MeHeartCruising

Impressive for a lazy desk jockey!

I've done all of those things and more without a guide. Or a driver, for that matter. But I read a lot in advance of where I will be visiting. I bring guide books to glance thru the night before. Sometimes, I bring material with me during the day so I can look thru it. If your 7 aren't going to do any of that prior to visiting. They won't likely know much about what they are seeing other than what they have learned in school or watching TV.

I use the iPhone version of the app. After I launch the app, I see one of my cruises displayed. I swipe from right to left to access more details about the cruise. On that screen I have a blue “View SetSail Pass” button at the bottom of the screen. Tapping that shows me a “boarding ticket” with a barcode. On that screen there is another button that allows me to add the ticket to my iPhone Wallet app. I just verified all of this now. However, I first generated the ticket several days ago. So something could be not working today. Also, I first did this just a few minutes after checking in for the cruise on my computer. So there wasn’t a significant delay before it showed on my phone.

I used the 76 Bus mentioned above when I visited and we docked at Frihamnen. I also caught that same Bus back to the ship from closer to Old Town at the end of the day. It was a perfect way to get where I needed to go.

Using this page on the Copenhagen Card’s website, I found a link that says “book a time slot”. Then select “Ticket to Rosenberg”. After you select your time and date, you get a list of all the various ticket types you can book. There are adult and child Copenhagen Card options in that list. I didn’t buy one, but it looks like they are zero priced for checkout. https://copenhagencard.com/page/attractions/691

I buy international travel medical insurance regardless of where I travel. I purchase a yearly package from GeoBlue, but they sell shorter durations for shorter trips. You can also investigate www.insuremytrip.com and get insurance from any number of other companies. There is also a Cruise Critic forum for travel insurance topics. You might look there for information. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

Like most ports, dropping your bags off is a separate part of the embarkation process done off to the side of the terminal entrance somewhere. You can drop them off and then go wherever you like. My parents and I planned to do the same thing upon arrival in Barcelona. But when it came time to do it after the overnight flight from the states, we chose to just go ahead and check in and get on the ship. It was hot and muggy in July, so we felt very icky and just wanted to relax. We had a full day to sightsee in Barcelona on the back end of the cruise, so that made it better.

What happens if you tap on "Don't see your cruise? Let's add it now" ? Does that let you re-add it properly?

Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be able to rely on history to give you any reliable response. NCL will be using the lowest cost flights they can find to get you there. Pricing changes all the time on all airlines. What was low last month may not be the lowest this month. The way NCL's BOGO promo works, you really are just rolling the dice. I truly wish you good luck. I hope you get good flights.

I’m probably in the minority on this, but I would stay in Mestre OR at a hotel very near Piazzele Roma. Then take a land taxi to the airport in the morning.

The train doesn’t go directly there anyway. The On Your Own excursion usually is what I would advise. Have you tried calling NCL about it? If you’re using the website it might not have the latest offerings. Or, are there other tours that combine Taormina with something else? I’ve been the a few times and one was as part of an excursion that also visited Mt. Etna (which was quite interesting).

You can also visit as part of a day trip (or 1/2 day probably) bus tour from Paris.

People also sell them on eBay.

Probably true. I think the cutoff time to purchase things for your cruise online yourself is 3 days prior to the cruise. You're probably past that cutoff point. They do this so they can switchover the records/accounting to the ship's computers in time for your cruise. And since you used a travel agency, the cruise line will not talk to you directly about much of anything. You are the customer of the travel agency first and foremost. If Expedia can't do it for you, you'll likely have to buy it online.

OP, you correctly say "I know on other ships, the MDR is usually fairly good, but sometimes can be disappointing." This is likely true on the Dawn, just like any ship. It's all about personal preferences and luck of the draw sometimes. This will also be true in the Dawn's speciality restaurants. However, I think most would probably say the chances of a disappointing meal are significantly lower in a specialty restaurant. But still possible. So it's a matter of how much you want to spend and how disappointed you will be if you're meal preferences aren't met. Personally, I take the speciality meals that I qualify for (I get 2 extra ones as a Platinum passenger). Then I eat the rest of my meals in the buffet. I'm easy to please.

OP, I don't see anything in your linked web page describing the tour where it says you will be getting 2 drivers with different perspectives on anything. Regardless, I would suggest you book directly with a tour company. Viator simply resells other companies' tours. You may be better off having direct communication with the actual tour company that provides the tour. I googled "black cab tour Belfast" and found several results.

Dear Sister would also work. 😀

I'm not surprise to see that it isn't available for upgrade immediately. NCL (and other cruise lines) use a 3rd party company named PlusGrade to run the bidding process. The cruise data needs to be loaded into the PlusGrade database before upgrades can be initiated. I'm guessing they only do that upload every 24 hours or perhaps even every few days (once a week, maybe).

Ah yes, I see that now in Google too. I didn't notice that when I was looking it up. Good luck with your search!

I booked my Ravenna to Venice Airport (VCE) with Royal Caribbean about one month ago. When I booked it, I did not get to pick the time for the shuttle bus I desired. They ask for and record your flight information -- departure time, airline, flight number, and destination (not sure why on this one). I assume that info will be used onboard to assign us to the shuttle time that they desire (not what I desire). You could do some research and find an earlier flight and "pretend" to be on that earlier flight if you wished to get assigned to the earlier shuttle. I don't think they verify with the airlines at all.

Unless they've changed the drop off location, if you take the shuttle bus provided at the port in Chania (the port is actually called Souda, but Chania is the nearby town), you will be dropped directly in front of the Old Chania Market. I'd be shocked if you can't find local olive oil here. See the picture I've attached. It's a fun little market to explore. Chania is a nice little town and you'll probably find a lot of other stores selling local products as well. If you decide to buy at the market, I would not purchase until you're ready to leave. The shuttle bus spot to pick you up is also located in the same spot as you are dropped off.

All great itineraries. You won’t go wrong with any of them. All other things being equal, I would pick #3. Because the other ones start or end in Ravenna, I rate that a disadvantage since it is more challenging and time consuming to get there. Calling that Venice is an injustice done by the cruise lines.

Tallinn is a very walkable city. I enjoyed just walking off the ship into the old town. There are a lot of cobblestone/uneven streets, so everyone needs to watch their footing. There are also parts of it that are uphill walks. The upper parts of the city are well worth getting to in order to see the views and the cathedral. If your parents have any mobility issues walking up steps and a gradual uphill slope, you might consider taking a taxi to the top of the town and then walking down instead of the other way around.

Well, you don't have to buy a package. You can just purchase a few drinks each day/night and stay well below $85 a day.

Yes and No. I prefer to buy my tours directly from the tour company that is providing them. That way I have direct communication with the same company that employs the person(s) doing my tour. Trip Advisor, is a very good source of information. But they are a re-seller for all the tours that you see them selling. They do not actually provide the tour. For me, this introduces the possibility of miscommunication with the actual tour company and possibly billing issues. Often you can figure out the name of the actual company doing the tour from the information provided in the description details of the Trip Advisor advertisement. I then use that info and Google the company themselves. They frequently have their own websites. They also offer the tours for less than you see them on Trip Advisor. I did this for 3 tours on my fall British Isles cruise. On one of those tours a French Canadian woman had purchased the tour thru Viator (a similar service to Trip Advisor). She thought she had purchased a French speaking tour from Viator. She spoke no English. The actual guide spoke no French. She was not happy. Had she communicated with the tour company directly, I think the issue might not have happened.