idocdlw

I did a northern Baltic cruise with my parents (with another cruise line). We did get to visit St Petersburg. The Hermitage, the Church of the Savior of Blood & some of the beautiful parks were highlights. The Church of the Savior of Blood also provided a geocache opportunity so that was a bonus. Interestingly, it was years later when I learned of the cats that live at the Hermitage...who knew??

Wow! Thanks for sharing all those menu pics!

Thank you for providing a polite, well thought out & comprehensive answer to the OP. Your answers will indubitably help other cruisers sort through the confusion.

Thanks for all the updates & the photos. Enjoy your cruise!

I must plan a cruise on the Bliss in the future

Keep 'em coming peeps! I do so love hearing about all the wonderful experiences that people have had; in the past & those sharing their live onboard experiences. So many are just flat out amazing & help me realize how much more I have to look forward to. Thank you all for sharing your stories & promoting a "feel good" thread.

My father's magic words were "yes dear" lol

Thank you for sharing...as they say...a picture paints a thousand words...

Fingers crossed for you...perhaps a bevy of good thoughts will manifest spots on the excursion for you & yours! You've got my good thoughts headed your way.

Here is a map of current geocaches in/near Lisbon

I've never experienced a duck hunt on board a cruise ship so I have no idea if similar. Like I said...just a silly game. For some geocaching groups...I was a member in Brevard County, FL, they also do community service by doing park clean ups in exchange for the privilege of placing caches on park property.

Amen to coming home in one piece

OMG complawyer...thank you SO much for your service. I hope your time in Nam was more rewarding than traumatic. Geocaching is a silly game that cachers (nerds) play finding hidden caches throughout the world. Go to geocaching.com to learn more. When I say score in England & Portugal is just a way of saying I have not found a hidden cache in either country but intend to do so. In my cruise travels, I have often planned my day finding caches as many are placed near tourist attractions & natural wonders while others took me to unbelievable places off the beaten path. * You can geocache with a handheld gps unit or your smartphone. Handhelds are usually more accurate in pinpointing the location of a cache.

Have an awesome solo cruise!

Stowaway LFC...I had the same question...thank you for asking. BTW...love your location...lol jdc987...thank you for your answer!

Please divert your unwanted brownies & chocolate covered pineapple to my cabin please...lol

Echoing others...thank you so much for investing your time & effort to share your adventure with all. It has been wonderful to not only have narrative descriptions of your journey, but also pictures that help us all look forward to our upcoming cruises. BTW...your pics are awesome... Kudos Sailing12Away !!

On my last booking, I specifically asked if current sale price could be stacked with Mil discount...answer..."YES"

Yes...you can always go on the website to the military discount link & get the discount. Like many businesses, NCL uses ID.me as their verification tool. Thank you for your service.

If not required, I hope some do not take the "pantless" option literally! Some things cannot be unseen.

Ditto!

Not ages ago...just decades ago...used non-gps tools doing night nav & evasion training. Fun, fun, fun! Oh yeah...not as professional, I was a Brownie & a Girl Scout growing up in ND...my aunt made sure I knew compass skills, how to build fires in the snow, how to build cold/warm weather shelters & so much more. She has passed but the education she provided to me has not gone unused...I've used them all. RIP Auntie

This just illustrates how "not the normal tourist attraction" ventures can be sooo wonderful. Good for you that you advocated for the best experience for you. BTW...What's Going On is one of my faves

Had to read your post a second time. I had no awareness of the "antikythera device". Had to look it up. I have been to the Parthenon but if I had known about the antikythera device, I would have insisted on going to see it. Thanks for sharing such valuable information!

Thanks for posting this question Jennifire7. I am still waffling yes or no to a spa pass on my upcoming cruise. My wallet is not overflowing, so like you, I have to ask myself "Is it worth it?". After reading posts about going from sauna to cold room to salt bath, etc, I am intrigued. I hope more peeps will give their input so that those of us who have to watch our budgets carefully can make educated choices.