ontheweb

Yes, we also feel blessed that we saw St. Petersburg as no one is seeing it now, and who knows when or if ever it will become available again. I feel sorry for the guide people there who have lost their livelihood. They are not the one waging a war of aggression. In fact, the first protests in Russia against the war were in St. Petersburg. We also feel lucky having been on a land trip to Peru including Machu Piccu the year before Covid hit.

Right I was just stating the facts of what they do rather than making a complaint. At least calling the excursion department we got our 10% off. I have read that this is often not done onboard. And i did ask if the 10% off was before or after the $50 off. I wonder how often they get that question.

My post was just more a matter of stating facts than making a complaint.

If you are at least silver, you get 10% off excursions as a perk. And this is after the $50 off for the "free" excursions. An example, and I will use $100 as the cost of the excursion as it is an easy number to work with. Passenger #1 would pay $100 less $50, so that would be $50. Then with 10% off pay $45. Passenger #2 without the "free excursion would pay $100 less 10% for $90. As you can see the savings for the $50 off is really $45. ($90 less $45 = $45.)

<Sigh>, I was hoping your post would say you just got the gift cards.

I did figure that that was what you meant, but thought it was important to note that there was more to cruising than just the Caribbean.

I agree that getting a good guidebook makes it easy to do it yourself. In addition to the public library, you can get used ones pretty cheap on sites like Amazon. In that way you can have the book with you and even mark it up. Prices will be out of date, but otherwise the book being old should not make a difference.

Maybe there will be hot chocolate at the French Fry Museum. I know they must have some sort of dining facility because their website says you get a discount on the French Fries when you show your museum ticket.

Thank you for the explanation why the present policy is a win/win/win situation for all involved. I only wish I could give your post both a thank you and a like. I gave a like, and this will have to do as a thank you.

Spending a full day in port is much more likely for European ports than for ports in the Caribbean.

Go with the attitude of I am on a cruise and the itinerary is wonderful, and you will enjoy the cruise immensely. Go with the attitude that this ships sucks and I will have a terrible time, and it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We did a Western Mediterranean cruise on the Epic in 2012. Yes, there were somethings that were far from perfect, but my one lasting memory of that cruise was how wonderful Florence was.

Back when we were able to visit the Vasa, as a then ""60 year old kid", it was truly amazing and delightful. It is hard to imagine how awe inspiring it would be to 3 year old. I am sure it is something he will never forget.

So as a single cruiser, you ended the cruise being pinned. 😉

5-7 days often mean 5-7 business days, so weekends don't count.

Or maybe an entirely different means of travel.

OTOH, there is a mind/body connection. If one expects to catch a cold, is it possible that their immune system recognizes that and allows the cold to be caught?

I should note that the private tour in Isafjorudur is one I hope is great but we will not know until mid-August. So that is just to inform you what we are intending to do, not per se a recommendation. As for Alesund which is not in Iceland but you asked about, we have booked a ship's tour, City walk and Art Nouveau Center.

The prize is the pride in how well you did. But those ships on a stick from Carnival are a nice reminder of how well you did.

I don't know how you accomplished so much in Stockholm. We also hit the Vasa as it was opening. And it was fabulous. We also then went to Skansen. I thought we were spending too much time there, and eventually we moved on. We next went to a major art museum. DW as an art teacher can spend lots of time on each work of art, but with our time constraints had to move on quickly. And we never even got to the floor with fashion, another of her passions.

Actually, I told DW this, and she already knew. I had the address next to the musuems. She googled a map and mapped them out. I guess that is why she has a great sense of direction, while I am always lost. 😉

That is a shame. I suppose they will blame it on Covid and the supply chain of musicians being affected.

Keep up the good work. I volunteer at a food pantry, but that pales compared to what you do.

In Stockholm our only problem was there were too many things we wanted to do. Definitely did not need a tour of any kind. OTOH, in Helsinki we did not find much to do. Maybe a tour would have helped. I cannot comment on the German ports as we did not have them on our Baltic cruise. Also have not used SBP tours, but the year before they started, their owner Viktoria was our Alla guide in St. Petersburg. She was excellent, and I am sure her company is also excellent both because we have experience with her and have read wonderful reviews.

We are doing the same cruise except in the opposite order in August. In Isafjordur, we booked a private excursion. Isafjordur Guide - Walks in Iceland In Akureyri we also intend to go to the botanical gardens like the previous poster.

Thank you that is super helpful! 😊