Blue Skies

On 7/12/2019 at 7:49 PM, uktog said:

Non refundable can only be used in shops, bars. spa and speciality restaurants as well as land discoveries.  You can also use it for a private car from the concierge to take you to the airport

I assume also from Miami port to a hotel Miami Beach? , I will ask anyway. Thanks for that.

Thank you for your replies, I see my onboard credit on my planner , and so I will now book tours with it before we sail 😁

happy chappy

thanks 

Hi, I have some on board credit with Azamara ,

1) can I book a port tour before I cruise OR

2) does it have to booked whilst on the cruise

thanks

Ha ha!! Thought that was an in house joke:eek::')

What’s the position on the independence with the CA lounge....does it still exist? It’s a few years since we have been on her looks like many changes since the refit. Just want to know so we can prepare ourselves 🥂🍷🍺 :o

How about a D+ on a TA ....... 3 drinks loaded on your card between the hours of 5 to 8 pm? Any info?

First started in 1953! Cruise cost for my parents sister and myself was £120 total for 14 days with P&O on SS Chusan then a yearly holiday on SS Iberia , SS Canberra etc out of Southampton/Tilbury. My father was meticulous in keeping records of holidays and I have continued his tradition.

I have cruised yearly with my own family of 4 and now back to just DH and myself sometimes twice per year. We have lots of happy memories with hopefully more to come.

We have just returned from Rhapsody OTS and having asked our waiter why we should rate the food top in the survey when most meat in the main dining room was dry and tough , (we will rate our waiters top as they were excellent ) He said if we did not rate the food top it reflected on him as he was told what to recommend by the chef and it was our waiters fault as he was not seen to be doing his job properly if we were unhappy with the food even if we didn't like what the chefs recommendations of the day were!

This cannot be right.

A rating for service reflects on the waiters.

A rating for food reflects on the chef/food department.

Thanks Clarea, that info has passed me by

Are you sure, no corkage fee in the main dining room for your own brought on board bottle of wine?

Is this new?

I'm not sure if the times on your ship will coincide with the times on ours , the midnight concert in the cathedral in Tromso is very worthwhile. One trip that we regretted not doing and everyone on it raved about it was the trip from Harstad to Sortland called A taste of Vesteralen.The weather was fabulous which made a big difference, they got off in one port missed out two ports then reembarked .

The trips cost about £5 more booking while on the ship rather than booking in advance with your TA. You may want to wait to judge the weather!

Kirkenes is the place to go husky sledging, we fed reindeer and also looked round the ice hotel before the coach took us back to the ship. It was quite bumpy over the terrain smoother as we sledged on the frozen fiord, all quite magical. The temperature was -7 but with no wind and sunshine it was fab. There are two pers. on a sled with a driver and 8 huskies.

We booked direct with Hurtigruten so booked the husky trip in advance with them although when we decided which trips we wanted to do there was only one place left on the husky, I took it in the hope that once we arrived on the ship a place would open up for my husband, this didn't happen. He went snowmobile, two pers to a snowmobile then changed over half way to change driver, on reflection he would definitely preferred the husky as he said that was very bumpy and shakey as they went on the fiord in rutted tracks only, and were told not to deviate, they were in convoy.

I suggest trying to book your tours with who you initially booked your trip with, it all goes on your invoice. If your TA can't do it ring Hurtigruten direct.

Good luck and have a great trip.

Ps My photos will not download, the files are to big, sorry.

Hi Pollypops

We had a great trip and saw the lights nearly every night once we were inside the Artic Circle probably for six nights, sometimes weak sometimes strong always green but one night coloured and they were dancing all round the sky.

We had rough seas in two hour bursts but never longer on the way north, the return was like a millpond all the way back to Bergen in blue skies with the most beautiful snowy scenery.

The Finnmarken works like clockwork they totally have it sussed.

The first night is a buffet we went to find our allocated table for the rest of the trip in the evenings which was right by the entrance door. We managed to change this to one right by the stern window which was amazing especially in port with all the city lights shining if we were docked, that area is away from the hustle and bustle of the serving area and more relaxed. Go straight away the first night if you want to change table.

The food was great with lots of fish, reindeer, and other choices.

The wait staff are like a family and very attentive.

The wine package was a no no at £46 per bottle and £520 for a wine package for 11 days. We managed in other ways in the cabin!

There were good information talks in the mornings on tours and talks and films on the Northern lights.

My pictures on the northern lights are weak but there are plenty I have found that are just like what we saw so I have used those for my album.

The cabin 324 was small, the bed was very comfy there was plenty of storage and the bathroom compact and quite adequate.

The cabins on the promenade deck all had to keep their curtains closed most of the time for privacy, deck 5 I think.

The ship was kept very warm.

The dog sledding was amazing with a long waiting list and very little chance of getting on , I snagged a place but the other three in my party did not and went snowmobiling instead which they enjoyed.

I am not sure how to post pictures but I will try.

Hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did.

http://www.***********/cruise-ship-webcams/hurtigruten/ms-finnmarken.php

Pollypops,

I just found this live webcam site with the camera on the bow or change camera to port side on the Finnmarken. This is getting us excited for our trip on the 23 Feb. We are watching with interest the current weather, conditions and scenery. I think we will follow the same itinerary. If you scroll down you can also click on its present position.

I am not sure which ship you are on next year, but the choice of ships is yours to view, hope this helps.

Pollypops

Thanks for that, tickets have arrived, if you want to reserve dogsledding book it now! We were to late booking this trip a few months ago and they are fully booked. We tried private companies but they are booked too. We are advised to try for cancellations once on the ship. Snowmobile and a couple of others are now booked. We are having lunch today with friends that are going with us so we will have fun whatever.

The main reason for going is to see those "lights" I will keep you posted.

Your memory is better than mine!! Yes I am blonde, yes we had a large promenade view cabin and a party, yes we went to Corrine s cabin for a party and we have sailed on the same ship a few years ago.

Well done!

I started a roll call for the 22nd Feb and there has been no one else who is travelling on this voyage joined in so I thought I would try on this general H page.

It would be interesting to see if the few cruises before this one manage to see the Northern lights.

I have posted a few questions on a thread of the 2nd of Feb so I thought I had better start one for this cruise.

Hope we have other joining this trip.

Thanks for your suggestions, I wasn't going to take my swims but now I will! i did that on an Alaska cruise and remember it was the best feeling!

We are going with friends and we always like wine with dinner, we will be putting some thought into our drinking habits 😳

Ha ha! Love those americanisms! And could you tell me if you can drink the water from the tap or do we have to buy it all the time?

Thanks for that, would you know what the hairdryer is like? Maybe you could ask the Mrs! Was it any good for thick hair or do I need to bring my own.

We are going on the Finnmarken 22 Feb can you remember what plug sockets are in the cabin. Friends are a bit hazy but they thought there maybe a uk three pin socket plus a Norwegian socket. It would be great if that is the case.

Well you have a good memory! did we have a long table in the dining room with a large crowd and did we get a local taxi in one of the Caribbean Islands with you?

I remember your mini logo and trying my hardest to put a face to a name!

They did when I typed in jersey the correct connecting flight s showed up , for the return journey as well. I was to nervous to hit the final button! But got them eventually.

I could have pressed the button to book on on line with RCI for Transatlantic Cruise for

1) Return flights on a through tickets with BA Jersey -Gatwick, Gatwick-Tampa,

Barcelona-GAtwick, Gatwick -Jersey.

2) Plus accommodation for 2 nights in Tampa

3) Plus cruise +grats etc .

I was too nervous to do so , I had never been able to do that and decided to phone thinking I would get personal service....my mistake Guatemala could not do it .

I eventually rang a U.K. TA And they spent 45 mins on the phone to RCI, they eventually agreed they could book what was quoted but charged an extra £150 for the flights that showed on the original RCI site, it was still a good deal so I bit the bullet and booked through the TA.

Through tickets suit us better, for various reasons ,one is being fogged in then they accommodate onward connections.

Maybe I should have been brave enough to press that original button!

Yes, I found Jersey to Gatwick , Gatwick to Tampa , I have never been able to do that before so I decided to ring up to check, got Guatemala they couldn't do it and kept me on the phone so long I ended up with a £5 phone bill.

Did booking connecting flights on line go ok ? and if you had a problem who then would you contact? I would hate to go through RCI Guatemala to sort anything out.

Oops I think it was 0844 no. Which I got of the RCI webb site, had I seen an 0800 I definitely would have used it.

Thanks I will make a note of it .