milolii

Aren’t the occupancy rates on the NYC/Boston to Bermuda (and similar) cruises regardless of cruise line, quite high?

You probably want one of the New England/ Canada Cruises. Cruises are happening now from NYC and Boston. We are on Enchanted Princess and three of the places mention below are on the itinerary. Peak weeks can vary and generally occur earlier the further north you travel. But generally, 2nd to 3rd week in October. https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/best-new-england-fall-foliage-destinations here is another useful map https://newengland.com/seasons/fall/foliage/peak-fall-foliage-map/

One benefit of booking your own flights out of JFK or EWR to London is Daytime flights to London on United, British Airways and/or American. I think pre pandemic Paris was also an option, but haven’t seen it since then. We took one earlier this month. It was wonderful.

We went though LHR this past weekend. No real issues. We got our checked bag OK. One of the main issues I saw( and we got caught up as well) was the liquids and creams in a clear baggie. This means all products. We had a small tube of hand lotion from the hotel and a travel size tube of toothpaste. I didn’t think about three items. Our other stuff(mouthwash, etc) were properly removed and prepared in the plastic baggies. We passed through LHR un June, but I think these items might of been in our checked luggage. Before us, two people waited as a large number of cosmetics were removed from their carryons and tested. If I had to guess this is a major contributing factor to long security lines. We informed the security agent he could discard the items and replied he still had to test them. We used the fast track lanes. Local news was reporting the passenger cap is working and has been extended. We don’t need the test, but we are sailing with NCL this time.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise#boarding-excursions Many of us are waiting to see what the Canadian Government will do now that so my changes are happening. Once the government makes a change, NCL will adjust its requirements. Currently Canadian requirements apply to any passenger embarking on a cruise ship with a stop in a Canadian port at any point in the itinerary. There are Many Canadians on our New England/Canada crusie next month. None of them think things will change anytime soon. But who knows?

It’s six days.

Thank you, glad you feel enjoying yourself , how is the internet connection? Is it worth purchasing for general information searching or is it very slow…..

Doesn’t the test need to proctored? We sail in September to NE and Canada from NYC RT. Just checking.

We fly to LHR this weekend. 14 days with cruise and pre trip days. I’ve read the real problems are with connecting flights. We are taking one checked bag, and a carry on each. We packed items we absolutely need in the the 2 carryons using compression bags. If we lose the checked bag, will file an insurance claim, buy new stuff and make do. We will also use ship laundry services. We returned home using LHR in June, it was crazy, but got home with our luggage. Other tips (if possible) Use a bag that is not black. Allow plenty of time for your bag to be processed at check in Take pictures of your bag and it’s contents before leaving home, put your name and contact information inside the bag, as well as out. Don’t attach ribbons or other items to the handles as bags can get caught in the belts. Use tracking devices such as Apple’s AirTag. You can also track your bag with the airline’s app. Not sure all Airlines offer this feature. I don’t think LHR has near the problems seen all over the US almost every weekend. Will try and report back next Sunday.

I didn’t get that impression, but easy enough to check if you are concerned about that. I think the OP is boarding Sunday………according to the OP’s posting history.

We sail both lines. NCL Dawn next week and Enchanted Princess in September. We’ve been on the Royal; sister to the Regal. We’ve sailed on the Star, but not the Dawn. Entertainment: overall NCL is superior to Princess. But Princess has more events geared towards that particular cruise. Princess: MUTS plays movies a lot even durning the day. Food: Horizon Court is a massive buffet. Food was excellent. We usually don’t eat in the buffet restaurant on NCL. Alfredos Pizza awesome, International Cafe great. Cagney’s better than Crown Grill, however. Princes will also serve a tea on one of the sea days and a pub lunch on another. Princess: Two favorite places are the retreat pool area (free) and the Sanctuary(pay) Princess: Kettles in all cabins for cruises out of Southampton. Laundry facilities on each deck. I think NCL has coffee makers in cabins. We have one when we crusie with them. NCL: I don’t know your ports, but the Dawn can dock some places or take a more scenic route that bigger ships can’t. Overall more options on the Regal than the Dawn as she is bigger. Enjoy

Thank you Deelightful. You’ve been very helpful.

Ok ty. That what I thought. My primary reason would be for port information. Maybe booking a Uber, taxi. Etc. For Klaipeda, you mentioned you grabbed a taxi to take you over to the Curonian Spit and the dunes. Did you pay with a credit card? Or cash? Were there plenty of taxis there? Thanks so much. Sounds like you had a great time.

We booked with go Fundy tours. Their tour has a coastal route. One of the other two has an inland route, while the third was too long(maybe 9+ hours, can’t remember for sure) and was too expensive. We cruise in September.

We are using this company. https://vikingtoursnewport.com

Hi delightful, hope you are home safely. I have a question about the internet on this cruise. How’s the speed. Thinking of upgrading from the free minutes. We just use to check email and research information for the ports. Ty

Are you saying take a taxi from the airport as the elevator at central station is broken? Glad you are Ok. Ty

Hello, I tried a search, but not much help. I am looking for a taxi to get to a motorcycle museum about 4 miles away. Any ideas? TIA

Hawaii is easy to explore in your own, however, you would need a car to visit most places. I am not sure what the current rental car situation is right now with regard to availability, but you have time. What do you want to do? Some ports you can indeed visit on your own, such as Kailua-Kona. There are some private companies as well.

@ladysail2 You are a trooper!

@ladysail2 You took the train from London to Edinburgh, Scotland? Isn’t that about 5 hours? @cruisegal415 We visited the castle last month. We were in Edinburgh for five days. We did it on our own. We did take a cab to the entrance. I would go inside the castle. It seems like what you are describing would be down on the streets. I don’t really know, though. I didn’t see people walking around the castle. The entrance is timed and you have to show the ticket to get close to the entrance. The grandstand seating is already up for the Military Tattoo. That is directly outside the entrance. There were audios available. The Military Tattoo starts next week and runs until the last weekend in August Edinburgh will be crazy busy. Get you tickets as soon as possible. Tickets were sold out many days while we were there. Tickets are timed. Good luck and enjoy.

So, how easy is it to visit the Curonian Spit DYI from a cruise ship? It is hard finding shorter tours. (5-6 hours). Our port time is 8 hours. The tours I am finding are 7-8 hours. I did send an email to the company mentioned in post #3. Their tour dates 7.5-8 hours. We are interested in the dunes., I agree about the injury risk. Ty

Thank you both @deelightfull and @KeithJenner. Will look for something in Helsinki as we overnight there.

I guess I should be more clear. I was talking shows with ethic music and dancers in traditional costumes. So yes, regional performers. Glad you enjoyed the Diet Pepsi. Do they have Sprite Zero? Ty.

Hi, is the ship offering any folk shows? I think some were planned when the ship originally stopped in St.Pertersburg. Do you have any of the dailies? Thanks for reporting, hope you are having a good time. We are on August 16.