MeHeartCruising

Since you found Ephesus fascinating, you might consider finding a tour that goes to Magnesia, Miletus, and Didyma. I did this when I visited Ephesus twice in 2 weeks on a back-to-back cruise. I did the tour thru the cruise line. It actually also did a quick pass thru Ephesus. I didn’t mind since I did a longer Ephesus visit that included the Terrace Houses on the other visit.

With NCL, this can be done for any price changes before the final payment is due. However, when it is done, the new price will be given with whatever the CURRENT promotions are. It’s really the same as cancelling and booking it from scratch. But NCL will do it so you don’t have to actually cancel and rebook. So its always important to read the fine print of the current promotions. They might be very different or maybe just a minor detail change to something you already have. Factor any promo changes into your decision as to whether it makes sense to change it. By the way, you can do this multiple times. So stay on top of your cruise pricing!

Yes and No. Any true "purchases" such as t-shirts, watches, perfume, shore excursions, etc. will deduct from your non-refundable before going to your refundable. However, some expenses cannot be paid for with non-refundable OBC... such as your Daily Service Charge, CruiseNext certificates you may purchase, etc. If you have those expenses, they will deduct from the refundable OBC. If you don't have enough refundable OBC for them, they will appear as a charge you must pay for (since any non-refundable OBC can't offset those charges). So, technically, during a cruise, if you have both types of OBC, both types can be seen going down as your cruise progresses. It is not easy to understand this based on what is shown on the TV Account Review (if your ship has that feature). It is best to stop by guest services and get an Account printout every couple days if you have OBC you want to track to your spending.

Does anyone else think “Sargassum of the Seas” works well for the name of a ship?

The cruise line is offering excursions to Ephesus that are longer than you are in port? Or are you looking at non-cruise line tours? It's definitely not ideal, but technically, a quick walk thru the entire Ephesus site could be done in less than an hour (excluding the Terrace Houses). But I would not want to do that. A talking guide would probably use 90 minutes or more, I think (again, excluding the Terrace Houses). It is about a 30 minute trip each direction to get from port to Ephesus. Add in some delays for loading/unloading/waiting/traffic. So, yes it's doable in your timeframe, but not ideal.

I frequently travel solo on a few different cruise lines. It's private tables in the specialty dining venues by default and there is not really a history of asking to be seated with people. But, I still go to speciality restaurants when I feel like it. I have always been seated at a 2-top table by myself and I enjoy my meal. Don't let being solo stop you from enjoying the restaurant if you wish to eat there. I often see other solo diners doing the same thing I am doing. In venues where I'm seated quite close to another table, it's not uncommon that they strike up conversation with me, but I wouldn't count on that happening.

I agree that spending the day on your own in Bergen is entirely feasible and even enjoyable. My cruise did have a port shuttle bus that we took from the ship closer into town. That will depend on which pier you dock at. But once in the central area, it's all easy to do on foot. And yes, that includes walking to the base of the funicular and riding it up the mountain and back. Some people will walk back down. I did not visit Haugesund, so cannot comment on that.

Our September stop in Kirkwall could not have been a more clear and sunny day. All day. Beautiful visit. But who knows. Enjoy your stop.

I can't recall if there were taxis at the port or not when I was there for a stop last September. However, the port ran a shuttle bus that took you into Weymouth and back. I think it was free. I seem to recall that the port itself was part of a military base and had limited access, hence the need to use a shuttle bus to go out on your own. Once in Weymouth, you might have better luck finding a taxi. Maybe contact the museum for suggestions?

My confidence level for them doing this as documented and planned is about… 14%.

Google told me https://www.ncl.com/cruisenext See very bottom of page for a link to the terms and conditions.

I’ve had them returned to my account a couple times when I cancelled before final payment. It took a few days, but then eventually reappeared with the same expiration dates they had before I used them.

Sold! I've been going back and forth on what I wanted to do while in Athens on my May cruise. I've been there 3 times, so I've seen the typical sites. I was contemplating just revisiting the Acropolis and Agorras to refresh my memory because it's been several years since I was last there. I knew of the Archeological Museum, but had somewhat forgotten about it, I'll admit. But having always been intrigued by the Anti-Kythera Mechanism, I now think I will make the Museum my prime target for the upcoming stop. I want to see it up close. I wasn't aware it was in the museum (or I forgot that it was!). Thanks @cruisemom42 for reminding me on this topic. I'm looking forward to it now.

Where excursions meet is entirely a factor of the port you are in. While it is common in the Caribbean for an excursion to meet "on the pier", this is not very common at all on European cruises. They usually meet on the ship and have an escort walk the group out to a waiting bus. You would not know which bus to get on without going on to the ship and getting with the group before they left the meeting place. Either way, 30 minutes SHOULD be enough time to get to the second meeting location, but it also could be tight. If it were me, I'd risk it though and go for both of them. I also would not hold the cruise line responsible if the timing didn't work out. I've done 2 on the same day before, but I had more time in between the 2.

From the above website: “Do I have to book tickets online? Online booking is strongly recommended for the Book of Kells and entry is timed.” Sounds like you don’t have to. But you may or may not get in if if you don’t. Or you may not get in when you want to.

Google says https://www.tcd.ie/visitors/book-of-kells/

Sorry the OP experienced this. No idea what the problem was. When we disembarked in February from the Joy, we got off the ship around 8:30 and walked continuously (no delays) thru the lengthy route to baggage claim. We quickly found our bags and entered a short and fairly rapidly moving line up to the immigration checkpoint. They had about 4 facial recognition stations set up and one person was guiding each person to a station as they reached the front of the line. The facial recognition was very quick and there was a second person guiding people along on their way very efficiently. The total time spent in the baggage claim/immigration building was probably 8 minutes or so. It sounds like the facial recognition was down and they were understaffed to deal with it.

Be sure to understand that some OBC is granted as refundable. Some OBC is granted as non-refundable. You should ask which type you have if it's not clearly stated in your paperwork. If it came from the cruise line, it's probably non-refundable. If it came from a travel agency, it may be either. Refundable OBC can be used to pay for anything on the ship, including the cruise line's Daily Service Charge. If you don't spend all the OBC, it will be refunded to you at the end of the cruise. I don't recall how they pay you, but they either cut you a check at the end of the cruise or send you one in the mail, I think. Non-refundable OBC is probably more common since a lot of people get it from the cruise line itself. NCL does not permit non-refundable OBC to pay for the Daily Service Charge. You can use it to pay for excursions, buy drinks, buy meals, buy t-shirts, buy candy, etc. If you don't use it all up by the end of the cruise, you lose it. It goes away. You can view your account balance on your cabin's TV on most ships. However, the listing on the TV does NOT do a good job of showing how non-refundable OBC affects the overall balance, especially if they are adding the Daily Service Charge (which it won't offset) to your account every day. If you have both types of OBC (which is possible), it is nearly impossible to figure out your true balance via the TV. Go to the service desk and ask for a print out of your account balance during your cruise. They will gladly give it to you multiple times. This is the best way to truly understand if the OBC is being properly credited to your account purchases.

And only 45 minutes back down! I will say that these numbers are on the low end from the various posts I've found about the hike. Most seem to say "allow 4-5 hours" for the hike itself. They must be the type of people that sit on the edge with their legs hanging over taking selfies of each other for 2 hours. 😀

Also, not all credit card companies show the interim charges to you. I've used various cards with NCL and some show me the early charges and some do not. And, one more thing. This is why you often hear it is bad to use a Debit Card for cruises (and rental cars). For a debit card, you will actually be tying up CASH in your checking account until YOUR BANK drops these interim charges. Some banks can take days or a week, so I've heard. So if you charge $1200 of stuff during the cruise, the cruise line puts $1200 of "holds" on your bank account. Then on the last day, they process another $1200 for the full actual final bill. That means your bank account gets deducted $2400 until the original $1200 in interim charges drop back off.

The cruise line may process a transaction that shows up as a pending charge on your credit card multiple times during your cruise. They sometimes seem to do $300 when you check in. If you make a significant purchase on board, they may submit a pending charge for $495 for that gold watch you just bought, for example. They are verifying that your card actually has enough credit on it to pay for these purchases. If there are not sufficient funds on the card for these purchases, there will be a problem at the time of purchase that you will need to address. However, these charges eventually drop off and never get fully processed by the credit card company. Instead, NCL will run a final charge on your card for the entire amount of your purchases. For example, this would be for the $495 watch plus any other purchase you made -- t-shirts, candy, daily service charges (if not pre-paid), dinners outside of your pre-purchased package, etc. So they may run a final charge for $612. That is the only charge that will eventually fully post to your credit card. The other intermediate pending charges will fall off your card -- but this does not always happen right away. Mine are usually gone by the time I get home from my cruise. But I've seen a couple times where they lingered for several days. This will vary based upon the rules of your own card. NCL doesn't do anything to cancel them. They just fall off your card because they were not submitted as final charges, they were "test the balance" transactions. And yes, as posted above, you don't choose when to use your OBC or not. It will just be used as a positive entry into your account balance. Any purchase that is valid for that type of OBC (refundable or non-refundable) will subtract from it before increasing the amount you will have to pay in cash.

I'm sure you've probably read online reviews, but just in case, here's a great site with lots of info from their own personal experiences. They even took their kids. https://www.earthtrekkers.com/hiking-pulpit-rock-kids/

For what it's worth, this is from the "Terms of Use" page of the Royal Caribbean website. The link to it can be found at the bottom of the page throughout the site. This is from Section 18 - Purchases. "We reserve the right to refuse or cancel any order prior to delivery. Some situations that may result in your order being cancelled include system or typographical errors, inaccuracies in product or pricing information or product availability, fairness among customers where supplies are limited, or problems identified by our credit or fraud departments. We also may require additional verification or information before accepting an order. We will contact you if any portion of your order is cancelled or if additional information is required to accept your order." This is pretty standard for most all e-commerce websites. I'd be surprised if this does not apply to their App as well. The terms refer to their entire "digital platform".

Put Google Maps into "Street View" mode. It works best on a computer. Then you can literally "walk" the entire route and see the various terrain, sidewalks, lights, etc. I took a taxi and while there wasn't one waiting when I got off the train, one did arrive within 5 minutes. There were a few of them basically doing back and forth trips to the port because a cruise ship was in town. I do not know if the port actually permits pedestrians to enter. Hopefully someone can answer that for you. I don't recall discussion of walking to the ship here on CC previously.

What else do you plan on doing while there? If it were me, I'd book a time around 11:00 am which would allow plenty of time (barring any unforeseen circumstances). Or even in the afternoon after you've done other things. If you get off the DART in Dublin a lot earlier than that, you can always explore other things first. If you truly want to do this first, then I would probably book a 10:00 am time slot. You should be there by 9:00 or even earlier. But I'd do 10:00 to pad the time a little.