hayley_bopp

My first cruise was on Navigator in 2016. Looking forward to following along and seeing how she's changed since then. 

Have a great time

Barcelona- get a rickshaw tour to see all the sites on a personalised tour and get dropped off wherever you want to spend more time exploring (gothic quarter would be my suggestion ).

Parc Guell (designed by Gaudi) is also well worth a look but you need tickets in advance as they only let a limited number of people in each day. There is a great view to be had over the whole city if you climb the steps at the back of the park.

Getting the tram/funicular up to the amusement park on Mt. Tibidabo also gives great views. 

Sports fans would enjoy a tour of the Camp Nou Football (soccer) Stadium. 

Enjoy - I love Barcelona. It's my favourite European city. So much to see and do. 

8 hours ago, TheHobbys said:

I'm only about 15 minutes from downtown.   Nashville is a very popular place to visit but we only go down every now and then to eat. To many tourists. Lol

I went to Nashville in October whilst doing a road trip through Tennessee and Kentucky. Loved all the live music in the bars. 

50 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

Pinging @hayley_bopp to see if she knows.

The policy in the UK & Med is the same - toy carb bring 2 bottles of wine per cabin onboard at embarkation. Any purchased at ports of call will be taken at the gangway and returned to you in the last night. 

@markm are you cruising from Southampton? If so, I'd recommend stopping at a supermarket/convenience store on the way to the port - Tesco, Asda and The Cooperative all have branches in the vicinity of the port. If you're getting an RC coach transfer and going straight from the airport to the ship, you're allowed to bring 1 bottle per person into the UK if coming in from outside EU. 

So excited for you to be on your cruise

Following and wishing you a fantastic cruise

6 hours ago, Pima1988 said:

My family always jokes that I need the house to be clean for the burglars.

+1

22 hours ago, Callummck said:

reflecting the confused identity of a Brit, in “Europe” on an American ship...and that’s before the conversation of Brexit comes up!) 

16 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Hubby just tossed out the idea of a Baltic cruise yesterday.  I may have been looking at itineraries already 

I like your style. My husband 'jokes' that he daren't mention that he'd like to visit somewhere because before you know it, I'll have it booked

Thanks for sharing @Callummck a Baltic cruise is one of my #cruisegoals so I'll be following with interest

On 6/2/2019 at 2:28 PM, TheHobbys said:

 planning to go see the 911 memorial,

You definitely should. I went last week. It was incredibly moving and tastefully and impressively done. Book tickets on line in advance so you can skip the queue. 

Thanks so much for sharing your cruise. Can't believe I've been able to experience 2 live blogs from Allure since booking my cruise in her last month. 203 days and counting...

On 5/29/2019 at 8:19 PM, CrusingWithMatt said:

and finished at the Blarney castle

Did you kiss the Blarney Stone?

On 5/28/2019 at 4:37 PM, JLMoran said:

 Wait, you have Tim Horton's in Canada, no?

On 5/28/2019 at 6:18 PM, Joe01 said:

On 5/28/2019 at 5:57 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

opportunity.

We have Tim Horton's in the UK now. It's nice but nothing special

Was also going to chip in with the UK offering now. I've yet to try it but I know they don't do bear claws - my Canadian friend was most upset when she went. 

1 hour ago, Joe01 said:

Currently at Heathrow Airport. Had a nice weekend away in London. Amazing city - I highly recommend it.

That said, I'm exhausted. Is it just me or do land vacations remind you of why you love to cruise so much? All of the walking around is physically taxing - did 106K steps over 3 days.

I know what you mean - feel exactly the same having just come back from 6 days in NYC where we walked 50 miles.

Really looking forward to your live blog btw @Joe01

Just had chance to catch up with your blog. Thanks as always for sharing your experience and incredible photos @twangster. Alaska is definitely on my bucket list.

I eagerly await your next live blog...

London - everything will be open although the larger shops (supermarkets, department stores, clothes shops etc) are only allowed to open for 6hrs. They will generally open at 10am-4pm, 10:30am-4:30pm or 11am-5pm. Some open 30 minutes 'early' for 'browsing time' before the checkouts open. Shop staff will be able to advise and you can of course pick anything up that you want to buy but you just can't pay for it until the checkouts open. 

If you want to visit St Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey  you will have to wait until the Sunday services have finished (unless you want to attend the service of course). Their websites will have details of times. 

Apparently I forgot to pack the cufflinks for my husband's shirt. Luckily it was a brand new shirt so he had to make do with the plastic ones it came with

Here's the video of the Empire State Building in a thunder storm. There's a good fork of lightning at the end. 

7 hours ago, Skid said:

@hayley_bopp are you still in NY? How do you like it?  Did you get to a Broadway show? Safe travels.

Got home yesterday. Had a great time. Thanks for the recommendations. Didn't get to a show (maybe next time - although I was  lucky enough to see Cats on Broadway the first time I visited)

1 hour ago, Andrew72681 said:

Hopefully you got in before the storms hit. Don’t think I’ve ever been in New York before and had tornado watches. 

10 minutes ago, Skid said:

That certainly doesn't happen very often. @hayley_bopp, are you and your family OK?

We got wet walking back to the hotel but bring Brits and spending a lot of time in Wales we're used to that

The weather actually worked in our favour as the rooftop bar (with retractable roof) at our hotel was much quieter than it has been so we got front row seats for a view of the Empire State building with lightning going off all around it. I'll upload the video my husband took when it's eventually downloaded to my phone. 

Thanks for the recommendation of St John's Pizza @Skid - we've just had a nice meal there. Top tip for anyone else going: the small pizza is plenty for 2 to share. We had 2 smalls between 3 people and couldn't eat it all. 

I also had a glass of the Kendall Jackson Chardonnay so it felt a bit like being on a RC cruise

Thanks for all of the tips @Skid. We're planning on visiting the cathedral on Thursday and will possibly try the pizza and/or pasta places you mentioned as we're staying on 38th St/6th Ave so not too far away

7 hours ago, Skid said:

@hayley_bopp Hope you have a great time here! What are your plans...are you seeing any Broadway shows? Are you cruising from NY or NJ? Inquiring minds want to know!

Unfortunately not cruising anywhere this time - you'd all have heard about it if I was

My husband's always wanted to visit NYC so I've brought him here as a surprise for his 40th birthday. 

We got here on Saturday afternoon. So far, we've been to Times Square, Rockefeller Centre, USS Intrepid and we did an all access tour at Madison Square Garden (he's a BIG boxing fan - it's a shame we'll have gone home by the time Anthony Joshua fights there on Saturday). We've also visited several bars that serve craft beer. 

Today we're off to 9/11 memorial and museum before heading over to Lady Liberty. 

We've also got tickets for Empire State Building and a bike tour around Central Park. We haven't got tickets for a show as yet but might see if we can get some last minute. 

Any hints and tips for sightseeing gratefully received

Not RC I know, but, to me, spotting any cruise ship is exciting: I'm in NYC this week and whilst visiting USS Intrepid and taking in the excitement and festivities of Fleet Week, I spotted NCL's Norwegian Escape, with her impressive looking ropes course, in port. 

On 5/23/2019 at 5:22 PM, Baked Alaska said:

I would much rather eat sushi than pancakes, etc for breakfast any day of the week. 

My husband thinks I'm weird 'cause I'll eat anything at anytime of the day. 

Those sunrise photos are breathtaking

13 hours ago, twangster said:

No line for the North Star so why not?

Would be rude not to!