John Bull

You'll need transport to the end of the road near the glacier, it's about 14 miles. There's a local bus, but the service is infrequent and there's only one return bus that suits most cruise passengers - it can't be booked in advance so it's a big risk. Best to take a "tour" which is actually just a two-way transfer but its a guarantee that there'll be seat to take you back to Olden. Trollcars from the bus turnaround spot seem to book-out early, so the cancelled ship tour has done you no favours 🙁. But if you're tolerably fit and enjoy walking that shouldn't be a problem. JB 🙂

Agreed, but I've only seen one previous mention of a boat service from Oia back to Skala (the ships' tender pier) - probably the same mention that you've seen. So it's well worth digging a lot deeper JB 🙂

Some cruise lines offer a tour-transfer from ship to LHR (or central London) via a stop at Stonehenge. The only independently-operated coach tour-transfers that I'm aware of from Southampton cruise terminals to LHR (or into London for those taking a few post-cruise days) are by International Friends, a long-established & trusted coach tour operator. They service all but the smallest cruise ships arriving in Southampton and are well-received on Cruise Critic. They offer - Stonehenge-only for those who need to be at LHR at 1.30 to 2pm, - Salisbury + Stonehenge + Windsor for those who need to be at LHR by 4.30 - 5pm, - Bath & Windsor for those who need to be at LHR by 5 - 5.30pm - Cotswolds villages for those who need to be at LHR by 4.45 to 5.15pm https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html#tour-tab2 If you choose one which includes Stonehenge it is important to book your Stonehenge admission with your tour - Stonehenge operates restricted numbers and pay-at-the-gate can be significantly delayed or even declined at busy times. Tickets issued by coach operators (this includes ship-sponsored coaches and the Stonehenge ho-ho) permit entry at any time. (Their simple direct cruise terminal to LHR transfers are no better value than most ship-sponsored transfers, and for 2+ passengers a private transfer using one of a number of taxi operators is actually cheaper.) JB 🙂

In many ways - including some of the management - Ambassador is the phoenix of Cruise & Maritime. Two-for-one but at higher prices was a sales ploy of Cruise & Maritime. C & M was a budget line using very old ships, good value if you accepted their limitations, Ambassador's net prices are higher than even the mainstream lines but their ships altho not new are much better than C&M and altho we've not sailed with them apparently the standards are much higher and match the higher prices. For couples the mental arithmetic of two-for-one is very easy JB 🙂

I've seen them recommended by CC members who've used them. JB 🙂

Best to rent a car. Bayeux - is closer to the American sights but car rental may involve a taxi ride from the station. Caen - has a number of rental agencies close to the station, but it means a little city driving. You'll need a sat-nav or navigation tablet. If you're planning to take 2 or 3 days, Caen is as convenient as Bayeux - head first to Ste Mere Eglise, overnite somewhere near Omaha Beach, and make Pegasus Bridge your last stop, As @CruiserBruce says, language isn't a big problem, there's plenty of written & some audio in English, knowledgeable English-speaking staff at the sights, and a good proportion of the locals speak English. Many menus are in English too. I've spread my suggested route over two days, here's a suggestion for the first day https://maps.app.goo.gl/DKWASWR8PMhtGE496 From Caen or Bayeux to Ste Mere Eglise on the N 13 divided highway. Taken by US airborne forces, good Airborne museum, worth up to an hour. From Ste M/E little lanes direct to the coast (put Hameau Mottet into your navigation tablet as a navigation point) then turn right (the sea on your left) along Utah beach (its pretty featureless) to the D-Day Landing Museum (worth an hour and more). You'll see the USN Monument close to the museum. On the way to Sainte Marie du Mont pass the Dick Winters monument and take the next right (signed Audoville La Hubert) opposite a crucifix monument. In a couple of hundred yards turn left by the Easy Company Memorial - it's a narrow car's-width lane, Brecourt Manor is part of the farming complex on your left, no signage. That from google streetview - I've not driven down there. Put La Cambe into your sat-nav, return to the crucifix monument & then right to continue on the road from Utah and through Ste Marie du Mont to re-join the N13 divided highway heading back towards Bayeux. I've included the German Cemetery at La Cambe. You'll see it alongside the N 13, but it's worth the little diversion signed at the next roundabout (traffic island in American-speak?) to spend ten minutes there - the comparison with the American Cemetery is stark Now to Pointe Du Hoc, worth 30 minutes plus. Then to Omaha. If you book your overnight accommodation in the Omaha Beach area, you can then explore in any time you've got left that day, and the rest before you take to the road next morning (you probably won't manage the American Cemetery until the morning) It's late & I've got a couple of busy days ahead of me, second day to follow - but you'll have to adjust it to suit your time-schedule JB 🙂

So the heathen culinary practices of Brum have reached the lakes & forests of Ontario. Oh dear !! 😏 😂😂😂 But, @SUESEABE I agree about mushy peas. And @Senga, yes I also agree with mayo - on fries, but not on chunky British chips. I wonder whether they have similar conversations in https://www.cordonbleu.edu/home/en 🤔 JB 🙂

............. as long as you like mayo on your "French fries" 😏. In the same vein, in British "fish & chip shop" chips ( not what you call "potato chips" but a much fatter version of the fries that you get in the US or Belgium) you choose whether to add salt & vinegar - but in Birmingham they come ready-doused in curry sauce unless you remember to say "no curry sauce please". I rarely visit Birmingham - and always forget.😧 JB 🙂

Ashore you'll need a pac-a-mac or light waterproof cape or somesuch that you can very easily carry in a handbag or pocket. It rarely rains for long periods, and we've only once ever experienced a full day of rain & overcast skies in the Caribbean. But from time to time you may get caught in a short sharp shower - not cold, actually quite refreshing, and 5 to 10 minutes after it's stopped everything including roads & sidewalks will be bone-dry again. Aboard the ship, in the evenings some folk find the aircon in public rooms like the dining room & theatre a little too cold. so take a pashmina or cardigan or similar. Folk on Princess(one of our favourite lines) tend to make a bit of an effort in the evenings - long pants & collared or polo-neck shirts, no sports shirts or baseball caps for the gents, and smart/casual skirts or pants for the ladies. Not a rule, certainly for most nights, just the way that folk fit in. Don't know Nassau, the rest of the itinerary is good, and varied. Have a good one JB 🙂

As per the response from @CruiserBruce the most reliable sources are the websites of the ports eg https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/ If you need total accuracy those are the sites to check. But some are difficult to find, and if you don't mind the occasional error, such as a ship being missed from a list, generic sites like those suggested above will do the job. The one I use is https://www.whatsinport.com/ mainly because of the other port information in there like maps, places of interest etc JB 🙂

There are two complications 1. Cabotage Laws. These are the EU and UK equivalents of the US Passenger Vessel Services Act, but not identical to those laws. They control who provides passenger travel within a country (I don't know if this treats the EU or the Schengen area or neither as a "country") and are designed to protect ferry and long-distance bus services. Brexit may not have made any difference, these may be Schengen rules rather than EU rules. I drove continental coach tours for many years, on a couple of occasions I had passengers who were taken ill and had to stay behind in continental Europe, and clearly there are dispensations for such occasions, but I never had any passenger choosing to do that. Complicated, and I don't know the ins & outs. But there are plenty of examples of folk on UK > EU > UK cruises who have disembarked, with permission, at Le Havre on the day before cruise-end in Southampton in order to spend time in Paris and fly home to the US or Aus or wherever from Paris 2. Permission of the cruise line is required, and best to do that in advance, you can't simply inform them of your decision. I know that Princess have allowed those Le Havre disembarkations, have charged a relatively small admin fee, and required them to disembark in the morning together with their luggage. I have heard of other cruise lines which have allowed that same disembarkation, tho' I don't recall any names. But NCL don't allow that disembarkation - there have been plenty of examples of that, and I've heard of the same NCL refusals elsewhere in the world. I guess the first thing to do is to ask the permission of the cruise line. If they refuse they might specify the appropriate Cabotage law. Or tell the passenger in question to do so - that sounds like the easiest way to stop your brain from frying 😏 JB 🙂

As previous posters have said, ID isn't required for run-of-the-mill purchases JB 🙂

All cruise lines offer (usually payable) shuttles to Pile / Pila gate. As per @edinburgher's post, local buses run to the same gate and it's also the most convenient place for taxis to drop you (there's a rank outside the gate) Last time we went to Dubrovnik we negotiated a taxi to take us from the port up the winding road to the cablecar station at the top of Mount Srd (don't remember the cost, but certainly more than direct to the city). Glorious views on the way up and at the top. A couple of lazy beers looking down on Dubrovnik from on high, then we took the cablecar down (one-way tickets from the souvenir shop in the cablecar station). This meant an easy 5-minute downhill walk from the bottom station to Buza Gate into the walled city. Or if you want a two-way cablecar trip, get a taxi from the port to drop you at the lower cablecar station, avoiding an uphill walk from Pile Gate. JB 🙂

I agree with everything in @gumshoe958's post. For a private transfer, what personal details are you being asked to provide? The operator will need to know the number of adults & the number and ages of the children. And the number of cases - usually the number of checked cases & cabin cases, and any other luggage, because with four passengers that will impact on whether an estate car (station wagon, if you still use that term) will suffice or you need a small minibus (don't say "van" because in the UK that's what you'd call a panel van 😵) . They will also want your e-mail address. And details of your flight so that they can track it's arrival. Payment with booking usually means card brand (Visa or M/C or - if accepted, Amex or Diner's), card-holder's name, the long number on the card, expiry date, and the last three numbers of the CVV on the reverse side of the card. The driver may want to see the card when you arrive A cell-phone number is also very useful (and you should carry their phone number with you) in case of difficulties in meeting). They shouldn't need your passport details, address, other names of passengers, etc., and certainly not your PIN. Current price range for a car is about £130 to £150, I'm not up-to-date on van prices. JB 🙂

There is a great deal of disinformation on Cruise Critic & elsewhere about power on cruise ships. Here are the definitive facts.............. Because ships sail at sea, electrical power cannot be grounded. And because of the distance from land, cables from power stations would be too long. So instead of electrical power, cruise ships use smoke power, fed by the ship's funnels. Instead of electric circuits there is a system of narrow smoke conduits. When there is a leak in the smoke system an appliance stops working, and the breakdown is usually accompanied by smoke from the appliance or wall socket. Hence the need for smoke alarms in cabins. Appliances like flat irons, tumble-driers, motorcycles and pizza ovens are particularly susceptible, which is why they're not permitted in cabins. Engineers can usually fix the problem by finding the source of the escaping smoke in the conduit or appliance, and applying insulating tape to seal it. When the source of the escape is sealed the smoke stops, & unless it is smoke-logged the appliance starts working again. Sometimes the escape of smoke is too large to be taped, in which case WW2 light-cruisers and destroyers will be deployed to provide enough smoke to keep essential systems working while repairs are carried out. Passengers will be sent to their muster stations - they are not permitted to use the elevators to get to their muster stations because of the danger of escaping smoke in confined spaces. I will give a more-comprehensive reply later, but nurse has told me that I must take my medication and go back to bed. JB 🙂 House-bound for the day - bored, so terribly terribly bored 😏.