dstein

Original response removed - I was asserting that one of the web sites you quoted indicated that anyone staying <6 months didn't need an ETA, but the OTHER website seems to contradict that. So I am equally confused as the UK's own sites are in disagreement.

Thanks Biker. I'd not seen that site before and it turned out to be extremely helpful. My prior source of data presented thing in an easy to grab fashion, but was UK-based so I had to do a lot of work to convert dates to US format. Managed to get my project re-built in a much more elegant way using your suggestion.

We disembarked on Canada Day a few years ago and took SkyTrain. One thing to note is that SkyTrain was operating on a holiday fare schedule, which meant no need to figure out how many zones you were traveling through. (We were stuck on trying to figure that out when a kind Canadian clarified this for us.) And as per the advice to get to the airport 2.5-3 hour ahead of time, I second that advice. We were quite surprised at how long it took to get through airline check-in, baggage check-in, and security at YVR (on multiple trips, not just our Canada Day trip). At least one of those three checkpoints has often held us up for 45+ minutes every time.

Well, I found a semi-brute force method to achieve what I want, that is mostly cut/paste/massage. Gets the job done, however!

Does anyone know a website where I can get a simple LIST/TABLE of all RCCL sailings? I'm really looking for raw data in a format SIMILAR TO this: Depart Return # Nights Ship From To Description 5/21/2025 5/30/2025 9 Brilliance Barcelona Athens Western Mediterranean 2/20/2026 3/1/2026 9 Brilliance San Juan San Juan Southern Caribbean 12/27/2025 1/5/2026 9 Explorer Orlando Orlando Southern Caribbean 12/27/2025 1/5/2026 9 Freedom Miami Miami Eastern Caribbean I don't want the fancy-formatted tables that have ship picture and route maps you normally get from cruise search engines. I really just want raw text output that I can cut/paste into a spreadsheet that includes (at least) dates, ships, start/end ports, and basic route names. FWIW: I'm trying to manipulate things in a spreadsheet to help me find interesting B2B sailing options.

...and to complete this, based on what else I've read here (and relevant to those of us coming from the US): apparently, South Western's online ticket purchase requires creation of an account but doesn't know how to deal with non-UK-based buyers. You apparently can't enter a US-based address. Others have noted that US-based pax can successfully complete a purchase via the LNER website. I don't know whether the National Rail site above is "US-friendly" or not, but you do have at LEAST one known-good option via LNER. Just be aware.

I just happened to watch someone's 2024 video re: a tour around Brilliance last night and can answer a couple of these: 3) Pizza availability: With no Sorento's, they serve pizza out of Park Cafe. 4) Yes, Park Cafe (in the Solarium) has the roast beef sandwiches. Hours unknown.

Certainly possible, but without visual proof I'm not prepared to trust it. (In the USA, Missouri has the nickname "The 'Show Me' State". I'm not from there...but in this instance I feel a kin-ship. ) FWIW: A reason for my initial question was that online research turned up phrases like "you can only do this [get direct to street level via escalators] from the northbound platform [of the Northern Line]" and/or written instructions that talked about taking stairs "to the intermediate level". The video gave me unambiguous proof that starting at the SB platform that you could get up to Villiers St w/no more than 3 steps - following an admittedly winding journey to get from the SB platform over to the area of the NB platform. You have hit on the crux of it: where does that escalator near the SB platform that is seen (but not used) in the video ACTUALLY go? All the way to the ticket hall or somewhere else, necessitating traversing more [than 3] stairs? Hopefully, someday, someone younger and more adventurous can confirm that there's a faster route from SB platform to street level. If your journeys do take you back there and you can figure it out it will be akin to Sir Edmund H. scaling Everest. OK...that may be a BIT of hyperbole...but it would be great to learn what reality is. Until then, I (at least) can be content following the path shown in the video while dragging my luggage around.

Thank you! I have to add that this is one of the clearest and most informative answers I've ever received. Whether you realized it or not, you touched on every concern that motivated my original question (including issues I was thinking about but didn't voice in my question), and then added answers that anticipated potential follow-up questions. Very impressed and very grateful!

Any advice about traveling via TRAIN from London (Waterloo) to Southampton on the morning of the day of embarkation? Are train cancellations and/or delays realistic concerns? What about rail strikes on a Saturday? I know many folks recommend arriving in SOU at least one day early, but my sense is that this advice is really targeted to those using motor vehicles (i.e. cars, shuttles, buses) as a hedge against traffic slowdowns and/or accidents closing the roads. If we were taking ground transport I'd definitely heed the advice to arrive the day before to avoid stress, but trying to get a better idea of whether the advice is still relevant to train travel?

Different ship, different class - so apologies if this isn't relevant for you. However, on Radiance we got a table for 11 for our entire trip in the MDR. It definitely could have seated (and was, I assume, designed for) 12. Not sure if it is safe to assume that a 12-top is available in every MDR fleetwide, but fyi. FWIW, our family group had 4 different reservations that were SUPPOSED to have been linked pre-cruise and rcldining had confirmed, pre-cruise, that we'd all be assigned to a common table. However, when we checked the MDR upon boarding we found ourselves assigned to 3 different tables. We got that fixed before the 1st night's dinner and they put all 11 of us at the table mentioned above. Moral: even if you THINK you're pre-assigned to the same table, check as soon as you board!

Thanks for the responses! In particular, the suggestions to transfer to bus or taxi @ Tottenham Court are really appreciated. While I wasn't trying to eliminate 100% of the stairs, it seems like adding in buses is potentially even faster than transferring to another tube line. The pointer re: single step access to buses was also an eye-opener. This combo would eliminate the risk of escalator breakdowns at Embankment throwing a wrench into the works. I did eventually find a video of someone walking through the station and it turns out that the walker follows the exact path of interest. Video around 18:20 DEFINITELY shows walker standing on Northern's SB platform #4 - i.e. exactly where we'd end up if we decide to take Elizabeth Line from LHR and change to Northern at Tottenham Court, exiting at Embankment instead of Charing Cross. The walker exits the platform directly onto an escalator going up. At the top, walks straight off the escalator (with a slight jog to the left) and follows signage toward Northern NB platform 3/Bakerloo platform 5+6 (probably ignoring nearby "Way out" signage). When this walk dead ends (with District/Circle's WB platform 1 on the left and EB platform 2 and "Way out" sign pointing right), walker turns right, goes up 3 steps, and THEN follows "Way out" signs up escalator to exit gates and finally walks out to Villiers Street. So this video shows you can get off a SB train and get directly to street level via escalator with just 3 small steps up along the way.

London-based folks, a question re: Underground from Heathrow T3 to the Trafalgar Square area. We're likely to be staying at The Clermont Charing Cross. The most direct route appears to be Elizabeth Line -> Northern Line@Tottenham Court -> Charing Cross. However, I note from research that Charing Cross involves a LOT of stairs up and this is not attractive when hauling our luggage around. The longer but less stair-intensive route appears to be to exit at Embankment. But which line is best? I'm confused as to which line(s) have access to escalators vs stairs. NORTHERN is extremely deep. Can you take escalators UP to (at least) the DISTRICT level if arriving on the southbound platform? Can you take escalators ALL THE WAY UP to street level? My research has left me confused as to whether the escalators are available for southbound travelers, as well as to how many stairs the escalator replaces. DISTRICT is shallower and therefore (worst case) is a few short flights of stairs. Are there escalators UP available for those arriving on the eastbound platform? (I understand that choosing this route means using Piccadilly Line -> District@Hammersmith -> Embankment.)

Thanks for the great review! I think you and I would get along great - we share VERY similar attitudes around food, appreciating the good things one experiences and not dwelling on the minor nits...and neither one of us is worried about brevity in our writing! You one-upped my review with your index, however. I'm oddly jealous. (Our trip was in 2016, and I documented it here.)