onyx007

It's probably cheaper to have a hotel a little further away and just pay a metro ticket (most places are about 30 minutes subway ride away) - Russel Square is the station you'll have to look for... I've so far only stayed either near Victoria Station or near Paddington to save money.

They changed that homepage since the last time...it's a little bit confusing...

Didn't know that, thanks for clarifcation

Oh no, not again; I especially have booked me two post-nights at Southampton in November for my cruise on NCL Star to visit Portsmouth and the Victory... I already visited Boston and the USS Constitution in November 2016 and it was beeing restored... But I will visit on a Monday and I believe only the Victory will be open anyway... And about accomodation: I should have thought that over, before booking a non-refundable hotelroom, as first of all my ship departs at 6 pm and I fly into London; I would have saved one trip if I would have chosen Porthsmouth as you did...AND I later found out, that that particular monday is the 11th of November aka Armistice Day which has usually a big memorial service in London, where usually Royals attend and can be seen...so I might have booked in London instead and skipt Portsmouth altogether...

Will be there in the last week of July (not as a cruise passenger, but land based) and will try to see the Brittania as a walk-up, as I have already a tour at the castle booked and might try my luck (Fringe Festival has not startet when I am there), in my experience of other places, the later you visit, the fewer people are there...

the only ports where you could find local tours like at the pier in my experience were Akureyri in Iceland and Honningvag in Norway (the one with the North Cape) - but for the rest it's better to do it either without a tour or book beforehand in pages like getyourguide.com

Both cities are easy doable on your own; no need for an expensive tour...in Lisbon I recommend a walk on the seafront to see the Seafarers Monument and the nearby Museum where the Tomb of Explorer Vasco da Gama is located (he was the one who discovered the route from Europe to India via Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) In Porto as others pointed out, the port is not right in the city but there is a Metro which takes you to the city center and if your teenagers are into Harry Potter, there is a Book Shop JK Rowing frequented and was the inspiration for the moving stairs of Hogwarts (it's called Livraria Lello and has usually a long waiting line to get in)

In which city is this hotel ???

Following as well, as I will be in Le Havre in November and have seen Bee, but will probably do it by public bus, which is cheaper...and I am not so sure, that they have a pick-up and transfer at the port (heard of it the first time)

Yeah, I would book a Shorex of NCL (also to be sure, to be back on time) What you might do if you really are not into NCL Tours ... try the homepage getyourguide

What I read (as I booked a landbased tour) you will need tickets for Skara Brae, which you should by beforehand or miss getting inside: to be able to visit, you must pre-book tickets following the below link: https://dashboard.ventrata.com/checkout/en/skara-brae?checkout=b79f173c-5654-4776-9f70-06c8077e4b55

For a tour from Zeebrugge because of the drive (and the time you loose on it) I would prefer Brugge (or if you're into history Ypers for it's WWI connection) But be aware, depending on the size of your ship and if it's a weekend Brugge is small and will be packed with tourist. For a land based trip I prefer Brussels as it's in my eyes one of the most underrated city in Europe. It also makes a great base camp to visit some other places. As a comic book enthusiast Brussels is the dream city as it's after all the home town of Tintin (and Spirou if you know that character as well) - many murals of european comic book characters around, the comic book museum, the amazing Atomium building from the World Fair 1958, Grand Place with the old town around and the little pissing boy (Manneken Pis) and many more sights

As others already made the comments about the ports; I like to add my thoughts; ports are there to be explored, there is enough time to see the ship and be aboard. So depending on the age of your kids, every port is worthwile to go at least for a stroll. It's of course not really necessairy to make a tour or a whole day at land, but sometimes a couple of hours on land to go to a beach or watch the happening of the big ships in port or a nearby playground... 1. At sea 2. LE VERDON BORDEAUX, FRANCE As I see (I will be there the first time for myself in November) you could step of the ship and explore the nearby beach 3. BILBAO, SPAIN I would go into town (easy done with a Metro to see the huge puppy dog in front of the amazing Art Museum) 4. LA CORUNA, SPAIN It's the port of Santiago de Compostela, where one usually goes to see the Cathedrale but as I've seen on this page (search for it) there is lots to see and do in La Coruna itself. 5. OPORTO, PORTUGAL Another city which is in my eyes a must to visit, with the very colorfull houses, the old fashioned tram 6. LISBON, PORTUGAL Ride the tram around, stroll along the river side 7. CADIZ SEVILLE, SPAIN did the tour to Seville which I highly recommend 8. CARTAGENA SPAIN, SPAIN Did not visit 9. BARCELONA, SPAIN Again a city not to be missed, if you don't like to tour you just might to take a stroll along the Waterfront and the "Ramblas" Street (watch out for pickpockets) and maybe ride the cable car 10. CANNES, FRANCE Beachtime 11. LIVORNO FLORENCE PISA, ITALY Tour to see the leaning tower in Pisa

79 is per Person - so if you get 4 people it's already 316 Euros = a taxi/uber you only pay once and not per Person....of course if you are on your own the tour might be cheaper, but if you are more people, then the bill looks not the same...

In might be not that popular because it is basically not a tour but an expensive shuttle to those places and nothing else....it might be cheaper (if you are a couple of people to share a taxi instead)