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Looks like you will be fine for next Wednesday the 1st May, they have to give two weeks notice of strikes so it won't change now. https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rail-strikes-092022

All National Express coaches have toilets so you can get up to use those and take the opportunity to stretch your legs and there is no limit to visits 😉 Otherwise, as you are in a motor vehicle you should be seated with a seatbelt on (legal requirement now). Longer journeys have comfort breaks, I doubt a 4 hour journey will include a stop though, your schedule will show if there is a stop.

What a shame, I did not get it on either of my cards this time I have only just seen this but don't think I missed it as I check every day for new offers, it's rare I miss a day.

I'm afraid I don't have a link to this, this is from personal experience, various websites and others experience such as @lebreos as posted above. Real life experience always works out this way.

When you visit an EU country on a cruise you are classed as transiting during your stop in port, no days are therefore counted against your 90 day allowance. Even if you join the ship in an EU country you should be signed out as you board the ship, so only the days from arriving in the EU and boarding the ship are counted against your 90 day allowance.

All good thanks, funny enough we just got back from a cruise yesterday, you reminded me to update my signature. We have done two short weekend cruises with MSC since we met in January 😂 They were both on the same ship and both to Hamburg, it's great for a weekends entertainment, we are 20min from the port and flew straight home ready for work on Monday. The next big one is NCL Jewel LA to Tampa, Panama Canal in November. Pass on my best wishes to Pat for a quick recovery.

You say that and it's what I expect but not my experience. I booked on a double points promotion, then did a paid (not bid) upgrade when there was a treble point promo on, I hoped to get the treble points but would have been happy with the original double points. When I got back home from my cruise, I was awarded 1 point per night. I spoke to my PCC who spoke to Florida and the message came back that it was the upgrade that caused it and no further explanation. To this date it irritates me and I still don't know why. My PCC claims he tried and tried to get the points but was told there was nothing that could be done. I actually suspect he did not apply the promo to my booking when he upgraded me because he has always been evasive about the reasons for the lack of points. Either way, it shows you have to be on the ball, then check and check again when doing these things

Fantastic, it's a great museum, gardens and house, something for everyone. I am probably telling you something you already know but Uber is a bit difficult in the UK. They are licenced by the different cities and can't operate where they are not licenced. They can operate in Southampton so a trip to or from that city is no problem, however you can't use them to travel in unlicensed areas. As an example, living in Ringwood, I can ask for a pick up to go the Southampton even though Uber have no licence to operate in my town, but I can't order and Uber from Ringwood to Bournemouth as neither of those places licence them. Licenced areas in the south and South West are: South East: Southampton Brighton Portsmouth South West: Bristol Bath https://www.uber.com/en-GB/blog/changes-to-where-drivers-can-receive-trips/

Nothing bad that I'm aware of, taxis are unfortunatly expensive in the UK, day rates can work out well though. To be honest, although expensive there is no better way to get around, if you hired a car you would be planning your own routes and possibly miss so much. I don't know if you like cars but Beaulieu National Motor Museum is fantastic, I love it as I love my classics, I have a 1958 Austin Healey Sprite and a 1957 Triumph Thunderbird. https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/attractions/national-motor-museum/

I will, I have not been the the Alice Lisle in a while, I also like the close by Royal Oak at North Gorley, we often drop in there for a pint while on a bike (electic, I'm a cheat 😂) ride on the forest. The Red Shoot is also OK at Linwood, It's a Wadworth pub but it's nice and has a Micro Brewery. On the subject of Brewery's, Ringwood Brewery has closed down now, very sadly for us, it was always going to be a disaster after Marston's took it over and were subsequently bought by Carlsberg to become Carlsberg-Marston's. It was always a decent brewery tour there for tourists and locals alike, they even let people behind the bar hand pulling their own pint's. Ringwood beers will now be made near Birmingham 😢

Which line? Online check-in for NCL opens midnight Florida time, regardless where you embark.

JB, I agree, a walk at the Ornamental Drive and maybe see the near-by Knightwood Oak (oldest tree in the forest dating from 1600), Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary is close as well (but be aware you may not see deer) is another nice walk. I always recommend Fritham, close to your Linwood selection, but it's lovely by the lake and I always take people there for practically guaranteed horses. I think Burley is a do-not-miss, the old cottages (some dating back to 18th century) and again in the village centre and near the cricket pitch almost guaranteed horses and donkeys. There are lots of lovely old pubs in the New Forest for lunch and I really would recommend that option to step back in time. I can give that some thought, but the Royal Oak at Fritham is an nice old thatched pub which you might be near at lunch time. I only warn about the taxi drivers as some of the Southampton ones have little knowledge of the New Forest, in terms of a days sight seeing. Don't get me wrong, they know how to drive people from A-B and avoid traffic but if you ask some of them to take you on a sight seeing tour they might get a bit lost for ideas, hence the possible advance planning recommendation. I think you have that here in spades.

For Gatwick I would take the train but just be aware there are still occasional strike days to contend with, they are announced well in advance though so check online. It sounds like you are not in a hurry, so unless there is a need to get off the ship first, book a later morning train and maybe even have some lunch is Southampton. You can call an Uber with the app if you want, but the journey to the train station is very short and the saving will be tiny over a regular taxi. There will be lots of taxis outside the ship so I would personally not bother with Uber unless it's a currency thing, I guess if you won't have UK£ an Uber might make it simpler. It is walkable to the station and I have done it many times but with cases and two young children I would just take a cab, it is not expensive and for 4 people it's well worth it. Personally I would go straight to the hotel and leave the bags in storage, or if you have taken a more relaxed exit from the ship just check-in and freshen up. I guess it all depends on how much time you have after the cruise and how much you want to pack in, if I have the time, I tend to go for the relaxed option rather than rushing from place to place. EDIT PS, I recommend booking train tickets in advance on Trainline. https://www.thetrainline.com/

You will get an exit stamp as you get on the ship. All the stops in the EU will be counted as transit stops and don't count towards her 90 days, so as far as time in the EU that adds to her allowance goes, it will be just the time period from landing in Portugal and getting on the cruise ship.

All the big chains operate out of Dover and all the big companies should allow a drop off to a different location. It's always going to be more expensive to drop off at a different location but you really don't have a choice, if you took a bus or train to Gatwick and hired from there it would probably cost more in the fares. I'm not sure where Canterbury comes into the equation but I can't think of a reason it would be an advantage to hire from there as you are still returning to a different location. If you have a favourite car hire company where you have status, try them or, my advice, is to use Kayak to do a comparison. https://www.kayak.co.uk/cars

On the Jewel class it tends to be in the Bliss lounge, they attach a cloakroom ticket to each bag and give you the other half of the ticket as a receipt. The bag is kept in a roped off area with a member of staff looking after them. We always use this service.

Yes I am 🤩 Fantastic, I know you will love the New Forest. If you have a taxi for the day, it will be a great way to see it. It might be worth checking his/her knowledge of the NF ahead of time, some of the Southampton taxi drivers don't know the forest for sight seeing that well, so if they don't you might want to plan a good route.

I can only say that my experience, living here, is pre booked taxis are very reliable in the UK. It would not hurt to confirm the reservation 24hrs in advance for peace of mind, but I do not consider this nessesary.

The other interesting thing is they always convert them on the exchange rate of the original purchase, so unless you track back the $/£ exchange rates you never really know the value you will get once converted. I bought two once with different purchase dates, I was given different GBP values and the explanation was that its based on the exchange rate at date of original purchase. I historically always bought them on social media as an when I wanted them instead of buying a load on the ship that could expire, now they don't expire I just buy on the ship now and keep a stock of them.

You an me too, been doing it for years, I also have a credit card I use specifically for traveling as it has no overseas fees, the exchange rate is perfect as its the international rate and you just pay interest on cash advances from day one which is standard, and not much.

Keith the value of a CN is always $250, no matter what currency it is converted into it can be transferred back to US$ then back to a different currency if you wish. I bought some before in Canadian dollars, NCL converted them back to US$ then into sterling for me. Initially they put them in my account as $250 so I had to get them moved to GBP. There are not so many now that the expiry has been set to 2099 for obvious reasons. @tashaaa They can be bought on social media groups but I can't name them here. They generally sell for half the face value, which s the same as on the ship (better than the ship if buying just one) but you will have to pay any payment fees (paypal etc) Not many people are aware they can be converted, I bought a load in GBP for a very good price online once because they were in GBP and nobody else wanted them, al the ones in US$ were being snapped up while the others, for lower asking price were being ignored. I use a PCC (NCL Personal Cruise Consultant) and he is great, I got his email and direct number and he looks after all my cruise needs. Some people use travel agents as they can often get some OBC or other perks but I like my PCC. As you are new, another tip, you can also get up to $250 non refundable OBC as a shareholder perk if you own 100 shares: https://www.nclhltd.com/investors/shareholder-benefits

I will add to this, you can reprice without a fee in Europe as long as you are upgrading and pay more than the original booking, even 1€/£1. I once re-priced a cruise and paid £10 a head to go from inside to balcony, the ocean view cost less than the original inside booking and would have involved a fee to cancel and rebook. Also, after final payment you can get a FCC (as in the US) but only with a full price booking not with a guarantee cabin.

Of course they will, they will take any currency you care to shove in their general direction, it does not mean they are happy with it, and it does not mean you (and your nation) won't get bitched about behind your back. The right thing to do is tip in the local currency.

There is a very well known social media site where they are traded for half the face value (same as the ship), since the expiry date was removed the value holds now, it was previously possible to buy them with a short date at a big discount. Buying a single is still a saving over a single on the ship if you only want one CN. Most people will want you to cover the PayPal fees though so you are paying a tiny bit more than on the ship.

You can book a car with West Quay Cars https://westquaycars.com/ The National Express bus is great but I assume you would rather have a private car.