Travelling On

Karmacat

Argh ... sister has the very valid point that we need to know that we can have places on the group tours of St Petersburg - we can't go all that way and then not be allowed to disembark, when we're there for 2 days so she'll have to come here again on Monday morning, because the tours office is closed on the weekend. And if we can't book because its past their cutoff point ... its still a gamble. Not sure. And there's only 1 outside cabin left, but we're prepared to do an inside one for this cruise.

It's only this complicated because its *this* close - even a week earlier, a lot of these problems wouldn't exist. Point taken for the future!


I'm going to carry on with my weekend as if we're going, except I'm not starting to pack yet :rotfl: just in terms of getting things straight, which needs to be done anyway.

beanielou

Hopefully things will all fall into place on Monday:)

rtandon27

oooo - plotting and planning for a trip - how exciting!:j

themadvix

Sounds complicated, but fingers crossed it all works out. If not, they’ll run it again, surely?

We saw the ballet in St Petersburg - it was probably wasted on a bunch of teenagers though, even if we were musicians (we were ‘touring’... getting our instruments through customs was an adventure in itself!!).

Karmacat

themadvix wrote: »

Sounds complicated, but fingers crossed it all works out. If not, they’ll run it again, surely?

Absolutely, or a close variation - it's important not to get suckered in by too many compromises.

We saw the ballet in St Petersburg - it was probably wasted on a bunch of teenagers though, even if we were musicians (we were ‘touring’... getting our instruments through customs was an adventure in itself!!).

Nah, you may not have got as much of the culture as an adult enthusiast would, but it's mind expanding for all ages and levels of knowledge. And adult enthusiasts are *made* from teenage experiences, very often! Fascinating thought about touring with instruments - definitely an adventure

Goldiegirl

Hi, just looking in to say hello.

I've just come back from a cruise and I'm excited to see your cruise planning is in full swing.

I went on Fred Olsen's Balmoral in March 2018 on our Northern Lights cruise, and really enjoyed it. We enjoyed it so much we booked another cruise whilst onboard, on Boudicca, which will be in March next year.

I notice you mentioned the restaurants being mostly waiter service. Personally, I prefer the buffet for breakfast and lunch, as I try not to eat too much, and find it easier to just pick a few bits that I want. On Balmoral, (and I assume on the other ships, the main restaurants are a combination of waiter service and buffet at lunch time and breakfast. Those who want to be served by waiters can, or if not, you just go to the buffet stations. It sounds odd, but in practice it worked well. It was nice to have the convenience of the buffet, but in very nice surroundings.

If you have any queries, please ask - I will try to log in every few days to see what's going on:j

Karmacat

Goldie, thanks for that! I'd noticed you'd gone awol, you know but brilliant to hear that you went out with Fred Olsen already. If we do the Greenland one next year, that will be on the Boudicca, and this Baltic one will be the Balmoral, like yours.

Great to hear the buffet is available in more than one restaurant - I dislike the idea of being waited on even at breakfast and lunch - I'm not that much of a fan over dinner, to be honest

Internal rooms, and the single available outer room at a cheap rate have all gone: superior outer rooms *are* still available, so my sister's coming down *again* tomorrow morning, and we'll see if they're still there first thing. Still not doing it if we can't book on the St Petersburg Tours though. Hopefully the last time I'll write this sort of post :rotfl:

Rain is pertiddling down all day today: cleaned the fridge freezer to make sure it gets taken, cleaned the shelves I'm meaning to keep, clearing the small bedroom, I'm dehydrating some rosemary and experimenting with drying some orange peel. Mandarin peel. The mandarins are lovely, and they were on offer, 60p for 500g.

Have a good evening all - don't get soaked!

Karmacat

Booked it! Still not done the excursions, but we have information about how many still have places available, and we can book tomorrow, definitely, so it'll be fine.

Amount to be paid went up and down like a yoyo superior cabin/ potential 100% blocked view/ 30% blockage/ fixed double bed So after all that faff, we have the very cheapest room, hurray, £900 for 12 days (because its the only one with twin beds). Another £200 or so for 2 days of excursions at St Petersburg - its a fairly small ship, so every other place we'll dock in the centre of the city Now to get my neighbour to look after my house as usual

beanielou

GLad that it's booked :j :T

Karmacat

Thanks beanie, appreciated