travelbuds

I am waiting for a Celebrity reply. No independent or "on your own" excursion offered on its website. Only 7 excursions listed for this port, and none less than $113. May end up doing the 8:30AM independent coach into Bruges and hope for time at least to go up the tower, do a canal tour, and sample some waffles and chocolates before heading back to the ship. Hope there won't be a long wait at the tower on a Sunday morning.

Thank you for all of your comments. You are a big help! The independently operated shuttlebus that I found starts at 8:30AM. Our ship docks by 7AM. Seems like 1.5 hours of wasted time, especially since we have limited time in port (departs @ 3PM). I will check with Celebrity to see if it will offer shuttle bus as cruise date approaches. Currently it offers 2 excursions, but both are over $120 per person. Will look into the train from Blankenberge also. Thanks again.

How much time does it take to be bussed from ship to cruise terminal? And then via shuttle bus from terminal to Brugge? Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks for the tip. Did it look like renovations were needed?

Thanks. That's what we are planning to do. Hoping for no rain!

Thank you. I wonder if no taxis at the Southampton coach station is the norm. We'll have our poncho readily available just in case.

Thank you for your comments. We'll be going from LHR terminal 3 to Southampton Holiday Inn. How far in advance would you suggest to make coach reservations? Wouldn't want airline schedule to change after coach reservations were made.

Do you have a boat tour company recommendation? Will credit card be accepted? Thank you.

Will anything there be open there on a Sunday? Thanks.

Wondering if we should buy tickets before we leave home or wait until we land at Heathrow to get them. Will cost and availability be the same? Thank you.

Is the National Express a better option than the train? Looks like the coach station is walkable and closer to the Holiday Inn than the train station. Thank you.

The train seems to be mentioned many times in these posts involving transportation between London and Southampton. Wondering why coach or bus travel such as National Express is not mentioned. Just curious as I will be staying at the Southampton Holiday Inn after arriving at Heathrow earlier in the day. Thanks.

Scheduled to arrive by 7AM on a Friday. May just wait till we get there. Do you remember if the ticket machines are inside or outside of the ticket office? Thanks.

The website says ticket office doesn't open till 8:30AM. Are the ticket machines in the ticket office or can one access them separate from office? If so, maybe better to wait until we get there to check out the weather before buying tickets.

Thank you. Did you have a long wait in the ticket line? Did you do a roundtrip ride, or walk back down to town? Thought about buying tickets ahead of time. Website says ticket office doesn't open till 8:30AM. Our ship docks by 7AM and leaves early afternoon so we want an early start for the day.

Were you able to pay with credit card or did you have to use local currency? Thanks.

Sounds like the only places where cash tips may be expected would be in London (hotel porter) and Southampton (hotel and cruise terminal porters). Will use credit card for train/coach/taxi and taxi tip. Did I miss anyone else? Contacting credit card issuer is on my to-do list. Thanks.

My wife and I have never been to Europe. Can we do our cruise (Southampton, Bruges, Norway) using only our credit cards, or do we need to convert US dollars into pounds, euros and kroners before we leave home? Buses, trains, tipping for excursions, restaurants, porters, taxi? Thanks.

My wife and I have never been to Europe. Can we do this cruise (Southampton, Bruges and Norway) using only our credit cards, or do we need to convert US dollars into pounds, euros and kroners before we leave home? Buses, trains, tipping for excursions, restaurants, porters, taxi? Thanks.

Thank you for your comments. We usually make our non-ship excursion reservations with the locals before we leave home, especially for Alaska cruises as certain ones fill up fast. Have never been to Europe before. Looking forward to it.

Curious if you made excursion reservations prior to leaving home or if you made them after arriving at the port.

My wife and I have decided to go on the American Song from Clarkson to Portland and picked a port side cabin. Flying into Lewiston a day early to do the Hells Canyon package. It is a Lewis and Clark themed cruise. Looking forward to this as it will be our first river cruise of any kind.

This will be our first cruise to Norway. Wondering if there are vendors lined up at Norwegian ports like they are in Alaska such as in Juneau. We rarely did excursions sponsored through ship. We usually have made independent reservations before leaving home.

Curious what private transfer service you used. Thank you.