FreestyleNovice

Thanks all! Before we were not sure if one was much better than the other, our next step will be looking into what to do before and after with some good recommendations given here. Thanks again!

For all the Alaska experts, We are looking for an Alaska cruise, somewhere around June 2024 on Celebrity (seems to be just Summit cruising there at that time). To us the whole of Alaska looks appealing, we are indecisive on north or south bound. It will be our first Alaska cruise, we might add some days before and/or after the cruise but a second week of full land tour will probably not be an option to due time. What would you choose and with what reason(s)? Southbound (June 14th or 28th) Date Port Arrive Depart Friday, June 14 Anchorage (Seward), AK 7:00pm Saturday, June 15 Hubbard Glacier, AK (Cruising) Sunday, June 16 Juneau, AK 10:30am 9:00pm Monday, June 17 Skagway, AK 7:00am 8:00pm Tuesday, June 18 Icy Strait Point, AK 7:00am 3:00pm Wednesday, June 19 Ketchikan, AK 10:00am 6:30pm Thursday, June 20 Inside Passage, AK (Cruising) Friday, June 21 Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00am Northbound (June 7th or 21th) Friday, June 7 Vancouver, BC, Canada 5:00pm Saturday, June 8 Inside Passage, AK (Cruising) Sunday, June 9 Ketchikan, AK 7:00am 3:00pm Monday, June 10 Sitka, AK 7:00am 3:30pm Tuesday, June 11 Juneau, AK 7:00am 9:30pm Wednesday, June 12 Icy Strait Point, AK 7:00am 5:00pm Thursday, June 13 Hubbard Glacier, AK (Cruising) Friday, June 14 Anchorage (Seward), AK 6:00am I've read that Sitka for instance is less touristy and that a northbound trip will build up in scenery as you sail. Looking forward to any advice you have to give gus a good start planning. Thanks!

Visited the Hlemmur Matholl? It's a small food hall, we've found the meals there enjoyable. Can't recall it was much cheaper but it was more enjoyable than our first evening where we walked in a (app. hotel)restaurant after some indecisive looking around on the main street and got our most expensive appetizers, fish and chips ever served in a record tempo. At first we thought they were closing but that was not the case, it just was very "efficient". Welcome to Iceland! http://www.hlemmurmatholl.is/english In general we found the dining scene not too appealing besides the price level heh, perhaps we did not do enough research but we saw an awful lot of fast food and kebab places and less traditional/regular restaurants around the main (shopping) street.

Poster provided you with a link, click on the underlined word Yes.

Sat. Sept 5th, disembarked Celebrity Edge with self walk off, met prearranged private transport at 8AM, got at the airport around 9/9:15AM. Catched an Amsterdam (Schengen EU) flight at 10:20AM. We did bought in advance the Fast Track security that FCO sells for 7 Euro per person https://www.romeairports.com/fiumicino_en/fast-track.html but could did not see a serious queue at the regular security filter in our terminal. Checking in our luggage for KLM (shared with Air France) took most of our time, not a fast moving line but also nothing out of the ordinary. You just wish your line is moving fast when time is ticking. Pre-Covid we even rescheduled a noon flight to 10:30AMish flight to Amsterdam after getting at the airport early, same timeframe but on a sunday I think.

Definitely Rome.

Schiphol is hit or miss at the moment, we just walked through on a late August morning and a week later when returning it was a zoo at departures. With summer peak season over next up is fall (last week of Oct roughly) and Christmas..

Yet you had no idea how boarding a train would work with all of your luggage. I guess we all make travel mistakes despite how well travelled we are. I am sorry you had to spend 700 Euros instead of around 40-60 Euros, but you probably made an Italian cab driver's day.

There's enough lodging to fit most, if not all, of the conventions going on in Amsterdam. And most of them won't cause a sell out. National holidays, the Pride, SAIL (2025, once every five years), those are the ones you have to keep an eye on.

First thought when seeing this thread title: We certainly do have cheaper hotels than that! But as said as above, your dates are the difference. Not that the 4th or 5th are significant travel dates for the Dutch but in Amsterdam centre it may cause a peak in lodging demand as described by the others. OP: The evening on the 4th of May Nationale Dodenherdenking at 8pm on the Dam is something you can follow on TV in your hotel room. Almost anything closes early at 7pm, traffic will stop at 8pm, including Schiphol airport, the railways etc. It still gives me the chills and luckily most of us respect and honor this national tradition to remember those who lost their lives for our freedom. The 5th is a national holiday, and it's a festive one, whatever your plans are for that day; the national flag will fly everywhere and if you will visit any town there will be fairs, entertainment etc.

Hm, posting this extra information in a "NOT by train" thread might not as helpful for others as I thought..

And don't forget to stay with your luggage in the train at all times. With most of you probably traveling on our double decker trains (all stop services are smaller trains) the best choice is to grab a seat directly at the door section to avoid the small stairs up or down into the train compartment. Just avoid the sections where the bathroom is..

This thread is for all that are looking for information on the new Silver Cove area on Great Stirrup Cay! With all of us contributing and reporting back we can keep this thread as a great resource for those who will stay there. The Silver Cove area is a fenced off area of GSC, there have been renders and plans in the past and hopefully this thread will answer any questions! There are three sorts of Villa's (hopefully no errors on my side); Studio (30 units), 1 Bedroom (6 units) and 2 Bedroom (2 units) I made the following map for the Villa's: The following things I noticed: there is no 2 story Silver Palm restaurant yet, the bay is opened up to allow seawater flow in so there's a tide but it's roped off and there are/is a lifeguard. The some 75 pax private room for rent is also non existent. Both the restaurant and private room where spoken about in a NCL press release once. One of the renders showed a bridge walkway to an island in the middle of the lagoon, also not there yet. Press release stated floating island, where you could have a spa massage etc if I recall correctly. When we were at Silver Cove the 1 and 2 bedroom Villas were just opened up, I think we were 2nd or 3rd to use them. The small round champagne branded bar in the lower left corner was not open yet, making beverage service a bit hard for the staff from the buffet's bar (rolling up and down the path with a kitchen trolley, being overloaded with new orders before they could deliver their current ones, thanks PBP...). The last row of Studio's were still being finished and so was the pavilion thing on the far end.