John Bull

Yes, winds affect large ships far more than small ships. Like a big sail instead of a small sail. It was a factor in the Evergreen container ship blocking the Suez Canal a little while back. Our captain on Azura aborted two attempts to enter St John's, Antigua because of high and variable winds, not a problem for a much smaller ship that day. Bigger ships also have a deeper draught, so wind or currents or other factors which take a ship off a narrow channel can mean touching bottom. JB 🙂

You said that "My understanding is as a Non EU citizen departing a Third Country we are not subject to Schengen days" and I correctly told you that yes, you are subject to the 90 day rule. Yet it appears that you were already aware of that 🙄 It would have helped if you'd mentioned at the outset that you've spent - or by then will have spent - 90 days in Schengen in the preceding 12 months.🙄. Now you want to know whether this trip or that trip or the other trip can be counted as "in transit" . Is that grabbing at straws? I don't believe that either Madeira or especially Amsterdam (UK to Amsterdam to UK ??????) would be counted as "in transit" but on that matter you need advice from someone more knowledgeable than me, and I wouldn't have responded to your question in the first place. JB 😡

Yes. But you've mentioned only a port of call on Madeira and a 7-day cruise out of Malta. So how will a cruise from UK to Schengen countries & back to UK last for about 3 months ? 😕 JB 🙂

British passport-holders don't need a Schengen visa as long as it's not for stays totalling more than 90 days in a year 🙂 JB 🙂

For a port-of-call visit to Rome, by train from Civitavecchia is pretty simple - free port shuttle to port gate, payable (pennies) bus from port gate the train station, cheap return tickets for the over-subscribed direct regional trains with the options of getting off at Roma S Pietro (for Vatican) or Roma Ostiense (for Circo Massimo, the Colosseum, the Forum etc ) or at Roma Termini station. But this isn't a port-of-call for you. You'd have luggage on two buses, luggage on a train packed with cruisers, and then have to get from station to hotel. A private trnsfer is what you need. https://www.romeinlimo.com/ is highly rated by Cruise Critic members Dubrovnik The port is a couple of miles from the walled city, you'll need transportation. There's a local bus service (sorry, don't know the details) or ship's over-priced shuttle service to Pila Gate, the most convenient entrance to the walled city ("over-priced" shuttle bus but it's easy and the price difference is small-beer). Last time we negotiated a taxi at the ship's berth to the cablecar station at the top of Mount Srd, had a couple of beers or coffees with a panoramic view, then bought one-way cablecar tickets down to the walled city. Years back we "walked the walls" - highly recommended. No need for a tour - just transport from & to the ship. But the city gets pretty crowded. Croatia's currency is now the Euro. Kotor. You might be berthed at the pier or tendered - tenders go to the cruise pier. It's 100 yards via an underpass under the main road) to the historic town centre. Very pleasant. Consider a boat trip to Our Lady of the Rocks or hop-on bus to Perast - tickets sold on the pier or in the underpass. No need for a tour. The sail-in is glorious. Or if you're as lazy as us, the sail-out is the same. Corfu. Simplest & cheapest is the frequent local bus from port gate to the town centre (about 10 minutes). Two castles (strictly-speaking I think its a castle & a fort), shops, bars etc. Probably the best of your ports for shopping. There's more to Corfu than the town, but you'd need a tour or rented car. JB 🙂

Hi, & welcome. I see you've already found the Ports-of-Call boards on Cruise Critic. There's stax of info already on those boards. For each destination, go to the appropriate board (let's say Italy), and in the little "search" box (right-hand end of the blue banner) type in the name of the port or city (let's say Rome). Leave "this forum" as it is, and click on the little spyglass at the end of the search box. Give the magic a few seconds to work and you'll end up with all the posts on that board which mention Rome https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Rome&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464 Do the same with the other destinations. Gotta go out now, others will chime in & I'll put in my four eggs later JB🙂

No contest. Brussels is a modern commercial city, home pf the EU administration and associated offices & businesses. It has few sights of interest and they're spread around the city. It's also a very boring 70 miles & about 2 hours from the port by road or by rail. Bruges is about 6 miles & 15/20 minutes from the port. Known for its canals as "the Venice of the North" (altho that's a big over-statement), it was for many centuries a major port for wool, lace etc until ships got bigger and the river silted up. Historic buildings, cobbled streets, shops for chocolate, lace & other local products, bars & cafes & attractions, all in a compact city centre. It's understandably where most cruisers visit, altho there are other options like Ostend, the Atlantik Wall, seaside resorts, and Sluis (actually in the Netherlands). I'd put all of those places & more ahead of Brussels JB 🙂

Yes, sadly CC members' favourite Smiths was a casualty of the pandemic. These have been recommended frequently on Cruise Critic https://westquaycars.com/ https://www.aquacars.co.uk/ (as @Crown Vic's post) https://gunwharf-executive-travel.co.uk/ All three are based at the Southampton end https://www.blackberrycars.com/ Based at the London end. JB 🙂

Not entirely true - I understand that under US contracts the cruise line has a free hand to change itineraries at will, but the OP is in Scotland, and presuming that he booked from the UK or in the EU the contract is subject to much stronger consumer protection laws. If a cruise line chooses - of its own free will or for reasons within its control - to make significant changes to the itinerary or any other major changes it is in breach of UK and EU (and I think Aus.) contracts, and would have to refund, recompense, cover costs etc. I had reason to challenge a missed port of call due to a mechanical issue which meant that shortly after leaving a port the ship had to turn back because of a faulty generator and we spent the next day in that port waiting for a spare part to be flown out. The cruise line gave meagre comp. Maintenance is within a cruise line's control, and I felt it worth significantly more. It never reached a Court of Law because the cruise line buckled under the threat of court action. Check your contract with the cruise line - if you can find the equiv. US contract you'll see the differences. Things like the weather, industrial action, or civil unrest aren't within the cruise line's control, but there are no troubles in Mediterranean Egypt, or in Istanbul or areas like Antalya where cruise ships visit, and no governments (US or UK or EU or most others) currently advise against travel to those places - but of course if that changes for the worse it becomes something beyond the control of the cruise line. I do agree with @1025cruise that it's risky to rely on making a particular port because there are so many reasons why a ship can fail to make that port. BTW Istanbul is worth waaaaay more than a one day port of call. And not that difficult or expensive to fly there for a few days JB 🙂

Just a note of caution ................ The Piraeus to Athens ho-ho bus goes via the Acropolis entrance. But unless it's been changed in the last few years, the "Athens on your own" transfer bus (Royal Caribbean, perhaps others) drops everyone at Syntagma Square, by the Parliament building - a 15 min walk to the Acropolis entrance. Somewhere there's an elevator. It's only for those unable to walk up, and I don't know its location. Worth researching if its important to you. JB 🙂

About 1 1/4 miles, 25 minutes as Gumshoe's post. But only one major road to cross, and you have the choice of a number of sets of traffic lights to help you to cross it. All on level ground, sidewalks all the way. No worries for most folk - unless it's a wet day https://maps.app.goo.gl/Lps2AocMFzqmoxgK9 JB 🙂

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm Those are almost-all of the Southampton city centre hotels. Most are modern, some are historic. Some expensive, some not. Most full-service, some with just basic facilities. But you get what you pay for, and there are none that I would caution against - except the Mercure Dolphin whose future in uncertain. See the little thumbnail map at the bottom of that page. With luggage you'd need a short taxi hop to Mayflower terminal (red A on that map), so any hotel is as convenient as any another. Ocean terminal (red D) is walkable even with luggage from hotels blue 8 & 15, mebbe 4, 5, 6, 7 & 14.. Most convenient hotels for the city centre, old town, waterfront, pubs, restaurants etc are Blue 4 Premier Inn West Quay , Premier Inns are the UK's biggest & best budget chain, the West Quay one is popular with cruisers Blue 5 Holiday Inn Herbert Walker Ave is particularly popular with those sailing out of City cruise terminal, which is directly behind the hotel. Beware - the city's two Holiday Inn Express's are way out on the city limits, very inconvenient., Blue 6 Leonardo Royal. Don't confuse with the Leonardo, which is a little inconvenient and in the centre of a traffic gyratory. Blue 7, Pig in the Wall is a quirky boutique hotel, set in the old city's wall. Blue 8 Ennios is another boutique, in a former brick warehouse over the owner's Italian restaurant of the same name. Blue 16 Moxy, next door to P.I.West Quay, is a quirky recently-opened Marriott brand, rapidly becoming popular with cruisers. JB 🙂

In England, taxis available on spec. at cruise terminals and at taxi ranks or hailed in the street are licensed as "Hackney Carriages", and drivers are obliged to accept passengers for any destination within the borough. So even if you wanted to go only a couple of hundred yards from Mayflower to Horizon they would take you. But there's a minimum fare, plus time/distance charges so the driver doesn't lose out - they're regulated & metered so the two miles from Mayflower to Ocean will cost you about £8.50 including a £1 docks surcharge. https://www.southampton.gov.uk/media/03dd4axz/2023-table-of-fares.pdf A pre-booked Private Hire taxi eg Uber wouldn't be interested in your little hop, but If you wanted to go to, say, Heathrow airport a metered Hackney Carriage taxi would cost a fortune - you should pre-book a Private Hire taxi at a pre-agreed price. But for Mayflower to Ocean a taxi from the rank makes absolute sense JB 🙂

Or, tongue-in-cheek, where ships berth on Grand Turk is Carnival Overseas Territory & its official currency is Carnival group sea-pass 😏 JB 😏

The "Spice Island" - one of my favourites 🙂 Take your beach gear with you and check out the vans available at the pier - you want one that'll take you up into the Rainforest. Stops for spice stalls & demos and a waterfall, back past Fort George would be a bonus, and ask your driver to drop you at Grand Anse beach & not too far from the ferry pier. Food & drink outlets or order from your (payable) beachfront sunbed & shade. Return to the ship on the frequent little open ferries ("!ferries" sounds a bit grand for them 😀) at about $5 one-way. If you just want a beach day, take those little ferries both ways. Or try the Rum Runner. Join the Rum-Runner boat from close to the ship, for a party atmosphere. BUT BEWARE - Lots of boat excursions include plenty of rum punch - they're a freebie so understandably pretty weak, & we drink them down like beer. Presuming the Rum Runner's cocktails to be the same, we quaffed the first two or three. Bad move - the Rum Runner doesn't mess, they go heavy on the rum, and we were well away. We don't remember much of the trip, apparently other passengers carried us back aboard our ship & dumped us on our bed - we woke up at sea.😂 JB 🙂