Aulanis

Yes, that's the problem . Thanks for the update 🙂

If you get the chance can you post back how it is in a few days. Hopefully they will enforce sanitising at the dining areas do they have wash basins there as well as sanitiser?

We are sailing on 8/8 hope they have it cleaned up by then and are enforcing hand washing at the buffet / dining areas

Looking at this from another perspective does anyone know why Ambassador is not a CLIA Member? Is it simply because they have to trade for a period before being allowed to join or is it that they dont meet the standards required. As a step further Should travel agents or Ambassador be advising us when making a booking?

Thanks, great comprehensive review 🙂

@Hlitner Thankyou. since I posted a roll call has been started and someone else has been researching this and drawn a blank. Rather than miss out we have booked the ship trip. I was aware of the house & contents. I read some time ago a review by someone ( not on CC) they had gone when it was quiet and they allowed them to take pictures which were in the review. I am uncertain if an additional ticket is needed as ship description says there will be time to visit the house "on your own". Will look into it, the garden ticket site does not mention that entry to the house needs another ticket .

This is getting a bit too in depth for me and I wouldnt like to give you duff advice so my suggestion is that you join this forum damn its blocked ! anyway google railukforums and it should come up. They have a full section on ticketing queries. They have experts on there that collectively know everything about uk rail.

Hi - Its a minefield, but looks like you have done the "due diligence" on this. We have done waterloo to Soton several times advance fares were good. I am therefore amazed at how much the standard fare and super off peak fare ( which appears to be the one on offer) are now. Advance is still cheap. I think you will have noticed there are 2 stations in Windsor & Eton Central & Riverside. Services run by different companies. Both have manned ticket offices at the moment. My first thought to keep it simple was to suggest Windsor to Waterloo Waterloo to Soton but if not using advance tickets that seems expensive.( to Me) Next up is your plan W&E > Slough>Reading> Soton. You can book tickets with any company This is a link to a suggested route on Cross country trains which is £71.20 for 2 pax. These show as off peak which are usually refundable and also mean you could set off at 10am 11 am or 12 am so if first train was delayed or missed you could pick up later service on second/third train at no extra cost. https://www.buytickets.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/book/results?origin=dfb79efbaae393df35945001df8b3d5e&destination=4ec8cbc9b7487a526f2ffa5be9ff110a&outwardDate=2023-08-19T13%3A00%3A00&outwardDateType=arriveBefore&journeySearchType=single&passengers[]=1993-07-01&passengers[]=1993-07-01&directSearch=false&selectedOutward=QWMXoT0UwG8%3D%3AFg%2FHzRr8oq0%3D&temporalDirection=previous&transitDefinitionDirection=outward&paginationPriceDisplayed=false&searchId=48532b4e-fe81-40ba-83d9-8ce5cffe690c As well as being able to buy all the tickets at the station you can buy them online and pick up from a ticket machine in the station. When you buy you will be given a number to collect the tickets which is different to the booking confirmation number. You also need the credit card you used to book with you. One thing to remember is not to board a train that doesnt have touch in /out WITHOUT tickets as they dont like selling tickets on the trains and the Penalty charge is £100!! Maybe others who live locally and use those routes regularly will have some other ideas.

We are booked on an Ambassador cruise that has an overnight in Rouen. Whilst there is plenty to fill the time in Rouen we have been thinking that while we are so close maybe we could fit in a trip to Monet's Garden. It looked doable, and we have a bit of French!! train then a bus 7km is a bit far to walk these days. Then when looking more closely at the Garden ticket booking realised that you probably cant just buy a ticket when you get there (August will be busy) as they seem only to have timed entrance tickets. Makes sense I suppose but for me it means the variables in getting there could make it difficult. Have has a quick look but havent spotted any organised trips so wondered if any one has been there done that?

We booked in Oct22 for the cruise following yours Deck8 inside. If you have had no contact with Ambassador or your TA you may get a surprise upgrade. We got an upgrade to a Deck9 outside and nearer the middle of the ship. Would not have known about is as no-one told us until we asked for OBC re price drop and they came back and said you cant have that as you have been upgraded. One simple email and they could have saved a lot of bother for me, and the TA and even themselves! Deep reading of all the blurb does say that if you chose Happy to upgrade when you book they MIGHT upgrade and you will find out 3 days before when you can get your "tickets" and labels. I have been trying to find out just when the upgrade happened but they dont seem to want to answer that. You can check in "My Ambassador sailing" as they have changed our cabin number in there.

It is to some extent whilst the "chain" establishments have the same or very similar menus the prices can vary significantly. Sometimes you can search deeper by specific property and a more useful menu can be found. The Giddy Bridge mentioned by @John Bull is such an example. Our hotels have been at that end of town though its a nice walk through the Parks from where you are. We have eaten there a few times I would say its cheap and cheerful though a bit noisy depending on time. Anyway I attach a copy of the menu from our last visit which should give you a starting point. We also used the slug and lettuce which was maybe a bit nicer and nearer the centre of the town ( two for one cocktail offer also helped!) and prices were similar to giddy bridge. S&L Has some prices you need to scroll down past the health menu link. https://www.slugandlettuce.co.uk/southampton/food-and-drink ALL prices it says are on their app which is what they all want you to get these days. Order from table on the app etc cuts down on staff MENU_701.pdf

LOL! I did look at what we were paying and adjusted our expectations accordingly. compared to our P&O 14 day cruise Tenerife to Malta in March including flights it was expensive but in view of the hype they give themselves offering Great food Great Entertainment Great Ports thought paying the extra for a Premium service acceptable. Presumably we now have to adjust our expectations to the price the cruise is now so are expected to accept Poor food Poor Entertainment and Poor Service. Fortunately the ports will be whatever we make of them.

That is usual for most cruises we have boarded in the uk however one of their "advices" say that it starts 4 hours before sail time which in our case Liverpool would make first embarkation at 4pm. I have also seen somewhere that the selection is not only by deck but also by whether you have booked Ambassador fare or not. Not sailed to or from Liverpool but have "walked" around it on googlemaps, its said to seat 400 and the same "building" handles both passengers boarding and leaving. Not sure if those getting off to visit Liverpool have to go through the "building" as well, but the total numbers are relatively small as against the big ships.

The options are endless? Southampton is a university town and major cruise centre so eateries are everywhere. It will depend on your budget and taste. There are many Pubs that provide meals and you are very close to the west quay shopping centre which does dining and snacks = https://www.west-quay.co.uk/dine/cafes-takeaways You can also open googlemaps and check restaurants for prices.

Ambassador pester you to leave a review on trust pilot - I recommend you read some of them. Interestingly they dont respond to bad reviews . For me it is so far so bad, we have no experience of cruising with Ambassador but the recent round of price cuts has meant we have paid well over the odds as a reward for booking early. Also mentioned in reviews on TP We have been away on a cruise and on our return thought we would get up to speed with Ambassador. Have to say I was shocked to find we paid around £400 each more for our standard plus inside cabin than they are now offering it at although the category is showing as wait listed??? So why still advertise it? That is more then I have ever seen in a price drop on our 30 previous cruise. I understand the price paid is contractual so as I have seen other lines sometimes cover the price drop with OBC or an upgrade I have asked our TA to see if anything is available. They say it is unlikely but will try- could take 7 days for an answer! Having since read TP I think I know the answer. Moving on from that I have been trying to find out when embarkation time is and find that the web site is pretty abysmal. 3 differing suggestions as to that! Not our exact time but just an indication of when embarkation might BEGIN would help. I have emailed them. Auto response suggests 14 days for a reply. Daft thing is it says I can request a callback within 2 days?? go figure! I might even try that. More great news Guest act ” Mr Showbiz ” Jimmy Nairn been in the entertainment business for 50 years ..... never heard of him, anyone else? So no good points so far including "for my convenience and comfort they are fixing the inside temperature on the ship at 21/22 deg " so doesnt sound ideal for sleeping. Anyway its not true according to several reviews of winter cruises. I think it must be ambassador speak for if its hot you cant cool it and if its cold you cant make it warmer. I am going to use this as the start of my review tho it will end up TLTR.

There are many schemes available for getting cheaper then standard price tickets. "Advance" tickets which are available in advance and are cheapest when they go on sale and the price increases nearer to travel date. These are normally non refundable should you decide not to travel or miss the train. There are also off peak tickets that may be nearer to what you have used before. What is classed as off peak can vary for different journeys. Might be cancellable/refundable. On some routes there are also split ticket fares where it is cheaper to buy a ticket from A to B and another from B to C ( Without breaking the journey) than it is to buy a single ticket from A to C. See here https://www.nationalrail.co.uk

Yes its the same distance from the Train station and the coach station if taking a taxi try and get a fixed price on cruise days ( on cruise days the roads get gridlocked so a metered taxi can be expensive. OP is there on 16th july Sunday and only 3 ships showing I think the 102 berth is the horizon and next to city terminal 101 which are probably the easiest traffic wise. https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

Maybe check out the trains - usually direct from waterloo. But depending on when you go check for rail workers strike days. https://www.southwesternrailway.com/train-times/london-waterloo-to-southampton-central?gclid=CjwKCAjwg-GjBhBnEiwAMUvNW03-J5rNwrczxY1DIYREmAql3aB9QAfvR92N-stsxsPR-cKsZoSBjBoC1UAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

If this is the Norway cruise there are higher grade cabins available so I guess there is always the chance of an upgrade for the OP.

Not from london or even near but as we have to get across london whenever we go to the airport LHR or to Southampton for a cruise. we have the same problem. You may have found it but Transport from London have a section on step free access. https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/step-free-access. Problem for you is that the tube stations closest to your hotel are not step free. My suggestion ( Londoners feel free to pull it to pieces) would be to use the Elizabeth Line service from the airport to Paddington ( Said to be step free from platform to pavement) then catch a bus Number 23 from Paddington to a stop just outside your hotel! https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/23/

As you are new to cruising you will not have read the hundreds (Thousands!!) of posts on this subject. If under 50 and have no prior medical conditions then the premiums may be more in line with a worldwide land tour. There are 2 major considerations in addition to age and medical conditions that account for the increase in premium for a cruise. One is summed up in this P& O condition in cruise contract 32. It is a condition of the Contract that every Guest must have adequate and appropriate insurance. This must include cover for travel, cancellation and curtailment and full and valid medical cover for pre-existing medical conditions worldwide, or as a minimum, in the countries that the Guest is due to visit and which must remain in force for the entire duration of the Package. The insurance policy(ies) must, as a minimum, include medical and repatriation coverage for not less than £2 million and must include cover for the cost of emergency evacuations from the ship, including but not limited to, evacuations by helicopter. It is the Guest’s responsibility to ensure that adequate and appropriate insurance is in place for the entire duration of the package. Land tours do not in the main require this I have always wondered just what the statistics are for helicopter evacuation?? Second - you have been used to european holidays where hospital treatment can be offset somewhat by carrying a EHIC or now a GHIC so insurance is cheaper. ( You should still carry one on a cruise if cruising transatlantic as you could have an accident in a European port on the way to other places) There is also the cost of medical care in the US and it seems extended to the caribbean, it has to be paid for and can be very expensive. As for ships doctor I believe they are all on US prices. We have always used Annual policies and these can save a lot if you cruise or holiday more than twice a year. Something to consider is if your bank does travel ins as part of your account it is something to look into. Nationwide is often mentioned as a good policy I keep thinking we should try it but its easier to just renew what we have. I sometimes mention that if you cruise a lot even a £1000 premium for 2 pax annual policy is £ 500 each two 14 day cruises £250 each per cruise "Plus packages" say £50 per person per day @ 28 days 2 people = £2800!!!! So maybe the insurance is cheap??

"Best way to get from hotel in London staying close to Hyde park to Dublin for cruise?" Dont understand that bit where exactly does your cruise leave from?

Can I assume you have seen this Utube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkEdEcOdZkQ

Here is the walking route station to hotel also on that pic is the abitart hotel direct link https://www.abitarthotel.com/en/ Might be a bit quieter not next to rail track

Are we talking about a UK passport here? and is flying involved? It may just be a temporary glitch on P&O system - it is maybe not the most reliable.