Oli Posted April 8, 2023 Report Share Posted April 8, 2023 First cruise visiting Norway and its a way off yet but anyone else on this itinerary and dates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CathyEM Posted April 16, 2023 Report Share Posted April 16, 2023 Hi, Oli! Yes, I'll be on this sailing. First time in Norway, as well. I'm cruising solo, and spending a few days pre-cruise in London. I've booked my excursions already - how about you? And BTW, Oli was my mom's name!! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted April 18, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 On 4/16/2023 at 3:57 PM, CathyEM said: Hi, Oli! Yes, I'll be on this sailing. First time in Norway, as well. I'm cruising solo, and spending a few days pre-cruise in London. I've booked my excursions already - how about you? And BTW, Oli was my mom's name!! Hi Cathy, Nothing booked up as yet and if I'm honest, I've not even began to plan shore time yet. Planning will begin in a few weeks when I return from my Harmony of the seas trip the first week of May. What have you opted for out of interest? Where in the world are you travelling in from? I'm assuming not the UK based on the spelling of Mom, forgive me if I'm wrong. If you need any advice on your time in London please ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CathyEM Posted April 19, 2023 Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 16 hours ago, Oli said: Hi Cathy, Nothing booked up as yet and if I'm honest, I've not even began to plan shore time yet. Planning will begin in a few weeks when I return from my Harmony of the seas trip the first week of May. What have you opted for out of interest? Where in the world are you travelling in from? I'm assuming not the UK based on the spelling of Mom, forgive me if I'm wrong. If you need any advice on your time in London please ask Thank you, you're very kind. I'm from the U.S. - Orlando, Florida to be specific. Except for a beach stay, this is my next trip, so I've been obsessed! I booked the following through Royal (I love beautiful scenery, especially mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, etc.): Stavanger: Lysefjord cruise through the fjord Olden: No tour booked... I plan to take a bus to the Briksdal Glacier and hike the trail on my own. If there is enough time later, I may check out the Loen Skylift Geiranger: Mount Dalsnibba Summit bus tour through the mountains with great views Haugesund: RIB Island Safari - a fun cruise around the islands I've got some things booked for London already - I arrive on Tuesday and should get into town mid/late morning. I'm staying near the London Tower Bridge. After I drop my bags at the hotel, I just plan to walk the area - maybe head west along the Thames, or cross the bridge. Nothing too ambitious. I'm having an early dinner with a friend who lives nearby that night. The next day, I've got a full-day tour lined up to visit Bath, Lacock, and a "private viewing" at the inner circle of Stonehenge. On Thursday, I've purchased a ticket for Windsor Castle. With train transport, the grounds, town, and probably a boat ride, I expect this will take the better part of my day. Friday is open so I plan to visit Buckingham Palace and some other London sites. That day, I have a ticket to see "Back to the Future" in the Strand. Saturday is open as well for me to see more local sites, and then I have a bus transfer to Southampton on Sunday. During my free time on Friday and Saturday, I'd like to see the Tower of London, Westminster, one or two museums, St. Paul's Cathedral, one of the local food markets, etc. I may see if I can do one of those "ghost tours" on Friday night, if one is available to book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted April 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 Wow Cathy, that is some serious itinerary for your few days in London but sounds good. Being a native I would say you have most of the better thing I would recommend on your list already. Windsor Castle is an absolute favourite of mine, be sure to accept the audio guide and don't rush around the place and I'm sure you will find the place fascinating. I will have to get looking at shore excursions myself soon, will sure have a look at some of the things you have planned as a starting point. Oh and Camden market is worth a look, offers a decent amount of street food along with other unique stalls/sellers. Can get pretty lively also at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CathyEM Posted May 29, 2023 Report Share Posted May 29, 2023 On 4/19/2023 at 5:23 PM, Oli said: Wow Cathy, that is some serious itinerary for your few days in London but sounds good. Being a native I would say you have most of the better thing I would recommend on your list already. Windsor Castle is an absolute favourite of mine, be sure to accept the audio guide and don't rush around the place and I'm sure you will find the place fascinating. I will have to get looking at shore excursions myself soon, will sure have a look at some of the things you have planned as a starting point. Oh and Camden market is worth a look, offers a decent amount of street food along with other unique stalls/sellers. Can get pretty lively also at times. Thanks for the feedback on my itinerary. It's a bit ambitious but I'm still ironing out things. Mu boss is recommending tea at Fortnum & Mason, and I would also like to visit the Sky Garden. I've booked another cruise out of Southampton for May 2025, so at least I can pace myself and not try to do everything at once. Regarding Norway, I think I've changed my mind about Olden, and will do the combo transport/Loen Skylift pass instead of Briksdal Glacier. The hike looks like it will be nice, but the glacier looks a bit underwhelming (I've been to Alaska). The views from the Skylift look incredible, and there are some trails at the top that I can check out. I'm not a big hiker, but I'll go for an easy trail with good views! I started thinking about gratuities for my tours, but Matt suggested that tipping is not customary for tour guides in Norway. I was just trying to figure out whether I should withdraw some Norwegian krone. What would you recommend as far as carrying cash in the U.K.? I will have a couple of credit cards with me, but like to keep a bit of local currency on hand, just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedricmr Posted May 29, 2023 Report Share Posted May 29, 2023 In all ports of call in Norway, you can pay with credit cards. If you want to tip, guides will accept dollars, don’t worry CathyEM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smakl70 Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 My husband and I will also be on this cruise. We're doing the opposite of Cathy and spending a few days in London after the cruise. We've booked an excursion in Olden and have ideas for the other ports (but not booked yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedricmr Posted July 7, 2023 Report Share Posted July 7, 2023 Last May we made three excursions (Geirenger, Alesund and Molde) with https://www.norwayexcursions.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 Hello, We're on this sailing and I'm just starting to plan. I've had a busy last couple of months and well, I'm getting to it now. LOL Check-in is tomorrow, and I assume we'll have a check-in time like for US departures? We'll be taking the train from Waterloo Station to the cruise port, I have to look up train schedules. Matt mentioned in his podcast that he downloaded an app and bought the tickets ahead of time. He wasn't specific with details so going to at least find & download that tonight so I can check the train schedules to know what a proper check-in time would be. Does anyone know if we tip porters there? Tipping in Europe in restaurants is very different than in the US. But not sure about outside of restaurants? I only listened to the beginning of the podcast, figured I'd listen as I make my way through the planning. Matt was pretty specific that he did not need to exchange money for anything, but I still feel like I'd need some pounds. But he didn't talk about that in his podcast. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 15 hours ago, KathyC said: Matt mentioned in his podcast that he downloaded an app and bought the tickets ahead of time. He wasn't specific I used Trainline when I visited the UK, so that's likely what he was referring to. KathyC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smakl70 Posted August 1, 2023 Report Share Posted August 1, 2023 We've booked our bus tix to Southampton, train back to London, and our excursions....just waiting to pack. Husband suggested a practice packing to see if there's anything we think we might still need. Anyone else counting down the days? WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted August 2, 2023 Report Share Posted August 2, 2023 Honestly, being very slow to plan and prepare. I'm not overly enthused about this trip, but hope I will once we get in the air. I'm most excited about England and less about Norway. I watched some port videos on YouTube about a month ago, and took notes. Bought Skylift tickets (Olden) direct from them yesterday. Only "excursion" we're doing, other than the ship airport transfer that stops at Stone Henge on debarkation day. Am in the process of thinking about what to do with our day in London on Saturday. Plane lands around 6am, not sure how long it will take us to get to hotel. Probably won't pre-book any transport that day just in case there are delays. Kinda bummed that there is not changing of the guards on Saturdays. May just pick up tickets for the Hop On/Off bus, and use it as we please for the day. Gotta research it more to see if it's worth the cost. Need to look at the train schedule and pick up tickets for our train from London to Southampton on Embarkation Day. We purposely chose the 12pm arrival time, so we'd have a bit of extra sleep time. So that is my first priority. LOL smakl70 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casino chip collector Posted August 4, 2023 Report Share Posted August 4, 2023 Dear All, I collect Royal Caribbean Casino chips. By any chance you can help to get casino chips onboard. I collect only chips with ship name on it. I would like to troubler you to help get two $5 casino chips and two $1 casino chips for my collection before they are fully being replaced by generic chips. I will pay for the chips with additional amount for the troubler. ‘Thank you in advance. Regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted August 25, 2023 Report Share Posted August 25, 2023 We purchased our rail transportation from London to Southampton through Trainline, for the morning of the 3rd. Got this email today: Really hoping that our train is fine for the 3rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted August 29, 2023 Report Share Posted August 29, 2023 Found these individual operator details, if it helps anyone out: https://www.thetrainline.com/trains/great-britain/industrial-action We have tickets both by train & bus from Waterloo to Southampton on the 3rd. Looks like our options to get from the airport to the hotel on the 2nd area all okay, for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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