BuckeyeMark

Having a little trouble on vy. no for May 18, 2023.  We'd like the 9 from Flam to Myrdal (spelling that right?).  The site comes up with a lot of Norwegian despite Google's attempts to translate it but I think it says "this is 120 days out - can't book yet."  
Am I doing this right?

True story on another line besides Celebrity ... as we got ready to depart DW made a thorough search of the in room safe and up against the "lip" in the front, under the felt pad, she felt something resting there.  IT WAS A LARGE DIAMOND RING!

I kid you not: someone had left a diamond ring in the safe! We took it to the purser's desk and she looked quite relieved. I think there had been some calls and discussion about the whereabouts of said ring! Wow. Now we're disappointed when we don't "strike diamonds" in our safe! LOL

10 hours ago, hallasm said:

For information @little britain @BuckeyeMark.
I try to answer specific questions in this Forum when they are asked, but I do not check specific times for when it is possible to book the train and therefore cannot promise to tag anyone! Available sites for booking the Flåm Train are Norways Best  and Vy,no

You must check yourself or cooperate with someone in your Roll Calls.

Hallasm you do such a great job on this forum ... you mean you have something better to do than check the Flam RR schedule every day?!  LOL  I'll keep checking it.

22 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I'm also in June. I'll try to remember to tag you.

I'm in the middle of May tag me too please!

18 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

May I ask what the big wood-framed square in the center of the picture is? It looks a little like a scoreboard... is it a screen? What is it?

5 hours ago, hallasm said:

I have somewhat bad experience with the regularity of American trains - but also longer distances.
Flåmsbanan (Flåm Railway) is in general “down to the minute”.

It's a good time for me to say "thank you" to all who have helped so much with my Norway cruise planning but especially to HALLASM.  You're just the best!  Thank you thank you thank you!

This may sound almost insulting - but please remember it comes from an American viewpoint - does the train run on time? I know some train system in Europe are legendary for being "down to the minute." Is this that kind of train?

How many passengers can the Flam railway take at one time?  And looking at the sked above if we leave at 9:30 we should be "home" at 11:30, yes?

We do have a private excursion booked just for us so I can slide that down a little if I have to.

We dock at 8. Will we be able to make the 9 AM train? I'd think an hour leeway there is enough time and the station is so close to where we dock.  

Then, we have an 11:30 excursion from Flam. We'll be back in time for that, yes?

Didn't read the entire thread but I'll check in here to say we did the North Atlantic Sea Command Bunker tour and it was excellent. Can't recommend enough. It's called the Western Approaches Museum and we loved it.

https://liverpoolwarmuseum.co.uk/

Yup, sign me up for all of this! Very interested if a RIB tour is gonna necessitate traction the next day!!

Also OP - if you could post links to all your tours that would be super helpful. Thank you!

Anybody done Norway and tried the Internet?  How is it in the fjords and ports in Norway?

Did you need to do anything special to drive in Norway? Is a valid US driver's license all you need?  Is this the emobility car place you used - https://emob.no/en/?

17 minutes ago, hallasm said:

In my opinion, no difference - check when there are available tickets for the train

I don't think we can book until within the six month window.  We're a little far out still. 

Do you recommend we book this ourselves or do it as an excursion through the cruise line? Any reason not to book it ourselves?

We will be in Flam from 8:00AM to 4:00PM next May.  Should we go immediately from the ship and do the railroad and save other sites like Stegastein for later in the day or do those first and ride the railroad after lunch?  Any reason to prefer one over the other?

1 hour ago, fsufancc said:

Don't forget YouTube as a resource.  Tons of videos about each specific port stop.  

This is an excellent suggestion.  There are some really high quality YouTubers out there!  Can I ask that if you find a video or two that is helpful you post here for the rest of us? Thanks!

19 minutes ago, 3boyz2keep said:

Love an AeroPress! How do you get hot water for yours? Just thinking it wouldn't be great to walk up to OceanView with the AeroPress and then back to room. I like the idea of bringing my AeroPress though!

You can have a carafe of hot water delivered by room service.  Some rooms have a kettle or a Keurig-style coffee maker and you can get hot water out of that. That's been my go to. 

Or you can take the AeroPress to the OceanView and make a fresh cup of coffee on the spot.  I've done that too.

I do bring a small hand grinder and coffee beans.  Quick grind and ka-bang! Amazing coffee. And the AP turns is very easy to clean - no mess (especially when compared to a French press).

4 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

@BuckeyeMark

We are doing carryon only for our upcoming land/river cruise in Europe. How small is the Aeropress? I couldn't find dimensions/weight on their website. Staying in vacation rentals for 9 days in France and Switzerland, that most likely only have kettles. We are bringing Tasters Choice Dark Roast packets along, but to get a palatable cuppa takes two each!

 

Luckily the river cruise has a 24/7 self-serve coffee/espresso machine, and our Lucerne hotel has a Nespresso in the room. And at last we've reached E+ so we are set for Cafe Al Bacio for next year's Celebrity cruises.

I measured mine.  It is quite small and compact. The AP is a little over 5" long (with the piston-plunger all the way in the tube, which is how you travel with it - fully compressed) and it is about 4" wide at its widest point. It weighs 180 grams. I carry a Dopp kit which holds my AP and assorted other coffee gear easily.

I will warn you now: it makes ridiculously good coffee. It isn't complicated, it isn't hard to use, it's super simple and it just turns out great, smooth coffee.  It also allows you total control over your brew - you decide how long to let it steep, how much coffee to dump in it, etc. Here's the point: you get an AP and you may not care for instant coffee very much after trying an AP!  

This isn't an AP forum so i'll stop with my AP love, but I would be glad to help anybody further who needs more info or recipes on how to brew with it etc.  Message me at m d r 4 4 and then that AT sign and juno and then a dot and the com.

I'll join others in saying making coffee in your room isn't difficult.  Take a look at the AeroPress.  It's a marvelous, compact coffee maker that is very easy to use and clean up is a snap. It's my go to coffee maker and a joy to use and have. It's been on a bunch of cruises with me!  And no, I don't work for them!

10 hours ago, Dreamer68 said:

So, should I continue? I'll share photos from the 4 MDRs including some food choices, the theatre and some show videos (all entertaining, some more than others), the outdoor space and of course Oceanview Café. If people are interested, I can share some photos from the excursions we took (one through Celebrity itself).

Now contemplating between the Constellation and the Ascent for a 2024 Mediterranean cruise... surprisingly hard choice.

 

KEEP THEM COMING!

Carefully researching our ports of call.  We'll be in Flam Sat, May 18, 2024 - 8:00AM to 4:00PM.

Can we do the famous Flam railway to Myrdal before lunch, then go to Stegastein viewpoint, and then go to Borgund Stave church and be back in time? Or is that too much?  And we'll any of that, like Stegastein be closed by roads not clear of snow yet?

Finally, is there a private tour operator who would take me and my group to Stegastein and Borgund that you have used and is reliable?

Thanks!

I'll join in the "ask about the weather" thread here ... we'll be there in mid-May.  What's the weather like in the fjords then? How much snow will we see?

Prayers for you both.  No fun being sick on vacation!

Booking through the cruise line or through a private vendor?