Chocolate Teapot

Yes, they are supposed to.

The train diagram in the bottom right hand corner of the sign is useful so you can have an idea of where your carriage is going to be located on the platform. However I did once or twice stand in what appeared to be the correct spot, only to discover the train came in the opposite way around, so I had to dash to the other end of the (very full and busy) platform!

Regional trains in Germany are usually called Regionalbahn or Regionalexpress. The sign on the platform with the train number will have the letters in front of it. So: RB 12345 or RE 54321

But then once you know it was composed by Benny and Bjorn, you can't not imagine the chorus being sung by Agnetha and Anni-Frid.

Brussels has grown on me over the years, but I tend to use it as a base for visiting Bruges, Antwerp or the seaside. Bruges is a nice compact size for a day trip and there are lots of shops and places to eat and drink.

Certainly Contactless has become common since the pandemic, however I still sometimes get requested to add the PIN to the card reader. It might be because of the value of whatever it is I am buying. (e.g. a cup of coffee versus an expensive souvenir)

Never used Spain Day Tours, but their sister company Barcelona Day Tours has always been terrific whenever I did the Epic 1 week Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona. Their other sister company, Italy Day Tours was very good too. (They did the excursion to Florence from Livorno I mention above)

In some bars and cafes there will be a sign saying there is a charge of EUR 1 to use the toilets if you are not buying a drink, or even that toilets are only for the use of customers. On the subject of card payments, smaller shops and businesses might be cash only, or a minimum spend. Also, I don't know how common chip and pin cards are in the US, but in Europe, it is normal to pay by card and put in the 4 digit code rather than signing the receipt.

I find the solo gathering really depends on the attendees. I did the Epic Mediterranean cruise for several years, and sometimes there would be a regular group of people who went for dinner every night, other times the solo lounge would be almost deserted. There was one Epic cruise where I went to the first night Solo traveller gathering and the lounge was packed. I had never seen it so full before. However, it became clear that all the people were part of existing friend groups travelling together and were not interested in meeting new people.

You might also find the SNCB's official website helpful: www.belgiantrain.be One point worth remembering is that reserving seats is not possible on Belgian trains, unless you happen to be part of a (very) large group.

I recommend Van Oost, Depla and The Chocolate Line for Bruges specific chocolate, as well as Mary, Galler and Neuhaus for shops with branches across Belgium. The latter three are suppliers to the Belgian Royal Court, so their chocolate must be good!

I was in Bruges today and can confirm the boat tours which go from Katelijnstraat and Wollestraat both take credit cards.

I agree with Turtles06. If the port is some distance from the place you want to visit, an NCL excursion will give you peace of mind that you will get back in time. The Destination on your own excursions might be interesting if you want to make sure you get transportation to/from the ship, but don't want to be part of a tour group.

By Virgo, do you mean Vigo, which is the port for Santiago de Compostela? If so, I did an NCL excursion once which went into the city. It was some time ago, however I recall there was some walking from the coach park into the centre, a guided tour and then some free time to coincide with the service in the cathedral. My excursion in Lisbon was a guided walking tour with a ride on the famous yellow tram, again with some free time. For Majorca, again it was a guided walking tour, stopping off at a pearl shop, however there are regular shuttles from the ship into the city, so it is easy just to go for a walk around. I also once did an excursion into one of the villages outside Palma. In all cases, the guides were excellent. I would suggest looking at the difficulty rating of the tours, depending on the mobility of your party. For example an excursion with NCL could involve a walk to/from the coach park, whereas an independent tour might use minibuses/people carriers which are allowed into town centres. Whilst it wasn't on your list, I had this experience in Florence.

I have used Wow Scotland Tours, although this was before the pandemic. However it was a very good tour which covered Culloden and Loch Ness amongst other things. 5* Shore Excursions & Tours from Invergordon | WOW Scotland (wowscotlandtours.com)

Not sure about credit cards, since the last time I did a boat tour (with a friend who had never visited Bruges before) we paid cash. We took the tour from the bridge at the end of Wollestraat, which is a good shopping street for gifts and souvenirs.

From experience, yes, there will be shops and places to eat and drink open. If the weather is good, I recommend a boat tour on the canals, and there are several different points you can take the tours from. (You will arrive back at the same embarkation point)

There are contrasting opinions here about Bruges and Ghent! I would probably say that Ghent is more of a working town than Bruges, although I am very fond of both of them.

I used Barcelona Day Tours for a half-day tour with drop off at the airport. They were very professional and I am happy to use them whenever I am in Barcelona.

Depending on when the Cannes day is during your cruise, it might be a nice opportunity to relax after some more hectic days of sightseeing. I did the toy train which left from the quayside and travelled along the promenade and around the town. That was fun, then there was the covered market which had lovely fruit and vegetables. I remember sitting on a bench overlooking the sea and eating gorgeous cherries and apricots.

I remember from doing this tour a few years ago that a driver/guide collected us from the port, drove us to Pompeii, then a second guide met us and did the tour of Pompeii, so perhaps that's what they mean? I have only used Italy Tours once (unfortunately there were not enough people interested in another tour I wanted to do), but I have always been very happy with the professional service from them.