SueMo

Iceland is a mostly cashless society--everybody uses a credit card. Even the hot dog stands (make sure you get one!) allows credit. We spent 2 weeks there and only needed cash once--we did a "free" walking tour in Reykjavik and the guide didn't care what type of currency you tipped in.

Inverness, Scotland The port is in Invergordon. I highly recommend Wow Scotland’s classic highland tour. We did this about 5 years ago and it was great! Glasgow, Scotland The port is in Greenock. You can take the train from Greenock West to Glasgow. Central. Trains leave every 30 min and the journey takes 35 - 45 min. Cost is 6 - 7 GBP. There is a HOHO bus and many museums are free. Alternately, take a tour to Stirling Castle. Belfast, Northern Ireland The first time I was in Belfast I took a tour to Giants Causeway and the Antrim coast. It was nice. The second time we were there we did a black cab tour of the troubled areas and walked around the city, and it was great, too. The third time we went to Titanic museum and then to the Crumlin Road Gaol, another great day! Belfast is a great city to visit…you’ll enjoy it. Liverpool, England Lots of things within walking distance of the ship. You can take a Beatles tour, visit the Maritime Museum, and see the Cavern Club. Cork, Ireland The port is in Cobh. The first time we were there we took a private tour to Blarney Castle and Kinsale. It’s a good tour. The second time we were there we stayed in Cobh and visited the Titanic Experience, took the tourist train around town, and spent the rest of the day in Kelly’s Bar which had live music and tasty Irish coffee. All these are an easy walk from the ship. Dover, England We visited Dover Castle and their secret wartime tunnels. Interesting.

I may not like all the design and features of the E class ships, but I will say I ALWAYS have a lot of fun on them!

We call the Apex statue from the Eden corridor "Lisa Simpson"

It depends on the tour company. Some will charge a flat rate for an excursion that can accommodate up to X persons, so the per person rate decreases as the number of participants grows to the X limit. (Can you tell I was a math teacher?). Some offer graduated rates depending on the number of participants. Some will allow individuals to book online until they get a sufficient number (this is the case for tours booked through TripAdvisor or Viator, so this is a good option if you are only 1-2 in your group). I've had excellent results through participation on my roll call, either joining a group formed by somebody else, or initiating the formation of a tour. It does take a little time to do the legwork, which isn't everybody's thing, but for me is worth it.

I've been planning excursions for an upcoming cruise on the Marina in March. In Salaverry, Peru Oceania offers a 4 hour Trujillo excursion for $139 per person; I have found two tour companies with very good ratings on TripAdvisor that offer 6.5 hour Trujillo excursions for $65 per person with a limit of 14 people in the tour group. In Guayaqil, Oceania has a 3 hour city tour for $119, while I found an independent comparable 3 hour tour with 9/10 ratings for $30 per person. In Manta, Ecuador I found an independent tour company offering a tour to Montecristi and Pacoche for $65 per person--the Oceania comparable tour is $129 and one hour shorter. In just about every port of call I have found Oceania's price to be at least double what I can do on my own.

May I ask what it is about Viking that you like so much? Food? Entertainment? Ship? Itineraries? I know quite a few people that really like Viking, but it is really MUCH more expensive than HAL or X, and I'm not convinced it's worth it. (Convince me!). Another thing I worry about on Viking is that shore excursions are "included" in the pricing, but I really don't like ship sponsored shore excursions compared to independent ones, so that would be money included in the cost wasted for me. I will say we are trying our first Oceania cruise in March, and it, like Viking, is also MUCH more expensive. We chose not to get the O-Life extras to keep the cost down. Does anybody have a comparison between Viking and Oceania?

There was a Verifly line in Quebec City Oct 8 (after protocols were dropped) for Nieuw Statendam. We had Verifly, so stood in a shorter line which turned out to be poorly manned. We annoyingly watched the people in the regular line quickly pass us by. Don't bother with Verifly.

I prefer to use private tours or go out on my own at most ports. But with the "Have it all" promotions, you're kind of forced into choosing two of the ship's excursions or losing the $$. Sometimes it's hard to find two I want to go on! I don't want a coach bus, so I look for an "active" excursion such as bike riding or hiking to avoid large groups.

Just got off the "Old Fogey's" Nieuw Statendam on Saturday. Their Rolling Stone Rock Room had a live band playing classic rock nightly, everything from Stones and the Beatles to ZZ Top, the Eagles, Zeppelin and Bob Seger. The background music in all of the lounges piped in the same. My husband and I are both in our 60's and enjoyed the entertainment quite a bit. HAL knows their clientele well. We booked our first O cruise ever this coming March on the Marina, Lima to Miami. I was looking forward to the great food and wasn't expecting much from the entertainment. But some of the comments on this board have us worried...

Nobody should have a cold burger on HAL. Find a seat first and order a drink. Then get on the Navigator app and order your burgers & fries. You get a notification when it's ready--hot and delicious! (Also, I have found that it isn't exclusive to HAL that seats by the pool area are hard to come by at lunchtime. I'm Elite+ on Celebrity, and it happens there, too!) It's true that the theater fills up for the early show. So we went to the 2nd show. And bebe08 was absolutely correct! Every cruise line has its positives and negatives. I'll add a couple positives in HAL's column: The background music in the lounges is a variety of hits from classic rock and pop. It is so much better than the horrible electronic "music" played on some other lines. Secondly, the service in the Lido Market is really quite good. The tables are set with napkins, cups or glasses, and utensils. Wait staff are immediately there to bring you your drink. It's not necessary to collect your place settings and drinks prior to sitting down.

I just got off the HAL ship Nieuw Statendam. It is beautiful. Gorgeous artwork, great layout--every bit as nice as X's ships.

I have sailed on over 30 X cruises, and absolutely love the Edge and Apex! I do prefer a traditional balcony to the IV, but other than that, the E-class ships, to me, are wonderful. I love the martini bar. The "intimate setting" as described by others on the smaller class ships, to me, are always crowded--people jammed elbow to elbow. The martini bar on the E-class ships have tons of seating and always have very good live entertainment pre-dinner. The evening shows on the Edge, to me, are far superior to the smaller ships, better in concept, great live bands, etc. Loved the "Rockumentary" show on the Edge. They have so many games and trivia options, if that's your thing, you won't be disappointed. Plus, the ships themselves are beautiful. I can't tell you how many people we met onboard who, after being asked "How are you enjoying your cruise?" would respond with "We're blown away by this ship!" Please don't decide you are going to have a disappointing cruise before you even get on one of these ships!

Yesterday I deleted the Verifly app and reinstalled it. It was still saying I needed a covid test, but I decided to fill out the information anyway. I took pictures of my vaccine cards and sent them. An hour later I got the "green check-mark" saying I had fulfilled all requirements.

I love both, but prefer the Edge because of its great entertainment.

I believe the tourist information center at the seaport has a "Welcome to Halifax!" official urban walking tour map that you can pick up.

For $20 per person round trip, this is the bus service others have mentioned: https://www.cruise-express.be/en/

I, too, was considering the Busy Bus tour of Wales. But my DH is not one to enjoy long coach rides and decided on Chester, as it is a 40 minute bus ride from Liverpool. Trains leave Liverpool James Street Station every 15 minutes, and a roundtrip fare is about $10.25 per person. Once in Chester, it is a 20 minute walk to the Visitors Information Center which is next to town hall. They have 90 minute walking tours for 10 GBP daily at 10:30 am and 2:00 pm--buy tickets from the guide. Afterwards have lunch near Chester Market Hall, and then check out the Rows shops and walk the medieval walls. Maybe take a boat trip on the River Dee for 7.20 GBP before returning by train.

Looking to book this for next month. I see that many of the dates are already waitlisted. I was hoping to wait until I could get a better idea of the weather on that day, but I don't think I have that luxury!