john watson

You should make sure you know the cabin preferences all the family members should like balcony or other and in addition deck preferences and whether they want all cabins close together. Phone up with a printed deck plan to hand, let them know how many cabins you want to book and discuss your requirements. This is the best way to sort things out I suggest. Regards John

I believe if you wish to self-disembark you are really saying that you and all your companions are able to carry all your luggage off the ship unassisted. That is all. If you leave at a time when a large crowd of people are disembarking and they have very little luggage you will impede them to some extent. This is not the best idea when you look at the overall picture. In addition if you have heavy suitcases and feel it is unsafe to go down escalators etc. and want to opt for the lifts this is a bit selfish insofar as people in wheelchairs have no option but to use the lift. I should not do this as getting off later with traditional night time collection of cases is easily organised by talking to reception. There is never a fight to get the last disembarkation group by huge numbers of passengers. Regards John

I suspect if you were really early the forklifts would still be unloading. Once all the cases are laid out they ten start calling colour groups in the set sequence. I accidently disembarked one cruise due to a misunderstanding and was invited to disembark. The gangway guy, I assume thought we were self-disembarking when we were not and quite happy to wait.. We were just moving from one lounge to another and passing the disembarkation gangway. Once in the hall our cases were still on pallets and they did not like us waiting. Regards John

It is not a good idea to participate in the organised luggage carry off by the crew and them try to self-disembark. This is because once in the baggage hall the staff expect passengers to leave the area immediately. The organised luggage will be coming into a separated off area in large pallet type containers and spread out in piles. They do not tolerate people waiting in the baggage hall who have disembarked before they are told to. This is all part of organising things Only passengers whose luggage has been laid out in the hall are wanted in the hall and the staff keep in contact on progress by radio. Regards John

This is true, but you are a long time into the future, your fare basis is acceptable and length of cruises similar. I think you have a good chance of success. Regards John

It is never possible to be certain how soon you are allowed to board the ship. I should check out the hotel and sit in their foyer with your luggage and have a coffee etc. Get a taxi to cruise terminal about 1pm and put your luggage through the hole in the wall. Just play it by ear in the terminal, they generally check you in then you are asked to wait various lengths of time. They have some very basic snacks and drinks there plus toilet facilities. They call you whenever and you can be lucky. There is not a specific restriction to wait until the allocated time as such.. They just process the passengers as efficiently as they can with certain types, having priority. Regards John.

I think a fly cruise makes a lot of sense out of Scotland. While you mention the wasted sea days out of Southampton which you see in a negative manner, I would be more positive on those. I think my objection would be getting from Scotland to Southampton, in both terms of time and cost. Some lines include the airfare with a list of available airports. Many do a cruise only fare rate so you need to factor in your own arrangements cost and to be prudent book an overnight hotel at the port of embarkation in case of travel delays. Regards John

I should say obtaining a US passport is by far a better idea than relying on a series of documents which may suffice under specific circumstances. The rules may change in the future possibly without warning and you risk being denied boarding at some stage. Regards John

Generally speaking any cruise ships which need repositioning in the Spring, around March time leave Caribbean and sail Eastwards towards Europe. In the Autumn around October they sail Westwards leaving Europe for the warmth of the Caribbean area. Regards John

I should just use a cheap flights website and where you are offered single, return you just go further down and put in multistop. Then search A to B on a date plus C to D on a return date. B and C can be thousands of miles apart and no air travel booked between them. Regards John

This is correct, however some people have indicated that they like to go to the muster station first, prior to cabins being available. They may then register at the station and this allows them have a drink prior to trying to find their cabin. Regards John

My experience of booking in at the muster station is that the guys controlling things are not generally in attendance immediately you board the ship. Certainly not before cabins are available. I have always assumed that this was the case as the majority of passengers have not yet by that time been able to see the notice on the cabin door. Regards John

Security staff are highly trained in not escalating a situation and are specialists in dealing with people who are drunk, obnoxious, violent, out of there mind etc. They will definitely go out of their way to make sure people's problems are resolved however trivial without causing offence or making them feel stupid. Regards John

I think people who need to know where there muster station is prior to boarding are not really cut out for cruising. The location of the muster station displayed is on the back of your cabin door together with information of how to get there. A written reminder of which one is yours A, B, C etc. is on your life jacket. The drill procedure has to be completed before the ship sails and therefore the risk is very low, you are still in port. If you ask security they will likely say deck 7 as they don't know which cabin you are in and if you tell them again probably tell you look at the notice on your cabin door. I equate this sort of concern with attempting to check in at a hotel and asking them where the fire exit is from your room and not checking in until this is resolved. You cant be too careful, can you. Regards John

i am sure an emergency protocol has been devised by the management of the casino. In a similar way as heart attacks have a response procedure. I should imagine they finish all games in process and clear all the chips away for security reasons which will not take long. If players immediately walk off it might be regarded as folding. Although it is an emergency signal it is not an announcement of instant threat to life. They might even direct committed players to go direct to muster station as a default. Regards John