John Bull

Thanks for that, Gumshoe. A simple search on the Chiltern site show exactly the same as I found on the other sites - the £20.10 fare showing only the trains at 20 mins past the hour. I'll take your word for it that the 50 mins past the hour trains show if "via Havant" is selected but nowhere on that Chiltern site nor the National Rail site could I find a "via" filter. There is a via filter on Southern's site. Havant isn't one of the stations listed, but if it's typed in - bingo - it shows both the 20 mins past & 50 mins past trains. But of course a stranger to UK trains - and even locals like JB - isn't going to know that for half of the Gatwick trains they have to use a via filter to include a change at Havant. (or for trains in the opposite direction a change at Barnham). The unnecessarily complicated fare structure and this "via" nonsense make the train websites a bit of a nightmare. I get very bored explaining time and again on Cruise Critic how Advance fares work, now this nonsense. I'm not going to do the same with the need to use the "via Havant" or "via Barnham" facility to get a full timetable of SOU to GTW trains. I might create & save a post which covers these matters. Or I'm more likely to just ignore train threads. Exasperated 😡 Now I gotta lie down and go to a happy place 😏 JB 🙁

Strangely enough, in Norway you'll have more difficulty using cash than using cards - a lot of outlets don't accept cash. But just a few NOK in your pocket isn't a bad thing. JB 🙂

A favourite on Saints' football match-days. But a half-hour walk from most hotels, City Cruise Terminal & other cruise terminals. JB 🙂

Now I'm well-confused. For various weekday dates, eg Thurs 20th June, neither the National Rail site nor the Southern site are showing me the trains at 50 minutes past the hour, only those at 20 mins past. Hence you say half-hourly via Havant at £20.10, and I'm saying hourly. In desperation I checked the LNER site (a different operator covering a different part of the UK but should show the same). That needs the "go cheaper" filter to show any trains on that route, which I rate as ridiculous, but again shows only the trains at 20 mins past the hour. I think I've sussed it. 🙂 The timetables show half-hourly trains from Southampton to Havant and half-hourly from Havant to Gatwick, but only hourly (20 mins past the hour) from Southampton to Gatwick 🙄 But I give up on why they don't show the 50 mns past the hour trains, journey time is the same and timetabling shows they're not overtaken by the trains which go via Clapham.🥴 Jeez, what a mess. Can you please tell me which website you've pasted, it might be better if I got my information from it. JB 🙂

Hi, Andy, MSC's large ships, eg MSC Seaside and MSC Virtuosa, match / beat RCI for the wow factor and for entertaining the kids and young adults . The whistles & bells in the kids' pool areas and adventure parks are especially awesome, and the fares are keen eg kids go free. JB 🙂

So it's Marella - a Marella-chartered flight?. If so, the first para of my post applies, and I can confirm the post by @Izzywiz That means no need of a car, you & your luggage should be able to stay on the ship and enjoy all the food & facilities (except your cabin) until your airport transfer is called - for a 10pm flight that's likely to be about 6pm to 7pm. If instead you choose to rent a car, go to Guest Relations a few days ahead and tell them - they'll tell you about how to organise your luggage and note that you won't be using the transfer bus - they don't want to be searching for you to catch the bus We sailed a Marella Adriatic fly-cruise a couple of years back. You'll certainly enjoy historic little Koper, Split. the iconic walled city of Dubrovnik, and the long sail in / sail out of cosy little Kotor. Trieste is pleasant enough, but it's on the itinerary as a vaguely-convenient port to visit Venice if you've not been there before - most cruise ships are no longer permitted to port in Venice. JB 🙂

I too lean heavily toward the Princess itinerary - the only disappointment with that itinerary (for me) is that the Turks & Caicos (Grand Turk island) call is a Carnival Corp,-owned beach. Yes, bars & cruisers' shops & sunbeds & such, and yes you can use your cruise card for purchases, but there's nowhere local to visit, no local character, all a bit cruise-corporate. (Princess Cays on the Sky Princess is similar) The other islands are so varied - some volcanic. some rainforested, different produce, different peoples,. different colonial pasts. All-in-all better IMHO than Mexico and Belize, altho swimming with wild stingrays on Grand Caymen is wonderful. I'll also second the ABC islands - Aruba is a bit "Florida", Bonaire is small but great snorkelling, Curacao is my favourite - very Dutch. Cartagena in Columbia is often on the same itineraries as the ABC islands. JB 🙂

Yep, I saw that the Earls Court tube station was the same distance as the Gloucester Road one from the Kensington Marriot, I mentioned Gloucester Road because the Circle Line was also accessed from there. But the above from Globaliser is the reason why I suggested a Londoner as a better source than a South Coast yokel 😏 Yes, the change is from 1st June - I was tryin' to keep it simple by treating it in the present tense, But no. it's still the same hourly Southern service from Victoria via Gatwick and along the South Coast, but from 1at June it terminates in Portsmouth instead of Southampton. Hence for Southampton a change of train a little before Portsmouth - at Havant in the Gatwick direction but at Barnham (at Ford on sundays) in the Portsmouth direction, all small stations, all same-platform changes. Atho we've managed to make it sound complicated, IMHO it's not a big change - the south coat route is the same as it was but with one simple change. JB 🙂

From central London to Southampton Central station. Kensington to Waterloo station. Your hotel is about 1/4 of a mile from Gloucester Road tube station. Take either a Circle Line (yellow) or District Line (green) tube train to Westminster tube station & either change to a Jubilee (silver) line tube train, or hail a taxi or walk 1/2 mile over Westminster Bridge to Waterloo . Needs a Londoner to advise which is easiest with luggage. https://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf Or say the hell with the tube, and pre-book a private-hire taxi or (more expensive) hail a black cab from your hotel to Waterloo, 4 miles. Again, needs a Londoner to suggest an approximate fare. As has been mentioned, Waterloo to Southampton is served by South-Western. 2 direct trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes. Walk-up fares are about £55, but Advance tickets available from about 12 weeks out start at around £14 then increase as the travel date draws near. Those tickets are only good for the train time that you've booked, so don't miss it. From Southampton Central station to Gatwick. There's no longer a direct train. Two routes involving one change of train - One is twice per hour via an awkward change at Clapham Junction costing £44.50, The first train is by South-western & the second is by Southern but that makes no difference But just to show how complicated the ticketing is,..............if you choose via Clapham Junction for monday to saturday it's cheaper to buy Advance tickets (same terms as WAT to SOU) for Southampton to Clapham Junction costing as little as £14, then the walk-up fare from Clapham Junction to Gatwick is £14.50. Advance tickets for this second leg at £14 save only pennies over the anytime fare of £14.60 & not worth the restrictions. So split-ticketing can save you £16 each No cheap advance fares on sundays. - The other route is hourly via a simple same-platform change at Havant at £20.10, both trains are Southern, journey time about 20 minutes longer but that's the one to go for. No need to buy in advance, this is effectively the all-day walk-up fare This service doesn't operate on sundays - by train your only choice on sundays is the more expensive route via Clapham Junction. You can book any train journey on any rail operator's website, or via the National Rail website which I find simpler https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ Fares are the same whichever of those sites you use JB 🙂

IMHO beach days would be a waste of valuable sight-seeing time in Barcelona and Malaga, and perhaps on Majorca. They are also a fair taxi ride from the ports. Best bet would be Ibiza which is very much a resort island. JB 🙂

Altho you've been told that your ship is scheduled to dock at 7am, that's unusual for most cruise lines including Princess, and there's a strong possibility that's actually when disembarkation is scheduled to start. But even if 7am is ship's arrival time you should have no problem making a domestic flight from Southampton at 11.20. 20 minutes to the airport is very comfortable on a sunday morning, but you might want to consider pre-booking a taxi eg . https://westquaycars.com/ in case there's a rare long line for taxis at the cruise terminal (Sky Princess is scheduled for QE11 Cruise Terminal, deep in the docks, so demand for taxis will be high) I suggest that you check-in on-line in the 30 days before the flight - altho Easyjet don't specify check-ins at Southampton (its a new airport for EasyJet) there's a broad mention on their website of airport check-ins closing two hours before flight times, which could put a spanner in the works. You can use the bag-drop at the airport up to 40 minutes before flight time, which is / was usually the latest check-in time. Southampton is a very easy, simple and traveller-friendly little single-terminal regional airport. No silly-long lines, departure lounges are directly off the main hall, and you walk a few paces from there to the aircraft. Check the disembarkation times with the crew - they're the only reliable source - and if you're allocated a late disembarkation slot ask at Customer Services for an earlier slot citing your onward travel arrangements (since you have a wide window for delays, best not to show your air tickets but instead quote an earlier flight time in case they decline) JB 🙂

Hi, and welcome to Cruise Critic, It's a good idea to quote your location, at least the country, in your screen-name. That will get you more-accurate replies to questions on a number of topics like passports, visas, currency etc. And it would probably eliminate chartered fly-cruises if you are in North America - but if you've already booked you'll already know about that advantage of a chartered fly-cruise. Other than that, as others have posted you need to vacate your cabin by about 8.30 and be off the ship by about 9.30 - 10.00. Your problem isn't what to do in Corfu if you have a late flight - there are plenty of tours, beaches, bars, restaurants, etc., or you could just explore the town. The problem is that you'll be encumbered by your luggage 🙁. Check the internet, and mebbe ask on TripAdvisor and the Greece forum here on Cruise Critic https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/463-greece-ports/ about luggage storage options in Corfu - shops, airport (it's only a couple of miles from the port) rail station if there is one, etc. Or make best use of your long day on Corfu, and pre-book a rental car from one of the rental agencies at the airport - make sure it's as small and cheap as possible but big enough to keep your luggage hidden, You can then explore the island, find a good evening meal, etc before returning the car to the airport in good time to check in for your flight. JB 🙂

In the UK and most European countries all prescribed medicines and common over-the-counter ones are sold in blister packs, so there's no problem with labelling (and being in strips of 7 or 14 forgetting whether you've taken today's pill/s isn't a problem for those of us who are forgetful 🙄). I'm aware that many are now available in blister packs in the US, this'd be a good time to try them out. Countries in the Middle East (and Japan?) are very fussy about medications JB 🙂

Cruise-only are certainly available in the UK - google "cruise travel agent UK" or similar and, same as filters for destinations, cruise lines, etc., most have filters to search "fly-cruise" or "cruise only". There's one in particular which is excellent for research - as per CC rules we can't name it, but not difficult to find because there are less than a dozen cruise specialist travel agents. Fly-cruises involving chartered aircraft as opposed to scheduled flights are limited to destinations where there's sufficient demand to fill aircraft - with very rare exceptions only the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Three mainstream cruise lines offer these from several UK airports - P&O, Marella and sometimes Fred Olsen plus rarely other cruise lines (Princess used to, and we recently sailed a Caribbean fly-cruise with MSC, who also offered the same from mainland Europe). I don't see cruise-only offered for cruises listed as chartered fly-cruises because demand would be low and possibly cruise-only bookings would affect the balance between aircraft seats & berths, but on a P&O Caribbean fly-cruise last November for reasons I won't bore you with we wanted a switch of UK airport - aircraft seats from there were booked-out but P&O allowed us to switch to scheduled BA flights with no fare adjustment. So anyone flying in from elsewhere or perhaps living near the embarkation port can probably book cruise-only even though it's not advertised. I guess the US is too big to warrant chartered aircraft, but I know there have been chartered Caribbean fly-cruises from eastern Canada so US cruise lines have probably considered doing likewise JB 🙂

From London (as in central London) to Southampton you have quite a wide choice - frequent direct trains from London Waterloo rail station. Journey time 90 minutes, fare upward from £14 for a restricted advance ticket (ask again here for ticket details if train is your choice) - hourly National Express bus from Victoria coach station.. Journey time about 2hrs 15mins, fare upward from about £10, Advance booking strongly advised. The location of your London hotel is likely to influence whether train or bus is better. Both Southampton Central train station & Southampton coach station are a short taxi ride (£10 or less) to any cruise terminal. Other options include ship's transfer bus from Victoria coach station, pre-booked private transfer from hotel to ship (about £170 - £200 total), and a tour/transfer coach specifically for passengers on your cruise from your hotel to your ship via either Windsor Castle or Stonehenge https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html Not such good news for your transfer from ship to Heathrow, because of your noon flight time 😮. There's no public transport to suit that flight time, and cruise lines strongly (and wisely) suggest that you don't use their transfer service for flights before 1.00pm. Your only option is to disembark unassisted (ie haul your own luggage from your cabin) as early as possible, that's usually around 7.00am, with a pre-booked car waiting for you at 7.15am. Heathrow is about 68 miles on a motorway thick with commuter traffic and excluding any unusual hold-ups takes 2hrs to 2hrs 30 mins.. That gets you to the airport around 9.15 to 9.45 which is OK but there's little wiggle room if you're exceptionally delayed. If your flight is a saturday or sunday the pressure is off - no commuter traffic & little commercial traffic reduces your travel time to about 75 minutes, giving you a wide window for problems. But if this is a weekday, I'd recommend a later flight time if available. If its the only suitable flight of the day you'll need to keep your fingers and toes crossed. JB 🙂

Whilst that makes a great deal of sense, it can be difficult to persuade drivers at the port to accept such a short trip - they generally want something more lucrative. If you can get together a small group of like-minded folk (via your ship's RollCall?) you can ask a driver to take you to the cablecar station, and if the cablecar turns out to be a no-no he can give you a standard upper Rock van tour, the cablecar station is only a few yards off the route - that's particularly important if it's late in the day with a long line for the cablecar, or if its a windy day when the cablecar service is suspended (deliberate pun 😏), JB 🙂

Then Miami or Ft Lauderdale or Port Canaveral or Tampa make sense. Have a good one JB 🙂

I disagree with my feline friend (no right or wrong, just different opinions). We've found Lanzarote the most interesting of the Canary Islands, and it's one of our go-to places for a winter break. And whereas @sleepingcat prefers green & verdant islands, we prefer the more-dramatic scenery of Lanzarote. Yes the volcanic area, Timanfaya, 20 miles / 45 mins from the port in Arrecife. There's a visitor centre where you can watch ther restaurant's chicken being cooked over the natural underground heat, and demonstrations like a bucket of water poured into a hole bored in the ground which provides a mini-version of Old Faithful. Included in the entrance fee is a bus tour over the convoluted hilly lava on a narrow one-way road just for the park's buses. Beyond the park you can drive across the volcanic fields to the coast at Los Hervideros, where the lava entering the sea has left some amazing rock formations. And just up the road from there, the "green lagoon" at El Golfo. Playa Blanca is a pleasant & interesting resort to round-off your day. Or 16 miles / 25 mins north of the port, Cesar Manrique's Jameos del Agua and the nearby underground tube (Cueva de los Verdes) left by molten lava. Or much closer to the port the other Manrique Cesar sights mentioned by sleepingcat. Because of waiting time at the sights, these will be expensive by taxi - even pre-booked - especially if you want to make the most of the day by combining places. But rental cars are inexpensive & available at the port if pre-booked, and other than in Arrecife the roads are easy and traffic is light. Best-known, highly-rated and very customer-friendly rental agency is Cicar, who we have used on many occasions on most of the islands- clean late cars, map, informative CD, and none of the usual cons & add-ons employed by rental agencies worldwide. (Most rental cars n Europe are shift-stick - if you need auto-shift be sure to specify) JB 🙂

It's pretty straightforward to do what you want independently. Public bus from Salerno to Amalfi, a different bus from there up to Ravello & back or skip Ravello and stay on the first bus to Positano. Buses don't leave the main elevated coast road, you have a 10 to 15 minute walk down thro Positano to the harbour, then back to Salerno by ferry. That gives you views of the coast from on high and from the water. You'll be aware how steep the walk down to Positano - if you're not as fit as you once were walking down rather than up makes sense - but if that's not a problem the other way round might better suit the bus & ferry schedules. JB 🙂

To avoid confusion, there's only one "port" for cruise ships. The "new port" (called Tourlos, altho' few people know that name) is a couple of miles north of the town, and as others have mentioned a new water-bus shuttle to the town was introduced a few years ago as an alternative to shuttle-buses & taxis. Walking isn't a great option, there's effectively no sidewalk or shade. The "old port" is in the town, it's waaaay too small for cruise ships. If your ship doesn't berth at the new port it will moor off-shore and you'll be ferried to the old port / town by tender. One of the few places in the world where for smaller cruise shipsashore by tender is better than being berthed. Yes, the immaculate and attractive little pedestrian lanes behind the harbour are a maze - but the town is quite small and if you head in vaguely the right direction you won't go far wrong for the line of windmills or Little Venice (a more-accurate name would be Very Very Little Venice 😏) Someone mentioned the pelican. Google "Petros Mykonos" JB 🙂

Yes, same for us from time to time in various corners of the world. No, you're not paranoid - just playing safe by asking. And no problem if you wait a while to get similar replies from others No worries JB 🙂

Remember, clocks go forward one hour at 2am on sunday. So we get an hour's less rain JB 🙂

There are plenty of hotels in airportland, though they don't have atmosphere, and as per @Island2Dweller's post its not a great location if you want to spend more than one day in London. Well-worthwhile places near Heathrow are Windsor as mentioned by others, and Hampton Court. both just a few miles away though a little complicated by public transport so book a one-way private hire taxi through your hotel. And decide whether to fix a time to be collected for the return to Heathrow (likely to be cheapest) or take a taxi from the taxi rank in Windsor or at Hampton Court train station (more flexible) I think you'd have difficulty in finding coach (bus) tours from Heathrow JB 🙂

Any current or on-going problems such as plumbing would be a concern, but I wouldn't pay too much attention to things like age, especially for a first cruise cos pretty-well any ship will amaze you. We've sailed several P&O ships and a couple of Princess ships, along with a number of other cruise lines. We had a significant problem (plumbing) with one of the other ships - I won't name the cruise line because it was a short-term one-off - but none with either P&O or Princess Mention of "old ships" confirms that if ship's age is a concern to you (it isn't to us) you need to check out the age and other factors of the individual ship rather than the cruise line. P&O in particular have a mainly new fleet, Aurora - a "proper" traditional cruise ship - is our favourite amongst P&O's fleet and also the oldest - built 2000 & last refurbished 2019. Oldest Princess ship is Grand Princess, built 1998 & last refurbished 2019, we've not sailed in her. You will find both newer fleets eg MSC and older fleets eg Marella & Fred Olsen, but most cruise lines operate both new & older ships For what it's worth, we prefer Princess over P&O - P&O ships we find a little bland, Princess have a little more style. But other factors including size of ship (we're not keen on the leviathons), itinerary and the bottom line are much more important to us. I think all P&O and Princess ships were delivered new. Some cruise lines eg Ambassador & Marella have only second-hand ships - they don't have all the latest whistles & bells but it doesn't mean that they're not well-maintained or refurbished and of course it means that they provide better value. Best cruises by far that we've ever had were on MS Discovery - built 1972, and by the time we first sailed her in about 2006 she was about 35 years old and had 4 previous owners. Also the most basic ship by far that we've ever sailed, but age & facilities are only one factor - itineraries, atmosphere, food, crew, cruise fare are amongst other factors and we mourn the day she went to the breakers I do suggest that a Brit-orientated cruise line is a good choice for first-time Brits. There's a lot to learn about a cruise holiday and simplest is best - Brit routines, passenger-mix, language, food, ship's currency, absence of large add-on costs. Carefully review those matters with other cruise lines All just MHO as always JB 🙂

Agreed. Only boutique cruise ships visit Seville, and Arvia doesn't exactly qualify as "boutique" 😏,. She ports in Cadiz, Seville is about 90 minutes by coach or over 2 hrs by train. P&O will almost-certainly offer a coach excursion to Seville, but that'll be a tour with little or no time to do your own thing wandering the streets. But the old part of Cadiz, right by the port, is made for wandering the streets. And La Caleta beach is on the other side of the old town. Not architectural masterpieces like Seville, much more artisan but interesting & walkable streets & pedestrian lanes. A pleasant and lazy day. If that's not interesting enough for you, consider a 30 minute train ride to Jerez de la Frontere, the home of sherry. Production is now carried out in factories on the outskirts but a number of the centre's original bodegas are open for tours & tastings. And if Andalusian horses are your scene there's https://www.realescuela.org/en/visits-shows/what-to-do/full-visit/ Barcelona Take the payable but inexpensive port shuttle, which drops you near the statue of Christopher Columbus on his tall column (think Nelson's column in Trafalgar Square). He's at thr bottom end of the famous Las Ramblas.. Other sights like Gaudi's Sagrada Familia need a bus or metro ride. Mallorca I last visited about 40 years ago but I remember the excellent train ride between Palma & Soller https://trendesoller.com/eng/index JB 🙂