TheOldBear

The site was sort of like a 'Cruse Critic Forum' for photographers, but Amazon has elected to pull the plug despite a 25 year accumulation of user generated content. You have until April 6th to log in and download any content you may have there. Their forums go read-only on April 10th, and the site and all its content, vanishes shortly afterward.

Your hours in the original posting just say 'Arrive Early Morning' - you may want to see if there is a firmer schedule available. Your tour starts downtown at the 'Radisson Blu' hotel? See https://www.visittromso.no/travel/getting-around for local transportation options including city bus schedules. There may be a cruise port shuttle from the terminal to downtown, Taxi service https://www.visittromso.no/travel/getting-around/taxi is another option. We used the ship's tours - but the shuttle service was in place for QM2's visit in November. One thing I thought i was pretty neat was the extensive tunnel network under the city - including multiple roads joined by rotaries. Our guide said it was easier to go under the snow in the winter 😉

You may want to look at the Tromso Wilderness Center https://villmarkssenter.no We visited in November - too early for dog sledding at their main location, but the puppies and dogs were friendly.

Back when ocean liners had steam engines, immigration / passport formalities were performed on board by US Customs officials, similar to the way UK Border officials work on eastbound crossings today.

You are probably better off looking over in the https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/ forum for things relating to Norway. If this is a cruise line sponsored tour, you should also look at the cruise line's forum.

That looks the same as the Britannia room service breakfast menu from the QM2 this past November. We alternated between room service and Kings Court for breakfast - don't know what was offered in Britannia

We were also on board for November’s sailing with the RSC on board. Back in 2019 the ‘Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts was on board for a similar residence.

Probably not a hard limit - not like the need to 'zero' the ship like a New York turn around day. In Southampton [based on prior QM2 visits] in transit passengers have the option of staying onboard, with uninterrupted services. You likely will find that by mid morning [10 AM?] the Purser's desk will be paging you - and even before that your ship's card will no longer open your old stateroom's door. Wherever you decide to wait, you will need to have all your carryon luggage - and your checked bags will be languishing in the terminal's baggage hall.

The Bike Expo web page itself https://gfny.com/nyc-bike-expo-2023-held-may-19-20/ states that it will be held in Fort Lee NJ For the third year, the expo will be held in Fort Lee, NJ, where it will be located directly at the center of GFNY World Championship Headquarters during race week. Visitors benefit from a prime location with easy access from America’s most-traveled bike route on Hudson Terrace in Fort Lee, NJ. The expo will be more integrated with race HQ activities, including the close proximity to the start/finish point of the pre-race group rides.

The 5BBBT typically uses the southbound lanes on the BQE - the northbound would most likely not be impacted. There is nothing on the web page https://www.bike.nyc/events/td-five-boro-bike-tour/ indicating anything in or around Red Hook. I was a ride marshal on earlier versions of this ride - and back then there were no route diversions between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Verrazano Narrows bridge. [lower level closed to traffic]

You may want to check over in the Northern Europe forum for past discussions about Bergen tours.

On the westbound crossing this November [M236] they had just restarted drinks service in the QM2 Royal Court deck 2.

There usually is a sliding scale on the cost per day - sometimes 5 days will cost less than two day at a time purchases. Mrs Bear and I will use the thermal suite 3 to 4 times on a typical crossing. The days on the pass need not be used consecutively. If you are going on a multi segment cruise, most of the time the purchased days may be used on any segment of the sailing.

I also got a similar survey - several proposed sailings, and how likely we would be to book, likes and dislikes. Mrs Bear also received the same survey invitation.

Just got another survey invitation - I'll take a look and see if anything stands out.

We booked dour upcoming sailing during a promotion where the gratuities were included. I would think increases like that were not unexpected - I thing the current cost matches the rate from our 2010 sailing.

We've done 6 TA crossings so far - but on QM2, not on Viking. There may be some Viking specific suggestions - perhaps someone knowledgeable will join, or you can check their forum. We usually pack for a week to 10 days, and plan on laundry on board. On our 2017 sailing, I needed to lend shirts to our tablemates - they were missing a bag [checked airline luggage] that had all his stuff in it. Afterwards, they cross packed - no separate 'his' and 'hers' suitcases. Viking does not do formal nights, so you won't need anything special there. They do have a nice promenade deck - so bring a windproof outer layer, and a couple of layering choices. The ship had a gym, pool and sauna - you will need appropriate attire. Do you have travel plans before boarding or after disembarking? Does the ship stop at places of interest [e.g. Iceland] instead of a non stop crossing? You may want excursion ready clothing and hiking boots for an active shore excursion.

If you have a transfer booked - Cunard transfers have their own [usually early] schedule, and have priority over queued disembarkation. In transit passengers need to go through the same passport/immigration checks as disembarking passengers - but cannot re board until after the ship is 'zeroed'. If you do not have a booked transfer, disembarkation proceeded from the upper decks down. Since BC staterooms are on the upper decks, that will be early in the disembarkation queue. We usually have a 'sheltered balcony' so we are at the end of the disembarkation queue. In November, some of the COVID protocols were still in effect, and we were told to wait in our room until a scheduled time - but there was a backup in the port, and we ended up in the Golden Lion for a hour waiting for the line to move. If you are doing 'self disembarkation' [no checked luggage ] you can disembark without waiting for a scheduled time - but you need to bring _everything_ in a single trip. If you have checked baggage, I would suggest engaging a porter [and tipping him] to help speed through the customs/immigration lines in the terminal [no onboard passport checks on westbound crossings].

Should be waiting in the wardrobe. There was a daily news summary provided alongside the next days program. Most often next to the pillow. Yes There are some items with extra costs (alcohol by the drink or a package; I think the steak choice) We sail in a “sheltered balcony” room and one of us sits on the couch. There is an electric kettle, tea bags, instant coffee and shelf stable milk. We tended to save half&half from room service breakfast. We put two oversized cases under the bed without problems. We usually got that via the breakfast door hanger.

We were in late dining Britannia - and had evening shore excursions booked [Arctic Cathedral Concert, Northern Lights] for both evenings in Tromso. We liked the pizza option better than the regular Kings Court buffet.

Made to order Pizza [and a couple of other Italian items] are available evenings in the "Chef's Gallery" section of the Kings Court. [Starboard side, aft of the 'C' staircase]. This is an often overlooked table service dining venue. The rotating menu 'pop up' dining option is port side, with the preferred entrance off the 'D' staircase.

I loathe autocorupt Jackie Chan's movie "The Tuxedo" [IMDB link https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290095/ ]did show the possibility of hacking formal ware.

A couple of other options to consider would include: - Renting for malware on board - Purchasing for malware in Southampton You may find that the prices for the three options are similar - shipping luggage would be more flexible. If I was going to the expense of shipping luggage, I would include more than tux, tie, one shirt & shoes.

I've used credit cards with both the white 'radio taxi' cabs, and with Uber.

And the QM2 is also much more fuel efficient than the steam powered original. I remember from one of Payne’s lectures that the original QM got about 12 feet to the gallon - QM2 gets 16 feet per gallon.