Senga

ALWAYS keep an eye on the meter.  Our driver from the airport to hotel quickly shut it off and increased the cost by 10 euro.  When I mentioned it at the front desk they said I should have come inside and they would have dealt with the driver.  They told us what the price should be for a taxi to the pier and when that driver TRIED to overcharge I started noting his license etc. and suggested we call the police to settle things.  He quickly dropped the price to what we were told to expect.  Just BE AWARE!

We are planning a private transfer for May 2023 and, in light of the current economic situation, the private companies cannot quote a price that far in advance.  There is an entire thread devoted to this subject in the Ports of Call, British Isles/Western Europe.

We have 2 cruises booked for next year; May and September.  SO glad I read and was reminded that your passport must be valid for 6 months AFTER the travel.  Ours expire January 2024 which isn’t good enough.  We got an appointment at Service Canada for OCTOBER 28th - first available!  
Taking care of it early means we won’t be stressed out.

16 hours ago, wowzz said:

One major pinch point  is the valet car parking,  but as the OP is from the US, I'm guessing this won't be an issue !

Thanks.  As a CANADIAN we won’t have to worry about the parking!  😏.

I have wheelchair assistance at Heathrow arranged through the airline so, I assume, wheelchair assistance at Southampton should be requested through the cruise line?

We’re requesting air tags for Christmas!  The luggage may still go missing but at least we’ll know where it is!  😂

If anyone else has experience, what’ are the security lines like?  I only use a cane if I’ll be standing for a lengthy period or have lots of walking to do.  That was definitely the situation in Vancouver so I was told to request wheelchair assistance which I did.  A REAL lifesaver!

We’re only Ruby, sail May 2023, and made our excursion reservations on Cruise Personalizer.

11 hours ago, thethreeofus said:

That price is for next week.  125GBP each way. 

Sorry, obviously skipped that part!  🥴

I’ll definitely check them out.  Thanks.

@thethreeofusdid say that price was “a few years ago”,

Blackberry has quoted us £186 for 2 people Heathrow to Southampton.  Guess prices have increased substantially.  EC minibus confirmed my request for a price but after nearly 2 weeks still no quote.

I had the same problem.  Solution is:

princess.com

booked guest

cruise personalizer then enter your information

Just confirmed - Majestic Princess only.  😢

14 hours ago, Lizabu said:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/products/dining-included/ocean-terrace-juice-bar-mj.html

I don’t like the *additional charges apply!

2 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

 

I've never gotten a smoothie, but I think they're available at coffee & cones (?).

 

No smoothies at Coffee & Cones but they do make milkshakes which are NOT included in the Soda package.  😢

3 hours ago, Tiggerontheseas said:

?  I'm in Canada, so perhaps that changes things.

We’re also Canadian.

We have sailed on Regal and Grand Princess and, aside from mini smoothies at breakfast on the Grand Princess buffet, have never seen smoothies. We don’t drink alcohol so have bought Soda packages for our upcoming Sky and Enchanted cruises.  They say smoothies are included but…is there really such a thing available? 

3 hours ago, Tiggerontheseas said:

 

As others have mentioned, do be very careful not to throw the envelope away.  It does really, really, REALLY look like junk mail.  

It took a while for us to get our cheque but it definitely didn’t look like junk mail.  Princess was on the return address.

On 6/21/2022 at 7:44 AM, Turtles06 said:

After that tour, we walked around town, and also had the best fish and chips we've ever eaten, anywhere.  

What type of fish is served?  I couldn’t read the name of the place on the photo.  Easy to find from the port?

I have requested my post be removed.  I found the CORRECT forum to answer my question.  A private transfer I think!

We are what I would consider savy senior travels and, up until recently, have travelled independently through Italy, France and Portugal with no issues.  I really feel our capabilities have somewhat diminished over the pandemic and am wondering just how difficult it is to travel independently from Heathrow to Southampton for an overnight stay prior to our May cruise on Sky Princess?   The less stress the better!

I asked our cabin steward for a room service tray since they will not provide one at any of the food venues.  I took along a tea towel to cover the food we took back to the cabin.

Thanks for the replies.  Definitely NOT for us!

Since I believe this is an outdoor event, what happens in Alaska assuming we get cold temperatures in the evenings?

6 hours ago, gojirra said:

We have Blacklane here at Vancouver

17 minutes ago, yayoye said:

I used Blacklane offered by Silversea as part of my door to door cruise in May 2022.  I live in Toronto Canada, so the service is offered in Canada, at least in Toronto.

We are in Toronto so thanks for the information.

Since this service is not offered to Canadians, we’ll just take the credit!