sunfan03

Considering Royal Caribbean cruise from Seattle to Tokyo in early October 2024. Anyone have experience with crossing the North Pacific Ocean during this time? Wondering how rough the ocean will be during this time since we'll have lots of sea days. Any experience, advice (if there's a better time to travel) or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks!

Yes! We were there in October on NCL and took the shuttle into Soulac. I think it was $10-$20/pp round trip.

if you’re interested in wine tour out of Le Verdon, I can check my notes. Her name escapes me now, but highly recommend her tour!
 

On 8/26/2023 at 5:51 PM, Jandrman said:

Hi there. I am also in Le Verdon on October 14. I’m struggling to find any way to get an excursion or just get off the ship into town. Has anyone found a way to Soulac Sur Mer from the cruise terminal? Thanks! 😊

@Jandrman, were there taxis that you could take into Soulac or it was necessary to use NCL Shuttle from cruise terminal into town?

On 8/12/2023 at 4:58 PM, Cruisingmarmi said:

We're on the NCL Dawn. Also hoping to go to Soulac sur Mer. Would love to know if NCL offers a shuttle to the bus station. 

@Cruisingmarmi, were there any other options outside of the NCL shuttle to get to Soulac? Was hoping we could take a taxi there but perhaps it is not available.

On 9/23/2023 at 1:14 PM, crucero05 said:

Do taxi take credit card or do we need euros?

@Ladybug18 - good question - did you pay cash or use credit card?

1 minute ago, ontheweb said:

You should be looking at the time that they say is all aboard for passengers, not the departure time. It is usually about 1/2 hour before departure time. And to give yourself a margin of error, you should aim to be back before that time, a half hour or maybe an hour depending on your tolerance about missing the ship.

THAT'S the term I was trying to recall - lol. "All aboard". Thanks, @ontheweb! yes, so for a 5 pm departure, aim to be back at boat around 3:30 - 4 pm. 

On the Star leaving Southampton on Oct. 23 and got a slight schedule change from NCL (either arriving later/departing earlier for 3 ports). Not surprised, but need a refresh.

Here's my question for the DIY tour folks: When in port, how much time in advance do you aim to be back on the ship prior to departure? It's been a while since we've cruised. 

E.g. if boat departs at 5 pm, what time would you (safely) want to be back in line to get on the boat? (and this is not in regards to embarkation day...it's for the different ports on our itinerary).

I want to make sure that the on your own tours I've arranged will still work for our schedule. 

On 8/21/2023 at 4:42 PM, BoundForSea said:

How was your experience with them in Lisbon? Looking into it ourselves.

@BoundForSea, we travel in late October, so I'll let you know. We'll have a full day tour with them (including pick-up from cruise ship and drop off at hotel with luggage after tour).

On 6/27/2023 at 6:02 PM, njkruzer said:

Not sure who they used but we used Meadway.  Meadway.com.  used them from LHR to hotel and also to Southampton.  Definitely recommend them.  A friend recommended them to us and as former Londoners they had used them for years.

@njkruzer, how much time did you give yourself from arrival to pick-up? I'm not sure how much time to allow for deplaning, clearing customs and collecting luggage when we schedule Meadway pick-up. Also, what time did you have them pick you up at hotel to go to Southampton?

14 hours ago, Ladybug18 said:

We shared the taxi with another family so we split the cost of the round trip taxi (we each rounded the fare up to 50 Euros). 

@Ladybug18, how many people in your taxi? I'm guessing 4 pax?

Thanks for sharing!!

I guess I'm wondering average cost for a taxi that carries 4 pax from cruise terminal to Bilbao.

I have a quote for a minibus to take us around Bilbao at roughly $125/pp, so I'm wondering if this is worth it. Or if we can save money and catch a cab to Bilbao to sightsee on our own. 

On 6/10/2023 at 8:02 AM, Ladybug18 said:

Hello,

We will be on the NCL Prima in mid July and are interested in going to Bruges from the Zeebrugge port. The cruise line has a "Bruges On Your Own" tour that we can book but it seems expensive for just a bus ride to/from Bruges. I know there is the Cruise Express bus that will take us to Bruges but I have read reviews and unfortunately they do not get the best reviews. Has anyone taken a Taxi from the port in Zeebrugge to Bruges? If so, which company did you use? Can you prebook a roundtrip fare? There will be three of us (myself, my husband and our 11 year old son).

 

 

@Ladybug18, what did you end up doing in Zeebrugge? I'm curious if there were taxis available in port...thanks in advance for sharing!

Update: The family wants to overnight in central London with the hopes of being able to do some sight-seeing, so I'm planning to book private transfers for them from LHR to hotel (two groups of 6 (one from IAH, the other EWR) and then my dad and me). The next day we'll have another private transfer from hotel to Southampton. 

The private transfers will take the pressure off of them getting to the hotel with their luggage - 😅

11 minutes ago, wind010706 said:

Are you all going to be there with the NCL Getaway cruise Oct 12? We are hoping to go into Soulac-sur Mer. 

We're on NCL Star - so in Le Verdon on Sun., Oct. 29. Now considering a private tour to a winery or two nearby.

Still looking at options for when in Port with my dad and his siblings (14 pax). Does anyone have experience with catching a taxi to Bilbao? Cost?

I'm thinking if we can get to Bilbao, then we can explore on our own. We'll be there at the end of October. 

Thanks @BAYA - I'm working with them now to confirm a trip. 

4 hours ago, gbits said:

The ship does not get to LeVerdon until 2pm and all aboard will be at 6:30. If there is an hour drive there and an hour drive back that only leaves you a vist of about 2 hours.  

 

I am still looking for one more couple for my Bordeaux tour of the Medoc area that will pick us up at the port in Bordeaux and drop us off at the port in Le Verdon.  It is full day and the cost is 300 euro for a couple plust tasting fees.  Please email me at gbits[@]optonline[.]net if you would like to fill that spot. 

@gbits, thanks for the invitation, but I think we’re in a different boat. We’re traveling on Norwegian Star in October

Ok, need some advice...keep in mind that we'll be in Bilbao at the end of October and we're not really wine connoisseurs....but when in 

I reached out to Spain Day Tours and have this option at €115/pp: 

We will start this day-tour with a photo stop at the viewpoint of Artxanda to enjoy a wonderful view of the city of Bilbao.  We will continue to the city of Begoña where we will also stop for a photo break before heading to the old city of Bilbao.  Here we will normally do a walking tour of approx 1.5 hours that includes the Cathedral, Plaza Nueva and the "7 Calles".

You will then have some free time on your own to possibly do lunch. Our guide will be happy to show you some nice "Pintxo" places where you can taste and enjoy the delicious tapas of the region.

We will then head towards the Guggenheim museum where you can explore this famous site and spend approximately 1.5 hours surrounded by exciting art and architecture from around the world (we would probably skip museum).  On our way back to the ship we will pass "La Ria" and stop for at the Vizcaya bridge.

Or with Best of Basque at €110/pp:

Private tour
 Includes 1 winery tour (Tkakoli, local white wine) with 2-3 tastings

On 4/14/2023 at 9:51 PM, gbits said:

We were on the Oceania Marina last September that overnighted in Bordeaux. I used Ophorus for tours each day, one to the Dordogne and the Lescaux Caves and the other to St Emilion with wine tastings. I formed groups using my roll call and wound up with 4 vans of 6-8. Nancy was fabulous in helping me plan and all 4 guides were terrific.

@gbits, thanks for reviewing Ophorus. I'm thinking of using them when we're in port in Le Verdon. They've suggested a visit to a chateau in Pauillac (about 1 hour drive from port) for wine-tasting...I'm not a connoisseur, but seems like the Pauillac wine would suit my palate. If you have other suggestions/thoughts, please let me know. 

16 hours ago, Tyskie said:

@sunfan03

Have you thought of a private tour in each port that you are interested in?  Generally they can accomodate 6-8 people in their vehicle. 

 

It's just a thought - in the past I have arranged for private tours with our roll call and we capped it at 8.  Often you can tailor the tour to exactly what you want to see.

Yes, that's what I'm thinking of trying to arrange. Except that we'll probably need two minivans or one mini-bus. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them. We'll be in Bruges, Le Havre, Le Verdon, Bilbao and Lisbon (disembark). Thanks!

On 6/27/2023 at 2:26 AM, John Bull said:

 

Pre-book a couple of 8-seater taxis to take you from the port to the Grotrrmarkt in the centre of Bruges, and to take you back at a time that you fix with the driver.

 

 

JB 🙂

Pardon my naïveté, what's the best way to pre-book 8 seater taxis? 

20 hours ago, coopster said:

We are on the same cruise if you go to that board I have an option  but I need 6 other ppl to make it affordable to do. If I cannot get the ppl soon we are doing the ncl wine tour with free time in bordeaux  tour. 

We're on Norwegian Star leaving Southampton Oct. 23 - I didn't see your post there. 

On 6/25/2023 at 2:44 PM, Cruisingmarmi said:

Thank you so much! I'll look into this option. I like off the beaten path ideas. 

@Cruisingmarmi Can you let me know what you decided to do? We'll be there in late October and the option to just go to Soulac-sur Mer sounds appealing. 

On 4/30/2023 at 11:12 AM, coopster said:

can i ask where you found a tour and who is it with we are looking also

@coopster, did you find a wine tour (or two) in Bordeaux? We're going in October, so trying to figure out other options as well. Thank you!

8 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

There are some excellent D-Day minibus tour operators.

Best known is Overlord, and their minibuses carry 16 - expensive, but excellent, altho they do book-out early.

https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tours-from-cruise-ports-9/

 

Can't help with minibus plus driver, but that'll be a lot cheaper and there's plenty of signage and English-speaking staff at the sights.

From Le Havre you should be able to fit in the American cemetery, Omaha beach and Pointe du Hoc, mebbe even a quick look at the German cemetery at La Cambe - a stark contrast to the American cemetery.

Give yourselves an extra window of about 60 minutes for the return to Le Havre - if you're up with the clock, just before the Pont du Normandie over the Seine estuary and about 30 minutes from you ship, it's only a five-minute diversion to the pretty bar-lined harbour of Honfleur for a well-earned beer.

 

JB 🙂

 

I reached out to Overlord a few days ago - I think I saw a thread where someone (maybe you?) recommended them. I think for the history, it'll be worth it. They offer the following:

1. Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, American Cemetery & Bayeux
2. Longues sur Mer Batteries, Omaha Beach, American Cemetery & Bayeux
3. Omaha Beach, American Cemetery, Bayeux & Honfleur

I need to brush up on my WWII history (which I will do), but I personally like "slow" travel...enjoying my sites and not necessarily trying to maximize photo opps. That being said, I appreciate the timeframe recommendations @John Bull.

Right now, I'm leaning towards this itinerary: Omaha Beach, American Cemetery, Bayeux & Honfleur - but I still have to poll my uncles and aunts 😅 Sounds like there will be a group of them going to Paris (but not my dad and I)