Ukulele girl

Thank you so much for all your hard work, it has been a pleasure each morning to read about your trip. My sister was on the cruise and I will speak to her tomorrow to see if she feels the same about the holiday. It will be interesting to have a comparison.

You might like to think about making a photobook with your pictures and include your blog as pages. I made one for our 6 week NZ and Australia holiday and included our itinerary notes and emails to a group of friend. I still look at it at often with a smile and enjoy being reminded of the details.

I hope you are soon very well again and look forward to your next trip.

Thank you for even managing to make doing the washing sound interesting! Hope Costa Rica is good for you both.

Thank you for passing on your excitement during the transit in this posting. Another great start to my day enjoying your report. I have just been sharing the pictures with my 7 year old granddaughter who was very interested and will show her where it is on the world map we have on the landing. Your efforts are so appreciated by us all.

Thank you for making my morning routine so enjoyable. I sit with my large coffee and your musings to start the day and am loving it. Perhaps you could continue when you get home!

As I have said before my sister and husband are aboard with you all. They are part of the table tennis crowd so I have asked about the door decoration and will report back when I hear from her later today.

As a retired secondary school teacher and veteran of sore throats and winter coughs I appreciate your frustration at the ongoing problem you have. The doctor always recommended gargling with soluble aspirin, unpleasant but helpful. For the cough, breathing steam helps to lubricate the cilia which will help with the tickle. Coughing knocks the droplets of moisture off the cilia and then it's a vicious circle. I do hope you are better soon.

Wet, windy and cold here and I am coughing non stop so off to breath steam!

 'Cilia, tiny muscular, hair-like projections on the cells that line the airway, are one of the respiratory system's defence mechanisms.

'Apparently it's really common among younger people too (I'm talking Gens Y and Z) - because, it seems, it helps them to multitask:

"Among the many replies DG received were lots of teenagers and people in their early 20s who said they liked using subtitles because it allowed them to multitask."

Multitask?  How?'

I was on a plane yesterday and the young girl was watching a film on her iPad with subtitles on, earphones on so the subtitles were also talking into them. She was also using her phone to play a game. Multitasking it appeared!

Thank you for such wonderful pictures and your ongoing delightful commentary on the trip. The last time I saw Art Deco buildings like these were in Napier, New Zealand, such a treat. Napier was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1931 so the buildings are in good condition and well planned. 

Great to see the menus although I think pescatarian/vegetarians have more choice than the carnivores.

Looking forward to your next instalment.

Thank you Selbourne for your very enjoyable commentary on the cruise. I followed your last newsy ramblings for the same reason as this as my sister and her husband are also on board. They are on a lower deck in a balcony cabin and have said that they are not as aware of the movement in bad weather. It is so good to hear the details of trip as my sister doesn't usually use the wifi on board. 

Is there still a table near the library where people leave books they have finished with? It is often a way to share reading material on a longer cruise.

Best of luck with the weather into Bermuda. 

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

3 hours ago, jh1809 said:

Have you consider ear plugs? Not ideal, but better than being kept awake by noise. I don't know if the toiletries shop would sell them.

The deck manager offered them. I don’t think they would have made a big enough difference in all honesty. 

The noises you are experiencing would wreck my sleep on a cruise. I think I will be tempted to bring the white noise machine with me that I use with my granddaughter. That at least would help to cover and remove the worst of the noises. Perhaps this is a thought for people who find it a problem. Our machine is very small and has a variety of choices for sounds. Bought from a well known on line company.

On 10/30/2023 at 3:41 PM, Selbourne said:

There are a lot more kids on board than we expected, considering that any school age kids will be skipping school for at least one of the two weeks. 

I was thinking about your comment about children on board skipping school. There are several counties in the country who give two weeks at half term in the Autumn term, probably because it is a long term. These families are obviously taking advantage of the longer holiday.

Thank you Selbourne for your blog of the cruise. My sister and her husband are on board and I only hope she was well equipped with Stugeron and wrist bands as she doesn't travel well. They play table tennis each day and I expect that has been closed to them because of the pitching.

We once travelled back from St Petersburg on Azura with a very tricky port/starboard list due to the weather. It lasted almost a day and it was like walking up/downhill. It made eating and service in the cafeteria interesting. We were glad it had settled by bed time!

I hope for all of you on board that tomorrow will signal a return to normal weather. I look forward to enjoying the rest of your posts.

Sleepingcat - thank you for this, I will seek out your postings on the port boards. I have been doing further research and can fly from London to Christchurch with only a short stop in Singapore with Singapore Airlines. Flying business will make it comfortable and it only takes 25 hours in total. We have had a motorhome in this country for many years so prefer other holidays to be more of a treat and I enjoy hunting out interesting hotels and B&Bs. Although it is a long time off just the thought of it has lifted my spirits and I have started to plan the route. I hope you can get to do the other half of the world cruise some day.

David63, thank you, that's very helpful. I knew the opening for booking was around those times prior to the travel date but I hadn't looked at Emirates. We had thought to stop somewhere on the way but if we travel business the need won't be there. I will look at Emirates following your advice.

3 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

Do you have air-miles? If not, the price of a one way ticket will be ridiculously expensive, not far off the price of a return!

Thanks you for your comment. Sadly we only have 4,500 points with Air Canada so using air-miles isn't an option. I realise the one way tickets will be pricey but we will try to pick the best time to travel and book as early as possible. We will get a little towards the flights from the package for a half world cruise. I did some looking for January 24 (we will actually be travelling January 25 but flights are not available yet for then) and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. 

Any advice on how to mitigate the costs would be very welcome. We plan to travel business this time as I am better if I can lie flat and will be flying London to Christchurch. Always helpful to have input from others.

We have been to NZ before and would spend the first week in the South Island then cross to the North Island where we have friends. We expect to spend a week with our friends at their 'batch' on Lake Taupo and the rest of the time on places we didn't get to see last visit. Fine tuning the times/days etc takes lots of planning but 3 weeks is a rough guess. We would spend 2 nights in Bangkok where we have people to visit too. It probably would be our last very long trip and the second half of the World cruise takes in lots of places we would like to visit and would be a good way to come home slowly.

Thank you all for your responses - very helpful so far. I hadn't thought about a cost, very naive of me! We will be touring NZ by car and moving on every other day plus managing our own cases from airport etc so I don't want the hassle of an extra case with us. We like to travel light when touring but there will be a whole set of clothes and other items only necessary for the cruise part of the holiday.  

The flight is more of an unknown but interesting to see if we can use that cost towards our flights out. Probably travelling via Bangkok then to Christchurch, NZ so we can do the bottom end of the South Island. 

I am considering joining for the second half of a World cruise boarding in Auckland. This would be after a 3 week NZ tour of our own organising. As I live near Southampton it would be easy to take a 'cruise clothes' suitcase and put it on at the start of the cruise in January. Would this be allowed?

Second question. The fare includes the cost of a flight. Is it possible to have this flight at a time to suit our 3 week tour of NZ or can the flight cost be removed from the total cost of the cruise?

Help gratefully received, thanks.

I completed our ESTA forms on Monday but wasn't asked for any addresses. I suspect this was because I said we were only transiting America and not staying in America. The question was the first in travel information,  'Is your travel to the US occurring in transit to another country?' to which I answered 'Yes' . I found the website was poor at responding on my husband's top of the range computer and used my fairly new lap top which dealt with the form very easily. It took me three attempts to complete it. 

The Canadian ETA was much easier.

Having re-read your question I see you are staying in America after the cruise so this may not be of any use to you, sorry.

Jack & Dee - I love the set up you have, what fun.

We are off to Vancouver then Alaska Cruise followed by the Rockies by car, leaving on Sunday. The spare bed has been gathering items for a couple of weeks and today I sorted my formal wear. The clothes are being washed then added to the bed. It's all the extra bits and pieces that take the time to collect up - pegs, magnets, thank you cards, adapters, super glue, lateral flow tests etc etc but I do have a list of these to work from. I will actually pack the cases on Saturday. As already mentioned shoes are the tough decisions and more so this time because of flying and being in Alaska. Packing is still part of the excitement although this time I won't believe we are actually going until we are on the plane.

Thank you for the info about Canada not needing testing prior to travel (we are fully vax'd and boosted). I have just added to my post on the Roll Call to give the company that the hotel uses. 

I just looked at the information at the hotel and the testing is completed by a company called Fast-Test.Ca  who seem to have several locations in Vancouver offering various types of test. These can be booked on line I think.

We are from the UK. We fly into Vancouver 2 days before we join our cruise on the 14th June. Timing tests is going to be difficult with the new rules plus Canadian rules.

When we skied in January we had to have an observed Lateral Flow Test (same as an antigen test). We booked this with a local chemist (Lloyds Group) and a member of staff did the test for us using what looked like a standard Gov Lateral Flow test kit. We were then given a certificate which we could show where necessary. Cost was £25 each.

On our return we had to complete a test on day 2 and we used an on line tests system via ukhealthtesting.com. They sent us a test (again like Gov Lat Flow kit) and we had to do the test at home and send a picture of the result, they then sent an email to confirm the result. This test cost around £15 each. 

I assume we will have to have an observed test as close to before we fly as possible but probably another in Vancouver as the first may have run out. We are staying at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and their website mentions that they have a testing centre within the hotel. Other hotels may have the same.

In another post someone mentioned using Walgreens Vancouver for rapid testing (no idea what this is, chemist?, shop?).

Trying so hard not to let any of this hassle spoil the run up to the big holiday but I am stressing over the testing now.

I have taken a cruise to the Baltic which was amazing (but with P&O). I am sure the port information I put in my review will be useful. I didn't go to all the same ports as you are but hope what is below will be useful. Sorry for the length!

Copenhagen, Denmark

The ship docked close enough to walk into the city. The walk along the sea edge took us past the statue of The Little Mermaid, about 10 minutes from the ship, then on into the city. Smart and clean everywhere with lovely architecture. We enjoyed wandering the sights then into the shopping area. We used McDonalds for wifi as there wasn't any near the ship, we paid for our coffee etc in McDonalds by credit card.  Great boat tours on offer in the city for 50 Krone per adult for 1 hour canal tour. Another time we would definitely take one of these but do wrap up as it is windy on the water. We walked back to the ship in the early afternoon having felt we had seen all we wanted to.

Helsinki, Finland.

Weather was good and we left the ship early to walk into the city, an easy and flat trip of 45 minutes. Wifi is always our first hunt and we found it inside a small shopping mall so dealt quickly with any email and had several WhatsApp exchanges with our sons. We wandered the smart and open city shops and streets spotting the sights along the way. We took a No3 tram that had been suggested on TripAdvisor as a way of joining the locals assuming it was a round trip but after 15 minutes out into the suburbs it stopped and we were told to get off as it was the end of the line. Small panic but the driver pointed across the road and said 'Centrum' so we set off to find another No 3 back. About 100 yards down the road we found the tram stop. We are embarrassed to say we didn't pay for the rides as we didn't know how to and had assumed we would pay the driver but both times he didn't want to know so our tram ride was free. I have since found out that you get a ticket before boarding at €2.20 per journey.  We enjoyed visiting Stocktons Department store and other shops then headed for the harbour where the market sold fruit and craft items. Boat trips left from here and seemed a good deal and were popular. From the harbour we set off on the coast edge path to go back to the ship which was a pretty and fairly flat pavement walk.

St Petersburg, Russia

Stunning city to visit with glorious architecture, wide roads and pretty vistas of the Neva river and canals. Queuing through immigration both out and back in dominated the first day and was frustrating. We had booked a half day tour of The Hermitage which was in the afternoon. This left a free morning when it was quiet on board so I took advantage and did some laundry. 

The Hermitage was wonderful although busy and the tour guide led us on a good selection of rooms. The floors and ceilings are often as beautiful as the exhibits. Photographs are allowed without flash, there are toilets available and the shops at the end sell a wide variety of souvenirs at reasonable prices for Russian Roubles.  

The second day we had booked St Petersburg Explorer which is a 7 hour walking tour of the city. This takes you to three stops and you are dropped off by the bus and left to do your own thing for a few hours each time.  There is a route suggested on your map and the guide on the bus gives you ideas of where to visit. This gives you a chance to go to shops, visit churches, enjoy the gardens (The Summer Garden is delightful) etc. The day was hot and sunny so it made a great trip and as long as you are comfortable walking for a good stretch this is an ideal trip to see lots of the city. Shops and stalls were happy to take Euros, Dollars or Roubles. Prices were reasonable and often cheaper than in the UK. Return through immigration the second day was very quick.

There is a souvenir shop on the dock beside the ship which you can use without going through immigration. Ideal for Russian Dolls and other gifts to take his home. A good selection of items and prices ranged from around £4.00 for a simple doll with 3 inside each other right up to £100 for large and beautiful individual items. Prices here compared well with stalls and shops in the city centre.

Tallinn, Estonia

Easy walk into the old town via 'Fat Margaret’s Gate'. We were into the town by 08.15 and were ahead of everyone so could get pictures without the irritation of lots of people. We walked uphill on cobbled roads to the top to the look-out points then down again into the town square where we had coffee and used the cafe internet. Such a delightful town, very quaint and pretty. Euros were used everywhere. We walked from the old town out to the newer town passed flower sellers and cafes. There was a small market at the end of the road, worth a look for knitwear. We didn't spend too long looking round the more modern area but found good free Wi-Fi inside the first shopping centre, near H&M. We found the walk back to the ship easy and flat and were back in time for lunch. 

Skagen, Denmark

Pronounced ‘Skane’ by the people who live there. Easy walk into town, about ten minutes. Delightful town with good variety of shopping and cafes and the town band played during the morning.  About 45 minutes at a fair pace takes you from the centre of town to the car park and sand dune from where you can see the meeting of the seas in the distance. Area is flat and a smooth path is shared by bikes. Bikes for hire were available on the dock area and would have been a good option to get to Grennen and other areas. Shops would take Euros but with a poor exchange rate, or credit cards could be used. We found wifi at 'Jacob's Cafe' in the centre of town where we had coffee. A lovely last destination for a gentle stroll and final shop. Weather was good but with a strong breeze and if walking to the point it may be worth packing a light woolly hat and thin gloves.

Hope this is helpful. Have a wonderful time.

My husband and I are taking the Alaska cruise leaving Vancouver on 14th June. We fly in 2 days early to enjoy Vancouver and have 4 nights after the cruise driving the Rockies to Banff. This thread is very helpful thank you, although there are so many uncertainties at the moment. We pay final amount in 2 weeks and I have a lot of checking to do before that day. The 72 hour test element will be tricky to manage going out as there is a 10 hour flight to include. I will seek help from the travel company where necessary. I hope I can be brave enough to go for it. As a retiree I feel we have to get back to travel before we are too old. I write this from the French Alps as our first foray into going abroad - scary amount of red tape and paperwork but we worked through it carefully and all has been fine. 

I suppose if we don't get back to cruising then there won't be a cruise industry to enjoy by the time the Pandemic is more settled.

I look forward to hearing further from those ahead of us on the first cruises and thank everyone in advance for that sharing of information.

I use magnets on the walls and they work really well and have certainly done so in an inside cabin on QV. I also take post it notes and blutac in case there is an area of plastic I want to utilise. When my sister was on a world cruise with P&O I gave her a plastic blow up globe and they drew the journey on it as they travelled - somewhat spoiled by Covid arriving which changed their itinerary several times and kept them on board for 33 nights without getting off anywhere! Perhaps take some string and hang it from somewhere on the ceiling.

You can buy world maps with a scratch off surface then scratch off each place you visit as you go.

Inside cabins are great as calm escape places and you hardly spend a lot of time there as there are so many lovely places on board to choose to sit. Ours was a corner of the Commodore Club on deck 10 on sea days. You will find your favourite place fairly quickly. Hope it goes well for you.

Lowyfer - thank you for this. I am also risk averse and have a husband who likes to get somewhere early without stress. Therefore I think we will self disembark then go by train and will check out the station situation while we are in Vancouver prior to our cruise. We have been to Vancouver before so we won't be rushing round to do everything tourists are encouraged to do having done them last visit.

Excellent advice as always from Cruise Critic readers and one more logistic organised for the trip. Thanks again everyone.

Thank you all for this information, it is very helpful, as always from Cruise Critic devotees! We will self disembark and perhaps a taxi would be the easiest and quickest way to the airport. It would be great to be able to collect the hire car by 10.00am so we can get on our way to Kelowna and enjoy the scenery along the way.