Thejuggler

Even with insurance it doesn't mean free as soon as you arrive for treatment. Payment may be required which you then claim back.

I know someone on it. I'll find out when he gets back.

And make sure you carry it with you. Its no good in your cabin if you are on a shore excursion and get rushed to hospital.

A friend had three on one cruise recently, not P&O. Ship medical is little more than A&E and is there to provide care until a better resourced facility is provided, usually onshore. BBC had a report last week about someone who died after a cruse. It concluded the initial treatment received on board ship was far below expectation and this contributed to the death which happened after some time in an Italian hospital and a move back to the UK.

From our Norway and Baltic cruises by the current UK time of 21.30 the ship is usually just about to go through the Straits of Dover. Britannia is currently on a the same latitude as Hunstanton on the north of The Wash and doing 21 knots, so almost full chat. Lunchtime arrival is to be expected.

Windsor fine, but no scenic English countryside train ride and why the English King chose to build his castle under the flightpath of the Heathrow airport is anyone's guess.

Brighton, Oxford or Cambridge. All are about an hour from central London stations. Oxford may have a slightly more interesting route, it is very flat land to Cambridge so not much to see. Brighton is on the coast, if you fancy a day at the seaside.

The first thing to remember is forget all the marketing hype and 'deals' with 'freebies'. All that matters is the daily price. I have tracked cruise prices across different companies and certainly a few years ago the cheapest price was when there were no deals. As soon as 'freebies' were offered the price went up and far more than the cost of the freebies. A few weeks ago I saw fjords trips with P&O in August for £549 for the week, inside cabin. As it was less than a typical price of £100 a night to me it was good deal. Iona is a big ship and IIRC is only doing back to back Fjords trips in summer 2020, its a lot of cabins to fill. are currently about £100 a night. If your dates are flexible it may be worth waiting and tracking prices. We did get a bargain a few years ago with Celebrity to Baltics which came in at £100 a night for mid ship balcony cabin including basic drinks. On board credit covered the upgrade to premium drinks package. A few weeks prior it had been £150 a night and no OBC.

Our last London visit was between Christmas and New Year when it is quieter than the summer . We wanted to see the Hockney window in Westminster Abbey, but the queue to get in was over an hour. The best way to play it is to have one main sight to see a day and if you have time try and do another, but don't have a must see tick list as you will be disappointed.

Rome is huge, the sites are large, they attract tens of thousands of people a day. It took us three days to do what you are trying to do in one. Between 20,000-30,000 go through the Vatican museum and Sistine every day. There is no shortcut, you go with the flow. Our tour met at 3pm, we left St Peter's after 6pm. Same with Colosseum and Forum/Palatine Hill. It covers acres of the city and needs time to be appreciated.

Cheaper cover is often cheaper for a reason. Check it includes cruising and some cheap covered excludes personal belongings which includes lost/stolen Passports. Replacing them abroad can be very expensive. We generally use LV as they are a decent price and ask specifically if the holiday is a cruise, so you know you are covered. Santander use the same web quotation engine and also ask about cruises.

Lisbon is huge and very spread out. We have spent three days there and not seen it all. You need to decide to either cover a couple of areas over a day or all of it, but nothing in depth, on a day tour. Public transport is regular and cheap, apart from the traditional trams which are infrequent and packed. Drivers will let locals on before tourists as they don't carry many passengers. I've spent a couple of 7 day holidays on Madeira. In a day I'd suggest a half a day tour, Nuns Valley and/or Cabo Girao (both are possible in half a day) and half a day in Funchal. Taxi drivers will do half a day tour for about €60-70 for a car of four. Otherwise a day in Funchal including the cable car to Monte and either the sled ride (don't get ripped off by the taxi to Funchal at the end - €10 max) or gardens and cable car ride back. Beware the tuk tuks in Funchal back to the port. They quote a price (say €5) then when you have had the ride say it is per person, so it costs $10. Taxis are cheaper. From Funchal to Port about €5 for up to 4 passengers.

Cheapest will probably be a flight from Southampton, rather than Eurostar.

Don't take any, use cards for any spending.

The fringe is a must do. Hundreds of entertainers in dozens of venues. Grab the programme and have a lucky dip. Some shows are quite short so its possible to do a few in a visit.