Canuker

PO: request a move to another cabin. Hint: inspect the new cabin before you say yes.

OP: have you tried a 'clothing optional' cruise yet? Advantage: a lot less to pack.

jackrabit7: Your time issue won't be about getting off the ship. It will be about those folk on your tour who show up 45 minutes late and curtail the tour for everyone else. You know who I mean.

h-sar (O.P.): you're from Edmonton, Alberta. Are you pulling our leg? What's your problem!

Cruise Man (O.P.): No they can't. They must eat down below, along with the rest of the crew.

OP: You can eat as many meals as you like - as long as they're yours.

Well said, Hank. Other than price, our main criteria for choosing a cruise has been the geography, i.e. the ports of call. But your point about making the choice of ship a higher priority and, essentially ignoring the ports stops has hit home with me. This is certainly true of people who (I wish!) live on cruise ships. You also, without actually stating it, hint ("...a well located deck chair...") that weather is an important factor for you. Here, here. The boat doesn't bounce around much while in port! Your post is going to make me look at future choices differently. Thank you Hank.

OP (pookel): you have some excellent feedback and advice. And not only for folk, like you, who have never cruised before. some good nuggets in there. I find the 80 - 20 rule applies to baggage for a cruise: 20% of what's packed gets used 80% of the time - and vice versa. I make a note, as I unpack after arriving back home, of the things I took that got little or no use. Then amend my next packing list accordingly. When the minimalist millenniums grow into their cruising years, they're going to redefine what's needed for a cruise vacation. And, by then, onboard wifi had better be a whole lot better - and better value - than it is now. Or that generation is gone from the ships.

Like a commercial aircraft flight: It has a number of purposes: 1. Branding. The last thing you see are the crew's (hopefully) smiling faces, in their full uniforms. 2. Feedback. It's a passenger's last (perhaps only?) opportunity to very briefly communicate what they thought of the flight - both verbally and by their body language - before leaving the plane. 3. Reinforcement. If the flight (or in this case a cruise) has gone well, it's an unspoken "We did well, didn't we?". It's not uncommon when a any kind of vendor has been told they have done well, to expect a questionnaire asking how they did. 4. Someone higher up has told them to stand there. Maybe there was cruise company brass aboard.

Robes. If not there, the steward will get them.

On the Silhouette TA in April. What can we expect, please, in the way of British-style afternoon tea? - Location(s) - Days - Times - Food Thanks to all who respond.

Before responding, clarification, please. Is a "jewish tour of Mumbai": A. a tour of jewish themes in Mumbai or B. A tour of Mumbai for jewish people? or C. All of the above?

1. Price. On a daily basis, repositioning type cruises can be among the best bargains out there. But, of course, they are very likely to be longer that the typical cookie-cutter 7-day cruise. Fewer ports also means lower port fees. 2. Airfare. You cannot buy your typical return air trip. You will need two one-way tickets. Airfare can often wind up costing more than the cruise. 3. Sea days. Lots of them. So choose your weather-route wisely. 4. Demographics. Voyages over 7 or so days drive up the average age of the guests, as vacation from work time becomes a deciding factor. Outside school closures, children tend to be few and very young. 5. Cabin choice. The view from the balcony doesn't change much many days. 6. Activities. Lots more things to do on board. Lots. Got to keep the customers satisfied. High brow to belly flops. 7. Dining. Eateries that open only on sea days are open a lot more on repositioning cruises. 8. Facilities. Daily spa costs, for example, can be lower - and much more accessible. 9. Pace. Not nearly so much rushing about. 10. Purpose. People use them to get from A to B, without having to fly. They are also useful if you have lots of 'cargo' to transport.

Excellent practice, I'd say, for what will come next in a real emergency.

1. I am very much in favour of a real, in person muster drill given by real in person crew. 2. I am in favour of muster drills that congregate people in appropriate outside locations, with their life jackets. 3. A muster location in, say, the theatre is laughable. If the ship is going down or keeling over, the bottom-most deck is the last place I'd go. 4. The virtual musters I've attended have been pathetic in terms of practical information that will be useful in an emergency. 5. I was once at a muster drill that comprised someone turning on a video cartoon presentation. There were so many people crammed into that room that we could neither see nor hear the presentation. 6. On our last cruise, we failed to attend the muster drill because, evidently, the instructions to go there were being given over the cabins' audio system. We were vaguely aware of a man rapidly script-reading and mumbling on about many topics but could not hear much of what was being said, nor was much of it of interest to us. We received a note the next day saying we were to report to a second muster drill because we had failed to attend to the first one. We didn't even know about the first one, which had been told to us by Mr. Mumble. We felt bad at this point but felt we were not alerted properly to the first one. Our guilt quickly vanished when we arrived at drill #2; there were over 200 people there! We learned that if our cabin audio was used, to go out into the corridor, where the audio volume was high enough to hear and understand what was being said. Thank goodness there wasn't any real emergency. We reported the audio issue to our steward, who understood, but by the time we left the ship, no improvement was evident. For the record, the ship was Cunard's Queen Victoria. 7. We have learned to check our own best route(s) out to an open deck, in addition to the ship's own muster instructions. Rant over.

I wouldn't say I'm in need of some repairs, but why waste 9 months' premiums.

Or choose an inside that is an easy walk out to an open deck. Either an upper sun deck or perhaps the promenade deck, lower down near the lifeboats.

Cross-border points are going to get busy! Stock up, landlords in US border towns.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has declared the following Monday, May 08, a bank (i.e. public) holiday to encourage the populace to celebrate the coronation. This is in addition to the annual May 01 "Mayday" bank holiday. So a Brit can take four days of paid vacation and get 10 straight days off. I'm guessing that airport departures in the UK will be a zoo on or about Saturday April 29 and, similarly, arrivals on or about May 08. Brits take to the roads on bank holidays, especially if the weather is fine, so expect roads to be no picnic on those two weekends either. Judging by recent pricing and availability of accommodations in central London, many people are planning to converge on the capital to join in the pageant over the May 06 weekend. Lastly, be aware that many public transport providers (buses, trains) operate on a quasi-Sunday timetable on bank holidays. And the railways use long weekends to carry out needed maintenance work, which leads for still further service reductions and/or diversions.

But they don't say which week.

PO: some more ideas: 1. is there a "Roll Call" on this website for your cruise? You can "meet" people there even before you sail! People are keen to share their interests there in order to link up with others 2. If so, are there plans in the roll call for a "Meet & Greet" (aka Meet & Mingle) get-together once on board? This is a great way to meet fellow passengers, as you all have something in common: Cruise Critic, and you will already "know" one-another. 3. If there's no mention of an M&M, perhaps you might organize one. Or some other event, like a casino slot-pull. Do something like that and you'll be amazed how many people will stop and say hello afterwards. Best, Canuker.

OP: Jim has given you some sound advice. I see Poway CA is near San Diego , at about 500' asl. This has a bearing, since it's about what you're used to - i.e. warm (dry?) weather. I recall being in San Diego when the temp was in the 50s and folk were saying it was "freezing"! As Jim says, light layering is the way to go. As to wind, you may be pleasantly surprised. Eastbound TAs sail along with the prevailing south-westerly winds and it can seem almost calm on board. If you want to enjoy the weather out on deck, do it sooner rather than later in the cruise. Be prepared for bumpy seas as you pass by the Bay of Biscay, off western France. Beyond that, a good quality umbrella is invaluable while on land! Think unpredictable but no, not storms - at least not at that end of your cruise...

OP: 1. The coronation is Saturday May 06. So central London will be a zoo of road closures, diversions and crowds. There will also be rehearsals on the streets days before. The best way to get around will be on the tube but that too may be subject to crowd control around the Westminster area. 2. Monday May 08, the day your cruise leaves Southampton, is a public holiday in the UK, so expect the roads to be clogged (especially if the wx is fine) and limited public transportation (akin to a Sunday service). Plan and allow lots of time to get where you're going. We are going to London for the coronation and are staying out of Town near a rail station, about 30 minutes journey time to Town. There's a much better selection of accommodation out of town and prices are much much lower that weekend. Were I in your shoes, I would head down to Southampton on the Sunday (May 07) and stay overnight at a hotel near the cruise terminal (several choices), within walking distance of the ship, as roads around the roads around the port area can also get jammed up with traffic on turn-around days.

No matter what the reason - cruise or any other travel - I will never leave my country of residence without a valid passport. Also, I take at least a photocopy of the key pages of my passport with me when I go ashore for the day. Some shore excursion businesses insist on a passport before they will take you. A passport is a very powerful document and affords the owner considerable privileges and rights while abroad. If anything should go wrong while ashore, a passport is a must.