Maddle

On 4/4/2023 at 2:26 PM, Bev/Tony said:

Hi Folks I am a TA and I can access TA site and that is part working but no add ons like air travel, on consumer site I cannot log on multiple changes of passwords and help requests but no answers and can't access my cruises booked in my name. this needs fixing real soon

Did you ever have any success logging into the consumer site? I have had the same problem.

On 3/5/2023 at 9:25 AM, pink845 said:

We only want to see causeway not Belfast and seems all tours throw in some other jazz like shopping or distilleries that have no interest to us. So Belfast is a problem port for us and not interested in paying exorbitant fees of Titanic museum when i can watch documentary instead.

Hello. Perhaps you can hire a private guide to take you there, maybe share the cost with another couple. Have you had much success on your Roll Call?

I wanted to mention the Titanic Museum is really so much more than a tv documentary. It presents a lot of historical information about Belfast economy, demographics, and the shipping industry, how the ship was built and the White Star Line,  with immersive exhibits. It was quite fascinating.

I think this whole conversation should be on hold until we see how Brexit shakes out. There's no way of telling what kind of agreements the United Kingdom and European Union will (or will not) come to in the next few weeks and months.

You have some great options listed here. We're going a couple months later, and I am researching your suggestions. Thanks so much for the post. - Maddle

Thank you Ine, the Palace is a wonderful idea, and should be close by.

According to the website, the Palace is open on our arrival day, and tickets are available to purchase. Do you recommend advance purchase, or can we wait until that day? We will be there on the second weekend in August.

I have booked a first class ticket for two adults from the Deutsche Bahn site for sometime in August, but did not reserve seats. 

I pulled up my reservation and navigated to "reserve seats," chose two seats (no charge because it is first class) and then the confirmation button was "cancel and rebook." I was hesitant to push this button even though it said "no charge."

I am thinking it meant that it was canceling/changing my seat reservation, which is from "null" to the seats I want.... but I want to be sure I am not messing up my ticket.

Has someone else done this change, adding seat reservation to the ticket? or actually changed their seats?

Thanks for any re-assurance you can offer me.

Thanks. I think we'll be okay with the 11:15 reservation at the AF House. I am thinking we will walk - to help us stay awake. (My travel partner wanted an even earlier time, but that seemed to stressful for me.)

Could we do Zaanse Schans that same afternoon? or would that be too tight? Would that be better the next morning before we board the river cruise ship?

Is there one museum you would recommend right after the AF House for a logical itinerary?

The ship itinerary has the first day of our cruise as the arrival day, so we can just putter around that day too. They will probably serve a light lunch in the lounge and Dinner that evening. There might be a gathering with the cruise director to welcome us and give any last minute information. We're arriving a day early because of air fare, and I would like to make the most of our extra time (especially since I convinced my travel partner it was a good idea to go early.)

Thanks for the responses. We're starting at Kimpton de Witt Amsterdam, not too far from the center station.

I agree, I think we're packing in a lot for the first day, but we can not technically check in to hotel until mid-afternoon. I really want to see the Anne Frank House. I figured do that first, then figure out the others. 

In the course of the two days, I would like to see some of the art museums and perhaps a ride out to Zaanse Schans. The question is how to organize the visits. 

We will be arriving by air into Schiphol on a Saturday morning at 7:30 AM. Our tickets for the Anne Frank House are at 11:15 to 11:30 AM arrival. Currently our plan is to clear immigration, pick up the luggage and then transfer to our hotel. After checking in and dropping off luggage we will make our way to the House.

• Have we given ourselves enough time to make our appointment? 
• Could we take a bus or train to the hotel and have enough time?  or should we just plan on a taxi for efficiency?
• How long should we expect to spend at the House? - We were unable to secure tickets for the introductory talk, so we'll just tour the House.

Afterwards we will have the rest of the afternoon to spend. The next day we check in to our river cruise, but no tours are planned - it is just the official travel day. The third day is the planned canal cruise offered by the cruise ship and then we depart Amsterdam.

• Should we purchase a museum card, (any suggestion?) or just purchase a la carte?

Any thoughts you have to make the most of our time in Amsterdam will be appreciated.

We purchased our tickets about eight weeks ahead - there was still some availability. I wanted to go on the day of our arrival and see the Introduction but that was not available (for two persons) until 5 pm - that was too late for my travel buddy, so we opted for House Only in mid-morning. 

Thank you to the OP for bringing the early sell out to my attention! I would have been sad to miss this.

Do these excursions run on both the partial AND full transit cruises? Which lines offer them

I have only done one full transit, on the Disney Wonder, a repositioning, and we made no stops on the Canal day.... we must have been in some kind of hurry.

Maddle

This is the perfect solution to my short day in Barcelona - BUT the calendar for a reservation is not working. Is there a secret?

Thank you for this detailed information. For those of you that have FINISHED your cruise in Barcelona, what timing would you suggest? Although I would like to book the 9AM entrance, this won't be practical. We will have to dis-embark from the ship, collect our luggage, and bring it to the hotel before we visit the Cathedral.

We are only in Barcelona for that one day. Sagrada Familia is the ONE thing I really want to see. Our hotel is within walking distance of the Cathedral, so it will be a matter of one taxi ride (I assume) from the port to the lodging. We can make an early day of it, but I think 9 AM might be pushing our luck.

If you can't be there that early, what is a good time to plan? We would be choosing the audio tour and maybe the tower(s.)

Besides research in the event of a delay, I also recommend purchasing a good travel insurance policy.... but what's done is done and plenty of people have flown on the departure day of their cruise and made the ship on time.

Maddle

We did the 26 Glacier Tour last year, and loved it - amazing scenery and close encounters. We were not on a back to back, but took the train down early from Alaska. It was a great experience.

Or you can stay in Salisbury (we are at the Red Lion Best Western) and visit the cathedral and markets (if it is market day). We plan to take the HOHO bus to Stonehenge and Old Sarum. Smith's is providing our transportation.

Funny! I was just looking at the Red Lion not a moment ago.

• How did you like it's location for getting around, (train station, HoHo, restaurants, etc.)
  
• Was it good value for the money?
  
• Finally - Smith's is taking you there? and is Smith's taking you to the port when you embark? or are you finding your own way by train?
  

Thanks - Maddle

Surely by August (OP's time frame.... and mine as well) the impact of this sad incident in Salisbury will have quieted down. Does anyone think otherwise?

I had looked over that International Friends Transfer myself, but it does seem to have limitations. We are arriving at about 7 AM into Heathrow, so it doesn't make sense to spend that first valuable day at an airport hotel if that's the pickup - even if we didn't have the potential misdirection of the luggage.

I think it will be less stressful to book a hotel in Southampton (making a bus or private transfer from the airport,) then do any sight seeing from that jump off point. On the day of the cruise we'll be that much closer and an easy taxi to the port.

Second guessing myself - would it be more picturesque to stay in Salisbury? How difficult would a transfer to the port be on the day of embarkation? Would it be best to take a train?

This is the best thread EVER for useful information! Thank you so much for your advice.

We are arriving on a Tuesday 28AUG Early Morning into LHR after a Trans-Atlantic flight. Our cruise departs Southampton on Thursday, 30AUG. I would very much like to see Stonehenge, and the Salisbury Cathedral... and other sights in that general area that you might recommend.

We could book our hotel in Southampton or Salisbury for Tuesday and Wednesday night. Is it better to push through Tuesday and stay in Southampton, taking a train or bus back to Salisbury on Wednesday? Or get as far as Salisbury and putter around, perhaps even seeing some sight(s) on Tuesday afternoon, then making our way to the ship on Thursday morning. (I am thinking it doesn't make sense to do two different hotels in two cities.)

Which city for accommodation is the best use of our time? Which hotels would be most practical? I don't mind taking trains or buses the occasional taxi cab, or the HoHo... but I prefer not to drive if possible.

Thank you in advance for your advice and suggestions.

PS: We are open to any other suggestions anyone might like to propose.

Terry, How was your visit to Fatima last year. What details can you share? What tour company or guide did you use, or did you go with a ship's tour? We will be stopping in Lisbon in September and I hope to visit Fatima. Thanks - Maddle

I agree 100%. There are some older people who are scared to plan things themselves or just don't know how to get the best deals. All of the brick & mortar TAs around me have closed. I do know one TA in our neighboring state and each time I've booked our cruises, I send him the rates just to see if he could get a better deal and they can't. The best they can do is give us $50 OBC or a bottle of wine or something. No thanks. I'd rather have my direct contact at Carnival to handle everything cruise wise.

I don't understand... if the TA is offering $50 OBC, isn't that better than $0 OBC? Your price would be the same, you would have $50 to spend, someone else does the paperwork, and makes a few bucks (not from you, from the cruise line.)

What advantage do you have with the direct contact at Carnival?

You could get the tote from the package by itself (without the other items)

https://www.carnival.com/FunShops/item/X9D/caribbeant-tote-bag

It is cute!

E-cards would be so much better - does anyone have an idea of when they might be available again?

I have never used the AARP "Rewards for Good" option, but I have been saving points. I have enough points to purchase cards to pay for my cruise... but the thought of sending a couple thousand dollars through the mail, $300 or $400 at a time makes me squeamish. Email would be so much more reassuring.

Also - I just booked an expensive excursion, and 10% would have been a great discount. It was in danger of a sell out so I decided to take the plunge and pay full price. Ouch. There was no way a mailing option would have locked in my excursion in time. (It was a villa on HMC.)

Maddle

I am wondering about the specifics of the E-gift card (which may or may not come back.)

Thanks for your help. Maddle

So frustrating when it happens. This is only our 3rd cruise and it's only because of cruise critic that I knew that an "upgrade" could happen, but I thought meta upgrade would help me. Apparently not. 😐

Please don't invest too much worry into this matter. Despite the many threads on the topic, upgrades are not a common occurrence. They just aren't. They do happen, but the chance of it happening to YOU are relatively slim. (Same thing with upsells, although there are probably more of those.)

Maddle