5326jan

For sure not fresh squeezed. :(

Agree, but there are bits of pulp in it, so not powdered. My guess is a lemon juice concentrate. We also use it mixed with Vodka and Ginger Ale for a "modified" Moscow Mule. :)

All this talk of iced tea and lemonade has this Aussie stumped!

 

When you say " iced tea" it's an unsweetened "tea" flavoured still beverage, served cold and flat, yes?

 

But what is "lemonade" for you? To us here, it is a fizzy clear coloured sweet "soda". I suspect though that "lemonade" might be a flat sweet lemon flavoured cordial.

 

Could some so help me with this? It's been bugging me since I started reading these forums, and now seems like the perfect opportunity to find out the answer!

 

Cheers, Caz from oz

Lemonade is squeezed lemons added to a simple syrup of sugar and water. Usually served in the summer. Arnold Palmer (famous golfer) would mix his iced tea and lemonade, now called by his name. A very refreshing summer drink. Non alcoholic! No carbonation in either tea or lemonade.

For several cruises I had to bring my own Splenda. I guess now that Splenda has been accepted "by the masses", Princess has started carrying it along with sugar and Sweet 'n Low (yech!). I'm sure they'll do the same thing with Truvia.

 

Being originally a partial Southerner, I really do like sweet tea, and when I get in the mood I'll steep tea bags and make my own simple syrup to add. Sure is good!!

I agree that Splenda tastes better than Sweet 'n Low, but S'nL dissolves in cold drinks much better. :)

We sweeten our tea with lemonade. Half and half. Arnold Palmer, anyone? :D

Chicos Travelers. Black, no wrinkle, dress up with jewelry. I don't wear gowns or cocktail dresses, but these I can wear multiple times. These aren't mine, but similar. I've had mine for years and they are still in great condition! :)

Alaska: Sue Henry has a series of books. In each there is a different aspect of Alaskan history. The stories of the Iditarod, gold rush, inside passage, year round living, etc are all woven into mysteries. The books are clean and would be appropriate for even a young adult. I learned a lot about Alaska by reading the series and got a murder mystery at the same time. There are about 8 books and they can be read in a couple days each. I recommend reading in order if possible. :)

There are two types of drugs for rosacea. The first, Metrogel and Finacea help keep the breakouts to a minimum. The second is a vaso-constrictor that shrinks the blood vessels for a short time to alleviate the redness. I find that the redness comes back with a vengeance when it wears off. It's called "rebound". I don't use it anymore because of that.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for rosacea and all you can do is treat it symptomatically. It is important to use the creams/gels. A dermatologist told me that your nose will get bigger if you don't. Think WC Fields::eek:

Do you suggest taking reusable water bottles and just fill them with tap water? We are big water drinkers at home and are not purchasing a drink package.

Yes, but if you want to fill it in the buffet, use a clean glass to transfer from machine (fountain) to your personal container to avoid contamination of spout. :)

I did the "Travel Light" version on our last trip of 3 weeks. I had plenty of mix and match outfits and never felt that I was over wearing any one item, but I have to say, I got sick of the same color scheme for that long! :rolleyes: My color scheme was black, white, royal blue. Next time I will add tee shirts or tops in periwinkle, pink and light blue to give me more variety.

As it turned out, I had to bring a checked bag anyway. We went to the Arctic Circle and I needed coat, hat, gloves, umbrella and other items I wouldn't have needed for a warmer itinerary. The good news is that I would have had a complete wardrobe if my big suitcase was lost. :) This time I noticed that I didn't need or use a fair amount of "stuff", so it will be eliminated next time.

I am moving in the right direction! :D

Yeah. Yalta and Odessa would probably be dropped or alternate ports scheduled. Unfortunately, these are the best ports on the itinerary. Nessebar is interesting, haven't been to Volos but then I haven't been to a Greek town/city I didn't like. :)

Hi Pam! When you go to Volos, try to get a private guide to Meteora. You'll fly by the ships tours! What an amazing place!:)

Binoculars, wind/rain jacket, $1 and $5 bills for tipping (porter, room service, drivers, etc), backpack or tote to carry stuff while allowing hands to be free.

Above all, bring sense of humor and good attitude. :)

Thank you so much for your responses. We just want to make sure we have what we need.

8 quarters per wash, 8 per dry. :)

Our recipe is 2 parts ginger beer (2 12oz bottles), 1 part vodka (12oz), couple tablespoons of simple syrup (or to taste), juice of a couple lemons and a couple limes (or to taste). I usually add some lemon juice to my simple syrup. Mix all ingredients together and serve over ice. Very light and refreshing, but too many and it will kick you like a mule!

 

We first had a Moscow Mule at the International Hotel in New Orleans where they make their own ginger beer. OMG soooooooo good. Haven't quite been able to duplicate it with the store bought ginger beer, but it's close.

Tried the ginger beer. Maybe it was the brand, but tasted like straight squeezed ginger. Way too strong for me and I like ginger. I'll try a different brand, but prefer ginger ale to what I tried last night. :)

Ratio lime to vodka please? it sounds really good!

We use 2 oz of vodka to the juice of one lime. Not sure, but maybe about an ounce (depends on the lime~ I like it very limey!), then fill the glass with ginger ale. :) Serve in a tall glass with lots of ice and wedge of lime. So good!!!:D

Thanks for the Ginger Beer tip! I've never tasted that before, but love the idea of more ginger flavor.

You will not get sick from drinking the tap water! Coffee, tea and juices are all made with tap water, all the food you will eat will be washed with the tap water and tap water will be used to make the food. :)

If you read on bottled water, most are sourced from the local municipalities' water source, not from a pristine spring somewhere!

I wouldn't drink tap water in China, but on the ship you'll be fine.

Nothing with Tequila since my 40th birthday party. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor!" :cool: :o :confused:

I like Moscow Mule. It is Vodka, lime juice and ginger ale. On the ship I get a bottle of vodka from room service, some lemonade from the buffet and add diet ginger ale or diet tonic. Room service will give us limes in our fruit basket if we write it in. :)

I don't believe 5326jan was charged the higher price but for new bookings onboard the price was higher than when she booked.

I have seen prices go up on excursions before but only for new bookings.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

Yes, you are correct. Thanks for clarifying that point!:)

We found that the ports for this cruise were unusual enough that we weren't able to find much information online. For that reason, I wanted to include some (hopefully) useful tips for those going to these ports in the future. :) I encourage others to add their own experiences too!

Points of Reference: June 2014, the USD:Kroner exchange rate was approx $1 = 6K, Gas costs approx 12+ to 17+K per liter or about US$8-11/gallon. In Honnigsvag an 8 passenger minivan could be leased for approx 1200K per day. Norway is EXTREMELY expensive!!! Our tablemate said that he bought a beer at a cafe in Stavanger and it was equal to $18US! Fish and Chips in Bergen at the Fish Market was about $20US. We didn't buy any souvenirs, but keep your receipt if you do. The ship a has VAT Tax refund person for a short period of time on the last sea day of the cruise.

Bergen:

You will find a great deal of information on this port, but I have a few things to add. The Ocean Princess was a short walk to Old Bryggen. The walk was on a flat, paved sidewalk and took about 7-8 minutes to get into town. You will pass the Rosenkrantz Tower. We arrived on a Sunday and stores did not open until noon. During the week most open at 10. As you pass Bryggen on the left, the "inner harbor" is on your right.

If you need to go the the tourist information office, continue along the harbor side of the street, walk through the fish market and look for a multi-color earth tone stripes building that looks like a shipping container. Go in and take a number. I waited in line approximately 45 minutes. (If you are trying to buy tickets, go directly to the venue first to see if they sell them directly.) The TI can change money, but there are plenty of ATMs which are called "Minibanks".

If you don't need to go to TI, I suggest you do the funicular first thing, as it gets more crowded during the day. Go to the end of the row of old houses/stores. The Hanseatic Museum will be on your left. (Come back to that later.) Keep going across the small street and then take a slight left turn to the Floibanen (funicular) up to Mt Floien. It will be a slight hill upwards. Buy a round trip ticket for 85K per person, in just a few minutes you'll be at the top. You'll have about a dozen steps to climb once you're out of the funicular car. This is the place to get some great pictures. There are some trails behind the little restaurant if you want to walk.

Once you're back down, visit the Fish Market (doesn't smell bad at all), the shops and the museums. The Hanseatic Museum was very small, dark and consisted of living/sleeping quarters. The price of the ticket also includes the Schotstuene Museum which was a recreation, dining and meeting hall with an archaic kitchen. I don't remember the cost for the museums. Plan on taking 20-30 minutes for each museum, unless you are unusually interested in the architecture. There wasn't any English signage. These museums are not for mobility impaired or claustrophobic visitors.

There is a small sightseeing train that begins across the street from the Bryggen houses (on the harbor side of street). ISHAVSTOGET is the name on the sign. You can buy tickets from the attendant at the stop. The trip is about 50 minutes long and includes audio narration in many languages. The cost is 150K per person. It is not HOHO. The train goes through town and through residential areas. I liked it! There is also a bus that is HOHO, but only does commercial areas.

Hellesylt/Geiranger: All I can say is take the Overland trip! (Mt. Dalsnibba, Stryn Lake and Buldrefossen Waterfall) It was fabulous!!! The scenery was amazing. We had a very good guide that lived on the Fjord, so she was a great storyteller of the history, geography and culture of the region. We stopped about every 2 hours. There weren't any stops that would be problematic for most people. Lunch was good, but I'm not a fish eater, they happily brought me a vegetarian dish. The price was $199/per person and in my opinion worth it.

Tomso: I loved Tromso!!! This is a very easy DIY town. We docked right in town, behind the Hurtigurten ship. As you disembark and pass through the security gate. You will see a white cape cod style house that has tourist info. Go to the next street back and look for a 5 story gray office building that says ODD BERG or something like that on the top floor. On the ground floor there is an office with blue sign. There you can buy a pass for the city bus. The cost is 70K per person for a full day or you can by a one way for 33K. On the bus it will cost 46K for one way to cable car. If you plan to walk back across the bridge one way will be enough. (Some people walked both ways, but going to the cable car is all up hill.) To go to the cable car, you want bus #26. The stop for bus 26 going towards the bridge will be on the right side of the road in front of Peppe's Pizza which is about 3-4 blocks closer to the bridge. (There is also a shop across the street to buy tickets.) The bus comes about every twenty minutes. You'll be on the bus for about 10-12 minutes. You will pass a "shopping mall" and residential streets, but ask the driver when you get on to tell you where to get off for cable cars. It's obvious if you're paying attention because you'll pass right in front of the entrance on the right side and stop about 1/2 block beyond. Round trip tickets on the cable car are 140k per person, 110K for seniors. 65 is the age for senior discount, but I didn't see them ask for ID. Don't expect to get a lot of pictures from the cable car because they pack you in very tight!!! The views from the top are beautiful!!!

After seeing the view, come down and walk out of the cable car parking lot. Turn right. You can walk through the neighborhood, mostly downhill for about 10-15 minutes on paved roads to get to the Crystal Cathedral. Entry is 40K per person. From here, either walk across the bridge back to town or go down the hill to the road just below the church and catch the bus back. Most buses will go back to the town center, so you don't have to wait for #26.

Vernerstranda is a big shopping mall a few blocks from port in the opposite direction of the bridge. Many crew members were shopping and getting wifi. The stores consisted of fashion, prepared foods, music stores, flowers and household items. There is a Europastar Grocery Store across the street that had a good selection if you're looking for a snack.

Polaria is a VERY small aquarium just beyond the shopping mall. It was 120K per person for entry. Try to go for the 12:30 seal training and feeding session. They have 2 harbor seals and 2 big seals that I can't recall name of. The trainer speaks first in Norwegian, then repeats in English.

Mack Brewery has a store called Keller 5 across from Polaria. It is the northernmost brewery in Europe. They don't brew there any more, but offer a retail selection of all their beers. We bought ARTIC and Sommerbeir, both were very good on our balcony. (no problem bringing on ship) Don't confuse the store and the Pub. Keller 5 is on the left as you face the pub.

Magdalenafjord/NY Alesund: The fjord was scenic cruising. The captain rotates the ship, so it isn't important where you stand. It's not as spectacular as Glacier Bay, but still very nice. We didn't see any wildlife here. Bundle up!!!

NY Alesund is NOT Alesund!!! Don't make the same mistake I did!:o I thought it was going to be a quaint town with shopping and HOHO trains, etc. Nope! 35 permanent residents in a research village. This is where you can only walk around a confined area due to the danger of Polar Bear attacks!!! :eek: The residents carry a rifle with them at all times. There is a post office where you can send yourself a post card from the "north pole" and a small shop. The ques to both buildings were very long and they only allow a couple of people in at a time. We laughed at the dumpsters because they were literally filled to the top with empty wine bottles!!! I would need to drink a lot too if I was there for more than a few hours! I'm glad that I saw it, but it wasn't my favorite port. At that point, we were only 70 miles from the polar ice cap.

Honnigsvag: We were in port on a Sunday and none of the stores were open. The highlight of this port however is access to the North Cape. You can take a ship's tour, which is not guided. It stops at a roadside stand where there are a couple guys with a reindeer. The guys are dressed as Sami Villagers. We actually purchased bus tickets online, but you can also buy them at the Tourist Information Office at the pier. You will save about $50 per person by taking the city bus instead of the ship's tour. It leaves at 11:30ish, you have 45 minutes at the North Cape, and you return on the 1:30ish bus back. Watch the clock carefully! You don't want to be left here! 45 minutes is enough time to be there because it is so cold! There is a gift shop, cafe, museum and clean restrooms there. Your bus ticket includes the entrance fee to the facility. Bring lots of layers! We actually experienced heavy blowing snow when we were there on June 15! The ride to and from is beautiful and you will see many wild reindeer.

Alta: The ship provided free shuttle to town, which was about a 15 minute ride. At the shuttle stop there is a shopping mall (free internet at or just outside Peppe's Pizza), short walk to the Northern Lights Cathedral and city buses. The mall had nice stores including household, fashion, books, toys, pharmacy, and groceries.

Take bybussen#2 at the shuttle stop to the Alta Museum for 35K per person round trip. It's about a 15 minutes ride and you'll catch the return bus right where you get off at the museum. The entry to the museum is about 65K per person and an audio guide for another 25K, which for us was well worth it. Plan on about 2 hours for the petriglyphs. It is not wheelchair friendly and would be iffy for mobility impaired. Take many layers as the weather went from bright sunshine to heavy snow as each cloud would come over the mountain. There are a couple of short cuts away from the carvings and back to the museum, but a couple of them are long steep hills.

Gravdal: For the Lofoten Islands. **Disclaimer** The weather here was raining and cold, so my view of the ship's tour (Flakstad Church, Sund and Nusfjord) may be negatively biased.

This is the area that is know for cod fishing. There were drying racks of cod and cod heads everywhere and the air held the smell of drying fish. The villages were quaint and beautifully painted in red and gold. Originally, the red paint was made of fish blood and cod liver oil and was used by the fisherman to help preserve the wooden houses. Wealthier people painted in various tones of yellow and gold, but the very wealthiest people painted their houses white.

The scenery was still beautiful, despite the rain, but in sunshine it would have been magnificent. Flakstad Church was small and it was a very brief stop. There were many tunnels on the route and open tunnels being built. The open tunnels were simply a roof being made for the roads in certain areas to help prevent loss of life in their frequent landslides.

This tour was not mobility impaired friendly and I even saw a couple people fall on the graveled steep roads. There was nothing near the port and traffic issues with the road work would make it dicey to rent a car. I would say a difficult DIY unless you find a car rental that would deliver to the port.

Stavanger: This was a beautiful town! We had been here before and did the Fjord Cruise out to see Pulpit Rock, so this time we did the ship's tour of the Iron Age Farm and Petroleum Museum. Our guide was very good!!! The Iron age farm was interesting and DH liked the Petroleum Musuem a lot. The guide was a retired engineer who had been a part of the dive teams working on the oil rigs. He was extremely knowledgeable about the museum and made it more interesting with anecdotes. The oil museum was just around the corner from the pier and we still had time to go back to the ship, have lunch and then go out walking around. This is a great city and you could go many times before running out of things to do.

The Petroleum Museum was a flat paved walk of about 5 minutes from the ship and the entry fee is 100K for adults, 50K seniors. Depending on your interest in the subject, I'd plan at least an hour here. It is also close to shopping and the old town. The city is very walkable, but the streets are cobblestone, so wear appropriate shoes.

The weather on this cruise was generally excellent. Other than one day in the Norwegian Sea, the ocean was very calm. Our coldest port was NY Alesund at about 2*C (just below 30*F) and our warmest port was Tromso which was about 10-12*C or mid 50's F. Of course, the wind made it feel much cooler at times.

Hope this helps anyone planning to cruise this itinerary!

FYI... Purell changed the color of my gel polish. :(

Reading this thread, I just see 5326jan saying an excursion charge was changed on board. Is this the new way for Princess to conduct business?

Is everyone just going to accept this, like ordering something on the menu at one price and then being charged more. I've never seen anyone complaining about this on other threads.

I'm very disappointed

mark21ray:(

I'm not surprised or concerned that Princess had to increase the price of the tour. Our excursion was booked a year in advance to an itinerary that is offered one time per year! The excursion was on a remote island in Norway, so the number of coaches are limited. There were two ships in port that day. Our ship had 684 passengers and there was a Costa ship that had over 3000 passengers. Because there was nothing near the pier, most people were taking an excursion. The price of gasoline in the area was equal to about $12/gallon USD and our excursion lasted about 6 hours. I understand the laws of supply and demand. We booked early when the original price was probably negotiated. As more demand was placed on the supply of coaches available, it's understandable that the price would go up. I see no reason to be disappointed. Book early if you are going on an unusual excursion. You can always cancel if you change your mind. :)

That's what you get for sitting with entertaining people rather than a bunch of duds you can't wait to get away from! :D That reminds me to mention that if the dinner companions don't suit you on the first night, go see if the Maitre d' can move you. Unpleasant dinner companions can be a side effect of fixed seating, unfortunately.

I think they were more entertaining than any show would have been! :D

Agree with the Maitre d suggestion. We were once placed at a table for 4 couples and each couple spoke only their native language! :rolleyes: We tried to communicate ala Charades, but we were all reassigned the next night! Thank goodness!:)

We just got back from the Land of the Midnight Sun and after copious notes and plans to DIY, discovered that we were at NY Alesund, which is NOT the same port as Alesund!!! Oh my! It was quite a shock when I opened the drapes! :eek:

What I expected to see:

What I saw:

It was very interesting and I'm so glad I saw it, but there wasn't a HOHO sight seeing train! :D It is a research station with 35 permanent residents. Everyone that worked there had a rifle strapped to their back to protect from Polar Bears! The NY in front of Alesund made a really big difference!!! It means "New" Alesund.

Moral of the story is, make sure which Alesund you're going to! :o

So you can pre pay for a soda card?

Does the high cost for massages include the tip ? I like the idea of getting lots of $1 for room service tips.

 

Thanks.

I don't know about the soda card. We get the soda package which is 6 sodas for the price of 5. If we were on a domestic cruise, I would just bring them. In foreign ports sodas are expensive and it's more convenient to buy through the ship. We buy tonic and ginger ale for cocktails, but don't drink sodas regularly enough to have a card.

We always take a bundle of 1$ bills for room service. One of our shore excursions was pre-booked for $229, on board it was $259! You have 24 hours before the tour to cancel without penalty. (I'm not sure if that was unique to the itinerary.)

You can also pre-order alcohol and soda packages if you want them. We were introduced to Moscow Mule on board this cruise and discovered that with the lemonade from the buffet, our own Vodka (from the ship) and some ginger ale, we could have our pre-dinner cocktail while getting dressed! Room service allowed us to order limes in our fruit bowl. :)

We were on just after the Cape Town segment. Dover to Dover (Midnight Sun). Early dining was moved to about 6pm and late dining began at 8:15. The shows varied in starting times. In many cases, we would go to a 7:45 show, but have to leave early to make it on time to dinner. Our dinner group was a lot of fun and the late show was usually half over by the time we left the dining room at 10:15.

Part of the problem was fitting in time for the Captain's Cocktail Parties. There were 3 on our sailing of 16 days. In those cases the late seating show started at 10:00pm. Too late for me!:o That might have been because of the large number of Platinum and Elite passengers. It was definitely a "frequent flyer" itinerary!

The buffet was open, but the Panorama Buffet outside dining area was closed due to the freezing cold temperatures. This made the indoor seating crowded on most days. I don't know what the evenings were like.

Despite the limited choices for dinner, we really love the friendliness of the small ships!:)