SteelCity Cruiser

Nice to have the option though, particularly if you find you just missed the shuttle by 5 minutes and have to wait another hour for it (when we were there last year, the shuttle only ran once an hour), you CAN take the train 1-way if you want to.

we used the train service from the port instead of the Viking shuttle. It was 5 pounds for a round trip ticket and runs about every 30 minutes and only took about 15-20 minutes each way. The train station is a short, easy walk from the dock. Ticket booths are right inside the station entrance

Ours was booked via Viator with Thistle Excursions. Only 8 of us in a mini van and it was terrific.

That's a pretty nice deal for passengers. We did an Africa trip a couple of years ago and I ended up paying my doctor's office around $400 for the vaccinations and malaria meds we needed for that trip (Hep A booster, Yellow Fever and Tetanus booster)

We had a very similar situation occur in Athens when we disembarked. Another passenger took our suitcase (theirs was similar but we had completely different 'ties' on the handle - ours was bright yellow, her tie was bright red). An Oceania rep did the same thing as the OP's - took our report and a photo of our bag (we had 2 identical bags so they photographed the one we did retrieve) and a photo of the incorrect bag. Gave us zero contact info for follow up-they didn't even provide the port agent contact info. I took a photo of the luggage tag on the other passenger's bag and took a chance and texted her. Fortunately she too was on a 2-day extension in Athens as we were and Oceania contacted her to deliver her bag to her and I was able to meet her to retrieve my bag while still in Athens. I never heard a word from Oceania about our missing bag. Not a peep. I made repeated phone calls to their customer service lines and was basically told they couldn't help us. Sent emails to every executive in Oceania I could find and got the same response from their Corporate people: we can't help you because "you are no longer a passenger after you disembark" They are right - after that experience, it will take a very special itinerary for me to be an Oceania passenger again. The on-board experience was fine. Off-ship their customer service and support before and after the cruise was very poor.

We had dinner at Dundees when we spent 3 days in Cairns last January. Wonderful food, service and atmosphere. Another fun place, best for lunch, is Prawn Stars which is IN the marina. HUGE platters of fresh prawns served on fishing boats that have been converted to restaurant seating/

That pretty much sums up our experience on Virgin, and, as someone mentioned, their target demographic is much younger than Viking's, although we didn't feel it had a huge impact on our experience. Our cruise had a lot of "friends groups" on it. The food was outstanding I found the service a bit more 'wanting', but our cruise was immediately post-pandemic (Feb 2022) and I think all service industries were having service issues at that point anyway. Very different experience, but I think I'd do another Virgin cruise depending on the itinerary and length (and probably choose it over Oceania if both itineraries were similar).

To our friends on the Star - not sure what time you arrive in port, but we touched down in Honolulu yesterday afternoon and our dinner view on Waikiki last night was breathtaking! Hope your visit here goes well.

Will be following your adventures avidly. We fly to Honolulu for a 2-week land based trip on Monday and will be intersecting with your itinerary on Oahu and Maui.

We did a similar tour in Invergordon, sans Cawdor Castle (but spent a decent amount of time exploring Uruqhart Castle) through Thistle Tours (selected from the Viator site) and it was wonderful. Only 8 of us in a mini-van and a terrific guide who modified the schedule for our interests.

Not sure where the one you mention is, but we did the whiskey tasting excursion offered at Ullapool. It was good - wonderful tour of the distillery and tasting (and this particular distillery does NOT export to the US - only available in Scotland and Asia so shopping is key here!), a short visit to Beully (cute little town) and an incredibly lovely (but long) drive through the Highlands. It does take all the time you have in Ullapool so we didn't get to see the town itself though since we were only in port for a half day.

We were on this cruise in June 2023. We didn't do all the excursions you are asking about, but friends of ours did some. Plus, some personal observations having been a few of those places previously: Tower of London: very doable on your own (we've been there 3 times). The Wardens give free talks and there are lots of resources. See if you can get your admission tickets in advance on line though. Canterbury - we didn't do this but our friends did and really enjoyed it. They did go inside the cathedral. It is not walkable from the boat. Can't help with the castle question - haven't been there Wicklow County is LOVELY! Visited there years ago with friends on our own. It's bit of a ride, but the scenery is worth it I think Ffestiniog Railway may have been one of the highlights of our trip (along with the Orkneys and Shetland stops which were our favorites overall). The train ride is fun, the scenery is breath taking. The small town you go to for lunch is simply charming. A little pricey, but we thought it was worth it. If your husband is a fan of classic trains, he'll love it for sure.

We went to Mt. Victoria during the included excursion our Viking cruise last year and it was fantastic. We missed the funicular ride which I wanted to do, but that gives me a great excuse to go back there some day!

Not sure if this is any contribution on the Hawaii thing, but we've been planning a 2-week 50th anniversary trip to Hawaii for the past year and I've been doing a lot of research and reading in preparation. Similar to other ports around the world, there is a great deal of concern in the state about the negative environmental impact of excessive cruise ship arrivals and there are some in the state that would like to end them completely. Also, dock space (with the exception of Honolulu) is limited and is needed to receive shipments of goods (virtually everything there from toilet paper to building supplies has to be shipped in). It wouldn't surprise me if the ports are, on their own, beginning to limit docking privileges for cruise ships.

Re: rugs. If you are interested in purchasing one, we were advised by one of our guides in Istanbul to consider carving time to visit a dealer in one of the smaller Turkish ports - prices there are lower than in Istanbul and more willing to haggle prices down. We purchased ours in Kusadasi for about half of what it would have cost in Istanbul (even with haggling).