MeHeartCruising

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.

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.