Live From IOS Transatlantic April 12-25!!!!

[snowbird1]

Mary ~I like how you are doing your review. Look forward to the ports of call.

 

One group event I really liked is the trivia quiz that you had for the pub crawl about things learned on the boards throughout the year. I always thought that would be a good idea :)

 

Yes the Triva quiz was a lot of fun and we all got a kick out of it. Mary bought so many beads for this cruise I get there are still some that can be found in hidden places. :D

[cotomom]

Planning on taking this TA next April and wondered if anyone hooked another cruise or tour onto the end of this sailing? I had found a 3 day NCL sailing that went to Brugge and Amsterdam and they just cancelled it. Now need to find another short (less than 7 day) cruise, river cruise, or land tour. Any suggestions? :)

[mjldvlks]

Planning on taking this TA next April and wondered if anyone hooked another cruise or tour onto the end of this sailing? I had found a 3 day NCL sailing that went to Brugge and Amsterdam and they just cancelled it. Now need to find another short (less than 7 day) cruise, river cruise, or land tour. Any suggestions? :)

I don't know about formal tours or follow on cruises. Mary and I, along with Vince [snowbird1] and Bill and Lorna [Ladylawyer and Col Bill] spent 2 days in Normandy after the cruise. Vince then left to return to England while the rest of us spent a day in Paris before flying home. I know several others went to London or other places in England. Our time in France was on our own, no organized tour. Glad to share information if you are interested.

 

D

[mjldvlks]

Review of Independence Transatlantic April 12-25 Cruise - Ports of Call:

 

Hi Everyone! Hope the information we are providing is helpful to some of you. I will scan all of the cruise compasses soon and posting those so stay tuned.

 

Azores: Our first stop was in the Azores, a group of Portugese islands about 950 miles from Lisbon. Lorna (ladylawyer) booked a wonderful tour with a local company. I will have her post the contact information if you are interested. The cost was 65 euros each for a tour that lasted much of the day. An enormous lunch was included. We were picked up not far from where we got off the ship. There were 16 of us and they brought 2 smaller vans. The roads are fairly rough with lots of turns so be prepared! We stopped at a tea factory and watched how tea is processed and at the end sampled some. The tea fields were beautiful as was all the countryside. We stopped at along the road and walked into a beautiful area with a waterfall. The plant life was breathtaking - all types of ferns and palms everywhere. (This Kansas girl was wide-eyed the entire time!) We visited the lake created by the volcano many, many years ago - there are no words to describe the beauty. We saw areas where water was bubbling out of the ground - and then arrived at an area where they cook large pots of food literally in the ground - it is that hot. We made our way to the restaurant where the food that had been cooking in the ground for us was delivered. They served us chicken, beef, pork and different types of sausage, as well as carrots, cabbage, etc. Large plates of food - very good rice, and white wines, red wines, soda and beer were all included. They also served us bread that was delicious. For dessert they served pineapple slices. Great time, good company, good food. The village where the restaurant was located was having some type of celebration and the streets were paved down the middle with beautiful floral creations.

 

Hope you enjoy this beautiful picture:

 

 

I loved the beauty of this island and had a wonderful tour. I was so glad Lorna put this together - we had a taste of the local cuisine and were able to see the beauty of the land.

 

Madiera: A couple of days later we stopped in Madiera - another Portugese group of islands about 360 miles off the coast of Africa. Our port was in the capital - Funchal. We did not book a tour but stopped started out by taking the cable car to the top of the mountain. Long, beautiful ride - great incredible view. Dennis and I took a sledge down (a wooden basket you sit in on rails is the best way i can describe it). Two guys stand on the back and guide you down the hill. It is alot of fun and I believe we paid 25 euros for the two of us to ride. They hold out their hats for a tip - so be prepared. We then took a cab back down to the cable car to meet Bill and Lorna. We then went over to the market nearby and looked through the stalls and did a little shopping. I saw my first authentic fish market (or should I say smelled). We stopped at a little cafeteria type of sandwich place and had sandwiches, big bowl of soup, and some wonderful cheesy pastries. The guys were tired of shopping so they headed back and Lorna and I shopped some more and then took a cab up to Reid's Hotel. This historic hotel sets on a cliff overlooking the ocean and Joyce (ladysail2) arranged for several of us to have 3:00 tea. You must do this - it was 28 euro and worth every bit. We sat outside with the beautiful view. We chose our tea and they brought fresh scones, small sandwiches, and then a large assortment of different types of pastries. It was a wonderful time with these ladies, great tea and food, and you could not beat the weather and just the peacefulness of sitting their overlooking the ocean and such beauty. You can book this ahead of time on their website. They do accept credit cards. Take a look at their website pictures at: http://www.reidspalace.com/web/omad/reids_palace.jsp

 

Here is a picture as we approached Madiera with the cloud cover a little heavy at that time of day:

 

 

 

Vigo Spain: We missed one of two hop on hop off buses that pick up people from the ship - one is I believe at 9:00 and the other is at noon. It takes about 2 hours for the tour. Some of us started out by exploring a little bit and the climb to the older part of the city is pretty steep. We saw some of the 17th century forts and walls. Eventually we came back down and took the 12:00 bus. I enjoyed riding atop the bus and seeing the city from that view. Unfortunately we did not check out this city very well prior to going and I wish we had. One thing I have learned is to know your ports and make plans in advance - it saves alot of time standing around trying to figure out what to do! :) Here is a typical street in Vigo..........

 

 

 

Please let us know if you have any questions - more tomorrow about our trip and the beautiful Independence of the Seas!!! Mary

 

Also, here is a pic of me on the rainbow bridge - lights up with different colors at night on the promenade. Love Deck 5! These are our cruise shirts..... as well as one pic from our precruise dinner. more pics later as I go through them.

[mjldvlks]

A few more pictures - pre-cruise dinner, and our first day meeting in the Labryinth disco on the beautiful Independence of the Seas!! Our group was always having a great time. More soon. Mary

[truffles2]

Please be sure and post the name of the local tour company in the Azores. We will be visiting there next spring. I was surprised to see how modern the pier area and surrounds were from someone else's pictures.

[snowbird1]

Please be sure and post the name of the local tour company in the Azores. We will be visiting there next spring. I was surprised to see how modern the pier area and surrounds were from someone else's pictures.

 

The Pier area was fine there and the stop was fantastic but you must get out into the island and see the sights, not just stay near the pier. As Mary indicated, the tour Lorna set up really was great and the food, "we all left stuffed". Plenty of wine to go around and it was very good. They also had some sort of bread during our tour (sure the ladies remember what it was) that was fantastic for those of us who love the bread.

[truffles2]

I wasn't planning to just stay near the pier (hence wanting the name of the company) but someone recently posted a picture of that area which was quite impressive compared to most (to me anyway). Funchal is another great stop but the pier area is the pits. Last time we were there even the few shops they did have were gone:(.

[PattiHere]

Thank you so much Mary for taking the time to write the reviews and post pictures. My husband and I have booked the TA on the Indy for next April.

 

We have never been out of the states, and I have always wanted to visit England since that is where my grandparents were raised.

 

I do have one question. We are thoroughly confused on what to do regarding spending money. Should we use our credit cards or convert our money to euros and pounds before our trip. We have Visa and American Express cards. Do we have to contact our credit card companies in advance before traveling?

 

If we convert our money before our trip, where is the best place to take care of that and how much in euros and pounds should we consider bringing with us. We want to stay in England for four or five days, taking tours that will be paid for in advance of our trip.

 

Thank you for any and all help you can give us.

[mjldvlks]

Please be sure and post the name of the local tour company in the Azores. We will be visiting there next spring. I was surprised to see how modern the pier area and surrounds were from someone else's pictures.

 

We took a local tour that was arranged by Ladylawyer. Here is a comment she made above:

 

Are you going to the Azores? If so, we had a wonderful private guide, for a very good price. It's another of those places that I recommend taking a tour. If you would like a reference, send me an email at aladylawyer @ hotmail . com (all smushed together).

 

I believe the tour was arranged through Avatours by a Canadian lady, Lisa Ringelberg, who lives on the Island. Great tour. Would recommend it.

 

D

[cotomom]

Thanks mjldvlks,

 

Looking for an organized tour type deal as I'm paranoid about booking hotel, etc. all myself (maybe lazy is the better word? lol). But if I can't find a short one (leaving kids at home and can't be gone the month I'd like to be, lol), I'll be coming to you for some info! :)

[mjldvlks]

Thanks mjldvlks,

 

Looking for an organized tour type deal as I'm paranoid about booking hotel, etc. all myself (maybe lazy is the better word? lol). But if I can't find a short one (leaving kids at home and can't be gone the month I'd like to be, lol), I'll be coming to you for some info! :)

You might see if RCI has any cruisetours that fit what you are interested in.

 

D

[SilverFoxLady]

Finally had a few minutes to find this thread.......... wow Mary you are doing such a good job of reviewing..........

 

We loved this cruise and do rank it right up there among the best......... will certainly consider more TA's in the future........

 

We too were on the orgainzed tour by Lorna in the Azores.......... was great.... full day... first ones off the ship and close to the last ones back on...........good value for your money........

 

we did an orgainzed ship tour in Maderia.... took us to the cable car and also the sleds..... felt it was good too... dont like finding my way around to things... especially when time is of the essence.... wandered around in town after the tour... did not partake at the tea.... but would have loved it ... I know... maybe next time.......

 

With so many CC's on this cruise... we were always running into someone.... even though it is a very large ship......and a beauty at that........

 

Conciege at the Pyramid lounge was great with nice horsdovers (sp) and lots to drink... sure helps the seapass... We even did breaky in the Viking a few mornings... was very peaceful up there........

 

overall I would rank this cruise TOPS...... and the price sure was right... LOL

[mjldvlks]

So sorry I have not finished the review - I will try to get it done tomorrow night. Just had lots going on. Thanks for your patience in accepting this review in "pieces." I also will include a review of our trip to Normandy with some helpful (I hope) hints on getting there and what to see. More soon!! Mary

[mjldvlks]

Happy Wednesday everyone! I wanted to post some information on our post-cruise trip to Normandy. We traveled with ladylawyer (Lorna and her DH Colonel Bill) and snowbird1 (Vince).

 

After an early morning breakfast in the dining room, we waited for a short time in the Pyramid Lounge. We had to leave the ship at 9:00 but had not scheduled our driver to pick us up until 10:00 so anyone scheduling a driver or pickup might want to keep that last time in mind. The disembarkation went smoothy and our driver was a few minutes early We paid 40 pounds for the driver to take 5 of us and 11 bags to Portsmouth Ferry which we thought was a good deal. Our taxi was pink!!! Thought you would appreciate this Emmy!

 

A short drive to Portsmouth (less than 30 minutes) we were dropped off at the ferry port. The ferry port has a left luggage in the security area so for 3 pounds for each bag we were able to put our luggage in their secure room (and if they were strapped together they counted as one). We took a taxi over to the Historic Naval Port area and while the guys went there Lorna and me went shopping at a nearby outdoor mall with alot of outlet stores.

 

We returned to the ferry port in plenty of time to board the ferry for Cherbourg. We booked the ferry ahead of time through Brittney Ferries online. We arrived in less than 3 hours. We rented a car through Europcar and after a short taxi ride into downtown Cherbourg (we left everyone with the bags waiting at the ferry port) we had our 7 passenger vehicle. We paid approximately $375 for 2 days - including insurance. For that size vehicle, actually a good deal compared to most and they left the key to the vehicle (which was parked in the train station parking lot) at the train station hotel. Driving was fairly easy - but in hindsight I would study up on the road signs a little more because it is a little overwhelming to have them coming at you all of a sudden and not knowing what they mean - especially in the round-abouts.

 

Picked up everyone and had a beautiful, very easy drive down to Carentan. We stayed at a very nice B&B (http://www.innsite.com/frameset_inns.php3?contentURL=http://www.bnb-normandie.com&refCode=B011366 on the main street in Carentan. Nancy was very nice to us. We paid 55 euros a night with a continental breakfast included (coffee, juice, cake and croissant). She has free internet and even gave us connections to use on our own computers in our rooms. Here is a picture of us enjoying breakfast and ready to start our first day of touring!!

 

We started out early Sunday morning and drove first to Caen. While the guys went to the Caen museum (I'll let Dennis comment on the museum) Lorna and I drove around - found a wonderful bakery where we purchased several great things, then headed downtown where we found an outdoor market. Had an adventure finding a parking place and enjoyed walking through the stalls. Picked the guys up and headed to Pegasus Bridge. After a quick sandwich - we picked up the back roads along the beaches. First stop was a quick stop at the Canadian Beaches and then on to Arromaches to see the Mulberry Harbor (the remnants of the artificial harbor constructed by the allies to allow offload of supplies, personnel and equipment).

 

I highly recommend driving along the coast through the little coastal villages and seeing the beaches rather than staying on the main highway. Absolutely beautiful drive. From Arromaches we went to Bayeux to see the beautiful 11th (approx.) century tapestry that tells the story of the Norman Invasion of England, Battle of Hastings, etc. It is 230 ft. long. It is quite a beautiful work and worth seeing. We ended the day in GrandCamp-Maisy for some pizza on the coast. Of course, Mary was not very bright and ordered shrimp - and there it came, heads and everything else. Absolutely made everyone at the table sick to look at it - big mistake!! :D

 

Back to our B&B in Carentan for a good nights sleep. The second day we spent touring the American Beaches and Cemetary. Day was started at Pointe du Hoc. Besides the American Cemetary, Pointe du Hoc is one of the most moving places you will visit. (4th picture). There are shell craters everywhere and they are enormous. The sheerness of the cliffs that the rangers climbed is not to be believed. Remants of German bunkers are everywhere and Dennis was able to even go inside one. No place moved us quite as much as this place where so many lost their lives and the braveness of those men is so clearly evident of what they endured.

 

From Pointe du Hoc we went to Omaha Beach, Utah Beach. Again, very moving and beautiful site. The American Beaches are very well maintained with extremely nice monuments at each. The American Cemetary was breaktaking and very moving. I didn't realize beforehand that the cemetary overlooks Omaha Beach. Be sure to go in the visitors center and go through the exhibits upstairs and downstairs. Very well done. You can look up your family name or name on computers to see where people are buried at all American Military Cemetaries worldwide. The stories about so many that died in the war, famous and not famous, line the walls and are extremely moving.

 

I wish every American could see these sites - you will not go away unaffected. Just make sure you do not miss Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetary, as well as Omaha Beach.

 

We made a mad dash back to Cherbourg and put Vince on the ferry. We turned in the car back at the train station and unbelieveably when we pulled into the parking space at the car place we had a flat tire! How lucky are we! And luckily I had made a call the day we picked up the car (since I knew they would be closed) and told the girl I needed full insurance. She remembered, I paid for the insurance, and the tire was covered. Thank Goodness!! Do not go without full insurance in France - the roads are extremely narrow and the chances of getting damage on a vehicle are much more than here in the U.S.

 

We took the train to Paris that evening - a nice leisurely ride. More tomorrow about that!! Hope you enjoyed this review!! Mary

[emmy]

Mary ~ what a wonderful read this morning and I got goose bumps when you described the beaches of Normandy

 

Oh yes loved loved the pink taxi... I ordered it especially for you and your group LOL ;)

[snowbird1]

Finally had a few minutes to find this thread.......... wow Mary you are doing such a good job of reviewing..........

 

We loved this cruise and do rank it right up there among the best......... will certainly consider more TA's in the future........

 

We too were on the orgainzed tour by Lorna in the Azores.......... was great.... full day... first ones off the ship and close to the last ones back on...........good value for your money........

 

we did an orgainzed ship tour in Maderia.... took us to the cable car and also the sleds..... felt it was good too... dont like finding my way around to things... especially when time is of the essence.... wandered around in town after the tour... did not partake at the tea.... but would have loved it ... I know... maybe next time.......

 

With so many CC's on this cruise... we were always running into someone.... even though it is a very large ship......and a beauty at that........

 

Conciege at the Pyramid lounge was great with nice horsdovers (sp) and lots to drink... sure helps the seapass... We even did breaky in the Viking a few mornings... was very peaceful up there........

 

overall I would rank this cruise TOPS...... and the price sure was right... LOL

 

 

Hi Ellie, good to see you post and hope you got the group pictures, there will be more from outside shortly. It sure was nice seeing you all in the Pyramid and in the Viking during the mornings. I still feel like I am playing catch up at the Condo. Would you believe I have turned the TV on at home since I got back? :eek: The Bachelorette from Vancouver starts Monday so I will watch that.

 

I have a Carnival cruise this fall and I just booked a Princess 10 day for next Feb out of FLL on the Ruby. After that we have the Oasis to look towards.

[snowbird1]

Happy Wednesday everyone! I wanted to post some information on our post-cruise trip to Normandy. We traveled with ladylawyer (Lorna and her DH Colonel Bill) and snowbird1 (Vince).

 

We made a mad dash back to Cherbourg and put Vince on the ferry. We turned in the car back at the train station and unbelieveably when we pulled into the parking space at the car place we had a flat tire! How lucky are we! And luckily I had made a call the day we picked up the car (since I knew they would be closed) and told the girl I needed full insurance. She remembered, I paid for the insurance, and the tire was covered. Thank Goodness!! Do not go without full insurance in France - the roads are extremely narrow and the chances of getting damage on a vehicle are much more than here in the U.S.

 

We took the train to Paris that evening - a nice leisurely ride. More tomorrow about that!! Hope you enjoyed this review!! Mary

 

Oh Mary you know you just loved that Shrimp. :p LOL my pizza was just fine and reminded me of the pizza in Spain.

 

Ok, this is the first I heard about the flat tire. :eek: Boy I am glad that happened once everyone was where they needed to be. You did miss the rougher Ferry ride back over, it was rougher than when we left England but we didn't hit a Fishing buoy this time.

 

Emmy, don't you just love the Cab, you need one like this for the Oasis cruise to pick you up.

[daynajo]

This is great. I love reading about everywhere you guys went. Should have done it with you.

[emmy]

 

Emmy, don't you just love the Cab, you need one like this for the Oasis cruise to pick you up.

 

 

Okay Vince you are putting ideas into my head...:Dany pink buses in FLL. You know we all went in a white Hummer limo for the Freedom inaugural. We rented it for an hour and drove around and had champagne before arriving at the pier

[ladylawyer]

This is great. I love reading about everywhere you guys went. Should have done it with you.

 

Dayna, we would have loved having you and John along. Well ... you guys, anyway - not your luggage!!! :eek: ;)

 

I have a great photo of Dennis, in the pink taxi, with PILES of luggage everywhere (not to mention that taxi ride in Paris and Dennis "getting lucky" in the backseat) ... :p

[ladylawyer]

Mary ~ what a wonderful read this morning and I got goose bumps when you described the beaches of Normandy

 

Oh yes loved loved the pink taxi... I ordered it especially for you and your group LOL ;)

 

Emmy, when the taxi first pulled into the parking lot, I thought, "OMG, Emmy would LOVE that cab!" Then, I realized that it was for US!!! :D Being a "pink girl" myself, it was a great way to travel! (Maybe not as elegant as a Hummer Limo ... but way more PINK!!!"

[daynajo]

Yea if we added our 3 suitcases and 2 carryon, I do believe there would be more of " getting lucky" in the back seat:)

[snowbird1]

Dayna, we would have loved having you and John along. Well ... you guys, anyway - not your luggage!!! :eek: ;)

 

I have a great photo of Dennis, in the pink taxi, with PILES of luggage everywhere (not to mention that taxi ride in Paris and Dennis "getting lucky" in the backseat) ... :p

 

Oh yes, not want of Dennis's favorite vacation moments, we packed that van.

[snowbird1]

Yea if we added our 3 suitcases and 2 carryon, I do believe there would be more of " getting lucky" in the back seat:)

 

Wish you all could have joined us and I think there was room in the B&B as well especially for as early as Mary booked it for us. We would have needed another car but maybe that one could have been a small car to go along with the Van.