Korimako

I am fully aware of what 'breaking the ice' means. This is what I found to be totally incomprehensible. "What Did Mr. Spock find in Captain Kirks restroom?"

What on earth does this mean???

Thanks all. I wasn't really clear in my 'easier' comment. Flying from LHR is a direct flight to my destination, whereas I have a connection if I go from Southampton and the onward flight is on Sunday as there are no Saturday flights, which would mean an airport hotel. Prepared to put up with LHR for that reason!!

Thank you, but I am now thinking it might be easier to take the Princess shuttle (if there is one) to LHR and book my onward flight to Scotland from there rather than from Southampton. How long would I need to allow for travel to LHR terminal 5 on a Saturday? I'd rather go in a lounge at LHR than risk missing my flight.

Do Princess have a shuttle to Southampton Airport?

Do Princess have a shuttle to Southampton Airport? I'll ask on Princess board also.

Yes! I read both - print books at home and e-books when travelling. I don't want to have to pay the excess baggage on the extra suitcase(s) of books, even paperbacks, nor have to struggle with a heavy suitcase - when flying internationally. I can easily read a book a day.

If we were 40 years younger, then we probably would just just head for a recommended bar. But given we are 2 ladies with a combined age not far short of 160, I think we'd be more comfortable with something more organised! But thanks anyway 🙂

We’d like to do food tour tasting cichetti in Venice. Has anyone any recommendations?

Thank you 🙂

Thank you so much. I've seen many of your posts on the Italy forum and know that anything you recommend is bound to be worth investigating.. Grazie mille (I'm trying to learn some Italian before I go!) K

Hello Edinburgher, I'm back again! I have googled 'Venice for Visitors' but nothing matching that came up. There were various sponsored, similar sounding sites, but it would be a great help to me if you could tell me which is the official one. I would also like to buy tickets for the Vivaldi concert at the Chiesa Santa Maria della Pietà but I also get conflicting results there too. Thank you from a fellow countrywoman!

Thanks - I'll have a look at these

Thank you! DIY it is!! I'm also not too keen on being one of those tourists following a flag or umbrella like a Lorenz gosling!!

I've been wading through all the usual booking and hotel websites trying to find a suitable hotel for 3 nights in June. I just wondered if there was any sort of list/ personal recommendation topic on here to stop my eyes and brain from freezing!! TIA

Has anyone done this? I'm in Venice for 3 nights in June and not sure whether I need an organised tour or if it would be better to just wander on my own. Any advice gratefully received! TIA

When are you in Sète? The water-jousting festival is not to be missed!

Thank you all for these very helpful suggestions. Lots to think about!

Hi I am going on a Baltic cruise in July visiting Tallinn, Visby, Stockholm, Helsinki, Warnemünde, Copenhagen, Skagen and Kristiansand ( not necessarily in that order!) The ship's excursions to be honest, don't look all that exciting and I wondered if anyone could recommend anything else for any of these ports. I'm quite happy to potter off on my own, but would welcome any suggestions. TIA And on another topic - somewhere on these boards I remember seeing a thread about buying a SIM card just for Europe for basic calls and texts. Using my iPhone with a roaming package from home would be eye-wateringly expensive. I'm not based in the US, so advice about US cellphone providers isn't relevant. TIA again🙂

Not a cruise, but we used to annually leave our home in NZ winter to spend 3 months in Europe. Driving there is not an option! This is what we did, not in any particular order. Taxi to and from local airport for connecting onward international flight Water turned off Mail held at the post office Cat to cattery, cat door locked Cars left in locked garage on trickle chargers Garage door opener disabled Potted plants given to a friend to look after. All banking & bill-paying online (we do that anyway) Asked neighbour to keep an eye on things. Gardener came a couple of times (we don't have grass that needs mowing)

Hope you don't mind me jumping in here, but I'd like to know if you've sailed recently from a UK port, are there kettles? I know further up this thread someone said they had kettles on their last 2 cruises, but there was no indication as to how recent that was. And if not, is it permissable to bring a small travel kettle? TIA

I've just left Majestic Princess and I really liked the current Sea Salt and Eucalyptus hand wash. Is it available to purchase anywhere in the world other than on Princess?

Italian Chapel Scapa Flow??

Covid testing no longer needed, but you DO need proof of medical travel insurance (including repatriation) - a requirement from New Caledonia. No insurance, no boarding - even if you don't intend to go ashore in Nouméa.