evitacruiser

Travel Lodges are great budget options but you do have to watch out for the area. For example I wouldn't want to stay in Bethnal Green. County Hall is a good location though.

Thank you, that is really useful. Very good of you to take the time.

I am not sure of your budget but you won't do better in terms of service and location than the Montague on the Gardens. It is superb, the staff really go the extra mile. We always stay there when we visit London.

I think most parents bit the bullet and accepted that vacations would be different with an infant.

Yes, we will go with the flow! I would always have wondered if I had not booked it, so I am happy we have done it.

I think we will be fine with the noise, but the light/cave like issue is still niggling!

Well, I love The Cotswolds and so do most US visitors, but I am from up north so the Lake District is really my passion. For a first trip with just five days though and flying back out from London, the Cotswolds and surroundings are probably your best bet. You could also visit Highclere Cstle near Newbury which is where Downton Abbey is filmed if that interests you and time allows.

For early May you need not book until later this year unless there is a specific place you must stay, but, if it is the last week in May that is half term for schools here so I would book as soon as my plans were finalised. Most hotels allow cancellations so you lose nothing if you cancel in good time if plans change.

It rather depends on your interests but Blenheim Palace is near Woodstock and that is a lovely place to walk around and maybe have lunch. The other places which attract tourists are include; Broadway, Stow, and Chipping Camden.

This is a potted guide which you may find useful.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destination/uk/60571/Cotswolds-attractions.html

And this; http://scratchmyfeet.com/holiday-ideas/visit-cotswold-villages/

For a stay in Oxford I would reccomend the Randolph if budget allows and for Cambridge I would look at the Marriot because it is right in the heart of town and has valet parking.

With just five days I think you should either concentrate on this area or head right up north by train immediately to maximise your time here.

The original plan was to book into the closest Holiday Inn which it seemed was Ipswich Orwell, leave the car there and take a taxi to the port. One site said that was 6.6 miles.....but when we checked it out further that seems to be as the crow flies and does not account for the body of water in the way. By road it seems nearer 20 miles.

So, we looked at staying in Harwich with parking at the Premier Inn that would have been approx £160 for 1 night and 12 days parking.

We have Holiday Inn points though so our stays with them are free. In the end we have booked the Crowne Plaza and we will park at the port and pay the £90, it seems less hassle!

In some cabins the sofa bed is smaller (shorter) because it's more like a love seat than a sofa ( think the difference is E vs D cabins). We've been on 6 different RCCL ships with "sofa beds". They all pull out "close the the floor". It's just the way they are.

On the key this cabin is showing as sleeping 3 with only a pulldown bed. There is no sofa bed, which suits us as we prefer the 3rd bed to be elevated.

With regard to the five days touring by car you could do Windsor, Oxford, Cambridge, Stonehenge, The Cotswolds. All lovely places, very scenic and lots to see and do.

If you wanted to go further north I would advise taking the train and then renting a car to see such places as; Yorkshire or the Lake District.

If you want to stay overnight pre cruise in Southampton I have stayed at the Grand Harbour hotel.

If you have any more specific questions please ask.

Oh dear, perhaps that was why it was still available? If it is really bad then we will complain, but I am hoping it will be manageable and that the balcony size will more than compensate. Fingers crossed!

If we took the train from Colchester we would still have to leave the car somewhere, unless the crown plaza will allow us to park it there for the duration of the cruise.

Thanks, it will be for three of us and we usually prefer a pulldown bed as the sofa bed takes up too much room. I thought the pullman beds were adult sized?

Yes, we are not overly noise sensitive, we have too many kids for that!!

I think we will love it.

We were on the Silhouette last year and we found the MDR food mediocre. In fact, overall we found we much preferred RCI which surprised us greatly as we were expecting an upgraded cruise experience on Celebrity.

We couldn't fault the specialty restaurants though either in terms of food or service, they were all excellent.

Thank you, I guess that will make a big difference to the noise level.

My husband and son can sleep through anything and I can wear earplugs if needed!!

I have seen free parking mentioned by some cruisers. Is it generally available or would it have been part of a booking perk?

Does anyone have any ideas for free parking in the area?

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza Colchester for 2 nights prior to the cruise and originally intended to taxi to the port, but it is further away than we thought!

Well, we got cabin 8088.

Woo hoo, I am quite excited about it now having looked at the size of it on several pictures. The location is good too, and although some reports say there is a bit of noise I doubt that will bother us as we are not light sleepers.

Thanks for all the reassurance!

Thank you. It will be a Baltic cruise which is why I am wondering about the light.

Thank you. Did you feel it made the room darker because the outside was so much further away?

I love light bright spaces and obviously part of the reason for getting a balcony is the light streaming in. I am probably stressing about nothing but you know how it is!

This cabin seems to have a big balcony but I am worried it may be too "cave like".

Can anyone reassure me?

As we were asked for full payment I assume that final payment date has gone. Cruise is mid August.

We booked and made full payment on our August cruise last weekend and today the same cabin has dropped by $600.

What are the chances of getting an upgrade or the difference back?

Is it usual or not after final payment?

We booked through a TA but she is unavailable till Monday so I have emailed their CS dept and am awaiting a reply.