cruisingmimi
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My question is a bit different than receiving a FCC for a cancelled cruise due to Covid. I may not be posting in correct forum but noticed this one is about FCC so I'll post here.
I would like to know if you receive a FCC from a previous sailing on the Star this past November 2019 and received a FCC in Jan. 2021 does anyone know if their is a policy for extending this FCC beyond it's 1 year expiration? We booked another cruise with NCL for Oct. 2020 and cancelled this cruise before final payment (which is 6/13). Because of Covid 19 and my husband and myself being in the high risk category we decided it was not in our best interests to go on this cruise in Oct. 2020. We were told by CS agent I spoke with that our $100 refund would be processed back to our credit card. I know that the wait time is about 30 days (just cancelled last week). What happens to that FCC we got? I contacted NCL guest relations (via email) and asked about the FCC and was told that it was only good for 1 year from receipt of the FCC received, which is Jan. 2021. I also explained that in light of the Covid 19 effect on cruising we would like to postpone booking another cruise until the fall of 2021 as we like to do fall transatlantics. The answer was a very curt "no" that the FCC was valid for 1 year from the date offered or Jan. 2021. I was told there are no exceptions to this policy as everyone would want extensions. I have seen posts that NCL may cancel all cruises thru Oct. 2020. Thoughts please..... Thank you in advance.
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@3dogmom - This post is a bit late so not sure OP is still searching. However, Overlord Tours do offer tours to MSM
and here is the info:
https://www.overlordtour.com/product/mont-saint-michel-tour/
It says it's a guided tour and includes entrance to abbey. I would love to visit MSM but my knees wouldn't handle all the stairs.
It's a beautiful setting for sure but a long day of driving.
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Yes there is. It was in our cabin refrigerator and I believe it was $6. per bottle! Pretty expensive water!
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We just returned from our November transatlantic cruise on Norwegian Star. We were docked in Cadiz and booked a tour with Spain Day Tours to Seville. Our guide, Carmen, was waiting for the group across the street after we exited the ship and told us where our bus was parked. We traveled to Seville on a large and comfortable tour bus. The weather could have been better, there were rain showers off and on throughout the day but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. It was about 1.5 hr. drive to Seville and we did a rest stop at a petrol station (coffee and food items sold here also) along the way. The tour was well planned and timely but we didn’t feel rushed throughout the tour.
After we arrived in Seville we were divided into 2 small groups, one group staying with Carmen and the 2nd group going with another tour guide, who was also named Carmen. My husband and I traveled in the 2nd Carmen’s group. We were given headsets so we could hear everything Carmen was telling us. Carmen kept up a running commentary on the walking tour telling us about the various sights along the way. Again, it was a very pleasant walking tour and no one felt rushed to keep up with the group. We visited the Plaza de España and Carmen told us the different features within the Plaza - the different types of tiles representing each Spanish province, the lovely Venetian-style bridge.
We then headed to visit Alcazar where our tickets had been pre-purchased so we only had to go thru security. What a spectacular place this was, you could imagine what it must have been like living here. Carmen kept a running commentary from room to room with time to absorb the magnificence of the palace. Again, we did not feel rushed with our time there.
Our tour ended with free time to have lunch, shop or visit the Cathedral if you wanted. There are many cute little shops and restaurants nearby. We had a designated time and meeting place to meet the guides and board the bus for our trip back to port.
I personally did not feel it was a difficult tour for anyone that had knee problems or minor walking issues (I have some minor knee issues) and felt very comfortable walking with the group. There were only a minimum amount of steps in the garden area you had to climb to exit the palace. I think that wheelchairs would be a bit more challenging. All in all, it was a wonderful day in Seville and my husband and I enjoyed it very much. I am happy to recommend Spain Day Tours and would not hesitate to use them again. They are super easy to communicate with via email and always responded to mine within a day or 2. They are truly a pleasure to work with, a family owned company that will go out of their way to accommodate each individual request. You will have no regrets if you book a tour with them. They are very aware of the time limits for getting back to the port for sailaway so no worries here either.-
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17 hours ago, fabnfortysomething said:
we used Carlos for taxi tour of white villages and he arranged for a tour guide colleague to meet us at Arcos
highly recommended
he is a keen photographer and will take photos of you during the trip and send to you afterwards
www.toursfromcadiz.com
email carlos@toursfromcadiz.com
tell him Lyn and Ian recommended him
Hi Lyn,
can an you give us a better idea of the tour you took with Carlos - where you went and what you saw. I might decide to use him just for taxi tour if he took us to same places you went. We are probably not going to attempt Seville from Cadiz due to distance and walking etc. Thank you!!
What did tour guide show you? Do you remember the costs involved?
Mary
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33 minutes ago, lhsail said:
"we used Carlos for taxi tour of white villages and he arranged for a tour guide colleague to meet us at Arcos"
I contacted Carlos upon recommendations I found on Trip Advisor. I had a lovely email from Carlos about different places he could drive you. He loved visiting Ronda and also the white villages but he did emphasize that he was not a tour guide and if someone wanted more information about a sight to visit he would have to research it on the internet. Not saying he would not do a fantastic job but if you are looking for a tour guide then he would not be able to take you into places for tours, etc. As noted above, he arranged for a tour guide to meet the party at Arcos. He has a small vehicle that can only take 4 people so if you have a larger group his vehicle would not accommodate you. I don't know if he can get access to larger vehicles but he didn't indicate this. I think that the places he takes you to see only handles smaller vehicles due to narrow roads, etc. If you feel comfortable with just having a taxi driver then you won't have a problem. I'm sure it would be a great day.
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16 minutes ago, lhsail said:
We usually plan our own activities and do independent tours, but this trip we seem to be looking at more ship’s excursions. I have not yet found an independent tour for White Villages, but just started looking.
Here you go! Some people are taking this one when we dock Cadiz:
Half day Cadiz, Jerez, and Arcos de la Frontera (Spain Day Tours)
Explore the ancient towns of Cadiz, Jerez, and the white village of Arcos de la Frontera. Travel through beautiful Andalusian countryside and see the historic highlights of Jerez including the city’s castle and cathedral. In Cadiz, one of the oldest cities in Europe, take a guided walking tour through the city center. This small-group excursion is great for those visitors that have been to Seville before.
Description says walking tour if you are looking for a non-walking tour this might not work.
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I think you are docking same day we are sailing BCN. Some of cruisers on your ship are transferring to Star.
Yes, White Villages Cadiz do look lovely and a nice port day. Are you going to book your own tour or thru the ship?
Am thinking about Malaga and Alcazaba as someone told me it's a mini version of one in Seville. Would satisfy me I guess. LOL
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Hi Ihsail,
Thanks for your reply. Those weren't their exact words but that's how I interpreted it. I was not concerned about the walking tour but more about navigating inside Alhambra, they said lots of steps.
We are docking both Malaga and Cadiz. What ship are you cruising on? We are on NCL Star.
I have found several things we can do in Malaga as I don't think it would be worth the 2 hr. trip back and forth and then the uncertainty of not being able to do Alhambra. We will see..
Same with Seville and there are some alternatives for Cadiz.
Take care.
Mary
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"I explained to my contact at Spain Day Tours why we would not be going with them and, unfortunately, she did not offer any alternatives."
Just another thought - don't forget that these tour companies are in business to make money and they typically have a set # of tour participants and a set itinerary in a certain amount of time. The only way that you could tailor the itinerary is to book a private guide who would be at your disposal but you would also pay more money for this convenience.
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On 8/29/2019 at 7:03 PM, lhsail said:
We are stopping in Cádiz late November, 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. My original plan was to do Spain Day Tours to Seville until I learned it includes a 3 hour walking tour with no breaks. My husband has a bad knee and simply can’t do that. Have looked into the NCL excursions, one is transportation only and one has a bit of a tour with free time. But, I’m wondering if we should even bother going to Seville at all. If we stay in Cádiz what are the not to be missed things? If we never get back there will we feel like we’ve really missed something by not going to Seville? Thank you in advance.
I am having the same problem as your husband. Was going to book SDT to Seville and found out it was 3 solid hours of walking. Have been looking for alternatives. I was also told that if I could not do the 3 hr. walking I could meet tour company at a designated stop. Were you going to tour the Alcazar?
I am having the same difficulty with Malaga/Granada port stop. Want to visit Alhambra for a tour but was told same thing about walking. Hmm, must be a solution.....
Let me know your thoughts.
Mary
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Marazul - all I can say is WOW! Thank you for all that wonderful information. I will look it over. I tried to contact NCL today to see if they are offering transportation only and there was a long wait (of course) so I got tired of waiting. I will try again later this evening as most people may be in bed. lol The website indicates one tour to Granada from the port but it was vague about what it was offering. Thank you again.
May
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Marazul, thank you for that information. I will check it out. The ship may have a transportation only bus we could take. I don’t mind touring on our own and in fact would work out better. 😀
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Campolady & Vmax1700,
Many thanks for your responses. My DH and I have decided not to go to Granada given all the issues involved. The transportation, long bus ride and uncertainty of traffic, road conditions etc. make us re-think the decision. The biggest deterrent would be the very long walking involved. Just isn’t worth the trip. We will find something to do in Malaga and possibly visit Alcazaba with the elevator. Just talking it out with others makes decisions so much easier. 😄
Thanks again.
May
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Hi everyone,
I need help!
Our ship will be docking Malaga on Sunday, Nov. 24 from 10 am until 8:30 pm. I am trying to decide what to do about a tour. My original intention was to go to Granada and visit Alhambra as it has been on my bucket list. I know that it is a long ride from Malaga to Granada and that part is ok with my DH and myself. It's when we get there that I need advice.
Realistically, we would leave the port at 10 am so assuming traffic is ok arrive Granada about 12:30 ish. Map I looked at says 2 hr. 36 min. via A92. The tour company we were thinking of booking has indicated that there is much walking, stair climbing, uneven surfaces (cobblestone streets) and the tour would be about 3 hrs. of constant walking. This tour includes an Alhambra visit as well. Campolady has indicated that 2-3 hr. at Alhambra is not enough so I'm sure that it is not going to be a very in-depth tour with the amount of time we would have. We are supposed to have "free time" to explore on our own, have lunch, etc. We would need to head back to the ship no later than 5 pm (2.36 min.) back so we arrive by 7:30 pm for sailaway.
My questions are: 1) I have some knee issues and stairs/hills are a challenge so not sure if this is a tour that I should do. Does Alhambra have an elevator? 2) Is the amount of walking involved significant enough so I should re-think this tour?
Even though I would love to visit Alhambra if it would impede my ability to do the walking, etc. I think I would forego the tour and stay in Malaga. I am also thinking about the time element involved and it seems to me that everything would seem rushed with the guided walks, Alhambra tour, free time, lunch, etc. Just doesn't seem realistic to me. However, I would like expert opinions from those that have done this tour so I can decide if I should change it. "It is what it is" is my philosophy and I can find something else to see. I guess that I am already answering my own questions. LOL Still want opinions.....
Thank you all for your advice....
May
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boondocks33, thank you for that very nice and detailed review of Barcelona Day Tours.
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13 minutes ago, Mrs f. said:
I just booked a full day wine tour from Barcelona to the penaides wine region. Think it includes visits to 3 wineries and tapas. Used Wine Tourism Spain. Meets at Plaza Catalunya. 132 Euros for 2 of us. We are into wine and this seemed to meet our needs. It is a big bus tour which I am not thrilled with but nothing else seemed to cover what I wanted.
Thank you, I'll check it out. We are looking to do a combo tour to Montserrat and winery but maybe they offer this. Reasonble price! There are 5 of us right now looking to book something. Enjoy your wine tour.
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1 hour ago, $hip$hape said:
I was also confused by the title of this thread. We just booked Montserrat with “In Out Barcelona “. We did it through Viator, a Trip Advisor company. We have used them in the past. Pay with credit card in USDollars
$Ship$hape - thank you so much, this is exactly what I'm looking for. Couldn't find any other tour recommendations but BDT. It looks like this is a specific post about Barcelona Day Tours so probably why there is nothing else listed here.
We are not going to BCN until Nov. but trying to find tours to Montserrat. I will check this company out. I have used Viator before and found them efficient and accommodating. Can you do a review of your Montserrat visit when you return? It doesn't look like the tour companies give you much time there unless you book an all day tour. We are interesting in doing a winery/Montserrat tour. Thanks again. Have a great cruise.
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On 6/7/2019 at 12:12 PM, mapleleaves said:
Was this thread (and 2 similar ones on the Italy forum) created as a place to post solicited reviews from vendors?
You know what I mean .... when you get home from a vacation and a vendor sends you an email with a link to tripadvisor, cruisecritic, yelp, or whatever, asking you to post a review .
I enjoy reading the reviews, but just wondered if that was the intent of these threads.
I am wondering why the only recommendations I see are for Barcelona Day Tours and/or Spain Day Tours. There are certainly other recommended tour companies out there. Any other recommendations? I am looking for other tour guides/operators. I like to compare companies before I commit to one. Thanks.
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I was also wondering what tour company you used.
So sorry not replying before now. We booked London in one day tour through Evan Evans tours. Here is their website:
https://evanevanstours.com/sightseeing-tours/london-tours/
There is a USA 800# on website and I contacted them and booked the tour. I printed out my voucher and brought with me. I was very satisfied with the tour. Let me know if you would like any other info.
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In my opinion, you never will have enough time to see London. We did a transatlantic from Southampton a few years ago and only had 2 days pre-cruise. Needless to say it was not enough time. Agree that 1st day is recuperating from jet lag so do something easy. Then put your running shoes on and go til you drop.
We took an all day bus tour that I prebooked before we left home and that worked out well where we had so little time. We decided not to do hop on bus because we felt we wouldn’t be able to maximize our day with the wait in between to re- board bus. We had a great tour guide and we saw a lot in one day. We were at Buckingham Palace nice and early for changing of guard and guide got us up very close to palace. Stopped at St. Paul’s Cathedral and went inside and had a tour there. Drove thru city and tour guide pointed out various buildings. Had an hour for lunch to relax. Our last stop was Tower of London and another tour there. Last stop was boat ride on Thames. Ticket included the 3 places we visited. We didn’t feel rushed at all. Would recommend if you don’t want travel on your own. We too were in same age category.
I prebooked bus tickets for journey to Southampton and took taxi from hotel to bus station. That was a nice trip and driver pointed out sights along way. It’s about 1.5 hr trip to port. All in all we loved our visit but had many other things we wanted to do. We used taxis several times to save time but they are expensive. I’d be happy to share other ideas with you.
I think the biggest thing is a hotel central to attractions. We stayed in Earls Court area and did some walking in area. Restaurants galore there.
Happy planning and enjoy your cruise.
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Here are a couple of websites that have some interesting history of Boston's North End/Little Italy.
https://boston.cbslocal.com/guide/a-guide-to-bostons-little-italy-the-north-end/
https://freetoursbyfoot.com/self-guided-tour-north-end-little-italy/
Old Town Trolleys Stop #2 is North End (also refers to this stop as "Little Italy". It will stop at Commercial Street and you can walk to Paul Revere House (a teeny tiny house lol) and Christopher Columbus Park, etc. You can walk to different restaurants, etc. if you are food shopping. My son-in-law loves Ernesto's Pizza on Salem St. You probably can get your tickets onboard.
We have done both Old Town Trolley and CityView, Old Town has more stops. Has 19 stops and you can get on/off whenever you want. You can purchase your tickets online and save a few $$$ also.
BTW, when ships are in port Old Town trolleys does pick up at the port (stop 18A).
Massport/Black Falcon Cruise Ship Terminal
11 Drydock Ave, Boston, MA 02210, USAExit the cruise terminal, turn left and go to the end of the parking lot; you'll see a white tent there.
If your cruise ship is selling tickets onboard this will be a drive only tour. If you want to get on/off then purchase your tickets online or at tent at Black Falcon. I would suggest buying online to save time when you dock. You will have plenty of time for sightseeing.
There are lots of souvenir vendors located at Fanueil Hall. The trolleys have dedicated stops indicated by signs on sidewalks and this is where you wait for pickup. It is "usually" 20-30 min. wait to re-board the trolley. Bear in mind that it is summer and Boston will be very busy.
Hope you have a great cruise. It is nice and easy cruising out of Black falcon.
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I can recommend a private car service that we used when we visited Paris for a day while docked in LeHarve. If you want to do any touring he is fabulous. I will be happy to share his name with you.
MiMi
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If you book the ship's tour then it is not a hop on/off trolley tour, you stay on for the whole tour. If you book the tour directly through the trolley company, then it is a hop on/off tour and you can get on and off whenever you want. See the trolley company for description of the various stops.
We have done the trolley tour twice and I think that it is nice to get off at various stops and explore that area. If your time is limited then the ship's tour might work for you.
Our ship will be docking Malaga on Sunday, Nov. 24 from 10 am until 8:30 pm. I am trying to decide what to do about a tour. My original intention was to go to Granada and visit Alhambra as it has been on my bucket list. I know that it is a long ride from Malaga to Granada and that part is ok with my DH and myself. It's when we get there that I need advice.
Boston hotels please
in East Coast Departures
Posted
If you are still checking this thread, I would suggest that you do the trolley tour that leaves from the port. I am not sure they are still offering these trolley tours but you could inquire on the website. It is a great way for you to get an overview of the whole city. You can get on and off and see sites that might interest you. You can get off and visit Fanueil Hall (Quincy Market). There are food places and you can do some souvenir shopping while there. We live in the area and have done a couple of the trolley tours. You might ask your cruise line if they know if they still offer the tour and purchase tickets while onboard. You will already be on the ship so no luggage to worry about. Stop #2 is the one for North End. There is a designated place where the trolley would pick you up again. It's a great way to see Boston with only one day. Hope you have a great cruise.
Good luck.
cruisingmimi
TOUR OPTION 2: PURCHASE FROM YOUR SHORE EXCURSION DESK
Purchase tickets through the shore excursion desk onboard select cruise ships. Be sure to ask for the one and only Old Town Trolley Tour of Boston (the orange and green trolley). Most cruise lines allow guests to reserve shore excursions in advance of the cruise through the cruise line website.
Guests are met on the pier and escorted to private vehicles at the cruise terminal.
We provide a 1.5 hour, non-stop tour, designed to maximize your time here in Boston. Your “Must Do” Old Town Trolley Tour of Boston will give you an inspiring city overview. Our expert tour conductors will show you all the major sights such as Beacon Hill, the CHEERS bar, Cambridge, Old North Church, Bunker Hill Monument and Boston Public Garden. The tour ends at your choice of either Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall or back at the ship.
When using Boston cruise excursions through the ship, you will be picked up and returned to the cruise terminal.