Harters

As you are in concierge, you get to make your reservations for the Specialities, after those in higher grade cabins but before those in lower grade. They will become available to your online account 60 days before departure. My advice is to log on as early as possible on this date to give yourself the best opportunity of getting what you want. We were also in concierge on our recent cruise and had no problem making reservations for tables for two on the days and times we wanted. My only note of caution is that I understand many Americans like to eat dinner early so there may well be more restricted opportunity for 6.30 reservations. I don't think my travel agent would make reservations for us but, again, I know the North American travel agency industry is very different to that here. But, in any event, dining is an important part of our cruise and booking reservations isnt something I would want to leave to anyone else. Not least,as it's a very straightforward process and only takes a few minutes.

This was 2017. Was it crowded - not really Did embarkation go smoothly - yes Was it easy to drop off luggage - yes. I drove up to the terminal and handed over the bags to a porter. Then drove back over the road to the car park. How was check in - fine. There was no queue to speak of . Debark - went more or less smoothly. Bags were lined up and easily spotted. Collected them and my partner waited with them while I went over the road to collect the car. My only issue was that, due to poor signing, I stopped in the official taxi area - which gained some heavily sarcastic remarks from a taxi driver and other remarks from a port jobsworth. I suggested to the latter that if the port improved its signing so he wouldnt need to gob off at its users.

And, for my pet irritation, many modern hotels do not have a shaver socket in the bathroom. So, I have a shaver to three pin adapter.

I'm sure I've never stayed in a UK hotel that had anything other than our standard 3-pin sockets. So you'll probably need a plug converter, just as I do when I travel to the States or other European countries

Is this your 6/25 cruise, Marcia, or another you were thinking of?

I have more than a feeling that this would not be entirely correct.

I would have, ahem, certain considerable difficulties with that.

Thanks. Assuming that Viking runs its own tours, as suggested by davencl, then of course it supplies the equipment. With O using third parties, you'd have to rely on whatever kit the company has.

In what way, please?

Not dynamic "pricing" then. I'd assumed that O's system would be as responsive as many hotels. So, just co-incidence that, as mentioned upthread, discount levels have changed during someone's cruise.

Knowing how busy the airport can often be, I would not risk only having an hour.

And, depending on her mobility, the castle with all its steps may be tricky.

You may well attract a wider audience for your queries by posting on the British Isles ports of call forum. But, to give you a part answer to Q1 - the port has several cruise terminals. FWIW, when were on Marina in 2017, it was docked at the QE2 Terminal, both departing and arriving (which was fortunate,as my car was parked across the road). There are minimal facilities there - there's a cafe (snacks & drinks) and toilets but that's about it.

I think this is the best way to see the city. We've been several times and, of course, for us it's a "long weekend" place. Last trip, I found several walks online and we picked one to do each day - all three got us well off the beaten track, so barely another tourist to be seen for much of the time. Are you spending any time in Trieste? My late father in law was stationed there in the very early 1950s as part of the postwar army of occupation, when he was doing his national service. Some years back, he returned on a holiday and surprised himself about how much he remembered of the city. I'm looking forward to keeping up with your thread. We were on Vista a few weeks back for its transatlantic. Really enjoyed the ship and we booked a cruise onboard for next year, managing to bag the same cabin (in which we had none of the often reported soundproofing issues).

Which, I suppose, will effect the level of discount being offered and why it might change during a cruise. If sales are going well on that cruise, I can see why the discount might be reduced as the days go by and, in a converse situation, increased.

As others have said, the best way to see our country is by a road or rail trip, remembering that most of us live outside of London. That said, we are a small country. None of us live more than 75 miles from the coast, so quite a bit can be accessible (as a taster) from a cruise port. Most of our holidays are outside the UK, but we always enjoy time exploring here and usually have a week's stay somewhere in the UK. This year, our base will be Hereford and we're looking forward to checking out the area's small towns and villages, particularly looking for antique and second hand book shops, old churches, gardens open to the public. And one bucket list visit to the Regimental Museum of the South Wales Borderers at Brecon - folk, particularly Britons, of a certain generation will remember the film "Zulu", which featured an historic military action by a company of the Regiment. I've been to the site of the fighting in South Africa and am looking forward to viewing some of the actual Victoria Crosses awarded then for bravery. You can't easily do that from a day in port. But, of course, it all depends on what interests you about the UK and Ireland.

That was also the case when we passed by on our Vista cruise a few weeks back. And certainly when we went to book a cruise there was no-one else waiting. I've no recollection of how busy it was on our two previous cruises so don't know if that is unusual.

Clearly you had a better experience here, than our recent lengthy (over 1 hour) slow moving queue to enter the States at Miami. Had that appalling level of service been here in the UK, there would have been reports of it in the national press (print and TV) but, apparently, that's the norm for Miami.

That'll be the only cruise ship. As noted, Holyhead s a busy ferry port. It owes its existence to being designed as the main port for traffic between London and Dublin. This was in the early 19th century when , of course, all of the island of Ireland was part of the UK. Years later, in October 1918, the Royal Mail ship, Leinster, was operating between Ireland and Holyhead when she was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of at least 560 on board, just an hour after leaving port in Ireland. One was a young man from my borough - 18 year old James Birch. As with most on board, he was serving in the army, having been conscripted when he became 18. He was still in training for a cavalry regiment and was coming home on leave. In one of those twists of fate, the German submarine that sank her never returned home, hitting a mine in the North Sea.

That was our experience on our recent Vista cruise. As for the end of cruise survey, we were not able to access it on that, and the previous, cruise

No worries and thanks for the info, V.

Hi V. Good to hear you've been having a nice time. I can't recall you previously mentioning a promised upgrade that didnt happen. Can you fill in the details, please?

On the second trip, we woke up on the first morning at out hotel near Durban and there were monkeys on the balcony. I could swear they were looking through the window at us. Later in the trip, another hotel and another balcony - this time with monkey eating Pringles.

To be certain, I'd suggest checking the website of the relevant department of your own government. It is likely that the three Schengen countries will have the same visa requirement but travel to the UK may be different. I'd be pretty sure that a visa is not required for the UK,as these arrangements are most often reciprocal and I know from recent travel that I didnt require a visa for the States (although I did need to complete and pay for an ESTA certificate).

We've been to South Africa twice, doing land tours. We stayed at safari lodges for a couple of days, both trips. Fantastic getting so close to the animals. In most national parks, the vehicles have to stay on the road but, the first trip, we stayed at a privately owned game reserve which meant the vehicles could go off road to follow the wildlife. On our last morning, we stopped to watch a cheetah. In due course, it walked past the jeep - so close I could literally have put my hand over the side to touch it. an amazing country in spite of its many problems.