Homeagain

Thanks cruisegermany.  Gatun Lake tour it is!!!  When we do the full transit we can look at Puerto Limon then.

Again, thanks for the tips!

We are booked on the Zuiderdam for Oct 20 - Partial transit.  We would like to do an excursion either in Gatun Lake or Puerto Limon.  The HAL excursions we are considering sound somewhat similar but wondered if anyone had been on either or both and have a preference.  We are looking at the Rainforest, Gatun Lake and Locks tour 4 hrs which is a 1.5 hr eco-cruise on the lake, a walk through the rainforest and also gives you a tour of the new locks by bus and time at the Visitors Centre then bus to Colon to catch the ship.  Or, the Rainforest Walk, Canal Cruise and Countryside from Puerto Limon for 4 hrs which is a bus ride to Limon then on to the rainforest walk and a pontoon boat ride through the Tortuguero Canals. Alternatively in Puerto Limon there is the Caribbean Train, Countryside and Tortuguero Canals for 3.5 hrs which is the historic open air train through the countryside then onto a boat to go through the Canals.

This is our first partial transit cruise (hoping to do a full transit next year!) so not sure if it is better to stay on the ship in Gatun Lake or do an excursion there or in Puerto Limon. 

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

Thanks navybankerteacher - It's great to know the real distance between the avenues and streets.

Thanks Turtles06 and Noxequifans,

Thanks for the tips.  It is always good to be reminded of safety - especially in a city as busy as New York.

We are not sure which pier - so great to have all options open for which street to traverse.

Thanks again!

Thanks Expat Cruise - the water taxi sounds like a great option for returning to the ship.  Thanks for the extra tips on what to see.  It is always great to get other cruisers input, and I certainly appreciate you taking the time to help me out.  Looking forward to seeing Boston!

Thanks markeb,

We will likely do the Downtown loop first and see how much time we have left to do the Uptown loop.  We are in port 8 am - 5 pm so hopefully we can catch both.  We are just looking to drive by most sights since we do not have much extra time to do any of the attractions.  

I think walking up 55th to 8th will be the best bet (it appears the terminal is at 54th & 12th), we just weren't sure if there were suitable walking paths from the cruise terminal and couldn't find that information on the Manhattan Cruise Terminal website.

Hopefully it's a nice day and if not we will have our umbrellas!

Thanks to all who responded.  It looks like we can just walk up to 8th and find the closest stop from there.  If it's not a nice day, we will take a taxi.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks mskaufman,

There is not a stop near the Intrepid.  We were told the closest would be either 42nd & 8th, 46th & 8th or 55 & 8th depending where the ship docks.  We have never been into the NY cruise terminal so we do not know exactly where we dock and how close it would be to any of these stops.

We are on the Zuiderdam, cruising from Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale with a stop in New York.  What is the best way to get to Central Park from the Manhattan Cruise Port?  Is it possible to walk (it looks to be about 1 mile which is totally fine for walking but not sure about getting out of the terminal) or would we be better taking a cab or public transportation?  We want to get on the City Sightseeing HOHO and figured the spot near Central Park is the closest. Alternatively, there is a stop at 55th & 8th or 46th & 8th. Any help would be appreciated!

Expat Cruise,

Thank you for the information. We got a great deal through groupon - $65 CAD for 4 of us.  Figured it was a good way to get an overview of Boston as we have never been there and only have the one day.

Thanks 138 East - sounds like a lot of transfers!

princeton123211 - Uber sounds perfect - Thanks!

Thanks Nitemare

Where would we get off the Silver Line to walk to State St.?  Is there a specific bus route # to get us there?

Is the MBTA subway at South Station near where we would get off the bus?

I like to be organized and know exactly where I need to be if you don't mind giving a little more detail that would be very helpful.

Thanks

We are arriving on the Zuiderdam on Tuesday Oct 15.  We have purchased Hop on Hop off tickets from Cityview Trolley Tours.  We need to get from the cruiseport to the starting point at 296 State St to redeem our voucher and get on the trolley.  We would like to take public transportation if possible.  Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Thanks Lazz. Looking a booking a Panama cruise and wanted to be sure we could play craps.

Does anyone know if the Zuiderdam has a craps table in the casino?

Thanks.

Thank you, I will contact the hotel to make arrangements.

We are arriving in Villefranche on Sat Oct 22 from 8 am to 6 pm. We thought we would take the train to Nice and ride the Hop on Hop off once there. Then we would like to go to Eze Village either by train or bus - whichever makes the most sense time wise. Then we will need to get back to Villefranche in good time.

Can someone tell me the trains and/or buses we would need to do this, where we would get them, how much they cost and if this is reasonable to do in the time we have. Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Diane

Thanks Enric - unfortunately Tibidabo will be closed the days we are there.

Thanks Got2Cruise - we have booked the audioguide with towers. Nice to know they are worthwhile.

We are 3 couples arriving from Rome via train to overnight in Civi prior to our cruise on Oct. 21. We need to get from the train station to our hotel The Bel Sol B & B - 6 people with luggage - and wondered the best way to get there. Also, looking for somewhere to have dinner and to purchase some wine, soda and liquor. Next day we will need transport from the hotel to the cruise ship terminal.

Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

Diane

Thanks for the information.

We want to ride up the cable cars at Monjuic to see the view.

We would use the Turistic HOHO lines (red, blue and green)

Thanks for the metro route to Sagrada Familia and letting us know how long it will take.

We will have to check on the shuttle from the port, as we are in port for 2 days I would hope the shuttle would run regularly on both days.

Any other tips are appreciated.

Diane

We are a group of 6 on the Celebrity Reflection Transatlantic cruise on October 21, 2016 with an overnight stop in Barcelona. We have a planned itinerary for the 2 days and want to know if this is reasonable. Since we have been to Barcelona before, we only have 2 things that we must do - Sagrada Familia and Monjuic. We will prepurchase tickets for Sagrada Familia for 9:30 am on day 2.

We would like to do a guided tour and have entrance to the tower but we do not see this as an option on the Sagrada website. Can we purchase entrance tickets to the towers once we are in? If not, we will purchase the 29E tickets with audioguide tour and entrance to the towers.

On day 1 we will purchase a 2 day HOHO pass. We will do the red and green routes with whichever stops we choose with a stop at Monjuic and take a ride up the cable cars. Before heading back to the ship on day 1, we will purchase metro tickets (either singles or T10's whichever is more economical for the 6 of us) to use to get us to Sagrada on day 2.

On day 2 we will take the metro to Sagrada Familia (any tips on timing, routes, stops and where to start would be appreciated). Once finished there, we will get on the HOHO and do the blue route then onto the red route to work our way back to the port (ship sails at 4 pm).

Is there still a shuttle to get us from the port to the base of La Ramblas (4E each return) or what is the best way to get to the HOHO on day 1 and the metro on day 2 (if that is the best way to get to Sagrada)

Any tips, suggestions or improvements for our 2 days would be appreciated.

Diane

Hi Homeagain

 

Try Cellucity:

http://www.capetownmagazine.com/travel-tips/cellucity-prepaid-and-rental-cell-phones-south-africa/162_22_19067

Thanks. Looks like just what we need.

Wondered if anyone could tell me about using a cell phone in South Africa. Can we purchase a sim card to put into our own phone for use? Are there "disposable phones" available to purchase? We have several tours booked and may have to call for times of pickup and wanted to have something we can carry with us but not use our own phone due to roaming charges. Any help would be appreciated

You should post on the Europe thread under Other Mediterranean Ports. There is lots of info on Kusadasi there.

I'm sure you will know this, but book your tickets to Robben Island in advance (on line). We were there in February and they were fully booked three days in advance.

Yes, thanks our travel agent looked after this already for us through the Travel Tour company that we are using. They will give us all of our tour tickets etc. when we land in Johannesburg as we start our trip.

Thanks again for all your tips and suggestions. It is so great to get information from people that have lived or traveled to a destination. I love to research and read as much as I can before going somewhere so I can really appreciate what I am seeing and doing.

Diane