john watson

When booking a cruise the first two passengers pay full price depending on cabin grade. If you then need to book 3rd and 4th passengers in possibly children they ten to be booked at a far cheaper rate. Once you start looking at the Caribbean 3rd and 4th passengers each need a seat on the aircraft both ways. The latter is quite expensive and explains why parents tend not to take their children to the Caribbean in large numbers. Regards John

I think it unlikely you can all sit at the same table. Having said that I spent a cruise around Caribbean with my daughter at a table for two but daughter hardly ever wanted to go so I dined alone. However the next table was a group of over twenty Americans all from the same family or close friends. They were a bit noisy but this didn't bother me. The patriarch was just like sergeant Bilko, it was quite amusing. Regards John

You may bring food back to cabin for your son. Conversely I am wondering as an adult why he wont just drop in at an MDR? He could share a big table which makes a lot more sense. There is also the buffet and other dining options as well as room service if he cannot leave cabin. Regards John

You can share tables at breakfast and lunch if you want. They do solo traveller coffee mornings and you could do one or two of them. Sea day games and activities sometimes have a mixed crowd. Spectating at the casino you meet another gang. It is all about sometimes mixing and sometime not. Regards John

I think the problem is that cruise lines do not want to take responsibility in this matter in case they make an error. There are hundreds of countries in the world from which people may have a passport. The second problem is that cruises stop at a large number of different ports many of which are independent of a major country. The regulations change without notice at individual countries. Obtaining visas for a series of different countries is a nightmare if you have to visit in person several embassies. I know someone who did this and once boarded they retained her passport so officials entering the ship could look at the document in person. This happened to me on UK passport and all Americans on US passports when visiting People's Republic of China, Taiwan and Japan. We were given photocopies for some ports. Regards John

I have studied this closely and reading between the lines I am thinking a number of people mistook this for a dentist. Lol John

I remember a youngish newbie couple at Guernsey who got on the tender and the wife seemed to be a bit nervous. They sat next to me and we watched the tender pilot reposition a big fender then walk back in and up a ladder to his driving position. The woman said "He hasn't got a clue what to do and he's driving" so I said to the husband "ohh, he's our waiter". Well he found it funny. Regards John

I remember a stop at Guernsey where we had done an official tour to Sark on a second ferry. We were incredibly late back, in fact the last ships tender was being raised as we returned to the ship. Our ferry transferred all our group on to a bigger ferry which took us back to the ship. On another occasion when we visited the sea got choppy and the ship's tender dock closed. We were at sea for over an hour until the ship moved to shelter the ock. Regards John

I think Ireland does not qualify but Guernsey does. Probably because you can walk across the border undocumented. Regards John

Virtually every British Isles cruise pops in a foreign port such as Le Havre. When a ship enters a foreign port ex-UK round trip, I understand the line are then able to sell duty frees. If this port of call is not included I believe no duty free sales are permitted. Regards John

Yes the end of season sailing home offers a bonus day in the Caribbean. You would be shocked that some people focus too much on price alone and end up with a day shorter cruise. The day lost is in the Caribbean but they check different travel agents and compare the tiny details different airports but overlook the fewer nights because they don't realise this is an issue. Regards John

Royal Caribbean aim their cruise experience at the younger audience. I found them a bit too much with commercial presentation and repeated announcements. They have a lot of add ons and no real discounts for children. I should look at the ship you are thinking of booking and go through the facilities. Regards John

Watch out for the difference in number of nights you are booking. Typically there is a fourteen night and a fifteen night option because flights go out on Friday and Saturday. Regards John

I think the sailing home is a better option as opposed so sailing out as you get jeg lag sorted then you can buy limitless weight of shopping to bring home on the ship. Regards John

I saw on TV goodtogoinsurance.com have no upper age limit and cover pre-existing medical conditions. I have no idea what they are like. Regards John

If you want to get the ball rolling, once on board do a towel sculpture yourself and leave it in pride of place somewhere in the cabin. Once the cabin steward had noticed how pathetic your effort is they may well go totally overboard with humiliating expert examples. Check on line for props needed like sunglasses, coat hangers etc. and leave these lying about on show. If the steward does model something be sure to tell them how impressed you are. Regards John

Travel insurance starts to provide cover the moment you book it. Generally it can only be taken up no earlier than twelve months before travel is completed. If you leave it until a few days before travel a lot of benefits wont apply. e.g. if a member of the travel group has a serious incident preventing travel before you get insurance, it will be regarded as a pre-existing medical condition or incident therefore not covered by the policy. People tend to think of it as health insurance but it often covers failure of the transport getting you to the ship. Theft of cases or reimbursement of expenses relating to cases going missing. If you book Annual Insurance as opposed to single trip insurance and have short breaks or other cruises or general holidays in UK or nominated geographical area you have cover for those trip too. Regards John

In general terms the two sub-groups could link their bookings so you are perceived as a single larger group. This may help in a number of ways on different issues, whether on dining not really sure. Regards John

I am thinking Sapphire will offer more options for entertainment etc. than Coral will due to larger size and number of venues. Regards John

I think your idea of booking 4 and a 3 place table seems logical do do asap. Once on board have a word with restaurant manager as they can probably move bookings about and get you adjacent tables then move them a bit. Regards John

There is a site www.icelolly.com/school-holiday-dates They have a general guide as to when they are but they vary a bit school to school not radically. There is a Government site for this but you need to put in a post code and schools in that area are listed. The ice lolly one should be a good guide and if you want to be super safe don't cruise the week before or after a quoted holiday period. Regards John

Most hotels ask for the check in date and number of nights. When you think about it the Monday you are only there about eight hours before it becomes Tuesday. This can lead to people booking the wrong dates when a different process is used by a hotel. I think in the case mentioned here the higher rate is appropriate for the dates you want to stay. The lower rate includes a Sunday night which is generally a cheaper night Regards John

On Azura you need to go inside at the forward doors to inside up a series of stairs and through white doors that look uninviting. Regards John

Yes one cabin of a much better type is a lot better than two insides. If you go down this route pick one near a public toilets facility in case someone hogs the shower. Third and fourth share pay less per passenger and sometimes it is flat rate even on higher grade cabins. Regards John

We did the trip into Edinburgh using a taxi from Inverkeithing and the train goes across the famous Forth Rail Bridge. The best time to go is when the Edinburgh Military Tattoo is on this is out of Glasgow or Edinburgh Firth of Forth usually the latter is overnight with tender service. Regards John