bookbabe

For what it's worth, my excursion booking date was really 400 days out, at 8pm eastern time.

Cologne markets today, Sat Dec 7...crowded is an understatement. As a point of reference, the only place I have ever been that was more crowded was Epcot at WDW on NYE. But this still came close. If you go, please do not take a knapsack or other large bag. Small crossbody bag is best, or inside pockets of your jacket. Assume you will not manage well if you have a stroller or mobility issues and have someone with you to help. Go right at market open for the best experience. If you want to eat/drink/smoke, you will get fewer angry glares from the rest of us if you move as far out of the path (or even out of the market entirely) as you can, so that you do not block an already packed pathway. Pack your patience, it will take time to get close enough to a booth to see their wares, and then even more time to actually make a purchase. Looking forward to visiting some smaller markets in future ports, hopefully early on a weekday.

Currently in Kinderdijk with Viking. Wind is howling, and it's been raining on and off all morning. Layers are your friend, with a water/windproof jacket as the outer layer. Walkways are slippery, footwear with good traction is essential. Had one person fall on the sidewalk to the windmills, in part due to the conditions and partly due to untied too-long shoelaces.

This trip, we stayed at the Great Northern Hotel by King’s Cross since we were taking the train to Amsterdam, but our usual is the Hilton London Paddington. The Heathrow Express from LHR is very convenient, and if you spring for the business (or whatever it’s called) class a larger group with lots of bags wouldn’t be an issue. Then you could just take it back for whatever port transport you arrange if need be. After this cruise we are trying the Hilton Garden Inn at T2/3, I’ll try to remember to post a review of it for you. March/April is our British Isle Explorer, staying at Orsett Hall pre-Tilbury embarkation and Hilton Paddington post-cruise. Remind me and I’ll add a review of how embarkation and transport went.

I've been looking into the same thing, but our latest plan is to go from LHR to Grays near Tilbury for just one night, and then stop back in London for a couple of days post-cruise since we'll have to connect thru there anyway. Getting to Tilbury seems to be most easily done by car service. If you're on one of the Viking itineraries, FYI the transfer price thru them has tripled, it's now $149pp. For a larger group, you are likely going to find a service is cheaper. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2990897-tilbury-departure-dilemma/ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3036719-lhr-airport-transfers/

Seven Mile Beach refers to the whole stretch, and then each of the various access points of that beach have their own names. Google Maps will help you decide where you want to start and finish. Most of the beach spots have been discussed in this forum at some point. Public Beach is a popular access point as it has facilities available for public use, most other spots along Seven Mile Beach are either facility-less (ie no restrooms) or have a hotel or beach club nearby making DIY less attractive. I'd recommend getting your initial taxi to Public Beach near the Kimpton hotel (can you hear the caps? Public Beach, not *a* public beach) and then walking back towards the port. That way, if you start to run out of time or get tired you can walk back out to the road and just catch a taxi or bus back to the port.

That’s what I wondered too, but the My Booking section clearly states Friday as my excursion booking date. Overland tours have been available for a while, and some were sold out before I even noticed they were there. I don’t want to make the same mistake with excursions.

I can see some of the options if I go port by port through the itinerary. It’s just there are so many ports and so many excursions, and there’s no easy way to gather them all into a readable format until they post the real list. And we leave tomorrow for a river cruise. So I have been hoping the full list would just magically appear so I could save the pdf to my iPad, then DH and I could try to pick excursions during our 10 hour flight. Ah, well, definitely a first world problem…

Depends on when you get there, how many ships in port, etc. Later arrival, more ships equals more crowded. There are restrooms. There are a few restaurants within walking distance, but none “on site” like you’d have at Coral. There are occasionally food trucks or other vendors but hard to predict. More details are here: https://www.explorecayman.com/public-beach-seven-mile-beach Also, if you look at the large number of “beach” related threads in this forum, you’ll find many reviews and discussions of what others did.

Since my excursion booking date is this Friday, I don’t have much time to wait and be patient…but I wouldn’t mind a few days’ advance look at the excursions before I can book. Since it’s the 2026 WC, there aren’t really any other itineraries that match closely enough to be worth the effort. And going port by port would take more time than I have, unfortunately.

I haven’t been by there lately, but I’ve heard reports the beach isn’t great there since the last few storms.

Yup, but the list they send you is empty other than the special gala events in three ports.

Your only option of that nature as a cruise ship visitor is likely Coral Beach. https://coralbeach.ky You could also DIY at Public Beach, where there are usually chair rentals, or throw a towel down on the sand at one of the many other beaches. The only hotel I’ve ever seen with semi-regular day passes is Holiday Inn, and it’s not on or near the beach (it’s on the water, but on the North Sound and not in a swimmable area AFAIK).

Wow. That’s 400 days out. Hopefully they post the excursion list even a few days early, I really need some time to look it over.

Do named suites get an earlier shore excursion booking date than concierge suites, which I know get an earlier date than non-concierge suites? If so, how far ahead? The excursion booking for our 2026 WC is frustrating me. My Regent rep gave me one date, past CC threads and the Regent FAQs on their website give me another, and the My Booking section gives me a third. Past CC threads have indicated that you should trust the My Booking date. Is that still the case?

The walking around area is technically Stingray City Sandbar. Stingray City itself is a reef area for snorkeling nearby, and you aren’t allowed to use fins or water shoes there either. The issue with the water shoes is not necessarily that the physical materials of the shoe itself will injure the stingray or reef, it’s that you may not notice contact as easily as you would with a bare foot and could accidentally step on or kick a stingray (or reef) with more force. Although a bare foot is also much less likely to scratch the soft skin of a stingray than any kind of fabric or mesh. I’m really just explaining why the rule exists, you don’t have to agree with it but it’s a common rule in more locations than just Cayman that operators will make you follow.

Out of curiosity, what do “weekend gardening clothes” look like? I was never a garden person back in Canada, and don’t know anyone who is, and I can’t picture people on any cruise ship wearing what the yard crews here wear.

There are usually people offering island tours at the port, but you’ll often get a better quality one by pre booking something based on online reviews and recommendations. An hour won’t get you too far from the port, though, and won’t involve many of the island’s best sites. Cayman is very safe, it’s fine doing private excursions versus ship ones, and it’s fine to DIY and just wander around on your own. Lots of visitors rent cars and DIY their own island tours.

I can only speak for Stingray City here in Cayman, but no fins (and no water shoes) on excursions is to protect the reefs and marine life. Snorkelers have less chance of harming a stingray or other sealife during accidental contact with bare feet as opposed to hard fins or covered feet. Also, if your wife can’t swim she should wear an operational life vest on all water activities, even in places where you feel she can’t sink. We have numerous water-related tourist deaths a year, usually a non-swimmer or an over-confident one, who got caught up in the current or overdid it on an excursion and got exhausted (or had a heart attack) trying to get back to shore or the boat.

https://www.camanabay.com/stories/farmers-markets-in-grand-cayman/

Never mind. Just got the email switching us from Tir to Vali.

Andy’s Seven Mile Beach location is also an option, being a quick taxi or bus ride from the port. All the international chains are at the airport, though

You probably know this, but just in case a future reader doesn’t, you have to UNCHECK the extra people before adding the cabana to your cart so that you don’t book multiple cabanas.

The number of car rental places near the port hasn’t changed as far as I know. Most places are still near the airport. See my above post for details.

If they’re willing to wait until 2027, Viking has a new UK-only itinerary, although the train/ferry to get back would be a long day home. https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/cruise-destinations/europe/british-isles-and-ireland/index.html?startLocation=london&endLocation=belfast&year=2027