TenneSea

Wow, thanks for that list of Uber areas. We have an Uber reserved from Hinkley to Retford and a local short ride in Hinkley. I think I could have reserved others but I just didn't know where they operate and where they didn't. Most of our reservations are taxis.

My husband is a car guy/collector. He has several classic, old Porsches and and old Land Rover truck. He doesn't know it yet but, we are spending most of the next day at the Motor Museum in Beaulieu - just bought the tickets last week. This whole trip is made possible by taxis (and 2 Uber rides). Our trip over the Atlantic is on Caribbean Princess, then 10 days in England, then fly home. This is our first transatlantic cruise and we're just a little apprehensive but love cruising so, we'll be fine. Yep, the taxis are pricey but we don't want to haul luggage on trains and busses. Our last UK car rental ended in a collision with a bus so it's a big no this trip. We have some really, really awesome private tours lined up. This trip will be epic ! Thanks for your helpful tips !

Such great information. This is the company doing our private tour: https://www.southamptoncruisetours.co.uk/ They (he) seemed to be very knowledgeable about New Forest and is great to respond quickly to any question or suggestion I have. If you have heard anything negative about them, I'd appreciate knowing that. I had a hard time finding a tour guide that was available. We are staying at Montagu Arms in Beaulieu and doing Beaulieu the next day on our own. The tours that we have planned and all of the taxi reservations are pricey, but if they just all show up, I'll be a happy camper ! Thank you for your reassurance on the taxis and for all of the helpful tips.

ZiggyUK, You are the person who lives in New Forest? We did not get to NF last August. But, we're coming back in May and spending 2 days in New Forest and 2 days on Isle of Wight. I am so excited to see everything. I have booked a taxi for a day to take us through New Forest, picking us up where the WightLink drops us in Lymington and then dropping us at our hotel in Beaulieu. Thank you for all of the information you have shared.\

Good to know. Thank you.

Following our Transatlantic cruise next month, we are traveling to various parts of England. As we are not renting a car this trip (last trip ended with a collision with a bus), we have reserved several taxi rides to get to our destinations. My fear is that we will be left stranded somewhere. I would like to know if my fears are justified or not. Are the taxi services reliable? (i.e.,one reservation is a taxi from Southampton to Moreton-In-Marsh, in the Cotswolds). Really appreciate any information.

leck57: That is pretty much fact but 5 drinks a day hardly makes you an alcoholic 5 Drinks a day is a problem ! Talk to your liver.

Next will be charging for "bags". Wait for it. Cruising is the new Airlines.

Absolutely. Prices will go up (was inevitable when internet prices soared) - now it's just a matter of "how are we going to sell this pig"? We have the power to stop this slow creep to becoming the new "airline" if we all would just stop buying these packages.

How was your trans-Atlantic? We're doing our 1st one in May.

HA ! We actually spent a day on IOW and toured the amazing Osborne House. When we left, we both agreed that if we ever returned to the UK, we would spend a few days on the Isle. It was truly beautiful. We took the Red Funnel over and back from Southampton - our cruise to Norway started the next day. Thank you both for the information ( @ziggyuk & @John Bull ). Still working on the details to make this trip happen.

@ziggyuk @John Bull To make a long story short, our visit to the UK in August abruptly changed when a double decker NE coach hit our rental car. The car was substantially damaged but thankfully, we didn't even get a scratch on us. This happened in Birmingham. We got to London where we hoped to regroup and continue on our way but then Covid hit both of us. We spent the next 5 days self-quarantining there and recovered just in time to fly back to the US. We hope to return again next fall (2024). I will plan some time (2 days ?) in New Forest and a few days on the Isle of Wight. My question is, are Ubers plentiful throughout New Forest and Isle of Wight ? I don't think we'll be so brave the next trip to rent a car so will have to rely mostly on public transportation, uber and taxis.

Didn't know there were so many cruisers in Kingston, TN ! We are in Lake Harbor - on WB Lake. Beautiful here, isn't it ! '

Well, we did get to see Norway and it did not disappoint !

I don't think it's necessary to buy Osborne tickets in advance, although we did. You could spend days on the Isle. The ferries run every half hour, I think. You can get their schedule at RedFunnel Ferries. As far as disembarking, we were the 1st group to walk off the ship. We waited for a taxi about 20 minutes. It was pretty seamless. But, I could see if you were later, the taxi thing could become a problem.

The ferry to the Isle of Wight was very easy to use and if you have a day to do it, I highly recommend visiting there. It's so quaint and beautiful. Do go see the Osborne House ! Holiday Inn will keep your bags for you if your room is not ready. They were really nice there. Great beds, good breakfasts, knowledgeable staff. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

I have no idea what happened to those images ! Let me update you on the morning of our 2nd day of our land portion. Our rental car was struck by a double decker bus in a busy roundabout in Birmingham. We decided to just head to London and sight see there until our flight out which will be the 27th. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the accident. It could have been so much worse. The car will probably be totaled. We paid for every insurance option to cover everything in the event of an accident and I'm so glad we did. Driving in another country shouldn't be taken lightly. Please be careful. As it turns out, when we got to London, we both came down with Covid so, here we sit in a London hotel self-isolating trying to recover from Covid. We're starting to feel better now (day 6) so hopefully, we can enjoy a few days here before we head back to the US.

You can see the Funicular path in the center of the picture (the line in the green that goes up to a white spot). This is the "white spot" where the funicular lands. This was taken from the ship, while we were waiting to leave port. Some scenes as we were heading out to sea.

So we picked up the rental car today and have sucessfully maneuvered our way to Cheltenham. I've felt very warn out today so we are taking it easy. Hopefully, more energy tomorrow to do more photos and post many of them. The plan tomorrow is Cleeve Hill, Lichfield, Gretna, Scotland, Sycamore Gap and overnight in Hexham. All points of particular interest to me, which I'll explain with pictures !

Regarding the aft cabin. We experienced no soot or bad smells. However, through out the ship on occasion, there was definitely a "sewer-like" smell. I have read of people experiencing the same thing. I also have never smelled that before. Loved the aft cabin but be prepared to W-A-L-K, WALK, WALK and then WALK some more.

Good bye, Norway. We hope to see you again someday. Next adventure starts tomorrow - ENGLAND.

Tom Ball (from Britain's Got Talent) was on board. He did not disappoint. An amazing voice, an amazing show. When planning this trip, I even looked to see if he was performing in a London venue while we are there later next week. Imagine my surprise when I got on board and saw he would be doing a show ... HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY !

Here and there throughout the city were beautiful historical buildings. We just flew by everything too quickly. Yes, next time, exploring on our own.

I wish we had done that instead of the tour! Waste of money and time.

And, of course, McDonald's in Bergen Train Station (I think)