taylortime05

Thank you. Sorry if this is a silly question but how do I identify regional trains at the Hamburg Main Station?

We're flying into Hamburg in a few days. We’ll be there 3 days prior to our cruise departing in Kiel on Saturday, April 27th. We were planning to take an uber/taxi from Hamburg Airport to our hotel which is approx 5 miles away. We also have our return transportation from Kiel port to Hamburg Airport through MSC cruise line. However, we do not have anything reserved to get us from our Hamburg hotel to Kiel port. We’d like to arrive at approx 10:00 AM. I checked prices for Uber and private rides and they are quite pricey. It looks like all the early morning shared ride options are sold out. Would you recommend taking a train? Should I reserve the tickets now? I’d appreciate your recommendations. I’m feeling a little stressed that I do not have our transportation plans complete and we’re leaving on Tuesday. Our other option is to only stay 2 nights in Hamburg and find transportation to Kiel on Friday late afternoon. Then we’d stay 1 night in Kiel. Thank you!

The nutshell route will not work because of the timing. MSC also has the excursion listed below available. Does this one sound better than the Amazing Nature Views On the Famous Railway? However, I probably would not be able to do this excursion and the Flam roundtrip railroad excursion. And if I book the Flam railroad through the cruise line they charge way to much, $179 pp.

I would love to take the Nutshell route but it doesn’t get us back until 5:10 PM and the ship leaves at 6:00 PM. That would be too close for comfort.

We will be in FLAM on May 2nd from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM onboard the MSC Euribia. We are trying to decide if we should book the FLAM TRAIN RIDE (2 Hours - $68 PP) directly or keep this excursion that we have booked with cruise line, AMAZING NATURE VIEWS ON THE FAMOUS FLAM RAILWAY (6 Hours + Lunch - $226 PP). The 2nd excursion includes a ride on the Flam Train plus other transportation and stops. Below is the itinerary. I’d really appreciate your feedback. AMAZING NATURE VIEWS ON THE FAMOUS FLAM RAILWAY ITINERARY: This is the description of this excursion: Once you are ready for the steep roads and mountain tunnels of this region, you can sit back and enjoy the ride through spectacular countryside. Leaving the port of Flåm, we will traverse a long tunnel that takes us to Gudvangen, and the coach will climb through the steep, narrow Nærøy valley. We will stop at the Tvindefossen waterfalls, a twin cascade of two fabulous falls. The excursion continues to the town of Voss, prettily located on the Vangvatnet Lake. We will board a train to continue our outing across a range of stunning natural landscapes, before reaching Myrdal. Here, at 867 metres above sea level, we will change trains and continue down the breathtaking Flåm valley, travelling on the world famous Flåm Line. The train will pass by Kjosfossen waterfall to allow passengers enjoy the lovely view before terminating at Flåm station, on the Sognefjord, from where we can walk back to the ship. Lunch included.

We will be in FLAM on May 2nd from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM onboard the MSC Euribia. We are trying to decide if we should book the FLAM TRAIN RIDE (2 Hours - $68 PP) directly or keep this excursion that we have booked with cruise line, AMAZING NATURE VIEWS ON THE FAMOUS FLAM RAILWAY (6 Hours + Lunch - $226 PP). The 2nd excursion includes a ride on the Flam Train plus other transportation and stops. Below is the itinerary. I’d really appreciate your feedback. AMAZING NATURE VIEWS ON THE FAMOUS FLAM RAILWAY ITINERARY: This is the description of this excursion: Once you are ready for the steep roads and mountain tunnels of this region, you can sit back and enjoy the ride through spectacular countryside. Leaving the port of Flåm, we will traverse a long tunnel that takes us to Gudvangen, and the coach will climb through the steep, narrow Nærøy valley. We will stop at the Tvindefossen waterfalls, a twin cascade of two fabulous falls. The excursion continues to the town of Voss, prettily located on the Vangvatnet Lake. We will board a train to continue our outing across a range of stunning natural landscapes, before reaching Myrdal. Here, at 867 metres above sea level, we will change trains and continue down the breathtaking Flåm valley, travelling on the world famous Flåm Line. The train will pass by Kjosfossen waterfall to allow passengers enjoy the lovely view before terminating at Flåm station, on the Sognefjord, from where we can walk back to the ship. Lunch included.

I’m starting to research the 3 week European Sojourn cruise. Did you take this cruise? Would you recommend it? Thank you.

We're booked in an Aqua Suite on the Ascent Oct 30 sailing from Barcelona to FLL. I know we can’t predict the weather but I wouldn’t want to pay for a suite if I could not enjoy the Retreat outside pool deck.

Have you sailed yet in cabin 1601? We are on the Eclipse in June 2024 in cabin 1606 right across from 1601.

Thank you for the great suggestions. I can’t wait until we can plan a more extensive land trip in Europe so we can see more. This time we only have a few post cruise.

No, we have not been on a Rhine River cruise. It’s definitely on our bucket list. Thank you for the great suggestion. I will definitely check it out.

Hi, We will be disembarking our cruise on Sat, May 4th in Kiel, Germany. We got an excellent deal on Delta One from Frankfurt to JFK on Tues, May 7th. Then we’ll fly JFK to DTW arriving late on Tuesday, May 7th. We take care of our grand babies a couple of times a week and hubby really wanted to fly home the same day we disembarked to have time to recoup from our vacation before having the grand babies over. I’m trying to put together an interesting itinerary for the 2 1/2 days we have before we fly home. I think this will convince hubby to keep our Delta One flights. Do you have any suggestions on interesting sights between Kiel and Frankfurt? We’re both retired and not too interested in night life. We both enjoy historical sites, museums, nice restaurants, hiking, and beautiful sites. We are also ok with taking small group tours in any of the cities we visit. I’d really appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

How's the weather been so far? We’re thinking about doing the Dec 2024 LA to Miami on the Bliss but I really like warm weather.

That sounds like a great deal. How long ago did you book it?

How was your cruise? Did you purchase the vibe or thermal suite package? I have this cruise booked in reverse from Miami to Seattle in April 2026. I was able to get an angled balcony cabin 12180. I have plenty of time to watch for price drops. I'd appreciate any tips you could share. Thank you.

@Two Wheels Only do you know if cabin 13178 on the Encore has a much bigger balcony since it’s angled? Do you get a bigger balcony if you get an angled balcony on a lower deck? Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for so much help. Which hotel would you consider the best location next to the waterfront? I’d prefer if it was Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott so I can use points.

It doesn’t have to be the absolutely closest. I have points with Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton and Choice. I’m trying to find a mid-range hotel where we would be comfortable for one night and convenient to the port. I was looking at Hilton locations near Exchange Place and Canopy by Hilton Jersey City Arts District has great reviews. I’m not sure it’s worth 70K points. What do you think of this hotel? Thank you for your feedback.

What is the closest mid-level hotel to Cape Liberty for a 1 night stay?

We leave next Tuesday and I’ve had my grand babies all day yesterday and today. I’ll finish packing tomorrow. I have one more question about restaurants. I was able to get an 8:00 PM reservation on Tues, Oct 10th at the Oro Bistrot Rooftop for Cocktails and Aperitif prior to our evening tour of the bottom floor of the Colosseum. It looks like a great place for photo’s of the Colosseum. But the prices look super expensive, 25 Euro for a cocktail. Do you think it’s worth the cost?

@Pantheral, do you remember the company you used for your private limo tour in Naples? I’m booked with a ship excursion and I’ve read some negative reviews that they spend too much time visiting touristy shops. I’d like to cancel the ship excursion and get 6 other people from our sailing to join us on a private excursion like you’ve described. I found this tour through Trip Advisor and it mentions "The only Tour Among all of the Operators of Naples that Allows your Group to Visit Positano's Downtown”. The tour provider is Thebayofnaples. https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187785-d25077156-Private_Tour_to_Pompei_Sorrento_and_Positano_with_English_speaking_Driver_Guide-Na.html

Could you please share what company you used for the private limo? What was the approximate cost?

I'm booked on this tour for next month with small group vs. Celebrity Priority Access. Did you enjoy the itinerary? I read a review on cruise critic that they didn’t recommend the tour because they only had 2 hours at Sorrento and 2 hours at Pompeii and they spent too much time visiting touristy shops.

Congratulations on your retirement! I’ve been retired 2 years this past July. When I retired I thought I’d like to work part time from home. But so far I’ve been too busy with the grand babies. I need to call AT&T to see how much data is included with their daily plan and how much if we go over. I think my biggest usage of the data would be for using Mapquest.

Do you take your laptop when you travel to Europe? I usually take my laptop on my cruises. However, I think I’ll leave it home for this trip. I can use my phone to access the internet even though it’s not as convenient. We have AT&T and the international pkg is $10 per day and there is a max for the month but we will cross over Sept & Oct. I’m pretty sure it’s unlimited data, talk and text. I need to call and confirm.