gnome12

Even with the cushion it isn't terribly comfortable. If sitting try the back row of seats; I think there you have something to lean against.

Just a note for all of you who keep perpetrating the initial error. The program is EES (Exit Entry System) not ESS. If you google ESS you probably won't find what you are looking for. And yes, I will admit, I had never heard of EES before this thread.

It seems an incredible waste of time to go back to Amsterdam in the middle of the cruise, which is really 2 7-day cruises back to back. That said the ports are pretty good.

Go in the evening.

Yes, I have. Covid has had an effect on some of the providers, which makes a difference. While the OPs cruise isn’t going to Oslo, there are big changes to museums in that city that obviously aren’t covered (and are affecting my own plans).

There have already been some river cruises that didn’t dock right behind the station, but rather out in the suburbs, due to over-crowding.

The last version of Rick Steves was published in 2018. The next one comes out in June 2024. The Magic of Cruising Norway, despite the 2022-2023 in the title was published in November 2021. (The fact that they mention the Russian Arctic tells you that it pre-dates the war in Ukraine.) Only the last one you listed was published recently, in April 2023, and I see that you didn’t find it helpful.

I also saw and enjoyed that televised concert. From me too, rest in peace Tony

I believe that Silversea Dawn will likely be docking at Langelinie when I arrive at the end of June 2024. When I was last in Copenhagen in 2019 I stayed at Hotel Bethel and enjoyed it. It would be walking distance from the dock. However, I am also considering the CitizenM Radhuspladsen which is near central station. Does it make sense to stay in a slightly different location? I will have 3 full days before departure, and want to be convenient to sights and transportation.

Search each of the ports on your list individually. They are all covered. No guidebook will have as recent experience as what you will find here. (I am travelling to Norway in 2024, and have seen the latest of the guidebooks; they are all out of date, even if they ostensibly have been published only recently.)

I thought that was only available at the airports.

I suggest you first confirm where your ship is docking; there are multiple docks for cruise ships in Oslo.

While the ship swap is a decent reaction to a bad situation, it is definitely not ideal. I choose to cruise so that I can unpack once and then just go about my activities. Finding that I have to pack everything up (and making sure that I actually have everything) in the middle of a cruise is not a picnic. Would I do it? Yes, since it beats the alternatives. But it does take away from the pleasure of a cruise.

What day of the week?

Me too. I thought I had a pretty good vocabulary, but that stumped me.

I assume that it also includes transportation from the ship to the course, as well as club and cart rentals and greens fees. Still seems an awful lot of money.

I have no problem hitting the other button which gives you a no tip option. I use it here at places that never used to have tipping. (I also used it on Friday at a restaurant where because we were a larger group the tip had already been included; we were actually reminded that the tip was included and to skip the tip.)

Those seem to me to be very expensive rounds of golf!

There is really no point in speculating over a month out.

Depending on where you go and what it takes to bring you back to Canada, the economics are different for Canadians, at least those of us in Ontario. The government health plan doesn’t pay anything towards out of Canada treatment, so the insurance company is on the hook. But as soon as they get you home, the government plan kicks in. Unless health care is very cheap where you are, it is in the insurance company’s interest to bring you home.

The little mermaid is a statue off Langelinie, not really anywhere near Tivoli. I agree that it is not really worth seeing. However, the canal boat tours all stop there. For canal cruises, Rick Steves recommends Netto-Bådene which are about half of the price of the Canal Tours Copenhagen boats.

Taking a quick look at Google flights there don’t seem to be non-stops from Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP) to Zurich. There are non-stops to other European airports. The question becomes whether it is better to have the connection in the US or in Europe. (Or in Canada; there is a connection to Zurich through Toronto.) I still think it is better to fly to Zurich; from there it is just a train ride to Lausanne rather than bus and train from Basel.

Sorry, no news could also be bad news. People that are told they require interviews aren’t told that immediately. So no news is nothing more than no news.

I don’t think the 12:15 is impossible. An 8:40 train would get you to Schiphol at 9:06 and this screenshot shows 3 earlier trains all leaving after 8 am.

Sorry, not necessarily. My credit card was charged immediately; before anyone/anything could have looked at it.