alcpa1

While I am not the OP we are also scheduled to go on the Amazon on Sirena in '26. Thanks for posting the inquiry. I look forward to additional posts.

Two of our highlights of our Norwegian coastal cruise were the RIB tour and Alesund on Constitution Day. It's been a while but some wonderful memories never fade.

We base our tipping on the quality of the guide and driver. If we are pleased with their services, in the appropriate ports, we tip from $ 5.00 pp to $50.00 pp depending on the length and quality of the tour. In August we declined to tip (in Europe) when we had a very poor guide and an even worse driver who locked the back door of the bus and met each passenger with tip jars in hand at the front steps. Every passenger on the bus went immediately to the Shore Excursions desk to note their dissatisfaction.

We just disembarked again from Southampton last week. We traveled on Tuesday and traffic was unusually light. We were lucky!!!!! We've had it worse. We had a private driver and our flight was a little before two. We were at the airport by 10:30. Our gate was not posted until an hour before the flight and LHR has many long corridors in terminal 3. So be aware. We've also cruised to Bermuda three times from different originating ports. We cleared within 1/2 to 3/4 hours after docking. Your time may vary. If you have a private tour booked your guide/driver will be aware of your arrival like they are in every port we have visited in many years of sailing.

Where and when would be helpful. Southampton, Tampa, Copenhagen???????

There is no latch or loop on the bottles and they are not insulated.

It's going to be interesting to see what the TA's offer now. We have two more O cruises booked and just got off an Azamara yesterday. With general price increases based on demand we will look for softening of the market. Azamara may come out on top if comparing the two lines. BTW two thirds of the pax - over 600, were repeat customers. O may have difficulty meeting that stat for a while.

Use Uber. It's easy and your fare is set. There is an ongoing street repair project not too far from the pier and some of the sketchy drivers will take you around the world to get to the pier. That equates to a higher fare of course.

Also, if you are like me, short on the stature scale, you may need assistance removing items from the top mounted dryers. Not all of the laundry rooms have stools on the O ships we have been on. Some of us appreciate all the help we can get.

It definitely is the luck of the draw. On one of our Bermuda cruises we sailed into the aft winds of a hurricane, lost one of the engines, limped into Hamilton, and returned early into the fore winds of another hurricane. At least we were able to dock in Hamilton rather than the Dockyards. That trip was two weeks after 9/11 so it was traumatic from the get go. On another cruise we were not able to get through the passage to St. George but because of the size of the ship we could once again dock in Hamilton. You never know what the weather might do but I, for one, would not go in July. Just saying........

With the implementation of Simply More there has been much confusion about availibility, particularly of accessible tours. Things are getting better. Get the PDF and book asap. In some destinations tours are on mini busses so space is limited. You can bypass a TA and call O directly to book tours. That's the easiest way.

If you want a primo aft cabin and there is one available book it now. It won't last long.

Don't make reservations for the first night. They are almost always available when you board.

Gerry, So glad you were able to adjust the connection. You are a seasoned traveler who could, and should, be a mentor to cruisers. How long have we been preaching air arrangements for cruisers!!!!!!!!!!!

Gerry, I can't even imagine you will make it. Your bags might have a better chance. If you are even ten minutes late the FCO flight will already be boarding. Don't you just love to travel? Call BA. I'd think they have several flights a day to FCO. Good luck and I always read your posts. They make sense to me!!!!

We've been on Marina. It's been a couple of years since our last voyage on her so I can't speak to the state of the original cabin bathrooms. We are itinerary driven cruisers, sailing two to three times a year, but for the life of us we just didn't find a 2023, 2024 or 2025 cruise on anything but a R class that made us book. So we put up with the bathrooms. Life is full of trade offs. We're just glad to be at sea, except for my DH's dislike of trans Atlantics and 4 sea days in a row....but that's just him!!!

To add to the confusion.............We have actually had both refundable and non-refundable OBC's from the same agent on several cruises. It has to do with a choice of stateroom perks which fall into the non-refundable category and a generic agent OBC. We've also had a combination of the two along with a check following the sailing.

We were last in a couple of concierge cabin on the Sirena along with 3 R class ships via Azamara. The bathrooms are as stated - small but doable. The Sirena bath is not dark at all. We're not letting that stop us with future sailings on both the Sirena and the Insignia. If you find the shower too confining you can always use the larger showers near the spa and pool.

tarhoosier, O includes port fees and taxes. The sea days for your Viking cruise will not be subject to those "hidden" fees thus a fair pricing difference. You also don't say where the Viking cruise is sailing. Port fees and taxes differ from port to port. Please consider the relative costs between the two itineraries. This is really not an apples to apples comparison unless the itineraries are virtually the same. Add to that the general costs of cities like Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Stockholm. These wonderful destinations are very pricy. Enjoy both cruises!!!

You can very easily get your luggage tags when you drop off your bags with a porter. It's never a problem and it's one less thing to worry about.

Just keep in mind that railroad worker strikes, while not as common today, are still possible. In Italy always have a back-up plan. Enjoy your trip.

ColoradoCruiser88, Have you joined the Roll Call for your cruise? There might be others who have arranged shareable transportation. Your rate is considerably higher than the rates we found and booked for early September. There are many recommendations on the Ports of Call - British Isles forum.

You have two weeks after you get the cruise to transfer your booking to a cruise travel agent. They often have offers above and beyond what O will offer. We cannot name travel agents on Cruise Critic but I'd wager some of the O booklets are sent by travel agents. There are basically three layers of travel agents - Connoisseur, Preferred and everyone else. Some, but not all, are available with a google search. The Connisseur and Preferred agents generally have the best pricing and perks. As far as waiting to book...If you have a cabin category you prefer and that cabin is in limited supply then do not wait for October. Come back any time. There are posters who are more than willing to help.

Probably the latter. Norway is beautiful. If you happen to be there for Independence Day join the festivities!!! What may be holding bookings back is the status of port calls which will be affected by environmental restrictions. You can do enough research to get a feel for the changes that are coming in so many places.

We were on the Sirena in March. We talked to 6 or 8 who took the snorkling excursion and they were much happier than those of us who took land tours. The water was clear and the seas relatively calm. They did see a lot of sea life. I do remember someone mentioning there were locals selling their wares on the beach. Nothing new for a Caribbean island.