Turtles06

Good suggestion! We recently did just that. The Red Cap took us (and our luggage of course) directly from the train up to the street and to the taxi stand, and got us into a taxi. They will call ahead from the train to the Red Caps at Penn Station, who should meet you on the platform in NY when the train arrives. If they aren't there, just ask any Red Cap you see to have some Red Caps sent down for you. The Red Caps work for tips; they provide a great service. Please tip generously!

“Easiest” in the circumstances you describe imho would not include taking the subway. Taxis or a car service would be easiest. You are just going from Penn Station to your hotel. Just know that there will be traffic.

Well, obviously, three months ago, when I posted that link, the January calendar was populated with information or I wouldn't have posted it. And, as I noted, nothing had been posted for February.

Milk brands may vary not only by embarkation port, but also by ports along the way. For example, during the 23 days we spent aboard the Gem this winter, we took on incredibly delicious chocolate milk from the Dominican Republic. (Just thinking about it makes me smile.) And, depending on the source, the cartons can be educational and reveal something of the local culture (in terms of messaging). In Panama, having run out of skim milk, we took on little cartons of whole milk that had some interesting nutritional advice on them about breast milk ("la leche materna").

Greetings! My wife and I are veteran cruisers considering our first cruise on Viking Ocean. I've read through this helpful thread from the posts beginning after the re-start, and thank the "Viking experts" for all the information you have provided. I have a couple of questions that I did not see addressed above: 1. We don't cruise for the entertainment, but especially on a 17-night cruise (which is what we're considering), good entertainment is a plus. Most of Viking's cruises are port-intensive; the one we are looking at is RT from LA to Hawaii, so there are many sea days in a row going to and coming from the islands. We love sea days, but I'm wondering whether the evening entertainment on such an itinerary would be different from the more typical port-intensive cruise (since guest performers could not come and go; or perhaps that does not happen on Viking at all). 2. The evening dress code says "no jeans" (except in the World Cafe). Does this just mean blue jeans? Our standard dinner cruise (and land travel) wear is typically nice, clean black jeans with a nice sweater, blouse, or other top. Is this acceptable for women on Viking? Any information, thoughts, and advice would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Thank you, I appreciate the firsthand report!

It's not true that you aren't "supposed to open the door" when the ship is underway. Imho, there's no downside here. Once it's dark, having your drapes open when your cabin lights are on gives you no outside view, just reflections on the glass. And if you have your cabin lights off, there's no problem opening your drapes. In fact, the darkness on the bow is a huge UPSIDE of forward-facing balconies, since it makes for great stargazing (weather permitting of course). A few years ago, we even saw the Southern Cross in the Northern Hemisphere in the wee hours before dawn, as we neared the Panama Canal. ------ Handheld cell phone photo, from our forward-facing balcony on the Gem a couple of months ago (and even better in person)

We've sailed a number of times (including on transatlantics) in forward-facing balconies on the slant of the hump. We did not find the wind bothersome, and we prefer to see where we are going. You also get a nice view of the bridge wings.

We always travel with a travel clothesline, like the one below, though ours has both suction cups and velcro on the ends, so it can be attached pretty much anywhere. Fits in a small zip lock bag. No worrying about what a ship or hotel may have in terms of a clothesline (or whether, as a short person I can even reach it). 🙂 https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/travel-clothesline

The question is in the thread title. 🙂 I've seen photos and videos of the staterooms, and it does appear there's an outlet over the nightstand on the left side of the bed (as you face the bed), but there is not enough detail in the photos/videos I've seen to know for sure. Any information would be appreciated, thank you!

😮😲😮

FWIW, this "official tourism guide" for ColOmbia (folks, please note the correct spelling 🙂) says this on its page called "Your guide to Caribbean cruises that stop in Colombia": What do you need to travel on a cruise? Have all your documents ready before you board, including your passport, visa, vaccination certificates and any other paperwork you may require. Passport You need a valid passport to visit Colombia and passports must be valid for at least six months after the date your cruise docks in the country. https://colombia.travel/en/encanto/your-guide-caribbean-cruises-stop-in-colombia#:~:text=You need a valid passport,cruise docks in the country.

@Ine thanks so much for the suggestion to email them. I did so, and they've just replied that showing the Rotterdam docked at Waterland was a "typo" on their cruise calendar, and that the Rotterdam will be docking at the Main Cruise Terminal! (And they've corrected the calendar on their web site.) Thanks again, @Ine Very good news!

Here in the U.S., at various points since the pandemic began, there have been supply chain issues with getting distilled water. Sometimes it's been plentiful, and at others the shelves have been bare.

We saw the Ceremony of the Keys last Fall. I agree, not to be missed. Spine tingling to be in the Tower at night, with just a small group of people. And amazing to see this 700-year-old Ceremony. It's at 9:30pm (for about 35 minutes), and not by "invitation only," but rather by getting tickets in advance, via the web site below. Only 50 tickets per night are given out (nominal fee of £5.00 per ticket), and they sell out very quickly. Those interested should mark their calendars for the date of ticket release for their date(s) and be ready to jump on the web site. (See the link below for booking instructions.) https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/ceremony-of-the-keys/#gs.t4okjr

I thought Lisbon IS in Portugal. 🙃

My Aunt also saw the OBC of Camelot. She had the cast album, too, and I fell in love with it. I think I wore out her vinyl. 🙂 Listening to that show was one of the things that got me hooked on musicals. The album cover itself was a gatefold (I think that's the correct word) and was really beautiful. I've downsized my own vinyl collection, but have kept that album cover (along with some others that are meaningful to me).

Glad you’re all booked. If I were in NY now, I’d see Sweeney and Camelot. 😊

I know you want to get the mystery solved as to why these ports have disappeared from your NCL shorex options, and you said you wanted to see the NCL options to get ideas for private tours, but in the meantime... If you head over to the Northern Europe forum and do a search for each of those ports, you'll find ideas and recommended private tour operators. I've been to all of those ports except Geiranger. Alesund can be a nice DIY day, taking the "city train" (which isn't a real train) around town and up to the Mount Aksla viewpoint, and then back down, and wander around on your own. Akureyri is the jumping off point for the classic "Lake Myvatn" tour, which I highly recommend; a fabulous day. Private tour operators available for that. One option from Isafjordur is to visit the Dynjandi Waterfall. Good luck and enjoy your cruise! (Alesund, from Mount Aksla, by turtles06)

Also, we’re not on a B2B.

We're booked on the Rotterdam's 21-day Voyage of the Midnight Sun & Norse Legends, July 1-22, leaving out of Amsterdam. There are two individual segments within this cruise -- the 14-day Voyage of the Midnight Sun and the 7-day Norse Legends -- that can be booked individually. (HAL told me that means our cruise is called a "Collector Cruise," but apologies if that's not the correct nomenclature.) The turnaround day for those two segments is July 15 (also in Amsterdam). I'm wondering what we can expect that day. I assume that when we embark on July 1, we'll be given a sea pass/key card that is good for our entire cruise of 21 days. Assuming that's the case, and since we won't be in the U.S. and no "zero count" will be needed on July 15, will we be able to just come and go that day as though it were a regular port call for us (making sure of course to be back on board by the deadline)? Thanks for any info!

On the Gem, when we ordered Prosecco, which was on the wine list, often we would be given a cheap French sparkling wine instead. One wine steward even poured it into my wife’s glass without stating it wasn’t Prosecco. When I suggested to him that if he didn’t have what was ordered, he should let the guests know before he poured something else, he seemed not to understand the problem.

Are the folks on your Roll Call experiencing the same issues? You can call NCL’s shorex desk and see what they say.

Thanks. American credit card issuers are still way behind Europe in issuing true chip and pin cards. I first learned about such cards the hard way back in 2005, when the credit card that I’d used to purchase train tix in advance from Paris to Reims would not work in the ticket-retrieval machine. Turned out I needed a pin, which my card did not have. Fortunately, I was able to wait in line for a human clerk at the station and get my tickets.

Thanks again, Ine. It did look to me from my research that public transportation wasn't a good option, I appreciate your confirming that.