gumshoe958

I had no problem booking an inside cabin on Queen Anne for solo occupancy for the 4 night Rotterdam short break on 25 Nov ‘26.

There’s a reason the HEX is always empty and the Elizabeth line is super popular!

Important information for anyone transferring between Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Southampton: From 2nd June, the existing hourly direct train is being axed. It will be replaced by a half hourly (hourly on Sundays) indirect service involving a change of trains en route at Barnham. There’ll be no need to change platform at Barnham, so no stairs or long walks involved, but it’ll add 20-30 minutes to journey times as well as the inconvenience of having to load & unload luggage twice. Unfortunately, apart from one service late at night, there are no direct coaches between Gatwick & Southampton so the train will remain the only realistic option for those who prefer not to use a taxi or private car transfer. Note this does not affect London Heathrow (LHR) which is by far the more frequently used airport by cruisers from outside Europe.

All being well yes, although it’s on the tight side, particularly if it’s a weekday as the traffic can be very heavy. I’d want to be on the road by about 7:30 if it’s a weekday, 8am if it’s a weekend. With a clear run it’s just under 90 minutes but could easily be longer if it’s busy.

That should be fine. I’d have thought you could be off the ship earlier than 8:30 with a 7am arrival, but even 8:30 shouldn’t be a problem as it’s only a 10 minute cab ride. Is your flight a simple one-way or return LHR-BER ticket booked with money (not miles)? If so, BA allows a free space-available change to another flight on the same day, so if you’re early and there’s still space you may be able to rebook to the 1:50pm or even 12:55pm flight instead of wasting 2-3 hours in the lounge. You can do that on the BA app but only on the day (from midnight UK time) - and not if the LHR-BER flight is part of a multi-city itinerary eg LAX-LHR-BER-LHR-LAX.

You can both use it. Two devices can be used at the same time, it doesn’t matter whose they are.

Fares are only part of the story. The real profits come from ancillary onboard sales - drinks, specialty dining, spa, casino, photos etc. Experienced cruisers on long itineraries tend to spend far less on board. Not so newbies on the 3/4 night Caribbeans.

That is indeed the case. But yes, what happens on Spectrum isn’t necessarily representative of the entire fleet. Very different market.

Happy hour still exists with canapés but no free drinks. You have to use your vouchers. Also beware that on some sailings Diamonds aren’t allowed in the lounge between 5pm & 8pm, typically those with high numbers of top tier guests.

Not such a huge issue on Oasis class as the main shows all tend to have at least one post-10pm performance. But yes, it would be an issue on the smaller ships although I guess plenty of people don’t go to the shows.

Welcome to the new normal. Since Covid millions more kids are home-schooled, and more and more parents think nothing of taking their kids out of school to go on vacation when it’s cheaper. And with Royal actively marketing itself as a family friendly line, if you want fewer kids you’re better off sailing with an ‘older’ line like Celebrity or Princess, or one that bans kids altogether like Virgin.

You’re right. Oasis and Symphony both have headliners scheduled this week though, so it doesn’t seem to be a fleet-wide thing. Maybe someone’s gone sick or something.

Wait for everyone to complain they haven’t been given enough notice 😂

A junior suite I presume? Otherwise your concierge/genie could have made reservations for you in advance.

Yes, they seem to work on a monthly cycle. So reservations for April should open up at the end of this week or beginning of next. It’s only 60 days if, like you, you sail right at the end of a month. Your second leg is near the start of the next month so it’ll be more like 35-40 days for that one.

There is no Broadway show on Jewel. There are a couple of Royal production shows which (IMHO) are very average, otherwise the nightly entertainment is flown-in headliners. It’s old school cruise ship entertainment, nothing ground-breaking by any stretch of the imagination. Jewel attracts an older, more traditional crowd and the line-up reflects that. Show times tend to be the same every night (7pm and 9pm IIRC) to fit around traditional dining times.

Civitavecchia is a 45 minute drive from Rome FCO airport. The town isn’t blessed with many good hotels but you could stay at an airport hotel and easily transfer to the port the next morning. Barcelona port is a 20 minute drive from BCN airport, close to the city centre and there are lots of good hotels to choose from. So on balance I’d go for Barcelona if the flights work for you.

Ah ok, so North Ealing. Not quite as convenient for Heathrow but not too bad. I’d either get the Elizabeth line to West Ealing or Ealing Broadway and a cab/Uber from there (bearing in mind it’s a 10 minute walk between the coach and rail stations at Heathrow Central), or a cab/Uber all the way. Re arriving at Southampton - it’s hard to say after a TA as it’s not unknown for the UK Border Force to do full immigration checks - equally you could just walk straight through in a few seconds. A cab to the coach station should take about 10 minutes, maybe a bit more maybe a bit less depending on which terminal you arrive at. You should easily make the 9.45 coach assuming you’re off the ship by about 8.30, but bearing in mind you may not be able to access your Airbnb until 4pm the 11.45 might be a better option, unless you have other plans for the day. The coach station has indoor seating and (basic) facilities if you need to wait a while.

Because people can cancel at any time. RoyalUp means Royal can make sure all the suites are occupied even if someone cancels last minute and still make $$$.

If you get the coach to Heathrow Central, you can then catch the Elizabeth line train which runs direct to West Ealing and Ealing Broadway (normally six times an hour, journey time about 15 minutes) OR the Piccadilly line tube which runs direct to Boston Manor, Northfields and South Ealing (every 5 minutes, journey time about 20 minutes). Hopefully at least one of those stations is convenient to your Airbnb. Or just jump in a cab/Uber. The coach to London Victoria is more frequent but tends to take longer due to traffic in London, and you’d then need a cab to Ealing (or the tube; the District line runs direct to Ealing Common & Ealing Broadway although it’s a bit of a schlep from Victoria coach station to the tube station). Personally I’d go for Heathrow but YMMV. Ealing itself is very suburban but is blessed with very good transport links with the Central, District, Elizabeth and Piccadilly lines all running frequently to and from central London.

No, not on the train. Your ticket will be checked by the automatic barriers at the station - or if you opt to pay by contactless card (which is cheaper), you touch your card on the barrier to get on and off the platform.

I think it’s a typo. Should be June 15, not 18.

You enrol them once on board. You can’t book places in advance.

I thought Voyager was heading east in Nov 25?

Check the app when you board, otherwise there’s normally a pop-up box office open somewhere on deck 5, close to where you board.