John Bull

As per my last post, walk-up tickets cost £45.20 (WAT to SOU) and £43.10 (SOU to WAT) But there's a significant saving to be made by buying cheap Advance tickets. Advance prices are dynamic, starting at £14.00 - you're too late for that price, but they're still showing at £21.70, something less than half the price of walk-up tickets. Don't delay, the Advance fares will continue to increase. As per the post above from @gumshoe958 those Advance tickets are only good for the train time that you book, but unless you're too optimistic about when you can get to SOU on disembarkation day that shouldn't be a problem for you (I suggest you book that 19th May journey for no earlier than the 09.35 train). Sundays are the preferred days for planned track maintenance work, but there are no planned works which affect either of your dates. Book via the National website https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ or direct with the operator https://www.southwesternrailway.com/ JB 🙂

The bulk of the crowds mentioned by Hank will be the coach-loads who day-trip from the many Costa del Sol resorts as far away as Nerja. So you'd do well to get there before about 10am. JB 🙂

Folk from London and much further travel to Southampton on sailing day by car by bus, by train. No worries. Yes, we're still getting the occasional rail strike, but there are no wild-cat strikes - unions are required by law to give 14 days notice of any industrial action. And I can't remember when no trains ran because of industrial action - Waterloo to Southampton & beyond is a key route, and all resources are directed to keeping key routes going so even on a strike day those trains or at least most of them will run. It's the less-important local and cross-country routes that will suffer. So book with reasonable confidence and keep an eye on this page https://www.journeycheck.com/swr/ Half-hourly direct trains on a saturday. The walk-up fare is an eye-watering £54.50. But if you buy in advance it can be as low as £14.00 Advance fares are dynamic - they're available from about 12 weeks out, and the price creeps up as the travel date approaches so buy as soon as available. But Advance Tickets are only good for the train time that you selected - miss that train and you'll have to buy fresh walk-up tickets at £54.50 each. You can book via the National Rail website https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ or direct with the train operator https://www.southwesternrailway.com/ (same info, same fares) Altho those Advance tickets are "no changes, no refunds", in the unlikely event that industrial action means your chosen train doesn't run, they can be used at alternative times and on alternative routes. Or you are entitled to a full refund. JB 🙂

For purchases in EU countries (that includes Belgium & the Netherlands) get itemised receipts which include the outlet's VAT reg number. You claim for all purchases in all EU countries at your final departure point in the EU, probably your airport to go home. Keep the goods in your hand-luggage and your receipts handy. Different countries and often different airports handle it in different ways - if you're lucky you get an immediate refund, if not then there's paperwork to do and wait for weeks to get that refund. There are minimum amounts in total and for each receipt (but you can combine several smaller purchases as long as they're all from one place & on one receipt.) It can be a bit of a work-up, so as @navybankerteacher's comment only worthwhile for a goodly sum JB 🙂

I think Maynards is the only place in central Southampton that stores bags for a day - others like Ocean's in High Street have come & gone. Across the road from the Civic Centre, open 7 days a week, about £5 per bag. JB 🙂

Yes, you certainly don't want to risk booking only a very early train and finding that because of a delay in the cruise terminal or the taxi line you miss it and have to pay another £45 a-piece. So buying cheap tickets for two trains is worth considering, it depends how keen you are to arrive early in the big bad city. I'd advise against, because the wasted ticket would cost more than 2 beers But they say you should never take advice from an alcoholic 😏 JB 🙂

Plenty of Southampton transfer operators can provide you with a sight-seeing transfer but they're drivers, not guides. And you'd need to suggest an itinerary. Salisbury & Stonehenge is the most popular, but there are other places such as the cathedral city of Winchester, at one time the capital of England, or Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey in the TV series) or Windsor Castle or https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/ Probably your best bet is https://westquaycars.com/ which used to offer a specialist sight-seeing arm and will assign a driver who has a good knowledge of the sights. But you could also try https://gunwharf-executive-travel.co.uk/ and https://www.aquacars.co.uk/ both based at nearby Portsmouth. But they'll all be expensive. So consider an International Friends coach tour/transfer as mentioned by @thehowlingroad. They're very popular amongst Cruise Critic members, they provide a complete service from your ship to your Heathrow or central London hotel and turns a day of travel into a day of exploration. Choice of Salisbury + Stonehenge + Windsor or Cotswolds villages. JB 🙂

Just to clarify, Spain ports is listed on Cruise Critic under Europe > Mediterranean ports. But @Izzywiz and I and other regulars know that's where you'll find more info about all Spanish ports. Learn how to use the search facility. On the Spain ports in the blue banner type into the Search box the name of a port, leave "this forum" as it is, & click on the little spyglass at the end of the box. Give the magic a few seconds to work and it'll come up with all the posts which mention that port. I've started you off with La Coruna https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=La Coruna&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=465 Do the same with the other ports. Then do the same on this British Isles/Western Europe forum, cos there will be a few posts here. For Marseilles (spelling !) you only need to search Europe > Mediterranean > France Ports. You won't find all the answers that you need, so as per izzy's advice ask on those Mediterranean forums. Complicated, innit 🙄 But well worth persevering, Cruise Critic is by far the most useful cruisers' website JB 🙂

You can simply buy a ticket on the day at Southampton central station - the fare is £45.20 pp 😮 But if you buy an advance ticket it can cost as little as £9.70 🙂. That's a powerful incentive to pre-book. Advance tickets are available from about 12 weeks out. Advance fares are dynamic, they creep up as the travel date approaches. A few days out they may be up to as much as £25 - or unavailable, leaving a £45 ticket at the station as your only option. Check out fares for a few up-coming sundays on https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ (the national rail site) The prices shown are for advance fares - click on the yellow "continue" panel to see the full price (full price is for off-peak times, but sundays are off-peak all day long) Shorthand for Southampton central is SOU, for London Waterloo it's WAT The one negative with advance tickets is that they're only good for the train time that you book - if you miss it your advance tickets are trash & you'll have to buy full-price walk-up tickets for the next train. Unassisted disembarkation at Southampton is at about 7am, with standard disembarkation from 7.30am. So I suggest that about 10 weeks out you book for a train around 9am to 10am - if you're allocated a late disembarkation slot ask for an earlier slot at Guest Services, citing your onward travel arrangements. Much more complicated than it need be 🥴 - simplification is promised in due course, but don't hold your breath 🙄. JB 🙂

So for relatively small purchases a US tap card has got to be worth a try in Europe.🙂 Perhaps even at un-manned machines JB 🙂

Hi, and welcome to Cruise Critic, Cruise Critic is a big website, only a small proportion will have done that tour. As euro cruiser has suggested, post again on your cruise line page. Go back to the home page https://boards.cruisecritic.com/ and scroll to the appropriate cruise line. Probably also worth also asking on your cruise RollCall, which is devoted to folk who are on your cruise. It's worth posting on there anyway, to say "hi" to your ship-mates. On the RollCalls section click on your cruise line, then the ship, then look for the one with your sailing date.. The entries won't be in chronological order - when someone posts on one of the ship's RollCalls it goes to the top. BTW, Herculaneum isn't as huge or as iconic as Pompeii, but it's very much more manageable and has plenty of shade - by far the better choice with toddlers. Sorrento will almost-certainly be free-time, the time allowed will be whatever time is left - which will depend on what delays are encountered earlier in the day. Sorrento is very pleasant but there are no must-see features, so it will fit in well with juniors' meals. JB 🙂

I'll second @alserrod's suggestion of renting a car from Cicar - we've rented from them on many of the Canary Islands. Friendly & efficient, depots at the ports, sensible pricing with no unexpected add-ons, clean new & nearly-new cars, unlimited mileage, even a map and informative CD. JB 🙂

Thanks for that Bruce. I think the OP will find that what applies in France will also apply in Italy and the other major European countries. BTW there's now also a contactless "tap & go" feature on cards - you just waft the card over the POS machine. But that only works with tap-and-go-enabled PIN cards and it's only good for purchases under £100 (or equivalent) - over that amount you need to enter the PIN. Being technophobic I declined a tap-and-go card, fearing that my card would be debited for purchases made by the person in front of me at a check-out 🙄 and that at my expense a thief or finder could have a field day with my card 🙄. So even to pay for just a coffee I have to insert my card & enter my PIN, under the bemused & scornful gaze of young & with-it cashiers 😀 JB 🙂

There is normally a facility to sign for purchases when the POS machine detects that a card doesn't have a PIN. But it's a few years since I last came across the same question, and the world (but apparently not the US of A) has moved on - so to know whether things have changed you need a response from someone who's been in the same situation recently. Or make life easier for future travel outside the US by asking for a new card with a PIN. While I was slowly responding with my woeful typing skills, @CruiserBruce has responded. Yes, of course un-manned machines would be a problem for a card without a PIN - I 've had the same impasse trying to use pay-at-the-pump at some gas stations in the US because I don't have a US zip-code. JB 🙂

Yes, and it's marshalled No worries JB 🙂

"Le Havre Centre / Cruise Term." is the depot on Quai de Southampton, and unless you have paperwork that says differently you collect from there. It's a convoluted 20-minute walk from the cruise terminal on Quai Roger Meunier Usually I take my own car, on one occasion long time ago I used Sixt - much easier from the ferry berth. I don't recall it well, so it was neither outstandingly good or bad. JB 🙂

Another thought..................... I don't know if they still offer it, but RCI used to allow you to buy a drinks package partway through a cruise at the pro-rata daily rate. Has to be bought a minimum period before the end of the cruise (3 days? 4 days?) and can't be stopped short of the end of the cruise. JB 🙂

We also struggled to find that information for Briksdalbreen (old & tired limbs),, in the end we gave up. But on arrival at Loen we lucked-in and joined a different tour on-spec It started with a short coach ride from Loen (we were tendered, but they also offer it from the cruise pier at Olden) to the landing stage at Lovatnet Lake, aka Loen Lake, then a boat cruise (20 - 30 minutes?) on the super-clear water with super views both sides to the far end of the lake, where we went a couple of miles of track by minibus and finally a 5 minute walk to the viewpoint for Kjenndalsbreen (Kjenndal Glacier). Apparently we were as close to this glacier as visitors get to Briksdal Glacier, it's apparently not as big, but we were impressed. Then back to the lake and included waffles at the tearoom by the boat pier, then boat & coach back to Loen (or Olden). Very relaxing, good value-for-money, very pleased that we did it. Check out google images of Kjenndal Glacier, they include photos of the lake, the boat, the tearooms etc. Can't remember the name of the operator, I think this website is by a booking agency https://www.oldencruise.com/loen-lake-and-kjenndal-glacier/ JB 🙂

We've stayed at the Kowloon Shangri-La - a discounted harbour-view room for a 4-night stay. Excellent hotel, a butler that we had no need of, but we shied away from the hotel's high prices for food & drink, even stepping outside for morning coffee. Harbour-front windows are wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling. If you're in at 8pm, ensure that the room's radio is tuned in for the city's nightly laser show - the music and commentary make all the difference. Location isn't totally ideal but not bad. Nathan Road is a ten-minute walk, the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry terminal is about 20 minutes. There are a couple of Mass-transit metro stations ten minutes away. I concur totally with @thehowlingroad that HK is the sort of place that you explore independently, and not by car. In our two visits we've never used the mass-transit system, we much prefer to use the Star Ferries (to Wan Chai rather than to Central is a much more interesting and ethnic "Suzie Wong" part of the Island) the Island's the rickety trams (though they're usually over-crowded) and the double-deck buses.to places like Stanley antiques market. When you leave Stanley Market you can ask the driver to put you off part-way back where you walk round the corner for another bus to the Peak and the top station of the Peak railway. Some folk use the ho-ho buses but even that's too slow, too clinical & too civilised for us. If you want to check out shops & sights on the steep part of the city, head for the Mid-Levels Escalator, a series of moving walkways which take the grunt out of the climb https://www.landmark.hk/en/visit/around-central/central-mid-level-escalator Back on the mainland head to the Temple Street Night Market near the top of Nathan Road for bargains & street-food. https://www.temple-street-night-market.hk/ We had dinner there, under a tarpaulin roof sat on orange boxes with a tea-chest table and food cooked on the sidewalk - I wine & dine my lady in style 🤗. An experience she's never forgotten, but in the nicest sort of way. Check out this old video, but be aware it's perhaps just a mite exaggerated 😏 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg--o2Ly_uY (minute 26 to minute 33) JB 🙂

You've had good suggestions to date. Premier Inns are owned by the UKs biggest brewery and have their own attached restaurants. Haven't eaten at this one but at others around the country. Good food, good choices, good value, but there's something insular about eating in the hotel, and they don't have a "local" feel. Certainly good for breakfast Most of the restaurants in the West Quay entertainments complex, directly across the road from P.I.West Quay, have the option of al-fresco dining overlooking the City Wall and there are a lot of restaurants there that you can browse - but they're all national or international chains - not my scene, might be yours. https://www.west-quay.co.uk/dine Nearest Wetherspoon's pub is the Standing Order in the High Street a ten-minute walk. The chain is often ridiculed (kinda like Walmart) for being cheap & basic, but food is acceptable, prices are very keen, and they're popular. We've eaten at a few Wetherspoon's pubs including this one - OK, but not somewhere you'd take a new date,. https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/hampshire/the-standing-order-southampton Oxford Street has been mentioned - one of the areas to browse a selection of pubs & restaurants but it's a 15 minute walk from your hotel (and applying the usual formula for walking to pubs that means about 25- 30 minutes walk back to the hotel 😏) The waterfront / old town area is our preference, just a 6-minute walk' I'll second the Dancing Man pub / micro-brewery, in a 13th Century stone wool-store with a varied history. Try their Beef Rag & Bone. https://dancingmanbrewery.co.uk/# And add the Duke of Wellington, a couple of hundred yards up the road from the Dancing Man, a 12th Century pub (for those who know their history, it was re-named in 1815 in honour of the Duke of Wellington following his rout of Boney at Waterloo). Traditional & attractive English pub, good value - we've eaten here a few times and it's a popular venue for Cruise Critic RollCall pre-cruise meals. https://www.dukesouthampton.co.uk/ Mentioned by @showingdiva Kuti's is an Indian restaurant, almost opposite the Dancing Man in the Royal Pier. Had a great reputation, has gone thro financial problems and reviews are currently mixed.. https://www.kutis.co.uk/ Mentioned by @MBP&O2/O Ennio's is an Italian restaurant just a few yards past Dancing Man. Excellent, but higher prices. https://ennios.co.uk/ Ditto La Regata, a Spanish restaurant https://www.laregata.co.uk/ .two doors down from Ennio's. We've enjoyed eating at both, but the prices deserve a "special occasion" Particularly those in old-town/waterfront, for a table of seven it's best to book, ditto for any size group on a friday or saturday. Usually no commitment when booking. JB 🙂

To get the best out of the Island you need a very long day, but not for just Osborne House. It was designed in Italianate style by Queen Vic's husband Prince Albert, and was her favourite home, takes mebbe 3 to 4 hours. From Southampton Town Quay there are two ferry routes - both go to Cowes, which is divided by the Medina River. The Red Jet fast-ferry goes to (west) Cowes, the traditional Red Funnel car ferry goes to East Cowes, on the other side of the River.. Best for Osborne is the Red Funnel car ferry to East Cowes The crossing takes about an hour. When you leave the ferry it's a simple 2 - 3 minute walk to the bus stop alongside the Waitrose grocery store. Take any bus from there to Osborne House, there are only two bus routes, the No 4 and the No 5. Three to four buses per hour (two per hour on sundays) for the 10-minute journey - ask the driver to put you off at Osborne House. It's a bit of a walk down to the House from the entrance gates. In the House you follow a route, it's self-guided but there are knowledgeable staff. Be sure to include the "Swiss Cottage" built for her 8 - 9 children, there's an included shuttle-van to take you there. There's also a shuttle-van to the private beach & Queen Vic's bathing machine, but on busy days there can be a line to get back to the House late in the day. Same bus back to East Cowes. If you want to extend your time on the Island, take chain ferry across the river from East Cowes to Cowes "proper", an attractive tourist town famous amongst the yachting fraternity. It's a ten-minute walk from the chain ferry to the centre of town. Your first stop should be at the Red Jet ferry terminal to check availability and up-grade your Red Funnel tickets. The Red Jet takes about 35 minutes to cross to Southampton Town Quay. If you skip that extension I guess you'd be back at your hotel at about 3pm to 4pm, if you reckon to take in (west) Cowes best to check if there's a latest hotel check-in time. https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/ JB 🙂

You can swing disembarkation until about 9.30. In Southampton https://www.visitsoutheastengland.com/things-to-do/tudor-house-and-garden-p8041 (historic pub The Duke of Wellington, a hundred yards down the road) https://seacitymuseum.co.uk/ https://southamptoncityartgallery.com/ ( Art Gallery & SeaCity museum are both part of the Civic Office complex https://www.solentsky.org/ Selection of shops, restaurants etc in the city centre, centred on The Bargate JB 🙂

Portland No trains on Portland Bill, but it's just a 10-minute ride on ship's shuttlebus to Weymouth. The bus takes you on the road across the shingle bank to "the mainland," with the shingle Chesil Bank on your left and Portland Harbour (2012 Olympic sailing events) on your right. The drop point in Weymouth is on the south of the town, it's a 5 to 10 minute walk across the Town Bridge into the town. Weymouth is a Victorian seaside resort, in a kinda 1950's / '60s time-warp. A favourite of Brits, but few international visitors. Little lanes with shops, pubs, cafes, smugglers' museum, fish & chips, kiss-me-quick hats, etc leading to the esplanade & .wide sandy beach (sand sculptors often at work). Good for a lazy day. Portland is a secure navy port, you can't walk in or out and there are no taxis or tours on-spec., if you want a tour you need to fix it in advance. You leave the port & return on the shuttlebuses - free to little Portland Castle or the nearby volunteer-run D-Day museum (Portland was a major departure port for D-Day), usually payable to Weymouth. probably $10 or $15 return fare If you fix up a taxi or private tour they meet you at Portland Castle. Lots of alternatives along the Jurassic Coast & in the Dorset countryside including Durdle Door & Lulworth Cove, Corfe Castle, Bovington Tank Museum, the market town of Dorchester (here you have the alternative of going from Weymouth by train), Abbotsbury Swannery, West Bay & Bridport. But you'd need to fix up a tour in advance - none available on-the-day, and no car rentals on Portland or even in the centre of Weymouth. More info and suggestions for tour operators at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Portland &quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=148 Dover The cruise terminals (one behind the other) are in the Western Docks. To the castle by public bus is a royal pain, You'd need two buses, each of which runs only half-hourly plus a longish walk at both end - the one up to the castle s steep. Far simpler to take a taxi from the cruise terminal into the castle. I'll guess at £10 to £15 e/w. I don't think there's a taxi rank at the castle so arrange for the driver or colleague to collect you. You could easily spend four hours or more in the castle, it's been in continuous use from the 11th century to the end of WW2 during which the area was known as Hellfire Corner. The imposing Keep is in fine condition & you can clearly see France from the roof, there are curtain walls & cannon, medieval tunnels (self-guided) and tunnels used in WW2 to organise the Dunkirk evacuation included in the castle entry fee but guided - fix a guided tour time when you arrive), military museums etc in the outbuildings. etc . The Roman lighthouse is within the castle grounds. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/ The path to St Margaret's Bay is at the opposite end of Dover from the cruise terminals. I think the best place to start is from near the castle JB 🙂

I can remember when the only options for breakfast were a couple of "greasy spoon" cafes near the fruit & veg market. But the growth of hotels & shopping outlets in the past few decades and the more-recent trend to eating-out for breakfast and brunch means you have a pretty wide choice. Here are the more-obvious ones......... Holiday Inn, Herbert Walker Avenue is right by the port gate for City Cruise Terminal & 400 yards / 5 minutes walk from the terminal entrance. Thyme Restaurant at Premier Inn West Quay on Harbour Parade, 3 minutes past H.I. Both open to non-residents, both offer a choice of continental or "proper" English breakfast, H.I. perhaps a slightly better breakfast, P.I. certainly the better value. Opposite Premier Inn, the West Quay entertainment complex has a number of restaurants, most have al-fresco dining overlooking the City Walls and many of them offer breakfast. If you want cheap & cheerful, IKEA on West Quay Road (allow yourselves a extra 4 hours to find your way out 😏) or ASDA grocery superstore (rear entrance opposite the coach station). https://maps.app.goo.gl/r4ZrY6kP5EkxKn3k8 (Mr Google's directions are a bit silly, all much much simpler than Googlemaps makes out - for instance cruise terminal to Holiday Inn is a straight line 🙄) JB 🙂

Several cruise lines eg RCI, Celebrity, Princess offer one-way cruises Rome to Ravenna or Trieste (for Venice), or vice-versa. Around 11 days. This gives you the opportunity to extend your stay at either or both ends of the cruise. They also typically include Naples, a couple of Greek Islands, and ports in Croatia and/or Slovenia and/or Montenegro and/or Albania. Open-Jaw (aka multi-city) return air tickets from home to Rome and from Venice to home (or vice-versa) cost the half-way point between return tickets to either, but you need to book both ways in a single booking and with the same airline or air alliance. JB 🙂