In Retirement

Recently lived through the traumatic experience of my laptop's death, and getting used to the speed and capacity of the replacement (at 1/3 of the latter's cost as well). Just found the 5-page repeatedly edited review that I would be pleased to share with those willing to spend the time in its reading.

As an aside, am in the process of planning a family vacation in the British Isles. Three of us are planning on taking a guided coach tour for the week before a 12-night cruise. This will be my 3rd experience with guided tours, and my expectations are plenty low (and yes, I will be happy enough with the four days outside London) and plan to expose my two oldest grandsons to fun and educational experiences (our trip to Alaska was wonderful).

Folks who are interested enough to read five pages about the Rhine Getaway feel free to write at the email address below.

DJ

balticports@yahoo.com

...the next morning...

My apologies!

You are right. I should not have wrote whilst impaired last night.:eek:

Seems "I've got amazing powers of observation" after a few glasses of wine.:o

I'm only here for the entertainment.

I figured MY post would be deleted by now.;)

(1) My first assumption is that you are a retired attorney? Sometimes useful to go back and reread the sequence of postings -- I do realize that this is a real challenge to follow.

(2) Part of the challenge is that I am skirting all the details of what might have become a comprehensive description of my week on the Rhine, but I have thought better about it. We have to understand capitalism and have some insight into the corporate structure that we get to experience. My conclusion is that people most happy with this experience are the people who are pleased with ship's excursions and would have no interest in learning about a location's history before visiting. Nothing wrong with anything here. Some of us like to prepare for a visit to a museum, others wouldn't even want to visit a museum, period.

(3) Really surprised by the negative affect expressed by more than one person. The sort of imbalance of praise versus criticism basically minimizes the value of praise -- especially after the experience. Its important, as I said, to realize that the same experience may be evaluated quite differently by two different people. For example, after reading about Black Forest experience, I was not about to participate. Being offered the afternoon Colmar experience in exchange was appreciated, but I found that Colmar was a wonderful location and I was disappointed that I did not have the tie to visit all parts of the art museum, etc. If I had the day in Colmar I would have prepared for this visit and located a place for a light lunch (honestly, considering the daily charge for this trip, the food is already accounted for).

(4) Folks, hearing criticism about an experience you prize, doesn't mean you have been criticized! Discussion of travel doesn't have to become political, does it?

My best to all,

DJ

Just revisited the newly revised Glory Tours website (just Google) even just to get ideas, and then maybe a visit to Trip Advisor for pictures and personal reactions. One nice thing about this tour company is that you pay/person and they put together groups from a variety of sources (last year we were with folks from Europe staying in hotels and we visited some locations together and sometimes went to different locations. Will consider using them again (would be third time) and have had no complaints (for me, that's unusual!).

DJ:)

All comments and observations are most appreciated. It is a shame that some folks respond with anger to criticism not directed to themselves (I think that Viking is a privately held company without stockholders.) -- I'm obviously not into "hearsay" and just report my personal reaction that unfortunately hasn't changed much over the months following our 2014 vacation. It is my general observation that the reporting of problem experiences here are the most useful for subsequent travelers, and that Cruise Critic has too many examples of "this is what I did, so in retrospect I really enjoyed it! I guess that I have observed that my expectations for an improved experience through personal preparation (pretty much the hallmark for Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor participants) were not met (was pretty well met for our train foray to Ghent and Brugge, our time in Amsterdam and day in Leiden, and especially our many port calls in Norway).

I don't believe that I said that my fellow passengers were lazy or in any way "limited." (Did I?) I believe (as did the management person from Viking) that they attract people with less experience in such travel. (For example, I met a most engaging physician in his early 60s over lunch and found that this was his first travel to Europe. Another example was being told by Viking that they make all travel arrangements for the majority of their customers. Just because you don't travel abroad doesn't make you "lazy" and many people don't consider preparation for travel to be important. Indeed, before I retired I often made preparations on the spot instead of beforehand (considering the effort and energy that went into career and family).

What should I say about river cruising? A comparison of the industrial versus scenic potential of different river locations, the time of travel (daylight/night, during meals). I was very uncertain of adding this experience to our 2014 one-month vacation, so I limited its length, had it end at a location we love and that also offered multiple other travel possibilities (perhaps a river cruise following time in Paris would be great?). I believe that our daily outings were either designed to meet the needs of Viking's typical passenger on this particular itinerary or met the needs of Viking's perceived "typical" passenger attracted by their wonderfully effective TV advertising. After one 3-hour walking tour, we would have benefited from something different, such as a visit to a cathedral and other town (maybe a 1 1/2 hour's drive away) with lunch provided (versus return to the boat every day). Have no idea what other companies provide, but am quite hesitant to try this again.

On the other hand, we were on a brand-new longboat (maybe on its 4th/6th one-week trip). The cabin and public areas were very nice and our brief encounter with the captain was most pleasant. Our general observation was that staff were very uptight/challenged and the coordinator of passenger activities was wound quite tight and was making efforts to maximize passenger behavior conformity. Being that this is a 7-night itinerary, the day of week/location pattern remains stable for the northbound and southbound itineraries, so that over time, a company can identify consistent challenges and make corrections. One example was the lack of entrance into the Strasbourg cathedral (always visited northbound on Sunday). Another was Black Forest vs Colmar: pleased to see that a Frieberg option is available this year, but another one would be an entire day in Colmar (this would only be possible for those who didn't have to return to the "mother boat" every 4 hours!). Another alternative (beyond a couple of museums in which we wandered alone) was in Koblenz where the boat docked just yards from an aerial ride over the river to a wonderful lookout point to view the important geography of rivers merging -- again we were the only ones to go (and the cost was minimal).

I can't help but imagining that each of these outings were what many of us work hard to avoid on passenger ship excursions! No, I can't imagine that Viking would want to do a thing to change any element of this itinerary: I can't imagine what the % booking rate is for 2016. Obviously they have a product that is well-received. I am obviously very atypical compared to their target population (had a few discussions over dinner with UK citizens who were much experienced and shared similar observations). I must admit that participation in Cruise Critic for this river cruise was not as useful as such an effort has been for our ocean cruises. My concern with side of boat, option of balcony, etc. was greatly misdirected (dark windows at night or up against views of river banks than village views).

Currently am trying to motivate a Roll Call for 14-night holiday Caribbean cruise (they are just islands, right?) but mainly focused on trying to decide if a 6-day Southern England Globus itinerary is a worthwhile addition to a British Isles cruise for our family, or if I need to focus on vrbo and apartment-hunting in Kensington!

Hope all are enjoying the beginning of Fall and my heart goes out to folks in the Carolinas.

DJ

Hard to believe, but its taken me 1 1/2 years to become calm enough to share my experiences for this week in June of 2014:

(1) People are very different and the expectations of various travel-providers are different, so any report of pleasure or discomfort cannot be understood without the context of facts.

(2) Some people are concerned about beer and wine with dinner, others want to eat in nearby towns (even though they have paid for food on the boat), others (who act similarly in developing port experiences for ocean liners) read about geography and history in planning their adventures. My thought is that the people who enjoy these river cruises, enjoy their walks through towns (See the houses, stores, and there is a church!), and have no such expectations. These people also either aren't experienced in planning travel, or don't want to be "bothered." (Onboard, we met a retired pilot who was booked from home in northern Florida to Minneapolis to board a flight to Frankfort, rather than flying through Atlanta!) Potential for profit rather than passenger comfort is a primary motivator. Also, once one sees the size of the boat's kitchen and meets the kitchen staff, one realizes that all meals (save breakfast) are accomplished under great challenge.

(3) When you select an ocean cruise, the port schedules are posted, so you know +/- 2 hours, the time available for each visit. On a river cruise, its pretty much being informed the night before and if you don't like cruise line coach excursions, you get them here (or long walks divided into similar numbers). Multiple efforts are visible to minimize expenses and to make guides (and the passenger manager) dependent on your tips. At a typical stop in the Netherlands a state-sponsored presentation of water management is run by volunteers (who hope for your tips) and is the ideal stop for Viking, in that they do not accrue any expense!

(4) Specific to the Rhine (maybe): rivers are major economic geographical elements, and much are industrial, not scenes of beauty. Trains and cars are always visible. The boat frequently traveled at night and/or during meals (don't think that beautiful views are available each day). Don't consider paying more for a balcony because they will be mainly blocked by other Viking boats going the other direction and using the same dock. (This experience is by schedule and plan -- not some mystical experience.)

(5) Daily tour "experiences" fall close to the river and constitute three hours with a return to the boat for lunch -- so one may walk or bus travel tor 1/3 to 2/3 of the time. Its not useful to know what may be available 30/60 more minutes away and Viking management knows what you want to see and do (so don't have other ideas). If you decide to return an hour later (in their scheduled bus) to visit an art museum, you will be greeted onboard by a closed kitchen (not even a pitcher of iced tea and cold sandwiches offered: just high sugar and fat cookies and coffee until dinner).

(6) The Rhine Getaway basically keeps you tied to the boat and away from the surrounding culture. You want to visit Cologne: first read up and then stay for a while (we've done this with great success in locations like London, Barcelona, Paris, and Amsterdam). Train travel (as recommended by Rick Steves) is a wonder in western europe.

Would a river cruise be different through France? (At this point I might rather take a 12-night cruise to New Zealand!) Would love to hear from river passengers who have done a river in France and have had different experiences. It seems that Viking has made great strides in its TV promotion and has developed across-river world experiences in which all potential itineraries are highlighted (tied together) in 10-second flashes. When I now see a Viking TV promotion almost nightly on PBS, I cringe.

My best,

DJ

Let me first observe that even if the flight arrangements were finally resolved following your vacation, did the removal of expense remove your extended aggravation?

We are all different, have different talents, different experiences, and prepare for vacations in very different ways. In my one and only (so far) river cruise (Basel/Amsterdam) I proceeded just as I do for an ocean or land experience: research/read/plan. Our Viking river cruise was less of a vacation the greater the preparation. Thankfully, we arranged our own air travel and incorporated this river week, with a second week of Belgium by train and then concluded with a 12-night Norway cruise RT Amsterdam (wonderful!). I discovered that Viking was most happy if you wanted everything done for you and gladly accepted whatever they provided as "tours." Our week in Belgium was what we wished it to be and each port visit (Celebrity Constellation) had been pre-planned (a few times with 20 other couples!). The intersection between travel and capitalism quite clearly results in whatever generates the most profit for the agency providing your vacation! Considering the number and character of the TV ads from Viking, the nature of our river week, and the amazing expansion of this organization, it seems that the financing comes from somewhere!

Once "burned" we will be very cautious about trying another river experience (maybe Paris through provence?). Still looking for the "magic" on rivers,

DJ:)

Tokens are sold from a vending machine in the laundry room. No need to go to passenger services.

What does the vending machine accept? (dollar bills, quarters, credit card, etc.) What happens when the vending machine is out of laundry tokens?

Thanks,

DJ:)

I was assigned cabin 9240 as a guarantee mini suite balcony on the Getaway.....it is above the Sugarcane lounge on deck 8....EXTREMELY LOUD MUSIC (no exaggeration!!) every night between 8PM, and Midnight....also occasionally earlier in the eve. Only one night they had just a piano player, and could barely hear that. There was no noise from neighboring cabins, but noise from below is unbearable at night.

I've only been attracted to a balcony guaranty ($2,000 off of the cabin) on a relatively small ship where all balconies were on only two decks, and all of them had passenger cabins above/below! Have to keep reminding myself (and you see this especially with refits where cabins are "added" to locations which previously was empty space) that cabins are basically tin cans, and sound travels excellently through metal! Also, have seen often that sound systems are mounted to ceilings (just think about the people trying to sleep just above these ceilings?).

DJ:)

Guess it "pays" to call Princess and ask for each ship? Does anyone think this has anything to do with the drydock modifications? Anyone have experience with these "tokens"? You'd think that machines would now take one token, available from Passenger Services, and the price of the token (charged to your credit card) could be reset over time, however! Really good idea if you won't have to travel with rolls of quarters, yes?

DJ:)

When we were on the Island in August we could swipe our cruise cards for tokens for the laundry.

A wash cost $3, dryer was $3, and I think detergent was $1.50

My experience on a variety of Princess ships has been that machines take quarters and (when available and you deal with lines) they are available at Passenger Services (put on your account: re, your "card"). Of course, would like to be corrected before our December 2-week cruise! Usually take a couple of rolls of quarters (now feeding 12 into a machine?) and with the arrival of detergent packets, you can easily put a few into a plastic container and place in suitcase. (extra-useful for longer cruises or land/sea vacations, and when you include children)

DJ:)

Any one have any input on Carnival Glory balcony room 1026 panorama deck 10?? This is our first cruise and I had no idea how to pick a room.

I would put these issues sort of in this order:

(1) Noise: cabins are basically tin cans (you can see how they add cabins whenever) and therefore sound travels. Best bet if a passenger cabin is below and above you. We have found that elevator noise is not an issue, but as people can be loud in the halls late at night (especially if this is not you) you can consider locations where fewer people will pass by (like aft corners).

(2) Convenience/effort: do you want the walking/stairs etc. to balance out eating/drinking or are you unlikely to take a walk on a treadmill on an "At Sea" day? People with physical issues find a convenient location that minimizes walking, while others want that walk to breakfast and to an evening's show.

(3) Movement sensitivity: do you get car sick or nauseous when taking a train ride? Maybe cruising isn't for you? If you need to find out (first experience), where/when/how long you cruise may be as important as where your cabin is located on the ship? Lore says mid-ship, lower deck. After a good many experiences, we have learned that a balcony glass wall and a really good view makes a significant difference. Of course, price is usually an issue that is also most individual.

Good luck,

DJ:)

So now I know why the "review" option exists, even for those who are quite experienced on CC: my comments were not kept in the post, even when space was added. So, except for my questions about travel downunder are placed again here:

(1) Whales at Vancouver Island and at Juneau are different criters. At Vancouver Island, I think, you will go out and visit a pod of Orcas ("killer whales") while at Juneau you basically go out to a bay where your expected whales are feeding while at ease (like eating kril and using bubble nets). The Orca experience is likely to incorporate speed, the Juneau experience more like birdwatching with occasional exclamaitions. Some tours will combine a morning visit with a ride over to the Juneau glacier and a chance to walk to the waterfall. Can't tell you how much of a glacier is still visible (we experienced the melting also in Norway: I assume that as with Antarctica, New Zealand is similarly effected? I remember our firsst visit to Glacier Bay, and although still a good experience, the retreat of the glaciers is a sad fact.

(2) Skagway (unlike Juneau) basically closes up once the cruise ships leave. This is the opportunity to take a narrow-gage train into the Yukon. I'd look at Chilkoot Charters and look at pictures and see what excursion fits into your port visit.

(3) For Victoria/Vancouver Island consider reviewing two websites to see if you have an interest: Butchart Gardens and the Royal BC Museum.

You'll have a wonderful time!

DJ:)

We live in the far south of New Zealand (Dunedin) so we like the colder temperatures. Our Summers are often too hot for us with typical temperatures in the low 30's (mid-high 80's). Low-mid 70's is ideal for us :-) I deliberately booked a guarantee rather than a specific suite as a number of places advise that the guarantees are more likely to receive upgrades. If we get an upgrade to a Neptune suite then we will be very happy but if not then we will not be disappointed.

At 40M and 31F, I suspect that we will be some of the youngest on the cruise (and Rocky Mountaineer trips afterward) but neither of us is really into the all-night parties and binge drinking of the 20-30 age group.

 

We're spending a couple of months in Canada (BC & AB only) so this is already planned to ensure we enjoy ourselves on our holiday. With the diversity of British Columbia, Alberta and Alaska we need to allow for some rather variable climates.

 

I have been looking at various options in the ports and locations we will be staying over the whole holiday. We are planning to take a whale watching cruise from Vancouver Island but we may try in Juneau as well.

"Whale Watching" from Vancouver Island is most likely following pods of Orcas (mammal-hunters), while the whales near Juneau are more of your standard small seafood-eating types (either from Baja or places like Hawaii) so, this is different (for sure). In Vancouver you are likely to have a fast boat experience where everyone wears a life vest as well.

 

In Skagway we have found a glass-blowing lesson which sounds very interesting. Skagway is one of those locations that is only "open" for the tourists in the summer, and then closes til next spring (in comparison to Juneau, the government center). I'd visit "Chilkootcharters" and look at the options at Skagway: I'd select the longest excursion that fits best into your port visit. Some options include train ride and a guided van excursion.

 

In our various travels over the past years I have always taken the time to organise things rather than get a travel agent to do the work. Part of the enjoyment of the holiday is finding out what's around before you even get there.

 

We have planned almost a week in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and a few days in Victoria. We are planning on a day or two in a couple of other places as well. In Victoria, consider time at the Royal BC Museum and Butchart Gardens (They both have informative web sites.)

 

New Zealand is a lovely country as is surprisingly bigger than many believe. We have allowed a full day in Vancouver when we land so that we can cure any jet-lag we have. We want our holiday to be relaxing rather than rushing to cram in as much as we can possibly do.

For people coming from the States, would you have any advise on the value of a 10- or 12-night cruise of New Zealand? Either RT Sydney or concluding in Australia, are you familiar with structured options to be introduced there as well? We are not the type that now want to explore by ourselves (although I do have one ex-student there who teaches at the Catholic University).

Thanks, DJ:)

The cruise is the 7-day round-trip so we get to see the coast from both sides of the ship, weather permitting. The specific cruise is at http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=A6G07S&fromSearchVacation=true&destList=landSeaJourneys,cruises,A&dateCode=6_2016&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&voyageCode=I646 for the 25th of June.

We've never been the the northern hemisphere before but I would expect that late June would be pretty close to the height of Summer but before it gets really hot. In New Zealand it's cold but still getting towards the coldest parts of Winter which tends to be mid July through to mid August.

While we expect to be in the public areas a fair amount of the time, we decided on the signature suite to give us some alone time where we can still enjoy the outside environment on the verandah without the crowds.

We've cruised Alaska 3X (last with a family group of 10 RT Seattle) and with our hot summers in Texas, probably not our last (although our July 2014 cruise to Norway was wonderful).

A few comments/suggestions:

1. Weather/climate: our last visit was 2013 (20 July) that we selected more for convenience and hopes for large proportion of families/children for our then three grandsons: the highs were pretty much in the low 70s and we were able to make good use of our balconies (three attched/adjacent). With climate change, I don't know what can be predicted (warmer?). At any rate, the basic rule will be to bring layers of outerwear, at least a good windbreaker and something warm to wear underneath that can be left behind (you can look at this year's June weather history, maybe somewhat predictive?) -- apparently Alaska/Canada/Europe have now a history of heat waves that are not predictable even months before. Weather along this coast, in general, is very unpredictable, and "good" for weather represents sunshine!

2. Port experiences: strongly suggest you consider whale watching at Juneau, a train ride at Skagway, and a trip into Misty Fjords at Ketchican. We tend to use a private company at Juneau and Skagway.

3. Vancouver: we love Canada and hope you will have planned for some days in Vancouver/Victoria. (Although Seattle is great, we plan to return to Vancouver on our next Alaska trip to include Denali National Park.) Consider the Aquarium and Beluga whales at Stanley Park and the Anthropology Museum, as well as time or at least the ferry to Victoria with visits to Natural History Museum and the wonderful Butchart Gardens!

Hope to experience New Zealand (Princess or Holland America) within the next couple of our winters (all advice as well as ways to cope with air travel most welcome!). Feel free to drop a note for any specifics I might offer (balticports@yahoo.com). DJ:)

We are on the sailing 8/14. We are spending one night after the cruise in Venice. Is there any information on how to disembark and get to your hotel. Our hotel is on the Grand Canal Thank you, Claudia.

Even spending just a day or two in Venice requires a map. You aren't driving or walking along level sidewalks. Many, many bridges and you may not benefit from public transportation either, depending. A most simple suggestion, beyond picking up a map for planning and guidance on the trail is that P. Roma (source of vaparettos, bus to airport, across from train station, etc.) is within a couple of minutes of many good hotels and reasonably priced restaurants and a grocery store. Easy to take vaparetto to Doge Palace/Cathedral (ride is A+ experience). You may be shocked at price of private transportation to hotel (depending on location -- "on the Grand Canal" can mean anything). I'll bet your air arrangements are fixed, but maybe if you aren't on "points" you will find a better solution once you have a decent map. Good luck, DJ:)

My wife and I have booked an Alaskan cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam out of Vancouver in June next year. So far we have booked a signature suite but not actually chosen a cabin. Is there any particular cabin(s) we should avoid when making our selection? This will be our very first cruise. Thanks in advance.

Comment made with ignorance of deck plan: If your cruise is northbound, the better views are landward (starboard). If you have the luck of a day at Glacier Bay, the captain will go out of his/her way to give all sides of the ship good views (although you will be so excited and probably out on public decks anyway!). Alaska cruises useful to look at calendar options (early, middle season, late). Sometimes better weather, options as to fishing and wildlife views.

Enjoy, DJ:)

An excellent discussion, and I don't think that anyone here is getting distracted into some kind of negative interaction?

(1) I wonder if we are not hearing about tour companies that have the better refund policies because there aren't any? (Last attempt to request this information to be posted.) I've dealt with several companies and have been fortunate in that those with websites and direct credit card payment have been met and not missed. My thought is that ports with a history of problems (Guernsey, Holyhead, Queensferry, etc.) may not be good locations to make such formal plans?

(2) Indeed, Great Britain is a founder of the insurance trade and I wonder if companies like Busybus could charge a couple of dollars extra/person and thereby cover insurance for the instances in which the ship either fails to make port or lands without sufficient time to conduct the tour? My hope for summer 2016 is that we will have the opportunity to have such a discussion this coming winter! I can only say that I am a previous Busybus customer and have nothing but good memories of an excellent tour experience!

DJ:)

Princess offers a vaporetto ticket for unlimited rides between near the ship to near St. Mark's Square. If you will not use the ticket, turn it in or you will be charged. Prince is in the $15 range.

However, this vaporetto does not go down the Grand Canal. If this is your first visit to Venice, then a vaporetto down the Grand Canal is a must for most people.

Also, you do not need to walk to P. Roma if you want to take a vaporetto from there. You can take the People Mover from near the port entrance to P. Roma for one Euro each way.

Yes, I remembered that Princess, even back in 2009 wasn't in to getting you to public transportation at P. Roma! I remember the water taxi to St. Marks Square and followed up on a suggestion here that other cruise lines ran coaches from the port to P. Roma and didn't require to show your "ticket"! It was quite a deal, however, getting from ship to hotel in Venice (as cruise lines, all of them, only support your direct flight home from the ship or an extended stay where they put you? What is this "People Mover" and how often and where picked up? Would be great if it was one of those mini-trains that just ran a loop to P. Roma where both the vaparettos, the train station, and walks like into the Ghetto beckon!

Very confused regarding the remake of the Island and the new laws regarding ship size? Looking at ship search engines for summer 2016 finds multiple giant ships visiting Venice (or RT Venice). Anybody have an idea of what is happening? I see that Princess' new giant ship is visiting Venice next summer!

DJ:)

I think it would be great to identify those specific tour companies that do not hold participants responsible for the acts of governments or nature? One possibility would be for such companies to hold an insurance policy to cover these situations: perhaps a couple of dollars more per participant, but a way to avoid this?

In addition, it is great to be able to understand the issues associated with each port, whether transportation, safety, tides, etc. (not only tour resources and tour opportunities). Now that I know that Holyhead is not designed to receive a modern passenger ship, I'd discount such an opportunity (too bad!).

Have had great experiences from Liverpool and maybe I need to explore possibilities from Southampton as well?

DJ:)

Apparently these cabin modifications were the result of Venice setting size limits for docking. We did the Barcelona/Venice itinerary on the Ruby when that size ship was AOK. I find with a port intensive itinerary a larger ship offers more diversions for extended families, so we have shifted next year to a RT Southampton British Isles with Liverpool as a port. The Caribbean Princess may now be showing its age, but it provides reliability! (Need to spend time on London-based planning to try to deal with $$$.) Perhaps the answer to Venice is a multiple-day train experience in Italy to include Venice and Padua/Verona? Have not been able to get over the fact that Barcelona/Venice and Venice/Barcelona are NOT the same itineraries, and if you start in Venice you miss Kusadasi completely (I feel that Ephesus is one of the highlights of this cruise.) Indeed, looking at itineraries next summer of same ship (British Isles) you must note variance in ports, port sequence, and even port times! Just another example of how nothing should be taken for granted?

All my best to all. DJ:)

It was very useful to read about the situation for Holyhead Wales -- great information for folks considering an itinerary with this port! I'd expect people can now conduct "Holyhead" research on CC and find this informative posting. Considering the economy in Wales and the tourism opportunities, perhaps some decisions will be made to support the cruise ship industry. For use, certainly consider the possibility of a failed port visit. I guess nice for passengers that they have an overnight at LeHavre: does this mean the option of an overnight in Paris? (Pack a bag!)

It still would be nice if the tour companies that provide 90-100% rebate for a failed port visit would be listed here. My personal experience with Busybus from Liverpool was that they provided an excellent North Wales experience -- but then, perhaps Liverpool is more able to accomodate a large passenger ship in comparison to Holyhead?

DJ:)

I was also on the Silhouette. Here is a link to the news article that appeared in the local paper in Holyhead.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/giant-cruise-ship-cant-dock-9465813

BusyBus, so far is not budging on their refund policy, even after much persuasion from many who booked with them for the day.

Let me second the importance of a response to identify the tour companies with a better refund policy!

In addition, what is the history of failed arrivals for this Welsh port? Unfortunately, when I signed in to the DailY Post, I first had to answer a survey question -- but no, that was not enough. I was then to sign up for daily postings (just too, too much). Perhaps you can figure another way to post this article: maybe just copy and paste into a CC window?

Much thanks,

DJ:)

In all of our cruises (including British Isles, Mediterranean, Baltic, Norway, Alaska, Caribbean, etc.) we have never missed a scheduled port (even had an unscheduled port visit due to a medical emergency, though). Can't say that additional planning/research would be of help (the cruise after ours, RT Southampton, missed three of its ports!).

As for this tour provider (Busybus), we took their North Wales experience from Liverpool and had a grand time (Conway castle and its village was wonderful). I guess you have to balance price, size of group, and quality of experience with this possibility? We plan on taking some family with us on a repeat of this cruise (including grandsons ages 15 and 9) and intend to use Busybus next summer! (Hopefully if we can recruit an entire van load we could customize the day to reach another of Edward's castles described as the largest and in the best of condition? Apparently water conditions and tides are an issue at several of these ports, not just Gurnsey (which is of little merit, and substitution of Holyhead or another Irish port would be a great improvement!). Do we say climate change or just some random misfortune?

At any rate, through Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor one gains information to be prepared: Mediterranean is best in spring/early summer or fall, British Isles, Baltic, Norway being mild or decidedly cool (like Alaska) through the summer. British Isles has the value for the English speaker of language simplicity and genuine friendliness of natives (the British and Irish take their history quite seriously) although I can only wonder if the reception from Russia has deteriorated over the last two years (they are big on commercial competition and education, but aren't big on hospitality (people don't smile in Saint Petersberg -- a real contrast to ethnic Russians who run stores in Tallinn!).

DJ:)

We never had a bad experience with an Aft Cabin either.

90+% of the time an aft cabin is exceptional and the view can be memorable -- if only the sight of leaving various ports. BUT you should make certain that the cabin or spaces above and below your bedroom are not public spaces (such as entertainment venues). Remember that metal does a great job of carrying sound, and we have discovered that engineers think nothing of attaching speakers to a rooms ceiling when that ceiling is also the floor of a passenger cabin! (Age makes no difference, as we were on a ship in its first season, just a couple of years ago.) It is also amazing how passenger services always responses to any complaint as if it was the very first time they had heard about it! Best to be prepared and to avoid the possibility.

DJ:)

Even if you are young and prone to sun exposure, Barbados has so much to offer that this is not your typical beach port (even if your vacation is an escape from frigid climes). Read up on history and select a tour with some variety (tripadvisor is a great efficient resource). To give you some idea, visit the Glory Tours web site and explore options (we have used them for our last two port visits in Barbados).

DJ:)