Twickenham

When we took our TA on the QM2 in 2015, there were people on the ship that were cruising round-trip from Southampton - they had done Southampton-New York, then down to the Caribbean and back to NY, then back across. We embarked the ship on January 3rd, so they would have gotten on sometime mid or late December. I believe the QM2 has a similar sailing schedule this year.

That would be a no on both accounts. For train journeys from Victoria to LGW you have a choice of either Southern trains or the Gatwick Express; looking at the schedule on the National Rail site, the first Southern train is at 4:30, while the first Gatwick Express is at 5:14. But starting your journey from Sussex Gardens means you have other options. Depending on where exactly on Sussex Gardens you're staying and how close you are to Paddington, you could take the Elizabeth Line from there to Farringdon and connect to the Thameslink train which will also get you to LGW, or take a bus or taxi to St. Pancras to catch the Thameslink train from there.

You put Civitavecchia Port as the arrival station. Put just Civitavecchia and you'll get results.

Turning around a cruise ship is an enormous operation, with a very precise sequence of events. Disembark passengers and luggage, resupply, embarkation of new passengers and luggage. My worry is to enter the process out of sequence, as it were - if you drop off your luggage before disembarkation is over, or before embarkation usually starts (I would think there is usually a space of time in between the 2). They could end up lost somewhere in the system, either with disembarking luggage or with luggage going to another ship. The closest example from my experience that I can come up with is a flight we had to WAW on LOT, connecting via YYZ. There were 2 LOT flights that day from YYZ to WAW, and we were on the later one, but our connection arrived at YYZ before the first one left. When our luggage wasn't on the conveyor belt at arrival, I correctly guessed that it had been put on the 1st flight and was sitting in the back office with the rest of the unclaimed bags from that flight. Humans are used to certain sequences and routines, and have a hard time adapting to exceptions.

Sightsee? Where are you staying, Southampton, London or somewhere else?

I've slept on a sofa bed on Holland America in a balcony cabin. I've also slept twice (RCI and Princess) in cabins where the 3rd berth was an upper berth - but both times, I removed the mattress and lay it on the floor. Very comfortable, actually.

Your hotel is a 3-minute car ride or a 12-minute walk (flat with sidewalks) from the Gare du Palais, the combined train and bus station. If you're spending some time in Montreal, I would suggest train, but directly from YUL I believe they're is a direct bus.

The one time we flew out of FCO was BA, and they were quite strict about the 3-hour check-in. In your situation I would ditch the cruise line transfer to FCO, take the train to Termini, and leave my bags at the left luggage office there. Then you have some free time to spend in Rome before retrieving your luggage and taking the train to FCO for your flight.

Yes it is. By a country mile, or several country miles in the case of LGW. I'm with Globaliser - stay both nights in London, near Victoria station or any other rail station with direct service to LGW. A 10 am flight really isn't that early - I've travelled to LGW from the Wandsworth area (by bus and rail) for a similarly-timed flight and had time for breakfast in the lounge beforehand.

If this is the tour you purchased: https://www.goldentours.com/london-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours/hop-on-hop-off-london-bus-tour-24-hr-ticket, a couple of points: -The website states that you can cancel, up to the night before departure; -There is a stop at Norfolk Place, just around the corner from your hotel. Paddington is an area that I've stayed in several times (and enjoyed). It's well-connected transport wise to the more touristy areas of London, so if you do decide to cancel you have plenty of regular bus options, as well as the tube.

According to the port schedule, they will be staying an extra day in Quebec, although they'll be moving berths to make way for the Hamburg at Wharf 22: https://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/vessel-schedules/cruise-ships-schedule

I'm pretty sure the shuttle buses drop you off at the bus stop at the ferry dock - however I have never cruised from here (live here), so this is just from past observation not actual first-hand experience. Map here: https://goo.gl/maps/TpXHcTYZSXXdqcjB7

If, as your thread title states, this is your first time in the UK, why not spend those 2 nights in London? Much more interesting for a tourist, and It's quite easy to get to Southampton the morning of your cruise.

Chioggia to Florence: looking at the Trenitalia site, looks like the simplest way to do this would be a Regionale train to Rovigo, then connect to the Frecciarossa to Florence (Firenze when searching on the website). Florence to Lake Geneva: if using the city of Geneva as an arrival point, again pretty straightforward, train (Frecciarossa or Intercity) from Florence to Milan, then a Eurocity train to Geneva. Geneva to Paris: the easiest of the bunch, there's a direct TGV from Geneva to Paris. There are of course more creative (and potentially picturesque) possibilities, check them out at The Man in Seat 61: https://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm

Elizabeth Line to Liverpool Street station, then depending on the exact location of your hotel walk/bus/tube/taxi the rest of the way.