Thejuggler

Not sure much has changed in ten years, which is about the first time we did a Celebrity cruise.  Smart casual fits the bill.
 

 There are no stuffy black tie or formal nights.  Evening chic is an opportunity to be smarter but no obligation.

But during those hours if your guide is as good as ours you will get an excellent commentary about the Great War which sets you up for the visits which follow.

I did a full day Tyne Cot cemetery, Passchendale Museum, Ypres tour in 2017.

The museum in Ypres was closed in prep for 100 year events in 2018, but despite this it was a very informative and moving experience.

Well worth it and if you are tempted to do similar read at least one book about Ypres and Passchendale before you go.

Its turn up and wait.  The taxi fare back to town is a complete rip off so avoid it if you can.

Reading other threads it appears the Celebrity system has an issue with E class ship bookings for dining.  All bookings appear to come up as late dining only.

In reality all dining on E class is Anytime (!), there is no fixed time dining unless you choose it and this can be requested when on board.    Anytime will be confirmed once you receive your final invoice.

The main airport is only 4 miles from the city centre, so if your hotel is in the centre its not worth using public transport.

Take a taxi from the official rank, or contact the hotel and see if they will arrange a private pick up for you.

Just reading Norse aren't in the best financial health.  In the first quarter of 2024 losses were 20% of revenues, turnover circa $160m, losses $30m,

 They have offloaded a number of aircraft to try and reduce losses.

Up to about 30mph northerly wind in the Baltic Sea later today.

Once children are part of booking the child number limits come into play, only so many of each child age group are permitted on board so if that age group is full the booking won't complete,

You can test this by doing a test booking for 3 or 4 adults in one cabin and seeing if there is availability, but it may also be the case that as its half term its fully booked anyway.

If you are unsure of changing lines on the Tube you can walk to Euston for a direct Northern line tube.

However having done the trip dozens of time when I lived in London the suggestion above of Victoria Line to Oxford Circus, Bakerloo Line to Waterloo is the one I usually took,

For less hassle, especially if you have luggage, is to take a black cab from the St Pancras rank.  Likely cost £20-25.

All options will take about half an hour.  The 2.05pm will give you some time for any delays.

8 hours is a long time to spend in Hugh Town (the principal town of St Mary's) but there are options.  St Mary's is tiny and relatively flat with plenty of options for walking, its only two miles from High Town to the east coast, a 5-8 mile circular walk around the island is easy to plan.  Cycle and electric buggy hire is available, but advisable to pre book as provision of cycles and buggies is limited.
 

Another alternative is to spend time in Hugh Town then do a trip to another island.  Tresco is popular to visit the abbey and gardens.

I must have visited 20 European cities in the last 15 years (including Barcelona) and wi fi is always available somewhere.

Barcelona has public wifi network provided by the local city council.

Probably one to look at other review sites as it will be a small group of people who visit this site, visit this board and have done the trip.

I suspect anyone visiting the attraction will be a fan, so it will always be brilliant to them, but its always worth looking at the lower scored reviews to see what downsides are.

BTW enjoy Belfast, we visited for a few days earlier this summer and really enjoyed it.

6 hours isn't long to clear customs and immigration, get to the city centre and then return to the airport for check in 2-3 hours before your flight to Rome.

We once had a balcony two from the bow of Eclipse and it was rough on an overnight departure from Southampton.  I suspect had we been awake it would have been more noticeable.

There is however a further downside of being near the front.  You will experience all the noises as the ship prepares to dock.  Large doors opening, chains being moved, motors pulling ropes, crew shouting.  Just what you need from 5am!

We have never had checks in Iceland.

The only check at a European port was Warnemunde on a Baltics cruise and all passports were checked and stamped by German authorities.

Check the passenger space ratios for each ship as its generally a good guide.

I'd also not restrict fjords cruises to P&O,  their offer is becoming poorer alongside other operators.

You will never do everything in Edinburgh in a day (I've been many times and still have things I've never seen).

Start with some initial basic internet research (link above or search 'top 10 Edinburgh sights and attractions'), youtube videos etc to get an idea of what is on offer then ask specifics about the attractions you want to see, transport, cost, timings etc so a more informed response can be provided.

Don't however expect to do all the top 10 sites in a day!  Edinburgh is spread out and walking is the only way between large parts of it, so it takes time to get around.

The weather and time of year can also be a big player when visiting.  Whilst Edinburgh is drier than other parts of Scotland, if the wet weather arrives it can be a miserable place if you don't have a plan for wet weather activities.  No point planning a walk up Arthur's Seat if its "blowing a hoolie" and the rain is sideways!

1.  Depends on which ports.  The full day from Flaam to Voss by coach and back on the railways is one of the best trips we have ever done.  Just ensure any cruise actually visits the fjord ports. Flaam, Olden and Gerainger are the main 3.  Be wary of 'cruise past' descriptions.

2.  Only shuttle we have had in Norway is Bergen as larger ships may dock in the industrial port with no public access.

3.  Small children are easy on cruises.  Our daughter was 3 or 4 when she stood on her first glacier at Lovatnet Lake.  Not now possible as the glacier has retreated up the mountain.

4. A balcony is well worth having on fjord cruises if you are prepared to be up very early to take advantage.

There is no real need to book.  Any taxi driver in Madeira will happily do a full day tour if you let them know what you would like to see.  They are all local, they all go to the same places and they are all generally very knowlegable.

When you arrive in Funchal the taxis will be waiting with adverts and they all charge similar prices, about €130 for a full day.

Having made about a dozen Jet2 flights over the last couple of year seat choice can be made during the initial booking phase, or when online check in in opens about 4 weeks from the flight. 

Easiest way to do all this is through the Jet2 app.

I have however never bothered and we have never been split up when seats are allocated.

Or coach.

Since booking our cruise we have seen discounts between 15% and 40%, 35% on drinks has been almost permanent.  It is offered for a few days, then is withdrawn for maybe a day before being offered again.

However even at 40% discount you are paying up front for a minimum of about 4 drinks a day if you buy the most expensive drinks available.  If you only intend buying a few drinks at $4-10 (including coffees and sodas) it probably isn't good value,

Missed port insurance is for exactly this situation.

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

I don’t believe they have ever had the main dining room dinner menu items in the buffet.  Have you ever known Celebrity to do this?

Our last trip was on Eclipse and one night we decided to go to Qsine, the speciality restaurant with ordering via ipad.  Dishes were similar to tapas so you ordered different small plates until you had had enough,

We were very disappointed with the food overall and ended up not paying the extra charge.  We then realised that a number of the items on that menu were available on the buffet, just presented slightly differently!