seeriteR

I'll have to make sure I don't do any stumbling down that ramp reboarding so I don't have security knocking on my door.

Hey, cruisinpsychRN! I see you're still cruisin! Good for you! We were with you in Roatan on that poor man's excursion around the island with Victor. We learned our lesson on that one.

Walk steady! Say Hi to Jim and Patty.

Jim

We love Belize! Been there 3 times already and going again on Conquest in February. Planning a city walking tour and lunch on Bird Island.

If you get a chance, go to the Museum. Check out the walking tours in Frommer's or Rick Steve's. Easy to navigate the city and see all the main POI.

Hi Jim and Pam, how was the Fall in Michigan this year ? DW is a Michigander and we met in Michigan. We love spending the fall there. Congratulations on your Baltic cruise. We fell in love with St. Petersburg when we visited there on our 2006 cruise. You will have 2 full and enjoyable days there. Is it possible to do a post cruise stay in Moscow or St. Pete. ? We wished that we did when we first went because there a lot that we missed and wanted to see things at our own pace. It would be much quicker and cheaper to fly from Copenhagen than another transatlantic flight from Michigan. If you have not seen our thread on St. Petersburg - you may want to check it out.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1775172

Ok, so now that I spent hours looking at and reading your posts, I see why you suggest a post tour. There is no way to see everything in only 2 days. But thank you so much for your information on SPB. We are really looking forward to our visit and want to get the most out of it.

We had snow flurries today in Michigan. Our fall was pretty short which means winter will be pretty long. We will survive though because we have 2 cruises to look forward to... Caribbean in February and the Baltic in June!

Thanks again for the great photo review and tips! I'll keep reading...

Jim

Wow! What else can be said. The photos and your trip are amazing! We have booked a Baltic cruise for June, 2014. We had not considered going to Moscow and after reading your blog, we are still not. BUT if we ever are lucky enough to come back sometime, it will definitely be on our TO DO list! Thank you for sharing the pics, vids and memories!

Jim and Pam

We're back from our Baltic Sea Cruise and had a fabulous time.

Happy Cruising!!!:D

Selena

Hi Selena!

I enjoyed your blog. We are on a HAL Baltic in June next year. I'm trying to get ready for all our stops and came across your beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing. What lens did you use for your indoor shots? They are so nice a sharp. Was there enough natural light inside?

You commented on your taxi ride from the CPH airport to the cruise terminal. Could you please tell me how much was the taxi? How long was the ride? We will be doing the same thing upon arrival in CPH but on the return we need to be at the airport for a 7AM flight. Good thing our ship ports in Copenhagen overnight! We will have one full day to spend in town.

Thanks!

Jim and Pam

Jim, have a look at the deck plans.

 

these decks are so under-utilized.

Thanks, NCTribeFan. I'll take a look there. HAL has wrap around decks and it is so nice to be able to walk around the entire ship.

Jim

Is there a deck that wraps all the way around the ship for walkers of do you hit a dead end and have to walk inside to get around?

Just wondering how to keep my wife happy when she takes me for a walk.

Jim

We just wanted to add a comment based on our own experience on this island (we have visited Funchal 4 times).

We have been to Maderia only once but cannot wait until we can go again. Perhaps in 2013.

I continue to read Biaria's posts about beautiful Funchal and Madeira Island. Greetings to Daniel (our taxi driver and guide in 2011).

Jim and Pam

Our photos of Madiera:

Ola, Eusebia!

Remember me? We emailed back in February and March before going on MSC Poesia with a stop in Madeira. Daniel took our small group to Rabacal for a hike. It was one of the best parts of our trip! I am still following your posts on Funchal and you are a great help to so many people! We look forward to another trip sometime to Madeira!

Meanwhile, I checked out the MSC Roll Call for next March Transatlantic to see what questions people have that I could help with. I will certainly recommend they contact you for information on Funchal! :)

All the best to you and Daniel. Feliz Natal!

Jim and Pam

Biaria,

 

When looking at various Madeira websites, it is evident there are many tour companies that offer their services for 1/2 day or full day tours. I think the Rabacal Levada walk would be good for my wife and I since we are able-bodied and enjoy hiking.

Biaria,

Pam and I returned home today from our cruise. I think we both agree that Madeira was one of the highlights of our trip. We enjoyed our taxi ride to Rabacal, the excellent tour from our driver, the awesome 5 hour Leveda walk, and the added sightseeing (including Daniel's hometown) as we were driven back to our ship.

The weather was perfect, even with the snow in the mountains (an unusual event for Madeira).

Thank you for your help in securing our transportation. Please give our greetings and thanks to your special driver. He made it an enjoyable trip!

Jim and Pam (and Ellie and Zoe, too!)

Hello Jim,

 

I'd love to answer your question, but as you're making reference to specific tour company, I'm afraid my reply may be considered a breach of the rules. Sorry about this.

Biaria,

I appreciate your position but I do not think I referenced any tour company. I found at least 5 tour companies that offer Rabacal tours, but it seems they are geared toward visitors in hotels or else cruise ships arriving prior to the start time of their regular tours.

Since we can't use one of the normal companies, we are trying to make our own arrangements and decided on a self-guided tour. My question was pretty simple. Is the trail for the Rabacal Levada walk well marked?

I would be happy even if you told me there are no reports of cruisers missing their boat because they got lost and returned late!

Jim

Biaria,

You have provided a lot of information on things to do while visiting Madeira. After reviewing many of the postings, I did not see anything about the Levada walking tours.

When looking at various Madeira websites, it is evident there are many tour companies that offer their services for 1/2 day or full day tours. I think the Rabacal Levada walk would be good for my wife and I since we are able-bodied and enjoy hiking.

I read that first-time hikers should go on a guided tour rather than self-guided. Do you know if the Rabacal trail is well marked? I don't want to get lost or miss our return to the ship!

Our ship arrives later than the start time of all the tour companies, so we have to use a taxi. At the recommendation of others, I contacted taxi driver Daniel and he is willing to pick us up and return us to the dock.

Thank you for all the great information you provide to the cruisers!

Jim