Scottishclover

Another great report. Thank you to you and Iain. I especially liked your photos and have to say it was lovely that Evelyn and Alec agreed to be your models too. They looked like they were fun travelling companions. I appreciated your report in Amsterdam. We love going to cities and staying more local away from the main tourist areas. My favourite reviews are ones like yours which have a big focus on the ports.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review. We are doing a similar itinerary on the Beyond in July. A very stressful start to your trip - I hope it all came good in the end. We have also been at the mercy of striking French Air Traffic Controllers this year. Interesting about the price comparison with Marella cruises. My in-laws cruise regularly with them and we have been telling them to try Celebrity.

Haarlem in general makes a lovely afternoon out. I’m sure you would find lots of photogenic doors there. Lots of great restaurants too. Many foodies come out from Amsterdam to eat there. Bookings are a must at the weekends. We enjoyed BastiJan ( uses seasonal products) and De Lachende Javaan ( Indonesian).

My husband has coeliac disease and my daughters are vegan so we eat vegan and gf at home. On our Apex cruise last year the waitstaff and chefs were very accommodating but my husband didn’t eat as many vegan dishes in the MDR as he would have liked. He ate more red meat on the cruise than he had done in a long time. Many of the vegan options do have wheat\barley in them but in truth, the chef will make you whatever you want. One night, our girls did not like what was on the vegan menu and they requested a lentil Dahl. Don’t be afraid to ask - they will work with you especially if you order one day ahead. The “special” gf dessert was usually the same as our daughters, so obviously vegan too. In the OV cafe there was a vegan corner with 2 dishes and more often than not these were gluten free. Just double check the labelling, as one day a Moroccan couscous dish was labelled as gf and of course isn’t. My husband had no problem eating in the buffet at lunch. The biggest issue for us is finding somewhere vegan and gf to eat off the ship, while in port. Normally we can find one or the other but not both. It’s the same on land - part of the reason we cruise. Mealtimes on a land based trip can be quite stressful. We find cruises are the best for accommodating our dietary needs.

I would say no puffer coat for Scotland and Ireland but definitely a waterproof. For the next couple of weeks the forecast is showery and temperatures between 13-16 degrees Celsius (Scotland) . Layers and a waterproof will be fine. You may want to bring a hat - I was out walking last night and said to my husband that I should have brought one. You can get caught out by the wind if it’s coming from the North or East. A local farmer commented on the weather, saying it’s been a bit like a rollercoaster this year. Not sure what the weather is like in Nebraska but remember it’s all relative. On our Baltic Cruise last year I was sunbathing in my swimming costume and a Mexican lady next to me was wrapped up in her winter coat😂

Just back from Porto and this may be due to a lot of road closures as the metro is being extended right down to Ribiera. At the moment, only tram traffic and pedestrians are allowed over the bridge. The lower level is closed to cars. The whole centre was very congested with traffic due to all the closures. The quickest way to get around Porto just now is by walking.

My family did this hike independently in 2016. We hiked direct from the pier at Geiranger. No other transport needed. There is a short cut you can do to get to Vesteras Farm to avoid the road. It was past the church and through a wooded area, which was quite muddy. You definitely need hiking books. From the farm you are out in the open with great views. It is a great hike but is quite steep, the part before the farm especially. We are regular hikers (used to hills/mountains) and it took us about 4 hours round trip. This hike was offered by our cruise line with exorbitant prices - you would be mad not to do it independently.

We booked on 8th March 2022. If we were to cancel our current booking and book on a July 2024 Japan cruise, which would suit us better timing wise, the price for the exact same rooms and same amount of nights is £3400 more expensive!

We are booked on sailing Best of Southern Japan 28th March 2024.

I don’t think that can be true. We have 2 inside cabins booked on 28th March and so far have not been cancelled. We got an unbelievable deal on them as we booked just after they were released so pretty sure we have paid one of the lowest prices. I really wish Celebrity would have asked for volunteers to move to a later date. We would have jumped on that as we are not sure our daughters can go now due to a change in university term times/exams but we have a non-refundable deposit. Reading different people’s accounts there seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to why certain people have been cancelled.

Do not book with the cruise line. These companies are very reliable. It takes minutes to walk from the pier to the RIB meeting point and I thought it was absurd what the cruise line was charging for effectively escorting you for a few minutes walk to a boat shed.

I think it was either 2 or 3 pm. There were 2 RIBs that went out at the same time. I should say we were not tendered, we were on the Disney Magic and it was connected to the floating Seawalk so it was quick to return to the ship and come back off again.

This is going to be our strategy. We are going to queue up at St Peters Basilica at opening at 7am. Hopefully we will be faced with a very small line. Spend an couple of hours or so, climb the dome( before it gets too busy). Then we are going to explore the area, have a long lunch/ avoid the heat, then we have a guided tour booked at the Vatican Museums for 3pm. I read that the Vatican is a bit quieter late afternoon. We will see…. My husband and I have been to St Peters and Vatican before but it will be the first visit for our daughters. Out of the two, I think it matters more to have less crowds in the Basilica, to appreciate the serenity. Also I do not want to stand in a queue in the hot sun.

We did this RIB tour in 2016 with our daughters who were 11 and 13 at the time. One thing I really enjoyed was being down low on the fjord. It makes it more spectacular. Be aware that it isn’t an hour of tearing up the fjord. The fast spurts we’re interspersed with stories about the mysteries and history of the fjord. We got very close to the Seven Sisters Waterfall. We had booked the tour for mid afternoon as we went hiking for around 5 hours in the morning. We came back to the ship for lunch and then straight back off for the RIB boat tour which is right at the dock. Definitely book direct - our cruise line offered the tour at much higher prices and really you could not miss the meeting point. I would definitely go for it - it was very memorable.

Hello Jim and Iain, So happy to read about your new travels and pleased you both made it to the ship. I will enjoy reading the next instalments with my morning coffee. I will be interested to read about your British Isles cruise in particular. We were on the Apex last year out of Amsterdam and loved it! I don’t think you should be too critical of your airline meal. My husband is gluten free and once on a BA flight back from Miami he actually got a glass of orange juice and an orange for breakfast. We were dumbfounded - someone was seriously lacking in imagination! While you’re in Amsterdam take a wee trip out to Haarlem ( easy on the train). It’s a very charming town and you will escape the big city crowds. Really worth a visit to the church in the main square and the restaurant scene there is very good - especially Indonesian. We really enjoyed Der laachende Javaan there for our first taste of Indonesian Food. As always your photos are unique. Happy cruising 😀

All retailers are legally required to accept Scottish notes ( or those from Northern Ireland).I once had problems spending an Ulster Bank Note in Scotland. Just point out the word “Sterling” on the note. Used to be worse when there wereScottish £1 notes but they went out of circulation ages ago. Most people use cards now so not as much an issue as it used to be.

To avoid the high hotel costs in Amsterdam, we stayed in Haarlem in a really charming B&B. It was called Hotel Malts. There’s a direct bus from Schipol to Haarlem on arrival and then it’s a 20 min journey into Amsterdam by train, with trains every 20 mins. It was a great choice as Haarlem is very pretty with lots of good eating options. It would be a much nicer alternative than staying at the airport.

Just back from 5 nights in Lisbon. Lots of bikes/ electric scooters to hire everywhere. The only place I would ever use them is along the promenade from Cais do Sodré to Belém. This was a popular route. Alfalma as you mentioned, wouldn’t work. Between cars and tuk-tuks there is little room on the very narrow streets.The traffic in Lisbon is absolutely chaotic. It’s bad enough for pedestrians, never mind cyclists. I think you would need to be used to cycling in major cities to cope with it. We walked everywhere although I know the tile museum is far out. There is an extensive transport system but you need to give yourself an extra half hour to work out and queue for the ticket machines. We were caught out a couple of times with this. Have a great trip.

Great idea, thank you.

Thanks for the quick replies. I understand what you mean about Pompeii but from Scotland we could easily go to Naples another time and do Pompeii. Should have mentioned we have 2 teens in tow who may have reached their limit for sights by the time we hit Naples. We are spending 4 nights in Lucca and 4 in Rome before the cruise too. I just thought that Procida might work to change things up a bit and perhaps escape some of the crowds.

We are doing a med cruise in the summer and think we might be a bit tired of ruins/ art/ culture by the time we get to Naples near the end of our cruise. We are thinking of catching the ferry to the island of Procida. Wondering if anyone has experience of doing this and if they would recommend it?

We did a Baltic cruise last year. My husband has coeliac disease and my two daughters are vegan. Eating out can be very challenging. Can’t help you with particular places to eat but I did note that Helsinki in particular was very gf and vegan friendly. Lots of options on most menus. Eating out in Scandinavia is so expensive though. Most of the time my husband snacked on fruit and cereal bars and had something when back on the ship. I appreciate you taking the time to research these places.

Certainly the north-east of Scotland is prone to harr ( a Scots word for sea mist). I remember when my sister-in-law was looking for a house in Aberdeenshire she avoided certain areas as she said you would never get your washing dried due to the harr. However, you can never predict it. You would be more likely to have clear skies than fog. I say clear skies but be aware the Northern Isles do get a lot of cool temperatures and rain, even in summer. I will keep my fingers crossed that you get some sunshine.

Warnemuende is really busy in the summer months and we prefer to stay in Rostock. Our go to in the area is the Rostock Apartment Living Hotel. It’s clean, modern and has a fantastic location in the old town but a 2 minute walk from the Town Hall and a tram stop. It would be super easy to get to the cruise port from there - 5 min tram to the Hauptbahnhof and then 20 min train to Warnemuende.

We did Pulpit Rock in 2016. To put in context we regularly hike at home in Scotland and in the Alps and had our daughters with us at the time who were 11 and 13 at the time. We were up and down pretty quickly, in less than 2 hours, and managed to catch an earlier bus ( in fact had to wait for it). I remember thinking we were way quicker than the recommended time but that is usual for us in the Alps too. We spent 20 minutes at the top as it was very windy. We had a clear run uphill but took just as long coming down as we were continuously stepping aside to allow the uphill climbers to get by. It did get pretty frustrating and does not make for a relaxing hike. You need to keep weather conditions in mind too. We got to the top just before the weather closed in and it was slippery going downhill ( some people were wearing Converse 😩 and there was one woman on our cruise who broke her ankle on the hike) . I would not do this hike in bad weather as it’s not worth it. I would like to go back to Norway on a land trip and start this hike really early to avoid the crowds. Btw our favourite hike on our cruise was Sukkertoppen in Alesund. Amazing 360 degree views from the top on a good day and nice relaxing hike with locals.