Joanne G.

A few years ago a friend and I stayed at the Sofitel (a lovely hotel) before our flight home on American. We used the Heathrow Express to get to Terminal 3. It was free, and it was easy to find by following the signs. There is some walking through Terminal 5, so if someone has mobility issues or a lot of luggage, a cab is a better option. The trains run frequently and the transit between terminals doesn't take long. There is room for luggage aboard. Following is information in the airport's website: If you are using Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line, please obtain a free inter-terminal transfer ticket from one of the machines in the station for your journey. I don't know anything about the Elizabeth line. It is quite new.

I am sailing on the Pride in northern Europe in July next year, and some of the ports are not yet showing any excursions. All we can do is keep checking. I am sure Carnival has every motivation to make excursions available for purchase as soon as possible! Maybe tour providers are experiencing post-covid staff shortages like so many other businesses. In the meantime, I am researching ports on my own, with guidebooks and on the Ports of Call boards here on CC, so I will have more information when it's time to book excursions. I hope we see our choices soon.

A cruise can be a good value in Europe compared to a hotel and 3 restaurant meals a day in the expensive major cities. But the cost comparison for activities isn't so straight forward. I am looking at excursions for my upcoming European cruises, and I am seeing prices from maybe $50 for transportation only to a nearby town, to $90 for a half-day tours, to $150 or more for long excursions. That can really add up for a family and/or on a long cruise with many ports. I don't mean to start a debate about ship excursions versus going out on your own, as personal preferences and comfort level with independent travel are individual factors. I only mean to point out that if you lean towards ship excursions, they can add considerable cost to your vacation - and you can't see those actual costs in the research stage, only after booking.

In 20-some cruises, it's happened to us 3 times - for a charter (NCL), for a redeployment from the Caribbean to Europe (NCL), and for a drydock (Carnival). In all cases, we got offers similar to yours, a modest amount of OBC for rebooking or a refund. I understand your disappointment, but all the cruise lines do it, whether or not we feel it's fair. I am sure there is language in the contracts that allows them to do this, and as long as they offer a refund for the service they aren't going to deliver, I assume they have met their legal responsibility. At least this far in advance, you have time to look into other options, and presumably haven't purchased non-refundable airfare or hotel stays. I don't have any tips for getting more that what we were offered. We didn't try. All you can do is call and ask, especially if you have incurred any non-refundable costs related to this cruise. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I hope you find and enjoy an alternative vacation and can book the special cabin at a different time.

Thanks! For sure I will look for that.

To the OP, I will be on that cruise from Dover to Civitavecchia next September. I will be doing the research that Kwokpot recommended in order to determine which ports I can explore on my own, and for which ports an excursion may be my best choice. Before I booked it, I paid attention to how much time is scheduled in each port and how far the port is from the places I might want to visit; that's really important information for any cruise. I originally booked a similar cruise for 2021. I wanted to travel to Europe, and I expected to be traveling solo. A cruise seemed like a good way to travel solo, due to the inherently social nature of cruising and the relative ease of making plans, like always knowing where to eat dinner LOL. Carnival ultimately canceled that 2021 cruise, and I postponed it to this year. Then, when I didn't feel ready to cruise this year, I postponed it again to 2023. Now I fully expect to be on it next year! Certainly a cruise is a different from a land vacation. Neither better nor worse, in my mind. On a cruise you get to see different places without having to repack and unpack multiple times, and the travel time between places happens while you are enjoying time on the ship and sleeping. But obviously, you have only a limited amount of time in each place. Instead of the cruise this year, I took land vacations to London and to Dublin and Galway. I thoroughly enjoyed having multiple days in those great cities and having long days of sightseeing without the constraints of a sailing time. Next spring, I am taking a land vacation in Paris, another great city that, for me, calls for a multi-day land vacation. While I am sure many people have great vacations in Spain and Portugal, my interest in those places will be satisfied with the individual port days on the cruised. It may be no more than a taste of the countries, but that works for me. One thing I missed on my land vacations was the evening activities on a cruise. I was solo in unfamiliar cities, and for the most part, I didn't feel comfortable going out alone after dark. I also missed what I call the forced relaxation of a cruise; you typically have some sea days plus the evenings when you can relax and take a break from active sightseeing, all while enjoying the facilities on a ship. Have fun doing your research. Maybe I will see you on that cruise.

A friend and I did the NCL Hawaii itinerary with Fanning Island on the Star in 2002. It certainly was a unique cruise stop, and I enjoyed it for that reason. I have wondered since if ships ever stop there anymore and what happened to the area NCL developed. My sister and her husband and I were on the Wind in the Caribbean. We loved the design of the ship. I need to go back into my photo archives to take another look at pictures from that cruise.

Correct. But I prefer to pay later. 😀

On a Norwegian Star cruise in 2002, we could purchase a certificate signed by the caption noting that we had crossed the international date line on the way to Fanning Island. It's something of a conversation piece when others notice it hanging in my house. Thankfully, no tattoos or entire bottles of rum were involved!

I have Sonys that are one model older that the above poster's - 1000xm3 - and I am very satisfied with them. Until splurging on these (a no-name cheaper set were worthless), I was not able to enjoy listening to movies or music on planes. I am a nervous flyer, and these allow me to focus on music and movies without the drone of the engines - and without hearing the changes in engine noises that make me nervous. They weren't cheap and they are bulky compared to ear buds, but I wouldn't fly without them. Watch for Black Friday sales on the latest models. I also use them walking the track at my local Y to greatly reduce the sound of the bouncing basketballs on the courts below the track.

A few weeks before my cruise, I got an emailed notification that a slot had opened up for an excursion which I was on the wait list. I had 2 or 3 days to pay for it. If I hadn't paid, I assume I would have lost the spot. Someone on this board recommended checking your cruise details on your account every few days for the status, just in case the email is misdirected or missed. Good luck!

I returned yesterday from an 8-day land vacation in London. I originally planned to go carry-on only due to the horrific stories and pictures of bags piling up at Heathrow. But ultimately, I decided to check a bag and cross my fingers. I flew on United, which uses terminal 2. The baggage situation seemed completely normal. My bag had been taken off the conveyor and placed in a convenient location for me to retrieve after I cleared passport control, which, in a pleasant surprise, was a relatively short process. And the LHR baggage handlers did their job putting my bag on my return flight to ORD, as it appeared shortly after I went through immigration, which again was a relatively short process. Some locals that I chatted with over the course of my vacation said the worst problems were in the terminals used by the airlines that fly within Europe. And perhaps the issue has been addressed over the summer. If you decide to check a bag, I hope your experience is like mine.

Thanks for the info about Rostock and Warnemunde. I will visit Warnemunde next year on the Pride, and a long day going to Berlin is not appealing, much as I would like to see the city. It's good to know you enjoyed your day staying close to the ship.

I also avoid them after being assigned one (not on Carnival) as a solo guarantee. Besides the noise issue, the room had different furniture than a comparable non-connecting cabin due to the space needed for the door to the connecting cabin, specifically there was a chair instead of a couch.

Thank you for taking the time to share so many port details. I have enjoyed reading it. I will be visiting some of these ports on several cruises in 2023 and 2024, and I have taken notes to help me with my planning.

We stayed at the Sofitel at Heathrow in terminal 5. Our flight was on American, and we used the Heathrow Express (free for this portion) to get to the terminal we needed - either 2 or 3, I can't remember. It was a very nice hotel. Not exactly cheap, but attractive with spacious rooms. We liked that from the hotel, it was an easy walk to an area of terminal 5, outside of security, where we could purchase food for a light supper. After a week of cruise dining, we didn't need the fancy, expensive meal at the hotel restaurant - though I am sure it would have been very good! For an upcoming land vacation in London, for the last night before my early flight, I booked the Hilton Garden Inn inside terminal 2, which United uses, and it is accessible to terminal 3 by a walkway, according to their website. Heathrow is HUGE, even to me whose home airport is O'Hare. Check which terminal your airline uses before choosing the hotel, though as we discovered, the Heathrow Express runs between terminals for no charge. There are also some free shuttle buses between terminals.

We took a Princess excursion that went to Windsor Castle and then Heathrow. Like Thrak's excursion above, the one we did probably won't work for the OP with a 3:00 flight. But others who haven't yet made their flight arrangements might consider these options. We enjoyed the excursion, like an extra day of vacation. We stayed at one of the airport hotels and took a morning flight home the next day. Even without an excursion, I would pick the Princess bus over any other option, due to the convenience. The bus is waiting when you get off the ship, and if the ship comes in late or there is a delay in disembarkation, the bus will still be there waiting.

None at this point for Europe 2024. Hope to see those soon.

In my experience, a canceled August 2021 cruise resulted in future cruise credits good through December 31, 2022. We re-booked and then had to cancel for October, 2021, and once more for October, 2022. The credits were promptly put back into our accounts with each cancelation, but the expiration date remained 12/31/22. And that meant sail by 12/31/22, not merely book by that date. Sadly, we never received new credits good for another year. My friend is not interested in travel this year, but I found a good deal using my credit as a solo later this year. I just hated to lose it! Hope this time all goes well.

I considered a luggage shipping service for an upcoming land vacation in London, given the stories and horrific pictures of luggage pileups at Heathrow. But I found the cost to be high, and it seems such a service could misdirect or misplace a bag just like an airline can. I decided instead to go carry-on only, and if I need to purchase something during my stay that doesn't fit in my carry-on, or utilize a laundry service, I would likely spend less than the luggage delivery fees. That being said, I am still intrigued by the service and might consider it for longer trips, and I will be interested to hear of anyone's real life experience with one of them.

After multiple planned solo cruises kept getting canceled or postponed in 2020, 2021, and earlier in 2022, I decided on a solo land vacation this summer - two weeks in Ireland. I found the same interest in my solo trip as Cruise Kay did. Both local residents and other travelers were fascinated by the fact that I did this alone. It became a conversation starter, and I enjoyed the casual social contact. I booked some day trip tours in Ireland, and those also provided some social contact on bus rides and while visiting attractions. I hope the same happens on excursions when I finally take my first solo cruise, currently planned for October of this year. I am an introvert, and I had no problem being alone for my vacation, but I did make an effort to strike up conversations when appropriate just to have some social contact, even if casual and fleeting. I also found that keeping in touch with loved ones and friends back home, sharing pictures and stories of my adventures, eased any sense of loneliness that might crop up. I do have concerns on my upcoming cruise about mealtimes. I am still wary of covid, and crowded restaurants make me nervous. On my vacation, I mostly ate outside or in my hotel room, and I only ate in restaurants when not crowded, such as early morning breakfasts or mid-afternoon late lunches. With the number of fellow passengers on a cruise and specific dining times, I doubt there will ever be a time when the dining rooms, including the buffet, aren't full of people. Room service is an option, but for every meal, that's not particularly appealing. Well, I will play it by ear and figure it out at the time.

Inflatable hangers and clothespin/hooks to use after rinsing out workout clothes, bathing suits, anything you don't trust to the ship's laundry or need back faster than the turnaround time for sending items out. Hang on the clothesline in the shower if your cabin has one, on the shower curtain rod, or on the back of a balcony chair while in port.

I don't find it at all difficult to assess what is really going on. Bananavan and others are sharing their experiences in great detail. That's what's really going on for them. Experiences vary, and cruisers' reactions to quarantine run the gamut from approaching it with some humor to reporting mental and emotional stress. Most of us, myself included, have never experienced anything comparable to shipboard quarantine. But I can easily assess that I don't want any part of it, and thus I postponed my cruises until such time as it isn't an ongoing worry for me. And yes, I know that means I may never cruise again. There are other vacation options. Many thanks to all who have shared their quarantine experiences. Their reports provide valuable information on which to base our decisions.