OnTheJourney

Susie...where did you see that the Pira starts at 8? I can't find any detailed info like that. Which tour were you looking at?

I've been reading about the Watts tour. 2.5 hours (one way if my research is correct) over rough road with no bathroom breaks does not sound like something DW and I would really want to sign up for! I'm sure it's all very adventurous and all, but I think I'll opt for something a bit more tame.

MicCanberra...thanks so much for all the advice and links!! Pira sounds really interesting....is this also a tour that you'd recommend booking so far ahead of time? I've never heard of booking any excursion 18 months in advance.

Thanks for extra info. If I book with Pira is it really also necessary to do the Watts tour?

The X agent I talked to seemed to indicate that the ship motion is typically not that bad. Is that true? He said because it is summer (when else would you go anyway?). Perhaps he was just trying to console me so I would not be inclined to cancel the trip. I actually have moments when I think that maybe I made the wrong decision when I hear things like they offer free Bonine !! I may be totally over my head with attempting this trip. Lots of time to change my mind.

LuAnn, how is the ride to the Patrick watts excursion? (I get car sick too. We did an excursion in the islands where the guy drove like crazy around these hairpin turns and I really started to feel lousy). I agree with you. If I could not get a balcony room on a cruise I'd rather stay home. Thanks agIn for your encouraging words. Same to others here who encouraged me. Isn't it really a bit early to book an excursion for a 2017 cruise ?!?

I am booked on the Feb. 2017 Antarctica trip on the Infinity!!!! Woo-hoo! Can't wait! I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders since I have been entertaining the idea of going to Antarctica on and off for probably the last 10 years, grappling with all the various options - big ship, small ship, fly / cruise options, etc. It has been high up on the bucket list for a long time. Now that I know HOW I'm getting there I can just concentrate on what is available in the way of excursions and so forth. Thanks so much to all who encouraged me to go! I really like the itinerary and the idea of getting to see a few places in South America as well. Now all I'll need is smooth sailing. But at least if things are not so good I was able to snag the last mid-ship room available - I'd much rather be there for any cruise than forward or aft. So if I have to spend a few days mostly in the room suffering from seasickness, so be it. A price to pay perhaps for being able to go to such an amazing place from what everyone has been telling me here.

Being that there are no landings on the Infinity trip, does any part of the itinerary provide for any sort of excursion and/or landing that would allow one to see penguins, etc? That would at least compensate in some small way for not getting to do any zodiac trips. I find the daily itinerary description on X's website to be rather sketchy and lacking in detail compared to other trips and cruises that I have done over the years.

LuAnn,

So kind of you! Thanks! I will continue to do research. I want to see what Tauck and Collette are offering- I know I had looked at their Antarctic trips over the years. This Celebrity trip came to mind again since I was just on a Baltic cruise where it was being advertised.

Now...for 'cb at sea'...the difference between the gradual climate change you refer to over a long span of time and what has transpired over the past few decades is that WE have induced many of the current changes. No question about it. How can tons of harmful pollutants that are entering the atmosphere every day not have deleterious and probably even irreversible effects? Witness the proliferation of more intense water and wind storms, fires, droughts (take a look at Lake Mead if you've not been there recently), rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and so on...especially in places that typically have not had them. The life cycles and habitats of countless species on earth have been disrupted. Warmer weather is moving to higher elevations and affecting vegetation. The giant seqoias only grow within a relatively narrow range of elevation, so they could certainly be threatened by temperature change. The US in particular had better get their act together. I was recently in Denmark and they already generate 70% of their total energy via renewable energy. Obviously they are a small country but still most of the recent administrations in DC were all about big oil and big money. Praise to Obama for probably being one of the most environmentally conscious presidents of recent times. Of course, the Republicans will do all they can to shoot down his recent plan. The climate has and always will change - most certainly - but we have hastened it on in ways never quite seen before. It is not due to natural events such as caused the ice ages and the like. Sorry...just my 2 cents. All that being said..I will agree with you that the weather people often don't know jack about what is going to happen in the next 24 hours let alone a 10-day period....

Keith

If I were to fly I would go with an outfit like Quark. Definitely pricey. What I like about the infinity trip is also getting to visit ports in South America. It's a very tough decision - one I've been trying to make for years now!

Thanks to all who replied! It was great to get so many comments. I have no doubt this is one of those trips of a lifetime, but I just have a hard time grappling with the thought of getting really, REALLY sick if conditions are bad - possibly for days since from what I have read sometimes the ship has to make more than one attempt to get to Antarctica. I so want to go, but neither do I want to get sick. I absolutely hate dramamine since it knocks me out and I probably wouldn't feel like doing anything. The thought of the ship rocking and rolling as some describe frankly scares me to death. I believe the ONLY way I will go down there is a trip that flies over the Drake. I'm not the adventurous sort, and so whatever would be the calmest way to get there would be for me. The pics look amazing....but the one of the bow of the ship during heavy waves is almost enough to make me queasy without even being on water! I've been trying to talk myself into an Antarctica trip now for years and just can't seem to do it.....

Hi,

The idea of visiting Antarctica has been on my mind for years. I've researched Hurtigruten, Tauck, Collette, etc...considered flying over the Drake (I do have some motion sickness issues). Lately I've been looking at the 14-day 'drive by' (since there are no zodiac or circumpolar boats unless I'm mistaken) on the Infinity. Since it goes to Port Stanley, I'm just not sure about all that sailing around in the Southern Ocean. Just how rough is the water, on average, down there? Is this perhaps not a trip to take for someone like myself that is bothered by ship motion? I wear wristbands most of the time I am onboard a ship unless the water is very calm. Thanks for any and all advice. I'd love to go, but also need to be realistic. The 14-day trip looks really nice. I don't think I'd mind not getting to go ashore.

Thanks,

Keith

Hi,

I can only speak from my experience with Tauck's land tours. We took two with them and both were certainly great. As has been said, they use top hotels and accommodations, and the food is excellent also. Sometimes they go a bit over-the-top with the amount of food. Our first tour with them included 3 large meals every day - was simply too much food. Our TA has suggested that Tauck and Uniworld are probably the best for river cruises in Europe. I'm sure there are many good ones though.

Keith

Hi,

Tauck is a highly regarded tour company. We have done several land tours with them that were both great. They offer a river cruise that goes all the way from the North to the Black Seas - 24 days in all. If anyone has done this cruise, I'd love some feedback on it.

http://www.tauck.com/home/tours/europe-tours/central-and-eastern-europe-tours/european-river-cruise-rxe-2015.aspx#

Thanks,

Keith

This cruise does sound very interesting. One of the problems for me, however, would be the fact that the day after the ship leaves NO is Ash Wednesday :o, and so hardly an ideal time to be on a cruise ship for anyone Catholic, like myself, who adheres to fasting and abstinence. Talk about a test of will power! And so, I'm glad I started this thread but I don't believe I'll be going. I think I'd much prefer visiting NO sometime by car trip and spending several days without the crowds and cheaper prices at restaurants. Still, very intriguing trip.

Thanks to all who replied. It sounds like there is alot of interest in this cruise. Actually, I am visiting two of the ports on a RC cruise in 2016 and so will probably pass on this one. If it was a completely different itinerary than my 2016 trip, I'd be really interested. Only a year apart is too soon to revisit the same two ports out of the 4 on the itinerary.

Hi,

I see that Celebrity has a 2017 itinerary that stays in New Orleans for several days. It is during Mardi Gras. This intrigues me a bit, since I have never been to Mardi Gras. I've read that it is really hard to book hotels and rooms during it, and so the cruise would certainly be a nice way to experience it. Does anybody have any thoughts on this? It's basically a Caribbean cruise - leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale and visits a few places in Mexico, and then New Orleans.

Thanks,

Keith

Hi,

I see that Celebrity has a 2017 Caribbean itinerary that spends a few days at New Orleans over Mardi Gras. Has anyone done this? Perhaps it is a new itinerary. I didn't see any listings for excursions in New Orleans. I have never been to Mardi Gras and thought that perhaps this might be an interesting way to experience it without having to worry about booking a hotel somewhere. Thanks for any input.

Keith

I've read some of the posts regarding choice air. I have a Baltic cruise next summer and am considering using them. I see that someone mentioned that you don't get to choose your own seats when booking through choice air? Is that right? Also I'm a bit concerned about them reserving the right to change the itinerary and flights - hoping this would only be done in the event that it is necessary in order to assure timely arrival at the ship.

Hi onthebalcony,

Thanks for the recommendation to go with Alla. I already have their 3-day St. Petersburg tour booked and will probably use them for a few other ports as well. I like how they show you, hour by hour, what the tour detail involves.

There are 2 of them that the ship offers - one is TL25 - Best of Tallinn with Concert and Coffee Break (but the way it reads it does include lunch) and the other is TL07 - Best of Tallinn with Concert and Lunch.

TL07 visits Tallinn's upper town and sees the town hall and palace square, Toompea castle, song festival grounds, Nevsky Cathedral and St. Mary's Cathedral, as well as several other places, and a traditional music concert in the courtyard of the Dominican Monastery, lunch at an old town restaurant. Then Catherine's Passage. Browse artisan's workshops for traditionally crafted glass, etc. It also mentions some free time for shopping. It is a 6-hr. tour offered at either 7:30 or 8:00.

TL25 is 5 hours and leaves at 8:30 a.m. It reads as basically the same tour.

Are you going there as part of a RCCL cruise?

Thanks for the additional replies!

I'll have to decide on Sigtuna. It does seem like it'd be a nice place to visit.

North-bound - thanks for the suggestion about possibly skipping Sigtuna and just spending the time in Stockholm. That sounds like a good idea.

John - I also don't understand that short embarkation window on Saturday and no mention made of any other time. It does seem extremely limiting. I'm going to plan to arrive at ARN in the morning anyway, figuring the sooner we get on the ship the better - can get some lunch and settled in the room, unlike a recent Caribbean cruise that I did where the flights were delayed close to 6 hours and we barely got on the ship before it sailed. IF it was not a case of embarking on the ship the day before sailing and thus would need a hotel, I would have come in the day before anyway. As things are, I don't think I'll add yet another day since then I would need a hotel. I sent an email to RCCL with several questions about this cruise but have yet to hear back from them.

Thanks so much. I look forward to visiting. I'm sure whatever I wind up doing will be enjoyable.

Hi Travelanni,

My cruise will be coming into Warnemunde. I originally planned on Berlin, but then my wife and I discussed it and just feel it is such alot of time on the bus when you figure in the approx. 6 hours of transfer time. So I believe we are now looking at staying closer and doing something shorter. For one thing, the cruise is already full of many long touring days. I'm considering a tour that focuses on Warnemunde and Rostock. The tour I'm looking at says a must see is the Old Stream canal. Once in Rostock, the tour does quite a few local sights and has an inside visit to St. Marien Church and the astronomical clock. Then there is a harbor cruise back to Warnemunde. The harbor cruise is said to be an hour and will pass the old and new harbor areas of Rostock.

Any suggestions or thoughts? I also looked at the "Friends of Dave" tours - they look good too.

Hi,

Now that I've gotten great advice on Stockholm, I'll throw out a few other places that I was planning on visiting during my cruise next summer and perhaps get some additional ideas from some of you :)

I'm already booked with Alla's 3-day SPB tour so that is a big relief since the ship excursions for SPB make up probably half of the shore excursion book. I might use Alla for some of the other ports as well.

Here is what I have in mind to do -

Helsinki - city tour plus Seurasaari open-air museum. I've read that the Rock Church and the Sibelius monument are worth a visit also

Klaipeda - a tour that includes Juodkrante, Stone Sculptures, Nida, and the Curonian Spit National Park. Also something that sounds interesting is Witches Hill

Warnemunde - tour of Warnemunde and Rostock. I originally planned the long trip to Berlin but decided against it in favor of staying closer to port and doing something shorter. This cruise is going to be full of long enough touring days as it is.

Fredericia - a tour that goes to Ribe and the Viking Center

Copenhagen - a tour that visits Frederiksborg Castle, Kronborg Palace, Hermitage Palace, and city sights

Tallinn - walking tour that also includes a concert

Riga - city tour that includes an organ concert in Dome Cathedral

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Many thanks again. The tour I was thinking of taking that goes to Stockholm and Sigtuna leaves at 8:30 a.m. It appears that it does the old town and museum in the morning, and then goes on to Sigtuna later in the day - 6 hour tour in all.

I don't think I'll plan much in advance for the embarkation day, since I'm not certain what time we'll actually get settled in our room. I didn't plan any flights yet. Embarkation is scheduled for between 11-3.