CPT Trips

My experience is that you collect your “ship card” when you leave the ship and return it when you board; the cabin key card unlocks the door after hours.

In my experience that description is a overly dire and pessimistic unless you are talking an independent full day group tour that has an early morning departure. Numerous posters have reported rather extensive DIY tours using a driver or mass transit. And DIY independent city touring is a breeze. Granted, arrival times are an estimate but the Captain knows whether the ship will move mooring location and when it will depart.

Grand Circle Travel does longer river cruises, many of them with overnight stops. These stops are convenient, by foot or public transportation to the city centers. This company only does direct sales, they do not commission TAs. We are in a minority on this board that has cruised with GCT multiple times and have not cruised with any of the other companies frequently mentioned here. Overnights in Antwerp and Strasbourg - https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/romance-of-the-rhine-and-mosel/2021/itineraries?anchor=itinerarylisting&icid=prnavsb_itinerary Overnights in Amsterdam and Vienna - https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/the-great-rivers-of-europe/2021/itineraries?icid=global:itineraries:europe-by-river-cruise:river-cruises:sge Overnights Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, and Linz as well as Prague (in a hotel). https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/romantic-blue-danube-budapest-to-prague/2021/itineraries?icid=global:itineraries:europe-by-river-cruise:river-cruises:edr Overnights Paris, Vernon, Rouen, and Honfleur. https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/the-seine-paris-to-normandy/2021/itineraries?icid=global:itineraries:europe-by-river-cruise:river-cruises:sen We took each of these cruises as well as almost all the cruises listed on the website. They each are about 2 weeks duration.

Thanks for looking at CLIA and reporting it. I went to their website and wasn’t successful in searching it for the data that other poster referenced.

Cruising, of whatever type, can be less enjoyable when there is an affinity group that makes up a significant proportion of the passengers. Folks that have political views and/or religious in common have a tendency to be considerably more vocal about their beliefs than a group which is, for the most part, just meeting each other for the first time.

Then you really want to read this . . . http://www.ottosrambles.co.uk/berlin.php . . . Really.

@loriva If you haven’t been back to Berlin since the wall came down, you are in for a big surprise. I was stationed there in the early ‘70s and then visited several years ago albeit not at Christmas time. I understand from a niece that lived in Berlin recently that there are a number of Christmas Markets to visit. Dresden also has a large market. Some things remained the same such as the Hollow Tooth, Lipstick and Powder Box as well as the Pregnant Oyster; others were masterfully reconstructed and modernized like the Reichstag. Don’t miss touring the Reichstag, try for a timed entry that will let you enjoy sunset or sunrise; do this online in advance. We really enjoyed visiting Museum Island to see the interior of buildings not accessible to us when we lived there. Walking through the Brandenburg Gate, looking straight up at The Pope’s Revenge, and visiting the museum at the former Outpost Theater and our former apartment in the “US housing area” also brought back memories and emotions.

Yes! Where do you think all that glacial melt and waterfalls go?😉 BTW they still hold a grudge about the 1939 and onward occupations and Cod Wars.

The cruise line we have used has always come in at an equal, or better, price than we can get booking by ourselves. They provide the airline’s booking reference number as well as seat assignments when the flight is booked. With this information I have been able to change seats if I see “better” seats. They don’t charge more if we fly in early or stay later. As with most lines, they meet us at the airport and provide transfers to/from the ship for no additional charge. They also provide transfers for pre or post stays if we book the hotel through them. It’s relatively easy to compare the cost of using their hotel booking versus booking a hotel and transfers on our own. Most important for us is that when they book the airfare and there is a problem, such as a flight cancellation or time change that messes up connection time, they fix it.

When did the IT powers that be gave two $#|+§ about what the users want. I’m glad I was in Iceland not trying to get on while the “improvements” were being made.

If memory serves it wasn’t the pity and fanciful notions of “well meaning” TAB people that that led to certification of service animals not being required. The self advocates that worked closely with legislators and regulators well strongly opposed to creating a certifying bureaucracy that would make obtaining a service animal even more difficult and expensive. Several people that I met through a local independent living center have successfully trained their service animals. Some from puppies, others after “outside” obedience training and evaluations. Almost all dogs that live in homes are emotional support animals.

Oh No, it’s not for diving. It’s just to get into the ocean up by Silicon Valley.

What thickness wetsuit do you recommend for my spring break?

It’s not a “loophole.” Service animals provide very specific activities to assist the human they work with. It would be extremely difficult to develop enough standards for the specific training that is needed for the different tasks that an animal needs to perform for various types of disabilities.

Just make certain that you look at the deck plan. Some ship designs have passenger cabins towards the bow on the lowest passenger deck. Those cabins can be very noisy when the bow thrusters are used.

Tesla coils for WPT. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Are you committed to flying AA? If not, there are a number of more direct, one stop options from Dallas to Iceland (Chicago, Boston, or Newark) using other airlines.

Longwood Gardens, near Philadelphia has an annual Christmas light display that we enjoy. It’s a walking tour, mostly outdoor, so avoid rainy nights.

“Because” it all “Depends” on what “Assurance” you need.

Exactly. It’s enough to keep “tinklegelt” on hand . . . but more coins for tips? I do wish that crew tips didn’t need to be cash.

Interesting. Grand Circle covers the tips for guides and drivers but not for the ship’s staff and Trip Leaders.

👍👍

Because the water levels are low the gangways may be quite steep.

My first thought was “Budweiser? I thought they were allowing beer.” Then I remembered that Bud was a sponsor and the only beer allowed in the venues. Seems they leveraged that to the only beer in the nation. There will be a lot of disgruntled fans, especially those from 🇧🇪 and 🇩🇪

If your schedule is flexible, last minute specials can provide significant savings.