matamanoa

Usually we're only staying there one night pre cruise and so I carry my valuables with me. Just a tip - if you are staying at the Premier Inn West Quay and are going on a cruise, don't wait until the morning of the cruise to book your taxi. There is a courtesy phone for calling a cab but do it the night before and give them a time to pick you up the following morning. If the port is busy with three or four ships in, then the cabs will be few and far between if you haven't booked one.

The Premier Inn West Quay in Southampton, where we recently stayed, had both AC and a hair dryer. The outside of the building was shrouded in material as they are working on the building but we never heard any noise when we were there (a couple of different dates in Aug.) We had a standard room and had no issues.

That is very kind of you to pass along her information. And it's too bad that we're not on the same cruise, it would have been nice to meet you in person. Perhaps someday... Barb

Thank you so much, I'll do that. Barb

Thanks so much for your reply and the pictures. My husband is a bit concerned about the taxi issue and not being able to get back to the ship on time for all aboard if a taxi doesn't come back for us. We'll have to ponder a while on this one. Barb

I've posted this on our roll call as well in hopes of getting some responses. We are thinking of getting a day pass at the Hilton resort on Moorea and was wondering if anyone has done this before and how the resort was. Was the beach nice? We know we'll have to take a taxi to the resort from where the tender dock is but we'd like to know how far away it is and are taxis readily available? TIA Barb

There is no guarantee that Princess will get you to the ship if you are delayed for any reason. They will "help" you get to the ship or next port but they do not guarantee this. Barb

Good to know!

Not sure if that is true. We recently went on a cruise with a young lady from London and she had arranged to leave her car behind the Premier Inn while on a 12 day cruise. Check with the Inn to see if they will let you keep your car in their lot. Barb

Hello to both John Bull and Colin, Adding my two cents worth to the discussion. A couple of weeks ago we had trouble getting a cab due to the number of cruise ships that were in port that day. We phoned the morning of the cruise to secure a cab and was told it would be a two hour wait so we decided to walk from the Premier Inn all the way to the Queen Elizabeth Terminal. It was quite the hike with our luggage. For our last cruise just over two weeks ago we phoned for a taxi the night before and it arrived on schedule and we were at the Ocean Terminal in no time. So I would suggest prebooking a cab to ensure that you get to the terminal in time to board and with less stress. We also took the opportunity while in Southampton to visit the small but nicely done Maritime Museum. Smooth sailing, Barb

Sounds like fun. Thanks for the info. Barb

Don't forget about the time difference when booking your flights to Australia. Whatever day of the week you leave the US, you get to Australia two calendar days later. So make sure you have a day or two to recover from the jet lag.

It was a very small amount but good to know all the parameters.

We ran into the same problem on our last trip to the UK. Fortunately we were with friends who live there and we were able to deposit the old bank notes into her account and then she withdrew the money to give to us. So, you have to be an account holder to exchange the old for new notes. Other than that, you need to go to the Bank of England in London and you can get new notes for your old ones. It certainly is not being made easy to get rid of the older bank notes. Barb

The website to see this story is: https://cruisehive.com/princess-cruise-ship-cancels-call-due-to-protests/106058

Heard yesterday that Portland is being taken off itineraries as there is some unrest there at the moment involving refugees and Princess has deemed that stop too risky. Heard this second hand so please confirm with your cruise line whether it is fact or fiction.

Unfortunately, you are correct. There's always a lot of talk about time running out to make changes to save our planet but very little gets accomplished. I worry for the generations to come 😞

I imagine that there will be many fireworks displays cancelled. The last thing we want is more smoke and more fires. Yesterday here in Toronto, the air quality was the worst in the world and while I am looking at blue skies this morning, the smoke is expected to drift over the city again later today and the air quality will decrease. It makes me sad to hear of how much forested areas we have lost this year due to wildfires. Our smoke is even drifting over to Europe. This should be a much needed wake up call but I wonder what, if any, changes will come about from this year's devastating fires. Barb

If anyone is ever in Bath over an evening, check out the Bizarre Bath walk. It was very entertaining! Barb

Thank you for thinking of us - that is very sweet of you! Barb

Thank you so much for all the information and work you put into this document. It will certainly be a huge help in planning what is to be our first trip to Melbourne. Barb

Thank you, that's probably the one that my friend is referring to. I can now see by the brochure that my friend probably misinterpreted the meaning of the complimentary destination collection and took it to mean that there might be no charge for a Princess transfer at a specific destination. She asked me if I had ever heard of this and of course, I said no. I'm familiar with transfers and had never heard of one being complimentary. I should have seen that right off the bat. Anyway, thanks again and I'll relay the info to her. Barb

A friend in the UK brought this to my attention and asked if I'd ever seen this brochure or heard of this complimentary destination collection. She was told that it doesn't apply to bookings done in the UK but sent a picture from the Princess site which states that a "destination brochure" is automatically e-mailed to residents in the US and Canada who are Platinum and Elite. Have any of you ever seen this brochure and what exactly does complimentary destination mean? Barb

I would vote for staying at Gatwick overnight in order not to stress out with possibly missing your flight. This is what we do and it takes the worry out of missing the once daily flight to Canada.

Taking the train from Cobh to Cork is exactly what we are planning to do in August. I have researched what there is to see and do in Cork and I've planned out a walking route which we can do on our own and still see some of the city's sights.