Cruze4Ever

March 11, 2017

We were on the port side of the boat which faced south. As we cruised in October, the sun tended to be toward the south which may have helped the view of sunsets. Our balcony, facing south, was warmed by the sun on clear days and quite nice. If you do a mid-summer (June-Juy) cruise, the sun will be more overhead. The American Queen is not that large so, its easy to head to the other side if you don't mind leaving your cabin.

Thanks so much!!!

March 11, 2017

BTW...here are the photos from our river cruise last October 8-16. We were in Category "C" Cabin 210.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/frensicpic/collections/72157675314886241/

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them. From Cabin 210 did you see the sunsets? I am looking to book very soon and I was told the even numbered side of the ship is best for sunsets from Clarston to Vancouver. Do you agree?

Thank you!

Carol

March 10, 2017

I am going to book a cruise on the Empress very soon and I am interested in the Deluxe Veranda Stateroom. Any recommendations on a stateroom to book or not to book? Is there a difference which side of the ship as far as scenery, when going west on the Snake & Columbia rivers? I am looking for a quite room, where you can't hear people walking by the room.

Thanks so much!

Carol

March 9, 2017

I am going to book a cruise on the Empress and want a cabin in a quiet area. Any suggestions or rooms to avoid?

Thanks!

March 8, 2017

I am looking into booking a cruise in Sept. 2018 and would like to know if anyone booked this cruise privately either through a travel agent or website and received a better price than the cruiseline is offering.

Thanks so much!

Carol

February 20, 2017

Logically, traveling downriver is faster...

I'd do May - long nights for seeing the passing scenery, less chance of big storms jeopardising Astoria in Spring than Fall - although September.is a bit less rainy than May on average through most of the Columbia valley. If you have a look around this site, it summarizes PNW statistical weather at many individual sites including your entire cruise route; given the vagaries of the region though, you should bring a waterproof top layer and enough other layers to handle anything from 40F and wet to 80+F and dry - one end of the cruise is basically in a desert!

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

February 18, 2017

Not real cold....60s daytime on rainy days. Layers! Rain jacket with a fleece jacket underneath. No heavy coats needed.

I am planning to go on the Snake & Columbia River Cruise. Do you know if it is better to go from Vancouver to Clarkston to vice versa? I have heard that the ship will travel a little faster in one direction allowing more time at the ports. Please tell me the nicest time of the year to go (we can't go June, July or Aug.) and least rainy month.

Thanks so much!

Carol

February 18, 2017

Cool & rainy.

I would love to go on the Snake & Columbia River Cruise. Do you know if it is better to go from Vancouver to Clarkston to vice versa? I have heard that the ship will travel a little faster in one direction allowing more time at the ports. Please tell me the nicest time of the year to go (we can't go June, July or Aug.) and least rainy month.

Thanks so much!

Carol

February 8, 2017

Just returned from a HAL cruise to Norway that stopped at the above mentioned places. The price of HAL excursions was more that ridiculous so we did everything ourselves and ended up with an excursion bill of nothing...

Eidfjord

This is a pretty small village at the end of a fjord that is quite unspoilt and all the better for it. The tourist office is immediately outside of the pier and we got hold of a free walking map of the area. There were two walks - red and yellow, and we did the yellow walk that followed a river (lots of white water) up to a lake and then over a small hill to return via a lane through fields and small farming hamlets. Along the way you pass by Viking graves and a nice viewpoint that overlooks the fjord. The walk took about 90 minutes and was an excellent introduction to the Norwegian countryside. Returning to Eidfjord we had a look round the village centre (two supermarkets and a couple of souvenir shops) and then back on board.

There is also a tourist train that runs from the tourist office along with minibus tours to the big waterfall - all for much less than HAL tours.

Alesund

The ship docked immediately outside of the old town. It looked very nice from the 11th deck - a bit like Talinn in Estonia with turrets and the like. We left the ship and were given a map of the town at the terminal, but to be honest it was no better than what we were given on board. We walked around the old town which was nice - not only similar to Talinn but also it had a touch of Cornish fishing village to it. Very nice harbourside views and quaint little side streets. To be honest though it did look more impressive from the 11th deck. After that we went to climb up the hill (418 steps) to a viewpoint, but Mrs dav964 doesn't get on too well with heights so we didn't make the top. Still got a good view from where we managed to get to though. Looked round a few shops and then back on board.

Geiranger

I had read from previous reviews that there wasn't much to do here but that wasn't what we found. This was a very nice stop indeed, but we were lucky with the weather - it might have been different in the rain. There were 5 cruise ships here and the village only has about 300 folks so it was a bit overrun. Immediately after the tender pier there a several tourist shops and a supermarket and we walked up the hill to a waterfall (10 minutes) and then onto the church (another 5 minutes). Came back down again and walked through a camp site and around the fjord for a couple of miles. Very nice indeed. Walked back to the tender pier stopping at several of the shops on the way back.

To show how expensive HAL tours are, there is a "Sky to fjord" tour where you're taken by bus some distance from the pier and then issued with a bike and helmet and you find your own way back to the ship (17km downhill easy ride). HAL price is 150 USD. Local price is 259 NOK. That's £100 versus £27 so you can see the mark up...

There is also a hop on hop off bus that runs from the pier to a couple of view points.

Bergen

An excellent stop. We moored right next to Bryggen - the interesting area. Walked passed the Rosenkrantz tower (nothing interesting here) and then onto the Hanseatic warehouses. This area is about 300m by 100m and is comprised of old wooden warehouses - all tumbling around each other and now converted to shops. Well worth a look. Just opposite is the harbour and fish market where the fishermen cook the catch and sell it to locals/tourists. Lots of interest and we did try some crab (£17!).

We walked up to the funicular railway but the queue was long so Mrs dav964 suggested we walk up. Surprised me, but we managed it after about 75 minutes walking up a sloping path. There were plenty of others doing this including a couple of mums pushing baby buggies so it's a good walk but doable if you're reasonably mobile (we're both 57). At the top I had a reward of 0.4 litres of beer which worked out at just over £9 for less than a pint. Good grief. After that we walked down to the harbour (50 minutes) and then back on board. I would suggest that the walk down would be in most people's reach.

So that's what we did. Four stops, four good experiences and lots of money saved that can usefully be put towards our next cruise. Hope this info helps...

Such a wonderful post! Thanks so much for the excellent advice!

January 26, 2017

Thanks. You're right. This looks like it might be a good port to use some on board credit for a shore excursion.

We booked excursions with the onboard credit. It worked out great and really liked all of the excursions and tour guides a lot. The ones that we chose were in vans or open sided buses none were the big tourist buses.

January 26, 2017

Cruze4Ever, thanks for your posts. I am glad a ship has been able to tender to Cap Cana. What alternative activities were there for passengers who did not take ship excursions? Is Juanillo beach easily reachable from the marina? Any info you can supply would be appreciated.

When we booked the cruise we were given shipboard credit. We used the money to book a few excursions, so we didn't inquire about alternate activities. The couple sitting next to us at the beach said that they were not on an excursion, but didn't say how they got to the beach.

January 26, 2017

Was this a ship excursion or was this a private tour? We leave in a month and Punta Cana is one of our ports. I've had a difficult time finding anything other than a ship excursion. I was under the impression the ship tenders to Cap Cana Marina.

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Yes, it was a ship excursion.

January 25, 2017

I am not sure what that means? Ick?

I presume you mean you took an excursion as opposed t tendered at Scape Park?

Where did you tender? Is there anything to do if you choose not to take an excursion? Anything to do ashore near where you tendered? (without taking an excursion)

Yes I did take an excursion. It didn't appear that there was much to do without an excursion. There were some stores and more being built.

January 25, 2017

I was just doing some cruise browsing and I noticed that the August 27, 2017 sailing of the Celebrity Equinox has port calls in San Juan, St.Maarten, St.Thomas, Punta Cana and Nassau. The Punta Cana call is on a Friday from 8AM-5PM. I never knew Punta Cana had a place to dock ships, and even took cruise ships. Does anyone know anything about this?

Last week on an Oceania cruise, we were the first cruiseship ever to go to Punta Cana! We took a tender to Scape Park and the people there were so welcoming to us. Our excursion in Scape Park, an eco-theme park with phenomenal natural attractions that include cliffs, caverns, lagoons and the blue lagoon, where many people swam. Afterwards we went the beautiful secluded Juanillo Beach. Very enjoyable port!

January 25, 2017

Has anyone visited Punta Cana via Oceania? I don't really want to do an Oceania excursion but I can't find a better option.

Last week on an Oceania cruise, we were the first cruiseship ever to go to Punta Cana! We took a tender to Scape Park and the people there were so welcoming to us. Our excursion in Scape Park, an eco-theme park with phenomenal natural attractions that include cliffs, caverns, lagoons and the blue lagoon, where many people swam. Afterwards we went the beautiful secluded Juanillo Beach. Very enjoyable port!

January 25, 2017

Where does the ship dock or tender when in Punta Cana.
We have never been there and is seems Punta Cana is an area as opposed to a city?

Last week on an Oceania cruise, we were the first cruiseship ever to go to Punta Cana! We took a tender to Scape Park and the people there were so welcoming to us. Our excursion in Scape Park, an eco-theme park with phenomenal natural attractions that include cliffs, caverns, lagoons and the blue lagoon, where many people swam. Afterwards we went the beautiful secluded Juanillo Beach. Very enjoyable port!

January 25, 2017

Just did some research and there is a Port Cap Cana in the Punta Cana area. Don't know if ships can dock there or if tenders would be required.

Last week on an Oceania cruise, we were the first cruiseship ever to go to Punta Cana! We took a tender to Scape Park and the people there were so welcoming to us. Our excursion in Scape Park, an eco-theme park with phenomenal natural attractions that include cliffs, caverns, lagoons and the blue lagoon, where many people swam. Afterwards we went the beautiful secluded Juanillo Beach. Very enjoyable port!

February 10, 2016

Originally Posted by jiimmy2k
Hey Carol you should start a Thread for your guide. Looks like a marketing strategy to be posting under Courtney Taylor's Thread... not cool!!!!

You are right! I was on various threads and at the time of posting didn't realize it was Courtney Taylor's thread. Sorry.

Jiimmy2k and Carol, this was my fault as I had said in my original post that I was still in the planning stage and had not contacted CT yet and asked if anyone had any must do's (basically asking for experiences) to please share. I am sorry that because Carol was kind enough to share her experience with me that she got pretty much called out for doing so. Assuming she was 'marketing' against CT was not the way I took it at all. Maybe you could give folks the benefit of the doubt. If you felt so strongly that you needed to reprimand, maybe doing so in a less aggressive way will make your suggestion more palatable. Now, to close this little convo, I would like to end with Happy Sails and lets keep looking for great ways to spend our port days. Have a happy day! Janie

Not to worry, no offense taken :)

February 10, 2016

Hey Carol you should start a Thread for your guide. Looks like a marketing strategy to be posting under Courtney Taylor's Thread... not cool!!!!

You are right! I was on various threads and at the time of posting didn't realize it was Courtney Taylor's thread. Sorry.

February 9, 2016

I booked Richard Brooks for a shore excursion for 5-6 hours. He will take you anywhere that you want to go! Adventure, nature, history, arts & craft, dining and entertainment! He has a car that seats 7 and a bus that seats 14. The more people you have the less you pay. I found people on Cruise Critic Roll Call for my Princess Cruise and posted a message telling everyone about the tour. Within a couple of days I had 14 people signed up!

Richie was amazing! He is a laugh a minute type of guy and very entertaining! He took care of us the whole way, had beverages in his van and showed us the best of the island. His love of his country truly shows!

He will respond quickly. http://www.excursionochorios.net

richiebrooks2@yahoo.com