Izzywiz

Hi Again Meander,

I hope you don't mind me posting this information. It may be useful if you haven't done very cold weather cruising. I will post the port information on individual posts..

Cold weather clothing and useful items for Northern Lights cruises

Brought/forgotten - used/not used.

Forgotten but needed

Highlighter pens

Polo shirts

Casual, thin day wear for around the ship

Brought and used.

Thermal vests, long johns, socks.

Water/wind proof jacket

Fleeces to layer

Scarf

Neck warmer

Thick hat with ear protectors 

Thermal gloves

Silk glove liners

Camera tripod

Fur lined snow/waterproof boots

Crutch/walking stick ice spike

Hand/foot warmer gel pouches

torches

Brought and not used

Ski goggles

Crampon studs

General Information

Our captain made an announcement over the PA system in public areas and on channel 1 on the cabin TV when the lights were visible from the ship.

The advice was to leave the TV on through the night with the volume turned up if you wanted to hear the call.

The ship is warm inside so have appropriate clothing for that too. We had concentrated so much on Arctic weather clothes that I didn't pack much indoor wear!

Hi, Meander.

It looks like a very interesting trip but, you are right, there won’t be much daylight at that time of the year. 
We were in Narvik, Tromso and Alta in March 2022 and I have lots of information on the ports but it will take me a couple of days to get it organised enough to post so please bear with me.

It would be helpful if you could post the name of your ship, travel dates and the names of your ports including arrival and departure times.
 

There are many contributors who have cruised to numerous Norwegian ports so might be able to help with specific information if they know the details.

The size of your ship is important because the docking locations can be different. A good example is Tromso where, often, the smaller ships dock right in the centre of town and the larger ships dock at the industrial port about 3 miles from the centre.

It might also help if you could list some of the things you would like to see and do. We have cruised to northern Norway twice in the winter and done things like a husky sledge ride, ice fishing, hunting the Aurora and riding the Tromso cable car so may be able to give you some relevant information.

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic. 

Hi Bill,

unfortunately we didn’t have the chance to ride the circle train….our time in Yangon was so busy.

I do hope you get the chance to experience this beautiful country. The political situation isn’t good but the ordinary people deserve so much more than they are getting from their government. There is so much to see and do in the country and we were so lucky to be able to visit all the places along the Irrawaddy River in 2016. It was a magical experience.

We were luck enough to visit Myanmar on a 14 night Irrawaddy River cruise in 2016 and absolutely loved the country, the people, the culture and the history so we were really pleased to be able to visit once again on a cruise in 2020 just before the pandemic.

These are extracts from my diary that may be of use to you…

Fri 31 January 2020. Yangon, Myanmar. 06.00 and overnight

 Ship’s Tour; A Taste of Yangon; Approximate duration: 6hrs

Thilawa port

·         The port is a large industrial port about 35km from Yangon.

·         Walking in the port area isn’t allowed so there is a shuttle bus to the port gate which is probably 1km from the quay.

·         Ship’s tour busses wait by the gangway.

·         There may have been a few taxis at the port gate but it was difficult to tell from the bus.

·         There are a few homes and shops of a 'local' nature near the gate but nothing that resembled anything selling souvenirs and it was very obvious that the people living there were extremely poor by western standards.

Yangon City

·         The city has a population of over 1,000,000 people and is very crowded, bustling and colourful.

·         There is a vast difference in living standards throughout the city from people living in abject poverty to extremely wealthy people.

·         The traffic levels are high and it is a slow process to move around the city.

·         The people were very friendly and eager to help.

·         Some signage is in English.

·         The Buddhist temples are spectacular and the colonial centre has some magnificent Victorian buildings but, unfortunately, they have not been maintained particularly well.

Ship’s tour - A Taste of Yangon.

·         We met in the theatre at 07.15 and eventually left the port at 08.00 as the 6 busses travelled in convoy with a police escort to help us through the rush hour traffic.

·         The journey took us through some rather dreary countryside and then through a few villages and a small town which was much more interesting as we could begin to get an idea of how the local people live.

·         We finally arrived at the Shwedagon Pagoda at 09.20. This was good because it wasn’t too crowded and hot.

·         We have to remove all foot coverings and these were stored in numbered baskets.

·         People were given long skirts to wear if not appropriately dressed....no shorts/short skirts and revealing clothing......modesty is the key.

·         Wheelchairs were available for less mobile visitors.....our assistant guide pushed Evadne and she was very grateful.

·         There were toilets, a souvenir shop and a security checkpoint on the ground floor and then we were taken to the temple itself by lift.

·         I don’t have the words to describe the size and magnificence of the temple compound....it is huge and dazzling. We had an hour to explore. Most of our group went around with our guide but, as we had been before, we did our own tour.

·         Our second stop was at the temple of the 'reclining Buddha' - Chauk Htat Gyi - where we had 25 minutes to look round. We, again, had to remove foot coverings before entering the building but people in shorts didn’t have to cover up.

·         I was pleasantly surprised because the Buddha was huge and beautifully maintained so it was worth a visit.

·         From there we headed across town to the city centre where we were taken to a restaurant for a 'snack'. It was a bit worrying when we passed through an entrance which said 'Full Gospel Assembly' over the door and then along a dingy corridor and up a long flight of steps but everything was great as we walked into the 'Burma Bistro' as the setting was lovely and the snack was almost a meal. People had been asked about food allergies during the journey so their menu could be adapted accordingly. I didn’t intend to have the fish soup but it turned out to be delicious as were the noodles, samosas and other little bits.

·         Our last stop was in the old colonial area where there was a small park and several colonial buildings.

·         The journey back to the ship took just over an hour and we were back on board by 14.15.

A great trip.

Sat 01 February 2020. Yangon, Myanmar - Departure time - 18.30

Ship’s Tour; Local Life in Thanlyin; Approximate duration: 5hrs

A.M. very hot and sunny

Local Life in Thanlyin; 08.30 - 13.30

·         The bus left at 08.30 and after a 30-minute drive we stopped at a place where the trishaws were waiting. It was a bit tricky getting on but once I was shown the easy way, I managed ok. The difficult bit was having no backrest and nothing to hold on to but it was such a tight squeeze that I don’t think that I could have fallen out!!

·         The ride took about 15 minutes and was through the back residential streets of the town of Thanlyin…..an interesting and worthwhile adventure!!!

·         We got off at the town’s main market where we had 45 minutes plus a 15-minute toilet break. The market was busy, colourful, crowded and full of every type of merchandise. The stall holders were welcoming and I got 2 pairs of flip-flops for US$10.

·         The toilets left a lot to be desired but that was our only loo break so we had to make the most of it!

·         The next stop was the monastery of Bon Pham where we had about 45 minutes. There was time to go into some of the rooms and to see the way the monks of all ages lived their simple lives......we have visited more interesting monasteries before as this one was very simple and, to be honest, there wasn’t much to see.

·         Our last stop was at a village where we had a long and very hot walk through the streets and were able to see the way the ordinary Burmese people live. We went to a house where we were offered cans of soft drinks, fresh coconut water, water and peanut brittle sweets before returning to the bus for the 30-minute drive back to the port.

·         An interesting tour and more to my liking than the big city.

·         Thilawa port

·         Yangon City

·       Shwedagon Pagoda

·         'reclining Buddha' - Chauk Htat Gyi

·         trishaws

·         Thanlyin

·         main market

·         monastery of Bon Pham

·         village

On 4/17/2023 at 3:06 AM, Potstech said:

Did not have a kettle last month on the Celebrity Eclipse. Also told not allowed.

All ships that home port in the UK will have a kettle and ‘hostess tray’ in all cabins as standard. The kettles are not fire hazards. I have always received a kettle on request at Customer Services or through my cabin steward when sailing on Celebrity ships in other parts of the world. 

this is a picture of the hostess tray setup on Regal Princess

These are the kettles that we received on request when on Millennium in Asia, Infinity in South America

Build much smaller ships again.
Have kettles in every cabin on every sailing not just those from the UK or, at least, have the option to have a kettle brought to your cabin as happens on Celebrity ships.

As you are from the UK and have a 9 year old, may I suggest that you look at Marella cruises (part of the Tui group) in the Med if you are thinking of school summer holidays. 
They have several different options:

* a 7 night cruise 

* a 14 night cruise

* a pre-cruise hotel stay with a choice of hotels, number of nights and board options 

* a post cruise stay as above

The cruise is inclusive of drinks and gratuities.

We are going with our grandsons - 11 and 14 (+ parents but we don’t mention them) for our 4th cruise and stay this July. We have sailed on our own on many different cruise lines but find the convenience of the Tui packages very good with the family.

We fly from our local airport (lots of different choices) to either Palma, Majorca or Corfu, transport is included from the airport to the ship and hotel, there are several different itineraries from each home port and the ships cater for children very well with lots of activities available for all the different age groups.

The family members were quite worried about sea sickness before their first cruise but all 4 have been fine and are excitedly looking forward to this year’s jaunt.

We have done a cruise and stay in Majorca and a stay and cruise in Corfu. My personal preference was the cruise and stay which we are doing again this summer. My reason is that we were very busy on the cruise with all the port visits (very enjoyable but tiring) so the stay after the cruise gave us time to relax before returning home.

On our transfer day to the resort in Majorca, we put our cases out as usual the night before and then enjoyed the ship’s facilities in the morning until called to the coach around midday. The coach took us straight to the hotel where our rooms were ready. It was very easy.

😀😀

Hi Cymrucat23, You are very welcome and I'm glad that the information is useful. I hope you have a  fabulous time and please don't hesitate to ask if you need any more information. Th posters on this site are very helpful!

Regards Isabel 

Day 12. Tuesday 22nd February 2022 (22022022!!!!)

Narvik - 07.15 to 19.30 (all aboard time)

Ship’s excursion - Arctic Train

A.M. Brilliant sunshine but extremely cold

P.M. as above

Sea conditions: Calm

Narvik Port.

• the port is small and industrial. 
• There isn’t a terminal building .
• Tour busses are parked about 100m from the gangway. 
• There were a couple of taxis parked in the car park.
• There was a private 'yacht' docked next to Borealis that belonged to a Russian billionaire (£54,000,000 to build)!

Narvik Town

• The town centre is about 1km from the port and the road is uphill.
• The town has a variety of shops and cafes, a war museum and the railway station.

Arctic Train

• we met in the theatre at 11.05 and were advised to set off walking to the bus as I walk slowly.
• We were both issued with a packed lunch as our trip took place over the lunch period.
• I had a seat near the front of the coach already reserved.
• The coach journey to the railway station took 5 minutes and went through the centre of Narvik.
• The train was chartered by FO and was waiting for the 5 shuttle busses when we arrived.
• We were directed to specific seating compartments depending on our bus number.
• The seats were in a 2&3 configuration.
• There were toilet facilities at the centre of the train.
• The journey goes out and returns by the same route and doesn’t turn round so it is important to sit on the right hand side if the seat faces forward (left side if backward facing)
• The journey takes approximately 2 hours.
• There was a taped commentary in English on the outbound journey where information was given on points of interest.
• The scenery was spectacular, especially since we had glorious sunshine for the whole route.
• The train made 3 stops where passengers could disembark for a few minutes.
• It was comfortably warm on the train but bitterly cold on the small stations…..-15*c!!
• We arrived back at the ship at 14.20
• A great experience.
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Day 11. Monday 21st February 2022

Bodo - 08.00 to 19.30 (all aboard time)

A.M. brilliant sunshine with an icy wind

P.M. as above

Sea conditions: slight swell

As we both had ship's excursions this morning, I made sure that the alarm went off at 07.00.

Jim left the cabin for his walking tour at 08.15 and I went to the theatre at 08.45.

Bodo Port 

• the port is small and situated close to the town centre.
• There isn’t a terminal building so tour busses were waiting at the bottom of the gangway.

Bodo town

• the town centre is a short walk from the port.
• It is a typical modern small Norwegian town with plenty of shops, a harbour and marina, good quality housing and some rugged countryside.
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Izzy - INTRODUCTION TO BODO. 1.5 Hours. Departed at 09.00.

• We met in the theatre and made our way to the bus.
• i had a pre-reserved seat near the front.
• The guide spoke reasonably good English. 
• The coach was clean, modern and had socially distanced seating.
• The tour took us through the town where the guide pointed out the churches, museums etc (all post war buildings) 
• We had a short stop at the most historical church but it was so cold and icy underfoot that I decided to stay on the coach.
• Our 2nd stop was at a viewing point with a panoramic view of the Lofoten islands but, again, it was too cold and icy underfoot to get off for a better view.
• We were back at the dock at 10.30….a lot of Money and not a lot to see!
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Day 6. Wednesday 15th February 2022

Tromso - 11.00 and overnight

A.M. clear sunny sky and very cold…-6*c. Thick snow and ice under foot.

P.M. As above but even colder. Fortunately, there wasn’t any wind

Sea conditions: A strong swell until we got into the fjord where it was calm.

07.00 seems to be my default waking up time so we had coffee and then I got dressed and headed outside to enjoy the sail-in along the fjord. It was very picturesque.

We had breakfast as the ship began its docking manoeuvre and the call came to start disembarking just after 11.00.

We got shuttle number 4 just after midday and it took us to the centre of town (15 minutes) where we got off outside the Radisson Blu hotel.

We walked (slithered!) along by the harbour before turning into the shopping area where we had been told the #26 bus stopped. We took the bus to the cable car and got talking to 2 very nice young gentlemen from London who stayed with us on the bus to show us the stop nearest to the cable car.

Once at the lookout point at the top we spent about 20 minutes enjoying the amazing scenery. We then went into the cafe and had 1 small coffee and 1 large chocolate muffin for NOK97 = £8.60.

After an hour we took the cable car down and got the bus back to Tromso. After a bit of a wait the shuttle bus arrived and we were back on board at 04.15.

Tromso Port

• the port is industrial.
• It is situated about 2 miles out of the city centre.
• There isn’t a terminal building.
• The shuttle busses and ship’s tour busses depart from the bottom of the gangway.
• I didn’t see any taxis or private tour companies but couldn’t see all the parking area so there may have been some.
• There was a shuttle service into Tromso town centre which was free for us but £10 for those on a saver fare for unlimited journeys.

Tromso City

• the city centre has a wide variety of ships and eating outlets
• There are walkways along the harbour area.
• There appeared to be boat trips and sightseeing tours being offered but I’m not sure if they were running while we were there.

Cable car

• I had done my research online at home so I knew that it was possible to get a bus from the town centre to the cable car.
• The Bus stop for bus #26 was quite close to the shuttle bus drop off point.
• Busses were quite frequent.
• Tickets must be purchases from the ticket machine (Instructions can be accessed in English) by credit card before boarding. Unfortunately, this machine wasn’t working so we bought our tickets at the shop across the road… NOK40pp = £3.30pp
• Tickets must be validated on the machine on the bus.
• The journey takes about 20 minutes and the driver will call out when to get off.
• There is a short walk to the lower station where the ticket office is situated.
• Tickets are NOK280PP = £20.  or NOK220pp = £18 or pensioners
• Each car holds about 20 passengers. 
• At the top there is a cafe, toilets, a viewing platform and access to open space where people were skiing etc.

Day 7. Thursday 17th February 2022 - Formal Night - WE GOT AURORA PHOTOS!!!

Tromso - all aboard by 17.30

A.M. cold and overcast

P.M. as above 

Sea conditions:

As Jim was going on his ice fishing excursion we were awake at 07.00. He went for breakfast and then left the cabin at 09.00. I did my ablutions and spent a bit of time tidying up before going for breakfast. I did the morning quiz and spent time catching up on my diary.

The rest of the day passed as usual until we went up to the Observatory Lounge for the 10pm quiz. It was then that people were telling us that the Aurora was visible above the ship so we rushed out and managed to get some great photos on my phone once I turned off the flash.

We were in and out of the lounge for an hour because it was so cold but the lights faded after half an hour so I went off to bed and Jim came down a bit later…. A good day!

JIM. ICE FISHING WITH A LOCAL.

There were seven participants in the group which consisted of five men and two women.  Before setting off each person was asked for their body and feet sizes so the correct weatherproof gear could be collected. On leaving the port it took half an hour to collect the gear from the company’s base in Tromso. The drive to the lake took approximately fifty minutes and this was through stunning countryside with the added bonus of great views of a golden eagle and two white tailed sea eagles. Once at the lake it took about fifteen minutes to kit everybody out with snow suits, snowshoes, reindeer skins for sitting on and walking poles.  A short walk to the fishing holes followed, each person was designated to one, and the short fishing rods were baited up and presented to each person. I thoroughly enjoyed the fishing and the group got on very well with each other but we failed catch any fish. Tea or coffee and cake was provided along with a fire on the ice to keep us warm. After nearly two hours we packed up and re boarded the coach for the journey back to the ship. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience but was disappointed because the driver chopped the wood for the fire, on the ice, about a meter and a half from where I was fishing. 

This is the information for each of your ports

Day 4. Monday 14th February 2022

Alesund, Norway. 08.30 to 15.30 (all aboard time)

A.M. cold (high of 3*c), mainly overcast

P.M.

Sea conditions: extremely rough through the night until we got into the Alesund fjord.

I’d set the alarm for 07.00 so we could watch part of the sail-in but we were almost docked by the time we got outside. There was snow on the mountains which surround the city but it was just wet underfoot in the built up areas.

We had not booked a tour and were hoping that the tourist train would be running which it was!!

Jim decided to go for a wander and I got the tourist train.

Jim had climbed the stairs to the viewing point and then walked down the hill to the town centre so he got back on board around 12.45.

A good day.

Alesund.

• the ship docks very close to the city centre.
• There is a small terminal building with toilets and helpful visitor information personnel.
• It is a short walk to the commercial centre where there is a good variety of shops although Norwegian prices are very high!
• The busses for the ship's excursions are parked near to the terminal building 
• There is a bus station for local busses on the quayside.
• The hill top viewing point can be accessed by a flight of 400+ steps or by road 
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City Tourist Train.

• the train was parked just a short walk from the terminal exit.
• Today’s journey was for 40 minutes and cost NOK 200pp (£16.65)
• Unfortunately, the road to the view point was too icy so the route was changed to doing a tour round the town.
• The commentary today was in English and was informative. 
• The first train was at 10.00.
• The carriages were enclosed so it wasn’t too cold but there wasn’t a lot of knee room.
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Our Balmoral cruise was in June 2022 and was up to Northern Norway and Svalbard. The relevant information from this cruise for you is about Newcastle and boarding the ship. We left home in Staffordshire 2 days before we boarded and stayed a night in Bridlington and then stayed overnight in Newcastle.

The port is at Coble Dene which is about 10 miles from Newcastle city centre. We stayed at:

The Travelodge Quayside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

• the hotel was large and had its own car park.
• Parking was free for Disabled Badge holders.
• I had booked an accessible room for £48 including wifi and the room was huge with views across the promenade and river (room 330).
• I was surprised to see the Lavazza coffee pod machine as well as a kit Kat each…nice touch.
• We had a very pleasant walk along the promenade and then ordered a pizza to eat in the room.
• The only downside was the size of the TV which was small in comparison to the room so I needed to wear my glasses!
• We were in bed and asleep by 10pm after a lovely day.

Parking at the port car park is expensive. It was £12 per day last June. I used these 2 websites, JustPark.com and YourParkingSpace.co.uk, and found that you could park at the Premier Inn by the port for a lot less.

Day 3. Wednesday 22nd June.

Boarding Balmoral.

Time change: +1 hour

A.M. warm and sunny

P.M. as above 

Sea Conditions: calm

We left the hotel about 10.30 and drove to Coble Dene to find the Premier Inn where we had booked car parking. We also located the entrance to the cruise terminal complex and then drove down to the terminal building. 

As it was still too early to check in, we decided to drive to Tynemouth which we discovered had a very pleasant small town centre and a magnificent ancient castle. We spent 30 minutes there enjoying the scenery before driving along the coast road to Whitley Bay. There were lots of small coves which then gave way to long stretches of golden sand.

I spotted a car park/WC sign do we stopped, found a parking space, visited the very clean loos and enjoyed watching the people having fun on the beach in the glorious weather. We had a coffee/tea and a cake before setting off back to the port. 

The check in process.

• we were allocated a 1.15pm check in time but nobody asked us about that.
• We were able to leave our luggage at the terminal building where he dropped me off before he went to park the car at the Premier Inn.
• Jim said that there was plenty of space to park and he didn’t need to notify anyone. He said that the walk was barely 10 minutes from the car to the terminal.
• Fortunately, there was only a short queue so we got through check in quite quickly.
• There was a shuttle bus from the terminal building to the ship.

My husband and I are veteran cruisers and will sail with any cruise line and any ship that takes us to where we want to go and have never had a bad cruise but we really like the Fred Olsen product for the reasons below and would choose FO over P&O and Cunard;

Things I like about FO in no particular order:

• The overall mature age group.
• Entertainment geared to the age group with several production shows per cruise.
• Production show team involved in general cruise activities.
• Small ships.
• Less visited ports and varied itineraries. 
• Laundrette. 
• Welcome back drinks appropriate to the climate at each port.
• Evening turn down service and chocolate.
• Beautiful flower arrangements all over the ship.
• Speedy room service.
• Captain’s welcome and farewell receptions with plentiful drinks and canapés.
• Loyalty reception for 'gold and above'.
• Luggage labels, tour excursions booklet and glossy cruise itinerary booklet delivered by post.
• Helpful and delightful crew members.
• Pub prices.
• Several 'always available' dishes in the dining room. 
• The 2 speciality restaurants, Colours and Tastes and Vasco’s, have high quality food at a reasonable price.
• Cruise points for competition wins.
• Reserving seats on ship’s tours for passengers with mobility issues.
• Ballroom and Sequence dancing every day with dance hosts.

This is my list of items that for cold weather cruises:

·         Brought/forgotten - used/not used.

·         Forgotten

·         Highlighter pens

·         Polo shirts

·         Casual, thin day wear for around the ship

·         Brought and used.

·         Thermal vests, long johns, socks.

·         Water/wind proof jacket

·         Fleeces to layer

·         Scarf

·         Neck warmer

·         Thick hat with ear protectors 

·         Thermal gloves

·         Silk glove liners

·         Camera tripod

·         Snow/lined waterproof boots

·         Crutch/walking stick ice spike

·         Hand/foot warmer gel pouches

·         Brought and not used

·         Ski goggles

·         Crampon studs

·         General information

·         The captain will make an announcement when the lights appear over the tanoy in public areas and on channel 1 on the cabin TV. 

·         The advice was to leave the TV on through the night with the volume turned up if you wanted to hear the call.

·         The ship is warm inside so have appropriate clothing for that too. We had concentrated so much on Arctic weather clothes that I didn't pack much indoor wear!

Hi Cymrucat23,

I have quite a lot of information that might be of use to you. I write a diary with basic information for each port that we visit to use for future reference.

We did a cruise with a very similar itinerary to the on that you are interested in on Balmoral from Newcastle in February 2022. Our cruise was 14 nights because we travelled up to Alta but it visited all the ports on your itinerary.

I will share the ship and port information in separate posts because there is a lot of it and I’ll start with the dog sled tour.

My husband did the Husky sledging tour when we were docked in Tromso on our P&O cruise in 2017. I wasn’t able to do it as I have some mobility issues which mean that I can’t sit on low seats or walk safely in very slippery conditions. He loved the trip and this is what he wrote when he got back.

27^th 2017. P&O excursion

Husky sledging.

The bus left the port terminus at 16.30 and took about thirty minutes to reach the Tromso Wildlife Centre. The journey was during sunset and the views were quite dramatic. The centre was out in the countryside and we were taken first into a large wooden building for coffee/tea, cake and to meet our guide. This building was comfortable with tables, chairs, fire pit, toilets and a small shopping area.

The guide was excellent and explained everything about the dogs' working life whilst we walked around the site visiting the kennels, breeding area and sleight boarding area. All of the dogs were very friendly and people were allowed to cuddle the puppies.

I was on a sleigh by myself with the driver.  The ride took about thirty-five minutes over undulating ground and at times you could see the lights of Tromso in the distance. The ride out in the deep snow was a wonderful, although bouncy, experience.  We got back to the ship at 20.00.

We did our first Azamara cruise on Azamara Journey from Lisbon to Cape Town last December. We have sailed with Thomson/Marella several times as well as other cruise lines. Although the basic product on all cruise lines is much the same…ship, sea, ports, cabins, food, entertainment….I found Azamara to be very different from our Marella Explorer cruise last August.

I'm glad that the information has been useful and I hope you have an amazing time. 

We have done safaris in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana and all were amazing. We are now hoping that our 2 week tour of Kenya goes ahead in November after 3 cancellations!. We have done a balloon trip over the Nile and have fingers crossed that we will have the opportunity to do it in Kenya. 

Safe travels

Isabel

We visited Dakar in 2014 and these are my notes....

·         Dakar, Senegal. General Information
The City centre is approx 1.5km from dock and a Shuttle bus ran from 09.15 to 17.30 on a continuous loop - £5pp tickets from reception for unlimited use.

·         Dakar is a huge industrial port and there were Taxis on the dock side near the gangway.

·         There was also a small souvenir market on the dock side where you need to haggle. The currency is CFA (Senegalese Franc) but the € and US$ are widely accepted in souvenir shops. However, I did find that vendors appeared to have very little concept of the conversion rates and initially quoted ridiculously high prices for goods if I was offering dollars or Euros. I went armed with the current exchange rate in writing which I then showed to the vendor during the haggling process.

·         The official Language is French and I found my very 'school girl' language skills proved to be quite useful.

·         There were some WARNINGS in the 'Daily Times'. The Medical advice is to wear trousers, socks and long sleeved tops + insect repellent and not to buy water from street vendors. I was not aware of many insects and had no problem with bites but I did use the repellent quite liberally.

·         There was a warning about the danger of pick pockets so the advice was to keep valuables well guarded and also the fact that we would will be hassled by beggars and traders.

·         The Senegal post office had a small stall selling cards and stamps just inside the ship by the gangway. Postcards were €1 for 2 cards and stamps were €2. The Post Office official will post them.
 

My Tour -Sightseeing Tour of Dakar (4hrs)

·         I chose this tour as I have mobility problems and the Excursion information indicated that all the other tours used transport that included vehicles with high steps or needed some climbing/jumping ability plus included a lot of walking over rough terrain so I left those to the more agile passengers. I also felt safe as a single traveller among my fellow passengers and there was a FO crew member with us throughout.

·         The bus was old but had working air conditioning. The microphone didn't work so we struggled to hear the guide initially but he eventually found and used a megaphone, much to everyone’s amusement!

·         Dakar is a big bustling busy city but relatively poor by Western European standards. The road surfaces are poor so the ride was bumpy.

·         We were shown the best that Dakar has to offer which, again, is not a lot if compared with some other countries. There were a couple of photo stops and there were souvenir sellers but they seemed quite respectful.

·         There was a 40 minute stop at a restaurant where there was the opportunity to watch the 'sand painting' artist and to purchase pictures. A beer/soft drink was included here and there were toilet facilities.

·         The other stops (10 minutes each) were at the Presidential Palace and the Monument of the African Renaissance (a huge statue at the top of one of the only 2 hills in Dakar).

·         The tour included driving past the palace, through the University grounds, through the street market, past the cathedral and mosque, along past Independence Square and then along the coast road to see the coastline.

·         We couldn't go to the market as there was nowhere to park so we were back at the ship at 17.30.

Was it worth it? That's a difficult question to answer but I’m glad that I got a chance to see something of Senegal although I would have loved to have seen more of the countryside. On reflection, I would also say yes because I think many people would find it quite intimidating to walk round the city centre. Don't get me wrong, the people seemed polite and pleasant but the roads were extremely busy and the pavements were really crowded. There didn't appear to be many of the types of shops that we are used to either. I also think you would have needed to have done a lot of research to know the best places to visit. I'm also not sure how much English the taxi drivers would speak.

My DH's Tour - Saloum Islands (8hrs)

·         My lovely husband is very fit and agile and also a keen bird watcher and photographer so this tour really suited him. Their bus was air conditioned. They had 2 guides that took turns to give information and both spoke good English.

·         It was a 2.5 hour drive to the river through interesting countryside .......villages, farm land and forested areas. There was a 10 min toilet stop at petrol station.....squat plate toilets!

·         My DH said that it was a very bumpy ride once the bus was off the main road.

·         When the group reached the lake area they were divided into groups to go on the small canoe type boats which held approx 14 passengers.

·         They had to climb in and out of the boat without aid as there were no steps from the beach. The boat ride was approx 45mins.

·         When the group arrived at the Island there was a choice of riding to the village by ox cart or doing a 10 min walk. Lunch was at the Island Eco-lodge and consisted of Spring rolls, fish in light curry sauce, rice, salad and crepes. My DH said the food was very tasty and good quality. Everyone was given a bottle of water at lunch.

·         After the meal people had some free time to look round the island and there were quite a few different species of bird and other forms of wildlife.

·         The tour continued with a 50 minute ride to the 'shell village' where a local guide explained the history of the area. The group left the village at 16.45 and returned to the ship by a different route for part of the journey. They were back on board at 19.00
My DH said that he thoroughly enjoyed the tour as it gave him an insight into the history and geography of Senegal.

Dakar Photos

Saloum Islands

Hi Wayfairers, I've had a look at your itinerary for your Grand Africa cruise and am green with envy as it has a fabulously diverse set of ports. I see from your signature that you are keen cruisers and already well travelled although it doesn't show that you have been to Africa. My DH and I have visited many parts of this huge continent on both cruises and land tours and love the amazing history, scenery, wildlife and people but the conditions can be challenging. Many of our fellow travellers have been shocked by the conditions and the lack of facilities. We are very aware that many of the countries are still in the early stages of developing a tourist industry and we know that people show us the best they have which often isn’t much by ‘first world affluent’ standards. We have always found that the local people are very proud of their heritage and are very keen to share what they have.

We have been to all your ports except Souda (Crete), Nosy-Be (Madagascar), Maputo (Mosambique), Richard’s Bay (South Africa), Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) over the years. In fact, we were in Cape Town (South Africa), Luanda (Angola), Takoradi (Ghana) and Banjul (Gambia) last December so if you require any other information, I am very happy to tell you of our experiences.

We spent many happy summer holidays in Cyprus in the 1980 when our son was young and did our first cruise from Limassol in 1992 but we haven’t been back since so really don’t have any relevant information. I do know that Limassol is a large, modern city so not of particular interest to us. Cyprus has a wonderful history with many sites dating back to the ancient Greeks, Romans, Crusades etc together with gorgeous mountain and costal scenery.

We were in Mahe in 2013 and this is information from my notes at the time –

Seychelles

For me, these islands were the highlight of the cruise and I’m so glad that we had an overnight stay there. They are so clean with the most lush and colourful vegetation and glorious beaches. The people seemed relatively prosperous and were smiling and helpful.

Discovering Mahe Ship’s Tour

I did the ‘Discovering Mahe’ tour which took us to the Botanical Gardens (beautiful), a walking tour of the Mahe town (small but picturesque), a drive up into the central highlands with a couple of stops at viewing points (glorious scenery), a Creole lunch at a beach side restaurant (delicious), and free time on the beach (picture postcard perfect) before returning to the ship.

Praslin and then to Curieuse Island Ship’s Tour

My husband (the adventurous and fit one!) did the ‘Robinson Crusoe Island’ tour which took him to Praslin and then to Curieuse Island. He said the snorkelling was amazing and the beaches were stunning. His photographs are mirror images of the postcard views that you get of the Seychelles.

Mahe Town

·         Taxis were available immediately outside the dock gates.....a brisk 5 minute walk from the ship.

·         Taxis accepted Euros and $US but you need to negotiate. We paid $5 to the town centre. It is walkable but quite a long way and it was very hot and humid.

·         We arrived on a Sunday and most shops were closed.

·         There was a small craft and souvenir market on the dock side.

·         There is a nice market in Mahe centre with vanilla pods, essence, magnets, postcards etc, etc as well as the fish, fruit, flower and textile stalls.

·         The Botanical Gardens (30 mins walk from the dock) were worth a visit to see the huge tortoises, fruit bats and the ‘Coco-de-Mer’ palm trees as well as the beautiful trees and flowers. Admission was 100 Seychelles Rupees (approx $8pp) There are toilets and a cafe.

 These photos are of Mahe town and the Botanical Gardens

These are from the countryside near Mahe

These were taken by my DH on his tour

You don't say what the full itinerary is for your cruise. If you post it, I may be able to help with some of your other ports.....

You are very welcome. I wish I could help with your questions about Cote d'Ivoire but our day was cancelled last December because of covid restrictions so it is still on our 'to do' list.