Sadie Lady

We are in our 60's and late 70's. Driving ourselves was not an option due to the other side driving. It would be very manageable to rent a car if one was comfortable driving on the left side. Our itinerary was packed by our choice. Our intent was to hit the highlights, giving us options for a return trip. Initially we were looking at 2-3 different guides, but found one that was willing to do it all. Once we established a rapport with our guide Andy, we were comfortable booking all 3 days with him. But it would be easy to use multiple guides. We chose a "somewhat" central location to stay for 2 nights.I didn't want to be be packing and moving hotels every day. Our hotel was in West Sussex at the Park House Hotel. It was lovely, but a bit out of the way. I would stay there again. The third night we moved to a hotel near the airport since we were flying home the next morning. Our interests are history and I love gardens and nature, so we crafted our itinerary around that. We are members of the Royal Oak Foundation which gives us free access to England's National Trust properties, so we wanted to work some of them in. Day 1: Andy picked us up at the ship at 8am in Southampton. We drove to Winchester to see the Winchester Cathedral.We checked out the Great Hall & Queen's Garden in Winchester. We also drove to Chichester to see the Southwick House, a military installation and then drove to Portsmouth to see some sights. Overnight at Park House Hotel Day 2: Andy picked us up at 9am and we headed to Midhurst for a quick stop at the historic Spread Eagle Hotel. After that we headed to Petworth House and Park which houses the National Trust's art collection. Beautiful art and gardens. In the afternoon we went to Chartwell House and Garden, Winston Churchill's country estate.Super interesting and pretty place. Over night at Park House Hotell Day 3; We checked out of the hotel, Andy picked us up at 9 and we headed to Blenheim Palace. It was a bit of a drive, maybe an hour and a half. The Palace is the birthplace of Winston Churchill and the home to the Dukes of Marlborough. Spectacular palace and gardens and exhibits. After that we did a quick stop in Oxford to see a few things. Overnight at airport hotel. I only felt rushed when we did the Oxford add on after Blenheim Palace. While there's a lot to see in Oxford, I probably would have left it off this itinerary in the interest of time. I don't think I would change much of any of the rest since I thoroughly enjoyed everything. Overall we did a bit of walking, but mostly on even surfaces. And we did spend some time in the van looking at sights. At the various estates, when one of us would need a break, we would just sit on one of the many benches and let the other one continue on. Sorry for the length of this, I hope it helps you in your trip planning!

We just finished a cruise in Southampton and spent 3 days post cruise with a private guide, Andy Wheeler. He was fantastic. He worked with us to craft an itinerary that suited our needs. We visited Portsmouth, Petworth, Chartwell, Chichester, Winchester Cathedral, Blenheim Palace, Oxford and more. We packed a lot into 3 days. I know he also does Salisbury and Isle of Wight and others. He works with a hired van & driver to provide all the transportation, if you want it. There was plenty of room for all of our suitcases. He's extremely flexible. We've used guides in many areas around the world and we rank him in the top. We are already planning another cruise in that area so we can use him again. You can find him on Facebook under Wheeler Tours or on Instagram Wheeler_tours. He also has a website wheeler-tours.co.uk

Connoisseur's List is good and mostly fairly priced. Great use of shipboard credits! We were on SilverCloud last year for a 12 day expedition Iceland to Dublin and the sommelier held a wine auction early in the trip with some very nice bottles that they were trying to "clear out of the wine cellar" Only a handful of people bid on them (there were about 15 bottles or so), and we "won" 3 of them. There is a minimum price, but it was at or slightly below retail. We bought Ornellaia and Sassaica which were perfect for La Terrazzo and my husband had to buy the Phelps Insignia since its one of his faves. Vintages were a bit older than the current offerings on the connoisseurs list. Also depending on where you're traveling, you can pick up bottles on shore. Before our Alaska cruise, we were in Oregon and brought on board some nice Willamette Valley wine, some for our suite and some for sharing.

We were onboard Silver Cloud from Iceland to Scotland this past summer for an expedition cruise. We had a lot of rough seas, and the zodiacs were challenging, but the crew is amazing helping you in and out. My husband is 75 and in decent shape, but opted out of a few excursions due to the zodiacs. There were also several tiny ports that the dock was either a ladder up or a slick ramp, with no rail. These were more challenging than the zodiac. The other issue with the zodiacs is you will get wet. We had the correct gear, but noticed quite a few people wearing jeans that got soaked.

We are also on this Expedition cruise next week and were just having this discussion. Husband is not packing a jacket, which is very unusual for him. With all the many layers we are bringing for our unpredictable weather, there is not any extra room. So he is on the "no jacket for expedition cruises" bandwagon. (BTW: He also loves bringing a tux for formal nights.) See you in 6 days! Sue & Lee

We are also on this cruise. For home tests to be verified, you have to do a tele test, with the testing and results verified virtually by a health professional. If you are on the roll call for this cruise, someone posted more specific info there. We are testing at home at Walgreens, since it is well within the 72 hour window. We are only staying one night pre cruise, which made that possible. See you on the cruise! Sue & Lee