Sailing dot

On 4/1/2018 at 1:49 PM, Velvetwater said:

The ship becomes less important when the ports rock.

 

Royal are known for putting on great entertainment whatever the ship so I think you will enjoy her. We like NCL and Royal the same tbh but Royal just know how to maximise a ship!

 

Personally, Copenhagen isn't one of Europe's great cities to me so I don't think its a biggie missing out but each to their own. The Netherlands and Amsterdam are great BUT if you are planning to go to Germany for a land break it is very easy to see the Netherlands with an amazing train service between Germany and the Netherlands.The two countries are neighbours and European trains are fab. Your RCL cruise goes to Copenhagen anyway.

 

Also, we have sailed out of Southampton with Royal and they were great and our 2 sea days were fun. Most longer cruises will have 3+ sea days.

 

I would go for Royal all the way, you'll love it.

"The ship becomes less important when the ports rock."

Very True!!!!!!!

34 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

No Visa is required for cruise ship passengers. To proceed ashore, you require a daily tour ticket from a ship's tour, or a tour from 1 of the major Russian tour operators. Your daily tour ticket and passport are presented to Russian Immigration on departing the ship and the tour ticket is accepted as your Visa. You must remain with the tour group and must return to the ship, no independent sight-seeing is permitted.

 

If you want to tour independently or stay ashore over-night, then a visitor Visa is required.

I'm sure she would have been notified of the Visa requirement/option by the tour company;  the ones I used were very helpful.  

On 4/1/2018 at 11:18 AM, lamb616 said:

I am SOOO torn and need help. This is our first trip to Europe. It will be our first non-Disney cruise. It's myself (single mom) and my son, 15, and daughter 11. We (well, mostly me, lol) want to start seeing Europe and I let my son decide where to start. He has always been partial to the Northern European countries, which is why we're going with Baltic. We decided on NCL, 9 nts. on Getaway. We are booked for next July (2019). Itinerary:

1Copenhagen, Denmark---5:00 PMday2Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany7:30 AM10:00 PMday3At Sea---day4Helsinki, Finland8:00 AM5:00 PMday5St. Petersburg, Russian Federation7:00 AM---day6St. Petersburg, Russian Federation---7:00 PMday7Tallinn, Estonia8:00 AM5:00 PMday8Stockholm, Sweden8:00 AM4:00 PMday9At Sea---10Copenhagen, Denmark

The plan is to arrive in copenhagen a few days early (2-3). After the cruise, we plan to fly to Amsterdam and stay there for 2-3 nts. before heading home to the US.

 

When we originally started planning this trip, we both (me and my son....my daughter doesn't care, she's just along for the ride, lol) really wanted to go to Norway, but we didn't see anything that included Norway. Only cruises that were mostly Norway, and we didn't want that as we want to see as many countries as possible (crossing off bucket list type of thing). We've done a lot of research, and we are excited about spending a few days in Denmark and Netherlands, in addition to the cruise. Although, I have been a little wary about having to book hotels, and transport and navigating our way around on our own (which is why I like the idea of a cruise being our hotel and bringing us from one place to the next). But, I would manage, and we already have our day trips in each country planned.

 

We've watched videos of the Getaway and are really impressed with how spectacular it looks.

 

The only down side to this whole plan is that we've really been bummed about missing norway.

 

****

So, SOMEHOW, I totally missed the 14 nt. Scan/Russia cruise on RCI. IDK how I missed it! Maybe it was released after I already booked!?!? It includes 2 stops in Norway! The only port we miss out on is Germany, which we don't care about because it was already agreed that we want to do a full trip to Germany one day, so we didn't care much about the 1 day at that port. So as far as actual ports, I feel like the RCI one wins. But........(continued below itinerary)

ayPorts of CallArrivalDepartureday1Southampton (London), England---4:30 PMday2At Sea---day3Oslo, Norway10:30 AM5:00 PMday4Copenhagen, Denmark9:30 AM5:00 PMday5At Sea--day6Tallinn, Estonia11:00 AM6:00 PMday7St. Petersburg, Russian Federation7:00 AM---day8St. Petersburg, Russian Federation---6:00 PMday9Helsinki, Finland7:00 AM3:00 PMday10Stockholm, Sweden7:00 AM6:00 PMday11At Sea------ day12Skagen, Denmark8:00 AM5:00 PMday13Stavanger, Norway8:30 AM5:30 PMday14At Sea---deay15Southampton (London), England5:30 AM---

 

 

But, the Explorer of the Seas doesn't look as impressive as the Getaway. On the other hand, with such a Port Intensive cruise, I don't know how much time we'll be spending on the ship's activities anyways. But, on the OTHER, other hand......the RCI cruise has 4 At sea days, so would be nice to have a lot of activities to choose from.

 

Also on the other hand, with RCI being 14 nights, doesn't leave us time to do any substantial pre and post cruise stays. We'd probably arrive 2 days before just to be safe and to rest up, but we'd head home upon debarkation. So we'll miss out on our little mini-vacations to Denmark and Netherlands, :(. But on the plus side, I wouldn't have to worry about researching/dealing with finding hotels, transportation, etc. etc. We were going to have to fly from Copenhagen to Amsterdam after the cruise, which isn't a HUGE deal, just a bit of a hassle (and added expense). So I'm bummed to miss out on spending time in Denmark & Netherlands, BUT -- Norway!

 

Also, with the RCI, I feel like 4 At Sea days are such a waste. Two at sea days, sure....but 4? I'd much rather be off doing or seeing something than stuck on a ship.

 

I am completely torn. On the one hand, I like the idea of the cruise being longer, then I don't have to deal with paying for hotels, meals, transportation, etc. etc. On the other hand, I'm sure it would be kind of nice being able to wander around on our own for a few days, and I already have our day trips in Denmark and Netherlands planned. But, I realllly, realllllly, want to see Norway. It is #1 on my list of Baltic ports. I was willing to give it up to be able to see #s 2-7, but, I was sad about it.

 

And the 4 at sea days would be much more palatable if it was on a SPECTACULAR ship. And from my quick review, the RCI Explorer looks just ok, not like WOW!

 

NCL is refundable so it's not a big deal for me to cancel it and book RCI. RCI deposit is nonrefundable so I can't change my mind after (I know they have higher fares that are refundable, it's like $1000 more for that which I'm not willing to pay).

 

HELP. I cant think about anything else until this is decided.

 

 

 

Hi:

I did the exact run in 2017 - loved each and every port - loved the Getaway too. . . 4 days in Copenhagen pre-cruise, rent a car to get around (or a bike) - 3 days in Paris/Normandy post cruise.....   The weather will be perfect for your trip and dont forget your Visas for St. Petersburg; I hope you see it, I promise its BEAUTIFUL.....  

BTW  NCL has a great 14 days to Norway with the Spirit (in May)  FYI

Hi all,

Will be on the Celebrity Reflection in early October and have been trying to find info on a private car company I can trust to book from Naples to Positano for the day. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi:

If you want to do a Sorrento Amalfi run with a singing O sole mio drive call Sandro. . .

RomaLimo Serving Roma, Napoli and now Miami.

. . . Romalimo@aol.com

You wont regret it .... I PROMISE YOU!!

For a weekend cruise it's great... booze included!!

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Yes... very safe. All at walking distance; the beach is right in front on the docked ship, there are chairs available at no cost. You can walk to margaritaville and enjoy their pool and bar. You will be fine.... enjoy [emoji4]

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That was one of the BEST shows I have seen on a ship!!! It was AWSOME!!! Go NCL

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Yes.. There is a coffee bar on the Escape.. Great cappuccinos too!! I forget what level it was on though...

Hi! i was just wondering how much should a cab ride cost to the beach... approximately?

Be aware that at Santorini, the lengthy process is usually getting back on the ship not off it. To get back down to the tender area involves either the cable car or the donkeys/donkey track (do not go there!)

 

We had 2 hour queues in the July midday sun for the cable car - not pleasant! (No suite/Platinum/NCL excursion priority then!)

Hi SteveH2508

What did you mean "No suite/Platinum/NCL excursion priority then" do you get priority to get back on ship if you had a suite? Just curious, i read you get the first tender out, but i was wondering . . .