NewtoCruising2011

Thanks to both of you for the very helpful information.

We want to spend as much time as we can hiking in Acadia on our own during the day we have in port. I have no problem at all paying for a cab to drive us to the park and sit and wait for us, but I have sent a couple of emails and haven't gotten a response.

Ideally, I'd like to pick up a cab at the port, drive around and stop at a few scenic spots, get let off. Hike for a couple of hours. Get picked up and returned to the ship.

Maybe this is doable with the Island Explorer as well, but I haven't been able to figure it out.

Thank you for any advice!

We went on a full day Athens tour with PK Travel on October 31, 2016. It was an excellent tour. Georgia is a phenomenal guide. She is incredibly knowledgeable and her English is perfect. Should be a college professor! I learned a great deal, which I rarely do on a cruise excursion.

Any thoughts on taking the NCL gondola ride excursion? We will be staying an extra night in Venice after the end of our Mediterranean cruise, so we could take it the next night, but from what I've read it can be a hassle arranging a gondola ride on one's own and was curious as to the advisability of going on the regular excursion.

Thank you!

Perfect! Thanks so much.

Are there coffee makers in Spirit balcony cabins? If so, are they the standard four cup hotel room variety? And, are supplies replenished daily?

I've seen conflicting information on this in other postings.

Thank you.

Any way of predicting what night that will be in advance? Possibly an at sea date?

Thank you. That's very helpful. It will probably be like the Baltic cruise we took last summer where it was a struggle to stay awake through dinner.

We are taking the 12 night Mediterranean cruise on Spirit from Barcelona to Venice.

This is our first time on Norwegian but my experience on other cruise ships is that the MDR menu is typically a bit more special, e.g., lobster, on formal nights.

I know that NCL does not have formal nights. However, are any of the nights likely to have better menus in the MDR? If so, which ones?

We have the specialty dining package and I plan to make dinner reservations for the cruise and would like the best information I can find for planning purposes.

Thank you.

They are not cruise line employees they are local companies contracted by the cruise line ...

If you do not or cannot tip in the local currency just do not tip

 

Sometime the ship will change a few USD to the local currency or hit an ATM

I would think that someone would prefer to get $20 US currency handed to them discreetly at the end of a tour to nothing at all, but I may be wrong.

I am only proposing in tipping in dollars for cruise excursions, not restaurants, taxis, or any other shore activities. These are not private excursions. There are at least 24 people on each excursion.

We are going on a Baltic cruise where we will be in many ports for only a few hours. The only expenses we expect to incur on shore are for tips for excursions. Is it acceptable to tip in USD? I would give a larger tip to avoid the hassle of dealing with Danish, Norwegian, Swedish currency as well as Euros. Interestingly, the tour guide for the St. Petersburg excursion suggests tipping in USD.

I know that it is a problem for a tour guide to exchange USD to his/her local currency, but if many people customarily tip in USD, one more is possibly not significant.

Thoughts?

Both of these ports appear good for DIY walking tours. However, I'm not clear as to how far one has to walk to get to the attractions. Is there a shuttle? How difficult is it to get a taxi? We normally are not concerned with this, but are taking this cruise with my brother and sister-in-law who have some mobility issues.

Thank you for any advice!

Thank you for this advice!

There are two Helsinki Hop On Hop Off Bus/Boat Tours. One has red buses. The other has blue buses. Any advice as to which is preferable?

Thanks!