john watson

When they set out suites at construction time location of many are not good locations. Newer cruisers do not realise the importance of position on the ship, particularly in relation to nearby noisy infrastructure. Most suites are well placed but I suspect the less well positioned ones are used for upgrades as they are not specifically chosen by cruisers. Regards John

Grand has some unique features like Grand Suite on Lido Deck and some incredibly sheltered balconies forward on Emerald Deck. On balance I preferred Sapphire. Regards John

I think there has to be a point where you would be charged extra. If you took a Melchizedek with you I think the Maitre'd may have reservations about levying the standard corkage charge. Regards John

You may pick a standard time and restaurant for the whole cruise if you wish. My advice is to do this before you sail. You can change whilst on board easily but if the wifi is down it will be frustrating. You can ask to share with random people when entering the restaurant and if you find dining companions which are good company you have a facility to make them shipmates on the app. This helps with communication but does divulge a lot of information which you might not want made available to them. Regards John

You might find that these would be sold on at a discount to other passengers. Regards John

This is almost exclusively because of the size and layout which they have. Regards John

I think you will find that they are so strict that if someone has an eighteenth birthday mid-voyage they get excluded from the day before. Certainly nineteen year olds have different interests from thirteen year olds and the parents are no longer responsible. The cruise line needs easy to define and implement limits where they realise things could get out of hand. Regards John

The service does vary on port and sea days. Self-signing in/out where applicable is suspended on port days and a "lock in" occurs because you may leave the children in the club on port days while you go ashore. When this happens a catering for the children service happens and they typically get marched to the buffet and back to the club. Sea days, the club closes around lunch and an organised morning/afternoon sessions happens not continuous service like on sea days. Regards John

You could still turn up at Terminal 1 and say "bugger" Lol John

Always click on "No Upgrades" or you might find you get upgraded to somewhere you do not care for. Regards John

It is a very strange tariff, it is probably cheaper to buy new items of underwear and throw the old ones away. Conversely you could always take your drapes on holiday and get them all nice for when you return home. Lol John

Holland and Barrett candied ginger is good. Eat a couple of lumps and swallow them as soon as you can. Available in the stores and on line in UK. Cunard ships and cross-channel ferries are very different with the latter being really rough. Regards John

They do a free laundry deal on your 16th cruise. Regards John

And five terminals so make sure you turn up at the correct one as moving between them is tricky. Regards John

Self-disembarkation, carrying all your own luggage is the earliest way of disembarking. If you did this at 7.00 when you hit the street there are likely to be a number of taxis waiting for customers like you to immediately get in and go. This is feasible for Southampton Airport. Heathrow Airport requires a significantly longer taxi ride to get there and jumping in a random taxi outside the terminal at Southampton is going to be extortionately high price fare and take an age to get to the airport. There are fairly rare occasions where external factors mean the ship arrives late, storms etc. Sometimes storms work in your favour as the Captain decides to arrive earlier to miss the anticipated storm's arrival. Regards John

I am pretty certain that on occasions the tender tickets were in the cabin on embarkation together with excursion tickets. In the past I have got on as an Elite passenger with my daughter who would not have been Elite at the time due to being under eighteen. I believe that unless your family members were children they would not have an entitlement. Assuming they have a station where the passes are issed, and you wanted to blag it you could split up as a couple and pair up with the family members with the Elites asking for the shuttle passes separately. It is a bit naughty. Regards John

Sounds like a good plan. If I were doing it I would find out which terminal I were flying from and book a hotel within walking distance. Some are 200 yards from the terminal. Regards John

The 1980s were dominated by modern romance era. Men dressed like Don Johnson on Miami Vice a very good style icon. Notice how he bigged himself up despite the shortness of stature problem. Some guys wore makeup but nevertheless pulled. See "Crockett's Theme" on YouTube. Probably need an outrageous tuxedo as well as casual jacket. Good luck with the theme.

In my opinion the Ageas Bowl Hilton in a balcony room overlooking the pitch is excellent. They also do cruise parking deals. Regards John

Not usually the first night of the cruise or the last but generally on sea days. If you are scheduled to leave a port earlier than usual that might be one as would be the second sea day. Regards John

Southampton, details vary according to terminal but generally preferential treatment. Regards John

You can always use foreign currency as tips if you have a roughly equivalent amount, not if you have $1000 dollars worth. Any currency will do. Regards John

There is a famous pool in Bude Cornwall United Kingdom which is described as a tidal pool built into the rocks by the beach. I believe it gets filled with sea water direct. Regards John

Cruise lines like Cunard never have passengers fighting it just does not happen. The most I have encountered is an incident which might be regarded by some as approaching a kerfuffle. Regards John

The cruise line has figured out their clientele does not use this type of facility. Regards John