SteveH2508

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but this (my bold in red) is not always true. We took National Express to Southampton recently and nearly missed our cruise. The coach was 45 minutes late leaving Victoria and then got stuck on the A4 for about an hour (two lanes closed due to preparations for the Queen's funeral the next day). We were an hour and a half late into Southampton. Give yourself plenty of wiggle room with your timings.

Just sharing a great resource, that's all...

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2741933-to-add-some-humour/page/1147/#comment-64133039 Would be my guess...

The Jubilee line was very busy for a Sunday morning (until everyone got off at Green Park).

London is already busier than usual with people travelling in to pay their respects. When all of the Heads of State come in for the funeral next week they will be coached in to Westminster Abbey from elsewhere. No private planes or helicopters to come into UK and no private cars to come into London on that day.

We found that the feature was a major PITA. This was due to the delay (lag) in updating the person's location. Both myself and my wife spent quite a bit of time chasing each other around the ship. The lag was usually 10 to 15 minutes, so it was basically unusable. (Regal Princess - English Channel and Belgium/Holland cruise)

I could happily use the drinks package for my Tanglefoot/London Pride etc.. My DW drinks cocktails - however the choice is so limited that she would not be happy. It follows therefore that I would not be happy either😟.

My take FWIW If you drink lots of beer, basic wine (by the small glass) or single shot spirits and a cheap mixer then you might come out in front on the package (with a bit of effort). If you like cocktails then forget it. If you want to enjoy your holiday, enjoy your bevvy of choice, then the drinks package is probably not a good choice.

Sad news for the whole world, but let us look forward with a positive view - Long Live the King.

Sipsmiths and Fever-tree is our preferred recipe. We do have an unopened bottle of each of Sipsmiths batch number 1 of both gin and vodka. We believe that they did not keep a bottle of either.😀

Yes but the choice (or rather lack of choice) of said alcoholic drinks make it somewhat of a deal-breaker. We are on a 24 day P&O cruise soon. Normally we absolutely muller a drinks package: this one is looking very unlikely. We shall do the first day and see how it goes and then make a final decision, but the cocktail restrictions are almost certainly a deal-breaker for DW.

Radio waves do not pass through metal boxes (which cruise ships are constructed of). Google 'Faraday cages' for more information. Walkie talkies would be as much use as semaphore flags (semaphore flags would be less irritating and possibly more entertaining).

I will admit to not having tasted Ribena for over 50 years. I would also say that the thought of putting it in Guinness fills me with horror. I do not drink cider (it is like putting diesel into a petrol engine - my system is fine tuned to beer).

Creme de cassis is a French blackcurrant cordial which is added to sparkling wine to make a kir royale - a rather nice drink. Ribena would probably be a reasonable substitute.

Champagne is a style of wine.

I suspect they will have creme de cassis for cocktails and kir royales. It would probably cost a bit extra but might work in place of Ribena.

If you take the escalator up to the ticket hall and back down again, it is only a short distance (the Green Park hack as referred to above).

Could stopover for a night in London then catch the train from Waterloo to Southampton (or National Express coach from Victoria coach station).

Why not look at making a bit of a holiday of the journey? Take a train from Glasgow to wherever you fancy visiting; rinse and repeat until you get to Southampton. We have done cross-Europe trips to Venice and back like this. You also might want to look at a night in Winchester pre-cruise. It is a lovely city and is quite close to get to Southampton for the cruise day.

There are some more cultural places listed towards the end of the document. They are a PITA to download, however.

Do we have any info. on what the dry-dock works were? Are they just checking out an old ship (an MoT) or are there any improvements/upgrades/changes happening? (I do not read the level of German in the posted link) I ask because we are sailing on Aurora in September to Canada and back.

Le Creuset casserole.

The problem with those affinity cards is they are totally US-centric. RCI would still need to keep a loyalty program going for their thousands of customers who are not US resident. Abandoning their non-US customers like that would be commercial suicide.

If OP is in London and wants to see Paris, then Eurostar is probably the best option. OP could then fly/take a train to a Mediterranean port (Rome?) to start their cruise.