durante

I have been told that if I book excursions through the ship they will organise a visa for entry into India. I thought that you may not be allowed on board if you didn't have your visas already. Can anyone clear this up for me?? Thanks

The ship does not organise Indian visas. You need to do that yourself before the cruise. If you have a UK passport and are are arriving into India on a ship and leaving by ship into either Cochi, Mangalore or Goa you can apply for an e-visa. Otherwise you need the tourist visa. I don't know what the rules are for other passport holders.

Unfortunately you are out of luck. Kings Court is open only during its regular hours which are posted in the daily program. It's not a round-the-clock operation. If you get back from an excursion at an odd hour, I recommend room service if you need some sustenance.

I think you mean the Britannia restaurant, as the Kings Court is open all the time.

Instead of totally blaming Cunard for delays with charter flights departing from Italy, why can't you look more closely at Italian airports being partly responsible, Venice and Rome are always dreadful whatever airline you are travelling on.

And it's well known since the start of this year that BA now charge for snacks on short haul flights.

I assume you have already checked out the National Express website for departure times available? There aren't many going from Southampton to London. We usually get the 9.45am to Heathrow Terminal 5 as opposed to London Victoria for 2 reasons, it is much quicker, and it's only 5 minutes away from the Piccadilly line, no stairs involved, so a relatively painless journey into central London. When we have had to get a coach to Victoria, then we get the 9.30am coach, but hate the slow traffic near London and the crowded coach.

We don't leave the ship until 8.30 as you never know exactly how long it takes to find bags etc. If you think you won't be disembarking until after 9am, then take it easy on the ship as the next coach times are after 11am (I think)

Regarding the train option, £41 each is expensive, and I'm not aware of any advance discounts on a weekday morning from Southampton to London. These trains especially the fast trains are pretty full with commuters, and I know from experience it can be annoying when you have bags to keep an eye on.

Balf, very well said.

To ben_83,yes I am being judgemental based on the fact both kids tired, one constantly yawning. Both getting off their chairs and wandering about, one parent regularly leaving the dining room, the one left behind ignoring anddoing nothing to stop other bad behaviour from the kids. Mother brushing the daughters hair for a good five minutes at the dining table, this was on formal night, not that that makes a difference, lots of other stuff which is just not appropriate in a public dining area, anyway it is clear that these people haven't a clue as to how to teach their children manners. They don't appear to have any themselves. I'm not saying late dining is wrong in all cases for families if they are used to it at home.

In reply to peppern and Hattie, I agree, strange for a family with young children to prefer to dine late. I'm sure the children had no say in the subject! And they are the ones most affected as it clear from their behaviour. Anyway, by the time they leave the dining room, it is barely 15 minutes before the 8.30 session. I'm pretty sure it is just selfish behaviour on the parents side, clearly no wish to comply with the fixed 6pm session they were allocated, no regard for what's best for their children and no regard for the waiters.

Am on Queen Vic now. There is a strange situation in the MDR right now, a few tables away from us, there is a family- two young children, who could not get their requested 8.30 dining session, they are not happy with the 6pm session so have been showing up at 7pm every night since they boarded on Saturday in Rome. They are being served as normal.

Am on QV now. There are many more tables for two in the MDR than there used to be.

Robbie_3's advice to you is good.

:)We only got ours 3 days beforehand, no upgrade but we are happy with it.

There has been a lot about the delays in the news over the last week, and sorry you got caught up in it. I have read that people are being advised to allow at least 4 hours before their scheduled flight departing Barcelona.

I had some concerns that flights arriving into Barcelona on the strike days would be similarly affected as we flew from Heathrow to Barcelona last night, Sunday arriving just after 10pm, however there were no queues whatsoever. Plenty of other flights also arriving at that time of the night, so it's difficult to predict what others might experience, but best to allow that extra time for departing Barcelona.

I would also like to read the final part. Thought his review was a breath of fresh air. I am looking forward to our cruise on QV on Monday in Barcelona. Have done many Cunard cruises, We enjoy them as the ambiance onboard is so different from wh re we live in London.

Azamara does not do formal evenings. You can find some useful information in the Azamara website.

Portofino is small and very expensive. It does not take long to wander around the town. There is also a great scenic walk you can do up the hill, past an old church to Castle Brown

You should have plenty of time to also catch a ferry over to Santa Margherita, it's a very lovely town with much better quality and cheaper restaurants than Portofino. Here is the link to the 2017 ferry timetable to help with your plans.

http://traghettiportofino.it/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/04/Brochure2017-ing-web.pdf

You can also walk between Portofino and Santa, most of the walk follows the coastline.

Yes, the port (Port Lympia) is only a 20 minute drive away, and there are several options without paying the high price for Azamaras transfer.

For the three of you, just take a taxi or Uber which is cheaper and more reliable than a taxi.

Re taxis, there are plenty at the airport but they have quite a bad reputation for overcharging tourists.

It's not just Cunard. I've had various issues with Celebrity, Azamara, Oceania and Cunard websites....none of them is perfect, but if I have an actual booking problem, then I just phone up the relevant Customer Services and let them know, as well as sort out my booking.

It's an easy walk on flat ground, as you say about 20 minutes, but I'm not sure I would do it on my own at night as it is quite isolated, and not well lit. It was a shortcut walking track which skirted the river and went in between some factory buildings, then over the bridge into Honfleur.

We docked at Honfleur on Azamara Quest and they provided a shuttle service every 30 minutes to and from Honfleur, but we chose to walk both ways. Hopefully you will also get the same, especially if you are overnighting there.

Sorry, don't have any info on taxis at Honfleur.

Apologies, alidor, it was a silly comment I made to you.

Hi, we stayed there for one night at the end of our cruise, it is in a great location in a side street off Las Ramblas, our room was quite simply furnished, but clean and comfortable, and the staff were helpful and friendly. I thought it was good value.

You didn't say if you just embarked today, however if it such a big problem for you, why don't you put everything in order yourself,if its such a great deal to make this comment.i think the books do get sorted out eventually ...most people read on their kindles etc, you have to understand staff are really busy and the last thing on their minds is to sort out library books...sorry I don't mean to give aharsh response, however it seems a really strange complaint.

Agree with Hawaiidan, there's no point waiting at the terminal in Civitavecchia, nothing there, however I have a suggestion for your transfer, to go somewhere interesting en route to the airport such as via Ostia Antica, it's quite close to Fiumicino.

Don't rely on the cruise tracking websites, they are often inaccurate. The official riviera ports website show Nice Port not Villefranche.:)

Chris, what cruise line are you taking? Only a few, such as Azamara actually dock in Nice Port, most of them anchor off Villefranche

The last time we sailed TA, the final port was South Hampton. We just walked off the ship. There was no Customs or Emigration. Does the same thing happen in Dover?

I have done several transatlantic cruises ending in the UK and immigration was always processed onboard the ship.

The indoor pool is a spa pool and there is a charge to use it if you are not having a spa treatment.

There is no high tea served, it is just afternoon tea between 3.30 and 4.30pm, this is free of charge. It is served by waiters in the Queens Room or you can have the same scones and sandwiches up in the self service Lido.