onyx007

Sorry, no it was a vessel called Eden and yes if it's the same you will not be able to fit a large hard-sided case under your bed...better travel with something soft which is bendable...

Now my question is; is the Eurostar running from Brussels to London ? and isn't there a regular train service which you might catch to bring you from Amsterdam to Brussels ?

Belfast has (in my eyes) only two big things to offer; either the Titanic Museum and on otherside the resent past with the IRA... the first thing you can really do on your own ... for the second one I recommend booking a own private tour (maybe when you are sure that Belfast is not cancelled) Google for "Black Taxi Tours" or "Black Cab Tours"

No as I wrote I was on a small yacht with only 8 rooms, the Celebrity has 50 rooms...of course if you bring along a really big hard case suit case you might have problem anywhere at sea...better to bring along a soft duffel bag

In my opinion you have time for Park Guell as well; if you take a cab, it should only take you about 30 minutes to Sagrada Familia; and as CCWineLover pointed out; book the ticket in advance and maybe even book it with a guided tour (same homepage as entrance tickets) and it cost you only 4 Euros more then just the entrance: Individual - Sagrada Familia And it takes you not more then 2 hours to visit the cathedrale. Likewise the "Ramblas" is probably less then a mile (1,3 km ) and even if you linger to check out the shops should not take you more then an hour, which gives you either before those two sights or in between them enough time to see Park Guell...I would set the Ramlas to the end of your visit as you can then take as long as you like. The end of Ramblas is right at the harbor front, where usually you have the shuttle bus stop back to the ship, but the Waterfront is also nice to visit... AND at the Rambla watch your valuebals as I heard it's a paradise for pickpockets (but I was there at least three times so far and nothing happend to me)

Also nice, be sure to check out Covent Garden next door itself and Trafalgar Square; the "National Gallery" is right at the square and free of charge to visit...

I was there with NCL in June, and yes the Museum is too far to walk (if your not used to run marathons) - when I was there, there was a inexpenisive public bus, which sometimes runs only to the city center bus hub (right beside the "Northern Lights Cathedrale") and sometimes it carries on to the Museum (otherwise you change buses)...I heard there might be a App for the bus which makes the payment easier...and sometimes the bus is really full as many people don't like to pay $$$ for the shuttle or the guided tour... And I agree the Alta Museum with the rock carvings is amazing but of course almost everything is open-air, so if the weather is horrible don't go there and if you do prepare for it. Also try to spend at least three hours there to do both loops to see everything there is to see...

Agree with above, that the Norway/Iceland Itinerary is better for your benefits; as Stockholm, Helsinki and Kobenhavn are big cities with probably already many land-based tourists around... ...with Isafjordur, we stopped there in June'23 with the Norvegian Star (Tender as the pier was occupied) and the town was tiny and not really much to see and do, so better to have a tour organised to bring you out beforehand (also not that many options when you arrive) - while in Akureyri there are dozens tour companies waiting for you at the pier if you like to go into the countryside instead of staying in the town...(which is small an can be seen within an hour)

NCL did a shuttle but it costs 25 US, while there is a public bus stop at the main street (only about 5 minutes from dropoff of the tenders) where you pay for the same service about 6 US...

www.bahn.de is the right homepage to do it (as it is the official homepage of the State Railway) and something goes wrong, you get hope for help at the customer center / ticket counter at Hamburg Main Train Station.... the earlier you book and the fewer people have already bought their ticket, the cheaper your ticket will be BUT such "Super Saver" - Tickets will not be changeable or refundable, so don't book a train too early in the morning. If your ship is late you might loose your ticket if you miss your booked train...

As I live in Switzerland I travel through Germany (our neighbor in the North) a lot (almost every year once) .... Firstly my recommendation is that you should arrive well in time for your flight; if your flight on the 7th is in the morning spend your night already in Frankfurt, if it's in the evening then it's not that important to be near the airport and you can also have an overnight a little be further... I suppose your disembarkation is in the morning, so it really gives you 2 1/2 days... As you like historical sites and museums I second doing the "Rhine Valley" between Cologne and Ruedesheim... Maybe head to Bonn (which was the Capital City of West Germany from around 1948 to beginning of the 90ties, when they went back to Berlin) - Some great Museums there and it's also directly on the river Rhine...it's with the train within 6 hours reachable... So my itinerary for you (which I would do also myself in your shoes) May 4th, take the train to Bonn hbf (6 hours) - if you book in advance through www.bahn.de you might gete some good deals...spend two nights in Bonn May 5th - visit the museums of Bonn ("Haus der Geschichte" and the Art Museum ) and maybe take also the hop-on-hop-of-bus May 6th - either look if there is a ship from Bonn to Ruedesheim or go by train to Koblenz and take a ship there to Ruedesheim, then depending on your flighttime the next time overnight in Ruedesheim (lovely little village) or carry on by train to Frankfurt

There is also a relativly cheap public bus which brings you to city center Alta and sometimes also further to Alta Museum

And yes, Windsor Castle is in my eyes only worthwile if you can visit the interior and not only the grounds....

My thoughts about visiting Windsor/Eton...: Look at a map: Windsor is beside Heathrow, so you basically first make your way to London to be beside the railway station with the trains bringing you to Southampton just to hop on a tour the next day which will bring you all the way back and past Heathrow... If you don't have to been to London already, make a walk in the morning till check-out time and take the train...(Buckingham Palace is about 30 minutes by foot away, Parliament Square half way)

In Dublin, there is also an Hop-on-Hop-of-Bus if you don't like walking...and the most visited attraction is not the Book of Kells (didn't see it myself so far) but the Guiness Brew House...

Wow, great location. Would have liked to know about "Travellodge" years ago; I always had a hotel way out of this part of the city...either North of Hyde Park or close to Victoria Station.... This hotel is just around the corner of the British Museum and Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and the whole Theater District is in walking distance...

Thanks for the correct spelling and you probably cannot see beforehand which port they use, as it probably depends if you are the only ship (then they probably will use Cobh) or if there are other ships there and there is no space in Cobh...the Titanic by the way did also not ancor at the pier and not even in the protected bay as she was too big... And of course @Sox Fan Cruiser there are many more ports ( like for example Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands, which I will visit in June and cannot tell you yet about it or Aberdeen (same thing, visiting in June)

So I hope you're still looking for an answer about the differences between North and South; or if not, that answer might help someone else: Firstly it even has different routes on both direction as I've seen on the itinerary...and both have their advantages; if you can (and if available) book back-to-back and visit North AND South...as you really visit different Islands and places... I just was on a trip with a smaller yacht (only 16 passengers in 8 rooms) and visited 14 Islands in 15 days (including Baltra Island, where the airport is) and both North and South are pretty amazing; if you have preferences "North" is the only way to see the Pinnacle Rock on Bartolome Island, but South is probably better for wildlife sightings (especially if you have South Plaza Island on the tour)

So in addition to John Bull I can fill the two blanks (not been there with a cruise, but with an overland trip, ) but been on both cities at the cruise pier: Cork (Cobh) : Pier is right beside the train station, having at least hourly trains into Cork; from Cork Station it's a 30 Minutes walk into the city center, probalby the Shorex with the highest demand might be going to Blarney Castle...but if you like you don't have to leave Cobh at all; it's a nice little village with a great church and three top class museums (one about the Titanic as this was here last stop to get passengers, the museum is housed in the old original waiting hall building of Star Lines Cruises) the other nice one is on "Spike Island" (has to be booked in advance) which was a navy base AND a kind of Alcatraz... Belfast: as above mentioned; Pier is in the industrial port about 2-3 km from the city center, which is not that interesting in my eyes, the two most interesting attractions in Belfast is the amazing Titanic-Museum which is right at the wharf where she and her sisters where built, the second thing you can do is going with a "Black Cab/Taxi Tour" to see the sights of the resent past with the IRA ...

Yeah, we will need more specific things to go with... I, for example like, when you can walk of the boat and right into town without having to use an (some-times expensive) shuttle and if there is a lot to do and see right around the pier and not beeing 100 km away from the main attraction and the reason to be at this port... for example Cork (Port of Cobh) is one which is great as the village of Cobh is very nice and there are two attractions right in walking distance, also Cork is only a train ride away and easy visited.... in compare Belfast Pier is about 3 km out of the city in the industrial area and even if Belfast is nice to visit...the logistic is far more harder to visit that port by yourself instead of a Shorex...

Maybe a (youth) hostel (backpacker style) instead of a regular hotel; they sometimes have bigger rooms to rent as a private room and lot's of the time are as good as a regular hotel (in-room bathroom, breakfast, 24-hours reception etc.)

So far I have used them only for a flight from Europe to Marocco which is about 3-4 hours (was alright) and have no experience using them for a longer flight overseas. Have you looked into european companies (maybe with a change in a major hub) like Iberia and Madrid, KLM and Amsterdam, British Airways and London, or Swiss and Zurich...

That's the problem; One goes NOT to Montserrat for the monastry but for the beautiful landscape and the hikes you can make...if the main reason is to visit only the monastry and cathedrale then I agree with you, that it is overrated

I had in Dublin / Ireland a toilet in a shopping mall which was only useable with creditcard for 50 Cent only...but yes many need coins, but of course like you said, there are toilets in Museums which one should use...not so many public toilets to find...

Will have the same problem with my NCL from Southampton, but as I like to experience as much of the starting city as well; I wait at least till check-out time of my hotel or even later, maybe not really for the last minute but also not as early as possible. Barcelona has so much to offer and see...