sailaway5

We recently purchased a photo package on our Australian Transpacific (29-days) for $299. The photo package was not available for $99 due to the length of the cruise. We took many pictures, boarding, formal etc. I particularly liked the USB feature and saw that all was posted to the USB. However, when I got home recently, and went to upload my pictures, only one picture was there...the USB drive was corrupted. I called Princess, explained the problem. The representative referred the issue to a supervisor. I received an email the next day asking for some information so they could contact the ship that was now enroute to Alaska. Much to my surprise, they located the images. Yesterday, in the mail, I received a NEW flashdrive with all the images. Of course, I did have all of the photo prints, but having the USB was a bonus. Princess has definitely surprised and delighted me in handling this customer service problem. I was impressed.

Thank you, Cruise Critic boards, for letting us know about these photo deals. Just purchased for all of our upcoming cruises. And thank you, Princess, for offering a nice photo package.

I think its time for a new thread, I will not answer any questions in the old thread as the answer might be here instead.

 

 

Pier Information.

 

http://www.cmport.dk/ships-in-port/cruise-ships/season-current

 

 

Transportation

 

 

Public transportation

 

http://dinoffentligetransport.dk/service/for-tourists/

 

 

Price from the airport to central Copenhagen or the piers is 36 DKK

From central Copenhagen to the piers is 24 DKK

 

 

Public busses

26 goes to Indiakaj near Langelinie and stops at the central station, Town Hall Square, Kongens Nytorv/Nyhavn and Østerport

 

25 and 27 goes to Oceankaj via Nørreport (only 25) and Østerport.

 

The new timetable for 25 should be online sometime in April

http://dinoffentligetransport.dk/trafikinformation/koereplaner/koereplaner-bus/25/

 

 

26

http://dinoffentligetransport.dk/KoereplanerPdf/26-0026-131215.pdf

 

 

27

http://dinoffentligetransport.dk/KoereplanerPdf/27-0027-131215.pdf

 

 

And here is my photoguide on how to use them

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2048740&page=11

 

 

 

Info about luggage storage at the central station.

 

http://en.hovedbanen.dk/dsb-information/dsb-luggage-service/

 

 

Taxi

 

Dantaxi

http://www.dantaxi.dk/Koebenhavn

 

Taxi Nord

http://www.taxinord.dk/

 

4x27

http://amagerobrotaxi.dk/

 

 

 

Taxi Nord has a practical price calculater

 

http://www.taxinord.dk/nyttig-info/beregn-pris-paa-taxi.html

 

 

akst 1 and 3 is normal hours.

 

Takst 2 and 4 is night after Friday and Saturday from 23:00 to 07:00 and public holidays.

 

 

To quickly sum of the taxi situation at Oceankaj.

 

In general they don´t accept prebooking at Oceankaj because in their experience people just takes the first available taxi instead of the one they booked.

but they say that there should be plenty of taxis all the time.

 

 

 

So ask away :D

Thank you for all of this valuable information...

Hello!

 

As someone has mentioned Kristiansand is not at all a big city. So it is a nice town to walk around in. If you would like a tour, the tour to Lillesand is a good choice. The area around Kristiansand are small villages all in white. They are old and gave narrow streets, local bakery and shops. It is nice just to walk around and relax.

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/southern-norway/kristiansand/?lang=usa

 

This is the official site for visitt Norway Kristiansand. Here you will find more information about what you can do and a taste of what it looks like.

 

Hope this will help you:)

Thank you, Norway Lady, for the information. We will be visiting by cruise ship next year and just started researching for the best way to see your city. We are interested in seeing the folk museum as well as the town and wonder if the ship tour is the best option for us. Our ancestors came from this region and we can't wait to see some of Norway.

Thank you again,

Carol

We very much enjoyed our tour with http://discoverscotlandtours.com and http://www.irelandchauffeurtravel.com

 

Both excellent experiences.

We are considering the Discover Scotland Tours out of Greenock next year on our cruise. Does their vehicle (16 or 31 people) navigate well on those small twisty roads others have mentioned on the way to Stirling Castle etc?

Any information you care to share is appreciated.

Cheers,

Carol

Does your print out show anything the ties them back to the specific cruise? I don't see anything showing the booking number, cruise name or date.

No -- it doesn't show the cruise, but shows "how Many Days until departure"

On your cruise personalizer, choose the icon for Beverage Packages.

Scroll down to the bottom, and you will see your All-Inclusive Beverage Promotion listed as a complimentary gift.

I print this out, just in case tings go south once onboard.

Thank you for this hint... I didn't know it would show here. I checked my upcoming cruises in 2017 and 2018 and it shows. That will save us much $$$$. I printed this out too!

Thanks again,

Cheers,

Carol

The Great War Exhibition at The National War Memorial is excellent.

It was created by Sir Peter Jackson.

$15pp with optional guided tours an extra $10.

Is it a good idea to book tickets ahead of time? Our ship will be there on Easter Sunday.

Thank you for the hints.

We leave on our cruise next week, and for Wellington I pre-booked this half-day tour. They added a bus with a pick-up at the port for our ship. They cover much of what you listed, and then leave half the day for wandering around. I can't vouch for them directly as we haven't been there yet, but their TA ratings were good and they've been good so far emailing back and forth.

 

http://www.wellingtonsightseeingtours.co.nz/tour/wellington-city-sights-coastline-tour/

What was your opinion of this tour? Where did you meet the tour guide?

We are researching our future cruise ports now. Any other hints you can give would be appreciated!

Cheers,

Carol

I don't remember a bus either. You just walk along the walkway from dock to terminal.

Thank you all for the comments. And thanks, Mapleleaves, for the link!!!

Are there luggage carts available at the pier to use to walk to the airport?

Cheers,

Carol

We are staying at the Bauer hotel post cruise. We will hire a water taxi to take us to the airport (flight time at 6:30 am).... Does the water taxi take us directly to the airport.....? Or do we have to walk for a long ways? Can you request a land taxi once you are dropped off if it is quite some distance from the airport.

Any help or comments will be much appreciated. Also, what time should we be at the airport?

Thank you,

Carol

Hello --

I, also, would love to have your notes. Would you please send to my email at sailaway 5 at cox dot net.

Thank you so much!!!

Cheers,

Carol

Where do you find the list of what is available for each package? We just booked a cruise under the last promo which includes the Classic Beverage package. We may need to consider "upgrading".....

Thanks for all of your help!

Just got off Silhouette last Sunday and have had the Classic package for the past three cruises, I couldn't tell you the difference. We utilized the card a lot, and all the drinks and wine we previously ordered were available on this last cruise, still a good deal. Some people just like to be negative regardless instead of just enjoying life, and some things are just not worth worrying about, especially those over which you have little control. Just enjoy your cruises!

Good to know -- We have booked a cruise that offers this promotion which includes the Classic package etc.. Does it include ordering your glass of wine while having dinner in the restaurant? Or do you have to get your drinks at one of the bars?

Thank you,

Carol

Thanks for clarifying the over 65 as I was going to be purchasing my tickets soon.

Cheers,

Carol

smvbn2fWxMc

Thank you for sharing your video..... very interesting. Can't wait to see it!

I will be visiting Ponta Delgada next month & am looking for advice. After 5 days at sea I will definitely be wanting to get off & stretch my legs & see some of the island, however my travelling companion has MS & cannot walk very far. Can anyone recommend a tour that has limited walking - I know we could take a taxi for a drive around but we would prefer a coach as it's higher. Also can anyone tell me if tours are available on the dockside?

Hi -- we have now been to the Azores twice since I originally started this thread in 2008.

The first time we took a ship tour to the "twin or crater lakes" (one blue = one green). It was a clear day and the views were beautiful. The drive to the countryside was impressive. Also stopped at a small village and stopped at a hotel on the way back for wine & cheese. We chose to walk back to the ship after walking around town. Otherwise, not too much walking on this tour.

Last October, 2014, we again had a stop in the Azores while on our transatlantic. We again opted for a ship tour again. We toured the countryside, stopped at botanical gardens (beautiful, but a lot of walking here), and then to a village where the steaming mud pots are. The drive thru the countryside is pleasant and good views from the coach. My DH loved both of these tours.

We are going on another transatlantic in October, 2015. We will stop at the Azores again. This time we will return to the twin lakes or crater lakes (great photo opportunity here if the weather cooperates), and a pineapple plantation and another garden. This is also a ship's tour.

I am sure these options are also available by private tour. You mentioned you preferred the bus. We prefer to sit at the back of the bus as there is more room (empty seats) and we could switch from side to side to take photos for wherever the great views were!

Hope this helps. We really enjoyed the beauty of this port.

Have fun planning.

Cheers,

Carol

We did the Secret Itineraries tour on July 4th this year.

 

We pre-booked our tickets from here and took our printed form to the ticket window to exchange for tickets. Our tour was at 9:55 AM. We left our cruise ship at 8:15 and used the People Mover and Vaporetto Line 2 to get to San Marco Square where we arrived around 9:40 which was plenty of time to get the tickets inside (you enter from the side of the building facing the water) and there was a restroom just inside the courtyard area of the Palace. There is a designated meeting spot near there for the tour to begin.

 

Our tour began right on time even though there were four people who were late - they were able to catch up with us just before we entered the "secret" part of the tour that is behind a locked door. Our guide gave us a lot of information about the Palace and the history of the Doges and how things ran back then. I didn't read up on my Venetian history before we went so I didn't even know what Doge was or anything - I will say that having done the tour and learned so much from it, when I read Dan Brown's Inferno a few days later, it helped me understand his book more because there were references to Doges and to Casanova who we learned about on the tour.

 

The tour itself took about 1:20 - and of the 25 people on the tour, I would say 1/3 of them were bored - but I think that was mostly because they were with other family members who really wanted to do the tour and they didn't want to split up in Venice. We had our two teenagers who actually were interested, but they both like history and one had already had AP Euro History and the other is taking it this year - so it was relevant to them.

 

After the tour, you can stay and tour the Palace at your leisure. As others have mentioned, this can eat up your whole day - we walked through the Palace and completed the tour path through the rooms, the passageways, across the Bridge of Sighs, and through the jail cells. We got some good pictures from the Bridge towards the waterfront, and then afterwards we went to the waterfront and got the pictures of the exterior of the Bridge. We did not do audio-guides for the Palace and we really didn't give it justice, but we had other things we wanted to do in Venice as well and time was a-ticking. Even so, if you do the Secret Itineraries tour, allow at least another 45 minutes to walk through the Palace - if you think you want to actually stop and read / admire things, allow 1 1/2 hours.

Thank you for all of this great information. We are returning to Venice again and DH wants to do the whole Secret Itinerary tour again. Does anyone know if the Senior Citizens (65 & over) discount applies to us American citizens? Or is that only for Italian citizens?

And is this website the "official" one for ordering tickets? I notice they only let you order 2-months out. The other sites allow several months ahead.

Can't wait to return to this magical city.

Thanks again for all of your help.l

Carol

Hi Carol,

 

Yes we were gone most of the day. The wineries are perhaps 20-40 minutes away from the port. The tour we chose also stopped in Cassis for lunch/time on our own, which is about 45 minutes from the port.

 

As others have noted, you're not missing much if you leave Toulon for the day. Cassis is a beautiful resort town and a much better place to spend your time in port (IMHO).

Thank you again for this information. Any hints are welcome!!!

Cheers,

Carol

Another thumbs up for Provence Wine Tours.

 

Just returned from a 12 nighter and our tour with them was definitely one of the highlights. Great service, knowledgeable and friendly.

We did the Bandol/Cassis tour.

Thank you titangas & ProjectJack. This will be our first time to this region. How far away is the winery from the ship port? Were you gone most of the day?

Thanks again,

Carol

Thank you, all, for the great ideas on what to do in Sydney. Will be referring back to all of this as we plan our tours for when we are in Sydney April, 2016.

Appreciate this follow-up and posting by Carol on your upcoming cruise out of Sydney. As noted in the live/blog below, we got off of the Celebrity Solstice in February. We did major pre-cruise time in and around Cairns, plus on Kangaroo Island. Go to these posting for many more details on our adventures, including at Port Douglas, in the Daintree Rainforest, going out to the Great Barrier Reef, etc. Below are a few of my visual samples to build your excitement for this adventure. Feel free to ask any follow-up questions on my live/blog and I will respond with any info that might help you in your planning. Lots of great options down under.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 64,428 views for this fun posting.

 

 

The Kuranda rail trip took us back a different routing, plus lots of interesting scenery, dramatic waterfalls, major engineering work, many train tunnels, big bridges, etc. The rail line dates back to 1891. For our group of six, we did the upgrade to the "gold" rail seating with plenty of wine, nice food/snacks, etc., in a wonderful, old-style rail car with great service and attention by the staff The great company and nice sights (plus the flowing wine), made it very much fun on a day with on and off patches of rain.:

 

 

 

From the Daintree Rainforest and National Park near Cairns, Australia, here are two samples of our exploring there. We did a somewhat challenging 1.43 miles circular hike in the deep, deep of this dramatic rainforest. Lots of rocks, up and down paths, twists and turns, hard work, etc., as this picture illustrates. But we survived!! Even at our ages. Our group crossed the Mossman Gorge on a fairly long swinging bridge. Not Indiana Jones, but for us it was super spectacular. Here is one of my favorite pictures as it show John in our group looking at one of these huge trees in the middle of this rainforest and contemplating its majesty, size and history. And I told John, the picture shows his more photogenic side!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture gives a little sampling for Port Douglas. Here and in many of these towns that get lots of rain, they have covered walkways in the towns to protect people from the rain and/or sun. Got to shop?? Plenty of opportunities here!! Plus, good places to eat.:

 

 

 

For the Great Barrier Reef, we chartered a plane and flew out from Cairns to Lizard Island, one of the most isolated locations in Australia. Chief Pilot Greg has done about 2200 trips to this location and really knows it well. Here we are on the beach getting his briefing for snorkeling in these reef areas right off of this location/beach. Yes, we saw real lizards here when we walked from the landing strip to our beach location. Captain Cook named this island because when he landed, he saw so many lizards!! Had a wonderful lunch on the beach. On the way to Lizard Island, we flew our over the edge of the reef to better understand this amazing 1500-mile long natural wonder, how it works, etc.:

 

 

 

For our snorkeling, I got to try out my new Nikon AW110 underwater camera. Shot about 260 underwater pictures. Here is one quick sample below. More visuals and details on the full live/blog.:

 

Terry in Ohio --- thank you so much for the comments and pictures. OMG, your comments are so informative and appreciated. I am making a file and will research all of the links you provided to get some great ideas.

The Cairns area is definitely on our bucket list.. Just trying to figure out the best pre-cruise way to do things.

Thank you again for being so helpful. I may have more questions after I read all of this info.

Cheers,

Carol

Just found this thread and thought it had a lot of great ideas. Has anyone done any pre-cruise tours from Sydney or tours on their own from Sydney that you are willing to share --- the good -- not so good --- anything. We currently planning our cruise out of Sydney which is over a year away. Would love to see more of Australia. Any hints are appreciated.

Carol

Thank you Bobocasey for asking this question... We are cruising out of Sydney in 2016 and want to be able to see the GBR also. Thank all the rest of you for giving your opinions. All are valuable for our research.

Please share your experience on what you plan to do. We are waiting for Princess to come out with their pre-cruise shore-excursion and see if it is what we want.

Have fun planning..

Cheers,

Carol

We went on Dora's city tour a couple of weeks ago and it cost $60 per person. It would have been $75 if we'd stayed at 4 people, but because we went above 10, the price dropped to $60. She was a great guide and we had plenty of time to wander a little in case we wanted to shop. She was open to suggestions but all of us wanted to see the places listed in her regular tour. The people I spoke with who had taken Celebrity's tour were not as pleased - they were crowded and uncomfortable. My ship's tour in Belize was that way, too.

Thanks for the good report --- we just booked her for our February cruise. There will be 7 of us.