Capt_BJ

we stopped sailing NCL years ago ..... we looked beyond ...... NCL is OK for introduction to cruising but there is SO MUCH MORE available ...... today VIKING is our choice and have a Rhine river booked for the fall and a Med for next summer . .

Are there gas stations close to the car rental agencies at Port Canaveral? yes google maps is your friend 'best' is subjective AND depends on agency ......

fortune telling????? a lot can change 'tween then and now but one thing is for sure ... they can't be at the same place on the same day. I have no personal experience but pier to pier transfers are FAR from unusual ...... TIP NICE for the short ride.

Verizon has several options for international access (service in EU)and it is wise to check them out before you go if you plan to use your phone AT ALL. There is the $10 a day plan which is fine if you ensure your phone is OFF or AIRPLANE mode. When I go to EU I'm usually there for 3 weeks at a time and I sign up for VER' international $100 for 30 days. At the present time that gives unlimited data & texts and 250 minutes. It does NOT auto renew unless you ask for this, so I activate b4 a trip and am covered with no surprises.

I doubt they will die but expect they will need a government bailout ... local paper: The opening of a station in Orlando has given Brightline a huge infusion of revenue. However, the Miami-based train company still reported a net loss of more than $116 million in the first three months of 2024. A station for Cocoa has been 'approved' but the location not yet set. The nearest the tracks get to the port is 8 miles away ..... the track runs along side US-1 from Miami to Cocoa until SR-528, then turns west . . . A

I do agree that some of the shipping lines are in some type of competition with who will have the largest RCCL keeps this one in house (for now) ... each new build is just a little bit bigger then the previous .... inches ... and squeezing in a few cabins so each new hull is the LARGEST with MOST PASS' capacity. Frankly, once I tried 'smaller ship' I was sold. Have gone BIG a few times since to accommodate traveling with family but Viking Ocean ships are as big as I like to go now, with WINDSATR sailing and Viking River better yet ......

jumped right into their first refueling at PC ..... port fire boat is standing by just in case. Not the first LNG ship for PC .... Carn' and Disney each have one as well .....

you will have free internet access on VO so you 'could' web call (dunno if Consumer Cellular supports this) but I usually just text (time differences) and and have zero issues ... even sending pictures .... I'm with VERIZON and activate international for our trips as we extend on either side for a few days ... I can buy 30 days of international with a kwik talk to service dept. Then I have full data etc for my days on land.

welll .... I booked a 'Golden Circle' thru tripa' and it was fully refundable up to 24 hours out .... and I had a direct contact phone number ..... read the fine print ....

a teaser last July on an 'included tour' - boat ride near Tromso Norway, Viking Ocean cruise. Shocked the boat crew as it was 'wrong time of the year' ..... had not seen any in months. A small pod came by, played for a few minutes then went on their way .....

Thon is sort of the Holiday Inn of Norway ... there are several Thon properties within a few blocks of the Oslo train station. Our first cruise visit to Bergen (had visited by air/train b4) the cruise ended in Bergen and we stayed a couple of nights at the Bergen Harbor Hotel which is between the fish market and funicular station, about 1/2 mile from the pier Viking uses. Our recent visit we were leaving on Viking from Bergen and flying into Bergen ... we stayed at the Radisson Blu (arrived day before) as we knew the shuttle from the airport had its last stop right in front of that property and the pier (for Viking) about 650 yards ... Bergen fish market

seven Sisters is about 4 miles from the pier / anchorages at Gier' easily visible on the way in and out .... plan the time accordingly. Note that all 7 do not necessarily appear all the time. Our first summer visit there were only two streams flowing .....

a couple of notes that I hope help .... - there is a ferry from Bergen to Flam.. travel time is 5:40 - Norway in a Nutshell has a bunch of options but can be a one (long day) of Bergen to Voss to Flam Myrdal back to Bergen. Or as I have done Bergen Voss Flam Myrdal Oslo. We did a night in Flam. The Bergen to Oslo train is a full day. - the Flam train is not just a tourist attraction, but also local transportation. It makes a few stops for pass' ... these are not intended as tourist stops. There is ONE tourist stop at the waterfall. You are not 'required' to get off - the Flam train and the Oslo Bergen train stop at the same station in Myrdal. It is small with one platform and a track to either side .... there is a small snack bar and a small assortment of souvies. - when we did Bergen Voss Flam Oslo we carried our bags <one rolling each and backpaks> .... the bus and ferry and trains all had provision for luggage. Easier to let someone else do that? YES but we managed. Last time we did it (18) the Bergen train had both assigned seats and open seats .... they were not in sep' cars. Not unusual to board mid stream and find someone in your 'assigned seat' but IME regular riders knew what was up and when told 'you are in my seat', immediately moved. The train was not oversold ... we did assigned seats twice .... booked on our own.

There are two hotels in Flam. Actually more than 2 we stayed at Heimly Guesthouse .... 22 rooms, breakfast and dinner included https://www.norwaysbest.com/accommodation--restaurants/heimly-guesthouse/ FLAM is a sleepy place once the cruise ship departs and the day visitors mostly leave . .

we visited last July on a Viking Ocean ship and they were still working on the pier ... but as you can see even with the extension it is not terribly long .... note that VO ships are short compared to most. Here's what I saw .... and from this I'd say the extended pier is around 1200 feet . . . On MarineTraffic I have seen and posted that PRIMA has been pierside already this year. BUT do the math ... 3 ships, add their lengths .... almost certainly SOMEONE is tendering . . update <the port web site says the project was to provide 500 meters of dock>

if there's good diving in DR I never found it despite many visits over 25 years when it was in my patrol area ....

has not moved or changed in 15+ years ...

there are no rental car offices at the port .... most go to the airport where there are large facilities. There are a couple of downtown locations but they are smaller and may or may not be better on any given day. If yours is a very busy day .... wellllllll .. do the math .... AND btw ... I have been on queue for over 2 hours trying to pick up a rental at Florida airports on multiple occasions .... AND btw if there are 18,000 arriving at the port by ship, there's another 18,000 arriving at the port to BOARD those ships contributing to the madhouse !!!

a BIG factor is the port schedule for the day. Some days there is one or two ships turning around and usually things are OK and you'll have no issues. Other days there can be 4,5 even SIX and then things get crazy. You can find the schedule at https://www.portcanaveral.com/Cruise/Cruise-Lines-Schedules click the schedule button ... they usually have about 6 months available. Also recognize that today easily 50% of the folks on the ship with you plan to be the first to walk off early to beat the crowd. On a recent RCCL cruise folks started queuing up to be first off around 4am. And as a 'small town' Cape Canaveral ain't overflowing with UBER drivers . . .

inflatable 'bubble bum' is the way to go .... https://www.amazon.com/BubbleBum-Backless-Inflatable-Booster-Black/dp/B00AQYZCXK

quick check shows them <some> on Amazon . . and several other online sources. I recognize that often US sources that pop up in my searches won't ship out of the US tho ... just trying to help. I searched for Orlando area & Melbourne area (about 20 miles south of the port .... )

they all have shuttles .... one BIG factor is to look at the port schedule for your day. A busy day with 4 bigger ships turning around makes the rental car places turn into nightmares. As the port has grown some infrastructure - like the rental car offices - hve NOT kept up find schedule here - they show about 6 months ... consider today for example (orange) 4 ships ..... with one a monster compared to 4th with only one (yelllow) .... there have been days with SIX SHIPS arriving .... I stay far away from the port on those days! <in the past they showed pass' capacity on this chart .... I think that scared people so they stopped>

did a few days in Reyk' post cruise last July as well as port day in Isa' .... did Golden Circle. Can't say I remember a single bug .... certainly nothing to get excited about. Volcanos cook 'em all 😬

we did Golden Circle last July and at the geyser it was said a seismic shift a couple of years back caused the 'big one' to pretty much fizzle out. A 'big one' now is 3 meters or so ..... we saw one burp maybe this tall and several a meter or so ..... Guides would point and say the BIG one was over there . . but gone.

I copied this from Marine Traffic . . which collects AIS data from a BUNCH of volunteer stations. And if you want to PAY they add satellite data ....