RTLS

We will be in Martinique in February and, after reading this thread we were all set to take the ferry to Anse Mitan. However I now realise that our ship doesn't dock until 11am and that seems far too late to get going even if we simply have lunch and then head back to our ship?

Anyone have thoughts on this?

10 hours ago, Belgian fry said:

Yes, you should bring Euros. People have had difficulties paying in $

Will do. Thanks

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 11:31 PM, Belgian fry said:

Sounds like they are very well organised! Thank you for the information.

Just wondering whether I should bring some Euros with me . In case we go for a drink or buy a souvenir. I have no problem  in doing that if that's required .

Thanks

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 7:17 PM, bunzini said:

Yep, we are on that one as well.  I keep wondering if anyone is on the ship!  Quietest roll call ever!

 

Is that the Feb 1 -11 cruise? If so we are on that one too. I plan on posting a question about Martinique on our roll call and may get a reply or two.

Thanks so much for setting my mind at rest.

I will contact Christelle.

When I checked out the website for Karambola Tours, I'm seeing only a mention of 2options being currently offered - a food tour and Pile et Face. Pile et Face is probably the one for us but I have some concern regarding how much time is spent in the bus travelling along winding roads rather than making stops. My husband and I are seniors but pretty active and more interested in seeing the sights rather than going to beaches.

Also, on the site, there is no mention of the guide Christelle? Does she have a different webpage or email?

Thanks for any advice

WOW!

I can't believe so many jumped in.

Much appreciate the effort from everyone to make sure I have the correct info.

Many thanks

We are new to HAL but considering it because we like the Alaska cruise/Land offers that they have.

Looking at the various types of cabins available and wondering whether there are any extra perks for booking one of their suites. Specialty restaurants at no cost or ?? Just comparing with Celebrity and Oceania  who do give extra perks .We've travelled with both of those lines though not in a suite!

I'm seconding Daisi's suggestion to look at Avalon. We recently travelled with them and, as we were 3 people, we booked one single and one double on the 2nd level. No supplement for the solo traveller. Avalon often has these specials but usually limits the number of singles to 5 on each sailing.

When we were planning this trip, we specifically did not want to pay a supplement and nor did we want to be "aquarium" class though I know many travellers are fine with that. Avalon fit the bill.

9 hours ago, Andee said:

We arrived in Prague on a Sunday to sightsee on our own; the included tour was on Wednesday.

On the way down, we visited St Nicholas Church and the Wallenstein Gardens. Loved them both.

I don't know what you mean about the only opportunity to walk across the Charles Bridge. It was just the time that worked best for us, given what we were doing the other days.

We especially enjoyed our meal at the beautiful Cafe Imperial.

Thanks vey much for the recommendations. We love Gardens and will definitely make a stop at the Wallenstein Gardens.

10 hours ago, Paulchili said:

I would suggest to leave the tour at the castle. If they have not visited the inside of the Cathedral, you can do it on your own and then go through the remainder of the Castle complex to the Golden Lane and down the stairs into Lesser Town. Visit the church on Lesser Town square and Kampa Island (with John Lennon wall) and then walk across Charles bridge following the street to Old Town Square with the Astronomical Clock tower.

Afterwards admire the beautiful Art Nouveau buildings along Parizska street on your way back to Intercontinental. Maybe stop to visit Klementinum with what many call the “most beautiful library in the world”

https://www.boredpanda.com/beautiful-library-prague-czech-clementinum/

Look into a private tour of the Jewish Quarter - even if you are not Jewish -due to its historical importance (some of the oldest synagogues and cemeteries in Europe).

For dinner (or lunch) I would choose a local restaurant - like one of the pubs - over international restaurants for better food at better prices. Concierge at the hotel can assist you.

For shopping or window shopping - especially for Bohemian crystal - walk along Celetna street from Old Town square to (and through) Powder Gate to Municipal house just past the tower.

 Go inside to check interior and the beautiful Art Nouveau restaurant on ground floor or have a meal downstairs with local musicians at dinner.

Czechs & Prague are very musical - like Vienna - and if you are so inclined find a concert in one of the churches.

Enjoy Prague - a very special city.

Good Stuff,! We are getting very excited!

Thanks everyone. Lots of help.

Today we were notified that our hotel has changed from the Hilton to the Intercontinental. It actually looks like a more central location.

As we have one night on our own, any suggestions for dinner? Walking distance preferred.

Judy

Interesting that one group went inside the cathedral and the other didn't.

ANDEE  - may I ask what you particularly wanted to see on the way down from the Castle and also can you remember about how long that walk down would have been?  Also would that have been your only opportunity to walk across the Charles Bridge?

Wondering whether anyone has been in Prague as a part of the Avalon Danube trip and took the included Guided City Walk. I am trying to organise an extra day we have there on our own and I'm trying not to duplicate.

The Avalon  included walk visits the Castle Grounds, St. Vitus Cathedral and the Astronomical Clock. I'm wanting to know whether we see only the exterior of the Cathedral or whether a visit inside will be included?

Thinking of spending our "extra" day up at the castle but will skip the Cathedral if we are going to see it with our tour. Any other ideas for that day? What about the Funicular?

Thanks for any advice

Judy

We are travelling with a single relative and booked Avalon because they were offering up to 5 cabins for solo travellers with the supplement waived on their ships. Many companies offer only the lowest level cabin but with Avalon we were able to book any cabin we chose.

It seems that the AMA special mentioned by Iamthesea, also offers any available cabin with just the 10% supplement.

2 hours ago, franski said:

 Hi Judy -

 

Here is the contact info...

 

www.budapestairporttaxi.com/Welcome.html

 

He is very responsive to e-mail.  My suggestion (if you wish to book the transfer) is to do so, and let him know the cruise director will call him to let him  know the docking location.  His phone number is on the website as well as his e-mail address. 

 

If he is unable to do the transfer himself, he may have his wife do it - or he has agreements with other drivers.  We have been very pleased with the service - and have booked him a few times over the years.

 

Fran 

Hi Fran,

Could I confirm that the name of the owner is Alajos Pulai. Just want to make sure I have the correct company.

Thanks again

Judy

2 hours ago, franski said:

 Hi Judy -

 

Here is the contact info...

 

www.budapestairporttaxi.com/Welcome.html

 

He is very responsive to e-mail.  My suggestion (if you wish to book the transfer) is to do so, and let him know the cruise director will call him to let him  know the docking location.  His phone number is on the website as well as his e-mail address. 

 

If he is unable to do the transfer himself, he may have his wife do it - or he has agreements with other drivers.  We have been very pleased with the service - and have booked him a few times over the years.

 

Fran 

Many thanks Fran. I shall definitely look into this.

Thanks everyone for jumping in with so much information.

FRAN --- If you could let me know the details of the Private Transfer that you used, that would be great. We have booked a private transfer for our arrival in Prague but the TA we used to book didn't suggest doing the same for Budapest so I think I'll do that myself although I may have to wait until I know our docking location

We are travelling from Prague to Budapest and will have Euros for Austria and Germany so good news that we can likely be OK with Euros in Budapest.

Judy

PS.  TMLAalum  - Are you still speaking Hungarian to your GPS Lady or have you moved on to another language

On re -reading my original message, I realise that I made an error in my question regarding denominations of Forints.

I asked whether we would need only 500 or 1000 forints. Of course I realise that 1000 forints is only a couple of dollars and what I meant to say was would we need any smaller denominations or only 500 or 1000plus.

Thanks Pontac for replying. We are with Avalon  and I don't think Transfers are arranged unless air is included. I'll double check though.

Our Sept/Oct. river cruise ends in Budapest. I understand that staff on the ship will order a taxi to the airport for us (we are 3 adults) and I plan on asking them to do that. I'm wondering whether I will need Hungarian forints to pay for the cab and approximately how much that may cost.

Does anyone know whether the Forints are used in small denominations  or whether we would need only 500 or 1000HUF.?

I think I read a suggestion to wait until we are in Budapest and then get a small amount at an ATM. Opinions on that would be appreciated.

Thanks

WOW! I have lots of reading to do.

Many thanks to everyone who jumped in.

A quick thankyou to both of you.

LHT28, I haven't tried www.insuremytrip.ca but I will look into it and will check out RSA.

We have used Medoc for a long time but we are now dealing with a couple of pre existing conditions which are not covered by them. Time to look around for a different company.

Friends of ours travelling with Princess just added the cruise company insurance to their booking. To me it sounds like an excellent price with good coverage. I haven't been able to find anything on the Oceania site showing that they offer a similar product or, in fact, any type of travel insurance.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who can clarify this for me.

Thanks

Reading through the  thread, I get the impression that many wait until on board to book and if we do wait, which I prefer to do, we won't be the only ones.

I am pre -booking for the optional Prague evening event because, of course,  that happens on the first night in Prague when most will arrive although we will be there a day earlier.

Thanks you all very much for the responses. 

Thank you both for your insights and yes I m sure we will have a great time.