space_bar

There's no need to get cash in Iceland. Cards are accepted everywhere and you usually get a better exchange rate with them too. We only used cards for the 4 days we were there and had no problems using them.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Thanks GeezerCouple. That helps alot.

 

I'm working with cancelled Delta flights and our Chase card coverage. SunCountry has flights for half of Delta's price on the new dates we're looking at... so we could:

 

A. spend $200 change fee (reimbursable by coverage) and almost $500 (using held funds and add'l cash) to rebook on Delta

or

B. get reimbursed for cancelled flights (now or after the 12 month wait) and spend $250-300 on SunCountry.

 

Don't want to take advantage of the situation, but if B. is an option, we may go with it.

 

Peg

Sun Country is now charging lots of fees for everything. They are a running on a completely different business model than they were before the buyout last year. They are now more like Spirit.

They also laid off hundreds of employees and forced them to reapply for their jobs with lower pay. Employees are NOT happy and many are just sticking it out until they find something else or reach a service anniversary. Additional seats are also being added to planes reducing the amount of legroom, etc. (This info is from my neighbor who has worked at Sun Country for years).

I've been watching flights between Sun Country and Delta for our upcoming trip to NY and will probably go with Delta. After all the new Sun Country fees, Delta is actually slighly cheaper even with their checked bag fee.

We did the "Stockholm On Your Own" aka the transportation only option through NCL. The bus ride was 1 hour to Stockholm and then we had several hours to explore the city. We're really glad we did this and were impressed with how much we were able to see during our day. You will want to have a sightseeing plan since you have limited time here.

We were dropped off near the Opera House which is within walking distance of The Royal Palace. The HOHO boat tours are in front of the palace and offer a nice way to see the city.

There are 2 different HOHO boat tours identified by either Red or Green boats. These are separate companies and you can't take a red boat if you bought tickets for the green boat. Many people were confused by this which is why I'm pointing this out. Boats arrive every 15-20 minutes.

We had a beautiful sunny day so we decided to take the HOHO boat to get around which ended up being really fun and a great way to see the city. You also get a set of earbuds so you can listen to the audio guide which is available in multiple languages.

Our first stop was Vasa. This was the one thing we didn't want to miss in Stockholm. We got there around 10am or so. We walked right in and just happened to catch the beginning of a tour with the English guide. We spent about 1.5-2 hours here before moving on.

Because we had such great weather, we decided to visit Skansen Open Air Museum for several hours. This was really cool and would be a great place for kids. After Skansen, we walked around this part of Stockholm for a bit, saw the outside of the Abba museum (it was too busy and we really didn't want to wait to get in) and hopped on a boat to the old town.

We spent the rest of afternoon walking around Gamla Stan and walking down the old streets and exploring shops.

We met the NCL bus where we were dropped off. It was a bit chaotic because everyone was pushing and shoving to get on one of 2 buses back to the ship. People didn't seem to understand that there were 15+ buses that brought everyone there, so there were 15+ buses to bring everyone back. Bus arrivals were staggered because there isn't enough room on the street for more than 2-3 buses to park. We had to show our NCL excursion ticket to get on the bus so keep it with you!

The ride back to the ship was pleasant and I think pretty much everyone on the bus took a nap!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Don't expect to get your postcards quickly in the mail. Our group of 4 each mailed a postcard to ourselves and we all received them at different times. The earliest one was received 4 weeks after our trip and the longest was 11 months!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

I'd vote for the Kenai Fjords tour. The scenery is breathtaking from the water. We saw orcas, sea lions, puffins, glaciers and a whole lot more when we went in late May. We did see some breaching humpbacks too.

Seeing humpback whales isn't a guarantee on any tour.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

We travel A LOT (just don't use his points because he's my companion and flies for free over the last several years).

I understand that. I was just suggesting donating miles/points as an option if you don't want to buy something from the Southwest shop or purchase a plane ticket before the miles expire. Lots of places accept mile donations.

I usually donate a bunch of miles to Make-a-Wish especially if it's on an airline that I don't travel on very often.

http://wish.org/ways-to-help/giving/airline-miles#sm.00000nbp0dauefd91u2x12ulpbo1a

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

You don't tender at Nyneshamn anymore. The port has a floating retractable platform that goes from shore to the ship. It's pretty cool to watch it in action (there's a YouTube video). You just exit the ship like normal and walk to shore.

The port is 1 hour south of Stockholm so you need to take the train or a ship excursion in order to get to the city. You will want to have your excursion for this port planned before you get on the ship. So many people waited until a day or two before this port stop and all of the ship's excursions were sold out--including the tours that were just a bus ride to Stockholm.

We had a 10 hour port day so it worked out for us. We wish we had been at a closer port to Stockholm, but the Norwegian Getaway is just too big of a ship.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Hello disney gal.. can u tell me how the sea conditions were? WAs there a lot o f movement or did you have calm seas? thanks

We had very calm seas on the July 27th sailing. We didn't have any issues with the ship swaying or rocking.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Where would we find the Crepe station at dinner? Was it in all 3 MDRs? Thanks

The crepe station was in the buffet -- not in Tropicana, Taste or Savor.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

As we were waiting in the atrium with other independents, we wished that we had saved our NCL excursion sticker from Germany and used it to get off the ship with the NCL groups.

(Each sticker has a number on it that corresponds to the NCL excursion number. You report to the theater at your appointed time and one member of your group goes up to the stage, shows them your NCL excursion tickets, and then they give you stickers for everyone in your group.)

They weren't checking the excursion numbers on the stickers as people walked en mass down the stairs to deck 4--they just looked for the sticker. Theoretically, you could put on any excursion sticker, get in line with the NCL groups and make your way over to passport control. Once you clear passport control and reach the terminal shops, you can take off your sticker (or cover it up with a jacket) and meet your independent tour group.

For our 3 NCL excursions, we only had to show our tickets in order to get the sticker and then tickets were never looked at again.

But he/she also said the hours were 1200-500 and the daily stated 1130-330. Maybe the poster is a CSR for NCL. 😉

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app

The hours were different for embarkation day otherwise it was open every day from 12:00-5:00 pm for the rest of the sailing.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

HI,

 

I'm not sure if this the proper forum, but I want to give a heads up to any passengers who may be docking in St. Petersburg with NCL.

 

NCL will not allow you to disembark on time in St. Petersburg if you booked a private tour (SPB, TJ, Alla, etc). NCL gives priority to passengers who booked an excursion with them and allows these passengers off the ship first. Anyone who booked a private tour is placed at the end of the line. My party of 8 was ready to get off the ship at 7am when the boat docked but we were physically turned away by the assistant cruise director Jojo when we tried to disembark. He told us to wait in a separate area until all the NCL excursion passengers had finished disembarking. As a result we didn't leave the boat until 750 and didn't get through customs until 850, and there were still hundreds of passengers behind us waiting to clear customs.

 

I don't think what NCL did was right, but I don't have much cruise experience so we just followed the rules. Looking back, I think I should have been more forceful to see if he would have actually tackled me to prevent me from getting off the boat instead of just pushing me away. Anyway, our tour started late and we couldn't see everything because of our late start.

 

 

This is just a heads up to anyone who docking in SPB with NCL. Hopefully this issue will be rectified by the time you sail.

Were you on the July 27th sailing? We were and this was our same experience in SPB. The whole disembarking process was a chaotic mess especially for those on independent tours. VERY disappointed with NCL's handling of this.

We had to wait 45 minutes in the atrium while all the NCL tours got off to ship and went to passport control. We were told by the head of NCL guest services that independent cruisers had to wait due to "immigration issues" which was a total BS answer. Then we had to wait in passport control for about another hour. We finally met up with our tour group around 8:45 AM.

That bring said, we toured with Alla and did the 2 day Imperial tour with a visit to Fabregé. Elena was our guide and was awesome! I highly recommend her or Julia.

Tip for Passport Control:

Bathrooms are located in the far left and far right hand sides of the hall against the building walls. You won't be able to to access the bathrooms from the center lines. Thought I'd share since it can be a long wait.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

I got off the Escape 7/15. It was still ala carte pricing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Got off the Getaway on 8/5 and it was $5.00 cover plus 18% gratuity. The place was pretty much empty during the whole 9 day cruise. I think most people were put off by the ala carte cost or they didn't know it was there.

Looking at the dailies, open hours were 12:00-5:00 PM when most passengers were still in port.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Thermal suite = yes.

 

O'Sheehan's on embark day is a great way to avoid the buffet chaos now that Flamingo Grill is no more.

 

Speaking of the buffet, become acquainted with the location of the scooped ice cream. Next to it should be a hot dessert and sauce every day. For example, banana bread pudding next to a vat of hot caramel. Get a scoop of ice cream in a bowl, add the hot dessert and sauce. You can thank me later.

 

Also buffet: the eggs Benedict will be hiding at the very far forward end.

O'Sheehan's is also great when coming back from a port day. We'd go there between 2-4pm and have a late lunch or snack before a late dinner.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

First time NCL cruiser here just off the Getaway last week.

- MDR buffet had a nice selection of foods for all meals. There were always standard fare of bacon, sausage, eggs, omelettes, fruit, cereal, etc. for breakfast. Lunch/dinner always had the theme foods (Asian night, seafood night...) plus standbys like salad bar, burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, etc. We always found plenty to eat.

- Moderno on deck 8 also had a smaller breakfast buffet. We went there a couple of times when the MDR was packed. They always had seating available at Moderno.

- We enjoyed the crepe station in the MDR at dinner. Loved the crepes with nutella, fresh strawberries and whipped cream! The line wasn't long until more people discovered it around day 5 out of our 9 day cruise.

- Tropicana, Taste and Savor all share the same menu. There were several standard menu items that would be available all cruise and some unique for that day. When we couldn't decide between 2 options, we'd ask our waiter their opinion and it was often "get this one because that one won't be available later". We would look at the menus for lunch and dinner and then decide to eat there, at MDR or O'Sheehans.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

FYI - There is a ton of construction going on at LaGuardia as they are undergoing terminal remodels. Traffic delays can be really long so allow yourself plenty of time to get there.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

We had no issues bringing a bottle of water or soda back on board the Getaway last week. The bottles were in our day bags and some were opened and some not. Everything went through the NCL scanners after our day in port and nothing was thrown out or confiscated. Of course we would have tossed them if asked to do so.

We brought back beverages in Warnemunde, Tallinn, St. Petersburg and Helsinki. It was close to all aboard time so maybe that made a difference, but it could also depend on the mood of the security staff that day.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Reading with interest this morning. I'm in Copenhagen now and will be boarding the ship tomorrow. I'm an RCI cruiser and am looking forward to a different but simular cruise experience.

 

Dumb question time: NCL people probably hear this ad nauseum, but is there self serve laundry on board? I'd rather spend today wandering Copenhagen than losing a chunk of time washing clothes (we've been touring Europe the past 9 days).

If anyone is looking to wash some clothes while in Copenhagen, our hotel recommended a local self service laundromat. After 6 days of traveling before the cruise, we had a lot of dirty laundry that would have taken forever to do in the sink.

Mønvask Dansk is about a 10 min walk from Copenhagen Central Station at the corner of Sender Boulevard & Arkonagade.

Cost is 37kr to wash and 10kr for a 15 min dryer. They take credit cards and krone (cash or coins).

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

We are going to Tivoli Gardens!! That should keep us awake and stimulated! I read the lights at night are beautiful. We are also planning to eat there. Researching restaurants now.

Tivoli has fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday nights in the summer starting at 10:45 PM. It's worth staying awake to see them.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

We watched the KLM 747 arrive from the bar next to the beach just because we happened to be there as the plane was arriving. I admit it was pretty cool to see it, but the sidelines were close enough for me. (Side note: KLM's youtube channel has a cool video of this landing from the pilot's viewpoint).

Hanging on to the fence or standing in the path of the engine blast is just a dumb thing to do. You physically have to go past several warning signs, across a 2 lane road and then walk over to the airport fence. This wasn't some freak accident. This person intentionally put themselves in harms way and sadly suffered a fatal consequence due to their actions.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Clear your cookie file every time you do a new search. You'll often find the lower fares show back up in your search results.

Apps/sites like Google Flights, Hopper and Kayak will search flight options and let you know when it's a good time to book or whether to wait. You can also set up notifications for when an airfare is in your price range.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

Hello,

We will be in port this August with 2 days in Reykjavik (8/28-29)and 2 days in Akureyri (8/30-31). We would love to see the northern lights while we are there. Knowing it is early in the season, do we have a chance of success if we book a night tour? Are our chances greater if we book the tour out of Akureyri? Do you know of a reputable tour company?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Sorry, but you won't be able to see the northern lights until late fall and winter. Summer is basically 24 hour daylight where it doesn't get much darker than twilight. I'd suggest checking out Trip Advisor for more info about tours and Iceland in general. Lots of helpful info from locals on their boards. :)

We stayed at Cabinn City in Copenhagen and found it to be clean and very comfortable. Rooms are small but we knew that when we booked. We did a castle tour in Copenhagen after getting off the Getaway that we really enjoyed!

We're booked at Cabinn City too. Nice to hear that it's good place. Do you know if they have self-service laundry there or if they send it out? We're traveling for a week before our cruise and will need to do some laundry in Copenhagen.

You won't regret getting a balcony. Standard balconies are small (I think about 3 or 4 ft) so just enough room for sitting in a chair. You'll have to decide if the aft balcony is worth the extra cost. I vote yes!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app