Globaliser

That is incorrect. Heathrow is within the Transport for London area, so the journey from LCY to LHR is entirely regulated. However, if the DLR --> Elizabeth Line route via Stratford doesn't appeal, I have heard it suggested that the best way from LCY to LHR is really via AMS.

With luggage, I would not take a Tube route that arrives at Waterloo on either the Bakerloo Line or the Northern Line. This is because IIRC the exit from both of these lines is not step-free. However, there is step-free exit from the Jubilee Line. So I would suggest taking the Northern Line southbound from Kings Cross St Pancras to London Bridge, and change there (step-free) to the Jubilee Line westbound to Waterloo. Having said that, there's a pretty good chance that you'd also find me taking a cab for this journey.

There's a related issue that I recently encountered: it appears that the minimum top up at a machine or a counter is $20. So even if you know you only need to top up less than that, you can't do it either of those ways. I was helping someone run an Opal card down to zero, but having to top up by $20 rather than $10 means that there's still $10 left on that card. I've since seen on the website that it may be possible to top up by $10 online. But standing in one of the airport stations minding my luggage as well wasn't the right time or place to start trying that.

Today's email says "The target themes for SCE run the gamut from lifestyle programs to affinity groups to specialty sports." I wonder whether Michael needs to look up a current meaning of the term "lifestyle cruises"? As you say, this could be fun. 😁

Although this would be almost as astonishing as there being no shops at FRA T1. The OP can try buying at BOS - and if they then discover that BOS won't do them a STEB, they don't have to give the BOS shop any money. As I've said before, this gives duty-free shops an incentive to do STEBs properly.

As you exit from customs, you will walk through a small "duty free" shop. You then exit into the public meet and greet area. IIRC, you need to turn right, and then find the correct lifts to take you upstairs to the Arrivals Lounge. Another recent thread reminds me to say don't buy liquids in that shop. It's not actually duty free, and any liquids you buy there will be subject to normal security rules for liquids. You will have to clear security at T5 so the liquids rules will be applied to you at that point.

Assuming that you're flying on a through ticket, you shouldn't be clearing either immigration or customs at FRA, so at most you should only need to clear security there. IIRC, Germany will accept US screening, so it's possible that you will connect without being security screened again if the terminal layout permits it. If the shop in BOS seals the bottles into an approved and compliant STEB, that should be accepted by FRA security (if there is any) so long as you have not opened or tampered with the STEB. One specific thing to note is that the receipt must be visible inside the bag and legible, so that FRA security can if necessary verify that the purchase was made within the previous 24 hours. I don't know FRA T1, but I would be astonished if there were no shops available to you there. They're a big money-spinner! Your main risk would be a delay to your inbound flight so that you don't have enough time to shop before you have to go to board your onward flight. If you do buy at FRA, my advice would be to make sure that the purchase is also sealed in a STEB even though you won't be planning to take it through security. One of the most aggravating things is if something goes wrong (eg your aircraft breaks or the terminal is evacuated) and you have to go landside and then clear security, because if the FRA purchase was not sealed into a STEB you may very well have to ditch it before your unexpected passage through security.

Yes, sometimes there are queues, AIUI most often at Galleries North. T5B is the least likely to have queues.

No, it also said this, which covers your situation of a cruise starting in the UK and ending in Iceland:

I agree with everyone that with the timings in question, a visit to the Arrivals Lounge followed by a sojourn in a departures lounge is the best option, and that a hotel day room isn't worthwhile. Both the Arrivals Lounge and the departures lounges have showers. I've only used the AA Arrivals Lounge once, but ISTR that the showers there were rather nicer than the BA lounge showers, which attract a certain amount of adverse comment (although they are IMHO perfectly serviceable). The Arrivals Lounge is landside, so you will have cleared immigration (but your bags ought to be through-checked and through-tagged so you don't need to deal with them at LHR). To transfer from T3 to T5 by Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line (which basically use the same platforms), I think you need to collect a free inter-terminal transfer ticket before you board. AIUI, the T5A (main building) Galleries Club North lounge is even busier than before. Historically, it always tended to have a higher proportion of domestic passengers, because the gates that can be used for domestic flights are at that end of the building. BA has now moved the Club check-in counters from the south end of the building to the north end, so more Club passengers clear North security, and the entrance to the North lounge is pretty much in your face as you exit from security. So that's attracted more passengers in there, particularly as the route to the South lounges involves descending one level and walking about 300 yards to the other end of the building. With a very long connection, I would also go to the T5B lounge because it's quieter and more pleasant. To get there, you should follow the signs to the B gates, which will take you down to the transit, and the B gates are one stop later. I would recommend taking the lifts (elevators) both down and up, even though you'll probably see most passengers heading straight for the escalators (particularly going up). There are, however, two disadvantages to using the T5B lounge. First, because your next flight is a shorthaul flight, there is a high likelihood that it will use one of the A gates. This means that you will have to return to the main building. You cannot (sensibly) do this using the transit; you will cause yourself a lot of hassle if you do so. You will need to walk about 400 yards back to T5A using the underground walkway that's below the transit. However, there are two separate platforms on opposite sides of the transit tracks and IIRC you can only get to the walkway from one of the transit platforms, so you will need to find out how to get to it. Second, there is also a real possibility that your next flight will use a C gate. This involves you travelling about 400 yards from the B gates to the C gates. You can use the transit to do this, but because of its layout, there are two separate platforms on opposite sides of the tracks and from either side you will only be able to board every other transit. Of course, you can again walk through the underground walkway to the C gates. In addition, there are almost no shops at the B gates. Opinions may differ as to whether this is an advantage or a disadvantage. This sounds odd. Was it at T5 or T3, and which airline were you flying? I think that when this occurs, it's usually because the passenger is trying to enter by virtue of oneworld status and the lounge isn't the passenger's airline's contracted/designated lounge. But this is rarely the case at T5. I've sometimes heard of queues to get in to T5 lounges if they've been busy, but not of people being actually turned away.

Reykjavik is inside Schengenland.

Except be careful not to confuse that with "Borough", which is a specific area south of the City of London.

If you fly to one city and then start your cruise in a different city altogether, this is almost inevitable. One analogy is flying to New York City and cruising from Philadelphia. (Or maybe that should be the other way around.)

To be fair, if you are already travelling then it's primarily the airline's responsibility to sort things out. Fundamentally, the cruise line was the agent which brokered the contract between you and the airline, which the airline is endeavouring to perform at that time. And in practice, if both the airline and the agent are simultaneously trying to change your travel arrangements to fix the problem that's arisen, things can go wrong when they fall between two stools. Similarly, if baggage is mishandled, it's primarily the airline's responsibility to sort it out. Delayed baggage catches up with many passengers whose air travel was not arranged by the cruise line, just as sometimes it never catches up with passengers because there's only so much that any cruise line can do (eg it's unlikely to be airlifted onto a trans-Atlantic crossing in mid-ocean). There are also plenty of examples of cruise lines helping those whose air travel was not arranged by the cruise line, including arranging supplies from the ship's shop and (for me on one occasion) helping to get my luggage out to the ship on the cutter when it came to collect the pilot.

Your ship is definitely scheduled to moor at HMS Belfast (Tower Bridge Upper) - see https://pla.co.uk/ship-movements

Do you have any insight into when this might be? I seem to recall that the work has continued largely uninterrupted since about the year 1666.

No, not at 5.30 am! The busiest period in the morning peak is probably about 7.30 am to 9.00 am, although much depends on where you are and which direction you're travelling in. And the morning peak traffic is really going in the opposite direction from you anyway. In any case, personally I wouldn't rush to get to Heathrow 3 hours before departure unless I had a particular reason or penchant for hanging around in an airport departure lounge.

My impression was also that ships that are moored to HMS Belfast (technically Tower Bridge Upper) are tendered to Tower Millennium Pier on the north side, but this should be checked with the cruise line. Cruise ships no longer moor at this point (technically Tower Bridge Lower). There is still a mooring point just below the bridge, but this is really for superyachts and the like; AIUI it can't handle cruise ships. There are now lifts (elevators) at Tower Hill Tube to the platforms in both directions. For the westbound platforms, which are what the OP needs, the lift is located in the main ticket hall. There are some level changes on entry to the station, but ramps have been built for all of them if you don't want to use the (few) steps. Barons Court is usually a better place to change because the cross-platform walk is only about 10 feet. In this direction, I would only use Hammersmith if there is inclement weather. See the photo in this post by Cotswold Eagle.

At Victoria, there is access by lifts (elevators) between street and platform, so there's no need for any steps or escalators. The same applies at Heathrow, and you now have the excellent pictorial illustration of Barons Court.

Maybe because (or because of some combination) of the following possibilites: 1. Some passengers want to book to get to their destination as quickly as possible. If the published MCT is 0:35, then on a 0:35 connection most passengers will make it most of the time. If you have more connecting time than that, your chances are better. 2. The pop-up is a dumb and uncalibrated EZAir warning that takes no account of the information published by airlines, and does not differentiate between easy and difficult connections, or between easy and difficult connecting airports, or between shorter or longer published MCTs, or between the outbound journey and the inbound journey. 3. EZAir is preying on the inexperience and the risk-averse and insecure nature of many cruise passengers, who will see that pop-up and choose to pay the higher price for the longer connection rather than risk a misconnect. There may be more possibilities in addition to these. Maybe there are only two flights a day from Rome to Reykjavik? Or maybe there are only two flights a day from Reykjavik to wherever your final destination is? If you're going to choose a slightly outré routing via a small and isolated city, you're not going to have much choice.

No. You just need to walk to the Central Bus Station, which is located between Terminals 2 and 3. You have to use the underground walkways, but the route is well signed. You do not need to go to Terminal 5, although the coach will probably call there on the way to Portsmouth. (I seem to recall that if you have booked a ticket from the Central Bus Station, your ticket may not even be valid for boarding at Terminal 5.)

Is it "enough" for what? If the question is whether it's enough to satisfy the airline's official Minimum Connection Time so that you will be allowed to buy a through ticket, then that can depend on (a) which airline is selling the arriving flight; (b) which airline is operating the arriving flight; (c) where that flight is coming from; (d) which airline is selling the departing flight; (e) which airline is operating the departing flight; and (f) where that flight is going to. But a good rule of thumb is that if you can buy it today, it's legal today. On the assumption that you may be looking at an Icelandair-Icelandair connection, then I think the currently filed MCTs say yes: a quick look suggests the MCT is 0:35. If the question is whether it's enough to guarantee that you won't misconnect, then the answer is no. But is that your question?

To be fair, AA-AA ITD is 1:15. Suppressed lines omitted: Minimum Connect Times: Connecting at JFK Incoming airline AA Outgoing airline AA Flight type International to Domestic STANDARD.D/D...D/I...I/D...I/I. ONLINE 1.00 1.15 1.45 2.00 OFFLINE 1.00 1.15 1.45 2.00 ** OR * ARE ALL AA-AA ID 1.15 ... **-AA ID 2.00 TRM 7 - 8 ... .

Yes it is, if you can manage your luggage up the stairs. It is what I would do. The stairs up from the eastbound District Line platform (which is where you would be if coming from Heathrow) are intended to be one-way going up. So immediately after a train arrives, the stairs are at their busiest. It's worth waiting 30 seconds or so (depending on how many people get off) until the batch of arriving passengers has gone up the stairs, and then you should feel no time pressure while you get your luggage up the stairs.

There's step-free access down to the westbound District Line. Take that to Barons Court. Change cross-platform to the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow. It's worth noting that Wimbledon trains don't go to Barons Court, so it's easiest simply to avoid those. (The same with the occasional trains heading to Parsons Green and Kensington Olympia.) Also don't get on a Circle Line train by accident, as they don't go to Barons Court either. But the majority of trains will.