FionaMG

That looked like a lot of fun. 😂 It reminds me of the crossing the Equator ceremony that we had on Splendour many years ago, except it was a LOT warmer then.

I think you'll probably get the "too early" rigmarole. However, there is luggage storage at Lisbon Airport so you could head there and store your bags and head into the centre for a few hours. The metro is right at the airport and it's a quick ride from there to the centre. Alternatively take the metro to Oriente (3 stops) and have a wander around the Parque das Nações, which was the venue for Expo 98. https://www.lisbonairport.pt/en/lis/services-shopping/essential-services/baggage-services

What stunning photos of the birds! And, as we said way back near the beginning of the thread, who doesn't love a puffin. They are just so cute even if they can't take off without running along the surface of the water first! 😂😍

I so agree with you on the volume being too loud, so it's not just you. It's something that I've noticed consistently since the post-pandemic re-start; I don't remember noticing it before then. And your remark about the crowding of certain venues is spot-on too.

I have been very successful using the Radio Taxis app on my several visits to Southampton.

I haven't stayed there but reviews suggest the breakfast is more of a lightish continental style with limited choices so that might be something to take into consideration if a full breakfast is important to you. You didn't mention your dates but if it's fairly soon, Accor (Ibis, Ibis Budget and Novotel) have a special offer running just now of 25% discount on stays of 3 nights or more. Book by June 4th for stays up to the end of September. Signing up to the Accor Hotels loyalty programme would get you an extra 10% off on top. I have not stayed there yet either but got 3 nights at the Ibis Southampton at the end of August for £315 total including breakfast.

Having worked for many years in a customer-facing tourism role in the past, it would totally not surprise me...

Ssshh. Don't say that out loud. 😂😂😂

Thanks for sharing @TwoMisfits, this is really interesting. Looking forward to reading the rest. 🙂

Fingers crossed for everyone. DD and I walked up to Westeras Farm despite the low cloud cover but, of course, we didn't get to fully enjoy the view. The fjord is somewhere behind these local residents 🐑 🐑

That is exactly the weather DD and I got in Geiranger last year. 😕 I hope it clears up for you. If you fancy trying a tasty local snack, get a fish cake with mashed potatoes from a place called Fiskekaka in the pedestrian street right near the ship.

There's There's more to a cruise than just the time between embarking and disembarking. The pre- and post-cruise parts of the trip count too. I am enjoying your live thread. Thanks for sharing. ☺️

A helipad bow shot would be magnificent! There's still plenty of time. It may be a big ship but it's a long cruise. 😁😁😁

I think it's about time we got an actual picture of this historic threesome!

I have stayed at the Premier Inn Westquay and the Holiday Inn Southampton. Both were fine. Of the two, I preferred the Holiday Inn because it had a better breakfast selection. PI will probably be cheaper. For something with a bit more character, you could try the Pig in the Wall. Roll call buddies of ours stayed there and enjoyed it. It's very small though so it does sell out quickly.

I would be gutted too as I have all my seapass cards from every cruise I've done. I wonder if they'd give it back later, if asked for? After all, the B2B peeps going into Amsterdam instead of staying on board get to keep theirs...

Guess they had such a great time they don't want to go home. 😂

It's Anthem, so it should be City or Horizon, and we're both well capable of the walk. Now, if it's raining that'll be a different story. Our flight isn't until 5 pm, so we could go for the 10.30 instead but that will potentially mean a fair bit of hanging around at Southampton Central since they'll probably eject us from the ship by 9 am. Or we could go and sit in reception at the Holiday Inn for a bit! That might be more comfortable than the train station. 😂

I love the parade of nations. I wish they still did it on the bigger ships.

Also to piggy back, getting off at 8.30 should give us plenty of time to catch the 9.30 train to Gatwick, right?

I don't think I would count on that. Below is the departure information kindly posted by someone who disembarked from Anthem at Southampton just the other week. There is no mention of later transfers.

It's monkfish. And I agree with you: it is delicious. ☺️

This ^^^ a hundred times over. The marketing buffs at the low-costs are top experts in pulling the wool over your eyes to the extent that lots of people just assume they'll be cheaper than the full service airlines and don't even think to check. Just last week I was pricing flights back to Faro for after my Anthem cruise in September. Guess what? With all the extras added on, British Airways came out cheaper than the low-costs.

That does seem a bit daft. 😂

Unless you have a very late flight I would be extremely nervous about the Ho-Ho bus. This is because the traffic can be horrendous and you could find yourself stuck half-way round the circuit at a time when you really need to be back at the departure point for the shuttle to the airport. There is a special arrangement for luggage storage on these tours. In the past, you would be shuttled from the port to "base camp" (for want of a better word). Your luggage would be offloaded there and put into a storage area, so you needed to allow time to get it back out before boarding the shuttle. This was a number of years ago now, so I don't know if they still operate it the same way or if they've made changes.