Simon-t

Is this on the Spectrum of the Seas? We looked at a similar itinerary in November but decided against as the timings make it hard to have any meaningful time in either Kyoto or Tokyo.

I think the cruise lines block book a significant numer of tickets for their own excursions, which explains why tickets get sold out so quickly the days that ships are in port. Whilst it is annoying that the ship excursions are so much more expensive, I would definitely advise paying the extra if that is the only option. I have ridden the Flam railway twice and it is absolutely spectacular.

We also try to fly Premium Economy on longer flights - the extra leg room and seat width makes a big difference. I've also tried one of those meditation apps through noise cancelling head phones, but in truth I always struggle to get any sleep on a plane.

I'm not aware of any public transport (although there may be a bus service). It is pretty remote. We hired a car for the day in Kirkwall and drove to Skara Brae. Well worth the trip and there are a couple of impressive stone circles en route as well.

We found Uber coverage pretty good when we were in Edinburgh last year if there were no taxis around.

Yes, from the tourist information where the tenders dock. It is possible to book via Sagaland tours in advance, which might be best to ensure a place of the port is busy

Fantastic resource thanks! Very useful for planning our cruise in November.

London in May could be anything from warm and sunny to cold and wet - sometimes all in the same day!

The UK foreign office advice has recently been updated to advise against all travel to Haiti. All mainstream UK travel insurance policies will exclude cover if your trip includes travel to an area against Foreign Office advice. There are some niche insurers who will cover for trips against FCO advice, but that tends to be travel for business rather than tourism.

We visited both of these ports last summer. They are very different to a typical cruise port. Small settlements with very little infrastructure, so don't expect lots of tourist shops. In terms of currency Danish Kroner (the official currency), Euros, and US $ were all accepted. Qaqortoq does have a tourist information shop next to the tender dock which sells some souvenirs. There is a large shop a short walk from the dock whish is advertised as selling local furs, although we did not visit so I cannot really comment on that. There were a few local craft stalls set up with locals selling hand made souvenirs. It was also possible to book iceberg "safaris" by rib boat from the tourist information (we had an amazing trip seeing icebergs up close). Nanortalik is even smaller, with very few shops, although again, some locals selling craft items. There is also on open air museum which we really enjoed. However, the real enjoyment of these two ports is simply to wander and get a sense of the beauty and remoteness of these places, which are unique. The scenery is stunning, and the locals very friendly.

This is really good advice. Have a look at the policy and speak to the insurer. I get travel insurance through NatWest and their annual policy provides cover based on medical condition when the trip was booked. In other words, a new condition diagnosed after the trip was booked would still be covered.

That’s really useful - thanks

We are booked on Spectrum of the Seas departing Shanghai on 2 November 2024 with this itinerary: We appreciate this is a tight schedule for Japan and it would not have been our first choice, but it was offered by our TA as part of an extension to a 7 day land tour of China at a very competitive rate, My question is about days 3 and 4. The planner describes Kobe as "overnight" but departing at 4.00am on day 4. We then arrive at "Osaka for Kyoto" at 7.00 am on day 4. Google suggests Kobe/Osaka and Osaka are separate ports, albeit very close, but I am far from clear which port we dock at on which day. Any advice please? In any event, we are thinking of taking a train to Kyoto on day 3, stay in Kyoto overnight, and then get a train back to the port on day 4. Is that realistic in terms of timescale and itinerary? Is there any issue with staying ashore overnight? Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!

When we were in Qaqorotq last August it was possible to book iceberg tours by Rib at the port. Surprisingly, they seemed to have plenty of spaces, although we had booked in advance through Sagaland tours https://sagalands.com/tour-search/

British passport holders do not need a visa for Barbados https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/barbados/entry-requirements. We visited with Celebrity last month and no visa was required.

Good call - there are lots of nice places to get a pub lunch in the old town!

I would recommend going into the castle rather than just seeing the outside. The views are fantastic, and the buildings fascinating (including the Scottish Crown Jewels) and steeped in Scottish History. You will still have plenty of time to walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood. Holyrood House itself is also worth a visit with an interesting audio guide. The Royal Yacht is also interesting but you might be pushed for time to fit that in. Personally, if I only had five hours I would concentrate on the old town perhaps also pulling in Greyfriars Kirkyard or the National Gallery depending on your interests.

As others have said, Travelodge is a basic budget chain. Although I have not stayed at this one, they are usually clean and comfortable, but with basic no frills furnishing and facilities. You cannot go too far wrong, so long as you are not expecting top end luxury. One of the big bonuses is that they do family rooms which will sleep 3 or 4 people, The location for this one is excellent.

Blackfriars is a great location near St Pauls, and walking distance to the Thames. Kings Cross is not as central, although has excellent tube connections. We tend to stay at Kings Cross if we are taking the Eurostar to Paris (it is a five minute walk to the terminal). Otherwise I would probably pick Blackfriars out of those two.

It depends on the trip for us. If it is a cruise only from Southampton then we tend to book with the cruise line. If we need flights or hotels then we find it easier to use an agent. Partly for convenience and partly because they do seem to be able to source good deals on flights and hotels.

Premier Inns are fairly basic, but clean and good value. Not all have aircon. If there is no aircon logo on the website for a particular hotel then none of the rooms will have aircon. This tends to be the older properties and the rooms can get quite stuffy in hot weather.

Certainly possible to do Mont St Michel from St Malo. It is less than an hour by car. I'm not sure whether there is a direct bus link, but personally I would look at renting a car or taxi. As an aside, the old town of St Malo is one of my favourite towns in France, with lovely views form the town walls and lots of fantastic sea food restaurants. Well worth a visit in its own right.

We were on Island last month in Greenland. We had a tip from another passenger when sailing through Prince Christian sound that the front balcony area on 10 and 11 would be open. There was no announcement from the bridge, or any official “opening” of the area, but the area was open and probably had no more than 20 people out there. Just keep going forward on those decks, and you can’t miss it. it was very windy and cold, but the views were incredible.

I think it varies enormously. Tipping in restaurants is common in the UK, but the only people who tip in pubs are US tourists. It’s not insulting at all, and I doubt any bar person will turn the tip down, but it can across as a bit brash.

I always tip when in North America because it is respectful to follow local customs and practice. I think what can irritate some people outside North America is the apparent insistence on tipping in Europe, Asia etc because of US cultural preferences rather than following local custom not to tip in every situation.