AlanCruise

You can stay on board until your transfer to the airport leaves. This is typically about 3 hours before flight time. You will have to leave cabin in the morning, but can use all the facilities on board. There will be a room setup to store hand baggage during the day.

It's just a styling decision. The other has tables with place mats. They both serve the same food.

When we went there on P&O a couple of years ago there was a free shuttle to the city, it's quite a long way from the port. It dropped off near one of the Wine caves on the south of the river (I think they funded it)

To Davecttr: If you are coming from Kent and already getting the train to London, I would choose to then get a train to Southampton. There are hourly services from Victoria station and quicker services from Waterloo. It seems a lot of work to get a train from London to Heathrow and then a coach. There are a lot of Taxis waiting at Southampton station and it is about £10 to the cruise terminals.

For a late flight on the return you will have to leave your cabin in the morning, but can stay on the ship until transfer to the airport which is typically about 3 hours before flight time. You are free to visit Malta before then and they should make available a secure storage location for hand luggage during the day, for you to pick up when you return to the ship.

If you leave a phone on, but with Data roaming disabled, then it is always free to receive a text message. But don't make or receive a call and also disable voicemail as you will pay for the time people take to leave a message.

If you want to push it (against the rules of course) you could have a litre in both hand luggage and suitcase as they are inspected separately and not connected!

If you are talking about the Expedition cruises to Antarctica, then the drink prices are not the same as the Norwegian coastal cruises as Norwegian taxes don't apply. Last year typical prices for a glass of wine, beer or spirits were 7 Euro.

Experience (on a different cruise line) is that if there is no cabin number you hopefully have your name on the luggage. They can use this to work out your cabin number once the bag is on board. If the cruise involved a flight then the airline baggage label gives your name. If all else fails then the bag will end up near the reception desk.

We like Marella (which is part of the TUI holiday company). They are not up to the quality of the main (mainly US) cruise lines but are normally significantly cheaper. We like that there is normally only one sea day per week, the standard drinks package is included, there are no added tips and plenty of choice of UK departure airports. The ships are not as big as some of the lines (which we think is better) but this means that they do not have as many on board attractions. The main attraction should be the destinations!

We were on Ariva at the end of August last year. We found the Beachcomber pool area a peaceful area to sit and always managed to get chairs. The ship was full with lots of children but OK in that area.

Last september it was on the road North of the old port, opposite the cathedral.

The Chase card will be accepted in general in the Caribbean, it's a Mastercard debit card. Cuba is a special case and the Chase UK website specifically says it cannot be used there and even that the app does not work.

You can turn up earlier and drop your luggage (I think from 11am) and if they will not let you board earlier than your specified time go for a visit to Southampton.

You can't walk into the port, you can get public transport nearby but will still probably need a local taxi for the final section. There is a bus service (X4) from Bristol Bus Station to a bus stop about .half a mile from the port Entrance or to the centre of Portishead where the entrance is about 3 miles away - more likely to be able to get a taxi from Portishead. In a few years time there may even be a train service to Portishead!

The safe mode is to put the phone in flight mode, but you then may need to turn WiFi back on. The important thing is to disable data roaming as if the phone connects to the Maritime network (which is created by the ship and satellite connection) then you can be charged a fortune. I have found that some phones can connect to the Maritime network and if you have other network suppliers it won't allow that connection. I do enable the connection on my phone with Data Roaming off. You don't get a charge unless you make or answer calls or send a text - it is always free to receive texts which is good for emergencies at home, It is also recommended to turn off Voicemail when abroad, Depending on your suppliers you may be charged by the minute if someone calls you and leaves a message and then charged again if you listen to it!

Spreadsheet below comes from another forum. Late night food is in the main buffet - Horizon -

On Roald Amundsen last Christmas a couple of times did not fancy the meal options in the Main Dining Room, but I was able to order an item from the other restaurant (Freidheim) which has a different menu but shares the same kitchen.

Flight Radar has the diverted aircraft scheduled out of Bermuda today to Manchester. May be going to fly the delayed flight to Antigua.

Do you mean that the formal nights occured on different days of the cruise? The formal nights will normally occur on the days shown in advance on the cruise planner (and normally on sea days), but may change due to weather, for example if it is rough or if there are changes to the port calls. There will however normally be the specified number of formal nights - one per week for Arivia.

We were on Roald Amundsen, the sister ship, in Antarctica last Christmas. No significant chinese passengers. Presentations were in English and German, the vast majority of passengers being english speaking - Many from UK, US and Australia.

The map with the link above is for land use. In international waters it should be available in most areas. We recently travelled on another cruise line to Antarctica and got Starlink coverage all the way around the Antarctic peninsula and on the trip down and back to Argentina.

Re Insurance, you need to ensure that the policy you get covers the medical + evacuation. You are not required to have the add ons that cover for example missed ports and confined to Cabin. If you are in the UK we have the policy that comes from the Nationwide Flex Plus account - with a cost of £13 a month. The travel insurance is worldwide and includes cruises. And you also get car breakdown and mobile phone coverage.

You get blue pool towels, one for each passenger. Can be changed by Cabin Steward but you need to keep hold of them, don't leave them around the ship. In principle you can be charged if not returned at the end of the cruise. This is unlike many other cruise lines where there is a big stock of towels around the ship and you just leave them at the end of the day.

Note that the ESTA is valid for multiple trips over 2 years (or until your passport expires if earlier) and you only give details for the first visit. P&O recommend that you take a printed version of the approved ESTA as confirmation. And finally make sure you apply via the official site at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov It should cost you 21 US Dollar - there are other sites out there that try and charge more.