mousefan73

43 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Oh, easily. In fact you’d probably be fine with the 9:45 if you’re off the ship reasonably early. It’s only a 5-10 minute cab ride.

no too early our flight is at 7pm... we just want to make sure we catch the bus and if we are lucky we see there are some shops nearby ( boots and grocery) so maybe we get some UK shoppingin.... some products I can only get there cheap before we fly home.. so glad I booked also reserved seats... also checked we are the only ship schedule that day so I hope the port is not a hot mess. One time we experience a hot mess. crazy... 

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

No, National Express doesn’t have the reputation Greyhound has! Buses are modern, clean and comfortable and your fellow passengers are likely to be mainly tourists and university students.

 

Southampton coach station is quite small but has a little cafe and bathrooms. Nothing to worry about safety-wise.

 

At Heathrow the coach will drop you at the central bus station from where it’s about a 5 minute walk to T2, underground (but there are elevators and moving walkways to help).

 

Why is the cruise line shuttle so expensive? Well you’re paying for convenience but essentially it’s a captive market that’s there to be exploited!

 

do you think the 11:45 coach is ok to make with disembarkation and taxi wait?

so our trip has changed and now we are going directly from port to LHR. so cruiseline is offering transfer ( coach) and now I discovered national coach.. the price difference crazy... what are the pros and cons of one or the other? can anyone comment but is is what I am thinking of...

 Pros for Nationa:

1. have to pay for cab to coach statin but still cheaper in the end.

2. Coach station has washrooms and cafe so can do that before boarding. I assume at the port once you pass customs etc.. it's no mans land and limited facitlities. 

3. Saving soo much money.

cons:

1,. -are the busy nasty?? and the people like american Greyhound??

2. is the station facility ok or like in the US nasty people ( sorry but my experiences )

just trying to figure out why national is so much cheaper vs cruiseline transfer  thanks

Also my mom is a bit mobility challenged cannot walk super long distances. Where do the coaches drop off at LHR? we are flying out of T2.     do they drop off at the departure drop-off?

22 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

You’ll have no problem getting a cab to take you from the terminal to the station. The walk, while short and perfectly doable, involves crossing a couple of very busy roads and isn’t particularly pleasant. YMMV.

 

There are two ways to get from Southampton to Windsor by train. Via Reading & Slough, as you’ve found, which will almost certainly involve using elevators to change platforms at both those stations.
 

The other, which I’d recommend, is via London, which has direct trains every 30 minutes both from Southampton Central to Waterloo and from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside. It’s a single, level, easy change of trains at Waterloo with no stairs or elevators involved. So that might be easier, if a bit slower and maybe pricier.

 

Yes, the trains have washrooms.

 

If you do go via Slough, it’s not a lovely place despite its proximity to Windsor. I wouldn’t really recommend staying the night there if you don’t have to.

Thanks great tips!

we are arriving on July 24th on the Disney Dream, (Horizon terminal). How bad is the walk to the station? google maps says only ,6 miles is it flat and safe? My mom is 73 mobile, but slow so I am wondering do cabs drive such a short distance? 

also we are thinking of heading to Windsor with rail. 2 stops via Reading and Slough. But we might overnight in Slough. how are those stationsa to connect? elevators?? and do trains have washrooms?  

we are considering a private transfer straight to LHR but are considering one night to see Windsor. via Train... 

Just wondering how stressul the train is. 

On 8/24/2023 at 2:42 AM, dockman said:

Another thing that was reported last night on local news....the car rental companies on maui have all these cars normally out on the road but with no tourists they all got returned...problem is the car rental lots can not even begin to hold them all so they are scrambling to rent parking lots and find places to park them...meantime lahaina residents lost lots of cars that were burned to a crisp...

 

During covid the car rentals had a similar problem and on oahu they rented the parking lot of Aloha Stadium and other lots which was wall to wall rentals...eventually they shipped most of them to the mainland to be sold...problem was they shipped too many and then suddenly tourists started to pour into hawaii again and there was a severe shortage of rental cars and prices shot through the roof...It has only recently returned to some normal balance of car availabity matchind demand..

 

and NOW Maui....it is a fact that many maui people are going to have to buy a car to replace their burned ones....i highly doubt there are enough cars for sale on maui to fill the demand....also apparently a lot of people are having trouble getting claims resolved with insurance companies (imagine that)...

 

I have to wonder if somehow a deal could not be done for a lot of the excess rental cars to be sold to local maui people in need of a car and payment postponed until the insurance settlements are made and then eventually the $$ can be sorted out?

 

I suspect it will be a long time before Maui tourism and rental car demand returns to pre fire levels so I would guess the car rentals may well ship a lot of cars off to the mainland.  It seems at least on the surface this could be a win win for the locals and the car rental companies?  Just yet another in the domino effect caused by the horrific Maui fires.

 

Hopefully some in hawaii leadership positions are at least considering how to potentially solve the car problem as not having a car on maui would be tough as public transport is not very good.

 

 

Interesting as if our boat docks on October 10th I believe in Kahlauni, I have a car rental booked at that hotel down the street. I hope I have a car.. unless a local needs it. but I hope it's just not shipped off..

for the record we rented a small sedan cheap, not a mustang or Jeep ( my mom coudnt even get in one)

5 hours ago, dockman said:

The only way Hawaii will ever offer a variety of cruises like 7 day, 3 day, 4 day, 10 day interisland cruises is to have a carve out of the pvsa act that allows foreign built and crewed ships to operate freely instead of having the POA restrictions. 

 

Currently the only way around that is to come all the way from the west coast with a vancouver or mexico stop or go all the way to fanning island and back ...either of those options requires a lot of sea days ....and even with that the sale price of those cruises is less than a basic 7 day interisland cruise on most POA sailings due to the higher cost of the pvsa act. 

 

In my opinion Hawaii without the pvsa restrictions would have several ships based here year round offering affordable 3, 4, 7, and 10 day interisland cruises...especially as hotel prices as well as F & B car rentals interisland air etc would make those cruises extremely popular as the price would be well below a land based Hawaii vacation.  One of these decades it will happen but probably not anytime soon.

What you described would totally change the landscape of the Hawaiian islands. Would the Hawaiian people want this? Would Kaui, Hilo be able to handle let’s say two or three large ships a day, every day?  Even countries like Norway and Croatia, who have towns, depending on tourist money, are starting to say no 

19 hours ago, dockman said:

As said if NCL doesn't like the deal that they made they should pull out....they obviously did not do a good job of researching the operating costs in Hawaii. 

 

Maybe then Hawaii might take a good hard look at why the NCL model did not work and reconsider the entire cruise situation in the islands.  Hawaii could and should be a major cruise destination but it obviously does not work the way it is currently structured

How can hawaii be a major cruise destination based on the current law ( POA model) and simply the distance ( number of sea days ) from the mainland?

I’m curious to it this is an option

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

The North side of Maui will be likely too rough as we head towards winter. I'd look at Kam III Beach.

My mom wont go in and I would only go into my knees, though rough waves will knock one over or pull out.. but thanks for that tip. Let's see what Disney decides we are scheduled to arrive I think Oct 11th. 

If ships come in I think it would be great if they somehow organized a thing where cruise passengers could bring whatever supplies we could bring in.. I know money is what is really needed, but if there are things from the mainland that are hard to come by. I' be happy to bring a sheet set, personal products etc... 

How about the beaches on the coast by Paia? I’ll checked it out Google maps and seems like there’s quite a few east of the airport. Maybe we could just do those and then do the road to Hana a little bit and then turn around? My mom is 72 so we need a beach. That’s a quick in and out and we wouldnt be  more than one hour. Ideally more like a park with benches. 
 

10 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

Betty's Beach Cafe was closed due to a cockroach infestation at the end of July.

 

I think Disney will still stop there. I'd keep the car and go Up Country or to Wailea and show some love to the local businesses.

Oh My! that is not good.. yuck... most likely the cockroaches survied.. they survive everything.

had to google up country.. Can you recommend any beaches nice and calm we could tie in to up an up country drive?  Wailea and Kaanapali Beach is on our list as a possibility .. We feel road to Hana to stressful for a one day.. though we might go the first miles in. Cant decide. now. 

We are scheduled on the Disney Wonder. We are scheduled to arrive mid October this year in Kahuili. Last year we were also on the same selling, and we drove over to Lahaina and discovered Betty’s Café on front Street. Our plan was to go there again. 😞. So far we’ve heard nothing from Disney on what changes they’re gonna make it funny but I really don’t see us docking. I have a car rented down the road from the port and I honeslty just can’t see rental sitting around waiting for tourists when thousands of locals don’t have anything. 
 

I mean, I don’t know if the east side of the island like road to Hana seems totally unaffected from the fires . One one handI just can’t see the island taking any additional people on, tourist or not,   but yet they depend on tourist dollars

Been google mapping and i realized that the distance from port to Ionali Palace is not that far. Has anyone walked this? is it a safe walk with stops on the way? We are doing Pearl Harbor in the morning and might have cab drop us off there vs port.. and then we walk back. 

Thanks

Hello!

So I went ahead and booked Turo for our stops at Nawiliwili and Hilo. I am just frustrated on how car rentals don't seem to cater to cruise pax ( getting them from port to rental place) I had heard that shuttles are coming back at Lihue but nobody answers to confirm. So I went and booked Turo as many owners will be within walking distance of port. 

I booked only cars with owners with good ratings and also many rentals... There really isnt anything else to do right? 

Any tips or things I need to know?

Good tip on “throwaway” underwear/ socks. I have been known to save basically “trash” underwear for random trips use once and toss. Makes sense for these laundry pricing. 

Just to clarify, I think there’s some confusion because I’m not referring to the typical per person per day gratuity that’s part of the hotel service fee thing. I am referring to that if I sit and eat dinner in the MDR and I order a beer I am being charged about nine €, 1euros which is the 15% gratuity. So who gets the one euro? My server told me he does not get that so that’s being put into the pool for the entire ship?

Can anyone confirm if it’s true that the gratuity that’s automatically added to any type of drink bill does not go to the servers? We do not have a drink package and pay for drinks at dinner. I brought up the issue gratuity because I was just curious how they make tips on those that have the drink package vs  “cash”

people that pay per dink.  Then he explained to me that actually he doesn’t even get that 15% on my bill and  that it goes to some type of pool that goes main lead to supervising staff and they don’t get anything. Which is sad and wrong IMO. 

1 hour ago, JAGR said:

Did you really get champagne?  It's always been prosecco when we sailed.

No sorry sparking wine. “Champagne “ for me is like “kleenexl

OP here! Well we are on day three now and this is our first port day after embarkation and 1C day. We just got back to the room from being out and about and we had our bottle of champagne, macaroons and chocolate bar don’t care about the bag I just wanted the alcohol lol. ( too cheap for the drink packages lol )

I’m diamond status  and currently on the Msc Fantasia. We are on day two now and I haven’t received my free gifts like the chocolate  and the macaroons. Should I say something or will they still come later? But in my past experience they were basically they’re on embarkation day. Or did they get rid of these?? 
 

on my last ceiling they also brought us a bottle of sparkling wine. Was this a fluke? Or also standard? I asked all these questions because I was just recently status match the diamond.

12 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Hi, unsure which switch you have as your thread title is Alesund to Godoy but you also mention changing from Olden to Alesund.

 

Assuming you are going to Alesund, this thread would be a helpful read should you be  undecided about the island trip and wanting to consider a different option..

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2826391-alesund-norway/#comment-62526938

 

As you are currently onboard likely with patchy internet, you could save time and read only posts 5, 9 and 18 which explain how to get to the huge outdoor museum at Sunnmore, less than 10 minutes by public bus from Alesund.  You could spend anything from a few hours to at least a half day day there and can move around it at your own pace.There may be shorex offered but it is super easy to DIY it at minimal cost.  There will be much info about Sunnmore online if you get an opportunity to search.

 

Thanks I seem to have LTE again yes just to clarify Olden was changed to Alesund..

I’m trying to figure out if it’s possible to do Alesund to Godoy on own. 

13 hours ago, mousefan73 said:

Well, guess what  our stop in olden got canceled switchedm to Alesund  in so now I’ve rented a car in Norrdfjordreid. 
Our  briksthal  Glacier  tour was from

Olden. So now I’ve rented a car from Nordfjordreid 

I hate to bother you much but we want to do the glacier from there. I looked at Google Maps and it’s about an hour and a half I believe so any recommendations on getting there or when we can see you on the way? I really appreciate your help here. 

Sorry it was a typo. Voice to text  I did not mean meet YOU on the way. Don’t panic I don’t want to meet up with you personally lol.

On 5/25/2023 at 8:04 PM, JohnAlleb77 said:

 

Not any big waterfalls nearby, but probably some small ones along the road if you walk on the South side of the fjord.. Small waterfalls are so common that Norwegians do not see them, only tourists... 😊

 

Not easy to recommend a 2hr hike...or to explain directions. Maybe along the South side of the fjord, or take a taxi up on top of the hills and walk back down.... I think you find a town map on www.portofnordfjordeid.no 

 

 

Well, guess what  our stop in olden got canceled switchedm to Alesund  in so now I’ve rented a car in Norrdfjordreid. 
Our  briksthal  Glacier  tour was from

Olden. So now I’ve rented a car from Nordfjordreid 

I hate to bother you much but we want to do the glacier from there. I looked at Google Maps and it’s about an hour and a half I believe so any recommendations on getting there or when we can see you on the way? I really appreciate your help here. 

Hello everyone, I’m currently on the Msc Fantasia and I just found out this morning that our Olden  stop in two days has been changed to Allesund. 
 

 we were there last year so we’ve done the lookout and we walked around town and I was just looking at Godoy island

has anyone done this on their own? A quick Google shows that there’s a public bus that goes there and it’s only 21 km away. Can anyone give me some advice here in short term notice? Thanks so much my Internet is about to die, but I hope to be checking online in the morning we arrive. 
 

I’m so mad Olden  got changed so last minute. Rumor on the ship is that other cruise lines were willing to pay more in, so they got the slots. But why can’t Cruise lanes have this figured out already ahead of time