Blue and Green

We have always stayed a couple days post-cruise when cruising out of Southampton but this time.... hoping to make a flight leaving Heathrow at 12:50 on a Thursday when our cruise docks at 7:00am in Southampton. We will probably book a Blackberry car or similar, unless it is better time-wise to reserve transport through Princess? Hoping someone in this well-traveled group can confirm they have made a flight this close to disembarking, or advise the best way to not miss our flight to the US!

This was our experience on the Caribbean Princess as well (this was about 5 years ago). Mr. Blue was in his manual foldable wheelchair in the elevator and right up until the ramp getting on to the tender. At that point, a couple of crew members assisted him on to the tender (Mr. Blue can walk short distances) and then we were seated very near the entrance to the tender. They loaded the chair in for us after everyone else was on the tender. We were last on and first off. It worked quite well.

Really appreciate this review with so much port information. You were an excellent reporter, Paula MacFan! Hoping someone on the second version of this itinerary will also do a review of their experience and ports!

Sounds wonderful....we have some friends who used RTW tickets. Unfortunately, my work is going to get in the way of this much travel for me right now. Thanks for your response..maybe someday!

This is what I was thinking might happen....

Now that we are sometimes scheduling cruises 1 or 2 years out, I am wondering when is the best time to book the flights from US to London? We have travel insurance for the estimated cost of the entire trip, and Mr. Blue wants to fly business class or first class. Will we be better off booking as soon as the flights become available, or waiting and watching? (This is my least favorite part of the planning process.)

Thank you so much for posting this information! We are interested in this itinerary and look forward to reading more about your trip.

The CC boards are a valuable tool and our trips benefit from the research and experiences of others. Thank you, we appreciate it and contribute when possible. That said, sometimes these pinned topics become a little unwieldy. 800+ posts, and pre-pandemic information that is no longer relevant in post-pandemic travel (businesses that have closed, prices have changed significantly, etc.). Does someone edit these pinned posts or is it time for a fresh start?

Wondering the same--our previous two (pre-pandemic) trips we used Smiths car service and were very happy with them. Evidently they are no longer in business. Wondering about West Quay cars or Mason and Green? Or what other car services might be similar to Smiths?

Wonderful! Thank you so much!

Thank you for your response. I was hoping someone could confirm that we can carry on his folded wheelchair and store it while on the train. Oktoberfest European Capitals is just the name Princess assigned to the cruise. We don't expect to attend Oktoberfest. We are pleased with this cruise itinerary though!

This cruise is at the top of our list, but Mr. Blue uses a folding manual wheelchair for distances. All of the excursions to Berlin from Hamburg include a train ride that says it is not wheelchair accessible. Does this mean we cannot fold the wheelchair and bring it on the train? Mr. Blue can walk the steps to get on a train and to his seat. Everything else on the tour says it is wheelchair accessible (looking at a coach ride for city highlights followed by time on our own before returning to Hamburg). Has anyone taken the Princess chartered train from Hamburg to Berlin? Is it possible to carry on a folded wheelchair? This is not our first European cruise, and we have traveled (and managed well) with the wheelchair even during "Moderate Activity" walking tours. Princess is not offering any "Wheelchair Accessible" tours for this port that I can see.

We are due to arrive at 5:00pm on a Friday evening--Royal Naval Dockyard. We would like to have dinner off the ship that evening, and maybe walk a bit, but wondering if this is realistic. I read on here that taxis are not easily available at night. Is Uber or Lyft available? What restaurants would be interesting? Will there be shops open anywhere on Friday evening? Should add that spouse uses a wheelchair (collapsible) for distances, but we usually have no issues getting it in the trunk of a cab.

About a week or so ago, I saw the "common.offer.upgrade.type...." on the Move up offers for the Summit sailing in May. Then, the next time I looked it was gone. It didn't make any sense to me, and then when it disappered, I assumed it was some kind of a glitch in their system.

Are taxis readily available at the Dockyard and on Front Street (or at other venues)?

Thanks for everyones responses! It just showed up in my app--under Loyalty & Suites. "Celebrity Concierge Class Exclusive Lunch, " Deck 4 12:00-1:30. Looking forward to our first cruise with Celebrity!

I believe Air tags only work within the Apple system. Samsung has "Galaxy Smart tags." Guessing they are similar, but have only used Apple. If you google "Air Tag alternatives for Samsung" you can find a few good articles explaining the function of smart tags.

It is not showing up in my app...maybe I just need to check closer to sail date (May) Either way, I'm sure we won't starve 😉

We are looking forward to our first cruise with Celebrity (following many Princess Cruises and a couple NCL). We will be on the Summit and have a boarding time of 12:30-1:00. Since we are in a Concierge Class stateroom, we were hoping to take advantage of lunch in the MDR. On Princess, we always enjoyed a quiet embarkation lunch in the MDR and avoiding the crowded cafe. However, I thought I read somewhere that the embarkation lunch in the MDR on Celebrity is only available 11:00-1:00. Now, I can't find where I read that, or if it is accurate. Does anyone know if we will be too late for lunch if we don't arrive before 1:00? I know this is not a big deal, just wanting to plan accordingly.

Driving in the day before cruise departs from Cape Liberty, and thinking about staying at a hotel in Bridgewater NJ. Looks like it is about an hour away from the cruise terminal. Is this a good area? We will want a restaurant for dinner, maybe a little shopping? From the midwest, we've cruised out of Red Hook before, but never Cape Liberty.

Thank you all for your replies. We do seek out and enjoy the quiet spaces on a cruise.

Taking our first transatlantic in April on Regal Princess. Seems like it will be an excellent way to get to Europe! Questions though--- Will Wifi be available the entire cruise, or is it spotty? What about in-cabin TV...can we access news channels, etc? Our longest cruise so far has been 12 days total...with only 2 consecutive sea days. I think we will be fine, but am also a little anxious about being so isolated (from land access) for such a long period of time (6 consecutive days). Any words of advice? Anything you would recommend specific to a cruise this length? Maybe something you found helpful to have packed that you would not normally bring on a shorter cruise?