fabnfortysomething

amsterdam is a major hub so should be ok

are you tendering-particularly in kirkwall? that can add extra time till you actually get ashore and cut into day a few years ago [admittetly on a different cruise line and private excursion] the line back for tender back to ship was very long and cruiseline excursions had to jin same line so limited time to explore on your own

the train is the same one for both independent and cruiseline passengers all cruiselines block book seats so can sometimes be difficult to find seats independently especially if more than 1 ship in port however its worth persevering as the cost can be half of that of cruiseline and as you are on same train they cant pull that old scare tactic that ship may leave without you our experience several years ago was that a member of roll call co ordinated seats and reserved a central carriage for us this meant when stopped at waterfall half way up we were directly opposite platform whereas carriages front and back of train were in tunnel and passengers had to make their way down carriages to exit-and yes those were the ones reserved by cruiseline the other difference was that the cruiseline trip included a waffle at the hotel at penultimate stop before Myrdal there is only single track with a cross over point half way up the preceeding train was delayed coming back down so we waited for 20 minutes at this cross over point-good views though when we arrived at hotel stop there was a crowd waiting to board having had their overpriced waffle however they werent allowed to get on until train was on return journry 20 minutes later it was late May but at that elevation there was snow and ice piled up on the platform! we were feeling very smug we had booked independently!

we live in UK so pretty used to wet weather and my husband also uses a mobility scooter you can buy clear waterproof covers for the front console which will protect starter etc from rain battery being under the seat is less likely to get a soaking but best to get waterproof covering for the rider which will also cover battery my husband has a poncho type which covers his knees waterproof trousers and overshoes which fit over his regular footwear he uses a rucksack type arrangement which fits over back of seat to store all this stuff until required!

a few years ago we did regional train with no reservations-what a mistake we were one of first at Berlin station with our cases but as train pulled in people surged past us to get on train ahead of us we ended up sitting on our cases after lugging them up the stairs on train for most of journey to Rostock where we has a hotel booked took local train to Warnemunde next day to embark be warned although there is a wheelchair accessible route we couldnt find it and ended up lugging our cases down and up steps to get across rail to cruise ships

ring MSC they will give you a code for discount parking in Southampton nearest embarkation

we are sailing with MSC and got code from cruiseline Cunard last year we got a code for cps depends which port the cruisline uses

as the title suggests are there Gala nights on cruises less than 7 days? ours is a 5 day from Southampton UK in May we are treating Daughter Son In law and our 2 Grandaughters aged 4 and 2 and wondering whether to pack dressy clothes for evenings

Having visited Flam and Geiranger they are well worth seeing-we went ed May but sail in/out spectacular

you may want to ask this on Europe ports of call for more specific geogrhical info However Civitiveccia would be accessible via taxi or mobility scooter along road from port into town-no pavement'sidewalk so on road its a quiet seaside village but interesting if you dont want to head into Rome Ibiza-similar Marseilles-are you actually docking Toulon?

no same day but will have a few hours to kill

we are cruising out of Southampton end of May our boarding time is 3pm we want to travel down earlier in case of traffic issues so anticipate having a few ideas to kill in Southampton Any suggestions for keeping active toddlers aged 3 and 2 entertained in the area?

thanks for suggestion However we would never be asked to leave the main pools as the purpose of my question was to check if it was allowed in the first place apparantly P and O are one of the few companies that allow them However as I mentioned further up the page it may be a moot point as she may well be potty trained by May

however swim nappies/diapers are sold for a reason and they are aloowed in public swimming baths

this is a cruise out of UK and sailing within Europe

thanks for replies Grandaughter will be a week short of her 2nd birthday at time of cruise in May but already showing interest in the potty as she copies her big sister hopefully will be potty trained by then

Hi we will be sailing with grandaughters aged 3 and almost 2 in June some cruiselines allow swim diapers-how does MSC stand on this

if you head to the Florida ports of call on this forum you may get more info there last year a friend arrnaged shared shuttle transportation from Orlando area hotel to Port Canaveral-I cant remember the company but there are several private companies that offer this service either as on a seat by seat basis on a bus or a completely private transportation in a limo if you can cancel MSC transport you may find this a better option and at least you will be able to plan!

I discovered Cunard policy re mobility scooters only allowed in accessible cabins ahead of our back to back transatlantic on Qm2 2022 I enquired about hiring mobility scoooter with scootaround and was informed they couldnt supply unless to a diabled cabin -in the end we bought a rollator and took it with us QM2 does have a disproportionate number of diabled cruisers on transatlantic compared to other itineraries and cruise lines However a major criticism of Cunard is their special assistance form which tends to get lost in transit we got a telling off this year when our names werent on the list of needing assistance despite me sending back form several months earlier after a written compalint to Cunard they ackowledged there were issues with existing system and say a new system will be in place in future

hi the organiser booked directly through Flam railroad company same as NCL but without added mark up costs

another thing to consider when booking Flam rail at the waterfall stop only the middle coaches will be directly outside platform-other ends of train will be in the tunnel and you will have to make your way along to get off platform-check this before you book/board

had to laugh at your description of the toddler looking bootfaced I have 2 grandaughters aged 3 and 1 eldest would break into a grin from an early age as soon as you pointed a camera at her junior looks bootfaced in most-we reckon its the weight of her chubby cheeks that make smiling difficult! we are treating them and their parents to a 5 day cruise next year[MSC who status match] so going to be rnteresting!]

to me one of the joys of a back to back is not having to disembark and enjoying empty ship sitting in atrium and watching first passengers embark its a real pain when port requires zero count and you have to hang around until allowed back on board

my husband isnt a full time wheelchair user but has walking difficulties even with wheelchair assistance airports are so stressful we have decided to just go cruise from home ports from now on we did QM2 back to back southampton to new york last year and loved it-we were in standard balcony cabin

sailed QM2 August 2022 with drinks package and never had to sign-just hand over card Sailed Queen Victoria last month with drinks package and again never had to sign