Eboracum_d
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Posts posted by Eboracum_d
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Not a lot to do in and around Alta for two days -- a trip to the prehistoric rock carvings / open air Museum on one day. The new Cathedral in the town of Alta itself with a walk through the woods surrounding the town should could be a possibility for the other.
At Tromso (and Alta) you are likely to be dependent on a shuttle to the town centre, though Alta is just about walkable from the berth.
A good plan at Tromso is to start the day visiting the Botanic Gardens, very close to the berth and then come back to take the shuttle -- the initial queues from the ship should have dispersed by then.
If you have not been to Stavanger before I should be inclined to take in the old town on one side of the harbour and the 'newer' , though still pretty old , on the other side, where there is also a cathedral. The most popular excursion if you want one is to Pulpit Rock.
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tring
I should have mentioned that (at least when we there) the hotel provided a free minibus to its sister hotel at the beach. I think this was a twice a day offering.
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I'd say the whole experience on HAL is much more relaxed than RCCI. I can't say I noticed much difference in the quality of the production shows though the theatres on HAL are smaller.
There are noticeably fewer daytime activities on HAL
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Your cruising on the Zuiderdam will provide sufficient fjord sailing without the need for any water based excursions.
Make sure you are up early and ideally on deck with your camera for the sail into Flam. A must- do trip there is the Flam Railway. It will be much cheaper if you do that independently. You can now book tickets in advance with the Flam Railway. If you are a keen walker book the uphill trip and then walk back. Otherwise book the return trip on the same train -- there is nothing really to see or do at the top : there are magnificent views on the way there and back.
I suppose the Ship Museum at Oslo is your opportunity to see the Viking Ship although I think the open air Folk Museum reached by Ferry from the harbour close to where you berth would be my preferred attraction along with Vigulund Park in the City Centre.
Bergen would be a place to visit a visit a Stave Church ( at Fantoft) which is now easily reached by public transport. You will also within the day be able to take the Funicular up Mount Florence as well as the Bryggen area near the Fish Market.
Rather than a hop-on hop- off bus Kristiansund has a fleet of little hop - on and hop-off boats with a very cheap fare allowing you to explore various sights there.
Stavanger Old Town is worth a visit -- your ship may well be berthed alongside or you might need to walk around the harbour. An excursion to Pulpit Rock might be a possibility from here though I would not personally describe it as a must-do. You can do that by boat or as a hike.
Given that your days in Bergen and Oslo are likely to be taken up with sightseeing I would recommend Stavanger for shopping.
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I would have thought the Hurtigruten was the ideal choice for you. You can fly into Bergen and Bronnoysoy is one of their stops on the northern voyage.
You will have the choice of picking up the Hurtigruten again there after your car trips or returning the car to some other hire location elsewhere on the Hurtigruten route. There is a ship going in both directions each day.
You could also fly back from Bronnoysund via Oslo.
I would talk direct to Hurtigruten rather than using a TA. You will find they speak excellent English.
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Bigger ships are indeed usually berthed at the Megapier. Smaller ones can be at a cruise terminal slightly inland of that on Otrobanda but only about 1/4 mile away. The town is well within walking distance of either berth and access is aided by a free ferry and the snaking bridge.
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Hi
I don't think it matters what side of the ship you are on.
I have not been to Pulpit Rock so can't help you on that.
At Geraingerfjord I would stay on the ship -- the journey down that Fjord us particularly scenic -- probably best seen on deck rather than from your cabin/balcony -- if on deck you can see both sides of the Fjord.
You can buy tours direct from the local Tourist Office there. I would recommend the coach to Mt Dalsnibba. On the way back you will be offered the choice of going back to the start point or being dropped off half a mile or so upstream at the Fjordland exhibition. I would get off the coach there, not necessarily to view the exhibition but because there is a great walk down by the side of the river to the ship -- though the spray from the several waterfalls could lead to your arrival back slightly damp.
There are walks you can do directly from the ship at Olden.
I would do Bergen on your own, spending half a day on Mount Floyen (we sometimes get the funicular up and walk back down or sometimes walk both ways. There are several wooded paths which take you up to the top.. The fish and flower markets are close to the bottom terminus. The other must see part of Bergen is the Bryggen, not just to see the facades but to venture into the alleyways.
Your ship might well be berthed close to Bryggen in which case you will first past the Fortress and Park which is also worth a look. But some ships are on the other side of the harbour from where you will be shuttled into the City Centre.
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The only possible difficulty I can foresee is if your wife needs more assistance than the crew can provide if any ports involve tendering. Once ashore you would be very unlikely to experience any access difficulties.
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If you are berthed in Leith there are several fish restaurants nearby serving freshly caught seafood -- not just the traditional British fish and chips.
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Key ports of call in Norway if you are wanting the Fjords are Bergen, Flam and Gerainger. Oslo is also a good port to visit but there are not many cruises that offer that as well as the Fjords.
Choice of ship and cruise line is much more governed by the kind of ship that appeals to you in terms of size, entertainment, age range etc.
One that is different is the Hurtigruten. This used to be the mail boat providing the main transport up the West Coast of Norway round the North Cape to the Russian Border. Improved road communications are now an alternative but the Hurtigruten ship still leaves Bergen at each day. These days the ships are very smart mini-cruise ships that are small enough to get into places denied to bigger ships. You can round trip or segments.
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The major attraction at Aarhus is the Open Air Folk Museum (Den Gamble By) and that will be open at 10am. It's walkable from the ship or you can get a taxi. Don't forget your Camera.
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They say that in Bergen it's either raining or about to rain and I guess that also holds good for Alesund. We have been going regularly over the last 20 years. In the main days in both have been pleasantly warm but more often than not we have had rain for some part of the day. But we have also usually had sun for part of the day.
At Gerainger we have been luckier. On one visit we arrived as the rain was stopping . Every other time it's been fine throughout the day. The temperature when we there last Year was fairly cool but mostly it's been shirt sleeve weather on our visits.
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There are trains running on Sunday though you have to change at either once (at Guildford) or twice (at Guildford and Woking) .
Are you sailing out of Southampton on that Sunday? If not you also have the option of spending the night in London and coming on from there the next day.
Another alternative would be to take the train from Gatwick into London Victoria and then a coach from there to Southampton.
It might also be worth thinking of a pre booked taxi ( cost about £130) to meet you at Gatwick and take you to the cruise terminal .
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That's the one. The Museum area is well worth looking around. There.s also a Souk area nearby which comes to life in the evenings though it's aimed at the natives, or more accurately the immigrant workers, rather than at Tourists.
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I had a car thrown in by Emirates as part of the ticket deal I was on. But you should have no problem just picking one up at the airport and the hotel will get you one for the return journey
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We were very pleased with the Arabian Court Hotel very close to the Museum in the centre of Dubai on the Dubai Creek. It has a rooftop pool and, from memory, three restaurants and booking it over the Internet was very reasonable. It's about a 20 minute taxi ride from the Airport.
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Is it possible to walk to the beach from port Everglades? We will be in port half way through a back to back cruise in March!
We dis B2B a few years ago and walked to the beach on our "spare" dat. Took us about 25- 30 mins.
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We are looking to book our first Amazon Cruise, Hong Kong to Singapore departing 23rd December 14 days.
On advise we would choose a Club Continental suite, we have had a decent quote and they would allocate suite 8061, has anyone on the forum stayed on this deck please? If so what are the pros and cons?
We have only sailed previously with Silversea and Seabourn, how does Azamara compare please? Friends of ours are cheerleaders for Azamara and say we would not be disappointed, looking at the ship and service we think we would enjoy Azamara.
Any advise would be appreciated thank you. :)
Hi Fudge
We did a Westbound transatlantic in September and were on deck 8 though well toward the front of the ship (8007). We had no problem with noise from the pool deck above.
It's an easy ship to get around.
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We booked our first Azamara cruise while on our Celebrity cruise last month. Although it's not until 2018 we are already looking forward to 15 days in Norway.
The itinerary is what drew us but we also have heard great things from this forum and from people we've met on our X cruises.
We much preferred Azamara to Celebrity!
I hope you allow yourselves a couple of nights in Edinburgh before you sail
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We also took a cab-- it did not wait but came back. The place is well worth a visit
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We have been in all four seasons. I am not sure there are any waterfalls on the regular cruising routes that are in the " thundering torrents" category. There's probably a fair amount that comes down in Geraingerfjord but it is dispersed a series of separate paths. So pretty rather than awe inspiring. There's certainly a fair amount of spray coming from the river/stream at the head of the Fjord.
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We visited Saguenay on Azamara 3 months ago. It's a great sail in along the Fjord with Beluga whales to be seen. The people are hugely welcoming and very proud of their community but there's not too much to do in the town itself.
There is a seaplane and a helicopter which offer 30 minute flights
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Thomson Celebration
in Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson)
Posted
I was a little doubtful about my first trip on a Thomson but was pleasantly surprised. Their ships are very different from the recent additions to P and O but have more in common with Aurora or Arcadia. In fact prior to coming to Thompson the Celebration was in the Holland America fleet.
I'd say the Celebration will appeal more to those wanting a traditional cruise ship than those wanting a floating theme park. I don't think it has a speciality Restaurant other than a barbecue grill. So far as the main Dining Room is concerned I'd say started and main courses are better on Thomson while desserts are better on P and O. Staterooms are much the same but there are very few balconies on Thomson.
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