durante

Hi, we stayed there for one night at the end of our cruise, it is in a great location in a side street off Las Ramblas, our room was quite simply furnished, but clean and comfortable, and the staff were helpful and friendly. I thought it was good value.

You didn't say if you just embarked today, however if it such a big problem for you, why don't you put everything in order yourself,if its such a great deal to make this comment.i think the books do get sorted out eventually ...most people read on their kindles etc, you have to understand staff are really busy and the last thing on their minds is to sort out library books...sorry I don't mean to give aharsh response, however it seems a really strange complaint.

Agree with Hawaiidan, there's no point waiting at the terminal in Civitavecchia, nothing there, however I have a suggestion for your transfer, to go somewhere interesting en route to the airport such as via Ostia Antica, it's quite close to Fiumicino.

Don't rely on the cruise tracking websites, they are often inaccurate. The official riviera ports website show Nice Port not Villefranche.:)

Chris, what cruise line are you taking? Only a few, such as Azamara actually dock in Nice Port, most of them anchor off Villefranche

The last time we sailed TA, the final port was South Hampton. We just walked off the ship. There was no Customs or Emigration. Does the same thing happen in Dover?

I have done several transatlantic cruises ending in the UK and immigration was always processed onboard the ship.

The indoor pool is a spa pool and there is a charge to use it if you are not having a spa treatment.

There is no high tea served, it is just afternoon tea between 3.30 and 4.30pm, this is free of charge. It is served by waiters in the Queens Room or you can have the same scones and sandwiches up in the self service Lido.

There was only one small bridge which had steps, it wasn't a problem to drag luggage over it.

We have only ever used the airport, not the train station.

Here you go

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/dress_code_all

To specifically answer the OPs question re children at the Captains Cocktail Party as opposed to the Dining Room, then yes I have seen families including children of all ages several times. Most recently I noticed the Captain made a particular point of greeting the children and chatting to the parents.

hi,

I am trying to find the actual scheduled departure time for Cunards Queen Mary 2 on 22 March, and the arrival time on 29 March, both at Wusonkou terminal.

I have found one website which lists actual times for other cruise lines, but for Queen Mary 2 it just lists arrival as early morning and departure as evening, which is the same as on Cunard website.

Thank you:)

I really recommend using buses in Edinburgh. If you get a one day bus ticket £4 cash instead of paying £1.60 per journey, you can use the Lothian bus service as often as you like, which means you don't have to worry about having the exact coins for the £1.60 one way trip. There are a couple of bus services which go between Newhaven and central Edinburgh ie Princes Street, and from there you can walk up to the Royal Mile, which you mentioned as your destination.

St James Court Hotel is in Buckingham Gate quite near Buckingham Palace, so you will be North of the river in Victoria/Westminster area. There are restaurants all around you.

Have you tried to locate your hotel on a map? That will help you start your research into what is available.

The buses will be too full to allow 2 large suitcases, so you can either get the train, then either taxi or 15 minute walk to the hotel, or arrange for a car from the cruise terminal.

You haven't said how much luggage you will have or where in Nice your hotel is located. This does make a difference trying to to help you. I used to live in Nice.

Cheapest way is this. If you are ok with dragging the bags, then you can take the 20 min walk from cruise port round that area and then up via escallier to Monte Carlo railway station for the railway to Nice Ville. Get off there and make your way to hotel, If your hotel is not centrally located in Nice, then you need to give us more info if you want a better transfer.

Please don't do a hotel limo unless you are extremely rich in which case...you don't need anyone's advice on this forum

There is no 'down the nose at Americans' as you describe it, why would there be with so many doing transatlantics?, the food will not be as good as Oceania, ( excluding beef and lamb at dinner), but then again Oceania doesnt

do 7-8 day regular transatlantic crossings.

There are always taxis waiting at the taxi ranks outside the terminals. No point in booking as you don't always know exactly when you will be getting off the ship.

Do book the National Express coach in advance, it does get full, and also picks up people at Southampton Uni and Winchester on the way. We always go for the 9.45 am to Heathrow after a cruise, (for us, not to catch flights, but purely because the journey is quicker than going into Victoria, and we have quicker tube links to get home on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow). The coach stops at Terminal 5 first, then 4, then finally T2/3, so make sure you book the exact Terminal you want for your flight. The coach driver checks the tickets and puts the luggage into different areas in the hold according to which terminal.

Where are you flying to? For example, European flights do not require as much time to check in as US flights

hi gfkcruiser, Assume you will be taking a morning train back to London, if so just be prepared for jam packed carriages full of commuters, also the trains will already be quite packed with people who got on the train previous to Southampton. It's not a terrible problem as long as you know what to expect beforehand.

It wasn't really a problem, but not good either..we were on an Insignia cruise from Venice in the summer, a few years ago, workmen were still working on the decking all around the pool on the embarkation day, and also the day after, and there was an intense chemical/ adhesive smell there for several days. Just had to forget about using that area while it was being renovated. Everything else was good on this cruise btw.

I wouls say if you think this type of thing could ruin your cruise then best not to book the first day after a dry dock.

Hi Richard,

Nice photos. Thank you. But I have to say the majority of people on our last few Oceania cruises at aftenoon tea didn't look so 'well dressed'.

Didn't bother me except for the Russian bathrobe man, never seen that on any other cruise line and that's the only reason I mentioned him in the first place...

Same with Cunard. I do think the climate does play a big part in what you wear. And I think that was the point of people commenting on cruises in warm weather areas like NZ and AU right now

Just be comfortable if you are going to afternoon tea. The tea bags are not great and the scones, not great either so why the big deal about the event. The worst part about afternoon tea on QE and QV is if you don't mind queuing up for ages, people take seats in the Queens Room half an hour beforehand...and then more often then not you have to endure the Eastern European string quartet scraping away on their instruments, always so out of tune and unmusical. Sorry it's not like a classy event. And if you appreciate good classical music, it's like torture. They have had a couple of decent pianists though.

Actually I really like Azamara, have you been on any of their cruises? Like your Oceania photos, they have 2 ships the same type and are fabulous. scones are better too!

If you keep doing a fake booking on megabus, you will see when your chosen departure date first appears at the cheapest price, I think it's about 6 weeks beforehand.

I hate to say it but Ghent is a lot like a mini Bruges, only Bruges is more interesting.

Solent Richard, you are surely joking when you include dress standards such as on Oceania being better than Cunard at afternoon tea? I personally don't care what other people wear, especially when it's a hot climate cruise (...apart from the dreaded unhygienic American baseball caps which I have seen on both lines at afernoon tea) . Old guys from America seem to love wearing them indoors, God knows why,

Have done 12 cruises on Oceania, and over 30 on Cunard, and while the food is pretty good on Oceania, all I see is people wearing whatever they feel comfortable in. That's good by me.

However, I once saw a Russian man very aggressively try to gain access to the lounge on Insignia wearing his bathrobe for afternoon tea, thankfully he was sent on his way... Luckily, have never seen this behaviour on Cunard ...yet

I would have thought June 2018 as opposed to June 2017 is too far away to determine the exact location. The reason I say this is we once did an Oceania cruise which was originally meant to be docked in the city, but it was suddenly changed to the big cruise terminal.

It won't matter anyway, you can get local buses very easily into town from either location. One of the most beautiful cities in the world and perfect time of year to be there too.:)