funtastic

Thank you AJCM and uktog for your prompt replies. I was hoping that I do not need whip out my bino in search of a dark blue hull on the horizon. A few years ago when I first descended into Southampton, I did spy a the dark blue hull of Celebrity Eclipse, but alas took sometime find the access gate!

Where does Azamara normally dock in Southampton, and where may one establish which cruise terminal to checkin?

Hello KJBL, I booked with Jayride, a booking website, who farmed it to one of their associates Royal Falcon. The experience with RF was not satisfactory, as you may read from my review. The driver was waiting at Terminal B, notwithstanding the fact I messaged RF the day before my arrival that my ship will be docking at Terminal D. My message was definitely received by RF, but was not relayed to the driver. We were stressed, but fortunately made it to the airport just about on time, which was why I booked the private transfer in the first place.

I just returned home after QE docked at Barcelona, so I shall answer my original question on this thread for the benefit of all. Yes, there are a few black-and-yellow taxis in the queue for arrival traffic. The is a signage nearby indicating a fixed fare to BCN airport at Euros39. I had already booked a private transfer for Euros46, though.

Thanks rakkor. Yes, we were shuttled to this same place (Piazza Municipal, I think?) on another cruise line, having to pay for it of course!

LIVORNO. I read on another thread that because walking on the wharf is not allowed, shuttle services are provided to and from the ship - one post said to the Port Gate, another said to Piazza Municipio, yet another said to Piazza Grande. Such shuttles are either ticketed or provided at no charge, depending on the cruise lines. Would Cunardians comment from experience, please.

Thanks Hlitner. I expect the QE will dock Barcelona on sched as she sails from Valencia, just a whisker away. We normally self-disembark, and will be ordering a private car from the Terminal to the airport in this case.

Thank you Malleykatt. Do you know the earliest time self-disembarkation was allowed? ie self-carriage of our own luggage. Like you, we will dock at 7am, but we want to zip away as early as possible for our homebound flight.

Thank you Rakkor, Dutravel, and Hank. Plan B, here I come!

We shall be on the QE when she is on her Mediterranean runs this season. Does anyone know from experience whether there are waiting taxis at the ship side when she docks at one of the Terminals A, B, C, or D at the Moll Adosssat in Barcelona? I know for a fact that there is a paid shuttle to and from the Terminals to a point near the Monument a Colom.

As Singapore is my home, it would be remiss of me not to contribute to this thread and, at the same time, genuinely make everyone feel welcomed. As already mentioned in earlier posts, I would not skip a heartbeat to second the Marina Bay Sands at the waterfront for its glorious view of the city's skyline and its proximity to Gardens by the Bay for its magical experience in the early evening when everything slowly light up. Runner-up would be the Shangri-la tucked away at the top end of Orchard Road for its unsurpassed ambience. The icing on the cake is definitely to welcome you, or fly you home, on our national carrier, Singapore Airlines for the ultimate inflight experience. If you had already booked your flight, cancel it!

Thanks Kynance. If Cunard does provide shuttle, it probably does not matter where she docks.

From experience, where does Cunard normally dock in Livorno, and are shuttle service provided from ship-side to the city? On another cruise line, we were docked in a secure area of commercial wharfs, where we were not allowed to walk off the ship except on shore excursions or purchase of return coach trips to a designated place in the city.

Thank you rakkor, Terry&mike, and 2Oldpeopleinlove. We had cruised out of and into Barcelona a few times before. As they were leisurely, we availed ourselves of the shuttle, so are not sure if private hires or taxis are allowed at the terminals.

On disembarkation at Barcelona come September, we need to rush to BCN Airport to catch our flight home, and will be thankful for advice if private hires or taxi would be allowed to pick us up right at the pier QE would be docking at Moll Adossat Terminals A - D.

We are scheduled to arrive on the QE in Barcelona at 7:00am. Because there are no departing flight the following day, we have to catch a our flight home on disembarkation day, and have to be at BCN El Prat Airport by 8:30am. The taxi-ride is about 30 mins, and we are prepared for self-disembarkation. Considering there may be clearance requirements with Immigration and Customs (like in Athens, for example), what time may one expect to disembark to make a 8:00am taxi to the airport? Would there be pickups available or permissable on the wharf at the ship's-side, so as not having to take the shuttle bus? Thank you for comments, especially from any with similar experience.

Thank you, OldBear.

As a follow-up on my back-to-back, would be thankful for comments on the process one may expect on disembarkation/embarkation crossover day. Will there be a briefing the day before for all back-to-back guests as conducted on some cruise lines?

sorry typo, should be "thread" .......

Thank you, Hattie. Suggest amending the tread title to "Queen Elizabeth Cabins" to accurately reflect relevance to my commencing question. Changing cabins was never raised.

Yes, thank you again for taking the trouble, Jim. Unlike you, a seasoned Cunard cruiser, we are checking her out after reading much about Cunard, more focusing on the journey rather than the destination. Having repeatedly cruised the Mediterranean pond alone on almost a dozen voyages on Azamara, Royal Caribbean, Costa, now pandemic-sunk Pullmantur, and the Baltic on Celebrity, we look forward to sampling the Britannia experience. While we had trotted widely over the other continents as well, we leisurely lapped up the Danube and the Rhine for reasons that we are not as young as we were, or like to be!

Rakkor, thank you for your encouragement. Cannot open your link, though.

We booked back-to-back on QE, but were allocated different forward balcony cabins on Deck 4 (because of unavailability of the same cabin), one on the port side, the other on the starboard side for the best of both worlds! Will be thankful for comments on these cabins, and what would the process be (and what one may expect and how one may be herded?) on disembarkation/embarkation day for the back-to-back.

Thank you all for your comments. My question is probably answered.

Thank you all for your prompt inputs. I had already booked two cruises back-to-back on QE, and in the absence of any enlightenment from the Q&A's, I hoped to tap on the wealth of regular Cunard cruisers on this forum. We had cruised back-to-back on Azamara last year and the year before. On both occasions, were rewarded onboard credits for each cruise segment, amounts of which varies on the duration of each cruise segment. Details, and the process, are available in Azamara's website. Similar rewards are also offered by some cruise lines too.