onyx007

Both cities are easy doable on your own; no need for an expensive tour...in Lisbon I recommend a walk on the seafront to see the Seafarers Monument and the nearby Museum where the Tomb of Explorer Vasco da Gama is located (he was the one who discovered the route from Europe to India via Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) In Porto as others pointed out, the port is not right in the city but there is a Metro which takes you to the city center and if your teenagers are into Harry Potter, there is a Book Shop JK Rowing frequented and was the inspiration for the moving stairs of Hogwarts (it's called Livraria Lello and has usually a long waiting line to get in)

In which city is this hotel ???

Following as well, as I will be in Le Havre in November and have seen Bee, but will probably do it by public bus, which is cheaper...and I am not so sure, that they have a pick-up and transfer at the port (heard of it the first time)

Yeah, I would book a Shorex of NCL (also to be sure, to be back on time) What you might do if you really are not into NCL Tours ... try the homepage getyourguide

What I read (as I booked a landbased tour) you will need tickets for Skara Brae, which you should by beforehand or miss getting inside: to be able to visit, you must pre-book tickets following the below link: https://dashboard.ventrata.com/checkout/en/skara-brae?checkout=b79f173c-5654-4776-9f70-06c8077e4b55

For a tour from Zeebrugge because of the drive (and the time you loose on it) I would prefer Brugge (or if you're into history Ypers for it's WWI connection) But be aware, depending on the size of your ship and if it's a weekend Brugge is small and will be packed with tourist. For a land based trip I prefer Brussels as it's in my eyes one of the most underrated city in Europe. It also makes a great base camp to visit some other places. As a comic book enthusiast Brussels is the dream city as it's after all the home town of Tintin (and Spirou if you know that character as well) - many murals of european comic book characters around, the comic book museum, the amazing Atomium building from the World Fair 1958, Grand Place with the old town around and the little pissing boy (Manneken Pis) and many more sights

As others already made the comments about the ports; I like to add my thoughts; ports are there to be explored, there is enough time to see the ship and be aboard. So depending on the age of your kids, every port is worthwile to go at least for a stroll. It's of course not really necessairy to make a tour or a whole day at land, but sometimes a couple of hours on land to go to a beach or watch the happening of the big ships in port or a nearby playground... 1. At sea 2. LE VERDON BORDEAUX, FRANCE As I see (I will be there the first time for myself in November) you could step of the ship and explore the nearby beach 3. BILBAO, SPAIN I would go into town (easy done with a Metro to see the huge puppy dog in front of the amazing Art Museum) 4. LA CORUNA, SPAIN It's the port of Santiago de Compostela, where one usually goes to see the Cathedrale but as I've seen on this page (search for it) there is lots to see and do in La Coruna itself. 5. OPORTO, PORTUGAL Another city which is in my eyes a must to visit, with the very colorfull houses, the old fashioned tram 6. LISBON, PORTUGAL Ride the tram around, stroll along the river side 7. CADIZ SEVILLE, SPAIN did the tour to Seville which I highly recommend 8. CARTAGENA SPAIN, SPAIN Did not visit 9. BARCELONA, SPAIN Again a city not to be missed, if you don't like to tour you just might to take a stroll along the Waterfront and the "Ramblas" Street (watch out for pickpockets) and maybe ride the cable car 10. CANNES, FRANCE Beachtime 11. LIVORNO FLORENCE PISA, ITALY Tour to see the leaning tower in Pisa

79 is per Person - so if you get 4 people it's already 316 Euros = a taxi/uber you only pay once and not per Person....of course if you are on your own the tour might be cheaper, but if you are more people, then the bill looks not the same...

In might be not that popular because it is basically not a tour but an expensive shuttle to those places and nothing else....it might be cheaper (if you are a couple of people to share a taxi instead)

of course it also might be that there are too few bookings on the Shorex; always a reason why it gets cancelled...

The Black Taxi Tour is great and they will pick you up (if requested) at the pier and my guide/driver even dropped me of at the Titanic Museum. Don't know about the timeslots as I bought my ticket right there at the museum without a problem. And yes I probably also spent 2-3 hours there, boarding the amazing SS Nomadic as well and walking on the place the big ship was built. There's also a Memorial with all the names of the souls who were lost at sea in that faithfull night in 1912... If you're fan of Game of Thrones; there are some stained-Glas-Windows around commemorating the series.

Yeah, don't need a pre-booked-tour as there is a shuttle in the the oldtown and there is either one of those little-tourist-trains or as I remember as well an Hop-on-Hop-of-Bus

If you have not a fully flexible ticket on a TGV - Train (usually the most expensive) then if you miss the train your ticket is gone and you cannot use it on any later train (and even if you have a fully flexible ticket you have to be very lucky that on any later train there are seats available as you only can use a TGV with booked seats...if you travel with an TER (Regional train) no problem, you can jump on any train at this day with an flexible ticket as there are no booked seats. Also I heard that on the way from the pier to the railwaystation there is a draw-bridge, which might be open and therefore blocking your way. So even if you can leave the ship by 9am, it's not garantueed to be at the station by 10 am...

(1) Facebook Been inside the base and as I recall it's open to the public and the "cite de la voile" is just a part of it...

Is your ship ancoring right in Monaco itself ? Or even on a pier in Monaco ? Then I would opt to eat your lunch on board. Monte Carlo is very walkable and you can visit for example the ducal palace and the cathedrale nearby (where the tombs of the late Count Rainier and his wife Grace Kelly are) in the morning and walk along the race track of the Formula 1 and see the Casino on the other side in the afternoon.

I've been to Brest and Quimper and I wasn't that impressed by Quimper. Brest has not only the Aquarium and the Botanical Garden, but also a very nice and impressive fortress with the national maritime museum in it. It was built or at least made bigger and therefore more impressive by (in-)famous Cardinal Richelieu (yes, the one from Alexandre Dumas' the three musketeers) - but in fact he was not the evil man Dumas made him but a very important political figure of his time.... Château de Brest - Wikipedia Venue and itinerary | Musée national de la Marine at Brest (musee-marine.fr) And also this Sight is to mention: Home | Ateliers des Capucins

What cruise are you on ?

I have no private guide, but I can give you the company I used when in Galway Galway Tour Company | Book Now

Nice one, but the main reason ship's stop there will probably be to visit famous Santiago de Compostela, but nice to know if that is not possible or when there should be time left after that tour what else can be done there...

Doune Castle is not only Outlander and GoT-Winterfell but also the french Castle of the Monty Python Movie...

I choose to stay in Southampton, but I have also only two nights before the cruise; and I will check out the Marine Museum of Porthmouth an hour away with a direct train (Admiral Nelson's Ship is there) But I heard the seaside towns of Brighton and Bournemouth are nice as well.

Follow this thread as I will also stay two nights in Southampton (in a different Hotel) and will board the Norvegian Star...which date is your departure? @Seafan22

I did Blarney when I spent 3 night in Cork City, as others already pointed out, be sure to arrive before the big tour busses arrive; because especially for the Blarney Stone the wait will change very fast from 5 minutes to 90 minutes +... Recommendation: Go first to the castle and the stone and ignore everything else...you can easy spent 2 to 3 hours to explore the gardens and ground afterwards (if the weather is as nice as it was at my visit)

Didn't know about that "Falkirk Wheel" and will travel in June on a land-based-trip to Scotland and will write that on my bucket list (will probably do it as part of a daytrip out of Edinburgh)

Many people don't like to fly for different reasons...And that you have direct trains from Amsterdam to London has started just recently when Eurostar bought Talys, before that you always had to change...