Mostly Live From Nieuw Statendam Northern Isles June 22 - July 6

[roxybear135]

Passport control was a bit chaotic this morning. People on excursions were supposed to go first and then people going onshore on their own would go. However, when we went down at our specified time, the line was insanely long and stretched all the way past Club Orange. There was no way there were that many people doing excursions and no one was checking to see if people should’ve been in line at that time or not. Fortunately it only took about 30 minutes to get through the line. Make sure to leave yourself plenty of time if you have to do this on your cruise. 

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, roxybear135 said:

Passport control was a bit chaotic this morning. People on excursions were supposed to go first and then people going onshore on their own would go. However, when we went down at our specified time, the line was insanely long and stretched all the way past Club Orange. There was no way there were that many people doing excursions and no one was checking to see if people should’ve been in line at that time or not. Fortunately it only took about 30 minutes to get through the line. Make sure to leave yourself plenty of time if you have to do this on your cruise. 

 

Hope you are enjoying the Northern Isles?  We are doing this in August on Rotterdam. 

This morning I read with alarm your post about Passport control at Inverness 😱 We are not morning people and the thought of getting up early to suit 'Officialdom' really rubs me the wrong way 😉.   So, do you know how late the Passport inspection was available?  We have a 12 noon tour and I really, really am not going to present myself at 7.30 or some ridiculous hour just to go ashore there.  

TIA

Edited July 3, 2022 by VMax1700

[roxybear135]

10 hours ago, iceman93 said:

First of all, thank you for your ongoing updates.  As someone who's boarding the NS in a couple of weeks, I love hearing the first-hand reports!

 

But second, I sincerely hope that Glenmorangie will offer tastings and/or allow purchases of Signet.  My wife and I have found it our absolute favorite dollar-for-quality scotch out there!

The tasting room was closed while we were there and they did not have Signet available for sale. 

[roxybear135]

5 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

 

Hope you are enjoying the Northern Isles?  We are doing this in August on Rotterdam. 

This morning I read with alarm your post about Passport control at Inverness 😱 We are not morning people and the thought of getting up early to suit 'Officialdom' really rubs me the wrong way 😉.   So, do you know how late the Passport inspection was available?  We have a 12 noon tour and I really, really am not going to present myself at 7.30 or some ridiculous hour just to go ashore there.  

TIA

Thanks, we are having a great time. We docked at 7 and they were doing it until around 9am. Our tour left around 930 so we didn’t have much of a choice other than waking up early which is never fun. 

[roxybear135]

Today we went to the Glenmorangie distillery and the town of Dornoch. Neither were very far from the cruise port (about 20 minute drive) so fortunately we didn’t have to spend long on the bus. 
 

At the distillery we took a tour which we enjoyed. We got to see all the different steps of their operation process. Unfortunately no photos were allowed inside the buildings. We also got a tasting of two varieties of whisky at the end of the tour. 
 

After we drove to Dornoch, where we had about an hour to wander around. Because it was Sunday, most things were closed but we found a few shops to go in to. My fiancé found a whisky shop that specialized in whisky from Scotland and had many unique bottles. We also bought a bunch of delicious Cadbury chocolate at the market to bring home. 
 

The town of Invergordon is only a short walk from the port but we don’t have enough time to go in to town. We took a drive through it before finishing our tour and it looked like a cute little town. 

[iceman93]

Sorry to hear the tasting room was closed!

[roxybear135]

Yesterday we were in Edinburgh. We had to tender to the port and then we took a bus (£10 each round trip) to downtown Edinburgh. It was about a 30 minute drive from the port. 
 

We headed straight to Edinburgh castle but when we got there it was unfortunately sold out for the whole day. We hadn’t bought tickets ahead of time since we weren’t sure when we would get there (it’s a timed entry) so this was very disappointing. I would suggest booking one of the excursions that goes there if this is something you really want to do. 
 

Instead we wandered around town and went to a beautiful church named St. Giles. It was very windy but a beautiful day otherwise. 
 

Once back on the ship, we spent the afternoon playing cards and relaxing at the Grand Dutch. Dinner was excellent with an Asian rotisserie duck being the highlight. 
 

Unfortunately, most of last night and today has been spent dealing with flight issues. I’m flying SAS back home and they went on strike yesterday so my flight looks like it will be cancelled and I’m not sure when or how I will get home. 

[Mtn2Sea]

44 minutes ago, roxybear135 said:

Yesterday we were in Edinburgh. We had to tender to the port and then we took a bus (£10 each round trip) to downtown Edinburgh. It was about a 30 minute drive from the port. 
 

We headed straight to Edinburgh castle but when we got there it was unfortunately sold out for the whole day. We hadn’t bought tickets ahead of time since we weren’t sure when we would get there (it’s a timed entry) so this was very disappointing. I would suggest booking one of the excursions that goes there if this is something you really want to do. 
 

Instead we wandered around town and went to a beautiful church named St. Giles. It was very windy but a beautiful day otherwise. 
 

Once back on the ship, we spent the afternoon playing cards and relaxing at the Grand Dutch. Dinner was excellent with an Asian rotisserie duck being the highlight. 
 

Unfortunately, most of last night and today has been spent dealing with flight issues. I’m flying SAS back home and they went on strike yesterday so my flight looks like it will be cancelled and I’m not sure when or how I will get home. 

I’ve got my fingers crossed that you get your flight home straightened out!!

[kazu]

Your pictures and reports are wonderful.

 

Oh dear on your flights 😔 I hope you can get some assistance & new flights to get you home 🤞 

[BetsyS.]

4 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

Yesterday we were in Edinburgh. We had to tender to the port and then we took a bus (£10 each round trip) to downtown Edinburgh. It was about a 30 minute drive from the port. 
 

We headed straight to Edinburgh castle but when we got there it was unfortunately sold out for the whole day. We hadn’t bought tickets ahead of time since we weren’t sure when we would get there (it’s a timed entry) so this was very disappointing. I would suggest booking one of the excursions that goes there if this is something you really want to do. 
 

Instead we wandered around town and went to a beautiful church named St. Giles. It was very windy but a beautiful day otherwise. 
 

Once back on the ship, we spent the afternoon playing cards and relaxing at the Grand Dutch. Dinner was excellent with an Asian rotisserie duck being the highlight. 
 

Unfortunately, most of last night and today has been spent dealing with flight issues. I’m flying SAS back home and they went on strike yesterday so my flight looks like it will be cancelled and I’m not sure when or how I will get home. 

I'm sorry to hear about your airline strike. Good luck with getting home - safe travels.

Thanks so much for all your reporting and the beautiful pictures.

[GroomsportGirl]

Thankyou for your daily posts - we have looked forward to reading them.  I hope your journey home is swift and straightforward 

[roxybear135]

Thanks everyone for your well wishes about getting home. Definitely put a damper on the last day of the trip, but overall it was a great cruise. We had mostly fantastic weather, amazing food, and spectacular service. The only negatives were the entertainment wasn’t great and there wasn’t much to do during the days but that’s not atypical for HAL. 
 

Tonight we are doing dinner at Tamarind which is always our favorite so we are very much looking forward to it (and the crispy duck!). Luckily I was able to book a flight to Heathrow and another one home from there so I have a backup if SAS doesn’t rebook me. Stressful but at least that’s done. Now it’s time to enjoy the last bit of our vacation!

[roxybear135]

Last night we had dinner at Tamarind, which was excellent as always. The highlights were the scallop and satay appetizers and the crispy duck with udon noodles. Service was amazing and so incredibly friendly. 
 

After dinner we watched the show, which involved the singers from billboard onboard and the step one dancers. It was pretty good and entertaining. We then went back to the cabin to pack up. 
 

This morning we had one last breakfast at Club Orange where the service was great as it was the whole cruise. The free shuttle bus only took a few minutes to get from the cruise terminal and we were on our way to our hotel. We’ve now checked in to the hotel and I’m waiting to see if SAS rebooks me on a new flight (they finally cancelled my flight for tomorrow) or if I have to go with my backup plan. We are sad the trip is over as it was great. This was probably our best HAL cruise ever. 

[roxybear135]

For anyone who is flying SAS and has their flight cancelled going home from Copenhagen - go to to the CPH airport and go to their customer service desk. It was the only way I could get any help in getting a new flight. They were able to get me on a flight to heathrow and then a flight from there to Los Angeles tomorrow. Fingers crossed I won’t have any more issues!

[cruiseaholic78]

12 minutes ago, roxybear135 said:

For anyone who is flying SAS and has their flight cancelled going home from Copenhagen - go to to the CPH airport and go to their customer service desk. It was the only way I could get any help in getting a new flight. They were able to get me on a flight to heathrow and then a flight from there to Los Angeles tomorrow. Fingers crossed I won’t have any more issues!

I am so glad that you have managed to get your flights sorted.

Our SAS flight on 15th July to Copenhagen is with a SAS subsidiary company and we have been assured that it will not be cancelled. Otherwise plan B is driving from the NL which leaves the problem when returning to Schiphol but hope we won’t have to go down that route.

Loved following you on your travels and made us really look forward to our Copenhagen to Boston cruise next week.

Rosalyn

 

[cccole]

Thank you so much for letting us cruise with you.  I am going to miss looking for roxybear135's latest post when I turn the computer on in the morning.  Your descriptions and photos brought everything to life.  Thank you again,  Cherie

[Mtn]

14 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

Last night we had dinner at Tamarind, which was excellent as always. The highlights were the scallop and satay appetizers and the crispy duck with udon noodles. Service was amazing and so incredibly friendly. 
 

After dinner we watched the show, which involved the singers from billboard onboard and the step one dancers. It was pretty good and entertaining. We then went back to the cabin to pack up. 
 

This morning we had one last breakfast at Club Orange where the service was great as it was the whole cruise. The free shuttle bus only took a few minutes to get from the cruise terminal and we were on our way to our hotel. We’ve now checked in to the hotel and I’m waiting to see if SAS rebooks me on a new flight (they finally cancelled my flight for tomorrow) or if I have to go with my backup plan. We are sad the trip is over as it was great. This was probably our best HAL cruise ever. 

I'm curious. What made it, for you, "the best ever" cruise with HAL?  What was better than any other?

 

Thanks for sharing!

Lea

[roxybear135]

4 hours ago, Mtn said:

I'm curious. What made it, for you, "the best ever" cruise with HAL?  What was better than any other?

 

Thanks for sharing!

Lea

The service was fantastic, the food was great, and the ports were beautiful. I’ve done three other HAL cruises - Alaska in 2015 and 2021 and Mexican riviera in 2021. The Alaska cruises were good but the food on the recent one wasn’t that great. The Mexican riviera one was pretty bad. It left the day after Christmas and came back on the day after New Years. The food was awful, the service was atrocious, and we got a cabin that had so much engine noise that the room shook all night (they did change us to a new room the next day when we requested one). This cruise just felt very high end and polished in terms of the food and service - we had no complaints with that. The only disappointment was the entertainment but that’s always the case with HAL. 

[Mtn]

9 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

The service was fantastic, the food was great, and the ports were beautiful. I’ve done three other HAL cruises - Alaska in 2015 and 2021 and Mexican riviera in 2021. The Alaska cruises were good but the food on the recent one wasn’t that great. The Mexican riviera one was pretty bad. It left the day after Christmas and came back on the day after New Years. The food was awful, the service was atrocious, and we got a cabin that had so much engine noise that the room shook all night (they did change us to a new room the next day when we requested one). This cruise just felt very high end and polished in terms of the food and service - we had no complaints with that. The only disappointment was the entertainment but that’s always the case with HAL. 

thank you for the detail. Much appreciated.  I am surprised that you came back to HAL after the Mexican experience!  We have been on only 1 HAL excursion - sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii.  It was so marvelous: cabin, food, service, various shipboard activities (the educational offerings about the upcoming port where great; the spa was lovely; dancing in the evening was a treat) were such that we look forward to sailing with them again.  Before that we've sailed once each with Norwegian, Oceania and Cunard.  Cunard is the only other one we would want to do again.

[Mom39]

On 6/30/2022 at 11:52 AM, iramack said:

How was the airport in Copenhagen when you flew in? Crazy? Chaotic? Normal?  etc....

I'm flying in for a Seabourn Cruise on the 15th.

 

Thanks

Steve

Beware Steve if you are flying on SAS.  SAS canceled our flight the day before and did not offer an alternative.  Stated reason was a strike.  This impacted a number of cruisers and guest services was very busy.

 

[roxybear135]

Finally made it back home after a very long travel day. I flew SAS Connect to Heathrow and British Airways from there to LAX. The airports were a huge mess in Europe. It took my fiancé almost 2 hours to check in and get a bag tag for his Air France flight in Copenhagen (it wouldn’t let him do this online or at a kiosk) so he almost missed his flight from there even though he got there 3 hours early at 330am. CPH was chaotic and the lines for food anywhere were 30+ people long. Heathrow was an absolute nightmare. I had almost 3 hours between flights and got through security and the transfer only about 20 minutes before my second flight boarded. I highly recommend getting to the airports more than 3 hours early for your flights so you don’t risk missing them. 
 

Now to deal with the jet lag and all the laundry I have to do. I miss having our cabin stewards coming in to make up our rooms and do turn down and whisk our dirty clothes off to laundry. Wish I could have that at home!

[VMax1700]

5 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

Now to deal with the jet lag and all the laundry I have to do. I miss having our cabin stewards coming in to make up our rooms and do turn down and whisk our dirty clothes off to laundry. Wish I could have that at home!

Reality hurts! 

Glad you made it back home.  Yes, airports in Europe are a mess this summer.  Strikes seeking wages increases because of rampant inflation are not helping, but the core problem still appears to be lack of staff, specially at check in  and luggage handling functions.

[TomAndJane]

Sorry if this has been asked already but did HAL happen to sale Icelandic Krona on board or were you required to use an ATM on shore to get local monies?

 

Thanks

 

Tom

[Heartgrove]

18 minutes ago, TomAndJane said:

Sorry if this has been asked already but did HAL happen to sale Icelandic Krona on board or were you required to use an ATM on shore to get local monies?

 

Thanks

 

Tom

 

We spent two weeks in Iceland last Summer (one week VO cruise plus one week driving tour of the Westfjords) and never once felt the need for having Icelandic Krona. Credit cards were accepted everywhere.

 

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Heartgrove

[Wendy-Europe]

Same here,  even a local farmer who sold icecream had a card reader. You can pay everywhere with card.