adam7392

Hi Have raised in the middle east board but as I'm on the MSC Opera next week and MSC currently have 2 ships visiting Abu Dhabi hoping someone knowa this. Is the prepaid Hafalat smart card for use on local buses available in the Abu Dhabi cruise port terminal ?

Hi Anyone know if the prepaid Hafalat smart card for use on local buses is available in the Abu Dhabi cruise port terminal?

Hi I've only done 1 cruise with MSC so far but have one next month (Dubai) and another in May that takes in Istanbul, Athens and Kusadasi so here are my limited replies. 1. - Doubt it - free drinks will be water/tea/coffee. You may have got a deal that includes the soft drink package, if so mocktails would be included. You'd need to check with your travel agent or MSC to be sure or check on the MSC website by logging in with your booking nbr. 2 - We had table for 2 and expecting it for our 2 cruises this year with them. 3. - Not familar with the ship but at 95k gross tonnes it should be plenty big enough to find some quiet spots 4. Based on my early research for our May cruise: Istanbul - dock is close enough to walk off and explore Istanbul so Blue Mosgue, Hagia Sophia and Grand Bazar are on our list. There are plenty of public transport options. We don't depart until around 9pm so we may even take a local ferry across the Bosphorous to the Asian side of Istanbul. Athens - The dock at Piraeus is a few miles from Athens. You can walk or take a short bus ride to the metro which goes direct into Athens. From there you have plenty of options such as the Acropolis/Parthenon. The Acropolis museum is worth visiting. We've been before so for this next cruise we plan to walk up Mount Lycabettus for the view and then just wander around the city. Kusadasi - Ephesus would be the main thing to do plus taking in a beach. This youtube shows how to get the bus to Ephesus so you can avoid any expensive ship tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbepBiLQNuU Rome - Not part of our cruise this year but have been on a cruise departing from Civitavecchia which is some distance from Rome. Civitavecchia is nice enough to walk around but you can get a train from Civitavecchia into Rome or alternatively look into local tours that will pickup from the port. I'd suggest using youtube and searching for each port, you'll get loads of videos showing the ports and what to do - try to avoid the expensive ship tours, there is usually local transport or local tours available. Google maps is also good for showing local transport options from the port to where you want to go. Ports will also have loads of taxis waiting or use Uber. 5. Not sure - Last year we had transport from Dubai airport to cruise terminal included so just walked off the bus into the cruise terminal. Next month we are doing the same again, I noticed we had a 9am assigned check in time.

Hi, Although originally we were supposed to go to Dammam, the visit was cancelled some time prior to sailing resulting in having an extra day in port at Dubai. Therefore never needed a visa. TBH having looked at what Damman had to offer (virtually nothing!) we were more than happy with the change. I'm sure I read somewhere if you do an MSC excustion they arrange the visa - but don't trust me on that.

This year we had Fri/Sat on the ship in Dubai before flying back with Emirates. On the Friday we were able to check in our baggage at the cruise terminal.

Hi, Did Dubai cruise Feb 2022 on MSC Virtuosa, loved it and day after returning we booked similar this year on MSC Opera for Feb 2023. Didn't do any ship excursions in Abu Dhabi just bought a ticket for Big Bus tour Hop on/off. Bought the ticket in the Dubai cruise terminal which was great value as they included both days in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Bus goes from right by the ship and takes you to the Corniche beach and the Emirates Palace. There is also a connecting bus for the Sheik Zayed grand mosque. We spent some time on the beach then used the bus to stop at the Heritage village, then had a look on the outside of the Palace before getting the connecting Big Bus to the mosque then directly back to the ship. This year we just intend to get a local bus to the Palace and this time go inside then spend time on the beach before getting a local bus back. The part of the beach where the Big Bus drops you has a small charge but the beach is very clean and has changing rooms and showers. The Grand Mosque is well worth seeing, entry is free but best to book a time slot online to avoid queues. The port is quite a way from anything so some sort of transport is required. I've looked at taxis (download the Careem app which is like Uber) and looks like cost from port to the Palace is around $10-$12 for a 11km journey. The Grand mosque is about 20km so I'd guess cost to be about double that one way.

She (laura ?), a fellow Brit, seemed okay. Only saw her at 3 of the 4 theatre shows and when she hosted the Mr and Mrs gameshow (can't remember the actual title but that is how we'd know it in the UK). I think she did a reasonable job, jokes a bit lame but she was enthusiastic and competent.

A quick summary: Stockholm - arrived Friday, did the Ice Bar which was cool, Presidents Palace well worth the money and time (caught the changing the guard with the band playing an Abba medley which was amusing), Vasa museum was fab, Skansen museum was okay and walk around Gamla Stan which wasn't as olde worlde and quaint as I imagined Riga - First day the bus into Riga and a long self guided walk around Riga including the art nouveau district, second day ship tour to the two castles which was rushed - only 15 minutes at the first castle! Tallin - For us the best stop, another self guided tour taking in the sights. Tallin is fabulous Helsinki - Being the only wet day didn't help. Was going to go to Suomenlina island fort but put off by the weather so a walk around the centre and the Rock Church, then decided to cut the day short and return to ship rather than do the Sibelius monument. This stop vyes with Ronne at the bottom of the list. Visby - Close second to Tallin. Walked into Visby for a wander around the town. Didn't do the medieval market but walked around the perimeter of it. Was great being there during the festival with visitors all dressed up. Visby is very photogenic and well worth a visit. Ronne - Not the best stop, down there with Helsinki at the bottom of the list Ronne itself has very little to see, you are forced to go further afield. We rented electric bikes and went North of the island. In retrospect hiring a car would have been best. Aarhus - surprise of the tour, Nice town to walk around. Highlight was the Salling department store with the rooftop garden which was free. It has a staircase to nowhere giving great views and an extending platform over the street with a glass floor to the street several floors below. We spent about an hour up there Copenhagen - Had a single night here so did a self guided walking tour around most of the sights but not the little mermaid as wife had seen it before and was totally underwhelmed by it. Did the presidential palace that, like Stockholm, was well worth visiting. Comments on ship - Thought it was in great shape. Food in MDR and windjammer was good, service excellent. Entertainment in theatre - Left after 5 mins of Tony Tillman, the circus type act was just about ok, the magician was excellent and I thought the 4 male singers were good (The Bohemian Rhapsody we both thought was the highlight). While on entertainment, we did 3 films in the evening around the pool which was good but disappointed in the number of films, they where constantly recycling the same 4 or 5 films

Adding my thanks for your review. Was also on the sailing and found it interesting to compare your comments each day to our experience. We both had a great time and it was fabulous to experience a large ship which at around a third capacity. Our head waiter at the MDR said the crew was at 85% capacity. My wife also tested positive for covid on her return.

Booked this Feb inside gty for Rhapsody in Aug 2023, was assigned a cabin in March - so some 17 months before. Wasn't happy with location so called TA and was able to change to a much better location'

Our tests results negative, so Ice Bar for us tonight. Can finally realise we are going on the cruise after multiple obstacles (COVID test, airline cancellations, airport chaos, environmental protesters closing roads here in UK etc). Will be taking ferry Sunday morning to the ship :). Enjoy rest of your time in Stockholm and the Suite on the ship. Will be exploring Gamla Stam tomorrow.

Are you planning on going to the ice bar ? Might go in Friday evening to celebrate negative covid test - hopefully!

Good luck with your flights. We fly out early Friday.

We've hired a bike in Ronne (a tandem - we've never ridden one before so watch out for us!). Hire place also has electric bikes for the less active. Apparently its a great place to cycle. Website is https://www.bornholms-cykeludlejning.dk/en/

In Naples if you have time after Pompeii (which in my view is the no 1 thing to ) then a close second is to drive to the summit of Vesuvius, the views are immense.

I'm going to bring some euros to cover Riga, Estonia and Helsinki but I'm expecting almost everywhere will accept swipe cards. For Sweden and Denmark I'll rely on my CC and pin as I don't want to purchase another 2 currencies. For most small purchases you'll be able to simply swipe and not need a pin. However each country will have a limit at which point a pin will be needed but I don't know each countries limit on this cruise (In UK it was recently raised to a fairly hefty £100 before a pin is required). However, if the swipe card is being used in an irregular patttern to normal (and making lots of small purchases across several countries in a small time frame is probably going to be unusual compared to your norm) then the machine is going to sometimes ask for a pin as a security measure. For the Visby festival, again I'm expecting most stall holders will have swipe card machines. Upshot is you should get a pin just to be sure (and check it works before departure) but forgo a wallet full of currencies.

If the thread bothers you that much why bother reading it or replying?. We are discussing the realities as it affects our cruise, that as you say we have paid thousands for, and we are trying to figure out the best solution and inform fellow passengers. That is the point of cruise critic. Either offer some relevant comment or move on. You could use 'first world problems' as an argument against any post on here so why bother?

If you are on the 31/July sailing (which is not actually leaving until 1 Aug) I doubt you need worry. If its the 24 july sailing then I might be looking at options just in case.

I sent email to royalcustomerserviceuk@rccl.com last thursday asking about shuttle services at Riga - still no response other than the automated reply about responding in 7 days.

Anyone thinking of avoiding any star alliance airlines should avoid British Airways, their cabin crew and ground staff have just voted for strike action over the summer holidays.

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So far this season, Voyager has been using Oceankaj port and specifically terminals 2 or 3. I believe there is a free shuttle bus that runs from the ship to the nearby Oceankaj metro station. From there a metro train will get you to a stop within 200metres of your hotel. Following site shows Voyager will be at quay c333 for our arrival which is terminal 3 - https://www.cmport.com/terminals/ships-in-port/ Your plans are similar to ours, we have a one night stay at Hotel Vesterboro, like your hotel this is very close to the main train station and I'm planning to take the train direct from there to the airport. I've read that there are self check in facilities for luggage at the airport so that should help with efficiency.

Hi Stuart - thanks for pursuing. Would be good to know how many buses they provide - just one isn't going to work for 2000+ pax. Also the times they run given the overnight. Progress being made at least 🙂

Is that the RC one to the two castles and caves ? Thinking of that ourselves now. Originally planned to take train to Majori and have a beach day if weather good if not would have done the castles ourselves. But given that 2-3 hours is now going to be lost queuing and on the bus getting to/from the ship/Riga we may now do the RC tour.

Good idea. I've also emailed RC to ask what the arrangements are. Will report back if/when I get an answer