ILoveScotland

Mine was in 1995 on Windjammer Barefoot Cruises' Flying Cloud through the British Virgin Islands. Did another Windjammer cruise on the Fantome in February 1998 for a total solar eclipse. The Fantome went down in Hurricane Mitch the following October. I loved those large sailing ships where we could wear shorts all the time, have good but simple meals, get up into small coves and even sleep under the stars if we wanted.

First traditional ship was the Norwegian Majesty out of Charleston, SC in November 2005. Loved that cruise so much have done more.

I'll be on the Allure next winter and am also wondering what to do given the morning hours we'll be in port. I've been to San Juan three times. Twice I was just in port for a day, but once I stayed two nights post cruise. However, I focused on Old San Juan and may just do the same again as there's a restaurant I like and would enjoy eating in again.

At the same time a rain forest tour would be good, too. So, I'll follow this thread and see what ideas pop up.

Good to see this update. I'm on the Allure of the Seas next January so have been wondering how the recovery was going. I hope by then I can get over to Marigot as I loved my visit there some years ago. I wouldn't mind going to Maho again, either.

Three years ago right now I was on the Polarlys. Reading this thread brings back memories of the most beautiful scenery I ever imagined seeing, biting cold wind, especially at the North Cape, great and interesting food, the most relaxing atmosphere ever on a boat of any kind, conversations with the Norwegian staff, walking around in ports and so much more including the Northern Lights.

I went with a friend who had already booked and allowed me to tag along as the voyage had been on my bucket list for years. She'd booked through a private tour company which is, therefore, what I did as well. The downside was that we paid more than had we only booked the voyage itself. The upside was that we had private excursions for the 30 of us who were part of the "tour" plus many sessions on board having to do with Norwegian culture, food, education/political/social/governmental systems and geography, too. I would not book with the private company again, but it did add to the experience so am glad that's what we did.

Now, having gone in the winter, I'd like to go at midsummer. Maybe one day.

I purchased the Oslo Pass beforehand online and picked it up at the visitor center. There was no line to pick it up and it was extremely easy. I don't remember what time we arrived ( we were on the Eurodam) but having bought the pass ahead of time facilitated things and gave us a discount.

 

We really enjoyed the experience with the Oslo pass. We visited the Nobel Center, the City Hall, the Viking Museum, the Folk Museum, took the ferry and rode the tram to Vigeland Park.

 

We had a really nice day and did not feel rushed at all . I felt the Oslo Pass was very worthwhile.

This is good information. I'm going to share it with the Roll Call for my Serenade OTS cruise.

My personal favorites in Oslo are: Akerhus, Viking Ship Museum, and the Norwegian Folk Village (living history).

Trip Advisor will have web site links and reviews and is a good place to start your research. Oslo is easily walkable. There is an easy water taxi/ferry to the Viking Ship Museum and Norwegian Folk Village. We visited Oslo as land-based tourists and easily toured on foot/no car/no taxis. If you choose to explore the surrounding countryside the trains are efficient, comfortable, and very much "on time."

Great info. I'm in charge of finding a tour or something for members of our roll call. I may simply offer suggestions of things to see and do and ask if people would like to go to some of the places as an informal group from the ship.

There aren't a lot of private tours in Oslo, because of the high labor costs. However, it's a very easy city to get around on your own. If you figure out what you want to do/see, we can certainly help you figure out how to do it!

 

If you really want a tour, HMK offers a few bus tours of the city:

http://sightseeingoslo.com/

And Tours by Locals is kind of like AirBnB for tours and offers a few that are run by individuals:

https://www.toursbylocals.com/find_tour

Thank you. This is helpful. I have not been to Oslo although I have taken the 12 night RT Hurtigruten Norway Coastal Voyage out of Bergen which I loved. I went 3 years ago this month.

Since I've just booked this cruise and since I've never been to Oslo, I'm only now beginning my research. I'd welcome some ideas of what you consider the best things to see and/or do there.

Won't be in Oslo until late summer 2017 but already beginning to research private tours while in port. Any suggestions, experiences good and not so good welcomed.

I went one night to Aqua, and one to Venetian. Enjoyed them both - I will say the quality of the food was significantly better than in the Garden Cafe (buffett) - no surprise, I suppose.

 

I was quite happy with the menu selections (posted outside during the day for decision making purposes). One night I had the chateaubriad, the other I doubled up with the braised veal plus the gnocchi. While not off the charts or anything, all three were an easy thumbs up. Daughter had the chicken parm both nights (certain dishes seemed to show up more than once) and also approved.

 

The VIP tour was booked thru NCL, and it was to Chaccoben. I think the cost was around $125. There is a non VIP version as well for less money, but I really thought the efficiency and personal attention of the VIP was worth the extra cost. There were 8 of us in the van, plus the guide and the driver. Our driver was Mayan, and full of strong opinions (and pride) (and great information). Suffice to say no one on our bus will ever confuse the Mayans with the Aztecs... or the Spaniards. The ruins themselves were more expansive than I expected, and we really enjoyed the entire deal. If there are multiple times offered, go with the earliest - one benefit of the VIP is the relative quiet and privacy at the ruins. If you go later, the place will be quite busy.

 

Costa Maya is a pier stop, and at the end of the pier is a shopping mall type area with stores, kiosks, bars, even a pool. I can't imagine there would be anything NOT represented, but be advised that the vendors here are more aggressive here than any other ports we visited. They are not rude, but they are insistent. If you've cruised in the past, this is nothing new. Beyond this area, which is clearly still being developed, nothing else was within walking distance.

 

We also did a few nights in NOLA pre-cruise. Cab to the port was easy, and a fixed price.

Thank you so much for all the good information. I've found a private tour that also goes to Chaccoben and have e-mailed the company about costs and number of people per tour. It has good reviews on Tripadvisor.

I also found a comment on another thread that said it's a $2 cab ride into the small town near the port and that there are more traditional/native shops, etc. Since we leave in a week my husband and I need to get busy with decisions!

skeptic555, thanks for good information. I was on the Dawn in 2006 when she was still fairly new but know not to expect her to be as she was then.

My husband and I are on the January 10th sailing with a couple of nights pre-cruise in New Orleans.

A couple of questions: We have booked La Cucina for one night but otherwise plan to eat in the main dining rooms. My philosophy is I don't want to pay extra for dining - just me. Did you eat in a main dining restaurant at all, and if so, how was it?

Second, we have booked a tour in Belize but have decided to go ashore in Cozumel and just walk around the town, have lunch, do some shopping which will be more looking than buying. We have decided just to go into the small port area of Roatan for a look around and then spend the day on the ship.

Now there is the issue of Costa Maya. We haven't booked a tour and but would like to see Mayan ruins. You said you booked a VIP tour. Was that through NCL or a private company? I'm not interested in going on a bus that holds a gazillion people, and neither is my husband, but a smaller van would be good. If we don't book a tour, what did you see in port, namely a cafe or two, a few shops, etc.

Thanks for your answers.

If you are the least bit interested in history, especially the WWII era, then it is a must see. If I recall correctly the museum recommends you plan for at least 4 hrs. I spent about 5 1/2 hrs and could have easily spent several more, unfortunately i had to pick my wife up from a business meeting at a specified time.

 

The Tom Hanks presentation is well worth the extra fee. They have a submarine feature (you apparently "role play" on a sunken submarine and determine at the end if you were a survivor) that I didn't go thru, but others have told me if you have to choose then the Tom Hanks show is by far the better of the two.

 

They have most of the usual hardware to look at but to me the interviews, displays of personal effects, diaries, etc were the real attraction. The Boeing exhibit where the warplanes are suspended amid catwalks where you can view the planes top, bottom, and sides is not to be missed.

 

When I was there a couple of years ago they were in the process of restoring a PT boat and were constructing an "Asian Theater" exhibit to add to the "European," "Pacific," and "Home Front" exhibits. Hopefully they are available now.

 

I'd go back in a heartbeat!

Thank you so much for all of this information!

Have booked the Best Western Plus French Quarter Landmark Hotel which sounds pretty good. However, now I've read some almost 2 year old posts which make me wonder if we've made a good choice given its location.

Has anyone had recent experience staying at the hotel? If so, what was your experience?

Thanks.

Photos are prohibited in the pharmacy so I couldn't take a picture of menu but not everything offered is on the menu so ask. We got ******, Nexium, Valium, Xanax, Flexiril & Codeine. My friend got a lot of others but hydrocodone is not available.

 

 

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Thanks. That's very helpful.

What drugs can I not get? I think someone mentioned narcotics, but I'm not sure which ones.

What about anti-anxiety meds? Are they available?

Venetian is open for lunch on the first day. Think it is only open till about 2 though. A much better choice than the buffet. The crew will try and direct you to the buffet though.

Good to know Venetian will be open. My experience on other ships is that the buffet is a madhouse at lunch on embarkation day.

I love Moderno (cause I like meat, LOL) and you can listen to Jose and Patti while you eat.

 

I love Teppanyki, the chefs put on a show and the food is delish.

 

Honestly the only specialty restaurant I liked instead of loved was LaCuccina

Who are Jose and Patti?

Thanks for all the good information. I think we'll skip a dining package but plan to eat at one of the specialty restaurants one night.

With that in mind, a different question: What is your favorite specialty restaurant and why?

Bamboo (Asian fusion) is also complimentary as is the Bimini Grill located by the pool. We loved Bamboo, had one lunch and two dinners there. Sometimes there are barbeques on the pool deck and there are usually snacks in the casino later in the evening.

 

This link takes you directly to a master page on NCL website showing "What's On Board" on the Dawn. You can then choose from Dining, Bars and Lounges, etc.

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/dawn/whats-on-board

 

If you sign into your NCL account and look at Explore and Plan for your cruise you will find the various Dining Packages offered. On our 14 Day Dawn cruise we purchased the 3 day dining package. There are various packages available but the included dining options are fine for us so for 14 days 5 specialty dining meals were enough. We had both our Platinum perk meals at Le Bistro and it was our favorite of the specialty dining restaurants. For our purchased Specialty Dining we all loved Teppanyaki, enjoyed La Cucina and surprisingly for us this time Cagney's was our least favorite.

 

Thanks. I'm doing more research but find CCers sometimes more helpful. This is my 15th cruise but my husband's first, and he's not at all sure what he thinks of the idea. I'm looking at options that I think will increase his pleasure, and fine dining is something I think he'd like. However, we are retirees on fixed income so also need to consider budget. I will give him the options for specialty dining and let him decide if he wants a package or just dine at one of them. I could care less and am happy with all the free options.

We do have the UBC as it was a perk when we booked. I know we'll use that.

Just had a look at website. What is Bamboo? It's listed as free as well. So is Bimini's Grill.

I've been trying to research the dining options on my upcoming Dawn cruise. I haven't cruised on NCL for 9 years when there were few specialty options that I recall. I've looked at the website but am still confused a bit about what's free and what's a specialty restaurant that has an additional cost. Also, I've tried getting information about dining packages, but the website doesn't have that information, either. So, a few questions:

1. Where can we eat for "free" including snacks during non meal time?

2. What are the specialty restaurants? Are they worth the extra cost? I'm willing to pay if they really are significantly better or offer options not available elsewhere.

3. How do the dining packages work?

4. What experiences pro and con have people had with specialty dining?

Thanks.

So am I to understand NFL games are shown but only in the Pearly Kings? We'll be sailing during playoff games in January.

Conventional wisdom plus experience of many on CC is that there is always a lot of children during school holidays and during the summer than other times. After my one experience several years ago of a summer cruise with what seemed to be a gazillion rowdy children, I wouldn't book a cruise during times I thought there would be hundreds of kids. I'm a mother of an adult daughter and not at all anti-child, and if the children are well behaved and supervised, that's great. However, such was not the case on that one cruise which made the experience less than pleasant.

Has anyone used the Advance Check In service in New Orleans? I'm looking for options after debarkation since our flight is late afternoon. The website says $25 for 4 or fewer bags to be held and transported to the airport where they can be picked up prior to flight. Looks like a great idea but want to be sure before booking.

We will be staying a couple of nights pre-cruise in a hotel on edge of French Quarter. Are there airport shuttles to hotels, or will we need to take a taxi? If shuttles, does anyone know if they go to all hotels or just certain ones?

Thanks

We really liked it. Older hotel in an old quarter building but nice and staff is great. Our room was ground floor in courtyard. A bit of a musty smell but quickly went away. Beds comfy and bathroom nice and clean. Little cafe directly across the street for breakfast and Cafe du Monde close. At far end of French Quarter but very easy to get around. Bourbon 2 blocks up. Would stay there again. Get a French Quarter map to help get around but it's not hard. Go up to Bourbon from hotel and go left. Couple blocks or so down on the left is Nola Po Boys. Sooo good!

Thanks. You've verified everything I've seen on the hotel's website plus reviews on Tripadvisor. I'm looking forward to being here in about six or seven weeks.