FloridaTourist
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I think we will probably opt to go to Lubeck. Luckily that is something we can wait and decide last minute. The train looks easy enough.
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We are on the Zuiderdam in June for I believe the same [12-night Baltic Adventure?] itinerary. For the call at Kiel we will be going to Lübeck for the day. It seems pretty easy to do by train and looks like a charming town. I understand your quandary though, Kiel does not look overly interesting [in fact I made friends with a German guy on the QM2 last January and he told me Kiel is one of the most boring cities in Germany haha]. Hamburg is also an option that many people take but this is such a port-intensive itinerary that I figured Lübeck would be more relaxing instead of the hustle and bustle of another crowded city.
Just looked up Lubeck. Some interesting architecture. Might be a possibility. I figure most folks will go to Hamburg but don't know why. There really isn't anything great there for a tourist to go see and visit. I can always drink German beer in Kiel.
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We are doing a Baltic cruise on the Zuiderdam in August. Our first stop is Kiel. Nothing in Cruise Critic on Kiel. I found a free walking tour of Saint Pauli that we plan on doing. When I research Hamburg, nothing stood out as a must see to make that trip. We are in port from 11-9. So other than maybe stepping out for some good German beer am I missing something here as a must see?
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That's not true. Most of the reviews were positive to neutral. I'm not saying that the reviews were helpful, but they were mostly positive.
I guess that just depends on what you are looking for. Most of the ones I ever looked at were mediocre at best
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We are using TJ travel for a two day tour while in St. Petersburg in August. They say they take US cash or credit card based on the exchange rate through the Russian national bank. Which is the best way to pay? The tour price is in US dollars. There is no service fee for using a credit card.
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Just remember when cruising within 2 miles of shore they turn off the ship internet. When we sailed the Adriatic Sea last year on the Oosterdam they recommended against taking internet packages. This year we are doing the Baltic on Zuiderdam. I think we will be even closer to shore so still not an option.
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Most reviews on the HAL site were negative. Thus the removal. Search for what you are looking for on TripAdvisor and book it elsewhere. You will get better pricing with usually the same companies the cruise ships use.
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We booked our August cruise on the zuiderdam back in October. We have a VA cabin and we didn't get much in promo benefits. Now I can get lots of promo benefits but the cabin is $1500 more than I paid for it. I'd rather pay the lower fee and pick the benefits I want instead of things that I won't get full use out of.
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In reading through these boards, I see that a chip and pin card is usually needed in Europe. Does anyone know if they usually take American Express? That is the credit card we use while traveling since it has no fees and is a airmiles card too.
My other question is I am watching flights to Copenhagen for August 19, they were about $100 cheaper about a month ago...do the prices continue to climb this far out? I know there is no crystal ball, but I'm not used to booking international flights so not sure if the sweet spot to book has passed?
Thank you!
Use the app "Hopper". It will track airfares for you and tell you the trend for the ticket and when is the best time to buy it. I am leaving on a cruise from Copenhagen Aug 12 and I bought my ticket 2 months ago.
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Port to Sanford is 1 hr 15 min. You will pay some tolls along the way. There are few good places to eat in downtown Sanford. Can stroll along lake Monroe. Central Florida zoo in Sanford is nice if you have young kids with you. Other than that there is not much there
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The Oosterdam was dry docked and sailed for the first time April 15 2016. We were on her. She is amazing. The signature suites and above look great as do all the public rooms. All new.
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I live near Sanford airport. It is very small and not much there. Even food options are very limited. I suggest a one way car rental would be the cheapest option. Like Avis or hertz. Not all car rentals have offices there. Make sure you eat before you get to airport. There is nothing just outside or on the road when you get off the highway on the way to it. The airport is geared more
To charter flights then commercial daily flights although Allegiant does fly there
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Paid $86 for our last cruise on Oosterdam for 12 days. Wife told me she wouldn't use it that much. After the 2nd day she was hooked. They do a fantastic job. And if you buy the unlimited package like we did you can pack a little lighter for a long cruise. But they did lose a brand new pair of pants of mine. They asked me about how much they cost and a credit was applied to my account immediately no questions asked.
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We're in our 50's too and have cruised once on HAL and have another coming up this May to Alaska with them.
Yes, it is a more laid back, relaxing atmosphere and most of the ship does go to sleep pretty early. Having said that we enjoyed our cruise to Bermuda with them very much. Our lives are so busy that we cruise to relax.
You can order 24 hr room service so there is food available after 10:30 pm and as far as alcohol you can order bottles of alcohol prior to your cruise and they'll be waiting in your room when you board. This is to be consumed in your room only.
Also you can carry on your own champagne/wine...1 750ml bottle per person at no charge (any additional bottles will incur an $18 corkage fee.)
You can drink the wine in your room or bring it to a restaurant but if you bring it to a restaurant even the first 2 allowed bottles will be charged the corkage fee.
We bring 4 bottles so we can enjoy a glass of wine on our balcony without having to go to a bar to get it. It works out well.
If you're looking for constant action than HAL is probably a little too quiet for you guys but if you want a nice relaxing vacation with excellent service I would give it a try.
You said that much better than I did. I liked the relaxed atmosphere on HAL and although we like to stay up we always find people to hang with. But it is also nice that the venues don't have lines or crowds late at night. We are taking our Sons (25 and 28) on what will probably out last family trip on the Oasis in June because they wanted a "fun ship" and Oasis has 22 bars. But we are doing the Zuiderdam for a Baltic cruise in August so we can chill a little.
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We are in our 50s as well and we jus t sailed on the Oosterdam last April right after dry dock. The ship is beautiful and the cabins really nice especially if you get a signature suite. We tend to stay up late on vacation and enjoy a drink in the piano bar and just hanging out. You you like to sleep early as you say I think you would love HAL as it is a quiet ship where most are in bed by 11 for sure. For cruising the Caribbean most people tend to stay up late and have fun. I think you might want to look at a more lively line like the Oasis from RCCL. It also depends on time of year. Summer cruises will have lots more young folks. Good luck
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Here is an article. There appears to be one outdoor smoking area.
There was not a smoking area on the first sailing after dry dock. I am 100% positive. We sailed April 15 of 2016. Adriatic Sea cruise.
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No smoking anywhere? Awesome. I may have to seriously look at booking Oosterdam for my next cruise.
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On the first sailing after dry Dock it was totally non smoking. It was very port intensive. 12 days 11 ports. Let's of places to smoke off the ship. It was the first time I could actually sit in the casino and not smell like smoke by the end of the night.
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We did a very similar itinerary last year on Holland America. Athens and Ephesus are very cheap to do private tours. We had a private driver in Athens and tour guide for five hours for $125 in Ephesus we had a driver and tour guid as well with tickets to Ephesus and it cost us $169 for the two of us. In Santorini we did the speedboat and it was awesome. We would definitely do that again
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We sailed last year on the Oosterdam on its maiden voyage out of drydock. There was no smoking allowed anywhere on the ship it was awesome
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My TA called HAL and confirmed no Le Cirque. It will be sol de mar but no date avail as of yet. Also they said it was French sea food.
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We are active 50 somethings as well and we did HAL Oosterdam last year in the Med. we loved HAL. Loved the ship fresh out of dry dock and loved the size. We like a lot of ports and don't care about sea days. We want to see things and be busy. We also did all our own private excursions because they are cheap in the med and I really don't like the big bus tours. We booked the sister ship the Zuiderdam for the Baltic this summer. We looked at the Regal but after reading reviews of the ship itself and talking to a friend that sailed on her recently we decided for what appeared to be a nicer ship, better maintained and better food. It's all about personal preference and what appeals to you. We like good evening entertainment like dancing or piano bar. We rarely go to our cabin before midnight. The Oosterdam was also totally non smoking. Don't know about the Zuiderdam. Good luck and happy sailing.
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Last year my wife and I cruised on the Oosterdam on its first voyage out of dry dock in the Med. and had an amazing meal at Le Cirque....long story but the cruise ship sent us there to apologize for some construction material that flew down on our balcony. The meal was amazing. This year we are sailing on the Zuiderdam in August in the Baltic and I went online to book the Pinnacle Grill and wanted to book the Le Cirque but it isn't listed for its one night. Then I read online that some ships have a different specialty night Sol de ?????couldnt find much info other that you pay ala carte. Does anyone know any more about that? Is that what I should expect on the Zuiderdam? Anyone have a menu? Thanks for the help cc friends!
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I know in walking tours you are supposed to tip what you think it was worth but what's the general guide. If you like a tour and it is 3 hours would you go with $50pp or $20pp or am I not even close? We are doing several free walking tours in the Baltic in several countries. Never did free walking tours before but most all we looked at have great reviews.
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What to do in Kiel
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea
Posted
Oh would definitely do all that before we go. I type out a daily itinerary with facts, contact information, port info, things to do etc for every day of our cruise. I am a Planner by profession so I definitely will have this all planned out.
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