Simon-t

St Petersburgh (back when you could still cruise to Russia)?

19 hours ago, mkam2821 said:

 I'm not referring to the drink packages I'm referring to the bar prices

The menus and prices are available in the App for some (although not all) of the bars. The bars showing menus will give an idea of the range of prices.

There is really no expectation to tip at all in Iceland (as in the rest of Scandinavia). You're not going to offend anyone by doing so, but in reality it is pretty much only American tourists who tip!

There are any number of good hotels in that budget, so it really depends where you want to be based. My own recommendation would be the Trafalgar St James (now part of the Hilton Group) which is right on Trafalgar Square and easily walk-able to Westminster, Covent Garden, Buckingham Palace and the West End Theatres. The location is first rate and the rooms a decent size (for London...).

The suggestions in the previous post are all good ones. I would just add that the Tube is by far the quickest and cheapest way to get around London and is very simple to use. Just avoid peak times when it can get very busy. You can get cabs pretty much anywhere by hailing in the street, but traffic is a major challenge in London and short distances can take longer than you would think looking at the map. I tend to use a cab only if I have a lot of luggage and can't face taking it on the tube.

Is this on the Spectrum of the Seas? We looked at a similar itinerary in November but decided against as the timings make it hard to have any meaningful time in either Kyoto or Tokyo. 

I think the cruise lines block book a significant numer of tickets for their own excursions, which explains why tickets get sold out so quickly the days that ships are in port.

Whilst it is annoying that the ship excursions are so much more expensive, I would definitely advise paying the extra if that is the only option. I have ridden the Flam railway twice and it is absolutely spectacular.

We also try to fly Premium Economy on longer flights  - the extra leg room and seat width makes a big difference.

I've also tried one of those meditation apps through noise cancelling head phones, but in truth I always struggle to get any sleep on a plane. 

I'm not aware of any public transport (although there may be a bus service). It is pretty remote.

We hired a car for the day in Kirkwall and drove to Skara Brae. Well worth the trip and there are a couple of impressive stone circles en route as well.

20 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

 

Taxis are usually pretty scarce first thing. 

We found Uber coverage pretty good when we were in Edinburgh last year if there were no taxis around.

10 hours ago, nklpikl said:

 

Yes, from the tourist information where the tenders dock. It is possible to book via Sagaland tours in advance, which might be best to ensure a place of the port is busy

Fantastic resource thanks! Very useful for planning our cruise in November.

London in May could be anything from warm and sunny to cold and wet - sometimes all in the same day!

The UK foreign office advice has recently been updated to advise against all travel to Haiti. All mainstream UK travel insurance policies will exclude cover if your trip includes travel to an area against Foreign Office advice.  There are some niche insurers who will cover for trips against FCO advice, but that tends to be travel for business rather than tourism. 

We visited both of these ports last summer. They are very different to a typical cruise port. Small settlements with very little infrastructure, so don't expect lots of tourist shops. In terms of currency Danish Kroner (the official currency), Euros, and US $ were all accepted.

Qaqortoq does have a tourist information shop  next to the tender dock which sells some souvenirs. There is a large shop a short walk from the dock whish is advertised as selling local furs, although we did not visit so I cannot really comment on that. There were a few local craft stalls set up with locals selling hand made souvenirs. It was also possible to book iceberg "safaris" by rib boat from the tourist information (we had an amazing trip seeing icebergs up close).

Nanortalik is even smaller, with very few shops, although again, some locals selling craft items. There is also on open air museum which we really enjoed.

However, the real enjoyment of these two ports is simply to wander and get a sense of the beauty and remoteness of these places, which are unique. The scenery is stunning, and the locals very friendly.

On 2/22/2024 at 12:26 PM, John Bull said:

I'm no expert, but two thoughts.....

 

The cruise was booked well before "last year's"  insurance expired, so there's a possibility that it covers a cancellation after that insurance expired.

Suggest that they check the policy, talk to the insurer, take qualified advice if there's a possibility that they are covered on that expired policy.

 

Good luck

 

JB 🙂

This is really good advice. Have a look at the policy and speak to the insurer. I get travel insurance through NatWest and their annual policy provides cover based on medical condition when the trip was booked. In other words, a new condition diagnosed after the trip was booked would still be covered.

1 hour ago, monkey@cruise said:

Kobe - KOBE PORT TERMINAL
Osaka - Tempozan - Osaka Cruise Terminal

You have to make a request to Royal Caribbean on your Kyoto overnight stay, it is very common on Celebrity Millennium Japan itinerary.. Logistically, it's easier travel from Kobe to Kyoto than from Osaka to Kyoto. Kobe and Osaka is merely 10 miles apart, 30 min by train from Kobe cruise terminal to Osaka cruise terminal. Give yourself 75-90 min travel time from Kyoto to Osaka cruise terminal, you must be onboard before 3pm Osaka departure.

That’s really useful - thanks 

We are booked on Spectrum of the Seas departing Shanghai on 2 November  2024 with this itinerary:

We appreciate this is a tight schedule for Japan and it would not have been our first choice, but it was offered by our TA as part of an extension to a 7 day land tour of China at a very competitive rate,

My question is about days 3 and 4. The planner describes Kobe as "overnight" but departing at 4.00am on day 4. We then arrive at "Osaka for Kyoto" at 7.00 am on day 4. Google suggests Kobe/Osaka and Osaka are separate ports, albeit very close, but I am far from clear which port we dock at on which day. Any advice please?

In any event, we are thinking of taking a train to Kyoto on day 3, stay in Kyoto overnight, and then get a train back to the port on day 4. Is that realistic in terms of timescale and itinerary? Is there any issue with staying ashore overnight?

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!

When we were in Qaqorotq last August it was possible to book iceberg tours by Rib at the port. Surprisingly, they seemed to have plenty of spaces, although we had booked in advance through Sagaland tours https://sagalands.com/tour-search/

On 2/3/2024 at 6:12 PM, margo2011 said:

Hi I’m asking this on behalf of family who are travelling on the 15th February from the Uk and have been told they now need a Visa for visiting Barbados along with an ESTA for  for St Croix and San Juan .Can anyone confirm this please .They have tried contacting their travel agent and Marella but no luck .

 

thank you .

British passport holders do not need a visa for Barbados https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/barbados/entry-requirements. We visited with Celebrity last month and no visa was required.

4 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

Thank you. I think we will bypass going to the yacht because of time, especially if we want to stop at a pub for some lunch.

Good call - there are lots of nice places to get a pub lunch in the old town!

I would recommend going into the castle rather than just seeing the outside. The views are fantastic, and the buildings fascinating (including the Scottish Crown Jewels) and steeped in Scottish History.

You will still have plenty of time to walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood. Holyrood House itself is also worth a visit with an interesting audio guide.

The Royal Yacht is also interesting but you might be pushed for time to fit that in. Personally, if I only had five hours I would concentrate on the old town perhaps also pulling in Greyfriars Kirkyard or the National Gallery depending on your interests.

As others have said, Travelodge is a basic budget chain. Although I have not stayed at this one, they are usually clean and comfortable, but with basic no frills furnishing and facilities. You cannot go too far wrong, so long as you are not expecting top end luxury. One of the big bonuses is that they do family rooms which will sleep 3 or 4 people,

The location for this one is excellent.

5 hours ago, liberty176 said:

Does anyone have a recommendation for *which* Premier Inn in Central London?  We're a family of four and want to be near a good tube stop, considering PI Blackfriars or Kings Cross, but open to others.  Definitely want good tube access for major sights (Tower, British Museum, Westminster, etc.).  

Blackfriars is a great location near St Pauls, and walking distance to the Thames. Kings Cross is not as central, although has excellent tube connections. We tend to stay at Kings Cross if we are taking the Eurostar to Paris (it is a five minute walk to the terminal). Otherwise I would probably pick Blackfriars out of those two.

It depends on the trip for us. If it is a cruise only from Southampton then we tend to book with the cruise line. If we need flights or hotels then we find it easier to use an agent. Partly for convenience and partly because they do seem to be able to source good deals on flights and hotels.