoid the traffic on this one lane road from numerous bus tours on that day.

2) Avoid having to do a separate tour in Geiranger to visit Eagle's Bend.

3) I love Art Nouveau architecture and would like to have time walking around Alesund, although the shopping would be limited since it's a Sunday.

4) I think the time it takes to get to Trollstigen is less from Geiranger (with ferry ride) than from Alesund.

Geiranger_Tuesday 7-4pm (assuming tender port)

In Geiranger, do the 6-7 hour tour with Geiranger Taxi to Trollstigen

Tour description:You start your journey by climbing up Eagle Road and across the mountain plateau that connects Geiranger to the villages of Eidsdal and Norddal. When you arrive in Eidsdal, a 10 minutes ferry ride awaits you. The journey over to Linge village gives you enough time to visit the upper deck for some nice pictures of the fjord. You pass the village of Valldal, also known as Strawberry Village. After a drive down and up Trollstigen, and a stop to the visitor center with spectacular panoramic view of the valley and the road itself, you start on your return to Geiranger. There will be a stop at Gudbrandsjuvet, half way between Trollstigen and Valldal centre. It is an impressive system of whirlpools flanking a 5 metre wide and 20 metre deep gorge. The car ferry will take you back from Linge to Eidsdal, and before you start on your way down to Geiranger on the other side of the mountain plateau, there will be a stop at Eagle's Bend. From here you will enjoy the magnificent panorama over Geiranger, the Geirangerfjord, the Seven Sisters Waterfalls and the alpine farm Knivsflå. You will arrive back in Geiranger with time so you have a chance to explore the village before you board you ship again.

Alesund_ Sunday 10-6pm (assuming docked)

-In Alesund, do the Ultimate Sightseeing Tour or just wander around town

Tour description: Get to know Ålesund's cultural and natural highlights on this 4.5-hour shore excursion. Visit the enchanting island of Giske, climb to the top of Alnes Lighthouse on the island of Godøy, and visit the open-air Sunnmøre Museum, where you'll learn about life in Norway over the centuries and see a collection of many different boats. Then, take in panoramic views from the top of Mt. Aksla before heading back into Ålesund's city center to admire the art nouveau architecture.

Which port should I visit Trollstigen from? This is what I think is best, but would like input in selecting the better choice. Any help on this matter would be much appreciated.

Twee

I've used Flixbus in several countries and have no complaints. The ride was always comfortable. The rates are cheap if you purchase early. Overall, I have no problem using them for future travel needs.

Thank you for your input.

Twee

Peelboy,

Do you recall the place where you saw the money exchangers in Busan?

Twee

Thank you everyone for your information. I will have the tour guide stop by an ATM for us to pull out some money if they require local money.

Twee

Hi everyone,

We will be arriving in Akureyri on our Serenade of the Seas transatlantic cruise in August.

I was wondering how to get local money to pay for our private tours. I'm not sure if I can get Kronas before leaving for our cruise.

Question #1- Does the ship offer currency exchange onboard? We are on the Serenade of the Seas.

Question #2- Is there a currency exchange booth at the Akreyri or Reykjavik terminal?

Question #3- Were ATMs widely available?

Question#4- Were Euros accepted at these ports?

Thanks for any help you may provide.

Twee

Hi everyone,

I will be flying into Kansai (KIX) airport at 6:00 am and planning to take the ferry/Port Liner to Kobe cruise terminal stop. I will spend sometime at the airport lounge upon arrival to kill some time and leisurely make my way to the terminal, maybe around 9:00 am. By 9:00 am, I would think that the previous cruise disembarkation would be done by this time.

Does anyone know or have experienced luggage drop-off around this time? I was hoping to do the drop-off and then take the Port Liner into town, coming back after 1pm for cruise check-in.

Are there lockers at the terminal to use if I can't drop off the luggage early?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Twee

That's funny. Yes, I do plan on getting at least an outside cabin. Otherwise, it really will not matter which side of the ship our cabin is located :)

Thank you for your advice. I didn't think it mattered, but just wanted to make sure.

Happy holidays to you all.

Twee

Hi everyone,

I'm contemplating booking a cruise going to Norway and was wondering if having a cabin on port versus starboard side matters for this sailing.

The itinerary in the order of the ports are listed below:

Geiranger

Arctic Circle cruising

Tromso

Honningsvag

Alesund

Flam

Stavanger

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Twee

We're heading over to Lerwick on August 29th, so hopefully we can still see them. I'm leaning towards the Northern route and will have to re-consider if there's no chance of seeing the puffins there.

I'll check out Wild about Orkney to see what they offer for Lerwick.

Twee

Thank you puppyandcruise for the information. It seems like you did the Southern tour. My husband loves puffins so he'll be excited about that. I wonder if you can see them in abundance if we choose the Northern route.

Twee

Thank you for your quick reply.

May I ask what your itinerary was and would you recommend this for first time visitor?

Twee

Hello,

We're visiting Lerwick in August and would like to arrange a private tour with Gordon. Do you by chance have his email?

Thanks for helping.

Twee

Thank you BruceMuzz for the information. I'll look for the customs agent in Nagasaki. If no one is available, I will wait to remove the papers from my passport after arriving back home.

Thank you for your time.

Twee

Hi everyone,

I plan to shop while on a Japan cruise in October. We will sail onward to South Korea after a visit in Nagasaki. Below is a note to claim the Japan 8% consumption tax refund:

• Only foreign visitors who have temporarily stayed in Japan for less than 6 months since entering Japan.
  
• You must show your passport at the store where you purchased the goods for tax-free procedure.
  
• You have to claim your sales tax refund on the same day of purchase.
  

When you produce your passport at the tax refund counter, they will check your Japan entry permit stamp to confirm your eligibility. They will then staple a piece of paper with the tax refund information and your particulars on the page where the Japan entry permit stamp is. You will need to return this piece of paper (titled “Record of Purchase of Consumption Tax – Exempt for Export”) to the Japan customs at the airport just before you go to the immigration counters where your passport is checked.

Do I need to find a Japan customs agent at Nagasaki cruise terminal to return the "Record of Purchase of Consumption Tax-Exempt for Export"?

Does any body have experience with this?

Twee

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if there any ATMs or currency exchange office at Jeju port. I prefer not to get them pre-cruise. I have heard that ATMs in town do not accept international cards. Not sure if that is the case but would like to know my options before leaving for the trip.

Thanks in advance.

Twee

Thank you MightyQuinn for the detailed information of your visit. I will look into the ferry to the A Dome from the island.

Now, I have the ports of Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Busan to figure out.

Twee

Thank you so much Pacrimheather for that information. I appreciate your help.

Twee

Hello everyone,

We'll be visiting Hiroshima on the Celebrity Millennium in October. I've read some where that there's a new port called Itsukachi in addition to the one at Ujina.

Does anyone know where the cruise ship dock in Hiroshima? Specifically the Millennium if you have sailed on it before.

Will there be a shuttle from the dock into town? If yes, where is that drop off point?

I want to visit Miyajima island and see the A dome & Peace Memorial Park and would like to figure how to go about it.

Thanks in advance.

Twee

Hi everyone,

We'll be in Jeju in October. I wonder if anyone knows where we will dock?

Also, if you have information where we will dock in Busan, I would appreciate that information.

Thanks in advance.

Twee

Thanks Cruzmaven. I tried your link with Safari instead of Chrome and it worked.

Twee

We've been to Nagasaki in 2004 and did use the tram. All other ports are new to us. I will have some OBC and wanted to see if we can use some of that OBC for tours.

Thanks dog for the help.

Twee