elesay

I ended up finding a Merimekko store quite by accident in Copenhagen. The sales lady was terrific and pointed me to the odd cuts section. I was able to get smaller pieces of beautiful fabric at a discounted price.

Well gang. I never made it to a single shop. There was never time for it.

The problem in Germany was two-fold. Not only was it a Sunday, but it was also a Federal holiday. I can highly recommend the Friends of Dave Mega Mecklenburg tour.

We took a bad tour in Tallinn that didn't permit ANY shopping (the one with City Bike).

Even with a private tour in St. Petersburg, we were just exhausted and cut it short. Didn't go back for day 2.

The time in Helsinki is far too short. We only made it to 3 places. The Red Bus Hop on Hop Off buses were grossly unprepared for the amount of passengers on our boat.

Finally, we decided to skip Stockholm and stayed the day in Nynashamn. It was terrific, but I didn't find a fabric store.

Good luck to you all on your cruise adventures!

This looks like a promising store in Tallinn.

https://www.abakhan.ee/abakhan-fabrics?___store=et_en

Be patient. Miami is a busy port.

 

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When you get to the port, give your bags to the stevedores. They expect a tip ($5 per bag more if it's heavy). Like the airlines do not give away your carry on -- meds, electronics etc. Pack a swim suit & sunscreen in your carry on so you can go to the pool if you want before the rest of your luggage arrives in your cabin. They have be delaying when you can get to the cabins presumably to allow the luggage to be delivered without passengers in the way.

 

 

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We do disagree :). What you call "stevadores" (an old term) are actually members of the Longshoreman Union. Their starting pay is over $20 an hour and many make over $100,000 a year! When you give them your luggage they move them less then a few feet as they simply toss them into large bins (that are moved by fork trunks driven by other Longshoreman). The reality is that those "stevedores" are making a lot more money then many who give them tips. Yes, we are Americans so we do tip. We usually give those guys a Five (so they don't toss our luggage in the drink) but $5 a bag? NOT! For that , we would even carry your bags....not just move them a few feet to a bin.

 

Hank

The cost of living in Miami is fairly high and what might sound like a high wage in corn country (I'm was born and raised in corn country, so I can say that), isn't really that high in S. FL. Besides, how do you know how much they make?

 

If you can't afford to tip properly, perhaps you shouldn't be cruising.

Is the Getaway set for US, UK, or EU? I know that it's switching from the Caribbean to Northern Europe before our cruise and is supposed to be getting a small facelift.

I don't want to buy adapters that I don't need.

Thanks!

I'm in a similar situation and also confused. Let me see if I understand y'all.

So, in order for 3 of us to text one another or use an app like Skype to see where each other is on the ship, we'll need 3 internet packages and get with our carrier for international rates and compatibility (We are Verizon)?

Always use a different card for the cruise and hotels/excursions.

I live in Orlando and worked at Disney for 3 long years in merchandise. EVERY SINGLE DAY we would have guest credit cards declined because of the holds of the hotel, airline, and rental car companies. I've seen this issue ruin many many vacations, especially if they are traveling on only 1 card.

I do have to compliment you on thinking ahead in this respect.

I recommend finding the Roll Call board here for your cruise. Someone there may already have set up alternative excursions that will be much smaller and at a better price than what NCL will offer. Most folks on the Roll Calls are quite friendly.

Also, if you do book an alternative excursion, mention Cruise Critic. You'll be surprised how often that will get you better pricing or some additional perks.

Bottom line is, do what's best for you.

I have a Nikon D7000 DSLR with a couple of lenses and am currently debating whether I should take it on our upcoming Baltic cruise. I love taking fantastic photographs and also sell some prints from time to time.

We will be on very active shore excursions most days. I'm not certain if it's worth lugging that bad boy around on shore excursions. It probably is, but I'm interested in others opinions. I have heard airport horror stories from TSA mishandling cameras and breaking them to customs issues (these stories come from a FB friend who is a professional photographer).

I know that they instantly make you a target for thieves and brand you as a tourist. I want to take some amazing photos, but wonder if I'd be better off with buying a P&S or just using my Samsung S7 which takes terrific photos. Note that this is my only camera. My only backup would be my phone.

If you take your DSLR, do you fly with it as a carry on?

Not really a sushi aficionado but both husband and I really enjoyed it and tried several different things including sashimi. One suggestion could be that if you have a later dinner reservation somewhere else, you get there at 5:30 for a light appetizer. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable and you could even share something. If it's up to your standards then come back for dinner later in the week. :)

It's been 6 months since the last reply. Is there anything new for 2017?

We'll be staying an extra day before and 2 after our Baltic cruise and are also looking for a reasonably priced hotel (that is not an American chain), so I'm glad that I found this thread.

Also looking for ideas on sites to see. While DH and DS would love a 3 hour walking tour, I could never walk that long. Any shorter or perhaps car/boat tours to recommend? Did you have any trouble with language?

TIA

Arriving that late I would stay near MCO and make my way to PC the next morning.

The cost of an airport area hotel could have easily made that unaffordable.

I live in Southern Finland, so I'd advice you to pack some jeans and a jacket, maybe something like this, warm but light:

 

The temperature could be anything from +4-25 C, so you should pack summer clothes as well. It can also be rainy and windy.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

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It does. Thank you!

Contact Mears. They are the largest company in Orlando for such purposes. They aren't cheap, but they are highly regarded here.

PS: it's about a 45 minute trip, so be sure the kids have pottied before you catch your ride.

I have tried several searches on the app and get nothing. I'm even doing basic searches like 'camera'.

Dead link

All of the clothing suggestions I see are for Caribbean/hot weather cruises (swimsuit, shorts, sun dress). We'll be cruising the Baltic in early June. I know that's considered warm weather for some, but I live in Orlando for a reason and have a tough time with weather colder than 75° Fahrenheit.

What type of clothes do you recommend for me (female) to keep the packing light?

They didn't say 20-30 per day.

You are absolutely correct. What's funny is that I re-read it 3 times to make sure I wasn't misreading it.

The human brain is a strange place sometimes.

We always tip our room steward $20-30 for a 5 day cruise in addition to the pre-paid.

Wow. I must be a bigger tightwad than I thought! 😮

<which is really saying something as I always go behind my father and add enough to his usual $2 tip at restaurants to get it to 20%>

I would never imagine tipping a room attendant that much. Is $20 - $30 per day standard? We'll be on a 9 day cruise.

Regarding Wasabi Sushi: We are serious and fairly snobbish with our Sushi. Please don't flame me for this question as I ask this as a born and bred Hoosier who knows the difference.

Are we talking Midwest level sushi or Miami level sushi? I don't want to pay the up charge for the grainy rubbery faux stuff that we wouldn't eat. 🍣 ❤

My impression is that it's basically the same as the service charge that you pay Papa Johns or Dominos for the privilege of having your pizza delivered to your home or business. After many many MANY drivers quit because people thought that was the tip, the joints finally had to admit that it's just a creative way to raise prices without customers noticing as much (drivers, not the company, are responsible for maintain minimum insurance coverage, so don't buy that argument). You'll notice that the websites of the pizza places now specifically spell out that it is not a tip.

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If you have DKK (Danish Kroner) then tip porters at cruise with that. Otherwise use $$. On the ship it is $$.

I live in Orlando, so getting DKK is super easy. As we'll be staying extra days in Copenhagen, I think that's how we'll go. We'll be needing it anyway.

Thank you, everyone.

Super newbie here. Probably a very dumb question. We will be cruising Norwegian in Europe (starts in Copenhagen) next year. What currency do we use for tipping? I don't want to be the idiot American who assumes everyone takes (or wants) USD.