hawkesbaynz

The R-class bathrooms on Oceania are pretty small but did not worry me (15 stone & 6’3”). However there were quite a few elderly overweight people on the cruise who did not look able to getting in the shower cubicle. I believe they used the showers in the gym. Wardrobes were tight too. The officers are totally inconspicuous on Oceania. They deck staff could be transporting cargo or premium class passengers. Rarely a smile. Do it safely though. No Captain Kates on O. Oceania did reduce our port times in South America. Some said it was to reduce port fees and to be able to sail slower and more economically between ports. Also O does not refund missed ports taxes. I would sail O again though. If the price and itinerary was right. I listen to Bembridges podcasts whilst walking the dog. A fair amount of repetition but good advice.

Oceania is a good alternative although we would prefer the larger ships & itinerary rich sailings for the extra cash. The food is great which balances the poorer evening entertainment. A good pool vibe (quiet), great lecturers and access to the spa for all. Perfect ships for Antarctica and SA. Our first cruise after a hiatus was P&O for a weekender and enjoyed it. That was in 2015 and done numerous cruises since but mainly X. The prices are good but I think I would pay out for speciality restaurants on top. Downside of P&O is that it will be almost 100% Brits whilst we like sailing with other nationalities. We had a great Princess taster 7 nighter in the Med and would compare the enjoyment level with X. I have 80,000 Virgin points saved for a free Virgin Voyage!!

Early June would be my sweet spot but May/June & September to mid October should be good. I would avoid July/August as schools out and hot. The Irish and Scottish kids break up mid-June but smaller numbers. We had some US kids on a Princess cruise early June but seems to be more on that line. I believe US breaks are spread more evenly over Summer than European.

Sailed several times with X but only once with Princess. Had a great break on the Enchanted Princess. We have four cruises booked with X in 23/24/25 but none with Princess. Am considering Princess on a 14N to Artic circle in June for about £3K PP. A comparable Apex Artic circle 12N July is 4K. Comparing basic package X with Plus on Princess in basic balcony versus IV. I know which I will choose when the products are not too dissimilar.

I too remember the Holyhead ferry when I was a child. Rivers of v…t on the stairs. My mother has refused to cruise because of her multiple sailings in the 50/60/70s on the Irish Sea. Sailing on the Beyond will not bear any comparison. Arguably the bacon was better on the ferry though. Celebrity is easier to use OBC than Princess - tours, dining, upgrading packages. If you want a ‘premium’ gin on a basic package you can use OBC as the difference. The rooftop grill maybe nice if you have an overnight.

We are travelling to Japan in the Spring and I have already purchased some money online delivered to home to get us started. Used a comparison site to find out who was the cheapest as it was certainly not my local bank. Our Toursbylocals guide has advised us that taxis etc need local currency. When travelling I always use credit cards that do not charge fees. Therefore leave the reward Amex and Barclaycard in the safe and use CC/DC that charge the interbank rate to exchange. Always take a couple too as have lost them on previous trips (the ATMs do not beep in Chile). In the UK we have a fair few options for fee free credit and debit cards. I am sure there are fee free options in USA/Can too. For the benefit of UK readers https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money/

We usually do Premium drinks on X but had the Plus on a recent Princess cruise. The wine was decent and Hendricks gin was on the Plus. We were told we could pay the difference for more expensive drinks but never needed to.

We disembarked last month, though on Princess. Very short and easy walk off for 8am. We arranged SunTransfers and went smoothly. BTW there were lots of taxis at the port too. About 30 minutes to the airport.

Am glad you enjoyed Southampton🙂 I don't believe there are flights direct from FLL to London. It is usually Heathrow to Miami if you wish to fly direct. Flying is such a joy. Apologise for the railways. Lots of strikes and a confusing array of companies with different routes. Government sold the railways off to the private sector. Oddly some of these companies are owned by state owned european rail companies. Don't mention Virgin. Look forward to the travelogue.

I believe Flam is the stand out port - train up and cycle down😀. Never been on Apex but love Silhouette. Imagine more expensive though. It is only a seven day cruise. Imagine you have non-cruise plans too. Lots to do in the UK with great landscape & cities. Amsterdam is great…….

We sailed Enchanted Princess in June. 100% Full. First time on the line after several Celebrity (all S class) and a mix of Oceania, RCI, Marella, P&O. Pros: always plenty of space at bars and good pours too; Liked the Adult and Retreat pools as I find the main too noisy on X; International Cafe; buffet always had tables; liked the International cafe; basic wifi was good; the wardrobe Cons: A little too noisy in the Atrium; queues for the MDR although we booked; ship a bit bigger than we like; dress code very casual (miffed I did not bring smart shorts too). No issue with bottled water or soda. Hendricks was on the basic package too. I would book either line dependent on price and itinerary.

I booked a Princess cruise directly thru a cashback site when I found the discount thru TAs was the same as via Quidco (Topcashback an alternative and am sure Canada has similar)

No TA in the UK can beat the Celebrity direct price if I claim military discount. Nor can the US TAs I have asked. A blanket 10% excl. Port taxes. My neighbour is a cruise TA. My understanding is that they are giving up percentages of their commission to get your business. They still achieve targets and get a bit of commission. Not sure how that affects group rates. I seem to be constantly walking her dog when she is on the phone selling cruises. The next time I need to book a non-Celebrity cruise she will offer the minimum possible price,plus a little, for a cruise so that I have a negotiating platform for other TAs. Personally I would not trust her to book me a taxi! I understand that CC now has a website/APP selling cruises.

Enjoyed your photos of the street art. Glad you avoided the sectarian murals in Belfast too. Have you been to Valparaiso in Chile? You will love the street art.

Or stay in Winchester the Night before the cruise. Fantastic small medieval city. There are hotels near the trains station and it must be a 20 minute train ride or a 30 minute taxi ride. Have a look at the Port of Call section on CC https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/ Although we live on the outskirts of Southampton and can be sipping bubbly in 45 minutes of leaving home, my wife always stays at the Holiday Inn when working on the Carnival ships. Walkable to City Terminal and to some nice restaurants like Kutis, Enios and a nice pub called The Dancing Man

@EarthByShip do they do Heineken 0%?

Following too. Been on all the S ships but Reflexion. Lucky you in a CS. Recently sailed out of Civitavecchia on the Enchanted Princess but got in the day before as been to Rome couple of times. We flew into Fiumincino with British Airways from LHR on an 8ish flight. Queues for passport control was massive for non -EU. Also the queue for taxis was massive but we fortunately had a booking with RomeInLimo. €180 for a hour transfer. Got to port at 2pm. Stayed at the very basic Hotel Traghetto which is almost opposite the coach stop for transfers for the ships. I would recommend an arranged transfer if people are coming in that day.

https://emmacruises.com/lamp/ Emma the blogger swears by this.

Fabulous and informative travelogue as always. We have been to Mykonos and Rhodes. Would love to visit Paros and am wondering if I could yacht charter there (have done the Aegean & Dodecanese a few times). Looking forward to the Japan travelogue too as we are visiting in April (and took your previous guide recommendation for Kyoto😀). Out of interest do you ride motorbikes in Germany or are mopeds just a holiday thing?

The UK moved towards metric in 1965. I was born in 1962 and it was metric in school. However we still have a mix with a lean towards metric. Babies and pints of beer always seem to come in pounds! Fair play to Stock Jock for bringing up bidets. I often use them (not sure if correctly) when on the continent. DW thinks they are disgusting. Looking forward to experiencing the Japanese WC next year. We have great seafood in the UK. However the British do not appreciate unlike North Americans it and it is exported to the continent (if they are able with Brexit).

@bikerunner I understand why you are so bitter at Celebrity. We book cruises far in advance and make complex and expensive arrangements built around them. You have good reason to be PO. All power to your elbow complaining. Another example of corporate greed. Wonder why they are moving Beyond to Carib. Not sure I would like a cruise there in a hot & humid hurricane season. Recollect the ship weren't too booked up in previous Summer seasons. Did they have too many ships in Europe this year (still plenty of available cabins). Our last few cruises have been on Oceania and Princess. Previously several X and a few more booked in the future. With these sorts of stories it gives me no reason to have any brand loyalty to X or any other cruise line. Only myself and my $$$.

Great review. Will be on Solstice in November at Singapore and glad you had a great experience. Looking forward to trying our fourth S-class. Good tip for a future Alaska cruise for a SV. We have one in April in Japan on the Millenium. Loved it on the Silhouette. Love the gym….but 4am. Am more of a post tour pre-dinner gym goer.

We booked this once but Celebrity cancelled it. When we fly back to the UK post cruise we usually book a hotel room for the day and lie by the pool until late PM, shower then depart. Arrange an Uber from the port and the hotel (DoubleTree Hilton) has a transfer. Am sure we could be more adventurous but tend to do the Miami tour/Fort Lauderdale tour/Everglades/Shopping Mall at Sawgrass pre-cruise. Option is there though. dayuse.com hotelsbyday.com

Boarding very quick for us too. Forty-five minutes from getting into a taxi from home (20 minute drive) to grabbing a drink on the ship. Always used our time slots. Really just a slow saunter through the terminal. Makes me wonder why we do not sail from Southampton more. Next few cruises are from Singapore, Yokohama, Barcelona and Mumbai.

We just completed a week in the Med on Enchanted Princess. Have cruised X in various categories and have x4 booked in the future. We really enjoyed Princess and found it had some pluses and minuses in comparison with X. Eg. Really liked the quiet Retreat deck area. The standard Plus beverage package included Hendricks gin, quaffable wine and drinks service was good whereas I have felt the X tried to slow down the sommelier service. No lines. I had read that canned sodas were not included and carried them on, and pre-purchased some, but found they were included. Thus more generous than Xs package. I will not cancel the X cruises as they are decent priced and itinerary driven (Vietnam, Japan, Mumbai to Singapore). I will choose Princess if better value and the itinerary is right in future. We enjoyed two Oceania cruises in the last several months but too expensive, and too old.