niknot

As of today (April 27) one can indeed book excursions when getting off the tender. I walked through a small group of vendors selling boat cruises to Shipwreck Cove €50 and boat trips to harass loggerhead turtles €40. Once you leave the dock area, head to the left where there are a large number of tour agencies selling similar trips. You may wish to research costs before you leave so you have an idea of costs. I saw some signs in some of the shops with multiple prices. Probably depends on which ship is in port for the day. I was told that the official tour season doesn’t start until May so there will undoubtedly be more options when you arrive.

Here is another expensive cruise line with some Alaska sailings with no solo supplement, Uncruise. You will need to dig a bit in their website to find them though.

Earlier today, the cruise director mentioned that they were close to finalizing the entertainment schedule and would be publishing February’s shortly.

Hi All, It appears that Ponant cruises does not charge solo supplements on at least 110 of their trips. They currently have some offers that include airfare or air credits as well. If you are in the US, use their US website to check them out. At least one excursion is included in each port of call. Free WiFi, non premium drinks are included and so on.

AMA Waterways has announced no solo supplements for all room categories for “select sailings” if booked by 12/31. I haven’t played around with their website yet to see any type of pricing. Good luck if you are able to find something that works for you.

On the Nieuw Statendam at the moment. It increased to $35 per bag. Attached should be a couple of pics with laundry pricing.

Just answering a couple of questions for Sandnes (Stavenger area). We docked at the Somaneset port. HAL offered the following options once on board: 1. Stavanger on your own. -$44.95 Departure times offered 9:30 or 11:30. The information provided indicated that you will be dropped off at the Concert Hall parking lot and that you will have two hours in Stavanger. 2. Hop On, Hop Off Stavanger - $44.95 Departure time 8:30 3. The last option appeared on the daily program the night before our port stop. It was a shuttle to the Sandnes Tourist Information Building. $19.95. The first departure was at 8:30, running every 30 minutes. The last shuttle from Sandnes to the ship was at 3:45. There were plenty of taxis available on our stop. I have a GoPro set up on our balcony and it recorded a line of taxis in the morning. A public bus stop is also located nearby.

I am a cynic as well. Should I learn that HAL assisted those with non HAL excursions I will report back. This is my third cruise with HAL and each one has had ports cancelled, which we all agree to in their terms and conditions. So I can’t complain too much, I guess. Typically, I do not advance book any excursions because of HAL’s tendency to modify itineraries. I broke my rule this time because there were to be two ships in port in Flam and the railroad was a must see for my husband. I booked the tickets directly with Vy (Norway Rail). They were kind enough to provide me with a refund when I explained the situation and I then rebooked the tickets.

An update. The captain explained the reason for Ulvik’s cancellation and replacement with Eidfjord. It became apparent that Ulvik’s infrastructure just was not sufficient for Nieuw Statendam based on other visits. Really not sure why Alesund and Flam were switched other than that we are to receive additional time in port at each stop. A positive, was his comment to visit the customer service desk regarding cancelled plans. I was able to modify my Flamsbana tickets without a penalty however others may not have been so lucky.

Hi Rich, Here is the information you requested.

It is already there as well. Since not everyone joins the roll call, I thought that it would be a good idea to post in the general forum as well.

Enjoying your report. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Hi All, Just a heads up to check your emails. Ulvik has been replaced with Eidfjord and the dates for Flam and Alesund have been switched. Molde has a change as well with a later departure time. Longer time in port for Flam is a bonus though.

It includes local buses, trams, Dart and commuter rail in the immediate area around Dublin. The official name is Leap Visitor Card. The main bonus for us was that we didn’t need to join the queue at the ticket machine. For some reason, my copy paste function is not working, so do a search for Leap visitor card Dublin and the website will show up. Cotswold Eagle was faster than I was with a reply. Thanks.

We did this last week. It was an easy walk with signs available to follow. Just when you exit the port area, you will encounter a tourist information stall. The people manning it were friendly, provided maps and advice. You may wish to consider ordering a Leap all day pass in advance. It was eight euros per person. I actually received ours in just over a week.