Mike1948

I am an early riser and usually have my breakfast in the buffet soon after 7am. It is quiet then without the congestion of an hour later. Even so, I have had my part-eaten food cleared from the table while fetching a drink!

Breakfast in the buffet at 7am or shortly after that is a much more pleasant experience that at 9am.

I have been with Royal Caribbean three times as a solo cruiser. While I enjoyed the holidays, I did not think they were very good for solo. The reason was that the only meet-ups were in the MDR for lunch. When the sun is beaming down outside who wants to spend 90 minutes inside over a semi-formal lunch? The solo meet-ups would have been much better in the evening. Hardly surprisingly, the numbers attending dwindled to a handful by the second week.

Some locations in the Caribbean are very dangerous with locals ready to pounce on an unsuspecting "rich'' visitor, particularly a solo one. Carry the minimum of valuables with you - leave the rest on the ship. This includes expensive watches and all types of jewellery. Don't lug a huge camera around - have a small, relatively cheap one. If possible go ashore with a group and do not walk down quiet streets.

When going off the ship at a port of call take a copy of that day's ship's newspaper with you - there are often spare copies near the reception area. This applies particularly if you do not take a ship's tour.

The reason is that important info is in the newspaper. If you get in to trouble while ashore the contact details of the ship's agent in the port are in the newspaper. For instance: you are robbed and have to go to the police station or suffer an accident or illness ashore. The agent can communicate with the ship to make them aware of the situation. Should you be only likely to be a few minutes late the captain may be willing to wait for you.

I have been on Oriana and Ventura within the last two years.

On Oriana there was a singles get-together over a complimentary cup of coffee at about 11am. Additionally the singles were put on the same tables in the MDR. On Ventura there was only the morning singles get-together.

I was on Explorer of the Seas last year. The first night, at my request, I was seated on a table for eight. The first 25 minutes I spent on my own, then a German couple joined me but only the woman could speak English.

Another daft thing was the daily single get-togethers were at lunchtime in the MDR! This, while the sun was out and most were on top deck. Madness.

Surely the singles should be seated together in the MDR at the evening meal.

The regular Unilink bus goes from the south (Toys r Us/IKEA) side of the railway station to the National Oceanography Centre (NOC on bus signs), near QE and Ocean Terminals. It is not suitable for the western docks (berths 101, 102, 106). If you have a bus pass issued in England it is free. Don't know what the fare is if you have to pay. I live in Soton and have walked from 102 to near the railway station towing a case on wheels and with a carry-on bag. Anyone can use the Unilink buses - they are not confined to students.

I was on the repositioning of Norwegian Epic from Barcelona to Miami in late October to mid-November.

I had a studio cabin. There were several faults will it:

The major one was the double bed. As NCL markets studios for singles it does seem pointless to have a double bed. The size of it restricts the amount of storage space in the studio which is at a premium.

There are also two very annoying sliding doors. One covers the TV or the wardrobe and the other the wash basin or more storage space. I had maintenance three times trying to make one of the sliding doors work properly but they failed and I ended up having to lift it off its runners completely! Another passenger in a studio had the same problem.

Another major annoyance was that the light in the toilet was activated by movement. When I went in there for anything more than about 30 seconds and did not move, the light went out. I had to wave my hands around while sitting on the throne or leave the door open!

There is only an uncomfortable stool in the studio to sit on and hardly any desk space.

I also found the lights extremely annoying. To try to create an atmosphere they change colour periodically. It takes a while to work out how to make them give a constant white light when you want to read a book in bed.

I have been on five cruises before I went on Epic and the cabin was the worst of the lot. I would certainly not relish the prospect of another 14 days in one of them.

One thing I did like on Epic was the quality of the food in the buffet.

Yet another gripe was the difficulty of finding anywhere where one could sit in peace without being bombarded by music of one form or another. I like music but I don't like having it thrust upon me. Even the library is not immune from this music pollution.

It may be worth reading this review:

http://www.cruise.co.uk/cruise-reviews/msc-cruises/msc-sinfonia/read_review_102508/

I was on deck nine on the same respositioning cruise on Sinfonia. I could certainly smell sewage while walking towards the rear of deck 10 but it was gone within a couple of days. Someone probably put a sanitary towel down the loo.

National Express Coach is probably the cheapest way to get to Heathrow from Southampton. However the railway is another option. You should change at Woking station on the main line to London (ensure the train you get stops there). From Woking you catch the bus to Heathrow. There is no need to buy the ticket in advance. Times and prices for the entire journey here:

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/