Cotswold Eagle

100% correct and thank you for pointing this out. These types of website often transition into near-scams which charge a fee for an application process that is free (there is, of course, a charge for the ETA itself). As far as I know, there is no published timetable for the global rollout. I believe the ambition is still for this calendar year. Beekee did post a screen shot of the UK government website up thread, but described it as Ukrainian. (The domain identifier for Ukraine is UA).

Waterloo is absolutely right in the heart of London. It will all make a lot more sense once you are here, but the Underground and the national rail system are entirely separate systems. So you will tap out of the Underground station (yes, at Waterloo it’s underground, but outside central London most of the Underground network is overground!) enter the mainline station and need a ticket at the gate for the platform for you train to Southampton.

Ah, I wonder if you happened to hit upon a reduced timetable due to industrial action. Gatwick rail pricing is possibly the most complicated on the network, but extremely simple in one sense - pay as you go, by Oyster or contactless, is the best. You will need a card (or mobile device with a payment method) each, though. Just make sure you avoid the Gatwick Express. And as Globaliser says, and it's one thing most of us around here agree on, the drive to Gatwick from town is a dreadful journey through south London suburbia. If you were going to do it, I guess 0530 on a weekend is the best time, but I really would not.

That’s a Saturday, so trains pretty much as Twickenham described above (the first Gatwick Express is a little later, I think). I’m genuinely puzzled why you thought there was no service until 0730 - there is at least one Thameslink train an hour from central London to Gatwick throughout the night, plus the very early start of services from Victoria. .

XO is a small chain of hotels in Amsterdam, so important to note which one you’re looking at when you get time for more research! RAI is a convention centre complex, so there are a bunch of hotels serving that. Rates no doubt will vary according to what events are on. Good variety of quick connections to the centre via train, tram or metro. Sounds like you are looking in the right areas, so good luck with your search!

Could one of the hotels have been Hotel NH Amsterdam Noord? I can see some decent rates for there in July. That could be a definite candidate. Noord Amsterdam is not too far out - but it's the other side of the canal to the main sights, the station and the cruise port. There's a free ferry from the back of Central Station, which makes it walkable, but there are also pubic transport options. Hopefully some of our Amsterdam experts will be along to give opinions, but I know that some of Noord is pretty nice - a 'village within a city' as they say.

Those needs sound very unlikely in your hoped for price range, which is extremely cheap for central Amsterdam. Is $200/night a genuine budget constraint or just what you think you should be paying? Amsterdam is now regarded as one of the most expensive tourist cities in the world, I'm afraid. Which hotels have you found? You can get some views on their location (and facilities) if you let us know.

Ah, yes. How rude not to come back and let us know. Their question about using insurance to get a cheap solo fare, though 😲

I assumed that the reference to "a couple last minute cruises" meant the OP was thinking about back to back cruises, but you are correct that's not necessarily the right interpretation!

As a seasoned international traveller, I am surprised the previous two posters have been quite so blasé. To me, it seems pretty tight, with risks over which you have little control (and that may not be insurable). A delay through the sea locks into Amsterdam or retrieving bags at Barcelona could make life difficult. What's Plan B? The time of arrival and departure of the two ships are not relevant - it's what time you can get off in Amsterdam (and do you know if you would be disembarking at the passenger terminal in the centre of Amsterdam or out at Ijmuiden) and the 'all aboard' time in Barcelona. I would expect both those to squeeze your window. Looking at a random date next week, the only feasible flights seem to be the 1025 KLM or 1030 Vueling. If you are off the ship with your luggage by 0730 they are possible, but earlier than usually suggested here.

This is a common misconception, oft reinforced on these boards. Advance tickets are changeable until time of departure of the booked train, for a £10 fee and change of fare to an available one for the service one now wishes to travel on.

First, just to be clear, you mean the Millennium Gloucester Hotel on Gloucester ROAD in Kensington, London right? The American habit of dropping the last part of an address, which has now infected the actual name of this hotel, can really backfire in Europe - in this case, the title of the thread reads as if you are going to Gloucester, a town almost 100 miles from London. This one should be a no-brainier. Gloucester Road tube station is right next door and on the direct Piccadilly line from Heathrow. As easy it gets, except you don’t want to take the train, so I’m not really sure why you’re asking 🤣

There is no cable car up Mount Aksla in Ålesund. The 418 steps are well worth it for the view, or one can get there by road. You may have been thinking of Tromso, where there is another cafe also called Fjellstua at the top station of the Fjellheisen cable car?

That's very out of date (2011) - not sure why you posted from a third party site. The current TfL version is here, or their app (TFL Go) has a host of step free information. https://content.tfl.gov.uk/step-free-tube-guide-map.pdf

There's an inexplicable cult of the Elizabeth Line 🤣 It is more expensive than the tube, slower and less comfortable than the HEX, yet it consistently gets recommended. It can get terribly overcrowded, there's nowhere to store luggage and it has one of the worst records in the country for disruption. From Paddington (and elsewhere in town), I'm on the HEX every time 😀