Celialeah98

Another vote for Vallarta Eats tours. Excellent company!

Hotel Jakarta 749 euros end July 2024 for 3 nights. AC, elevator, pool, great spa with massages for 69 euro this summer and breakfast included. Rooms are bigger than average European hotels and very clean. Comfy beds. Late night bar, restaurant, bakery and in room fridge with included water and in room coffee. Bus 43 very easy to central station, stops next to the hotel. Tap on/off with your credit card or smartphone.

Easy to use ATM to get Euros when you arrive. Why turn Euro's back. We keep Euros for our next trip.

Hi, I just got off the Jewel yesterday. We did Artic circle cruise. My favorites were Geiranger fjord sail in and out as well as Tromso tour with Blue puffin tour company. Look for private tour companies over ships tours. We used Norway Excursions for Molde and Geiranger, but did not get to spend enough time on the Atlantic road from Molde. For Honninsvag and Tromso we used Blue puffin tour company. Do check out Rccl excursions on US Thanksgiving Black Friday sale. Cheapest prices for tours, cabin room gifts on arrival (chocolate covered strawberries and champagne), water bottles to room, beverage packages, dining packages or individual restaurant lunch/dinner in specialty dining reservations. You can book then cancel later if you find a better option/price. You can also read the roll calls from June 17 and July 11 Artic Circle cruises. Join the roll call for your cruise too if you haven't already. Happy planning

Thank you Fruitmachine. I meant Schengen zone.

No customs at port of Amsterdam today, we came in from Norway so it was still in EU.

Hi, We are also going to North Cape this July but on a different cruise line as the only port on your list that we are visiting is Honningsvag. We booked a tour to North cape and around with blue puffin. I read that some just hire a taxi from the port to get to North Cape. As for clothes I am packing layers: 1 or 2 dinner outfits, 1 or 2 city touring outfits, 1 or 2 hiking outfits. All that can be mixed and matched. Waterproof hiking shoes, waterproof raincoat with zip in warm liner, athletic sneakers and a pair of dress shoes for touring Amsterdam before our cruise and to wear to dinner on the ship. Plus 1 bathing suit and flip flops for the sauna, steam room, pool and maybe a dip in the ocean. Happy Planning!

We are on the 12 day Rccl jewel of the seas to Norway this July from Amsterdam. We are looking forward to exploring Amsterdam also. Just note that if you are planning for 2023 Holland America will probably be leaving out of Rotterdam like they did in 2022. ( A train ride from Amsterdam)

Do you want more city or fjord experience? If fjord, then the second option as you get fjord sailing into Eidfjord and Geiranger, plus you get further up the Atlantic coast in Norway. Or look for a cruise that includes both Flam and Geiranger.Maybe a back to back if you have the time so you get both experiences. Did you check other cruiselines? Happy planning!

Printingchick Just a note on tenders in Belize: if you are planning a snorkeling excursion it is usually better to book snorkeling excursions through the ship because the tour company will pick you up directly from the ship then take you to the snorkeling location. You would not need to tend ther 30-45 minutes to shore, then 45-60 minutes to the snorkeling site. Unless things have changed the tender time from ship to shore in Belize is longer than other locations. For tubing in the jungle we did book on our own with Reggie but that was 20 years ago.

Depending upon the number of people you are traveling with we have rented a car for the day. You would have to check costs to pick up at Disney and drop off at Cocoa beach ( next to port Canaveral) We would drop everyone off at cruise ship terminal then driver would take car to drop off and shuttle back. We have also rented a car to pick up at Cocoa beach after cruise and drop off at airport. There were 5 passengers. So rental car was cheapest option. But this was back in 2010. We have also arranged for a private shuttle service in Orlando. Pick up at hotel take to ship then pick up at ship and drop off at airport Not sure who is still operating. You would need to google.

If you are overnighting in Lisbon, after checking in and getting settled on the ship you could go out again in the evening to see the Alfama section of Lisbon as it is across the street from the port area and up the steep hill. The castle St. Jorge has the best views over Lisbon and is open until 9pm in May (closed May 24). We took an uber (Ubers and taxis are cheap too) to the top as close as they would take us to the castle, visited the castle then walked down stopping for pork sandwiches and sardines at a streetside cafe with grills on the sidewalk and the best homemade gelato somewhere at the bottom of the hill. There is also great cheap food in the Alfama section, some with Fado shows. Eat dinner in Lisbon not on the cruise ship. Don't want to do the hills, the Baixa section/Praca do Commercial has some great Portuguese food too. If you are on time constraints, probably safer to do ships tours then to book independently as ship tours guarantee to have you back at the ship on time. Mondays tend to be more crowded in Sintra because many of the Lisbon museums are closed on Mondays. I loved both Sintra (we went with We Hate Tourism Tours-- we did not see Pena palace, we went to Monserrate) and Fatima (stopped for a few hours on our way back to Lisbon in June 2022). I preferred my visit to Fatima with a pilgrimmage in July 2019. Happy Planning!

Yehootu, If you are worried about cruise ship crowds in each port you can check cruisemapper or similar site to see what ships will be in port that day. The second itinerary has Tallin Estonia, an overnight in Stockholm and Coppenhagan, plus you get multiple deep fjord vists (Flam, Geiranger, skolden, olgan) and port towns of Bergen and Alesund. I vote for the second itinerary. Paris, Belgium and the Netherlands can be another trip done by train. If this is a once in a lifetime trip then do a land trip before you get on the ship. Decide what you want to see: London and Scotland vs Paris etc. Once you fly from Hawaii to London, you can get cheaper flights to other areas or go by train. Don't discount London though, it is a beautiful city with great theatre and restaurants hiding in the rear of the pubs (we had the best Thai food in Hammersmith in the rear of a pub that opened at 830pm- recommended by a local). We had the privelege of seeing Phantom of the Opera and Wicked in London on two different trips. Happy Planning!

Did you book a cabin with a balcony? I myself book a balcony for this very reason as main pool decks and sometimes even the adult pool areas are too much for me. I enjoy sitting on my balcony during the sea day and will walk outside on the main decks early in the morning or while everyone is at dinner. If you are foodies, splurge on the chef's table dinner. Puerto Vallarta also has some great restaurants for foodies and food tours. Yes, wear your wedding dress and take pictures. Check out the RCCL plan my cruise page for Black Friday discounts on those dining reservations and photos. I also get chocolate covered strawberries and champagne delivered to our cabin for anniversaries. Congratulations on your wedding and Happy Planning!

In my experience, the pools and hot tubs are closed on debarkation morning: covered with nets. Deck crews are busy cleaning the hot tubs, pools and decks. Some times the deck chairs are stacked up and you are not able to use them on debarkation morning. We usually roll out of bed and go to the Windjammer with our stuff and hang out until our number is called. The elevators will be packed and slow, so best if you can use the stairs.