Northern Sights and Mickey's MAGICal Delights-1st Baltic Cruise-June 12,2010-Pt 2

[gydell]

I pretty much always do exactly that. If its something I am booking a long way ahead of time I will keep it on a flexible rate that allows me to cancel in case I need to change my plans. Then nearer the date I switch to a cheap, non refundable rate. I've only done this with big hotel chains but it seems to work ok.

Kittb

Thanks! That is what I am planning on doing. Anything to save money!!!

 

[hawkaye19]

I think that the Park Plaza is the only one that is taking ressies. You have to BUG them OFTEN and then they will give you a ressie. Just e-mail them and wait a day and e-mail them again and so forth. Most hotels will book a year in advance minus a day or two so it's not that long to wait if you want another hotel.

Appreciate the tip....I shall start my campaign...

We wil be sarting to check the weather in the various Baltic ports just to get an idea of what it is like that time of year..

 

[gydell]

We wil be sarting to check the weather in the various Baltic ports just to get an idea of what it is like that time of year..

Great idea, I never thought of that but I will be checking too!

 

[Lynn G]

Good Morning Cruisers!

Windy but partly sunny here today!

That is a good idea to check weather from the ports - of course, Scott has probably already thought of it - he is always checking weather from different places!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[kittb]

Well we're just down the road from Dover and our weather is rough at the moment! Wild winds and squally showers. But in between lovely and sunny and warm. You just can't tell!

Kittb

 

[hawkaye19]

It's been a few months since I last tried......

On the site for the Park Plaza, the last date available is the 26th of May 2010.....so I thought 2 weeks later...might just be available......but to my surprise here is the response I received

"Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately we will not be able to quote the room rates as the rates are not yet loaded in the system.
Please would you mind checking by Dec 2009 or Jan 2010 to be able to quote the room rates."


Lol.......is this getting blown off or what.....

I will keep trying.....but thought I would share my trials and tribulations at getting a hotel room

Will keep you all informed

 

[TammyAlphabet]

Hawkeye,

That is the response that I got several times. I just kept emailing once a week with the nicest verbage you could possibly write. I finally got a reservation. This took quite a while.

 

[gydell]

It's been a few months since I last tried......

On the site for the Park Plaza, the last date available is the 26th of May 2010.....so I thought 2 weeks later...might just be available......but to my surprise here is the response I received

"Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately we will not be able to quote the room rates as the rates are not yet loaded in the system.
Please would you mind checking by Dec 2009 or Jan 2010 to be able to quote the room rates."


Lol.......is this getting blown off or what.....

I will keep trying.....but thought I would share my trials and tribulations at getting a hotel room

Will keep you all informed

I don't know if this will help but the name of the reservation agent that did my ressie is Zayed Hussain.

 

[hawkaye19]

Appreciate the advice....

We have a few weeks left before we can book our flights, so I have a bit of time to see what I can accomplish/persuade/cajole out of Merry old England..

 

[cquick]

Rain - sun - rain - sun....story of the last couple of days here. Not hot enough for the pool so we went to the Imax to see Night at the Museum. Cute, but Angels and Demons was much better.

Has anyone ever prepaid their hotel room? I noticed that Marriott and a few others are offering cheaper rates if you prepay but no refund. Since I already have a ressie I am thinking of waiting closer to the date and changing to a prepaid ressie.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day!

HI! How much longer will you be here? Maybe we can get together again. I am off until Sunday. Talk to you soon. Connie

 

[cquick]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

​

I sent an email to the St.Albans Guest House in Dover, but I have not had any response at all. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

 

[gydell]

HI! How much longer will you be here? Maybe we can get together again. I am off until Sunday. Talk to you soon. Connie

We got home on the 22nd. Sorry, I would have liked to have seen you again!

 

[cquick]

Hey! Marilyn and John! Are you still here too?

 

[gydell]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

​

I sent an email to the St.Albans Guest House in Dover, but I have not had any response at all. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

I got a ressie at the Loddington House in Dover.

 

[cquick]

We got home on the 22nd. Sorry, I would have liked to have seen you again!

OH! so you are having the same weather in Atlanta that we are having here!

 

[gydell]

OH! so you are having the same weather in Atlanta that we are having here!

It got sunny today so I got to go to the pool!

Check the Loddington House!!! Then we can all be at the same place!

 

[cquick]

It got sunny today so I got to go to the pool!

Check the Loddington House!!! Then we can all be at the same place!

OK, I'll contact them tomorrow. Great idea!

According to their website, they have availability

 

[MJGirl]

Hi everyone ... It's been awhile since I posted... Been super busy at work .. They cut out overtime to save costs. We still have to do the work, but get Time off instead .. Oh well ... as the saying goes ... at least I have a job..

So happy belated Memorial Day everyone. We had the previous Monday off (for Victoria Day). So I was bathing in the sun while you were working, and then vice versa!

On to the real reason for the post! A while back I mentioned a book on Baltic Cruising. The book finally came out, and I picked it up today. It is interesting, what I've seen so far. All our ports are covered. Here is a link to the book on Amazon.

One thing I found interesting, that is wise to remember is the following:

In all the Baltic nations, except Russia, 'tax free shopping' signs are widely displayed. The scheme allows citizens of non-EU countries to recoup Value Added Tax (VAT), which may amount to as much as 20 percent of the purchase price (a minimum purchase applies). Ask for a Global Refund Cheque when making the purchase and present it when leaving the country to claim the refund - this is often possible at cruise terminals. Global Refund Offices can directly credit your account using your credit card. For more details see www.globalrefund.com

Hope you find this helpful! If it is old news... then oh well .. I don't leave the continent that much!

 

[Tahitian Traveler]

Thanks you for sharing that information with all of us. I had read about the refund in one of the many books that I have been reading but this website clearly has all of the information that I need. I have found the DS line of books to be really informative because they have pictures and maps. I have read so much that I feel like I have already been there.......but I am still up at 4am checking this site and cruising the web to finalize my plans. I am so excited !

 

[Lynn G]

Good Morning Cruisers!

Beautiful day here today, and yesterday! Been walking dogs and doing yard work!

Have a great day everyone!