polySeraph

10 hours ago, maureenk said:

Thought I'd re-raise this question since the port seems to be changes on several of the HAL cruises.  Is there any shuttle service from Sandnes to Skavenger.  Disappointing if not since there doesn't appear to be much to see or do in Sandnes, and since they are still calling it a Skavenger stop.  Thanks in advance!

I was on the Rotterdam last summer when she called in Sandnes, er, Stavanger. Getting back and forth to Stavanger was very much on the minds of members of our roll call. To make a long story short, HAL provided a shuttle to and from the pier into Sandnes that stopped very near the Sandnes train station where trains into Stavanger were plentiful and cheap. Sometime after embarkation, the shore excursion desk advertised a HO-HO bus excursion. The bus picked us up on the pier in the morning and dropped us off on the pier in the afternoon and between times we could ride around the circuit (like any other HO-HO bus). IIRC, the cost was somewhere in the $50-$60pp price range. 

I asked at the shore excursion desk why this excursion wasn’t advertised pre-embarkation and she said they weren’t always able to firm it up in advance but it was always nice when it worked out. 

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

When I log onto my HAL account, this is what's listed under my Profile in the Future Cruise Credits section (minus the Credit ID which I purposely omitted). I'm guessing the $100 entry is the AARP credit, as it expires at the end of the current year, and the $50 entry is the Military credit, as I applied for military status through Sheer ID in Sep 2023, which I guess means it will expire in 4 years. Is anyone else seeing this, or more importantly am I guessing correctly?

 

I used to see the military credit listed under my OBCs and it’s no longer there so something didn’t happen correctly when I renewed last December. OTOH, there is a record of my having re-verified my eligibility last December. My guess is that SheerID’s database shows my record as having been updated but somehow it didn’t get passed to HAL. 
 

….and like the OP said, it’s not like my previous service in the Navy is going to disappear. 

I may try calling the Mariner Society’s 800 number tomorrow and see if they can help unravel this. I’ll post back if I can get a resolution. 

I originally applied for the military OBC in 12/02/22 and was able to use it on two cruises in 2022. When it came time to renew my eligibility one year later, I was able to successfully renew on 11/30/2023. SheerID even sent me a happy little email saying that my eligibility had been verified successfully.

Today, while tidying up loose ends for my upcoming cruise in May (my first cruise since renewing my status), I asked my (big box) travel agent to call HAL and ensure that my military OBC and my husband's AARP OBC were applied to the cruise. To make a long story short, I was told that HAL had nothing attached to my mariner number showing that I was eligible for the military OBC. The HAL agent told my agent that all I needed to do was re-verify, wait 3 days, and then call back to get the military OBC applied.  That didn't sound right to me but hey, what did I know?

Just now, I resubmitted all my info (again) and the immediate response was that I had already applied and been verified. So, clearly there was a record of my eligibility having been verified successfully (attached to my mariner number) somewhere in a database somewhere in HAL.

So what should I do next? Wait 3 days and call my TA again? Cry into my gluten-free beer?

4 hours ago, Analog187 said:

 

You book the hop on, hop off bus right through HAL. And yes, goes to Stavanger and then does a loop.  HAL will add more excursions at the last minute.  Very annoying.  

Thanks! This is good news. We enjoyed the Petroleum Museum and (weirdly enough) the Sardine Museum on a previous visit to Stavanger and were looking forward to doing it again. We thought Stavanger was very walkable but, hey, the Ho-Ho Bus works as well.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

2 hours ago, Analog187 said:

If we were docked in Stavanger I would not suggest you do this bus but we were docked in Sandness.  There are three ways to get there, that I saw anyway.  You can either take a shuttle and have less than 3 hours, walk, take a train and then walk some more or take this bus.  Glad we opted for the bus because it gave us more time.  Keeping with the rudeness theme, some lady on our tour was going off on one of the crew as we were boarding the bus.  I continue to be amazed at people like this that go on vacation just to get all upset.  Most of them are older too.  I'm pretty chill for my 40s so I hope I'm even better when I'm older.  Anyway.

 

The bus ride there was uneventful, about a half hour.  We then started the route.  Since everything doesn't open until 10am, we decided to do the entire route which takes about 50 minutes. It gave us a good layout of what there is to see including things like the Royal Residence that we wouldn't have walked to.  There was this really nice neighborhood we went through over there as well.

Hi, I’ve really enjoyed your review. I’ll be visiting Norway aboard the Rotterdam in July so I’ve been taking good notes. Thank you for all the great info!
 

Could you tell me a little more about how you got to Stavanger from Sandnes? You said you took a bus…. Did you book the bus through HAL? Did the bus go all the way to Stavanger? The reason I’m asking is because the only shuttle I can see on HAL’s shore excursions page for my itinerary goes from the pier to the tourist information site in Sandnes and HAL hasn’t been exactly forthcoming with how we are actually supposed to get to Stavanger. 
 

Any details you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

A hearty thanks for the suggestions to "aggressively click the credit card box. This morning I positioned my cursor over the grayed-out credit card box and repeatedly clicked with all my might. After a couple of seconds of this, the pop-up box appeared telling me I had 15 minutes to input the information and I was able to input the credit card info to pay for the shore excursions. I used Edge as my browser.

Do you think I would be able to use the FCD against a cruise where the full payment is due? If I found a cruise 60 days out where I loved the itinerary, that could be the ultimate in combining the best price and still retaining OBC.

Yes, it is possible to do this. A couple of weeks ago my husband and I booked a cruise with a March embarkation date. We were allowed to apply a couple of FCDs (that were about to expire) to the booking and then immediately paid the remaining balance with a credit card.

I use packing cubes. I have several different sizes of them. I've found them to be really useful on cruises. They really shorten the amount of time I spend unpacking on embarkation day. I just pull the cubes out of my suitcases and put them directly into the drawers. The suitcases go under the bed and I'm off to explore the ship.

They also come in handy on ships that have shelf space instead of drawer space in the cabins. The cube goes on the shelf and does a great job of keeping everything together and at hand.

We had a wonderful time at Little French Key last week. It was beautiful and peaceful. We felt perfectly safe.

I went directly from bronze to gold and skipped silver entirely. Under the old program, latitudes level was based on the number of cruises and since I tended to take longer cruises, I had 51 days but was still bronze. Then they changed the program and my latitudes level turned to gold. After one more 14-day cruise (booked 9 months in advance), my latitudes level turned platinum.

Still haven't gotten that road atlas, though.

Thanks all for the info on what books to read. This will be our 2nd time to the canal but my first time to really get into the history/construction etc. And a special thanks to "polyseraph", I enjoyed your review and pictures of the canal passage. We sail in December !!!

You are more than welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. We are actually considering a third visit to the Canal in late 2017 - probably a partial transit. My husband, ever the nerdy engineer, wants to go back to see the new locks in operation.

OP, if the port lectures are a priority for you, I would encourage you to ask when they are scheduled over on the Princess forum. There have been several good trip reviews of the Caribbean Princess' British Isles itineraries recently. Perhaps you could ask one of the reviewers if he or she recalls when the port talks were scheduled.

The reason I suggest this is that the first sea day (when port lectures are usually held) on many of the British Isles itineraries is not scheduled until Day 6 of the cruise. (For example, on the Jade's British Isles itinerary, there are 5 consecutive days of port calls before the first sea day.) This means that the port lectures will either be held in the evenings during port days or on the sea days after the port calls have already taken place.

Anne Vipond's book on the Panama Canal has some great maps and diagrams. The Path between the Seas also comes as an audiobook (slightly abridged) which my husband listened to during his daily commute.

In 2015 I transited the Canal aboard the Celebrity Infinity. The cruise started in Valparaiso, Chile and ended in Fort Lauderdale. If you would like to read my photo review of the cruise, click here. The Panama Canal portion of my review begins at Post #39.

 

I'm looking at an England/Ireland/Scotland cruise. Norwegian is about $1,000 less than Princess, but I'm afraid I'll be disappointed if Norwegian doesn't offer any destination talks about the ports. Can anyone who has sailed on Norwegian on a European itinerary offer any feedback on the extra "enrichment" type activities typically on board?

I've been on four European cruises with NCL and I am currently booked on NCL's British Isles itinerary embarking in Southampton next May. I've attended some excellent "edu-tainment" lectures on board my various NCL cruises from time to time, but I'd have to say I've seen this type of enrichment activity more consistently available on other cruise lines.

For example, on my NCL Mediterranean cruise there was a fairly decent series of lectures on the history and culture of the various ports. (Gary Gladding was the CD for that cruise.) On our recent Baltic cruise, there was an interesting series on Carl Faberge by a rep from one of the onboard shops. In South America, the assistant cruise director developed and delivered a series of three lectures on the geology and history of the region. Whether these examples were the result of corporate commitment or motivated individuals (with varying motivations) I'm not sure.

We looked at the Caribbean Princess' British Isles itineraries and decided they weren't for us. The ship holds 3K people. We had seen reviews that described the ship as "crowded" and there have been issues getting 3K people back-and-forth during tendering. We decided to save the money and choose the smaller ship.

We booked the Jade's British Isles itinerary for May 22nd. We had been looking at a British Isles itinerary aboard the Caribbean Princess but, with 3K passengers, the ship just seemed so large. We've always been fond of the Jade - even with its quirky Hawaiian decor - and we're looking forward to a great cruise next May.

I have been on South American cruises twice. My first SA cruise was around the Horn aboard the Norwegian Sun in 2010. My second cruise was from Valparaiso to Fort Lauderdale aboard the Celebrity Infinity in 2015.

I'd like to echo what others have said about the demographics of those itineraries. Many of the passengers on both my cruises came from North America - where vacation time is at a premium. A two-week itinerary plus the time needed to fly down and back makes the South American itineraries challenging to North Americans still in the workforce.... which will skew the average age a little older. On my 2010 Norwegian Sun cruise, however, I did see some younger European professionals (no kids) and some South American families.

The entertainment on the Sun seemed to be more varied and lively and more of the offerings seemed to have been chosen to appeal to a variety of people from different cultures. There was more regional entertainment on the Sun - gauchos with ropes, native instrumental groups, tango, etc. My Celebrity cruise seemed to have had more standard cruise entertainment choices but they did have a good daytime lecture series.

Keep in mind that many will find the South American cruises more physically challenging than other itineraries. A lot of the attraction of the South American ports is their rugged natural beauty. Many times after a day in port I just wanted a soak in the hot tub and a light meal so that I'd be rested for the next (early) port call. I do remember seeing some signs of life after 10pm on the Sun but that was usually if the next day was a sea day and if the seas weren't especially rough.

What time did the ship transfer drop you at the city center? And where exactly did it leave you (we are staying near Tivoli). I'm willing to pay extra to avoid a long line and hassle. While we don't have a flight to catch I was hoping to drop our luggage early and catch a train heading to the north coast of Zeeland that day. The itinerary is so city-oriented I want to get out some place quieter!

In actuality, we were dropped off sometime after 10 am. We were supposed to be called to disembark at 9:30, but with the delays, it was sometime after that. The ride itself was 15-20 minutes and we were dropped off near the Tivoli main gates and the central train station.

We were able to drop our bags at our hotel and head out to Roskilde for the day to see the cathedral and the Viking Ship museum. We felt that we had plenty of time to see everything and be back in Copenhagen for our evening meal.

We thought it was a pretty decent value. When we had embarked 9 days earlier, we had followed our hotel concierge's advice to take the train to Osterport and take a taxi there to go to the ship. The taxi from Osterport to the ship was around $22 - so $30 for both of us to go from the ship to central Copenhagen wasn't terribly bad.

There is a pretty active roll call for this cruise, and almost 80 (!) people have indicated an interest in attending a meet and greet. Check out the roll call for details if you are interested.

We had some great folks on our roll call and enjoyed meeting up with them on tours and seeing them around the ship.

More on disembarkation.... There really wasn't a lot of joy anywhere wrt disembarkation. DH and I could see the long line for taxis through the MDR window as we ate breakfast. They started calling luggage tag colors for disembarkation and were about 45 minutes ahead of schedule until 8:30-ish when everything came to a screeching stop for a little over an hour. It seemed that rush-hour traffic was especially heavy in Copenhagen (due to the previous day's having been a holiday) and there had been an accident that was bottling things up and preventing the big buses from getting through. Also, there were 2 other cruise ships in port - the Zuiderdam and the Poesia (I think) - competing for bus resources.

There was a bus stop about 50 meters from our cruise terminal (we arrived at Terminal 1) where we could see people lined up with their luggage. I think I read somewhere (someone will want to confirm this) that the bus goes to Osterport station.

We took the cruise ship transfer to the City Center for $15pp. We were not in any hurry so it worked out. We dropped our bags at our hotel and headed out to Roskilde to see the Viking Museum. We're in Oslo today and headed home tomorrow. All in all, a great trip.

subscribing....and I know of two great staterooms but shhh...if we tell everyone we won't ever be able to get them!

I know the ones.... And my lips are sealed.

We are excited too. We are leaving JFK this evening and arriving in Copenhagen tomorrow afternoon. See you on board!

While I've never tried Princess, I have cruised with Celebrity, Holland America, and NCL. I've been to the Panama Canal twice; one cruise was a partial transit aboard Holland America's Zuiderdam and the other was a full transit aboard the Celebrity Infinity which started in Valparaiso, Chile. I did a photo review of my cruise aboard the Infinity. Click here and navigate to Post #39 to read the parts about the Canal transit. In Post #13 of that thread I have posted some photos and commentary about our cabin which overlooked the bow - and came in handy during the transit. I've also posted a few photos from our 2011 trip in Post #54 of that thread.

For us, the itinerary was more important than the differences among the cruise lines. For example, not all of the ships transiting the Canal stop in Panama. Both of our itineraries included port calls in Colon. During our partial transit in 2011, we took a shore excursion that completed the transit on a small ferry and in 2015 we saw an historic fort and visited both the old and new Canal Visitor's Centers.

Wrt the different lines themselves, Celebrity was by far the most formal - and the passengers, for the most part, really seemed to enjoy dressing up. The entertainment was best on NCL, although we really did enjoy the Celebrity's lecture series on science and history of the region. Our Holland America experience was satisfactory enough for us to take 2 more cruises with them. We've enjoyed the specialty restaurants on all 3 cruise lines; NCL's are more affordable. The passengers were older on the HAL Panama Canal cruise (the CD told us that the average age was 72), but HAL seems to be taking steps to make their product more appealing to a younger market; their BB King bands are the best music we've ever heard at sea - and I grew up in Memphis so I know good blues.

As others have said. . . . it was the BEST cruise ever!!! We sailed around the Horn from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso in Feb-Mar 2010 aboard the Sun. All these years later, it still ranks as our all-time favorite cruise.

A few years after the cruise, I posted a mini photo-review about that cruise here on the NCL forum. It is embedded in a much longer thread discussing whether NCL would ever return to South America. (I guess we all know the answer to that one!) To access that review, click here and navigate to post #41.

In 2015 ComputerTravelGuy (my DH) and I returned to Valparaiso for our second South American cruise aboard the Celebrity Infinity. We embarked in Valparaiso and disembarked in Fort Lauderdale. You can find the photo review of that cruise by clicking here. We wanted to combine a second South American cruise with a Panama Canal transit and the itinerary fit the bill.

(And we're not done yet. . . . We're looking at South American itineraries with stops in Brazil, the Galapagos Islands, and Antarctic expeditions that start in South American ports before heading South.)

The Sun is a great small ship and the itinerary is fantastic. And who knows? You just might see me aboard. Maybe I can convince ComputerTravelGuy that once is not enough.

NCL typically provides bathrobes for balcony cabins and above. I haven't seen conditioner or lotion provided on my NCL cruises. (I have sailed on NCL in inside, ocean view, and balcony cabins, but not mini-suites or suites.) Shampoo and shower gel are provided in a dispenser on the wall of the shower. The shampoo is a combination shampoo/conditioner. I usually bring small sample-sized bottles of my favorite conditioner and lotion.

My reading of their advertising is that is what still happens.

 

 

 

Mike

I suspect you're right. This excursion was a cash cow for them so I'm inclined to think that they most likely will not mess with success.

On our cruise in 2008 the excursion sold out. Consequently, we spent the day in the company of several hundred of our shipmates. We were part of a convoy of tour buses for much of the day. Every seat on every bus was filled; every seat on the train was filled. I was bumped in the head by camera bags as people leaned past me to take the perfect photo (mostly of blurred foliage) from the moving train.

All in all, the excursion's itinerary matched up with NCL's tour description, but I would caution anyone considering this excursion to realize that (after paying lots of $$$) they will not have quite the same experience described by Rick Steves in his episode on western Norway and should adjust their expectations accordingly.

I was on the NCL version of "Norway in a Nutshell" in 2008. The 2-hour cruise was not included. At Flam we boarded buses for a scenic drive which included a very long tunnel (which my husband the engineer found very interesting).

Of course, things could have changed since 2008.