hawkesbaynz

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186299-i695-k10752411-Walking_to_National_Express_Bus_Station_from_cruise_ship-Southampton_Hampshire_England.html Admit I have never noticed the coach terminal. Only go on coach’s on cruise holidays. I must check it out when next in the city. Parking at Heathrow is getting ridiculous. Maybe an option for me if travelling alone.

Agree with the 9.45 coach. The coach station is a bit of a walk from the port. Disembarkation is pretty swift at Southampton. The earlier coach will hit more traffic too. Anticipate being at Heathrow for 11.30 -12.00. However if your flight is earlier the 7.45 and self porter your bags off. There are plenty of taxis but imagine the driver would not be chuffed on such a short ride.

Stayed at Room Mate Gerard a few years ago pre-cruise. Walkable to many places. Uber to ship. ROOM MATE GERARD - Updated 2023 (Barcelona, Catalonia) (tripadvisor.co.uk)

Great review Jim. Fantastic photos. I recollect your Weymouth photos were so reminiscent of Victorian postcards. Iain looked like he was having a great time. Your bro-in-law looked a bit perplexed but am sure he was having a ball. Will be interested on your take on other lines. There are some great itineraries out there to enjoy on cruise ships, big & small. After two great Oceania cruises (South America was outstanding) we are trying Princess next week. Had a a penchant for Istanbul and a bit of Greece island hopping and they had a good itinerary. Then back to X for Japan, Thailand, India, and the new Ascent. Who knows after that! Am saving my Virgin points for a free cruise in October on their cruise line.

There is a small ferry from the port to the town of Hythe on the edge of New Forest ( where Beaulieu is). It is a commuter ferry. Admit I have only sailed into the marina on a yacht. https://hytheferry.co.uk/ Not sure of taxi availability. Google is you friend

I live in Hamble a small yachting village just outside Southampton. I agree to all except Weymouth for the day (best for a port visit to Portland). Winchester, Salisbury and Portsmouth (for the naval museum) are all great. A ferry to Isle of Wight although you will be on enough boats. Cowes from Southampton not as scenic as Ryde from Portsmouth. The best of IofW is the country and coast within. That little ferry (Hythe ferry) and taxi to Beaulieu is a great idea paired with Exbury. Cruise critic has an article about Southampton and I learnt a few things. I have GPSmyCity app on my phone for holidays. It has some walking tours of Southampton. Lots of Titanic stuff. Uber is plentiful and you can now use it for booking trains too. Bath is great. Like everywhere lots of strikes this Summer! There are ToursbyLocals guides for Southampton too.

I had always booked cruises with included gratuities. Oceania does not so I did not factor that price in on our first trip. However some TAs may pay your gratuities & it is a perk with being a higher level Oceania cruiser after many trips with them.

@LHT28 it seems I was lucky in comparison with @pinotlover 😄. Lucky I had the pancakes with maple syrup to fall back on. Enjoyed a Caesar Salad every lunch too. Cannot be held accountable for the booze though as we brought on wine at most stops having identified some decent brands on wine tours in Chile😊. The weather was great too. Anchored at Stanley and the the sail down to Antarctica @ Drakes passage was a breeze. Actually the best meal of the trip was at Bouza Winery in Montevideo. Did you visit there @pinotlover ?

We really enjoyed the excellent food that we had on the Sirena in November and Marina in February. DW would argue that there were limited options for her at Polo grill as she does not eat steak/lamb/chops but I could have eaten everything on the menu. Service was v.slow at the Red Ginger on Marina. Really enjoyed the Terrace Cafe particularly in good weather. However I cannot really understand the flame torched burnt breakfast bacon. Pure carbon. I wish they offered a Canadian Back Bacon style. Perhaps it is a cultural thing. However that was my only food complaint.

@Novastar we have booked our tours thru www.gowithguide.com & www.ToursbyLocals.com

@upwarduk beat me to it!

We went into Invergorden Sept 2020 on the Silhouette. Did a Celebrity tour to a fantastic castle in Nairn - Cawdor Castle. Enjoyable visit and lovely gardens. Imagine there are some super doors too!

Love the picture of the tatooe’d elderly chap standing by Our Cilla’s statue (#1979). Looked like he was wearing one of her wigs!

Passengers on Oceania, in our experience, were older particularly on the Florida sailing where the ship seemed to be a cheaper option than the old folks home. On a tendered port we were concerned that we would not be able to get off in an emergency wit h all the walkers and wheeelchairs.

Sail both. See no need to book Retreat on X at current rates so Aqua or MDR on X or Concierge on O. O is significantly more expensive. However for a bucket list rich itinerary I would book O. Most itineraries X. X better value and more like a resort with better entertainment and vibe. O is dull after dinner and we were in bed by 10. Prefer the pool on O. More relaxing and no DJ or clown of a CD. Food is great in the speciality restaurants, and buffet, on O but the MDR not outstanding. Always been happy on X. Recollect being bored on the smaller Sirena and watching a huge RC ships sail by and thinking that it would be fun to do a TA on.

Was enjoying pictures of the Aquarium until I saw the dolphin. Keeping dolphins in captivity is shocking. Am surprised it happens in Europe!

I would buy a box of teabags such as Yorkshire tea. All this ‘English Breakfast Tea’ malarkey is always a disappointment. As are the individually wrapped packets (I keep some in my work case if there is a shortage, but never the same). However the most important thing is the water - hot. And leave it for a minimum of a couple of minutes. Quality of the water is an issue too. Here in Southampton it is mediocre, good in Scotland but delicious in Ireland.

No in Britain we learnt about the Weimar Republic, King Charles l, and Norman Conquest. My mother taught me about The Irish Rebellion, Potatoe Famine etc. Countries choose the most comfortable and convenient syllabus. Oceania do an excellent Irish cruise too. Picqued my mother’s interest as it calls at Killybeggs where she was born in 1932.

She is being replaced by the Apex as the Southampton based ship in the Summer season.. Not bad in itself but the prices are astronomical. The Silhouette I believe is being based in Holland in the Summer and Caribbean in the Winter with shorter cruises.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/11/14/how-to-get-a-one-way-europcar-uk-rental-for-just-1-2/ Could you taxi to europecar at ?Southampton airport and pick up the car. I always give 1hr 45 mins to Gatwick. We always drive to Gatwick from Southampton where we live. My neighbour always get a taxi with https://www.vikingcars.co.uk/ I have used to get to the port.

Glad you had a good day from Southampton. DW sent a photo of the Apex as she went into town for an opticians appointment. Windsor was quite an adventurous day out from Southampton! Apparently 12% of people still use the ticket office. You can actually use the UBER app to book train tickets. Have just set up a link to my BA Avios account so I can earn points with it. Cruise Critic sent me an email yesterday with an article on What to do in Southampton. A few I was unaware. PS Love the photo. You have not changed😀

Great photos of Cobh and Spike Island! What are your plans for the Portland stop? We often have weekends in that area but usually walk the South West Coastal path on the Jurassic Coast. Also Dorchester is a much nicer town than Weymouth. Used to do a lot of diving out of Portland — strange place. I believe there are some decent walks though. Sure there will be some on the AllTrails walking App.

I believe it is an hour to Rome Fiumicino Airport by taxi so you would be cutting it very fine. Our last two cruises (not Civitavecchia) were very slow disembarking although you would no doubt be off first carrying your luggage. Rometolimo is a good transfer company btw

@mahdnc the itinerary change was for a ?3rd November Singapore to Hong Kong. Just a change with an increased time in the stop at Chan May/Hue and a later arrival at Halong Bay. Actually a bonus as we will now have time to arrange a tour for Hue. @Captain-John I usually manage to book the flights 355 days prior by booking immediately at midnight when GMT & 1am if BST. Always online and have even done when on a cruise mid-Caribbean. Managed Santiago/Buenos Aires/Singapore/Hong Kong within the last year and all booked by 00.05 or 01.05. However on Sunday although I provisionally snagged seats on the website they went by the time I paid. Last night I called USA at 00.45 and spoke to a chap in the Manchester office by 00.50. Gave him all the details and he booked two seats with our 2-4-1. 90,000 & £800. I will need to do the same for the return and ask the rep. to link to this flight. Have a look at the Head for Points forum. It is a pain but worth it when you turn left for an economy price! Unfortunately DW refuses to fly economy now so If I did not do this I would only sail ex-Southampton.

Just got an email from Celebrity. Thought 'here we go'. However it was an itinerary change for a Solstice SE Asia cruise in the Fall. Reps should really be 'singing from the same hymn sheet'.. If they sailed like they run back office they would sink their ships.