Let Me Travel!

Very moving...I have tears for them and appreciation for your eye!

WOW! What a wonderful photographer! The bottle caps! The donkeys! The dolphins! The buildings and the homeless man sleeping in front of the building! Your photos moved me!

I really liked Dresden, Berlin (the one with the white pavilion tent tops…sorry forgot the name) and Prague was great! Bought small things that I could bring home…If I had gone a few days earlier I could have seen more of Krakow! Krakow was my favorite city overall…just the whole cruise was wonderful…here is a hint…there is a lot of schelpping of bags… pack reusable clothes and lots of warm jackets, scarves, gloves etc…

We’ve booked a non-haven suite with an aft view…we are going to Iceland and Norway in late September…SH…9954…we were offered a great deal to upgrade to a Haven, but we would have lost our “aft” view of the Northern Lights…we are going with other people and we would have had to eat separately from them…we really enjoy the non-haven suite amenities and attention by the staff

Ok…only 11 days out…had to read this detailed report again! Thanks again…we are really getting excited…gotta get my hair done, nails, etc…etc…

Thanks for your detailed report! My sister and I are doing this trip (including the Poland Extension) over Christmas 2023…we will be in Prague on Christmas Day! I am really looking forward to this trip (69 days away)…I’m hoping for clear weather…cold is ok…We live in Georgia…originally from upper Michigan, so the cold will be OK…can you tell me which Christmas Market has the most authentic crafts that are packable?

I have looked up “tours” (just googled)…I see that icelandair does do tours..I think a three night minimum, but I wouldn’t mind that…then I guess I’ll just book a hotel in London and do the Viator tour to Chartwell. If anyone has any better ideas, please, please share! Hey PhillyTravelBug…your day by day review and photos have made my heart flutter!!! Thank you so much for your time and effort!

Are you going at the end of September into October Reykjavik to London? If so, so are we! I’m really looking forward to it…I do think I’ll buy the BOGO NCL flight, but I really want to upgrade to at least Premium Economy…just because we have to fly so long from ATLANTA. We are doing 2 days on both ends also…have you booked your hotel or are you doing the cruise tour…we want to go to chartwell house when we are in England, so I think we have to do our own tour..let us know if you have booked your extensions yet…we can’t get anything booked until 10/15 or so, just because that will be a year out.

Oh thank you! I love the descriptions, the photos and the conversations! My husband and I are going on this cruise on the Prima more than one year from now! End of September into October 2024…I’m wondering if we have a chance to see the northern lights??? It’s the last cruise of the season! ok…I was worried that I would have to buy the cruise tour through NCL for the pre and post days for getting to know Reykjavik and see some more stuff in London…I’d sure be grateful for sources for 2 nights on both ends! we are not really large ship people (we love Viking)…but we saw a YouTube review of the Prima and fell in love with the decor! These photos seem to support that! I hope we can avoid crowds…we just hate being “herded” …we go into suites to try to avoid too much crowding. We were on the Spirit this spring and had upgraded our drink pkg to premium+…they hardly had any of the upgraded brands…we’ve ordered the premium+ on this upcoming Prima cruise too…hopefully they have stocked the premium+ brands….can some of you that are on the cruise now answer this? please keep posting! I’m loving traveling vicariously through y’all!!!

We were on the NCL Spirit this spring in Alaska…I was a little disappointed with the premium+ because they just didn’t have some of the listed brands on the ship! As an example, they “featured” the Santa Margarita …but that wine was not on the ship! I’ve paid for the premium+ on our next cruise (Prima)…but this will be their last chance…

Last year we did the land tour right after our 7 day cruise to Alaska…the land tour was really good…the hotels were not great, and they really don’t tell you about how much the food will cost (a lot)…the interior of Alaska is stunning…we DID get to see the top of Denali (kinda rare)…but you can only see it when you are in Denali Park…and it is way in the distance…we are really glad we did it. Heading to Alaska again one week from today…only the cruise, but always excited to see beautiful Alaska.

Is the FAS+ offered on every ship? Every cruise? My “my NCL” is not offering it on one of my bookings, but on the other one it is…my son and my husband both like the “top shelf” whiskeys…we all like Cagney’s..unlimited Wi-Fi would be great! I booked the first cruise a looong time ago, so I could pay over time, so maybe my “my NCL” is not completely up to date with all the best offers…does anyone know if it is offered on the Spirit this May?

We did this one inAugust 2022…LOVED it! We did the pre-extension in London and the Post- extension in Oslo…I really have great memories of this adventure…just DON’T do a GTY cabin…they give you the loudest one, just above the tenders…hated the location.

I’ve sailed on the Jewel twice…once in Australia & New Zealand and once in Alaska…Alaska was more comfortable because they had upgraded the interiors (though I did miss the fish on the hallway carpet)…I’m taking Spirit in May (last of May through t first week of June)…I’m looking forward to the new sleek design of the ship…also, I like it that there will likely be fewer children because there are no kiddo facilities. I really like the size of these ships…I don’t like to be “herded.” Does anyone know how the entertainment is on the Spirit?

Hi! We are getting into Anchorage a day before the cruise…our flight doesn’t get in from Atlanta until about 6:30PM…spending the night in Anchorage then catching the train at about 1:00PM the next day and getting to Seward by 6:00PM or so…we did the train last time we were in Alaska on our post cruise land tour and it was definitely a highlight. Traveling with family members this time and by taking the pre-cruise train it will feel like we are taking a land tour while still allowing working folks to only take a week off work. Does anyone have suggestions about great restaurants in Anchorage?

I’m experiencing some of the same issues…but my upcoming cruise is on NCL Spirit to Alaska…they are not listing the white pass train and no gold - panning or dog sledding (other than on that glacier)…Viator DOES list them…also, NCL is advertising a glacier cruise in Valdez for well over $450 pp and Viator has the same excursion for $164…I do think there is a planning problem!

I’m on team Cagney’s…We have a bunch of very good Japanese Steakhouses in the Atlanta area and they are MUCH better than Teppanyaki…show and food…we have some pretty awesome steakhouses at home too…but, food quality and service at Cagney’s is worth any uptick in cost…you’re onVacation! Have fun! Enjoy quality!

Wow! What a great thread! We are going on the “Christmas on the Elbe” in 2023!!!….now that it’s getting closer to the holiday season, I’m wanting to find info….I still have over a year to go! We will be on the river on Christmas Eve and in Prague on Christmas Day - does Viking do anything special? I can’t wait to walk the markets! My problem will be “over buying” and not having room in my suitcase to bring it all home!

Hi - has anyone been on a Viking River Cruise over Christmas? If you have, will you talk about it?

We made reservations at the comfort Inn in Anchorage the night before the cruise. The hotel has shuttle service to and from the airport so we can board the train at the dedicated train station at the airport between 11AM and 12PM….I guess we will get to the ship closer to embarkation time…works for us! We can’t wait!

Hi….doing the Seward to Vancouver cruise at the end of May 2023….we will fly into ANCHORAGE then the next morning take the train to Seward..about a 4.5 to 5 hour train ride…it will give us a taste of a land cruise…the train ride is offered as an NCL excursion, so I’m assuming they will take care of our luggage…we should get to the ship between 2 and 3 in the afternoon. We are sailing on the SPIRIT. Please let me know if you took this cruise or will be taking it…we are still 200+ days out, but I’m getting pretty excited!

We were in 4069 on the Venus…we were a GTY (never again) and were assigned this stateroom. it is a DV located directly above the lifeboats/tenders. We found the room lovely and the noise awful.

There is a dock/pier in Oslo with many restaurants (kind of like pier 53? In Panama City, FL)…we where ready for some American food so we went to “Big Horn” the first night and “Olivia’s” (Italian) the second night…we were tired of fish after the cruise and were wanting something other than generally Norwegian fare. Both were very good. When you are there, take a cab to the pier and walk it…there are many choices…even a TGI Friday’s (didn’t even know there were any left anymore!)

We just got home from a butterfly cruise on Sunday…we are lit up like Christmas trees with 4 shots each! Plus we’ve had Covid twice each. We do not wear masks. We would if we were sick. we are in our late 60s and we both have slight hearing loss…we depend on reading lips to fully understand what people are saying especially those people with accents that differ from ours. We will be grateful when the crew is allowed to suspend mask wearing. We will be able to more fully understand them. There were some passengers that wore masks on our cruise, but not a majority. I did note 3 staterooms with the red bags around the room service trays, but that was all that I noted. we have decided that Covid cannot control our lives any longer. if we were susceptible to a dangerous case of Covid then we would stay home and self isolate and for goodness sake, we would wear a mask and have as much delivered to our home as possible, but we are antsy people and we feel the need to get out…we are going to start living…but whoever wants to wear a mask, wear it! Do what makes you feel safe.

We just got home Sunday…still jet lagged…I’m wide awake at 3AM and writing on CC boards….here is what we did and our Impressions…we did London to Bergen…then we did the train to Oslo on our own… London - churchill’s bunker…oh so good…Tower of London tour…maybe the best castle tour we ever have taken and we’ve done a bunch…very interactive with a lot of participation Dover - Britain at War…very good guide…tea in an abandoned train tunnel…I enjoyed my first sample of English Fish and Chips (the real kind). ‘’Dublin - Water of Life…the guide at the distillery was over the top…definitely an actor…my husband really enjoyed the tasting…I did not so much…I’m a wine lover…it was interesting to see Dublin for the first time…they did give us a panoramic view Liverpool - Beatles Experience…I’m glad I did this…many interesting facts…got to see the childhood homes of John and Paul and the “Beatles Experience” museum…ok…now I’ve done it…I probably would not need to do it again, but I’m glad I did it once. Holyhead - Ffestiniog Railway…one of my favorite excursions…every part of it was interesting and well presented…our guide was actually raised in Wales…I loved the language and the history Belfast - coastal Drive and Glens of Antrim…once again…one of my favorites…I thought this would be kind of an unassuming excursion…it was anything but! The scenery was spectacular…we went to a public park to a “tea house” for tea and scones! We really loved this excursion and one of our traveling mates has mobility issues and he just loved it! Mostly driving around, but the surroundings and the guides narrative made this trip! Ullapool - didn’t dock…the winds were too high Orkney Islands - Viking History- Definitely one of my VERY favorite excursions…not described to be as good as it actually was…we were met by a college professor originally from Norway and with a degree in Norse History..she was dressed as a Viking…she was so knowledgeable and so cute! She told us stories and legends, she sang us songs…we had to do a line dance…it was really funny and cute…she and her co-guide made us a stew at a campfire on the beach…we learned to make rope…she gave each of us a rock with our name written runes…I could go on and on…this was a fantastic excursion! Edinburgh - did not do an excursion…there was a garbage workers strike and the city was filthy…I understand the strike has been settled, so it could be better now Highlands - Colloden field in the morning…very moving…I’m an Outlander Books fan, so it was particularly moving to me. Cowder Castle in the afternoon - this was an interesting castle with a gift shop and cafe Shetland Islands - Really rainy day…we did the panoramic tour and pony overview…not too much to it…it was because of the cold rainy weather Bergen - we had originally signed up for the Norwegian Farm Life and the ascent to Mt Ulrekin, but the day was predicted to be rainy…it wasn’t…the good weather fairy showed up and the day was beautiful! We exchanged our tickets to Dale of Norway…by the way it’s not “Dale” of Norway…it Dal-eh of Norway (who knew?)…anyway..I thought…I’m not spending that kind of money on a sweater! I live in the Southeast! Boy, was I wrong! When I saw the quality and effort made to make each of the sweaters…I was sold! Luckily, they make a very lightweight sweater…and it was even on-sale! Bought hats and headbands for relatives…yep..I bought into the Dale of Norway belief! we took the train from Bergen to Oslo…the scenery was spectacular! The Viking extension was sold out, so we did it on our own. I have been to Alaska a few times and I think the scenery is the best…Norway may be even better…it is definitely worth it! we stayed 2 nights in Oslo and enjoyed it very much…we did a “Viator” tour (the grand tour, which included several stops plus a fjiord cruise…fully enjoyed it! Long flight home, but we were glad we went!