Clairescurtains

I have been getting alerts on my phone from the Hub app reminding me of dinner reservations. I am not on a cruise unfortunately and haven't been since December. I can ignore them but wondered if I was the only one.

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Do you know if everyone was given the complementary wifi minutes? SO it seems it didn't work for you to use it for Verifly? I'm trying to help others on the FB page for Pride cruises. Some people want to use the ship wifi on the day before debarkation to do the proctored covid test to fly back to the US. Sounds like the ship's wifi won't be able to handle that task?
 

Thanks for that information, not good news but forewarned is forearmed.😬

Thanks for all the info Maryann, I hope you really enjoyed yourself. I am so looking forward to our cruises starting in July. 

19 minutes ago, Grandmaanne7 said:

Thanks to both responders.  Clairescurtains, I think we're on the same cruise (Carnival Pride July 31) and yes, we do stop in la Rochelle.  Looks like I'll be researching that area instead.

Yes, that's the one. I have found the website I showed above to be quite helpful with our planning on this cruise. I like small group tours and wandering so this just seems the perfect wandering place to me. I hope what I visualize works out.😜

Hope you can get some answers from here. https://www.whatsinport.com/Bordeaux.htm.

I don't know what ship you are on but the cruise I am on is actually porting in La Rochelle and we are using a shuttle into town and planning on wandering around there.  

Please keep posting, there are lots of us on the ship in the next few months and are dying to hear all about it.

We sailed from Dover several years ago, I don't really remember much about it so it must have been fine. If it was really bad or really wonderful it would have stuck in my mind.

The views were great.

I was able to order the chef's table this morning at the old rate. Last night it said it was sold out.🤔

Oh well, hope this picky eater😊 will enjoy it.

4 hours ago, marazul said:

Whatever thdy call it, cruise ships are canceling their stops there. 

Do you have any idea if they are substituting another port or just creating a sea day?

5 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

I have a cruise booked under my VIFP number and during the 50th Birthday offer we were able to get the cruise just before it with the same cabin under my husband's VIFP number.  (Wasn't listed for 50% off under mine.)  Both cruises will be paid for with the same credit card.  Do I have to do anything before boarding so as to not having to move during turn around day?

Do you have the same cabin for both cruises? If you do then there should be no reason to move. Everyone's advice about contacting guest services just so they know is a good idea.

27 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

Do you remember how long it took to receive that refund in regards to the actual cruise date?  Also did it come in the form of a check as others have stated?  Thanks!

It was a check, I don't remember how long it took. I was very surprised to get it since I thought it was non refundable due to a cancelled and re-booked cruise. One of many.🙄 

I was amazed that we got a refund for the approx 25$ of OBC that we had left from a December cruise. We mostly used ours on drinks and bingo cards.

Thanks everyone for your help, this is  just the information I was needing.

5 hours ago, edinburgher said:

For Bordeaux we dock in La Rochelle which seems to be a couple of hours from Bordeaux the city but perhaps is in Bordeaux the region.

Sorry but la Rochelle is not in the Bordeaux Region, but actually on the Atlantic Coast and hugely popular with "yachties" as it can be fairly windy there. There is an older port but the newer  marina is one of the largest in Europe.

 

WHY NOT STAY IN la ROCHELLE INSTEAD OF SPENDING THAT MANY HOURS TRAVELLING TO AND BACK FROM BORDEAUX?

 

We were only there once, docked a bit of a distance from la Rochelle town and with no ship shuttle buses  shared a taxi with another couple from the port to a main square near the bus station on the edge of the old town which the driver had assured us was a good starting point.  And it was.

 

We first went around the wonderful market, wandered a bit in the old town, looked at the big clock, then had lunch.  Thnere are many many bars, cafes and restaurants around the town to choose from.After that we went by the towers at the port area and took the little water bus across to the other side.  (it shuttles back and forth between the two sides). Bit of a busmans holiday going on a wee boat trip, but it was a pretty little ride as it ended by going through some of the huge marina.  Once on the other side, we walked back, stopping to visit the Automaton Museum which also has a Miniatures museum attached. These were quite fun to watch.  Continued walking further on from there until we came to one of the little bridges which we crossed to get back to the older part of town once again and the square where we had started from.Tthere were taxis there and we once again shared with a couple who were also headed back to the ship.

 

It was a really nice but low key day as we never like to overfill our days.  La Rochelle is actually a holiday destination and a very pleasant town to while away a few hours. There should be lots of info and photos online.

 

If willing to use a rental car, it is also possible to go from la Rochelle to  nearby ile de Re- a famously chic and fashionable holiday spot for French celebrities and others who can afford to stay there. It is famously "casual" and folks get around on  bicycles.  We did look at going there but without a rental car it was too complicated so we stayed in town..  Access is via a toll bridge

Thanks, that sound like a perfect day to me, I like low key.

7 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

It was in reply to OP in post #4.
This thread is quite confusing. It’s in “French Ports” and yet here I am discussing Kotor

 

Indeed it is! 😱🤦🏻‍♂️😳 Oh my! Thanks for correcting. 

I asked a similar question on the British Isle segment and I knew you were replying to that question. I appreciate your reply wherever it is.

BTW for those that follow I found a site discussing many ports with the type info I was needing. I don't want to end up in CC jail so I won't post a link but the name is  something like what is in cruise ports.

For Bordeaux we dock in La Rochelle which seems to be a couple of hours from Bordeaux the city but perhaps is in Bordeaux the region.🤔

8 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Kotar is totally walkable walled city and the city walls are also walkable. Our ship docked a very short walk from the city gates. You itinerary indicates you will tendered so I assume that will take you to the same dock by the city gates.
 

You might be able to just connect with a tour guide at the tourist bureau. A boat trip into the bay to tour Our Lady of the Rocks is also something you may be able to arrange ont the spot. You might want to search on Kotar tourism and also visit Trip Advisor to see about these suggestions. 
 

Perhaps the best part of cruising Kotar is the arrival. I would plan for a very early morning in order to be up on an open deck forward at sunrise. The views coming through the bays from the Adriatic looking in towards Kotar are spectacular. 
 

Barcelona - I think La Sagrada Familia is a must visit. If you plan to visit this and see more than the exterior, I strongly recommend going online for advance tickets. Alternatively, look online for a guided Gaudi Tour that includes skip the line tickets for La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell as well as visits to Casa Mila and Casa Batlló. 

Thanks so much, that is exactly what I needed to know.

Unfortunately we won't visit Barcelona this trip, we have enjoyed it very much in the past.

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Regarding taxis, you do not need a “lady” to get you a taxi.  There are usually taxis parked outside the terminal and you can simply ask a driver how much to go to Honfleur or wherever.  Some used to charge 25 Euros per person for Honfleur which is expensive but it is their taxi.
 

Whether you are comfortable doing Bordeaux or other places on your own is a personal decision.  We have been doing Europe on our own for about forty years and are still here 🙂. Tomorrow we are again off to Europe where we plan on driving around the Czech Republic and parts of Germany and Poland.  It will just be me, DW, and our phones (for GPS).   We know others who are reticent to get off a ship anywhere unless they are on an excursion.  I sometimes think it takes more guts to be on a tour with 50 cruisers than yo go off your myself :).  Waiting on a bus while 40 others go to the bathroom is enough to keep me away from bus tours.

 

Hank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These ladies were such a help, speaking English and making it civilized, unlike the hordes of drivers accosting everyone in the Caribbean.

I totally agree, large busses are the pits. I must not have phrased my question well. I haven't toured Europe much, when on a river cruise one docked right in towns, cruise ships could be minutes or hours away from the things one wants to see. Sometimes there are shuttles busses, sometimes there are industrial ports that prohibit walking.

11 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

Giverny is about 90 miles / 1 hour 45 mins from Le Havre (note the spelling), so it'd be pretty expensive by taxi, even a pre-booked one.

 

Consider renting a car - the route is pretty simple (although you could make it scenic by following the Seine for part of the way, at the expense of making it longer and more complicated)

 

Or more economically you can get to Monet's garden from Le Havre by train. 

Take the Paris-bound train to Vernon. 

The station at Vernon is only about 3 miles from Giverny, and you have the choice of travelling from Vernon station to Monet's garden by bus or taxi or - in season - a little tourist road-train.

 

Sorry, decades since I went to Bordeaux, and it wasn't on a cruise ship.

 

Can I suggest that for maximum exposure you start a new thread with Giverny and Bordeaux in the title/s 

 

JB 🙂

 

Thanks so much, I had not even considered the train. I have looked into private tours but hey are quite expensive and I have had no luck getting others to share the cost of a van.

So nice to see you reply. Your memory is much better than mine. We only went to Murano, not Burano so that would have to be it. It has been ten long and busy years, hope you are doing well.

This is what J Heald said about bringing wine aboard, not necessarily about Dover but all the ports. In the past you were able to bring liquor aboard at the ports so not sure the "as usual" will apply. We will see when we get there. 

My sister and I [mid 70s] are cruising this summer and porting in Edinburg, Kirkwall, Skye, LaCoruna, Porto, Lisbon. Bilboa, Zeebrugge,and Amsterdam. I am wondering if it is possible to do any of these ports easily on your own. We are both pretty active but not to the point of mountain climbing or zip lining.😁

We have a couple of private tours planned but would like to not be on a big bus every day. 

I have been to several of the ports but she has not seen any of these places. 

Any advice would be appreciated.

We will be in LeHarve and Bordeaux on a cruise this summer, when I was in LeHarve several years ago there were ladies at the port assisting folks with cabs/drivers to various locations. We were able to get a cab/guide to Honfleur which was great. I wonder if this service is still there? I would love to travel to Giverny from there.

Is it possible to do Bordeaux on your own? I have not been there and don't know how easily one can get to "town" and if it is even possible to enjoy walking around without a tour.

Any advice would be wonderful, thanks.

How far in advance should I book transfers? We are traveling on CCL Pride from Dover 7/22 and will spend a few days pre-cruise in London. I would like to get the transfers booked in advance but I wonder if 5-6 months might be a little too much, perhaps three? Any advice is appreciated. 

We went to Hon Fleur from LeHarve several years ago, there were French ladies, sort of a welcome group, arranging the group of vans helping folks to go where they wanted. We told them what we wanted, they called over a driver t take the 6 of us in a van, the driver spoke pretty good English and took us, then he picked us up at an arranged time, it is too long ago to remember the cost but it was reasonable. 

What does the cheers package have to do with anything?

I am dealing with a similar situation with a cruise for next summer. My DH is having health issues, we are going to try to do our December cruise sort of as a test to see how he manages before deciding on him going on the European one next July.

We did a similar cruise years ago on the Magic but [28 days] in an inside room.😜

We are doing the Legend next Oct, earlier than your cruise and we chose 7250. We had that room the last Legend cruise to Alaska an we liked it. enough to choose it again.