gumshoe958

No. You will need to pay separately for that. If you have Apple/Google Pay on your phone, or a credit or debit card that allows contactless payment, you no longer need to buy a physical ticket on Dutch trains - you just touch in and touch out at the automatic barriers at the start and end of your journey. Otherwise you can buy a ticket from the machines at the station.

If there’s a cruise ship in you can guarantee the cab drivers will be there. Having said that demand may exceed supply so there may be a line. You could prebook one, or try Uber.

Definitely not. They’re about 11 miles apart. You will need a cab, or if you’re feeling adventurous you can do it by city bus, with a transfer in central Edinburgh.

There are two types of multi-day ticket sold by GVB: the ‘Amsterdam Day Ticket’ which doesn’t include the train from Schiphol, and the ‘Amsterdam Travel Ticket’ which does. Both include unlimited travel on GVB tram, metro and bus services within Amsterdam. The latter comes in 1, 2 and 3 day versions and can be bought at the airport at the Service & Ticket desk in Schiphol Plaza, where the rail station is.

Almost impossible by public transport and allow 2 hours each way to drive if you rent a car. It’s a 160 mile round trip, not on particularly fast roads.

Yes, very frequent trains from Southampton Central to Southampton Airport Parkway. Journey time just over 5 minutes and the airport station is right outside the terminal.

Wow, that is tight. If the stars align it’s doable but you’re counting on being allowed to disembark by 0630. At least there’s a Plan B option of the 0900 coach which is due into Heathrow at 1100, which is still enough time to catch your flight.

The UK is no longer in the EU, and it most certainly is an international flight. Even so, I’d have no hesitation booking an 11:15 flight. Disembark between 8 and 8:30 and you’ll be at the airport in plenty of time. There is an over-abundance of caution on this forum which is understandable for once-a-day transatlantic flights, but really not needed for a short-haul destination like London.

Sorry, and Shannon too. Also in Ireland.

Ok so you’ve effectively got 4-5 hours outside the airport. Not really enough time to do much in London other than have a meal and/or a circuit on a HOHO bus. So my suggestion would be to jump in a cab to Windsor - it’s about a 20 minute drive. You’d have time to wander around the town (it’s very compact), visit the Castle (cheaper if booked in advance online) and have a meal. Importantly, check which terminal(s) your flights use at Heathrow. Terminals 2/3, 4 and 5 are completely separate and several minutes’ drive apart so you can’t just ask your cab driver to take you to Heathrow! If you arrive into a different terminal to the one you fly out of you’ll need to think about what to do with your luggage.

Global Entry/TSA PreCheck are of no use whatsoever at Barcelona, even if the OP was flying to the US. Dublin is the only European airport with US pre-clearance.

Yes, correct.

Yes, it’s perfectly possible as long as you disembark by 7.30-ish. But as ever with these questions, the answer depends on your attitude to risk. The odds are very much in your favour but there are always dangers - late ship arrival, long line for cabs, traffic delays, long lines for check in, security or passport control.

Yes, it would be a very long day. But as long as @fstuff1 can grab some sleep on the flight I get the sense he’s up for an adventure!

Ok, so you’ve got over 24 hours between your flight arriving and your cruise departing. That gives you plenty of time to get into London (by tube is cheapest, or Elizabeth Line train) and sightsee, which will be far more worthwhile than going straight to Southampton where there’s very little to see. Here’s what I’d do: spend the 30th sightseeing in London, have an early dinner there, then when you’re done get to Waterloo station to catch an evening train to Southampton Central. They take about 75-80 minutes and run every half hour until nearly midnight. It’s cheapest if you book a specific service in advance but if you’d rather not commit upfront you can just turn up and buy a ticket whenever you’re ready. Spend the night in Southampton and you’ll be all set for your cruise. Ibis Budget is just that - budget. Basic. No frills. But fine for one night.

A 10.50am flight is perfectly doable. It’s only a 20 minute taxi ride to the airport so aim to disembark by 8.30ish and you’ll be fine.

Forget the train. Assuming your flight lands at Terminal 2 or 3, check out the ‘Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3’ which is a short walk from both terminals. It’s also a short walk to the Heathrow central bus station from where you can catch a National Express coach direct to Southampton at 8.30am or 9.45am. Journey time 2 hours, then you can walk to the ship. Alternatively there are dozens of other hotels near the airport, but none with a free shuttle - at the very least you’d have to pay £1.75 each way for a local bus - but if the hotel’s cheaper than the HGI you’d still save money.

As others have said, city centre hotels will always win for convenience. But Schiphol is blessed with having a fast, very frequent and cheap rail link to the city, although when choosing a hotel do check the location as some may require an additional cab or shuttle ride to/from the airport. The Hilton, Sheraton and Citizen M are all on-airport, but are often very pricey. But there are several cheaper airport hotels in nearby Hoofddorp which has its own train station. Namely a Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Intercity Hotel and Novotel, all very close to the station so don’t require a shuttle/cab. The trains run four times an hour and take 25 minutes.

To be fair I didn’t try the brunch, just the evening menu but I found the food bland and stodgy. As you say though, very subjective.

Right. The bar is awesome, especially when the Country Crew Trio are playing. But the restaurant is very meh. On the eastbound TA last year the crew were moving all the empty chairs from the restaurant (and there were lots) into the bar to provide more seating.

The question is whether Royal’s actually going to ban overseas bookings completely or - more likely - still allow them but impose the T&Cs of your country of residence. So a European resident could still book with a North American TA but wouldn’t be entitled to the free cabin moves, price drops etc that Americans and Canadians enjoy.

Well Lisbon has flights to most major European cities and most of them are within 2 or 3 hours so take your pick.

Porto? Madrid? Barcelona? All have regular, short flights to Lisbon.

Again, it really all comes down to the OP’s attitude to risk. A 9.20 flight from SOU is certainly doable as long as there are no delays disembarking. And I’d have no qualms at all booking a 12.50 flight from LHR and using NX to get there. If you’re the type of person who’d spend your entire cruise fretting about whether you’ll make your flight at the end of it, it would probably be wise to book a safer option. But if you’re a ‘what will be will be, YOLO’ type of person, just go for it - there’s a good chance it’ll be fine and you’ll have more time to enjoy Amsterdam rather than sitting around airports.

Delta codeshare with Virgin Atlantic on quite a few LHR routes, but both airlines use T3.