caneable

On 1/24/2019 at 9:16 AM, MikeC1610 said:

The Cavern Club is a great venue but way undersized.  I agree with the previous poster, you need to get there an hour before the band starts to have any chance of getting a seat.  The venue needs to be at least twice the size to handle the crowds it attracts.

While it doesn’t recreate the original Liverpool Cavern, it couldn’t be anything but small to recreate the spirit. Probably better still if they shifted out the furniture!

It’s a few years since we did our Baltic cruise with NCL so I can’t recall prices but I can vouch for the other details I’m about to give.

Warnemund for Berlin DEFINITELY use NCL. The distance and the timings make it crazy to think otherwise.

Tallin and Helsinki had shuttles into town. In both cases you’re dropped centrally and the busses returned from  the same point. In other instances we picked up city centre maps at the port and just followed them.  Tallin is wonderful and a really nice place to stroll.

Stockholm also had map info as we disembarked.  There was a footpath “decorated” with large footprints which we followed for about 5 mins and found ourselves at a bus stop.  Not expensive and took us into the city.  Local driver was fantastic and told us best place to get off.  That gave us a 15 min walk down a pedestrianised street and we came out by a bridge leading into the old city centre of Gamla Stam.  There you’ve got the Royal Palace, the Parliament and the theatre where they present the Nobel prizes. The maps show a clear loop round the area passing a range of shops, houses and coffee houses. The area isn’t threatening as such but we did meet one group who had a bag, hanging over a chair, stolen. So be careful.

St Petersburg we went on two separate day trips with Alla Tours and they were fantastic.  Did all the usual sites and could have done a ballet performance on the stopover evening but chose not to. On the second day we were certainly back 90 mins before departure.

Going to South America next year so helpful, except of course being Brits we have to buy dollars and the exchange rate is currently lousy for us.

If you’ve reached the golden age of Saga qualification, you might look into their credit card facility. We are frequent visitors to the USA and find that, even in the good times, their exchange rate was always better than the cash exchange figure. Check out Martin Lewis website money saving expert. He’s very keen on advising similar cards.

I seem to have seen a lot of posts suggesting that the penguins have left Punta Arenas / Magdalena.

Ellie,

Both Patrick Watts and Nyree at Estancia are old hands in this business but wouldn’t risk putting their reputations at risk with frivolous claims.

Steve

German Pirate getting some good shouts from folks booking on our cruise Roll Call 2v March 19.

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting.

I queried whether an excursion disappearing from the My NCL pages meant that it was fully sold out and my NCL cruise consultant said not. He said they keep some back for sale on ship.

Hope you enjoy this:

 

https://airlandandsea.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/puerto-montt-chile/

Most certainly did! We will be following your route in reverse on a back to back cruise next March with NCL. No doubt some of the ports will differ but I’m looking forward to checking back (is that physically possible?j to read and see your take on other ports of call on this trip.

You can get to Florence by train as well but need a little care. Take the shuttle in to Livorno then cross over the road and turn left down that street. There’s a newsagents sells tickets for the train to the station. Brief walk from Florence station to city centre about 10 mins.

Cannes is an interesting walk around especially up the hill to the fort. Also bear in mind Monaco and Monte Carlo are just an hour away on the train and very affordable. Get an early tender if poss but there are plenty of train websites with timetable and prices. One word of warning, don’t consider upgrading to first class for better seats. We did and then there was no first class on our train!

Palma - shuttle is expensive but town is a nice walk including Cathedral and lovely balconies everywhere.

Barcelona. Easy HOHO bus. 3 different routes so do your homework. If Sagrada Familia, Gaudis unfinished cathedral is on your to sees then get a taxi straight there. Crowds can build up and eat your time waiting.

Marseilles not my favourite place but if you take shuttle a “Little Train” departs from nearby to the church overlooking the city

Rome, you can get a Tuscany Bus Tours coach into Rome from Civitavecchia for $35 but you get no guide. Probably not best choice for first timers but handy if you just want to see Vatican and surrounding area.

If Rome or Barcelona is your embarkation port then give yourself three days to get over jet lag and enjoy either of these two great cities.

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No it certainly is not "all the time". As I already have stated, the OFFICIAL bus stop, with a sign for the 500 peso, van "buses", is NOT on the side street near the bus vendor. It is across from the supermarket (which has shelter).

 

On my second run this past Feb. people were waiting, where you claim, in panic mode as I got off the Coyhaique bus. They had been waiting for the van, over an hour, including they had tried flagging. They recognized me from the ship. Asking if I knew where they could get ATM for, pesos to take a cab. They ended up, following me, to the bus stop, and we made it on the ship with 15 minutes to spare.

Just trying to prevent others from this, especially with the westbound sailing of NCL, which has a short port time. I have done this route, 11 times, and it's not easy to catch up if you miss the ship.

Hi Budget Queen, we had been considering this journey for our forthcoming visit to Porto Chacabuco next March on Norwegian Sun. We dock at 7am and set sail at 2pm and I’ve been wondering just how workable this trip is in that time. Several people picked up on an initial suggestion I posted on our Roll Call, but I’d hate to promote a risky proposition. Advice please.

Answers to 1 and 4,

Just booked our comp dinners on Norwegian Jade and when I’d finished the account showed no charge, so they pick it up from your My NCL ACCOUNT.

The meals are only applicable per cabin, so no you can’t split husband and wife. Love to know how it works for friends sharing a cabin. Interested not whinging.

Thanks capriccio and heather for your comments. Thanks too Heather for the link to your blog which was really enjoyable.

If you’re into Gaudi then La Pedrera aka Casa Mila is well worth a visit. Again pre-book to miss the queues.

If you want to take it easier, a stroll up Las Ramblas into Catalonia Square and then cut across to the cathedral square. From there you can head down the paved street to the left of the cathedral as you face it and just weave your way through the narrow streets and squares back down to the sea front.

If you want it really easy then here’s another vote for the hop on hop off service. I think they run three routes and any two would be possible without dismounting and you’d see a lot of the city.

Thanks fredziffle, had a feeling I could count on you for helpful advice! So now can I pick up the nerve to drive in South America?

Hi Andy

Since you seem to be returning to this page frequently, I thought I’d just offer my responses.

Firstly, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromso and Alesund are all well worth spending time around, and there’s plenty to see. The alleyways of Bergen have some great craftsmen’s shops. Trondheim's cathedral is well worth a visit, as is Tromso’s stunning modern cathedral. Alesund has a great little train ride which takes you up to the overlook and there’s an interesting Art Nouveau museum in the town centre.

At Honningswag you can do the main ship’s tour MUCH cheaper on the local bus. A return trip to the North Cape cost us around $30 if memory serves me well. There’s a website for the company somewhere. Equally you could hire a vehicle for the day and cover several trips in one. Yes you’d miss the guide but you’d get to see much more of the island.

If hiring a car is a starter for you then Lefkes on the Lofoten Islands is a cert. We hired from Europe Car. The rep met us together with other rental customers in a car park just by the tender boat landing. 10 minutes to deal with the paperwork and we were away. A series of bridges and tunnels link the islands and the roads are pretty quiet once you get past the cruise excursion coaches!

We went south to the village of A. Actually there’s an accent over the letter but I couldn’t find it on my keyboard! It’s a fishing village but they’ve kept much of it as a working museum that you can wander around.

Another charming fishing village is Nusfjord. It’s a little more of the beaten track but features in a lot of coffee table books. Get there and you’ll see why.

Next time we go we’ll hire again and head north. There’s a Viking Longhouseto visit somewhere there! Check out the local web site for visitors.

Lastly, the cruise in and out of the stands, though distant, is very attractive with some stunning peaks.

Thanks for your response CruiseNH, and you’ve pretty much commented on a lot that I suspected, but we can only try. As you say, perhaps others who have tried this might be able to add to the comment.

As ever, the cruise line stack up the cost of this excursion and I’m wondering how easy it is to get to the station from the cruise port. Are there taxis or local buses running the routes, and how reliable are they for return? Our cruise arrives early morning but departs early afternoon. There does seem to be enough time to get there independently, but it would require some certainty about arrangements for getting back to the ship.

Just picking up on Rhodes, Livorno and Malta.

It’s years since we went to Rhodes but it was always my favourite Greek island. Rhodes town is a great place to just walk round and there are lots of old courtyards and alleyways to explore. If you want somewhere further afield you could try Linda’s about 35 miles south. However it’s become more and more exploited and not easy to stroll around, but the main bay always was a marvellous beach.

Malta is similarly easy to walk round with a bust main shopping streets and several interesting churches to explore along with other old buildings. To get to town just take a right as you come out of the port area and, about 300 yards along there’s a passageway through to an elevator which takes you up to town level. Square there has great views over the harbour.

As you get out of the harbour you will see the hop on hop off buses lined up and also the horse and buggy rides. The hoho bus has three routes I think so you need to look at their website to see what you fancy.

At Livorno the options are many. Whatever you choose to do first stop will probably be the NCL shuttle. It was $3 last year I think but it could easily move on to $5 given the NCL approach to such things. It drives you into town where you pick up with various options of transport.

First the destination options. Livorno has an interesting market and the canal area is okay, but it isn’t for the first time visitor. Florence and Pisa are the main draw, but you can try Sienna, Lucca or the coastal villages of Cinque Terre. All can be self driven in a day, although CT would be extremely tiring done that way. Florence and Pisa can be reached by coach service or rain. A company called Tuscany Bus run a coach service from right by the NCL shuttle stop which goes to Florence and then Pisa on the way back. Just Google Tuscany Bus and it’ll pop up. The fare was $35 last year. They take you to a coach stand right alongside Florence Railway Station, So by coach or train you have the same issue, how to get into the city. It’s about a 20 minute walk. The coach company will give you a map and our guide did a good job of explaining the route. You have about 3.5hrs in the city and then leave for Pisa. You would struggle to do both by train. Incidentally, the train will be slightly cheaper than the coach I think.

At Pisa you have quite a walk to the area of the Leaning Tower, but our coach guide did accompany us along the way and got us all together for the return.

To be honest when we did Florence and Pisa we did a private excursion and they dropped us right by the Tower early in the morning , and then took us right through the traffic on the centre with request to be back at the drop off point by a certain time. I think we had 3hrs in Florence.

Well that’s rather a lot but hope it helps. I’ll check back a couple of times through the week if you have any ?s

Hi comcox, further to my earlier post I noticed when I checked the sos manta website that they have added a red letter rider to their Montecristi tour that states that the rainforest walk includes a path with 33% gradient and advises running shoes. Presumably that’s because of problems on the walk previously. In fairness that seems a responsible thing to do.

Hi comcox

I think we follow you travelling the other way at the end of the season in March 2019, so I’ve been raking through possibilities myself. I have unearthed sos tours, although they got a fairly ordinary review from someone last week.

I haven’t checked it any further so haven’t found anyone else so interested to see if anyone comes back with alternatives.

Thanks dwl16 and Buget Queen, I’ve been looking through Valparaiso companies and have a good recommendation for Patatour. We have the same cabin for both sectors but that’s a useful point as anyone needing to switch could impact on group tours. Do NCL use two separate exits for passengers ending their cruise and those rejoining?

The use of San Antonio as a point of start and departure is a new situation. only one Sun it in has done the back to back Buenos Aires - San Antonio - Miami cruise. Another will do it late fall/ early winter this year, then we will be on board in March 2019 on the third such run.

Currently I’m looking at excursion opportunities from San Antonio. However, before going ahead I want to think through the process. Under the old route through Valparaíso there were good options within the city, and some of those have been offered to me now. However, the big difference is that we will have to travel from San Antonio to Valparaiso and back and I wonder just how much of an issue that could be. How easy is it for in transit passengers to disembark when the main disembarkation is going on? Obviously, the journey time will affect how much can be done, but how much? Does anyone have any experience of the route from San Antonio to Valparaiso? Would it be more sensible to consider an excursion to Santiago instead? Any other issues anyone has had with this aspect of the itinerary?

Thanks for any helping on any of the above questions.

We’ll be in Cartagena in March 2019 and I’m following FredZiffles idea, but if you’re not sure about on your own try Dora Zubira, she’s very good.

Hi working to cruise,

We’ve been on Spirit twice in past couple of years. Had to request bath robes and didn’t notice slippers. Shower gel and shampoo are from dispensers fixed to the wall in the shower unit.

Very good tip about seats in theatre a few posts back. We find NCL generally like to pump up the volume to max (assuming we’re all deaf?. For us that tends too ruin most shows.

Champagne Charlie’s our favourite evening bar. Wait staff are very good early evening but it can get a bit hectic from around 9 onwards once pianists are on. We’ve had Tricia Watson, 60s music onwards, and a Brit guy called Ian, forget the surname, often wider oldie range. Both gave very good evenings.

Galaxy of the Stars very good in day time or pre evening meal, assuming no entertainment on.

Loved Le Bistro!