PurpleTraveller

It is a direct bus from Heathrow to Southampton with usually one stop at Winchester and depending on which terminal at Heathrow you get on, maybe a stop or two at other terminals. No need to change buses.

Yes, his explanation of changing gears was good. Also the indicators will be on the opposite side of the steering wheel (unless you drive a European car such as a BMW) and the number of times my husband accidentally turned the windscreen wipers on instead of the indicator I hate to think! 😀 You will probably need to pre-book an automatic car to make sure you get one rather than a manual. I think you are very brave to drive on the opposite side of the road for the first time in Italy. Good Luck and I hope you have a great day and cruise! 🛳️

Manual cars are more common than automatics in Europe. To rent an automatic is more expensive than a manual.

In Australia gratuities are included in the fare when booking a Princess cruise that has AUD as the on board currency but if sailing elsewhere then gratuities can either be prepaid or are added onto the on board account daily. When booking a Celebrity or Royal Caribbean cruise in Australia gratuities are included in the fare for all sailings. I much prefer to have the gratuities included in the fare than have to pay them later. Having the gratuities included in the fare is a positive not a deterrent and after sailing Princess for the last ten years I now have a number of future Celebrity cruises booked.

Last June when we arrived at FCO in the early afternoon, it took us 90 minutes from getting off the plane to getting to Termini. The train journey took 32 minutes. We had no delays, got through immigration in minutes, our bags came out quickly, we knew how to buy our train tickets and a train was at the platform and left within two minutes of us getting on. You technically would be able to get to your train to Florence if everything goes as well for you as it did for us, but it could be tight if you have any delays.

Similar to my reply to you on the Italy thread, you will need to do some research to work out what you might like to do. There are many options at each port and you want to do what is important to you and your family. Olympia is not at the actual port, probably Katakolon, and would require an excursion of some sort or a taxi or the train if it is running, to get there. Mykonos and Santorini are both easy to do on your own but you may want to do an excursion, for example to Delos while at Mykonos. The time of year, day of the week and how many other ships are in port can all affect how easy it can be to do what you want to do. Look at the ship's shore excursions and the threads on these boards to see if anything appeals. When you have narrowed down what you might like to do then you can ask more specific questions here.

You will need to do a lot of research and decide on what you would like to do. Florence and Rome are both far away from their respective ports so any outing to them will either require an excursion, either ship or private, or using public transport. In Malta, Messina and Naples you dock in the city centres but again you need to know what you want to do. In Naples you can get to Pompeii by train but you may prefer an excursion. The same in Messina if you want to go to Taormina or Mt Etna. Do not be tempted to do the most popular option if you have no interest whatsoever in seeing or doing that option. For example don't go to Pompeii from Naples if you hate ruins and would prefer to wander around Naples and eat pizza. A good place to start is to look at all the ship's shore excursions to see if anything there appeals to you all. There are many options in each location depending on your and your families interests and wish lists. Once you have an idea of what you might like to do, let us know as there are many willing to help with all the different options available to you to get to where you want to go. Happy planning! 🛳️

I have been following along, reading your wonderful review. Thank you for taking the time from your cruise to post your journey. Your Volunteer Point penguin photos are fabulous and bring back very happy memories of my excursion there in 2018 while on my Princess cruise. I remember walking around with a big smile as I was having such a great time walking around and observing the penguins. Thanks again! 🐧🐧🐧

I completely agree with euro cruiser. We still talk about the underground tour we did in Naples and consider it one of the best and inexpensive tours we have ever done. However it is not suitable if you are claustrophobic as some of the tunnels are quite narrow. Last year we went to Certosa di San Martino and enjoyed the beautiful church, cloister, museum and great views as well as the funicular ride to get there. You could combine this with a visit to Castel Sant'Elmo which is next door to the museum. There are also many lovely churches in Naples if you like churches. Besides the Cathedral there is Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo and Basilica di San Francisco di Paolo to name just a couple. There is also Palazzo Reale, the royal palace and Castel Nuovo right next to the port, that you can visit. There are lots of great options to see and do as well as great pizza in Naples. In my review of my Celebrity cruise last year, in posts #116 to #120 on page 5 is my visit to Naples. https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2865871-the-adriatic-and-italy-on-celebrity-reflection-june-3-2022/#comments

Yes, this happened to me. I was booked on the maiden cruise of Regal Princess but was notified about six months before the cruise that because the ship was going to be ready early there would be a new earlier maiden cruise before mine. The email was worded terribly in that "isn't it wonderful that the ship will be ready early and there will be a new earlier maiden cruise" or words to that effect with no apology to the passengers who had specifically booked a maiden cruise, such as myself. I was given the option of moving to the new maiden cruise, which was not possible as non refundable airfares to Europe could not be changed and we were meeting our son in Rome prior to the cruise. Once on the no longer maiden cruise all passengers affected were given a free Ultimate Balcony Breakfast.

This is the link to the Malta Digital Passenger Locator Form information page. https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/health-promotion/covid-19/Pages/digital-passenger-locator-form.aspx

As a Sydneysider the easiest though not cheapest way would be to get a taxi/uber to Taronga Zoo from the airport. If you got the train to the city you would then either have to change to a ferry or get a taxi/uber from there. Using the train/ferry combination you would have to be able to manage your luggage yourselves and I am not sure if you can get access to the Wildlife Retreat from the ferry terminal or would have to get to the top entrance of the zoo. Heading to the cruise ship there would be little point returning to the airport as you would be passing the ship on the way to to airport. If you took the ferry from the zoo to Circular Quay you would have a short walk to the Overseas Passenger Terminal or you could get a taxi/uber there from the zoo. In my opinion a taxi/uber each way would be the easiest or a taxi/uber to the zoo and a ferry to Circular Quay the next morning, provided that you can easily get to the ferry terminal from the Wildlife Retreat. Hope you have a great time in Sydney and a wonderful cruise. ⛴️

I should add to my previous post that you do not have to use the shuttles in Tromso and Trondheim if you don't want to. In Tromso we got the local bus to the city centre and in Trondheim we walked to the city centre.

On June 5, 2022 the train was not running when we were in Katakolon. I have the same photo of the sign at the train station that VMax1700 posted but we never did find out why the train wasn't running or if it was running at all on other days. There were not any booths or vendors at the port exit on the day we were there. We ended up getting a taxi to Olympia with another couple where the driver waited for us for two hours then drove us back to Katakolon for €80. When the train is running I think it just goes from Katakolon to Olympia via Prygos and I don't know if it goes to any beaches or wineries. Katakolon is very pretty with a number of shops and has lots of lovely restaurants on the waterfront.

In 2019 the only shuttles on my itinerary were at Tromso and Trondheim which both cost USD$19.95 per person. I did a review of my cruise if you are interested. https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2678142-norway-land-of-the-midnight-sun-on-sapphire-princess-june-15-2019/#comments

We always select "Cold" to wash. I don't remember there being a temperature adjustment on the dryers but I could be wrong.

The National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton is very easy and inexpensive. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en From the bus station in Southampton it is possible to walk to some hotels such as the Premier Inn West Quay, depending on how much luggage you have and your mobility. Otherwise you can get a taxi to your hotel.

Orvieto is one of my favourite towns in Italy. Beautiful views, stunning Cathedral, lovely laneways, gorgeous ceramics, shops and good restaurants.

Very sensible to take her advice seriously! I will look a lot closer at the expiry dates of FCD's and FCC's in the future. Lesson learned!

Yes, if I ever book a cruise with Princess again using FCD's I will make sure the expiry date is after the cruise. If I had known that refundable FCD's can become unrefundable I would have let them expire and be refunded. Definitely a lesson learned!

When I made the booking I was told that the deposit made with two FCD's was refundable until final payment. Maybe they are treated differently in Australia. Before I cancelled the cruise and was told they would not be refunded I asked if the FCD's could be extended and I was told that because I had used them they couldn't. No matter what I said I was told that once they are used they become unrefundable as soon as the expiry date passes.

That is what I thought. When I booked the cruise I was told that the FCD's were fully refundable up to final payment. I have spoken to three different people at Princess and they all checked with their managers and all came back with the same answer that because I used them for a deposit on a cruise which I then cancelled after the expiry date of the FCD's, I have forfeited them and will not get a refund. If I had known this I would have used other FCD's that expire after my cruise date and let the ones I used expire and then would have received a refund. To say that I am completely unimpressed would be an understatement.

I didn't find out until I was discussing cancelling and rebooking the cruise with my PVC. My PVC spoke to his manager but came back to say nothing could be done. I also lost two FCD's which had expired between booking the cruise and then cancelling and rebooking. I didn't know that if you use them and the expiry date is before final payment they become unrefundable after the expiry date. Luckily I saved more than I lost. I am so glad the you were able to have your credits extended.

I just lost my Goodwill FCC when I cancelled and rebooked a cruise due to a price drop as they had expired since making the first booking. I was told that under no circumstances do they extend the expiry date of Goodwill FCC.

I am going on my first Alaska cruise this June. I want to book a whale watching cruise for when we are in Icy Strait Point. The two and a half hour cruises are at 8.30am, 11.00am, 11.45am and 2.00pm. Is it better to go in the morning or afternoon or does it really not matter what time of day? Thanks for any advice.