Eboracum_d

The higher baggage allowance and use of business lounge are also plus points

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Used to be a regular haunt, but Bumbles is no more, I'm afraid.

 

The Zander Bar at Bank Westminster (which is attached to the St James' Court) is said to be the longest bar in London. Fun fact :)

 

 

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Pity about Bumbles closing -- I first went there about 35 years ago and have been several times since

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Another area you might look at is one called Bloomsbury close to London's Theatreland and just to the North of Covent Garden.

An area I would avoid is Paddington which attracts some because it's the terminus for the Heathrow express train.

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We are thinking about staying at the St. James Court, which is located on the Southside of the river just over the Westminster Bridge. Was wondering if there will be enough choices for dinner in the area or will we have to cross over the bridge and go looking? Lunch is not a problem

Assuming we are talking about the St James Court, which is in Buckingham Gate and is a place I have quite often stayed at, then you might try a nearby Restaurant called Bumbles -- inexpensive but British.

At rather more cost, but not over the top and again very close to you, is one of the Bank Restaurants where I have regularly eaten at lunchtime.

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Morning,

 

We are first time cruisers and on the Braemar on 18th heading for Norway. Any 'top tips' welcome for anything and everything on board. Booked on a couple of trips but wondering about port calls, tipping, laundry service costs, absolutely anything you think might be of interest.

 

Thank you!

Norway is a good place for your first cruise -- very safe and clean.

We tend not to take the ship's own excursions. That's largely because we don't like being herded round and it's usually cheaper to do your own thing.

At this time of year you will have no trouble getting on the Flam Railway on your own.

The network of Tourist Information places in Norway offers free wifi as do most of the Libraries in Norway.

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We flew Premium Economy our last two trips to USA (for Alaska), but have already decided to lash out and go business class for our Iceland/British Isles cruises. Such a long flight comfort will be most welcomed.

We came back to UK Business class from a transatlantic last year. Finding a plane from Montreal with flat bedded seats took a fair amount of research but was worth the effort.

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I'd go by train. Winchester Cathedral is within easy walking distance of the station.

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Similarly I prefer the left side to come down from Myrdal.

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An excellent response from Azamara which explains why such a high percentage of its passengers are repeat cruisers.

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On the other hand Azamara are very tolerant of Passengers organising their own excursion parties. The CD on our recent cruise had a definite slot at the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle for tour organisers to identify themselves and gather their groups together.

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I'd recommend the Mount Dalsnibba Tour at Geiranger - tickets from the Tourist Office close by the tendering point. Make sure you get off at the Fjorland Centre on the way back - not so much to see the exhibition there but to be able to walk back down half a mile or so by the side of the river.

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If you need to know anything ask away as I'm in Liverpool x

 

 

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In terms of taking in the major tourist attractions I would aim for the Albert Dock and perhaps the ho-ho bus.

But as a lady on her own you might be tempted by the shopping opportunities in the City Centre.

You could also take a return trip on the "Ferry Cross the Mersey"

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The Historic farm at Ortenes ( walkable from Flam) offers a snack of pancakes, cream and berries together with a drink. Probably not the gourmet meal you had in mind but very authentic.

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There's more than one Synagogue in Liverpool. The oldest, and the one which attracts most visitors is the Princes Road Synagogue which is in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. It's not near St George's Hall and I would suggest taking a taxi if you want to visit there.

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Are you able to walk ?

The historic farm at Ortenes is two or three kilometres away -- on the opposite side of the fjord from the railway.

Alternatively there is quite a pleasant walk to the little chapel that you will have seen fairly early on the train ride up from Flam.

At Geiranger the tourist office is right beside the tendering point and the local tour buses, self drive cars or bikes are alongside.

There are some banks which offer a better deal than others on supplying local currency from cash machines. The same applies, of course, when you obtain foreign currency from your banks at home. What the OP presumably wishes to avoid is being left at the end of the holiday with Kroner that he then needs to change back losing money in the process

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You probably do have people walking right last the window on a promenade stateroom. But the windows are one way glass so the passers-by can't see in. We had such a room assigned to us on a late deal and liked it so much we have twice chosen it by choice when cruising on that particular ship.

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You can buy quite a lot of tours at the network of local tourist offices and they will take cards. But if you asking a local fishing boat to take you on a trip cash will be needed.

You can always get Norwegian Kroner from a. Cash machine or from the ship so I woukd bring only a relatively small amount (£100 or $100) and top up as and when required.

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A slightly quirky hotel is Art'Otel. It's directly across the river from the Parliament Building near to the Chain Bridge. It's about 30% cheaper than places like the Intercontinental. We went when it was fairly new but I see it's still getting very good reviews on Trip Adviser.

There is incidentally a cooperative system operated by Budapest hotels to bring guests to and from the Airport. Basically you go to a desk in Arrivals and they provide a minibus which drops the occupants off at their hotel. You are to have more than four different hotels on any one run.

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You can now book individual tickets in advance with the Flam Railway which will be a lot cheaper than the ships tour. If you are booking a return trip (as opposed to walking back down) I should book to come back on same train as you ascend. The journey is spectacular but there is nothing much to see at the top.

I would also make sure you are up early that morning to take in the sail along the fjord.

Weather wise at that time of year you need layers. You might find yourself in hot sunshine but could also find some rain or a biting wind. So I would take a fleece and a light waterproof.

If you have not been to Bergen before and if the weather does not seem too bad I would go up the Funicular Railway. As with Flam you can either come down via the railway or ( my preference) walk down through the woods. Drinks in Norway are expensive but the Cafe/ Restaurant at the top of the Funicular does offer free wifi.

The other area of Bergen to see is the Bryggen on the harbour side close to the Fish and Flower market.

At Olden there is a pleasant walk basically following the River with an old and a new Church to look at.

I have not been to Skolden..

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It will be worth your while looking at what the scheduled departure times are for your Fjord ports. If it looks as though your early dining times are going to coincide with the sail out then, subject to what I say below you might indeed want to switch to anytime dining.

Personally, I think the sails in to Flam and Gerainger are even more spectacular than the evening sails out so I make sure I wake early and get out on deck (so that I can see both sides of the ship).

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Its a few years ago but we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott . It was about 1/4 mile from the Convention Centre which was used as the Embarkation terminus and much the same dance from the French Quarter. Room was OK and there was a pool.

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We have done the Canaries on Thomson a couple of times. It is likely to be more expensive in July August.

The weather earlier in April year can be variable -- we had one very hot and one very cold cruise.

A small thing that particularly impressed us was their disembarkation process. Most ships want you off as soon as possible. Thomson's flights back to uk are in the afternoon. They want you out of your own cabin ( and ideally off the ship) early but then then keep a few cabins unallocated number so that you can freshen up with a shower when you return to the ship prior to transferring to the airport.

We have also enjoyed the shows on Thomson.

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I used IG tours for the Golden Circle and was very happy with them.

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Having cruised with both I would say that HAL ships have a more relaxed feel to them than Celebrity. They also have a more settled crew.

It's a while since I was on Celebrity but at that time Cabin and Dining Stewards were employed by an Agency rather than directly by Celebrity.particularly in the Dining Room supervisors were hyper-critical. By contrast the supervising staff in the HAL Dining Room are good at spotting pressure points are discretely move staff in or even help themselves.

Like HAL, but with much smaller ships, Azamara is also a more relaxed and very much customer-focussed experience.

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