gumshoe958

It’s only a 10 minute cab ride to the station, so you should be fine any time after 9am - maybe even earlier if you disembark quickly. The train takes about 1 hour 20 mins and they normally run every half hour. Note if you book a cheaper “Advance Single” ticket, you must travel on the specific train you booked (although you won’t have a specific seat reserved on it). The more expensive “Anytime Single” is much more flexible and allows you to travel on any train that day.

Initially, certainly. But Royal knows full well it’ll soon be forgotten and the whiners will quickly move on and find something else to moan about. And of course the first-timers won’t miss what they never had.

Yes, in the mall Bill’s does a nice breakfast. There are also restaurants inside the John Lewis and M&S department stores, or there’s a McDonald’s, Krispy Kreme and Costa Coffee for something quicker.

As @fruitmachine said, the 94b bus runs from opposite the port entrance to Queens Road, just around the corner from the Titanic Experience. The first direct bus leaves at around 10.40am; there are others before that (route 94) but they miss out the Titanic stop so it’s a slightly further walk from the nearest stop (but still only about 10 minutes). Note - the 94 and 94b only run on weekdays, there’s no service on Saturdays or Sundays so if you’re there at the weekend a taxi or tour is really your only option. From Titanic to the city centre you can either walk (20-30 mins) or get the G2 Glider bus from Queens Road (the stop opposite the one the 94b drops off at). And from the city back to the ship the 94/94b run hourly from Wellington Square until 5pm. Journey time is around 20 mins. Again, no service at weekends though.

Yes, it’s an easy walk from Amsterdam cruise terminal to Centraal station, otherwise you can catch tram #26 from near the terminal which will take you to the station in about 5 minutes. Or there are cabs. Amsterdam to Wiesbaden can be done with just one change of train, at Frankfurt Airport. There is one on a Sunday from Amsterdam Centraal at 9:07am which takes just over 5 hours. That should be easily doable as long as you’re off the ship by around 8:30.

VS use Terminal 3. You will need to walk to the central bus station. There’s an underground walkway, with travelators (if they’re working), direct from the arrivals hall and elevators up to the bus station. Just follow the signs.

Arrivals level, from bus stops 13-15 just outside the terminal.

That’s the standard adult comedy show, on most nights in the comedy club. Reservations are essential because the venue’s so small. There's normally also a separate, family comedy show in the main theatre on one night. Reservations for that aren’t normally required.

A 10.30 flight is cutting it fine IMHO, assuming it’s transatlantic. It’s doable, but you’re leaving very little contingency time. Ideally you’ll need to be at the airport by 8.30 and should allow half an hour to get there, so you’d need to be off Symphony by 8 at the latest. Which is easy if you’re self-disembarking, less so if you’re not. I guess you could ask at guest services for a priority disembarkation slot and hope your luggage is taken off promptly. Note that because Symphony is so big she’ll actually take up two terminals and luggage will be delivered to both so you need to make sure you go to the right one (it’ll depend on the number on your tag). There’s plenty of walking involved so if you need assistance you should book it. Whichever terminal you arrive at, taxis are readily available right outside. There may be a short queue but it’s very efficient so you shouldn’t be waiting long. Shows can now be booked online in advance, in your cruise planner. I think I read reservations open on the 1st of the preceding month - so July.

99% of the time you’ll never see a customs or immigration officer at Southampton so there should be no delays there. National Express is generally a good option to LHR but with a 12:50 transatlantic flight you’ll want to be there by 10 or 10:30 so you’d be cutting it fine. Normally it’s about a 90 minute drive but could easily take longer if it’s busy.

National Express are generally very reliable, unlike Britain’s trains at the moment! Of course they can be delayed in heavy traffic, but so can cruise line transfer buses. Their vehicles are clean, modern and well maintained and I’d have no hesitation using them.

Any food, if you eat too much of it. See the thread about ordering two entrees, which appears to be the norm for many.

Depends on the terminals. Mayflower <> Horizon and City <> Horizon are walkable in about 10 minutes. Mayflower <> City and Ocean <> QE2 are walkable in 15-20 minutes. Otherwise, it’s a short cab or Uber journey. But bear in mind you may be sitting around for a couple of hours waiting for Princess check-in to open. There’s not a lot to do around the terminals.

You’ll want to be at Heathrow by 10 or 10.30 and it’s about a 90 minute drive in good traffic, longer if it’s busy. I’d be minded to use a private transfer as you never quite know how long the cruise line buses will take to load or when they’ll leave. As long as you’re off the ship by 8 you should be fine.

Totally. Bear in mind only 10,000 people live on Skye and Carnival Pride holds more than 2,000. That’s a BIG influx of people on an island without the infrastructure to cope, in the middle of the Scottish school holidays and the first week of the English ones when it’ll already be as busy as it gets.

If you’re off the ship early, the traffic around Southampton shouldn’t be a problem. But you’ll be heading up the M3 towards London at rush hour, round the M25 which is notoriously unpredictable and into Dover where queues for the ferry terminal are by no means unknown. Changing to a 2pm ferry would be very sensible. You can have breakfast on the ship, take a break en route and still have decent contingency time in case of delays.

Agree 100%. It’s a 2.5 hour drive even if the traffic’s good - and the quickest route is via the M25 motorway which is notorious for delays. I would seriously rethink this, otherwise you risk spending your whole cruise worrying about whether you’ll make it. If you really have no choice I would consider booking parking at the Doubletree by Hilton Southampton which is right next to the M3 motorway and should allow for a fast getaway. Use a cab to take you there from the ship.

There’s usually only one Oasis class ship in Europe. In 2024 it’s Oasis of the Seas. She’s due to finish her summer season in the Med on Sep 29th then go into dry dock before her westbound TA. But we don’t yet know whether that’ll be a revenue TA. It may well not be, but if it is it’s not yet on sale.

Very little, I’m afraid. Whereas trains on long distance leisure routes do have luggage racks at the ends of coaches, this is primarily a commuter route and the trains used on it are notorious for lack of luggage space. It’s been sacrificed in favour of cramming in as many seats as possible. There are big overhead racks above the windows which take all but the largest cases, but they’re not very useful for heavy luggage. If the train’s quiet you’ll be able to squeeze your luggage into an empty seat area or under a table. But that’ll be a problem if it’s busy.

If they don’t there are direct trains from Rotterdam Centraal to Schiphol every 15 minutes which take 25 minutes. Factor in a cab to the station, and ship to airline check-in should reliably take 60-75 minutes.

Oops! Yes, the Piccadilly line runs direct to King’s Cross from there. Or, from a different station just across the street, so do the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines which have nicer (and air-conditioned) trains. Or you could be naughty and just stay on the coach and hope the driver doesn’t notice (or play the confused tourist card) ……

That’s absolutely fine. Just as long as you’re aware that if you’re expecting a scenic drive through majestic English countryside, you’ll be disappointed. Once you’ve cleared the seemingly never-ending suburbs of west London it’s pretty much motorway (the UK equivalent of an Interstate) all the way. But yes, it’s good value.

The ship actually docks in the port of Zeebrugge which is about 10 miles and a 20-30 minute drive or train ride from Bruges. Bruges is a compact but beautiful and very popular city with tourists, and a delight to wander around so I’d be minded to spend the day there. Brussels is pleasant enough but as world capitals go, it’s not particularly high on most people’s must see list.

Fair enough - I hope you enjoy the delights of the M3 motorway, Basingstoke and a big car park somewhere near Winchester! Personally I’d make sure I take a good book …

I believe there is a taxi rank outside Asda in Portland Terrace. There’s also one at the coach station. Or you can just use Uber.