Louise sail

We live in Canada and agree with you,we were on the Ryndam,out of Dover last year,for 3 weeks in Norway.The plane ride was easy and direct,Heathrow to Canada.This year we wanted to see Scotland,we had to fly to Copenhagen which took a connecting flight and an extra hour's time change.Copenhagen was beautiful but we had been there before so not a new experience.We had 24 wonderful days on the Eurodam but severe thunderstorms in Europe caused us to almost miss our connecting flight home.We know several of our shipmates were stranded in Paris because their running days are over we were lucky.

We have sailed out of both Dover and Harwich in England and found them very easy ports to get to from London,which is a direct flight from most North American cities.Are you listening HAL?We also did not like the new dock in Copenhagen which is far from the city with poor transportation.

Glad you had a good time on one of our favorite ships.

See post #444 of this thread the file is there.We went in June a nice walk.

Have fun

We left the ship at 9:30 AM,Holland asked for everyone to clear ship by then.We were on a BtoB and 12 days earlier were told by shore staff that the lines for taxis were shorter on week days when leaving either early or later not during rush hour.We saw much shorter lines at 9:30 the previous cruise but we were the only ship with two ships the wait was too long.

I would prebook a car or take the ship's bus to airport.The office staff said there is such a high demand that if you prebooked a car and were not there waiting someone else would take your ride.Check to see ifyou will be the only ship in port.

We disembarked Eurodam yesterday with a big Princess ship taxi line ups long,at least 45 minutes a shuttle bus offered us a ride to town and we took train to airport.I would recommend ship's shuttle to airport unless like us you have a late flight and are physically fit.The line up for the city bus was very long too.

Gold star for getting whisky right :D

 

Sorry i don't think I was clear. is there any reason you need to start at Holyrood? The better way would be to cab or walk to Whisky Experience first (I can give you directions if you want to walk) THEN walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood.

 

That will probably take up much of your day with various stops on the RM so you'd probably then take a cab back to Charlotte square. However if you still had lots of time left you could then walk back to the shuttle along Princes Street and enjoy the gardens. I only suggested not walking to start with as it would take too long but it is something you might consider if time allowed. The shuttle bus always allows plenty time to get back to the ship on time because rush hour traffic in Edinburgh can be quite hectic as in all cities.

 

Happy to give walk directions for either shuttle to Whisky Experience or Holyrood to shuttle if you want.

 

You're obviously big Princess fans Chris and Jackie. We've been on Ruby twice and loved her and when we did the TA last year lots of people on our roll call had done the Round Britain beforehand. My OH was on duty down at the pier yesterday when the Royal was in. What did you not like about HAL? I did an Info desk on Eurodam at SQ on Saturday and thought it looked a lovely ship.

We were on the Eurodam on Saturday thanks for info provided both on the ship and on cruise critic and for coming on the tender over on a rough sea.We enjoyed our day in Edinburgh,the art gallery,the beautiful weather and the lovely roses along Princes Street.

Thanks again

I am wondering too have friends who are boarding in a week and it's GI problem was in the news in Montreal.Hope no news is good news.

Last year the ferry was included in the Oslo Pass and we bought our pass at ferry booth a 5 minute walk from the ship.We used the Oslo pass as well for all the museums at Bygdoy and the Resistance museum,there was so much to see we are back this year to see Oslo and especially Vigeland.The 2 ferry stops were good as we saw all the museums as we walked from one stop to the other.

Thank you so much for your reports have enjoyed reading them and wish you a safe ride home with Mickey.

Thank. You tartan for all your great information we will use it in July when we visit on the Eurodam.We have been to Edinburgh before but were unsure of the means of transport from port.We will be climbing the stairs to the train and thinking of your helpful post.

Heather

I got the Brazilian visa myself at the consulate in Toronto a year and a half ago. It was relatively painless. I don't recall having to provide financial information. The website was given above. I was travelling with my children, one of whom was 18 at the time and the other two were under 18. The 18 year old did not have to attend the appointment.

 

From what I saw while waiting at the consulate - They will not discuss requirements at the consulate with you and will refer you to the website if you ask. They will not take your documents unless everything is in order. I was sitting next to a person from a visa service while waiting - they don't have any special pipeline to get the visa, so I would do it yourself unless your time is worth more money than the cost.

You do not have to provide financial information in Ontario but you do in Quebec that is why I tried to get my Visa in Ottawa each province is different maybe there will be even easier rules in Alberta.I was told that Bombardier's head office is in Montreal and competes withBrazil's Embrayer(sp) in the production of airplanes and so residents of Quebec are given a hard time.We would really like to circumnavigate South America in January if we could only get a Visa.

You can get a Visa by yourself if you google Brazilian consulates in Canada,you have to get your Visa from the one that handles your province.The rules are different for each province I tried to get one in Ottawa a 2 hour drive away with easier rules then the Montreal office but was told I had to apply in my own province.The Montreal office wanted all sorts of financial reports that we were hesitant to give to a foreign country,needless to say we did not apply for a Visa.We were told to wait until the Olympics come to Brazil and that they might make the process easier or eliminate Visas.

Good luck with your plans and let us know if you get a Visa.

We did the same 21 day trip as you on Ryndam in June 2014 our paper work showed us tendering to Flam but the day before the captain told us we would dock in Flam.We docked right beside the train station another ship tendered it's passengers, so decisions can be made right up to the last minute.

We enjoyed every minute of our cruise,hope you do too.

We did a Baltic cruise in June four years ago,we had hot summer weather for all of the Baltic part.We left and returned to Harwich England where it was cool and rainy.St. Petersburg was high 80's with no air conditioning in the Hermitage Museum.The two cruises before and after us had cold rainy weather so you take your chances.I had one pair of capris which I wore the whole time and washed at night.

Enjoy the White Nights.

We were in F1003 on the Noordam and heard no noise from the showroom.We did hear beeps in the middle of the night that woke us,the staff investigated and discovered it was the dishwasher from the Piano bar that was left unattended after bar closed for the night.This was remedied and we received a plate of chocolates.

This cabin was close to the elevators and we liked it.

All of the signs are in English and French at the Montreal airport, a10:00AM arrival should be fine as Ruth C.says unless something terrible happens.Plan on the taxi taking up to an hour to reach the port.The U.S. Immigration seems to be faster lately when you fly home at Montreal but they took over an hour at Fort Lauderdale Port in December so you never can tell.Quebec Port is closer to the airport but it is a smaller airport with fewer flights.HAL usually recommends a12:00 noon departure from all ports.

Have a good holiday whatever you decide.

Thank you for the link,I enjoyed your blog,and am glad you had a wonderful holiday.

I hope HAL reinstates this trip as it was on our bucket list.

I miss our Roll Call!

I am still enjoying my hair cut.thanks again for the recommendation.

Heather

A good story,have a great trip.We enjoyed our trip to Australia and the dogs were fantastic ambassadors for the country much nicer then the grouchy customs agents at most ports.:D:D

Two years ago when we arrived at Sydney the customs and immigration was done on board by agents that got on at our last stop.We just walked off the ship and picked up our bags and took the HAL bus to the airport.Call HAL and ask them when is the earliest time you can catch a plane,we were able to fly home to Vancouver the day we disembarked.I do not remember the time but it was early afternoon.The important thing with Australia is no wood or food products allowed into the country,people that lied were caught by cute little dogs as they disembarked.

We were on the Ryndam for 3 weeks in Norway this past June and there was no Happy Hour in any bar.A large number of passengers had the Explore 4package so maybe that was the reason.

We disembarked last year from the Maasdam in July we asked for late disembarkation and left the ship about 9:30AM,our suitcases were easy to find.There were lots of taxis but the wait was about 10- 15 minutes as they were only allowing about two taxis to load at a time.We waited in the building so were not in the hot sun,on our way well before 10:00AM.

Enjoy your time in our province and I think there will be a Mariners Lunch on Saturday for you,there was for us in Barcelona when we overnighted the first night in port.

We were in the second cabin from the front under the piano bar no noise from people,but in middle of night the dishwasher from piano bar would start beeping to signal completion and that would wake me up.Front desk finally reason for beeping sound after many nights and I sleep all night last two nights of ten day cruise.

Thank you for your posts and pictures they have made a long cold winter in the north more bearable.Enjoy your birds and garden at home and thank your son for helping with the blog.

Heather

We usually ask for a few extra towels the day before and tell the stewards to forget about us on embarkation day for the new cruisers. The stewards all seem to work so hard on the turnover.

Have a fantastic cruise