Bissetbevo

What brands of gin and vodka does Viking stock in the cabin refrigerators for those who qualify for daily stocking in the cabin?

It appears to me that there is only one boat conducting a tour from Alesund to Geirangerfjord despite multiple companies promoting such a tour. It seems the boat used is the M S Geirangerfjord II. The reason for the question is that with our arrival time scheduled for 8 a.m., by the time the ship is cleared to allow passengers off and having about a 12 minute walk to the meeting place we would not be able to catch what appears to be the only boat for the day at 8:30  a.m.

I emailed a company providing this tour and they said they only leave at 8:30 a.m. 

Therefore, I was hoping there was a second option.

On 6/1/2023 at 1:21 PM, hallasm said:

Absolutely possible - just note that the route include the ferry from Eidsdal to Linge. Might take a bit longer - it takes 13 minutes to cross the fjord - departure every 20 to 30 minutes.

You might be able to spend 4 to 5 hours in Geiranger.

 

If you take a boat trip from Ålesund to Geiranger at 9 am you’ll have two hours in Geiranger and be back a 5 pm.

Is there only one company that provides a boat tour from Alesund to Geiranger? 

Does anyone have a tour company they liked for a tour to the Medoc area from Bordeaux?

We traveled on Avalon Artistry in summer 2019 in cabin 209 and it was outstanding. The French balcony and being on that level results in one being just above the water line and was so nice to wake up to. On many mornings we had swans right outside our cabin. Starry evenings were nice from the open doors also. The cabin was fairly close to the reception desk and bar. There was a coffee/tea/snack station at the rear of our level and it was quite far back relative to how close we were to the bar and the lobby for entry and exit for tours.

We highly recommend the level  and cabin we were in.  

We appreciate all the helpful information that people have provided. Thank you very much.

If we have a connection in Europe coming back to the U.S. do we need to get our bags, go through customs, and then through security again to catch our flight to Boston?

We are flying into Boston from Switzerland after the cruise.

If ending a cruise in Basel, would you recommend flying back to the U.S. from Basel or Zurich if flying back on the day the cruise ends? It appears Basel flights might be about $200 less per person with no big difference in total travel time via air so we are curious why we hear flying from Zurich is better.

We've been on 13 cruises and this is the only port at which we did not get off the ship.

Every person on our April 2018 cruise who got off at the port said it was a waste of time and money.

Take a yellow taxi from the WalMart/Sams parking lot which is literally across the street from one of the piers. They are cheaper than the white taxis inside the pier fences.

A buddy of mine paid $8 each way for a white one from the pier to downtown (which is very close).

We took a yellow taxi for an approximate 25 minute drive to Old Town and paid the same price-$8 one way.

We went on a tour with Enrique in Huatulco. He took us to numerous overlooks of the bays for some very good photo shoots. He is proud of his town and takes an interest in his customers. He gave us several optional stops. One was a small bar right on a beach-$2 for a very cold Victoria beer. He charges $38 per person. He gets a deserved 5 star rating on Trip Advisor.

This is the worst port ever. The little town about 30 minutes away got awful comments by people from our ship who wasted their time and money going in.

My suggestion is the cruise lines eliminate this stop. And that went on my ship's comment card.

We were in Manzanillo on April 30, 2018 on HAL Eurodam.

We took a cab from the pier to Playa Audencia (beach). It is a "certified" beach meaning it meets some kind of standard for cleanliness. The cab was $13 each way (we shared the ride, so $6.50 per couple each way). The taxi driver came back to pick us up at an arranged time.

We rented 4 chairs (even though there were just 2 of us-same price regardless of 2 or 4 chairs) plus a table along with the biggest umbrella I've ever seen for $12 USD. Coronas were $2 each.

It was the day before Mexico's Labor Day so the beach got quite crowded around noon. Do not expect a five star Ritz Carlton type beach, but the water is clear and it was interesting to see all the kids who just loved playing in the water. I'd rate the beach about a 3 or 3.5 but that is compared to gorgeous Hawaii and Caribbean beaches.

There is a small bar near the pier that makes an unbelievable $6 margarita. Near the sailfish statue there are 2 pizza shops. One seems to have more people there-it is cheap but does not look that good. A bar next to is gets recommended but their $9 margarita does not look good. Across the corner is a pizza place that I think was called Pizzakotel-it uses a Napoli type domed oven to make pizza. A couple of doors down is a bar where I had the margarita. The bartender made a fresh mix, poured tequila into a blender with ice, poured the concoction into a glass, then added more tequila. Great, great taste for $6.

We bought 100% vanilla at the PV Walmart. None of the vendors or little shops at markets had 100% vanilla in the 4 ports at which we stopped.

I agree with the prior post. It took us about an hour after we got our tender ticket on the ship to actually get on the tender to go to the marina in Cabo.

We were in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas in May 2018.

In PV, we took the Signature Taco tour via vallartaeats.com. It was outstanding. We met at 10 a.m. and proceeded to eat and a number of very small taco stands that you probably would never notice or stop at on your own. First stop, for breakfast, we had 2 beef tacos-one soft, one crispy served with a warm beef broth and hibiscus flavored water to drink. Stop 2 was a carnitas taco-probably 15 local folks in line at the stand in front of us upon arrival-it was my wife's second favorite taco of the day. Stop 3 was for fried mahi mahi tacos-my favorite of the tour. Then we stopped by a store that raised their own pigs and sells associated products. We had pork rinds-not my favorite but good to learn about local tastes. Our cab driver on the way back to the ship loved them and we left 2 packs for him. Next stop was a small store that processes and makes their own corn tortillas-we ate them fresh off the line. We then went through a small fruit and vegetable store that was very interesting and our guide gave us a lot of information on the food and their use. We then went to our 4th taco stand for a ceviche chalupa-watch the spices you can use. I got a hot one and had to drink a ton of water and I love spicy food. Our 5th taco stand served quesadillas-my wife went crazy; she's still talking about how wonderful they were. Our guide bought us a lemon with mint drink and we wish we could have brought gallons back with us. We ended the tour with a stop for ice cream. They had coconut, mango, passion fruit, pineapple popsicles. And, this was all by 1 p.m. Really did not need dinner on the ship that night.

If you use a taxi, go across the street to the WalMart/Sams parking lot to catch one that is yellow. DO NOT use the taxis inside the pier fencing. We went to Old Town for our taco tour and paid $8 USD each way. The taxis inside the fence charged $24 USD each way for the same ride.

We went to the WalMart in PV and bought dramamine, 100% vanilla, and wine. We paid $18 for a bottle that was $72 onboard the ship. We walked through ship security with the wine and they said nothing so we enjoyed the wine and the $54 savings. Most of the vanilla we saw in Mexico was not 100% but it was at WalMart.

We were in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas in May 2018.

In PV, we took the Signature Taco tour via vallartaeats.com. It was outstanding. We met at 10 a.m. and proceeded to eat and a number of very small taco stands that you probably would never notice or stop at on your own. First stop, for breakfast, we had 2 beef tacos-one soft, one crispy served with a warm beef broth and hibiscus flavored water to drink. Stop 2 was a carnitas taco-probably 15 local folks in line at the stand in front of us upon arrival-it was my wife's second favorite taco of the day. Stop 3 was for fried mahi mahi tacos-my favorite of the tour. Then we stopped by a store that raised their own pigs and sells associated products. We had pork rinds-not my favorite but good to learn about local tastes. Our cab driver on the way back to the ship loved them and we left 2 packs for him. Next stop was a small store that processes and makes their own corn tortillas-we ate them fresh off the line. We then went through a small fruit and vegetable store that was very interesting and our guide gave us a lot of information on the food and their use. We then went to our 4th taco stand for a ceviche chalupa-watch the spices you can use. I got a hot one and had to drink a ton of water and I love spicy food. Our 5th taco stand served quesadillas-my wife went crazy; she's still talking about how wonderful they were. Our guide bought us a lemon with mint drink and we wish we could have brought gallons back with us. We ended the tour with a stop for ice cream. They had coconut, mango, passion fruit, pineapple popsicles. And, this was all by 1 p.m. Really did not need dinner on the ship that night.

In Cabo, we tendered into the marina from the ship. There are a lot of "glass bottom boats" that kind of stretch the definition but they are fine. The glass bottom is about 2 feet wide and 4 feet long but the water is so clear you can see fish off the side of the boat. For $15 per person, the guide took us out around and past Lands End and the Arch with a couple of short stops to view fish and then over to Medano Beach to drop us off and they returned about 3 hours later to take us back to the marina. They charge $10 round trip to the beach and back so that was a no brainer decision to go out to the Arch for $5 more. At the beach, we rented 2 chairs and an umbrella for the beach time for $15. Our guide bought us beer before we left the marina-$7 for 10 beers (Tecate). He got the locals price versus our price. :)The water at Medano is beautiful. :):):):)

Smaller bills are better. Insure they are in good shape and not old and crinkled up because they do not accept old bills. Just there April 2018.

We took an all day tour with Gio Tours for $69 per person and it was money well spent. They have a website. We saw monkeys-one climbed onto my shoulder and showed great interest in my ipad. We went on a 1.5 hour river boat ride and saw multiple crocodiles and birds. We ate fresh fruit and had a smoothie at a roadside stand. We stopped and saw tucans and macaws in their natural habitat as the guide saw them while we were driving down a road to the river. Our guide provided lots of insight and was obviously really into the tour and not just going through the motions.

We were on HAL Eurodam and stopped in Puerto Quetzal in late April 2018. A friend of mine did the same Panama Canal trip in December 2017; they had taken the ship's bus to Antigua and ended up being one hour late on the return to the ship due to an accident on the highway. We listened to him and did the HAL Antigua tour On Your Own for about $59 per person. When you get to Antigua, you can hire a guide (use the ones that are certified and wear brown vests if you tour on your own). The guides are $15 per person for a 3 hour tour. We did not want to spend 3 hours on a tour and could only get them to agree to $10 per person for one hour so we passed and walked the town on our own. It was great!! There are numerous hotels and restaurants with beautiful courtyards and they welcome you in. We spent about 4 hours in town and could have used a bit more. The guide on the bus to and from the ship was full of great information. We highly recommend going to Antigua on the ships bus if you can get a tour that only includes the ride.

We went on a tour with Dora in late April 2018. Her tour takes you to the highest point in Cartagena to get a very good overview of the city (and it is larger than we thought it would be). If you tour on your own you will not get the insights she can provide. She told us how much to expect to pay for certain items and where to buy certain things and where not to buy them. She loves her home town. My recommendation is to spend a bit more and do her tour.