VMax1700

Yes

here is the up to date Bus schedule https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=406&form-view-timetables-from=Cork+(Bus+Station+-+Parnell+Place)&form-view-timetables-to=Blarney+Village+(Woolen+Mills)&form-view-timetables-route=&form-view-timetables-submit=1

Yes it is (relatively) easy. No it will not be too crowded except at peak commuter hours and school hours. The route has changed recently, due to road layout changes within Cork City. Take the train from Cobh (note spelling! pronounced 'Kov') to Cork Kent station. Then it is about a 20 minute walk to the bus stop at Patrick Street/Drawbridge Street. The bus takes about 30 minutes. From the St Annes Road bus stop it is a short walk to the castle entrance. For the return trip I suggest you visit Blarney Woolen Mills first and then pick up the bus outside the entrance to the mills. Get off the bus at Coburg Street stop and it is a straight walk to the train station, again 15/20 minutes. The train can be busy in the evenings with returning cruisers and commuters returning home, so be aware of your timings. Enjoy your visit.

By any chance did you make an online 'Courtesy Hold'? I have checked a few bookings and if I had a courtesy hold in place then that becomes the initial Cancellation Fee date.

The difference between speaking fluently and speaking fluidly! 😁

I don't know the answer to your question, but two points are: There is no VAT/IVA in the Canaries, but a local consumer tax (IGIC) is charged. It is usually only VAT that is reclaimable. The rate is only 7% and probably not worth the effort of trying to reclaim considering the probable low value of purchases you will make. Secondly, the Canaries are not in the EU for tax purposes, so are outside the EU tax refund system.

That only confuses more, as room service drinks are not covered by HIA 😂

Us too! I just wondered if that was the reason you could see the CO special but I could not.

Haha! Different answers, same cruise line 🫣 Our booking is for Nieuw Statendam in April 2024. Non CO. @wdw1972 by any chance did you have CO on your last cruise?

No sir. We commoners just see the regular vittles. 😉

As is the current culinary trend, perhaps a workaround is to order a deconstructed mimosa (hold the fizz)? 😁

Depends on embarkation port. Some are stricter than others. Out of interest did you board both cruises in the same embarkation port?

Agree with @kazu . It was included on Rotterdam in September and also on Nieuw Statendam in August. I do know that if I was now told it was not included then I would be seeking a meeting with the beverage manager or Hotel Director and requesting a definitive list of excluded drinks which have a menu orice if less than $11.

Yes you can! I have done it several times. It is usually offered via the Navigator App or by signing into your HAL account on the website, or your TA can do it for you.

Ensure that you are docking in Dublin Port and not tendering in Dun Laoghaire (for Dublin).

Hope you have a great cruise and wonderful adventures. Bon Voyage!

You are missing the boat! PSVA applies to passenger vessels only and not aircraft.

No upgrade necessary. Starlink is the system used by the ship to connect to the internet. So you automatically get Starlink.

Yes,.... and No! Less than ideal tendering situations do come into play when planning, certainly with the reduced port times now prevalent. 8am to 5pm port time seems adequate until you factor in a one hour or so wait for the tender ticket followed by a 30 minute tender journey and a 15 minute walk to the meeting place for the 7 hour private tour you have booked. Then it can become a deal breaker.

Thank you for the concise but wide ranging review. I do hope that I am misreading that you purchased the laundry package for this cruise? After all the free laundry is the big benefit of reaching 4 star.

How about "IN to the pubs and OUT on our Arts"? 😁

As @oakridger says, fly to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) and then either train (station is underneath the airport terminal) with a journey time of 30 minutes, or book a private transfer with staxi.nl who I have used several times. We are having a bit of thread drift here so suggest you read (or start a new thread) in the British Isles forum on cruise critic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

Well they seem to be listing a total of 8 cruises out of Dover, all with Rotterdam either the day before or the day after. I seem to remember a press release about Dover. I did check a couple and yes, they are gurarantees only, which is strange. Perhaps they need to get a handle on how to maximise the cabin useage with cruisers embarking and disembarking at consequtive ports. Regarding Club Orange, yes it is good value specially if you have booked a gty obstructed verandah and can get up to a V or VA category verandah. You can get upgraded immediately to the highest category of available cabin within the meta category. CO is only a limited quantity per cruise so you need to check if it is available and then have a couple of cabins in mind. You also get priority tendering! US$15 per day for 14 day cruises.

It is new! They are trying it in 2025 for the first time. Probably the reason that the available staterooms are different.

Is the itinerary interesting enough to interest me, yes probably. There are a few different ports on this cruise compared to the one we did. You lose some good ports and gain some nice ports. We loved Liverpool, which you don't visit, and luckily you do not visit Fishguard, which was meh. It is one of the main ports for container traffic between Ireland and UK. I loved Lerwick in Shetland Island and your cruise visiting Stornoway would be, in my mind, a big plus. Also, you have much longer hours in Greenock (for Glasgow) than we did, so much easier to visit Glasgow. Douglas IoM is nice, but if you can get out of the town and on towards Laxey or even Ramsey it is worthwhile. We had a miserable wet day when we were there. We actually enjoyed Dun Laoghaire as we met friends whom we hadn't seen for quite a while. I worked in Dun Laoghaire for 30+ years but really enjoyed it. For visitors Dublin is quite close and accessible. Regarding Ringaskiddy, I seem to remember on previous posts, cruisers mentioning a shuttle bus provided by the port. (I will try to find the thread). While Cobh is a lovely little town and there is sufficient in Cobh to stay there the day, I would not rule out the cruise over Ringaskiddy. Providing there is a shuttle, you would still be able to visit Cork City and perhaps Blarney Castle. Invergordon is mainly the gateway to Scottish highland and Loch Ness, but as the August cruise was our second recent visit, we stayed in the town and visited the local museum as it had been an important Naval base during WW.