Cruisen Elf

1 hour ago, 555 said:

There's nothing wrong with dine my way. You still have the option to select a fixed dining time each evening. I can't understand people who can't accept the change. It's the best of both ways. 

Well, in my experience you can select a fixed dining time, but that is not how it actually happens.  We signed up for the same time every evening and had to wait at least 1/2 hour each & every time.  We had different sections and different waiters each night.  We missed all the shows because they didn't honor the "Dine My Way" reservations.  So we definitely did NOT get to "Dine My Way!"

We are planning to visit the Arctic Cathedral and Fjellheisen Cable Car on our own.  I recall reading you could buy a daily bus pass at the Tourist Information Center near the port.  Can anyone confirm this is still the case?  Also, does anyone know the bus route # for that trip?  

I will confess I thought I had written down all the pertinent details, but alas, that does not seem to be the case!  I have done an exhaustive search on the boards with no luck.  I cannot download the bus app because my phone will not work outside the country.  Looking online is confusing, as the website keeps switching from Norwegian to English, and back.  Please put me out of my misery!

Thanks in advance for your patience and any information you can share.  

2 hours ago, Meander Ingwa said:

Do you have Google Maps?  Zoom in on your city, select search here and enter ATM.  It will show you where the bank ATM are.  Tromso has one a few blocks from one of the common docking areas.  Stavanger, being larger has many more

Thank you!  I am embarrassed that I did not know you could find ATM's on Google maps.  🥴  I've searched for hotels, restaurants, landmarks, etc. there, but never ATM's.  Live & learn.  Thanks for your gracious reply.

Are there ATM's available close to the ports of Stavanger and Tromso?  I understand that Norway is mostly cashless, but prefer to have a few NOK to have on hand for tips, toilets, and just in case.  Thanks in advance for any info you can share!

Maybe you already know this, but you can book a Titanic Trail walking tour and pair it with a visit to the Heritage Center with this company:  https://titanic.ie/

We did that back in 2019, and enjoyed it.  We ended the walking tour across from the cathedral, so were able to enter on our own and explore the church at our own pace.  The Heritage Center is nearby, and again we entered and explored it at our own pace.

As previously mentioned, everything on the Titanic Trail and the Heritage Center is near the port, within a few blocks, as I recall.

17 minutes ago, tellis90245 said:

Has anyone who booked a cruise before this change been contacted directly by Princess? To tell us that we now get less than what we thought we were getting, or we have to pay more to get what we thought we were getting? The retroactive change is bad enough but to not have the decency to inform us personally adds insult to injury. 

Not to my knowledge.  I know I haven't heard anything from Princess or my Travel Agent.

10 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Congrats.  It was hard keeping up with it in real-time on Thursday afternoon.  Posts were flying in at warp speed.

Well, it took me 3 days to catch up!  LOL!  Every time I was almost finished, more pages would magically appear!

OK, I finally made it through all 50 pages of this thread and feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole!  The way Princess has handled this is poor business IMHO.  It is classic Bait & Switch -  Buy one thing and get another completely different product!

We booked an upcoming October cruise back in 2021, and added the Plus Package.  At the time we booked, there were no charges to activate The Ocean Ready app or for Room Service delivery.  There are no "casual restaurants" on the ship, so that's a non issue.  Now I'm learning these things are no longer included, and since it's past final payment date we have no recourse.  It is a 14 day cruise, so obviously we are not planning to pay an extra $10.00 a day per person for the new "extras."

We have heard nothing from Princess or our Travel Agent about the changes.  Naturally, I think the honorable thing to do is "grandfather" in the existing customers who purchased cruises in good faith prior to the changes, and not charge them the new extra fees.  But I won't be holding my breath on that, as I want to live!

We did the free walking tour in Bath a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It gives you an overall picture of Bath and where various sites are located.  You do have to walk a couple of miles and some of it is uphill.  The website says that no tips are accepted, so I don't think we tipped anything, even though we're American.  😉

35 minutes ago, BURNSMN said:

Double check excursions before you book. Most now only include a picture stop at the rope bridge where in the past you could walk across the bridge. If you go with a cab tour you should be ok but most busses can not enter the parking lot.

Yes, I agree you should double check with the tour company before booking! 

I will add that the link I showed is a small group tour that uses smaller vehicles (19, 24, or 36 seats), not a large "Greyhound" sized bus.  I know that when we took the tour (2019), some of us stayed the entire time at Giants Causeway, while several folks, including my husband, were transported to and from the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge in order to cross it.  So I presume the smaller bus fit into the parking lot there.

1 minute ago, myblubu said:

Thanks!  That’s good to hear!  Were you on a cruise when you were there?  

Yes!  According to their website they adjust the departure time if your cruise ship arrives later than 8:00AM.  There was availability for both August 15th, and August 30th (another poster's date) when I checked the Small Group Extra Leg Room Shore Excursion they offered. You can contact them to clarify any questions about the tour.  Here's what we booked:  https://odysseycoachtours.co.uk/giants_causeway_tour/shore-excursion-giants-causeway-tour-small-group/

We have done a coach tour with Butler Coach Tours:  https://www.ecoach.ie/index.php

We visited the shopping center near Blarney Castle, but you can go to Blarney Castle if you choose.   It also included a tour of the area, and a visit to Kinsale.  

On our second visit we did a walking Titanic Trail tour combined with entrance to the Queenstown Story Heritage Center.  It was called the Cobh Cultural Tour.  Everything was within a few blocks of the port, and quite interesting.  Here is that website:  https://titanic.ie/

We did the Giant's Causeway with extra leg room shore excursion with Odyssey Coach Tours back in 2019.  After we got to the causeway, folks who wanted to cross the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge were taken there, but still had an opportunity to see the causeway.  There is an extra admission charge if you choose to walk the bridge.  Here is a link to their website:  https://odysseycoachtours.co.uk/shore-excursions/

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

How about just asking for an ice bucket, and ice refilled daily?

That's exactly what I planned to do if and when needed!  🙂

Where in Western PA are you from, if you don't mind me asking?  We live near Indiana, PA, so I was curious.

Thanks, everyone!  I knew folks in our Cruise Critic community would have the answer! 

It's not ideal, but we can manage, as we obviously did before.  First world problem.  😉 

Wondering if the ocean view cabins on Vision of the Seas have refrigerators.  The last time I sailed the ship was in 2015, and I don't recall if they did or not.  (Thinking not.)  Hopefully, the cabins have been updated since then!  The Royal Caribbean website didn't mention whether or not the cabins had refrigerators.  TIA for any info you can share!

1 hour ago, hallasm said:

Lysefjord and Pulpit Rock is a Nice excursion - You can book individual tour at Fjordtours - just check where you ship will dock - might be outside Stavanger.

Thanks!  I'll check it out! 

6 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I think those two ports are 350 miles apart.  Stavanger is a common port stop, but I’m not aware of how feasible travel is between them. But Hallasm knows Norway a lot better than me and he might be able to figure out what’s going on.  
 

on a clear day the views in geiranger are truly stunning.  

6 hours ago, hallasm said:

It's very fine to use an existing topic for related questions. 

There are actually only a few of the Norwegian Fjord itineraries that include Geiranger and from 2026 most ships must not sail to Geiranger due to a 'zero Emission Zone’in Geiranger Fjord.

However, I doubt there are excursions from Stavanger to Geiranger as kitkat343 is saying  - it takes 24 hours to cover the stretch both ways by car, so if that is the case there must be an overnight excursion. 

Create a new topic with your itinerary and let us have a look at the possibilities.

You are both right, of course!  We are nowhere near Geiranger Fjord while in Stavanger.  When I took a closer look at my notes and Google maps, I realized my mistake.  The fjord near Stavanger was Lysefjord, not Geiranger Fjord. 

Sorry for the confusion.  🥴

@hallasm

Do all cruise ships go into Geiranger Fjord?  Our Princess itinerary just says "Stavanger,"  and they are offering an overpriced Geiranger Fjord shore excursion.  I was going to book an independent fjord tour, but won't if we will see it from the cruise ship anyway. 

TIA for any info you can share, and sorry to hijack your thread, aubreyc1988.

We are planning to take the National Express coach from Heathrow to Southampton.  Our luggage size is within their guidelines, but the weight limit is only 20 kg, or 44 pounds.  How strictly do they enforce the weight limits?  We have used National Express before, and I'm sure we were a bit over that, but under 50 pounds.  But that was back in 2019, so I wanted to check before I booked it.  TIA for any recent info you can provide!

There were several tour companies that offered day tours to Stonehenge, Avebury, Salisbury, etc. from Bath,  We took a side trip with Lion Tours while staying in Bath pre-cruise.  Stay in Bath website has tons of info on the various places to stay, things to do, and current tours.   https://www.stayinbath.org/

We thought so.  According to Google maps it is .4 miles or an 8 minute walk to the Bath Abbey which is located in the heart of the downtown historic area.

We took the National Express (bus) directly from Heathrow to Bath.  Very cost effective!  While there, we stayed at Duke's Hotel.  It was lovely, and served a fabulous breakfast!  However, they do not have an elevator (as of 2019), so if you have mobility challenges you would need to book a lower floor room.  They did carry our luggage up and down the stairs.

We then took the train to Southampton for our cruise.  We took a taxi to the cruise port.  

FYI, the National Express or train tickets are less expensive the earlier you book them.

We are travelling to the UK later this year, and need to exchange some old 20 pound notes from our pre-pandemic travels.  We arrive at Heathrow Airport, and plan to go directly to Southampton via National Express.  I could not find a Post Office in Southampton that exchanged currency, and as far as I can tell the only Bank of England branch is in London.  Any suggestions where we could exchange this currency at Heathrow or Southampton?

6 hours ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

Our originally booked .Azamara Norway cruise for Jun/2020 (when we thought certainly the 14 days to slow the spread would be over by June - wouldn't that have been nice!) would have gone through more of the spectacular fjords, I think.   I didn't do a lot of research when I replaced the original Azamara cruise with 2 princess cruises -- summer & northern lights (for the same price). So, I'm trying to see as much of the fjords as possible given the itineraries. We do stop at Olden and booked a shuttle bus to Briksdal glacier.  We don't visit Geiranger or  Flam on either cruise.

 

Are you on the Oct. 4th Search for Northern Lights cruise?  Come on over and join the roll call!