john watson

Yes he can enter bars; the rules relate to drinking alcohol. He can purchase drinks which are not alcoholic. If you read the terms and conditions carefully, in Europe on the same ship the ages for drinking alcohol are lowered. I cannot see that he will be rumbled if he was drinking alcohol but if he was found out, whosoever in charge of him would be responsible as would whoever purchased his drink if that was another person. Realistically it would all come to nothing unless he was getting completely blotto and creating a scene.

I have always got off and on the ship using my cruise card alone throughout the Caribbean. It relates to the ship and the dates are stated on it.

Regards John

I booked a cruise through a US travel agent in 2009 for 2010. A few years after this I was informed that a large number of Cruise Lines have now prohibited US travel agencies from accepting bookings from non US citizens. You may book a cruise with a US agency if you have a residency in the US or are travelling in a cabin with a US citizen. There is an exception to this from Holland America Line and Princess Cruise Line. If you have previously booked a cruise with either line with a US travel agency you may book again with the same US travel agent with another booking on the same cruise line. I believe the rules for internet booking are the same as the thinking behind the rules is to make sure the cheaper prices often available in the US are not taken advantage of outside the US. I was advised this information by Vacations to Go.

Regards Keith

The London UNDERGROUND as it is signposted has got to be the easiest system to use in the world. The map shows all the lines in vivid colour giving each a name and stations where you can get off and reboard onto a different line are clearly marked. Most platforms only have the one line using it but where this is not so audible announcements are made and an illuminated sign on platform and front of train will also confirm. You can choose your own route and change trains where you like if no single direct connection exists. Checking you are going in the correct direction once on a train is easy because the trains have maps of the line they serve so you just check first stop is correct. Timetables are not required as trains normally run every few minutes. If a train looks packed wait for the next and they often fill up more mid-train so reposition along the platform for the next one. Signage to each line is clear, easy to understand and walk through access has been improved for people who wish to avoid the automatic barriers. The moving stairs down to the platforms are called Escalators this is not a word used much by Americans but signs will show this word if appropriate. The infamous MIND THE GAP announcement is generally only given at stations with curved platforms!

Regards John

If you want to see back numbers of the TV show "Love Boat" search on YOUTube for Love Boat Season 1,2.3 etc. up to 9. A lot of new issues have been added in the last couple of weeks. Pacific Princess is mainly featured but at least four other ships have been used particularly on the Mediterranean, Far East and Australasian specials.

Regards John

If you want to down the DIY route http://www.viator.com have stuff under "Spain" for the different Canary Islands. Fairly wide range of activities available.

Regards John

It's all about the banter!

Banter only comes at Christmas

Regards John

B718 and R251 have equal sized cabins and balconies. Each cabin has a balcony cabin above it which have same sized balconies so neither is overlooked. B718 partially overlooks the balcony below because 'C' deck balconies below protrude an extra 50% further outwards. The main differences are location in comparison with proximity to other facilities within the ship, your (personal preference) and R251 is Starboard whereas B718 is Port side of the ship. If you are on a round trip cruise as opposed to a general repositioning voyage that wont make much difference either.

Regards John Watson

I suggest you go mid-size 70,000 to 115,000 tons, 1500 to 2500 passengers roughly. If you like it then in future you can opt for going bigger or smaller if you think you would prefer that. Ships are refurbished regularly so age is not an issue in my experience and I tend to like Princess for service and lack of "hard sell" on board for art auctions etc. Similarly go for a middle length itinerary 7/10 days, next time you can go longer/shorter as you prefer. Pick a cruise with a good number of ports which are interesting. I should pick a warm cruise Mexico or Caribbean, Panama Canal. This will give you good family days on board lounging round pool and relaxing. Check out the daily on board news sheet and highlight organised activities you think might be interesting and you want to do. Pick excursions that seem exciting or interesting to you or alternatively go down the beach, whatever. A long starter cruise might have too many ports and excursions become expensive at a large number of ports. There is of course on board evening theatre and show lounges where you relax and drink. I have been cruising for fifty years so far and still cannot swim. I have found if you know your height, signs on the pools tell you the depth. I just walk about on the bottom and stay up the shallow end generally when the pool is fairly quiet nobody notices I cannot swim but you cool off then get out and dry and have a lounge on the loungers. My daughter (12) generally gets in pool if the seas are rough and waves are starting in pool this is not a problem for me as a non swimmer.

Regards John

If you book Princess you will be shocked at the superb quality of everything, particularly the excellent polite service from all the crew. The standards all round are very high.

Regards John

Cunard Transatlantic Voyages tend to attract a significant number of passengers who take formal seriously. A dark business suit will be acceptable on formal nights however I think you should find yourself in the minority as most gentlemen will be wearing Tuxedos in my experience. Cunard also field a number of themes on formal nights such as "Black and White" these are advised on ones booking information fairly late before sailing. Most people do not follow these too closely unless they are in a big group sailing together and partying it up a bit. A secondary Jacket, sports jacket or suit jacket is required on the "Smart Casual-Jacket required nights) and this will likely be enforced by crew observing diners entering Britannia Main Dining Room. Overall it is impossible to overdress on Cunard on formal nights.

Incidentally immigration, back into the UK is done on a deck by deck basis, a couple of hours daily (including British Passport holders) on a planned schedule to facilitate stress free disembarkation at Southampton.

Regards John Watson

Some trips "sell out" and become unavailable in the future. This type of trip tends to be where the venue or mode of transport has a limited capacity. e.g. Submarine in Barbados has x numbers of seats plus only two dives can be fitted into a day. Whereas a coach trip into a major city has infinite seats in theory as the cruise line and coach operators can add extra coaches into town as required by demand. I would only book now for trips where I perceive that availability may cease nearer the time. I can book later or on board for some things with no problems.

Regards John Watson

On Ocean Princess the obstructed view cabins are the lowest passenger deck. On this deck the cabins have portholes not windows. In rough seas I suspect you will see the tops of waves and water slooshing about. A deck higher the same cabins have windows of a more squarer and larger type. You tube has videos.

Regards John Watson

300 and 301 are raised bunk and you cannot roll out as walled both sides. Access from foot of bed thendive or crawl. Porthole by bed. A strange feature of these cabins is that they are on on their own on an intermediate deck higher and lower than other passenger decks. The neighbouring cabins, more forward are behind a "private crew only" door. It is a nice location away from the diesel engine and suited me from St. Maarten to Lisbon in reasonably high sea conditions.

Regards John Watson

I would tentively join asking about doing so. Having said that I should not stop people joining me should they turn up at one which I was already doing. One never knows if they had started it earlier and achieved quite a lot of progress before my efforts. It is a holiday after all and we are supposed to be meeting people in a calm and relaxing manner otherwise we will get wound up and be wasting our time and money.

Regards John Watson

I think you should be trying to decide whether to cruise the British Isles from London Southampton in a large or very large Princess ship or cruise the British Isles from London Dover in a smaller Princess ship. Neither of those ports are anywhere near London so any stopover pre/post cruise needs looking at. On top of that are there any areas of the UK you might like to focus on. Some people like to arrive in UK by flying into London Heathrow direct. It is possible to arrive in London at London Gatwick direct (nearer to Southampton than LHR) or at London City Airport (generally indirectly from Schipol etc.but closest to London by far) Virtually nobody has heard of London City Airport.

Regards John Watson

I noticed that some things are not listed, Cranberry Juice for example does not appear on the list but is available daily. It pays to politely ask sometimes.

Regards John Watson

Sitmar Cruises will qualify as points towards Captains Circle. There are a number of other lines that also qualify but some are restricted to people who live in certain geographical areas. P&O Cruises and Ocean Village cruises qualify for some people but this is not a complete list.

Regards John Watson

If you want to go on a cruise to Cuba the best current line is Star Clippers. I suspect it may be preferable to book "cruise only" and then sort out your own flights. The cruise line is not American owned but run from the US as far as I can ascertain. I have travelled with them and they are very good but "Not a cruise as we know it" as Captain Kirk might say.

Platinum level passengers get Priority Embarkation and you can board generally earlier than others disregarding the time given. There will obviously be a time that they start boarding the first passenger and typically many Platinum and Elite passengers will be there so some delay if you tried to board first. Your Platinum level allows your entire group to board together this is defined as all those in your cabin or all those on your booking form.

Regards John Watson

Royal Caribbean are going to be the better choice in my opinion. They are pitched higher up in class and quality. I have never cruised on Carnival but did witness the type of service level you might experience there with hundreds of people trying to reboard in the hot Caribbean sun with no support and just one entry point. I suspect they might have been vigorously searching for illicit alcohol being sneaked back on board. I was on Princess and they had similar numbers reboarding later with more entrance points and the offer of iced face towels. Royal Caribbean were great in all respects when we cruised with them but I found our waiter a bit overbearing in trying to get us to order only his recommendations.

Regards Keith

We stayed at the Intercontinental Grand Hotel Yokohama. Lovely hotel. It's big shaped like a giant satsuma segment and easily identifiable from the cruise terminal so you can walk to hotel from cruise terminal avoiding taxi and language problems. I did not even have a map but viewed it all on YouTube and headed directly to the building across the leisure park areas. It is opposite Cosmos World theme park and hotel staff there got us a taxi to Narita which is expensive alternatively use the shuttle bus. Staff speak English and sort anything out you need. If you go too down market on hotels in Japan language can become an issue and you need photocopies of all Japanese addresses in their script otherwise you can become a bit lost.

Regards John

I booked a final segment of Queen Elizabeth world cruise 2013, which started in New York and finished in Southampton. I should have preferred to start in Fort Lauderdale but problem was school holidays did not allow this. Other passengers on our table had boarded in Fort Lauderdale which made voyage about two days longer. Another couple had boarded in Auckland I think. My belief is that world cruises are initially divided into a small number of big sectors then later as filling ship is not totally successful they later introduce shorter sometimes overlapping shorter sectors until they fill ship as much as they can.

Is QM2 the only ship with them?

 

David.

I think Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth have some balconies which are METAL FRONTED near the forward part, just a few indicated as the lowest balcony grade. Other ships with the "hull cutout" style are P&O Oceana and Princess Dawn and Sun. Very narrow balconies on this class of ship, however mini-suites on these ships have additional space created by expanding mini-suite along side of ship whereas later classes of ship enlarge across width of ship. Oceana has lovely mini-suite jacuzzi baths. Basically that Fincantieri design but this is obviously not a complete list! The QM2 sheltered balconies have been incorporated into the design by moving the infrastructure decks and survival craft down and up respectively. Thus it is virtually impossible to book "outside" cabins on QM2 as their tradition area has been otherwise used.

The Boeing 787 is going to be a new world class airliner and well worth trying to get onboard if you can swing it.