gumshoe958

Sadly National Express closed all their ticket offices at Heathrow during the pandemic and never reopened them. All ticketing issues now have to be resolved by phone.

Of course they have. They’d be fired pretty quickly if they failed to stick to the official company line and revealed confidential information that could affect the stock price before it’s announced to the markets.

You need to post in the roll call for your sailing.

It should be, but the big unknown is baggage reclaim which can be very hit or miss at LHR. On a bad day it’s not unknown to wait an hour for your luggage to appear. Border control is normally pretty quick as long as you have a biometric passport and are eligible to use the automated e-gates.

Makes sense to me. The UK cruise market tends to skew older and more traditional (see Cunard, P&O, Fred.Olsen, Princess) so X feels like a better fit.

Even if the QM2 is 24 hours late (which is so unlikely it’s almost certain not to happen) you’d still be able to make it. As it is you’ve got more than 24 hours to make a 3 hour journey. You’ll be fine.

Which is exactly what they want. Jason Liberty’s dastardly plan is working.

Yes, there will be a lot. School seems to be optional for many kids since Covid.

Longer cruise in a cheaper cabin for me every time. Far better value for money. Most suites are hugely overpriced for what you get but Royal knows there are plenty of people who’ll overpay $$$$$ just to get “the best”.

Yes, as @Globaliser says because the flights have only recently opened, BA hasn’t yet loaded the cheaper fare buckets (knowing full well there’s easy money to be made from people who feel they HAVE to book the moment flights go on sale). Looking at BA flights two Sundays before yours, they’re available from £61 ($79). So just give it a couple of weeks or so and you’ll see fares tumble. There’s no reason whatsoever to go via AMS.

As posted on the wiki, Uber operates in Southampton or - for a more relaxed arrival - consider staying the night at LHR then heading down to Southampton refreshed in the morning. The Sofitel is a very nice hotel connected directly to T5 or there are cheaper options a short bus or taxi ride away.

There is a taxi rank at Southampton coach station, but there’s no guarantee that any cabs will be waiting that late. Uber operates in Southampton though, so that would be an obvious solution. @PORT ROYALmakes a good suggestion though. There is a very nice (albeit not especially cheap) hotel, the Sofitel, connected directly to T5 and a multitude of other hotels to suit all tastes and budgets a short bus or taxi ride away.

Hi Dan, Yes there should be luggage carts (or trolleys as they’re known in the UK) available in the reclaim hall. At T4, National Express serves bus stops 13 & 14 outside the exit from the arrivals hall, on the same level. So a very short walk. You should easily make the coach, but please note it departs T4 at 4:15 - make sure when booking you select Terminal 4, NOT Heathrow Central Bus Station as they are nowhere near each other.

Bayley can promise whatever he likes in the full knowledge that he’ll be long gone by 2029/30 and it’ll be someone else deciding whether there’s another WC or not. This is the same Bayley who promised that Icon of the Seas would debut in the UK. His promises are completely and utterly empty but hey, it makes for good PR.

The same Michael Bayley who said this two years ago: "I promise you will bring Icon of the seas into Southampton. The UK will be the first country and market that we will bring this incredible ship into [when it launches] in ’23." The reality? Southampton’s been downgraded to Independence then Liberty. So I’m afraid I don’t believe anything the man says. He’ll say anything to get some PR, knowing full well it means nothing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d be amazed if there’s ever another world cruise. This one was nowhere near full, reportedly made a loss and is completely and utterly at odds with Royal’s current strategy.