14 night Western Europe on the Jewel

[lovin cruisn]

This will be our 10th cruise but first to Europe. We leave 9/10/07. Ports include Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Dublin, and Cork. What will the weather be like? I've also been reading on CC and it sounds like a debit card or credit card are the way to go, but does one need any local currancy?

It also sounds like most recommend public transportation into town and just walking? Any information will be most helpful.

[Ine]

Weather for most ports will be rather unstable, difficult to tell. It might be sunny, but rain is very likely, also maybe chilly..So be prepared to dress in layers, bring a windbreaker.

Check www.wunderground.com for more details.

With your debet or creditcard you can use ATM for local currency, Euros will be used in most countries. (except in Norway and Danmark.)

[sweet sea]

lovin cruisn.....Come and join our Roll Call for The Jewel 9/1/07 sailing

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=390379&page=37

[lovin cruisn]

Thanks for the information--chilly may feel good after our HOT Minnesota summer!

[lovin cruisn]

sweet sea,

Hate to sound dumb but what is Roll Call?

[olga77]

This will be our 10th cruise but first to Europe. We leave 9/10/07. Ports include Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Dublin, and Cork. What will the weather be like? I've also been reading on CC and it sounds like a debit card or credit card are the way to go, but does one need any local currancy?

It also sounds like most recommend public transportation into town and just walking? Any information will be most helpful.

 

 

I love your itinerary. Is that Royal Caribbean Jewel OTS?

Tx.

[Globaliser]

Hate to sound dumb but what is Roll Call?

A roll call thread is a thread primarily intended for discussion (and, often, social chat) amongst members who are all going on the same cruise. On an active roll call thread, much information is often swapped between members about the cruise, people's plans etc. And it's the only place on which you can offer or organise to share private shore excursions and transfers.

 

The way that the CC boards are set up at the moment, you must be logged in to CC in order to read a roll call forum. Otherwise you'll get an error message.

 

If you click on the link that sweet sea posted, you should get to a point close to the latest posts to the thread for your cruise.

[sweet sea]

lovin crusin...just click on this and it will bring you to the roll call for The Jewel 9/10/07 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=390379&page=37

 

 

olga77 ..Yes it is RCCL Jewel of the Sea

 

Thanks Globaliser

[olga77]

lovin crusin...just click on this and it will bring you to the roll call for The Jewel 9/10/07 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=390379&page=37

 

 

olga77 ..Yes it is RCCL Jewel of the Sea

 

Thanks Globaliser

 

Thanks. Looks wonderful but pretty expensive....:( I am really looking for the Nothern Capitals cruise (no Estonia and Russia) but it's hard to find any cruises. Almost all of them stop in Tallin and St. Petersburg....

[SexySixties]

Hi. We are booked on the Jewel for this September and booked our balcony room this past April. We have found that the prices have steadily gone up, from $1649 each to today's price which is $4129 each....so I guess it pays to plan early for cruises such as this one, as we couldn't begin to afford to go if we were booking now.

[gaileeh]

This will be our 10th cruise but first to Europe. We leave 9/10/07. Ports include Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Dublin, and Cork. What will the weather be like? I've also been reading on CC and it sounds like a debit card or credit card are the way to go, but does one need any local currancy?

It also sounds like most recommend public transportation into town and just walking? Any information will be most helpful.

 

lovin cruisn, Here is another link to a weather web site. http://www.accuweather.com/world-index.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0 It will give you a forecast for 15 days out. As the cruise gets closer you can check the forecasts for the different cities. If you plan on using ATM's be sure that you have a 4 digit pin number, and notify your banks including your credit card issuers.

 

Please join our roll call for this sailing as sweat sea suggests, we would love to hear from you...and sign up for the Meet & Mingle. We have 75 people signed up so far. again, here is the link for our roll call thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=390379&page=39

 

Gail

[lovin cruisn]

Thanks for the link to the weather website. Looks quite informative.

[pcur]

This will be our 10th cruise but first to Europe. We leave 9/10/07. Ports include Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Dublin, and Cork. What will the weather be like? I've also been reading on CC and it sounds like a debit card or credit card are the way to go, but does one need any local currancy?

It also sounds like most recommend public transportation into town and just walking? Any information will be most helpful.

 

Just take layers to wear during the day so you can peel off it it's warm, and don't forget a travel umbrella.

 

In Amsterdam we pre-purchased tickets for the hop on/off canal boat. A great way to get an overview, and you can get off at the museums, etc. It leaves from both sides of the canal overpass in front of the central train station, which is a short walk from where the ship docks. Walk toward the big curved building.

 

In Zeebrugge, buy the ship's shuttle pass which takes you to the Blakenburge train station. It's a quick 20 minute trip to Brugges: an absolutely beautiful town. My avatar picture is a shot from a footbridge over the canal in Brugges.

 

If you want to see Paris, then I recommend taking the ship's "on your own" transportation shore excursion. Peace of mind if there's traffic problems getting back, because it's a 1.5 drive to Paris from Le Havre. Then we had prepurchased the Paris L'open Tour hop on/off bus tickets. The bus picks up in front of the Eiffel Tower, which is where the ship's bus lets you off, but BEHIND the Tower. Walk through the plaza under the Tower to the street in front, and the bus picks up to your left almost to the corner. Great tour.

 

Wonderful cruise! Enjoy!

[pcur]

Oops....forgot about the money.

 

Yes, you should always have some Euros on you when you're off the ship. If you don't get any at your first port from an ATM, then you can always exchange them on the ship at the currency desk.

 

The ship charges about a 3% fee, which isn't too bad, BUT they only do even exchanges. That means no coins, so you lose a little if you don't have the right amount in US to start with. For instance, we had to exchange $101 dollars to get an even Euro amount. Just make sure you have some $1's with you to make it even.

[lovin cruisn]

Thanks, Peggy, for the information. We really do prefer to go out on our own and skip the ship organized tours--we like to be on our own timeline! We did book Paris, however. And we do want to do the train and boats somewhere.

I do have a question about the outlets. Every ship we have been on we can use our regular plugs but on some threads I have read something about needing converters. Any help on this subject?

[pcur]

My hair dryer and DH's CPAP machine both worked fine with the existing plugs on the Millie. DH took his usual extension cord for the CPAP.

[lovin cruisn]

Thanks!

[tennessee sailor]

We have been to Europe frequently. ATM's are definitely the way to go. But, be sure to call your bank before you go and inquire what their foreign ATM charges are. My bank charged $2 per withdrawal. My husband's bank added lots of foreign conversion fees which made it much more expensive. Also, it is good to call your credit card companies and let them know you will be traveling abroad. If they suddenly see international charges, they can put a fraud alert on your account and deny any further charges. In Europe, they like Visa and don't like Amex or Discover.

 

You didn't ask about this--but if you plan to call home---we discovered the hard way that you can get really ripped off using credit cards to make international calls. The best thing we found was the International calling card that you get at Costco. Call the customer service number on the back of the card before leaving home and ask for the "country codes" for all the countries you will be visiting. These codes are needed for international calls in Europe. Also, they will give you general instructions to help you use the card efficiently. Using this card, you can make calls for a small fraction of what your credit cards will get billed. Usually, it is only a few cents a minute for most countries we have visited.

 

We'll be cruising on the Jewel on Sept 10, too. We are really looking forward to a great trip. Maybe we'll see you on board!! Cora Hoek