Retired2016Cruiser

Does anyone have experience with the Holland America Drive to Tierra Del Fuego Ntl Park tour (or similar tour)? I want to know if there is a stop that includes penguins. The Holland America website shows penguins as the picture for this tour, but the description doesn't mention them. I contacted HA & they contacted the tour operator who confirmed there would be penguins. But, most of my research of non-Holland America tours are for boat rides to an island, and the timing does not work for our 2pm - 8pm stop. Any comments are welcome! (We'd prefer not to do a cruise bus tour - but happy to do it to see penguins 🙂 ) Thank you! Holland America Tour: -Tierra del Fuego National Park - From Ensenada Bay, a striking view of Redonda Island -Lapataia Bay -- the world's southernmost place reached by road

Thank you! That is, indeed, good to know!

Thank you! Hope you have a great trip!

Thank you! We are on the Island princess for the summer trip. It doesn't stop at Alesund, but stops at Andalsnes. We also booked the Island Princess northern lights cruise in Oct. That one does stop at Alesund. So, I'd be interested if there is a boat trip down the Geiranger fjord. (Although our summer itinerary is more coastal than fjords, I was looking forward to our Longyearbyen/Spitsbergen stop, but unfortunately that was recently removed from the itinerary)

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this Andalsnes tour when you get back. Thanks!

That sounds like a great idea. We are considering driving from Andalsnes, where our ship docks, assuming a rental car is available. Would you say driving was difficult (eg all the hairpin turns)? I know it’s a matter of opinion, but would be interested in your thoughts (or comments from others who have done this). Thank you!

Thank you! I will look into your very helpful suggestions.

Princess Grotfjord Exploration by Rib & Bus - wondering if anyone's done this tour & has any comments. Is the view of the Grotfjord/other views worth the high price? I'm hoping to experience/see as many fjords as possible, as I realized that the cruise we selected is more of a coastal cruise, than a fjord focused cruise. (e.g., we don't cruise Geiranger). Anyone done any other Grotford tours? Thank you!

🙂 Good to know

Thank you! We do have a shuttle to Briksdal glacier booked (for a June cruise). It was on my to-do list to see where the Skylift was...and if a stop was included in the shuttle we booked. I was hoping it was at the same location as the glacier....but it sounds like it's not. I will check out the link you included.

Thanks! Yes, I was thinking we may need more time for the hike. I will double-check the Princess tours to see if they have a modified one. Also, I'm wondering if hiking in early Oct. might be pushing in terms of weather.

Good to know! Thanks for the tips 🙂 I hadn't heard about Flor&Fjære but just looked it up. It does look beautiful! Our cruise isn't until after they close for the season, though. But good to know for future reference.

Very good points! We have annual helicopter/evacuation insurance and rely on credit card insurance (and our own medical) unless trip is a "splurge" trip and/or we felt we might be risking a 10 day (or more) covid quarantine stay out of the country. Always a good idea to have insurance, as you suggest!

Great! Thank you! I did notice the waffle stop, but as much as I'd love to taste the local waffles, I figured I'd get enough food on the trip so would prefer to be seeing (and paying for) scenery - 😉

Thank you! Good point about travel insurance. I do have a credit card that should cover cancellations. (I'm not as worried about that as missing the excursion due to booking with an unreliable company.) For pulpit rock - do you mean hiking it or visiting it by a land excursion? Our originally booked .Azamara Norway cruise for Jun/2020 (when we thought certainly the 14 days to slow the spread would be over by June - wouldn't that have been nice!) would have gone through more of the spectacular fjords, I think. I didn't do a lot of research when I replaced the original Azamara cruise with 2 princess cruises -- summer & northern lights (for the same price). So, I'm trying to see as much of the fjords as possible given the itineraries. We do stop at Olden and booked a shuttle bus to Briksdal glacier. We don't visit Geiranger or Flam on either cruise.

Thank you! Good to know. I was hoping the boats docked close to the ship. And, I am leaning the same way regarding the risk of missing the port.

Thank you! Booking the day of is a great idea to consider. I'm just not sure how much availability there will be given I'm thinking it's a small port. But, we are also stopping there in Oct. so we have plenty of time to mull this over. I appreciate the input. And yes, Rodne's terms & conditions do say no cancellation unless before 2 days out.

Thank you! Hope you enjoy the Bergen Rodne cruise!

I am interested in doing a Lysefjord cruise (pulpit rock, waterfalls) when we dock in Stavenger on Oct 6th. I booked with Rodne (can cancel up to 2 days in advance) as it was significantly less expensive than other tours I found. I saw one helpful, positive comment in this forum about this tour when I searched, but would like to hear any other comments or reviews of this tour company as I saw a few negative comments about Rodne on tripadvisor that concern me a bit (e.g., cancellation due to mechanical failures, switch out of boat from "as pictured" to smaller less comfortable boat, and last minute cancellation after tour departure time, thus being too late to book with another company.) Any other positive or negative comments about experiences with Rodne or other tour companies? I've tentatively ruled out the Princess tour as it's the highest price ($189) and appears to be an hour shorter, vs. shoreexcursionsgroup.com and a couple other companies or ways to book that I found, which are running about $125 right now due to a "sale." Rodne is approx $70. https://rodne.no/en/fjordcruise/lysefjord-preikestolen/ (Note: for shoreexcursionsgroup.com the free cancellation is up to 2 weeks in advance, and must book to find out what company they use) Any comments positive or negative about experiences with Rodne in Stavenger or other companies are welcome - the more recent the better. Thank you!

I appreciate the review & heads up about Advance & Celestino. Based on the review, we rented a car last week on Curacao for $125 and he (and his brother) met us at the port. He gave us an upgraded car from what we reserved and provided a map with beaches & snorkeling spots marked, which was super helpful. I checked a few other rental car companies, but could not find one for a one day rental and also didn't want to have to go to airport to pick up. Since we wanted to go to several beaches, taxi fare would have added up, and we couldn't have visited as many places. Very happy with our experience with Celestino & Advance!

Great! We are Dan & Linda, traveling with 6 other couples 😊

Thank you! I saw that in the Roll Call and considered it, but not sure we want to be on that long of a snorkel tour (or a particularly long boat ride). But it does sound like a great tour, so haven't ruled it out. A couple of questions: Which Paul Guaguin tour does this compare to? I didn't see the "blue lagoon" specifically mentioned (but may have missed it), Also, do you know how long of a boat ride it would be to the blue lagoon (e.g.,, how much time on boat vs. snorkeling)? I apologize if the answers are obvious, but I had trouble finding the details. Looking forward to meeting you on the ship!

Great! You were smart to get your request in early (after 2 previously scheduled cruises were cancelled due to covid, I guess I didn't really believe we were going to get to go...so waited too long to reserve this excursion. But, I plan to check once we board) We are on 10/19 🙂 Can't wait!!!

Sounds great! For the Fakarava Pinnacle snorkel, are you booking thru Paul Gauguin or on your own? We reserved the Tahaa drift snorkel in time, but Fakarava Pinnacles was full when we called. Hoping we can book on ship or find another option.