gumshoe958

Dundee is not a particularly common cruise destination (I can only see 11 ships calling there for the rest of this year) and as such the availability of shore excursions is very limited - there’s just not a regular market for them. What few excursions there are seem to be to more local attractions eg Glamis Castle (Balmoral is more or less a 4 hour round trip). So if you’ve set your heart on Balmoral you may have to consider a private tour. There’ll be local taxi firms who’ll happily provide a car and driver for the day - but it won’t be cheap. (I see this company does run a tour from Dundee, but it’s part of a much longer 12 hour tour that probably wouldn’t work on your schedule. They might be able to tailor something to your needs though: https://www.strachantours.co.uk/tours-local.htm )

I’m afraid I would work on the assumption that you won’t hear anything by Monday. It’s a rapidly changing situation that inevitably requires some fairly last minute planning. As for cancelling, I’d agree that embarking in Trieste instead of Ravenna would constitute a material change and warrant a refund. Royal, of course, may disagree. Unfortunately you’re in a bit of a catch 22: until Royal says otherwise, nothing has changed and you’d be expected to board in Ravenna as normal. But by the time they do advise you of any change it may be too late to cancel your hotel and flights with no penalty. Hopefully your travel insurance would cover most of that. And yes, with Avios bookings you can cancel up until 24 hours before departure for a full refund less a £35 fee (or whatever the cash element was if it was less).

Quantum class is perfect for Southampton. Sure, the regulars may be bored with it but Royal’s far more interested in attracting new cruisers and I predict Odyssey will be a huge hit.

Wow. They’re about 180 miles apart by road. Both around the same distance from Venice but anyone with flights to/from Bologna now faces a 3-4 hour drive to/from the airport.

Certainly not in the UK.

$290? And they wouldn’t even drop you at your hotel? Sorry, but you were robbed.

It looks to be an easy 10-15 minute bus ride from stop BS outside the West Quay shopping centre near the Premier Inn. Routes 6, 8, 9, 11 or 12 all go to Millbrook station, then it’s a short walk from there. Buses run at least every 10 minutes Mon-Sat, less often on Sundays.

Indeed. And you thought Royal packed ‘em in! The phrase ‘pile it high, sell it cheap’ could have been written for MSC. Maybe at the expense of P&O. I’m not convinced there’s that much demand for the Canaries in February. But we’ll see.

Oasis is quite a bit bigger than Euribia. Euribia - 43m wide, 331m long Oasis - 47m wide, 360m long (Anthem - 41m wide, 338m long)

Yes, there’s a branch of Albert Heijn next door.

WH Smith is a newsagent/bookstore, ubiquitous in the UK. They have a store in the arrivals hall at Terminal 3, just after you exit customs with your luggage and go landside.

At Tottenham Court Road the Elizabeth line has an exit leading on to Oxford Street (signed Dean Street), where cabs are hailable/Ubers summonable.

Very unlikely to happen. Oasis class is too big for many of the ports served from Southampton. Anything smaller than Quantum class is a downgrade and puts Royal at a distinct competitive disadvantage.

There are no restrictions at Chops or Jamie’s.

I think they rebuilt that area and it’s now part of the Adventure Ocean/teen zone.

There is no longer a Johnny Rockets on Voyager. Even if there was, Johnny Rockets only serves breakfast on Oasis class ships.

The Dutch don’t really do credit cards, as debt is a big no-no in their culture. Obviously many tourist places will take them but I’ve been caught out before in Albert Heijn, the Dutch equivalent of Publix or Tesco, where the only card they accept is Maestro (and some stores don’t even accept cash!).

I can’t think why customs would take an interest in a cruise that had stopped in Colombia …

I have never seen that in the UK, or indeed anywhere. The OP hasn’t said which airline they’re flying but British Airways, Delta, JetBlue and Norse Atlantic, which all fly to the US from Gatwick, all close check-in 60 minutes before departure.

That is an option, but buses aren’t ideal for large luggage if they’re busy.

Yes, so your cruise originated outside the UK whereas the OP’s is a closed loop. The UK Border Force is far more likely to take an interest in the former than the latter, hence your delays at passport control. After a closed loop cruise it’s rare to even see the Border Force at Southampton, let alone have to queue.

Yes.

Yes, there are escalators and elevators at both ends.

Security at Gatwick is very efficient. Check-in generally closes 60 minutes before departure.

Charing Cross involves stairs I’m afraid, and the Bakerloo line in general isn’t great for accessibility. My advice would be to take the Elizabeth line train from Heathrow Central direct to Tottenham Court Road (every 10-15 minutes), then hail a cab or get an Uber from there (a 5 minute ride). Being brand new, the Elizabeth line is fully accessible with lifts. At the Heathrow end there are lifts from T2 arrivals down to the tunnels with moving walkways that’ll take you to the train station.