MERLOTCHAMPAGNE

Leaving for Norwegian fiords this wk

 

Packed summer & winter clothing

 

Walking stick, boots , sweatshirt etc

 

And assortment of casual dress for MDR

 

I sent my baggage on ahead last wk, it is now in Southampton ,GB

 

Waiting to be delivered to my Cabin this wk

 

My carry on includes a gore tech rain jacket and portable steamer to take the wrinkles out of my clothes that have been in that suitcase for 2 wks

We are doing similar Norwegian Fjord cruise next summer and want to send our baggage onto the ship in Southampton as we're planning to do some precruise touring. What company did you use tor luggage valet?

It will be early but you are likely flying UA at 0736 and there appears to be only about 6 flights between 0630 and 0730 to the US so the lines at security and CBP should not be long.

Thanks.... Appreciate you searching the specifics... Of course I gave the incorrect departure time, its 0744 But close enough 😉. We'll plan to leave our hotel in Richmond by 0530

2 hours before if you are checking luggage. 90 minutes if not. You will clear US customs prior to leaving our country.

Thanks - guess it'll be a very early morning start

Hi Lois...I'm onboard the AmaViola...maiden cruise...beautiful new riverboat. Thought I'd mention we are docked along side the AmaStella ...we had to walk through the AmaStella to the pier so got a small peek at your riverboat too!! :). I had 5 great tour days in Amsterdam then boarded yesterday and was invited to the Captain's Table for dinner last night. Wonderful way to start my AmaViola adventure! Thank You for sharing your cruise with us. :)

 

 

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Pat

Hope you have an amazing trip and wonderful memories. Would love to hear about your precruise in Amsterdam after you return.

Safe travels!

Enjoying your review - we're staying at Banks Mansion before our Viking cruise late Aug so happy to read we've made a good choice.

I second the above. Unfortunately the luggage storage at the pier closes early - 4:30pm - so using a hotel or sending it on to the airport are the only two viable options. The big advantage of the airport service is that you are not forced to return to the hotel you drop your bags at, but instead can go anywhere and do anything - so e.g. if you want to go for dinner at a specific resto that isn't near the pier, you don't have to backtrack there to get your bags.

 

Also, without bags the SkyTrain is even easier to use - which pretty much saves you the cost of the bag transfer right there! $2.75pp to YVR after 6:30pm, and with the rush of cruise pax long gone by the time your flight rolls around I'd be very comfortable arriving only 2 hours pre-flight even for a US-bound flight.

 

If you don't have particular plans in mind, consider a HOHO - you'll see a good chunk of the city, can get off at attractions you want to actually visit, and since your bags are taken care of you don't need to worry about the lack of luggage storage onboard.

For one couple in our group, Sending it on to the airport would be great as their flight is 10p back to DC. However the remaining four of us aren't flying back to the states until next morning and we're staying at a hotel in Richmond. Is our only alternative to have a downtown hotel hold our luggage as we plan to tour Vancouver and have dinner before everyone goes their separate ways? Also for a 7:30am flight to DEN on Sunday morning in June, how early do we need to be at the airport?

Thank you both for responding. I think we will purchase our wine at the store across from the Denali Princess Lodge as we do not stop in Anchorage. We ride the train from Talkeetna to Whittier and board the ship. Thanks again.

Can always get great info from folks on cruise critic.

We are on the same cruise but doing Explorer rather than Connoisseur land tour. Sled Dog in Denali does have a good selection of wine as well as a growler bar for local beer tasting if interested.

Hi Pam!! Great Minds think alike! :)

 

I'm doing my first 2 riverboat cruises in April 2016...Southern Holland and Belgium then Northern Holland. Doing a B2B on 2 different lines...first one with AMA Waterways then second one with Avalon Waterways. It would have been great doing a Aug/Sept 2016 riverboat cruise together... but I'm booked for another Med/TA cruise with Mary Lou...Chris...Ginny and possibly Sarah (Aussie cruise friend) too in Nov/Dec. Therefore the AMS to BUD for me has to wait until 2017.

 

Which riverboat company are you doing the AMS to BUD with?

 

Since I'm a solo cruiser now...I'm doing the ...whoever gives me the Best Price routine. AMA and Avalon have great reviews and they offered me the Best Options for 2016.

 

This solo supplement business really hurts the pocketbook! For those who don't know ...a solo cruiser whether it's riverboat or ocean cruising... a solo has to pay for 2...unless you get a solo supplement discount break...not the usual...depends on how the cruise is selling. I'm now looking for the best "Solo" offers for a AMS to BUD riverboat cruise in 2017.

 

Happy cruising and let me know how you liked your riverboat experience.

 

Pat

We will have to compare notes as assuming we love River cruising, Christmas markets and Holland/Belgium are on our list. We are doing Viking this time so we'll see how that works out.

Sounds like a fun group for your TA.... I know Sarah as well. Hope Ginny will be able to join you. No TA's for us this year with a 2 week family Alaska cruise tour and fall river cruise plus extended post cruise trip. Haven't planned 2017 as of yet as it looks like we may have some family weddings coming up;)

Hi Pat,

Too bad you aren't looking to do Amsterdam - Budapest in 2016, you could join us late Aug-Mid September[emoji3]

Pam

We did both on different days. If you really like wine, then do the wine tour. They do not give you a sample like they do here in North America. It is a big glass of wine and by the time we left our fourth winery, we were all feeling quite happy. There is a chocolate shop close by the wineries that is definitely worth a stop in to visit. Best chocolates I have ever tasted.

 

The other tour was interesting, but very windy, lots of stairs to climb to get the view, but to be honest I enjoyed the winery tour more. Pretty towns.

We'll be visiting Cape Town in April and doing a winery tour. Do you remember the name of the chocolate shop.?? ... We'd love to sample some local chocolate.

Any feedback on this cabin ? Christmas/grad gift for my DS and his DGF in March doing W Caribbean out of NOLA.

Is the cabin convenient, noisy or is the view straight blocked by life boats?

They are foodies - how are the specialty restaurants?

Any suggestions or recent reviews in SOTS in general?

Thanks

We were on the port corner aft balcony during sail away from Bergen on that cruise. Would love to see a close up of that 2nd to last shot if possible.

Could you email it to me?

Thanks

John Bull and Globaliser, perfect info!!

Various options, but I think the simplest & easiest is:

 

10 minute walk from hotel to Westminster tube station, it's opposite Big Ben.

Take a Circle line tube from there to Liverpool Street station. That's "Liverpool Street", not "Liverpool". Tube trains run every few minutes.

At Liverpool Street take a regular local train (not tube) to White Hart Lane rail station. Trains on this route run every 15 minutes (every 30 minutes on sundays).

The stadium is close by.

 

Alternatively, from Westminster tube station a Jubilee line tube (direction of Stanmore) just one stop to Green Park then switch to the Victoria line (direction of Walthamstow Central)) to Seven Sisters. From there a regular local train to White Hart Lane station or walk - but it's about a 30 minute walk.

 

Buses will take forever, and a taxi will cost an arm & a leg.

 

Are you sure of your date & time for the match???????????????

The schedule on most websites shows the only two Tottenham (Spurs) home games in August have been switched to sunday afternoons. (Schedules do get switched for TV coverage)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fixtures.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/9337195/Tottenham-Hotspur-fixtures-for-2014-15-Premier-League-season.html

http://www1.skysports.com/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/fixtures-results

 

Tube map at

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/standard-tube-map.pdf

 

train times (not tube trains) at

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

 

Stadium info at

http://www.stadiumguide.com/whitehartlane/

 

JB :)

As usual, you are a wealth of info... And correct.. I forget the game was switched, fortunately my DH knows the right day and I did put it correctly on our itinerary. How long do you figure it should take us to get to Liverpool St station! We'll want to time it correctly since as you mentioned, the trains only run every 30 min!!

We're also seeing Everton in Liverpool- do you know anything about how to get to their stadium??

Thanks so much!!!

Pam

What day and time ?

5p Saturday

We will be attending a football game while we're visiting London later this month. What is the best way to get from Doubletree Westminster to the Stadium??

Everton v Chelsea is at 5.30 pm on Saturday 30th August, and will not change because it's live on TV. But unless you're ship's sailing very late indeed, or stopping overnight, you'll miss it.

 

Chelsea v Leicester on 23rd August at 3 pm will almost certainly not change, because the TV games have been chosen and this isn't one of them. Neither side is in the Europa Cup so there won't be postponements on that score.

 

In both cases, make sure you have a ticket before you get there, and plan to get there at least an hour before kick-off. It will be busy, and you'll want to get the atmosphere anyway. Both games will be sold out, and it's illegal to re-sell tickets either at the ground or anywhere else, so there's no reliable second-hand internet market. I'd contact the club early, before the tickets go on general sale (if indeed they do - they may be sold only to members of the club's loyalty scheme) to plead your case.

 

And if you're at a loose end on the 23rd, the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final is at Wembley from 12.30 (main event kicks off at 3 pm). And on the 30th, Burnley play Manchester United in the Premier League at Turf Moor, Burnley, kick-off 12.15 - it's about 50 miles from Liverpool. You will be able to get a ticket for either of those games.

Thanks for the advice. Mao far no luck on the Chelsea - Leicester game but will continue watching it.

Everton v Chelsea is at 5.30 pm on Saturday 30th August, and will not change because it's live on TV. But unless you're ship's sailing very late indeed, or stopping overnight, you'll miss it.

 

Chelsea v Leicester on 23rd August at 3 pm will almost certainly not change, because the TV games have been chosen and this isn't one of them. Neither side is in the Europa Cup so there won't be postponements on that score.

 

In both cases, make sure you have a ticket before you get there, and plan to get there at least an hour before kick-off. It will be busy, and you'll want to get the atmosphere anyway. Both games will be sold out, and it's illegal to re-sell tickets either at the ground or anywhere else, so there's no reliable second-hand internet market. I'd contact the club early, before the tickets go on general sale (if indeed they do - they may be sold only to members of the club's loyalty scheme) to plead your case.

 

And if you're at a loose end on the 23rd, the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final is at Wembley from 12.30 (main event kicks off at 3 pm). And on the 30th, Burnley play Manchester United in the Premier League at Turf Moor, Burnley, kick-off 12.15 - it's about 50 miles from Liverpool. You will be able to get a ticket for either of those games.

Thanks for all your great info. We depart Liverpool at 10pm. I assume that's enough time to get back to port if we just grab a taxi?

We see hospitality tix available. What are those?

We are hoping to see a game while we are in London the weekend of Aug 23 and also when we are In Liverpool on the 30th.

Now that the TV schedule has been released, are the game dates and times set or is it possible they will change again. We are trying to make plans in London around the Chelsea game. How much time should we allow to get there from our Westminster area hotel?

Also in Liverpool , what's the best way to get to the stadium from the port?

For both locations, should we plan to arrive just before the game?

Pam

Hi

Does anyone have experience of this cabin or photos?

I would love to have some idea of how it is in reality as we have booked it

 

Deb

 

 

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Deb,

When are you booked on this as this is the cabin we have for TA in 2015?

Hope all is well

Pam

Hi Probably your best bet for a Premiership ticket would be a Fulham home match. They even advertise on London transport :-) and certainly seem to be the easiest option for tourists. Good luck with your endeavours.

 

My hubby is a Liverpool fan and we did manage to get tickets as part of a two night hotel stay VIP package.

Thanks for the recommendation!!

Great info from all - thanks so much. My DH is going to "practice" as this is on his "list"!of things we should do while on our trip.

Thank you both!

Is there a general website where we can see all of our options or do we need to look at each team individually for schedule and tickets?

We'll be in London from Fri, Aug 22-27 and Liverpool Sat Aug 30. We are interested in seeing at least one game in the London area plus hopefully while we're in Liverpool as well.

We've heard that even though a game is scheduled for Sat, they mean switch it to Sunday at the last minute which would raise havoc with our plans especially if we prepurchase theater tickets.

Is that the case or is there a firm schedule? When and how is the best way to purchase tix?

Thanks

Cheers!

In August 2013 we used Gordon Ross for our tour to see Edinburg Castle and then our drive over to St. Andrews...we had 6 people and this was an all day event...this was our schedule:

8:30 pick up at ship dock

9:30-11:30 visit Edinburgh Castle, being there at the open/worked very well

11:45 drive to St. Andrews

1:00 arrive St. Andrews/ have light lunch ...we ate sandwiches in the car

3:30 drive to ship

re-board ship no later than 6PM...ship departure required this time

You can purchase the tickets for Edinburgh castle on-line or get a Historic Scotland 5 day pass if you plan to visit other attractions that are on their pass at other ports of call.

I am sure the prices are higher this year but our group paid 380GBP and that included the non refundable deposit of 60GBP...paid through Gordon's PayPal account...our driver was David Frood and he was wonderful.

For our 8/15 cruise we have a tour set up with: http://www.starfish-taxis.com.

We have arranged an itinerary that allows us to tour St Andrews, have lunch on the coast, then go to Edinburgh for some time on the Royal Mile. We will then be returned to port to tender back.

Thank you.both! I have sent off inquiries to both of them and look forward to a response.