SueMo

https://www.exploreacadia.com/index.html shows timetables and routes for the free Island Explorer Bus. From the tendering area, walk up Main St. to the Village Green. Check in at the visitors booth on the Village Green (get bus map and pay entrance fee for Acadia National Park or show Senior National Park Pass here). Take Island Explorer Bus #3 to Otter Point parking area. Hike the Ocean Path (easy, 4.4 miles) back to Sand Beach. If you want a shorter hike, get off at Otter Cliff. Ocean Path is mostly flat and parallels the loop road, offering scenic views and numerous access points to outcroppings above the rocky shore, including major attractions like Thunder Hole and Otter Cliff. Then taken Bus # 4 to Jordan Pond. Have lunch here by the lake. Very good chowder and popovers. Return to town on bus #4 or 5 and look at the shops.

We've been to Belfast three times on cruise stops. The first time we did the Giant's Causeway trip and had a beautiful day. The second time we took a Black cab "Troubles" tour in the morning and walked about town afterwards. A great tour and day. The third time we took a cab to the Titanic Museum in the morning and then went to the old gaol after lunch. Once again, we loved our day there. Whatever you choose, do it with the thought that it gives you a reason to go back! Belfast is a terrific port of call.

There is definitely Covid onboard right now (I know one person who tested positive yesterday) but how many cases, I couldn’t know. When I sit on my balcony, I hear coughing and hacking from the left, the right, above, and below.

When you take a ship’s excursion, you really don’t get the chance to interact with locals. You ride on a bus, get out and take some pictures, and get back on until your next stop. You pretty much only interact with your fellow passengers and guide. Some of my best experiences have been using public transportation in Denmark or going to a local pub in Ireland, where I get the chance to better immerse myself in the culture. And in 60+ cruises, I’ve never been close to missing the ship! It does take some pre-planning, but in my opinion, it’s worth it.

Was there last week. We had the Machu Picchu Express tour through Inca Expert precruise. No signs of protests. Low crowds at Machu Picchu—had a great time!

I’ll answer my own question. No, there is not a tender. Instead, a port shuttle takes you to Seminario Park (AKA Iguana park), about a four block walk from Malecon 2000.

We are cruising the opposite direction next February, Auckland to Sydney, and we were planning to do what you suggest--fly into Queenstown for a few days pre cruise, then fly to Auckland for another couple days before beginning our cruise. There are quite a lot of tour operators that offer day trips out of Queenstown. We have our eyes on some (Shotover Jet boats, cruise & BBQ at Walter Peak, Hooker Valley hike, Arrowtown & Gibbston Valley) . Is there anything you can suggest as a "must do"?

When we have cruised to Cobh in the past, we always love to stop at Kelly's Bar. They have live Irish music, good beers and Irish coffees. I don't know if they offer food, though.

I just looked it up, and our tickets were 80 GBP each. You have a great price on trip insurance. We are currently paying just under $1000 US (for two of us) for an Alliance policy for a year.

Didn't have insurance on that trip. The tickets cost much less than a policy would have cost, though.

I don't know how common it is, but we were not able to tender in Newhavn in July 2015 and missed the opening day of the British Open. We had to "eat" our tickets.

I can't help you with Isafjordur or Grundafjordur, as I've never been there. But the places you plan to go to from Akureyri look good. Husavik might be a little far away--we were there to take a whale watching excursion--but the other places are good. Close to Myvatn is Hverfell, with its bubbling mud pits and steaming earth which is a good place to visit. On your Reykjavik trip, check out Seljalandsfoss with the hidden waterfall beyond it, Gljufrabui, on your way to Skogafoss. Have a great trip!

You must eat at the popular hot dog stand Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (The City’s Best Hotdog) located in central Reykjavik, on the corner of Tryggvagata and Pósthússtræti. Credit cards are taken.

Just FYI: We booked a cavetubing experience for our cruise next month for $50 per person (or upgrade to cavetubing plus zip lining for $65) with the company ranked #1 on tripadvisor. If you need help, the guide will carry your tube. O charges $169 per person.

Thanks for the responses. Our cell phone international plan charges 12 cents per megabyte, which is hard for me to get my head around. We would only be using data for messaging our kids when we don't have internet access, or to use google maps to walk from point A to point B in the cities. I found out online that you use less than one megabyte for a 20 minute trip using google maps, so I think that actually would be pretty inexpensive. Thanks again!

We will be taking a cruise in a few weeks beginning in Lima and ending in Miami. We have a four day pre cruise trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu planned as well. Has anybody who has traveled to South and Central America used a Sim Card for text and data? If so, how did it work and where did you purchase it? I know you can buy one at Lima airport, but is it good for just Peru, or will it work for other countries as well?

I've booked an Australia/New Zealand cruise on a different cruise line for 2024 that begins in Auckland and ends in Sydney. Our ship doesn't stop in Queenstown, so we're planning to fly into Queenstown about a week prior, spending 3-4 days there, then flying to Auckland and spending a few days there pre cruise. The flights between Queenstown and Auckland are fairly inexpensive, and there are tons of tour companies in both cities that make it unnecessary to rent a car to see the sights in and around each. Would this be something you could/would do instead of taking time away from your cruise to do the overnight excursion?

Dun Laoghaire is definitely a tender port. Newhaven is a tender port. The only Edinburgh port where you dock is Leith. According to the Stornoway port authority website, ships up to 156 meters can dock, anything larger is anchored. I'll leave it up to you to find out how big the Vista is! According to the port authority in Kirkwall, you will be anchored: https://www.orkneyharbours.com/sectors/cruise-ships/2023

Another Cobh question that maybe VMax1700 can answer: I have been to Cobh several times on previous cruises and have done the Cork/Blarney/Kinsale tour and have also done the Titanic and afternoon in Cobh. This time we are docked in Ringsakiddy. Can you suggest a day tour from there? We are scheduled to be in port from 10 am to 7 pm, so have 9 hours to work with. Thanks!

We usually walk like the previous posters, but on one disembarkation day it was raining, so we looked for a cab. The taxi driver was not happy at all taking us to Amsterdam Centraal (he wanted a more expensive fare to Schiphol) and gave us some attitude.

Reading this thread has me very nervous. The thought that HAL intentionally waits until after final payment is due before notifying passengers of itinerary changes is in my view, worse than unacceptable. I have a cruise planned on Nieuw Statendam in August from Copenhagen that overnights in Edinburgh and hits many of the northern Scottish isles as well as stops in Ireland. I was checking some of the port websites to determine where we will be docking and found a couple discrepancies. I actually emailed the port of Cobh and received a response from the Harbourmaster there that in early February HAL had requested a change in to a different date. Dublin's port website now has us anchored in Dun Laughaire rather than docked in Dublin on a different date. And NS is no longer listed on the port websites for Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Invergordon. We called HAL and they (of course) have no record of any itinerary changes. We have already purchased Edinburgh Tattoo tickets, which are nonrefundable. So if HAL knows of these changes early in February, would they really wait until May to notify us?

There is the possibility Machu Picchu will reopen in a few days: https://andina.pe/ingles/noticia-peru-president-boluarte-meets-with-machu-picchu-mayor-full-story-928606.aspx The train service has reopened: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230208-peru-reopens-train-service-to-machu-picchu We have a pre-cruise trip planned there on March 16. If we cancel, we lose the airfare and entrance fees as our TA has already purchased those. If, however, the airport or Machu Picchu are closed on those dates they will give us a full refund. Postponing will be a huge expense. Our trip insurance doesn't cover "political unrest". We still have over 4 weeks, so we're toughing it out and waiting to see how things go over the course of this next month. As a plan B we booked a cancellable/refundable hotel room in Lima.

Machu Picchu is scheduled to reopen Feb 15th. https://andina.pe/ingles/noticia-peru-president-boluarte-meets-with-machu-picchu-mayor-full-story-928606.aspx

https://www.cmport.com/terminals/ships-in-port/

I have to ditto ljandgb here. In Norway, you cruise through gorgeous fjords and the scenery is spectacular! Many of Iceland's attractions are along the south coast where no ships dock. A land trip is a must to see the best of Iceland!