Joey_L

If my research is correct you can travel from Municipio metro station to Piazza Garibaldi and then on to Ercolano Scavi (Herculaneum) with the NA2 Integrato ticket. Is this ticket available at the ticket vending machines at the Municipio metro station?

I think I saw frikandellen in a HAL buffet video on YouTube but I'm not 100% sure.

50 minutes ago, Trish Traveler said:

Well, we didn't visit any of those ports, but at least you can see some ship info.  Although it seems that most of the Norway ports are gorgeous and offer a variety of things to enjoy.  We visited Eidfjord, Alsesund, Geiranger, and Bergen. Have a great cruise!

Thanks. We've visited Eidfjord, Alesund and Geiranger on a cruise in June last year. Actually with the AidaPerla which I saw was in port with you in Geiranger.

10 hours ago, Trish Traveler said:

We did the HAL Rotterdam Norse Legends itinerary last September and loved it!  It was our first time on HAL.  You can look at my review for some info on the ship.  Not sure what cruise ports the Viking Sagas covers- it may include some that we did.  In any case, you can see some info about the ship.  We sailed roundtrip from Amsterdam.  

 

Will have a look at it, thanks.

Viking Sagas starts and ends in Rotterdam and docks in Oslo, Kristiansand, Skjolden and Sandnes (Stavanger).

12 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Have not been on Rotterdam -- but was on the K'dam a year ago and GDC beverages were covered by the appropriate beverage package. So plain coffee/espresso drinks are covered by Quench.

That's good news then. Thank you.

One thing I've been reading different views about is whether the coffees in the Grand Dutch cafe are included in the Quench beverage package or not. Anyone who's been on the Rotterdam recently and can clarify?

Thanks, @oakridger. Will have to settle for listening to rock songs instead of actually singing them.

Thanks for the info, @crystalspin. I'm looking forward to seeing the live band in the Rolling Stone Rock Room. I also like karaoke but I understand it's off the menu on HAL ships. Is that correct?

We were on a 10 day Norway cruise last June with Aida and had wonderful weather. It was sunny in every port except the first port when we had a little bit of rain in the morning. As a matter of fact we're doing the Viking Sagas cruise on the Rotterdam on June 1 so am interested in any info and advice about the ship. And hoping for the same weather conditions as last year.

If you like to visit cities I recommend Hamburg, Münster (North Rhine-Westphalia), Düsseldorf and Cologne. They're all between Kiel and Frankfurt with a slight deviation to the west.

On 1/22/2024 at 4:31 AM, pink845 said:

We will also be in Skjolden in June 2024.  We went onto U tube and came across quite a few people with videos who hiked to the Andassen waterfall (there are others around too) or rented bikes and toured around town.

Do you mean Åsafossen Waterfall perhaps? We've got a hike planned to that waterfall along with a hike to Sengjaberget viewpoint and a walk around the town of Skjolden. That amounts to a 2.5 hour walk from and to the cruise terminal without resting according to Google Maps.

15 hours ago, Joey_L said:

We're on the Rotterdam as well in September (10 - 20)

Oops. I got my next two cruises mixed up. Rotterdam cruise is in June. In September we're in the Mediterranean on a whole different ship.

🥴

On 1/27/2024 at 9:27 PM, tutucarla said:

We are on the Rotterdam Norway cruise in September, and we have the same situation.  HA first told me that we were docking in Stavanger, but the fjord cruise company told me that the port schedule showed the ship in Somnaset.  So I called HA back again twice, and both times they said they didn't know where the ship would be docked.  Very poor customer service!

We're on the Rotterdam as well in September (10 - 20) and if, and it looks like it, our ship docks at Somaneset we're thinking of buying a 24 hour transportation ticket and taking a public bus from a stop close to the terminal north to Stavanger. From there a ferry (included in the 24 hour ticket) to the Island of Vassøy. There's limited time as the ship departs at 3.00 pm.

Can you let us know how you spent your day in Skjolden? What can you recommend? We are visiting the town on a cruise in June.

Ok, I did some research. There is a ticket vending machine opposite Oceankaj Terminal 1. Near a kiosk, as mentioned by hallasm. The machine is outside, so it should be available also in the off-season. It's visible on Google streetview. The photo is from April 2019 though, so things could have changed since then. The bus stop is close by. See map. I think we can expect long queues, like hallasm also mentioned.

Thanks for the quick reply. Not a fan of using my phone for these kinds of things. Guess we'll make sure we got some Danish cash before arriving at Oceankaj.

Apologies if this already has been answered, but should I get Danish kroner before arriving in Copenhagen on a cruise next Saturday since it is only possible to buy tickets with cash on the public bus at the terminal? Or are there ATMs at the terminal(s) (Oceankaj)?

We joined a guided electric bike tour in Haugesund when we were there last June. One of the stops in this tour is the statue of Harald Fairhair. We also visited Haraldsstøtta, the National Monument, which is an ode to Harald Fairhair. One of the characters in the History Channel series Vikings is based on him. The tour guide knew quite a bit about the history of Norway and the Viking era.

I was going to add a link to the tour but I am not quite sure if that's allowed. The tour is organized by (Go) Viking Adventure. Easy to find with Google.

On 3/4/2023 at 3:02 PM, Joey_L said:

I came across a bike tour starting in Stavanger to Sverd i fjell while searching for activities during our Norway Fjord cruise in June: Bike tour – Sword in Rock | Explore Lysefjorden.

Just got an email from the tour operator that the bike tour is no longer available 🥴

I came across a bike tour starting in Stavanger to Sverd i fjell while searching for activities during our Norway Fjord cruise in June: Bike tour – Sword in Rock | Explore Lysefjorden.

My favorite: BBC-Bailey's Banana Colada. Sailaway drink every time.

Is this one included in the Classic Drink Package?

Yes, the plan works fine as long as the port is close enough to what you want to tour. Not sure where port in Amsterdam is?? Port in Venice is walking distance into town.

Amsterdam port is at walking distance from the city center. I'd say 15-20 minute walk.

Weird question I must say :) ... it's safe to walk everywhere in Barcelona. Why wouldn't it be?

Well, you could encounter a few tourist-hating anarchists :eek:

Ok. Thanks. (y)

How does the return tender trip work? Do they send tenders back to the ship on set times? What time do the trips back start?