CaptJerry51

You may find all the information you are looking for in a separate post 23 pages long that is the first in this forum Norwegian Fjords - Page 23 - Northern Europe & Baltic Sea - Cruise Critic Community Although the title says Fjords, many Norway port cities are discussed in addition to the fjords.

I have been a HAL regular on several cruises, but they no longer offer a good Norway fjords coastal cruise itinerary. I went to Royal Caribbean for a good one.

I have now read all 23 pages twice, but have a question regarding Stavanger. I am cruising this June on Royal Caribbean and will be on deck very early for the sail-in to both Geiranger and Flam to see and photograph the scenery. We are in Stavanger on a Saturday from 8 to 7 and I am considering booking the Rodne small boat cruise in the Lysefjord to Pulpit Rock (not a RIB). My question for anyone that has done this - I am thinking the Lysefjord scenery will be very similar to what I will already have seen from the ship of the fjords in and out of Geiranger and Flam. I don't think Pulpit Rock from water level will be much to see. Pulpit Rock is all about the view from the top. So why take this boat trip? mickeysgal back in post #511 on page 21 said she loved it. I am 50 / 50 on booking it unless I hear another solid yes vote and why. I can find some Stavanger city based things to do. Thanks for any responses. My wife can't make the hike up to Pulpit Rock and I don't think I want to go solo.

Mogens (hallasm), Thanks for posting your video. I plan to be on deck at about 5 am to view the sail-in to the fjords. Your video was from the same early June time frame that my RCL cruise is this year. I know the weather can be quite variable, but what do you remember the conditions to have been for temperature and spending hours out on deck? Maybe 10 C (50 F)?

I'm asking for just a brief description of how reservations for shows works. I have sailed Holland America several times, but have my first RCL cruise this June on Jewel of the Seas. Is the reservation system for passengers in certain cabin levels and higher - eg. suites? Or everybody? Do you get a specific seat assignment? Why doesn't everybody do it? On Holland America for popular shows you just got there early to get your seat.

I called to refare. I didn't see how I could do that online and keep the same cabin. I am pretty particular about my cabin location. I saved over $1,400 on a 2 person, 12 night cruise that I originally booked in November last year. I'll do as much as I can online, but don't think that situation was possible.

I normally cruise on Holland America, but am sailing end of May on Jewel of the Seas 12 night Norway cruise since RCL had the best itinerary for that region.. I do my own bookings. No travel agent. Maybe someday. I like the assigned "personal cruise consultant" on HAL, especially if you get lucky and get a good one. I have a good one. They get to know you. It works pretty well. I like it. My first experience with Royal is that you get whoever answers the phone. I assume they have a call center somewhere and probably have a good deal of turnover. The person I dealt with was "somewhat knowledgeable" when I could understand their not-first language broken English. Is this my only option for dealing with Royal if you don't have a travel agent? Can I somehow get a designated Royal person to deal with or is it that they didn't design their system that way. You get who answers the phone. Definitely a lesser experience than I expected.

I have my first cruise on RCI next June and am looking at their excursions. I am finding their descriptions a little light in content and RCI does not provide for reviews to be posted. I would like to be able to find out a little bit more about those I am interested in. My questions are: - should I assume that everything land based is done via a 40-50 passenger bus - Yes? The description says nothing about the transportation. This may be by design. - where can I see reviews from prior passengers of each tour? Often these reviews add a lot of detail - the good and not so good about the excursion.

OP here. I don't know what the average fully refundable deposit amount is or how much it varies by total cruise fare, but I agree that $900 is too much. That is what I paid for a 5/30/24 12 night cruise deposit.

OK, so I have to populate all the fields for guest information, etc. to get to the payment page? Then just exit after viewing the fully refundable fare option. At least it avoids calling and waiting on hold or getting a call back from an agent.

I am new to RCL but not new to cruising. I have booked an itinerary by calling in to RCL and getting a fully refundable fare, which apparently is not shown on the website. By my understanding, the website shows a fare that requires you to accept a non-refundable deposit. Call in to RCL to find out what the somewhat higher fully refundable fare is. Correct? I would like to track fare changes to see if I can refare at a lower price. Apparently I have to call RCL to get that fully refundable fare amount.. I do not use a travel agent. Unfortunately, I have also found this to be the case on the other line that I have been cruising. I guess it is an industry standard to obfuscate pricing.

I am looking at ocean view cabins on deck 3 and notice that there are cabins below on deck 2 on the port side midship to aft, but only blank space on the deck plan for deck 2 on the starboard side. RCL could not tell me what is in that space. I am concerned about booking a cabin on deck 3 above an area that may be noisy. Does anyone know what is in that space on deck 2 starboard side midship? And if you don't know, have you booked a cabin on the starboard side deck 3 and found it satisfactory?

CruisinKikster, Thank you for your review. I am interested in Celestyal's 14 day Greek Islands itinerary and only became aware of the line because of their placing in service the Journey - former Holland America Line Ryndam on which I took my first ever cruise. I love that size ship! There have been four reviews posted of the Journey so far and all have been quite negative. However, I have seen a Youtube video interview of a travel agent who recently sailed the Journey and she was positive about her experience. I don't know your level of cruising experience, but expect you are not a beginner and can render an opinion based on that experience on other lines. Although your cruise was only 4 days, what was your overall experience and would you sail Celestyal again? I am looking at their 14 day Greek Islands itinerary and don't want to be disappointed over that length of a cruise. I have a history of about 100 days cruising Holland America ships only. Thank you.

Very sad what has happened on Maui at Lahaina. I visited there in the 80's, loved it, and was planning on seeing it again when the Koningsdam has a scheduled tender stop there this coming February. As far as I know, Lahaina is a tender only port. What do those of you who know Maui well think will happen for those main line ships scheduled to stop there? I am sure the town will be rebuilt and hopefully in the same style that it was. I am also sure that there is feverish activity at all the cruise lines that have stops scheduled at Lahaina this coming winter as to what to do. From the news reports, it sounds as if the harbor was destroyed and boats that were tied up there burned. So, tendering in there may not be an option and the town will be a construction zone for some time. Maybe they will rebuild the harbor quickly to be able to accept tenders and the visitors can go to Kaanapali for activities and shopping. With Lahaina - the principal tourist attraction from the tender landing gone for now - what will they do? Stop at the Kahului cruise port on the North side of the island? Skip Maui altogether and stay a day longer at the island port stop before or after Maui - Oahu or the Big Island? Find a dock that can accept tenders a little farther up the coast from Lahaina, if such a thing exists? I know that everything is in flux and forecasting the future is pure speculation, but I am trying to plan on what I can do to salvage a much-anticipated shore excursion I had planned for whale watching which departs just up the coast from Lahaina and may have been untouched. Or whether I should cancel now. I doubt the cruise lines will notify their passengers with their decision until the last minute. We should know before too long. Starting in October, the schedule shows a major cruise line ship at Lahaina almost every day.

Just my opinion. Walking poles are a bad idea. Depending on your ship and how wide the veranda deck is, they add to your width especially as I suspect you will walk side by side. This is based on my experience. I don't like to take a brisk walk and have groups walk on the deck like they own the ship - smack dab center of the walkway so that you cannot pass without asking. Walk on the right. Leave some space. If you are too unsteady to walk in anything other than dead calm seas, consider the treadmill and hold on to the rails.

Thanks for posting. I will be there next month. I hope the weather is as great as you experienced. I have just started playing with time lapse. What time interval did you set between shutter releases?

I just went online and booked Pinnacle Grill for the evening of 9/25 on my Alaska sailing and the price showed as $46 - the new increased price. Since I booked prior to 9/1 I would have expected to see the current price of $39. Perhaps it will be adjusted.

Back to the original post. How does this September 1 deadline for the increase work? And how do I work with it to my advantage? I have two future cruises booked - September and January 2024. My assumption that "bookings" means a specialty dining restaurant "reservation", not a cruise itinerary booking. If that is the case, I need to go online now (before September 1) and book (make dining reservation) for the September 2023 sailing before 9/1/23 to lock in the old (current) pricing? Correct? Basically, I am asking them to define what booking? cruise itself or dining on that cruise? They could be clearer. Regardless, I don't think there is anything I can do about the January 2024 cruise. Just accept the new pricing.

I would imagine the same type of rainy, cloudy day would take out any visibility on the North Shore too. Those are the days you use your rental car to see the indoor attractions. Or cancel it if you can and stay aboard.

Thanks, scottca075. Your reply is exactly the kind of detail I was hoping for. And the gps track was a big bonus! I think I will follow your route for the south and see if we end up with enough time after returning to Lihue to see if we can do a quick up and back to the North Shore. If not, I am sure we will be more than delighted with the route you proposed.

Ship is scheduled in Nawiliwili port from 8:00AM to 6:00 PM - 10 hours, figure maybe 7 hours available for driving with 3 hours set aside to pick up rental car at airport and return with additional safety time margin for not getting left behind by the ship. Never been to Kauai before and may not again. I want to see the major sights. And this is the one island I have never been to before and most want to see. I have looked at the Tours by Locals options but I prefer to do it on my own. That means a drive to Waimea Canyon with perhaps some associated stops along the way and then reverse course back through Lihue to get up to the North Shore. Although it looks like it may be doable given the distances, I don't know what the roads are like and what average speeds are. It will be on a Thursday. I don't plan to stop and swim on a beach or go snorkeling. Just stop and see the major sights without dawdling, a little more than a drive by. Is this doable? Anybody have experience at this to know firsthand? If it isn't, I will just concentrate on Waimea Canyon and the other sights in that area. But I would like to see the North Shore too.

Thanks for posting this news. I'm sure the decision came after numerous focus groups and hundreds of thousands of dollars of consultant fees. Maybe fits into some grand long-range strategy. I didn't think the name was broke. So why fix it?

How do you know that you are not seeing the Mariner rate? I do a test booking and see a fare and if I am logged in as a Mariner, I assume that is the Mariner fare. Help me understand how to know that maybe I am not seeing the best fare. Are you cross checking against another site?

I have the "Have It All" package for my upcoming January Panama Canal transit and this post inspired me to look into the details of the 3 levels of internet packages (not easy to find on the website). I looked closer at my booking confirmation and realized I have the Surf package as part of Have It All. It is more limited than I assumed. I would like to be able to stream music (if the bandwidth allows) and can only do that with the Premium package. Also would like to do video calls with family rather than in port at some found wifi. Does anyone know if HAL will allow an upgrade to the Premium package for just the difference over the Surf package? I fear no. I will also send an email to my Personal Cruise Consultant, although there is no certainty in her answer either. From HAL website: