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In Marseilles the shuttle bus drops you here - https://maps.app.goo.gl/w55h8KsxetRNt7e96 / https://maps.app.goo.gl/2rCGsRkqeGnykJbC7

Although it is handy for the cathedral and the old town, it is a reasonable walk from the new town and harbour.

Also consider your return time, as when I was there earlier in the year I heard reports of long queues for the buses at the end of the day, with some stupid people deciding to try to walk the 4 miles back to the ship and not wait in the queue.

18 hours ago, 5498jjk said:

If we are allocated different sittings for dinner (2 separate cabins), can we change this once we’re onboard either to Freedom or our preferred sitting?

For those who want to change what they have been allocated there is normally a process where at one of the restaurants (or it may be somewhere like the Limelight club on the bigger ships) a stand is set up early afternoon after the lunch service has finished where the restaurant manager will take requests.

And the important thing to note is that they are requests.

If the request can be filled then they will try to do it - and they make clear that it might not be possible for the first night.

Some requests seem to be easier than others - early sitting to late doesn't seem to be an issue, and freedom to late doesn't seem to be an issue.

However others are far more unlikely to achieve a result, such as late to early or fixed to freedom on a ship with limited freedom dining.

Similarly if the request is for a table for two that depends on the ship, some have lots and it is likely possible, particularly if you have chosen a late sitting, but on others there is no chance.

Also on P&O it seems that being at the front of the queue to ask to change does help as they don't seem to use any other ranking, so first on the list to ask to move from say this time to that time gets it, whereas on Cunard they appeared to use other factors to determine who they allocated changes to first.

At the end of the day they want you to be happy and will try and accommodate you as you will likely come back as another customer and give them more money, so they are not going to punish you and say 'tough luck you didn't pay select fare, ha ha ha, sucks to be you'. But 'try' is the key word - if there are no tables on that sitting or in that restaurant because they have all be allocated to those who paid select then there are no tables.

10 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

I've just been reading about Google maps on the Apple watch, doesn't sound good.

Google maps on Apple watch is best described as 'acceptable, just'.

As the article you linked to stated, with Google you only get directional arrows with a countdown to the turn and not a map, plus you get taps on the wrist from the watch to tell you when to turn left or right and which way so when experienced with it you don't even have to look at the watch.

Apple maps on Apple watch gives you a full map view the same as if you were looking at your phone, plus it also gives the same taps on the wrist as you get with Google maps.

The issue with that is that Apple maps are still not as good as Google maps when you are in Europe, so often I will find myself using Google to find a location and then having done that will use that information to find it in Apple maps for the actual navigation.

11 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

Google's "find my phone" feature was very unsatisfactory when I tried to use it after the theft

The Stolen Device Protection which Apple introduced last year gives some additional reassurance if your phone is stolen, along with the traditional remote wipe (About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone – Apple Support (UK))

The protection means that if anyone has your unlocked phone or has your passcode they cannot access your passwords stored in the phone or change the passcode unless you they are at your house or work, or similar regular place, and along with things such as making payments they can only do any of that is with biometric ID, which they obviously don't have.

On 8/12/2024 at 5:10 PM, CCJack said:

one other credit card travel tip... we usually make sure I only carry 1 or 2 cards and my wife carries different 1 or 2 cards.  We  make sure we don't carry a card the other one has.  In this way if we lose a bag or wallet, one of us will have a card that has not been lost or compromised.

Or just make contactless payments using your phone and leave the physical cards in the cabin safe.

On 9/4/2024 at 9:50 PM, NightOne said:

I don't think a single place in London or Paris did not accept Amex.

If you went back ten or twenty years things were very different, but Amex has made a big push for businesses in the UK and most places take it now - however never ever ask whether they take Amex as my experience is that if the staff member doesn't know then they just say 'no'. Instead just touch the card / phone to the screen and see if it works, and if not then just swap to a Visa/Mastercard instead.

15 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

 

Reminds of an episode of "Friends", where the Joey character can't figure out where things are unless he climbs into the map of London.

I was particularly amused by the man who stopped me and asked which direction Big Ben was as I was walking at this spot towards Westminster tube - https://maps.app.goo.gl/U8HwXN78j4ATM31r7

20 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

In Tarquinia, the stop you want is called Barriera S.Giusto.

If you are going to the tombs to start with there is a closer bus stop to the tombs called Tombe Etrusche and it is here - https://maps.app.goo.gl/TYULjof2XvXG7XHr7 however you will need to alert the driver that you want to get off there otherwise they will drive on past.

The Barriera S.Giusto stop is a better stop to get on the bus on the way back to Civitavecchia.

21 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

You actually see people walking down the street with a big map unfolded?

Working in London it isn't uncommon at all to see tourists with paper maps - and I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked for directions with people using them because they don't know which way is 'up'.

12 hours ago, kctwinmommy said:

It's a reason I don't keep financial items on my phone.

Better there protected by biometric security than somewhere else less secure.

12 hours ago, kctwinmommy said:

I would be extremely upset about losing pictures

Why would they be lost? They would all be stored in the cloud.

4 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Before smart phones existed, did any of us wander the streets with a big map unfolded?  I don't think so, I know I didn't.  We looked at the map, figured out where we needed to go, then folded it up and headed out.

You still frequently see it, so not so sure why you think such behaviour never existed.

4 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Sometimes we made a wrong turn or two, but somehow we still made it to wherever we were going, and sometimes we saw something even more interesting on the "wrong" path.

Yep, and years ago before satnavs I ended up in a very dubious neighbourhood in the US where I decided that no matter what colour the traffic lights I wasn't stopping.

And although it was "interesting" being in such an area, I wasn't an experience I would wish to repeat.

4 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Part of the answer may be more pre-trip planning, like the old days, and less reliance on technology in the moment.  Maybe think of the phone mapping as a backup plan, rather than the primary tool.

Or just use the technology more sensibly.

4 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

All of the tours/transfers require cash (euros)...no credit cards.

No surprise there.

3 hours ago, ace2542 said:

I actually meant they might and probably should ban passengers who attempt to fraudulently claim against them for having it. and people will.

How do you define "fraudulent"?

Obviously not made a claim because they had noro and considered the cruise company to be liable but was unsuccessful in that claim because the cruise company successfully argued their hygiene procedures were satisfactory, because you have said not that.

So what do you mean by "fraudulent"?

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Carnival has had loads of bad publicity over the years, from illegally dumping polluted waste water, through paying crew way below average, to loads of noro outbreaks, missed ports etc, and yet they have survived them all and seem to have no problem in filling their cruise ships.

So I doubt that this very minor UK noro outbreak is likely to have the top management in the US worried, that is of course if they have even heard about it.

The bucketload of bad publicity tipped over their heads isn't the noro outbreak, it was the suggestion that they would ban passengers who had caught noro and had the temerity to complain about it.

3 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

Yeah snitches gets stitches as the old saying goes.

And Carnival gets a bucketload of bad publicity tipped over its head - not sure that's a win for them.

4 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

Surely you have to have documented proof you got ill not just say you did and proof of what you got (noro) which most of them won't have.

Report from a doctor, which if they have confined you to the cabin because you have noro then you will have, so not sure you think people wont have it.

Humberto Delgado Airport is the only airport you are likely to fly into, and it is a 15 minute 7km ride in a taxi to the cruise terminal.

As for where to stay, you need to be aware that Lisbon is incredibly hilly, really really hilly! So if you are looking at a map and thinking that it doesn't look far from the hotel to the sights then make sure that A to B doesn't involve a very steep hill.

16 hours ago, Tina80 said:

Do they allow backpacks in Rome and Pompeii?

Even if you are allowed a backpack consider whether you actually need one and whether it is desirable to be carrying one.

Rome and Pompeii are big with lots of walking, and generally hot, very hot, and so carrying a backpack around all day is not going to be very pleasant.

21 hours ago, nadeki said:

Some small shops or street vendors or street venues only took cash. 
 

taxis wanted cash. 

Some places claim to only take cash...

Start to walk away from that purchase and you will likely find a card machine magically appearing or the one that didn't work suddenly working.

2 hours ago, ace2542 said:

Still be tough to prove you caught it on the ship and not during an excursion.

Civil cases are decided on the balance of probabilities not beyond reasonable doubt - and on the balance of probabilities did you catch in on the ship where hundreds of people are infected and you are demonstrating that the hygiene procedures were not adequate, or in a bar in the middle of the summer where nobody reported anything.

2 hours ago, ace2542 said:

And big legal costs if they lose or is it no win no fee.

No win, no fee.

2 hours ago, ace2542 said:

Plus aren't all the claimants risking being banned for life by P&O/Carnival group. A ban from 7 cruise lines if group wide?

You think that Carnival would ban someone took legal action after coming down with noro on a ship full of people with noro?

Brilliant publicity for Carnival, not.

3 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

it was probably helped by the poor view that the judiciary currently have regarding class actions.

The judiciary have no such view, and in fact the judiciary would far rather deal with a single case rather than waste court time with multiple cases on the same issue.

As regards the Tui case, the defence which was accepted was it was noro on a single cruise where the hygiene procedures were adequate to prevent it continuing.

And that isn't something that P&O could argue as on their ships the noro is continuing from cruise to cruise to cruise, so clearly their hygiene procedures are not adequate in stopping it.

13 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

https://www.hilldickinson.com/insights/media/hill-dickinson-helps-cruise-industry-win-key-norovirus-judgment Upon reading this I can’t see them winning. 

In that case the cruise company appeared to have hygiene controls that actually worked and thus allowed them to successfully defend the case.

Could P&O successfully claim the same, given that noro has been rampaging through their ships, cruise after cruise after cruise?

1 hour ago, Steerpike58 said:

We pre-booked the Vatican museum, but they required photo ID for ticket validation.

Fair enough.

1 hour ago, Steerpike58 said:

Even though I'm a techie nerd, I have never felt the need to use contactless payment phone. I am much more comfortable using a credit card with contactless features.

Try it and see!

Contactless on a physical card has no protection - if you have the card you can make payments, and then you are relying on the bank to accept it was stolen and refund you.

Contactless on a phone, then you need to have opened the wallet on the phone to make the payment and that means you have needed to unlock it with your finger or face. And with an Apple Watch, you need to enter a passcode to unlock it when you put it on, and if you remove it from your wrist (it knows if you do) then it locks.

1 hour ago, Steerpike58 said:

My partner is an Apple user, and she has an Apple watch but she never tries to use any of the special features.

All she needs to do is start navigating a walking route in Apple Maps (not Google Maps) on her phone and it will appear on her watch.

1 hour ago, Steerpike58 said:

I am very skeptical that an Android watch would be able to display only the relevant information with sufficient clarity (the barcode, etc)

Mostly they are QR codes, and I use my Apple Watch all the time for cinema tickets, store loyalty cards, airline tickets, train tickets, etc.

1 hour ago, Steerpike58 said:

Do you have personal experience with the Android side of things in this regard?

Sorry, everyone I know uses Apple.

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

You may well be right, BUT how many cruise lines in the UK have been sued and lost for a noro outbreak? 

Hard to say, as if any cruise company was in a situation that it would not win in court, then I strongly doubt it would let the case get as far as a public judgement as the damage in lost future bookings and cancellations would be far far more costly than anything they paid out to the claimant.

Far more likely is that such a case would be settled out of court with an NDA and nobody would ever be able to discover that the payment had been made.

And wasn't the Thomson case the one where people had been staying on all inclusive holidays and then claiming that they ate nowhere else and thus it must have been the food on site that had caused them to be ill, but social media posts showed that they had not been telling the truth about being sick.

9 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

Presuming from the health authorties going onboard if they were not happy the ship most likely wouldn't have sailed with passengers.

That isn't how it works in the UK - just look at all the restaurants with one, two, or zero 'scores on the door' for their hygiene rating, and all those would simply be closed down rather than being given a poor score if the 'don't sail' approach was taken.

9 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

It just seems some lawyers got wind of the incident and think its an easy way to make money when they most likely won't get anywhere.

A law firm taking on a 'no win, no fee' case doesn't make any money if they don't win...

9 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

If it goes to court I guess the judge will ask how do you know you definitely got it from the ship?

As before, civil cases are decided on the balance of probabilities - and boarding a ship in summer when norovirus cases in general are low, but the ship has where hundreds of people who have suffered from it this cruise, and hundreds the last cruise  and hundreds the previous, etc. etc.

Hmm... that's not hard to decide where the person likely caught it.

9 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

With a response from the judge being like you could of caught it before you boarded and symptoms started showing once they were underway....

Nope.

The only defence the cruise company has is that is was following established hygiene protocols to prevent it being transmitted to its guests - and from my experience it might very well struggle to do that with the lacklustre and random way the cleaning and other procedures were being followed by staff.

23 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

I had my passport and wallet deeply hidden away

Hopefully your passport was hidden away in the hotel/ship safe, rather than risking it on the streets in Rome.

And for payments, then contactless payments from a card on an Android/Apple watch is more sensible.

23 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

but the challenge w phones is, they are great at getting you around (Google maps),

An Android Watch?

I use Apple Watch all the time with Apple maps, and no need to take my phone out to navigate.

23 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

most museums want you to use e-tickets,

Again Android/Apple Watch is the solution with e-tickets, as you can store them in Android/Apple Wallet and show them from your Watch.

23 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

and of course the cameras are so damn good you are whipping it out all the time.

That is more problematic.

23 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

I had a document on the phone that laid out my daily agenda also.

Google/Apple calendar which you can access on Android/Apple Watch.

Not a promotion for Android/Apple Watches, but when you are somewhere where pickpockets and phone snatch thieves are prevalent, but need directions, tickets, agenda items, messages, phone calls, etc. then it is an awful lot less risky.

4 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

I really don't understand how they can sue for this.

Whether any claim would succeed would depend on whether the cruise company could demonstrate it had adequately followed hygiene procedures - and maybe they can, but maybe they can't - certainly on my last cruise where boarding was delayed for a deep clean because of noro(which wasn't successful) the hygiene procedures onboard were pretty slapdash and surprise surprise the next cruise was also delayed for a deep clean.

4 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Anybody could have caught it without knowing and brought it on board.

On the balance of probabilities, I can't see any court accepting that a passenger was already sick when boarding in the middle of summer and didn't pick it up on a 'plague' ship where 519 people out of 4,200 were infected.

Outside it is most likely jumper and jacket weather until you get down to the Canary Islands, and although there is potential for something better than that, it would be a bonus and by no means a certainty.

5 hours ago, Canuker said:

Personally, starting at St. Pancras, I would not schlep baggage across London to Waterloo down on the Underground..

I'd take the 13:00 from St Pancras south to Brighton, arrive 14:18. This gives you time to pick up some midday refreshment at St Pancras to eat/drink on the train.

Then take the 14:43 Brighton to Southampton Central, westward along the south coast, arriving 16:31, in time for your hotel check-in. Again, giving ample time to change at Brighton. Perhaps a refresher at the station buffet.

Although it may take longer than via Waterloo, it's a much easier route with baggage - and likely cheaper, too.

Leave from platform "A" at St. Pancras, on a lower level than the Euro-star terminus; there are elevators and escalators. The change of platforms at Brighton (a terminus) is all on ground level.

The train terminates at Southampton, so no rush to get off.

This is all main line rail travel, it does not involve the Underground at all.

 

Trains to Brighton are frequent - about 4 an hour. The Southampton train departs half-hourly at xx:13 and xx:43. Lots of options.

 

Cheaper "Advance" tickets are bookable online at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

No, just no.

Aside from the cost - there will be no advance tickets on the St Pancras via Brighton route because they are commuter services - so you are likely looking at quadruple the price for that route, you will also be spending three times the amount of time on the trains (and having suffered commuting on those trains they are built down to a specification and comfort on seating was not a high priority).

Just get the train from Waterloo.