John Bull

Your cousin will need a 90-day Schengen visa - I very much doubt that ETIAS will be available until later in the year, and in any case it might not be available to Chinese citizens. Send the application to the Consulate of the first Schengen country that the cruise visits. Apply no more than 6 months ahead but don't leave it until the last three or four weeks in case there's a delay. If the Schengen ports are consecutive your cousin needs just a single-entry visa, if there's a non-Schengen port in the middle (sounds like there isn't) they'd need a multiple-entry because a single-entry visa can't be used again after leaving the Schengen area. Sorry, can't help re UK visa JB 🙂

There are two Leonardo's in central Southampton. I've not been inside the Leonardo Royal ( - Grand Harbour to give it its full name) but it is very well-located just outside the old city wall, close to the city's few historic sights which survived the Luftwaffe blitzes, the main pedestrianised shopping street called Above Bar, the large West Quay shopping mall and West Quay entertainment / dining complex, & walkable to City and Ocean cruise terminals and possibly Horizon cruise terminal as well. It has a very distinctive full-height glass atrium, and rooms at the front have views down Southampton Water if you want to get out of bed at daft o'clock to watch your ship sailing in. Nearby hotels include Holiday Inn, Moxy's, Premier Inn West Quay, and boutique Pig-in-the-Wall. The other Leonardo, in Charlotte Place, occupies the centre of a traffic gyratory - you have to cross a busy road to go in any direction, altho there are pedestrian lights to help you and most guests survive (my British sense of humour 😉). It's also on the less-convenient side of the city centre, but only a short walk. Not stayed there but have attended a couple of formal dinners there - I don't recall them well, so they were neither awful nor exceptional. Just MHO, but I'd pay the extra £30 a night for Leonardo Royal tho' that's not to say there's anything wrong with Leonardo. Depending on how soon your stay, mebbe wait for responses from anyone who's stayed at either or check out TripAdvisor or Booking.com JB 🙂

It's worth considering your in-bound airport and your transportation to port. In from LHR, Paddington is easiest by train, Victoria by National Express bus, a wide selection of areas by direct Tube (London's metro), which isn't the easiest option with luggage. In from LGW, Victoria or London Bridge are easiest by train. Out to the port of Dover, there are trains from a number of London stations Out to the port of Southampton, Waterloo/County Hall is easiest for trains, Victoria is easiest for National Express buses. All of those areas are safe & convenient for visitors, Waterloo/County Hall is the most convenient for walking to a number of sights but there are sights all over central London and from any hotel you'll be using the Tube for many of the sights. So close to a tube station is a big plus. Pretty-well all areas in central London are safe, there's a precis on https://www.londontoolkit.com/mnu/london-hotels.html#areas Useful info on London sights and logistics etc on other pages of that website, but their own offerings (private tours & transfers) won't necessarily be best value (someone's got to pay for their website 😉) Best if you come back with an area or two - even a hotel or two - that you have in mind, and leave us to argue amongst ourselves 😉 JB 🙂

Strike "learned", and insert "local". "Gentleman" is a rare epithet for JB , but I'll take it 😃 JB 🙂

Just to clarify,..... You've managed to mix up Ocean & City terminals - Ocean is one mile from the Moxy, City is 1/2 mile. Horizon is adjacent to City at about 3/4 mile, and all three are tolerably walkable from the Moxy Between Moxy (& several other hotels) and all five cruise terminals walking is on level ground, reclaimed from the sea during the first part of the 20th Century. But the walk to Mayflower is a little convoluted and boring because much of it is within the docks, and a taxi is advised from any hotel to QE11 because it's deep with the docks and in places the sidewalk is separated from the heavy docks traffic by only a yellow line. JB 🙂

A correction to the website - it's https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/dover-to-london-heathrow-hotels-via-canterbury-and-leeds-castle.html JB 🙂

Yes, pretty-well. But I doubt you'd find a taxi on-spec at the port gate. We pre-booked the Cruise Express shuttlebus from the port gate - but others simply joined the line & paid on the spot. Yes, ship's payable transfer to Blankenberge station can be very time-consuming - trains are hourly and the two buses from ship to station mean you can't plan to arrive at the station at an appropriate time for a train. Most ships offer a "Bruges on your own" transfer. Over-priced of course and more importantly you have to take the timed bus back to the ship - mit's not a go-when-you-please shuttle service. Note @CruisingFox27's post about trains from ZXeebrugge-Dorp. JB 🙂

Train is definitely the way to travel between central London & Dover - but not between Heathrow or Gatwick airports and Dover. As @Island2Dweller has posted there are several different routes from London - where in London you are lodging will influence which London station to travel from, but both journey times and fares are quite varied so check them out too. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ Type your departure station as "London" and click on "London - all stations". Your destination is "Dover Priory". You don't have to buy tickets in advance, but there are significant savings if you do. Cheap Advance tickets are available from about 12 weeks out, their prices are fluid and usually increase significantly close to the day. The drawback is that they're only good for the train that you book - they're not valid on the next train if you miss your booked one, so you'd have to buy new tickets at the walk-up fare (altho I believe that if you present your unused Advance tickets that cost will be deducted). It's a very short taxi ride (about £10) to your Dover hotel or cruise terminal. There's little difference for trains to Canterbury. Again you have choices of starting stations in London, similar frequencies, journey times and fares incl Advance fares. Click on "Canterbury - all stations". Canterbury does mean another train journey on your sailing day - journey time 30 minutes, about £10. IMHO for your single trunkated day, Dover Castle is waaay more interesting than Canterbury, but diff'rent folks diff'rent strokes. A while back we Brits had a discussion on this forum about what luggage you're allowed to take on a train. IIRC the limit involved how many sheep & whether that includes a sheepdog (yes, it was quite a bizarre discussion 😄). But there are no limits that would affect cruisers. There's rarely any help to board or alight but, unlike in the USA, platforms are about the same height as carriage doors and no more than one very manageable step up. You'll be travelling out of London in the morning, when commuters will be travelling in - so the train is unlikely to be crowded. Yes, you can use a private transfer, but that's expensive. Or a National Express bus, which is cheap. But the roads out of London toward Dover or Canterbury are log-jammed & never-ending, one of the worst road journeys in England. For your post-cruise return to Heathrow your sensible choices are private transfer (I guess around £150 - £170 for a sedan for two plus luggage)) or HAL's transfer bus. Both use the M25 London Orbital motorway, nowhere near central London. Journey time variable according to traffic but usually about 2 hours Dover to Heathrow by public transport is via central London & would take you twice as long plus complications. JB🙂

Before anyone jumps down my throat ........ - yes it may appear that I mixed up east & west 😕 - this is due to a fault in the Windows 11 operating system, which on my desk-top displays googlemaps upside down. So it's Bill Gates' fault, not mine. No-one can prove otherwise. The defence rests its case. 😉 JB 😉

Awful timing - we're in the middle of Storm Darragh 😆😆😆. But it'll be gone by late tomorrow - and the weather is much better in May🙂 JB 🙂

If a tour visits both St Michael's Cave and the Great Siege Tunnels I feel sure that the literature would say so - as others have said they are at the two ends of The Rock. Two big clues....... The tour price. The standard Upper Rock tour offered by vans & taxis at the port (about 2 hrs, includes the Pillars of Hercules with limited southerly views, St Michael's Cave with eastern views, Apes Feeding Station with western views, and Gt Siege Tunnels with northerly views) now costs around £55 / €60 . If NCL's tour costs less it'll include little more than St Michael's Cave. The size of tour vehicle. Medium-size coaches (about 20 pax.) can only go up as far as St Michael's Cave. Beyond the Cave the road is narrow and twisting - only short-wheelbase vans with a max of 8 pax (might be 10?) can travel further up. Larger vehicles turn round at St Michael's Cave, but on the way back down might stop at the Apes Den near the intermediate cablecar station on the eastern face Ship-sponsored tours, shared tours from the pier, and private tours include all admission charges in their fares. JB 🙂

Your date is a tuesday, so normal commuter traffic toward Heathrow. 8.30 should be fine for a 1.30pm flight - but if you're a Nervous Nellie you might want to bring that forward to 7.30 or 8.00 in case of any exceptional delay. A car service failing to show on-time is very rare, especially since it's almost-certainly the first booking of the day. Because of your timescale you might find it difficult to arrange another car service, but mebbe Uber ? (others might know better than I.), or phone West Quay Cars on 023 8099 9999 There will certainly be taxis on the rank at the cruise terminal. They're used for local trips - train & bus stations, local hotels, local towns etc., and most won't want a long-distance trip. But there'll be a lot of taxis so you can start at the head of the taxi line (cos they're very orderly) and walk down the line asking the drivers if they are available for Heathrow. Most (probably all) accept VISA & Mastercard, few accept AMEX or D/C. Agree the fare in advance, don't agree to whatever the meter shows because the meters are geared for short trips and will cost you an arm & both legs. It won't be the cheapest way to get to Heathrow, but hopefully south of £200 and I expect you'd find one. Sometimes there are taxi marshals - see them first. If there's a line, don't just join it. Go straight to a taxi marshal & explain that you need to get to Heathrow. If you want to be REAL Nervous Nellies you could book the 9.30 am coach from Southampton Coach Station (5 - 10 min taxi ride from cruise terminals). Fares are £17.30 per person & the coach gets you you Heathrow at 11.25 am or earlier depending on your airport terminal. But the coach will probably book out, so hoping to buy seats on the day would be risky - that means spending money to have a Plan B https://www.nationalexpress.com/en Decisions, decisions JB 🙂

If you've not already done so, post on your cruise RollCall https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?type=forums_topic&search_and_or=or&search_in=titles&nodes=2569&q=May JB 🙂

In some cities using public transport for guided tours might sound cheapskate. But for the reasons given throughout this thread the tram is very much the sensible way to have a guided tour. As well as taking a great deal longer, a car or van tour needs a guide and a driver because parking is as nightmarish as the traffic. The only disadvantage is not having a vehicle to store stuff, so carry a thin Disney-type poncho if rain is a risk, and ask to make the Grand Bazaar the last stop if you're the type who can't resist buying stuff. JB 🙂

Hi, and welcome to Cruise Critic, Cheapest & pretty simple transfer from the airport to central Athens (Syntagma Square) is by metro - half-hourly service, 40 minute ride €9 per person. But switching metro lines with luggage can be a pain so the choice of metro or private transfer (cheaper if pre-booked) might depend on the location of your hotel. You'll certainly want to visit the Acropolis - go there as soon as it opens to avoid the heat (no shade) and the crowds. Some days it actually closes for a large part of the afternoon because of the heat altho probably not in May. The Plaka is busy & interesting, well worth a visit & plenty of shade. Hadrian's Arch is on the corner of a historic area with a number of temple ruins - you'll need a guide book to figure it all out, and a little way beyond is the Panathenaic Stadium (not to be confused with the 1984 stadium). Built around 100BC it fell into disuse for centuries before being renovated to host athletics games in 1870 & 1875 and the first of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 Hop-on bus has its limitations & much of its route is in the new and rather sterile part of the city. Central Athens to Piraeus port by metro involves quite a long walk to the ship. Especially if you've saved money by taking the metro from the airport, reward yourself by taking a private transfer from hotel to port - no need to book before you travel, ask the hotel to fix up a fixed-price transfer BTW, when you've gotten the hang of Cruise Critic it'd be useful if you include your location (not your full address) with your screen-name. That helps to avoid being given erroneous advice on travel, visas, currencies, etc Enjoy Greece - and nearby countries? JB 🙂

Sorry, can't agree. The area around the cruise berths is bland & industrial, the city centre is a long walk or a short taxi hop. The city was badly bombed during WW2, most of the buildings are post-war though some have architectural merit. The city's art gallery is highly-regarded. If you are in Le Havre on a port-of-call visit, I suggest you check out options in the area. In no particular order...... Honfleur for a lazy day. Attractive fishing & tourist harbour, about 30 mins from the ship by taxi (share with others), or a newish bus transfer (local service buses are inconvenient, frequency is poor & timetable complicated but might suit) Rouen About an hour on the hourly Paris-bound train. Monet's Garden at Giverny - that same train but alight at Vernon, then Giverny's own shuttle for 2 - 3 miles from Vernon station. D-Day and Normandy Campaign sights. Can't be done by public transport within the confines of a one-day port-of-call visit, needs either a tour or rented car. Nearest British sites from about 75 minutes away, Canadian about 90 minutes, American from about 1 hr 15 mins. Tours (both private & ships') book out early, self-guided rental car needs a lot of research but simple enough, for car + driver you need to research which sites you want to see & are feasible in your time-scale, but because the sites have plenty of signage & English-speakers and your driver will know the area needs less research than self-drive - but pot-luck whether the driver has good English and knows something about the sites & their history. Rent a car for a lazy day driving Normandy's countryside, villages & coast JB 🙂

From Le Havre the problem is transportation. No direct trains, it's either into Paris and back out to Bayeux - upward from 3 1/2 hours depending on connection at Partis Stain Lazare, or changes at Rouen and Caen which is even longer due to connection times. By bus it's 3 1/2 hrs, altho' a combination of bus to Caen & train from there cuts it down to 2 1/2 hrs A private transfer by car takes about 90 minutes each-way, so cost-wise its a toss-up between two pre-booked transfers or one car for the duration €€€. A rented car would be worthwhile & could combine Bayeux with a few D-Day sights only about 20 mins from Bayeux - easy driving & parking, and plenty of signage & English-speakers at the sites. As @edinburgher's post, there are other options (add Monet's Garden at Giverny by train). And D-Day tours do book out early JB 🙂

As others have pointed out, Dover is some distance from London, it's about 75 miles to the south-east. But for Dover the two most-suitable airports from Florida are London Heathrow (LHR) and London Gatwick (LGW). I suggest you choose a flight that's the best combination of your most-convenient FLA airport, most convenient flight time, best value, and your preferred airline. Whether that flight goes to LHR or LGW makes little difference. Both airports have a number of direct daily flights, LHR has much the wider range of flights & destinations. LGW is a smaller & easier airport and a little closer to Dover if you use a private transfer service - but from both LHR and LGW if you use public transport (bus or train) it's tedious and time-consuming because you have to go into central London & back out to Dover. If you want to spend time in central London, public transport is the way to do it. Tube or train or bus or private transfer into London from LHR or train from LGW, and from central London to Dover by train is far quicker than bus and there are Dover-bound trains from a number of central London train stations. The Dover train station (called Dover Priory) is a ten-minute taxi ride from the cruise port. But London hotels are expensive, and with just half a day (and after an overnight flight) you'll see little of London and IMHO it'd be a waste of time & money. London needs a minimum of 2 - 3 days. If you have the time & money, fly in a few days earlier and give London the time it deserves. Huge range of hotel locations & prices, more detail if you post back with your London airport, price-range & number of nights If you want to go from airport to Dover, a private transfer is the way to do it. Expect to pay about £145 - £165 from LHR,or £130 - £150 from LGW. The journey will take about 2hrs from LHR or 90 minutes from LGW Ship-sponsored transfers only operate on sailing day. But- altho for most destinations they're poor value - because of the poor public transport between Dover & London's airports a ship's transfer bus is worth consideration for your post-cruise transfer back to either airport. Dover is a ferry-port. For accommodation consider https://www.dovermarinahotel.co.uk/ or https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/kent/dover/dover-central-eastern-ferry-terminal.html? Both are on the waterfront & just a short taxi hop from the cruise terminal, both are sensibly-priced. For your afternoon (or start early on your sailing day), Dover Castle is one of England's oldest & most interesting castles. High on the cliffs & with views of France, it has been in continuous use from the 11th century thro to World War 2. It has a magnificent keep, long curtain wall, lots of buildings in the castle grounds including a Roman lighthouse & Saxon church, and both medieval and 19th/20th century tunnels. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/ Canterbury has been mentioned. It's a popular tourist destination and has the country's most important and historic cathedral It's only half-an-hour from Dover, but has the same transfer difficulties from LHR or LGW So you need to decide whether you want to spend a few days in London or head from airport to Dover (or Canterbury) JB 🙂

Sorry, no recommendations, but a few years back when we planned to spend a few days there on a road trip we found that Sorrento hotels were only taking 7-day saturday-to-saturday bookings, much like UK resorts back in the 1960's. So run a few dummy dates to see if this is still a problem. We ended up at Ravello, high on the Amalfi coast - lovely area. JB 🙂

On account of me being lazy and using the OP's post to reply, what the OP said came out as "John Bull said". No worries - I've now learned a new way to pass the buck 😉 JB 🙂

Have travelled to the Channel Islands many times by both air & ferry....... Immigration no. Customs yes. (but a walk thru). Same for the Irish Republic. As @TouchstoneFeste's comment, all are part of the UK Common Travel Area But I've never come back from mainland Europe via the C.I., so can't be 100% sure about your cruise JB 🙂

Talking to an overseas visitor about Salisbury, he said he loved Peter Gabriel's "Salisbury Hill". I didn't have the heart to tell him that was Solsbury Hill, 40 miles away, near Bath 😀 Sounds like a decent plan. Salisbury & Stonehenge Train from Southampton to Salisbury (buy day return tickets at the station), time it to suit the Stonehenge ho-ho from Salisbury station forecourt https://www.thestonehengetour.info/ (buying Stonehenge tickets with your ho-ho tickets, means you don't need to worry about buying timed Stonehenge tickets). On the way back to Salisbury, if time & weather are on your side & you can manage an uphill walk, hop off at Old Sarum - an archaeological site which dates from the Iron Age thro to the 12th century before the birth of New Sarum (Salisbury). Check with the driver, but I think that your ho-ho tickets are good for any Salisbury Reds bus from that Old Sarum bus stop. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/old-sarum/ The cathedral is Salisbury's major draw and it holds an original copy of the Magna Carta and what is reputed to be the world's oldest working mechanical clock which dates from about 1386 AD. The historic city centre is laid-back - certainly when compared to crowded Winchester. https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/discover/ (Access to the cathedral is limited on sundays) Then train back to Southampton. Stonehenge & Old Sarum are no fun in the rain. New Forest Best visited by car, because the buses can't use the little lanes. Is a day's car rental a possibility? The alternatives are - the little Hythe Ferry from Town Quay across Southampton Water to Hythe https://hytheferry.co.uk/ and a New Forest ho-ho from there. https://www.morebus.co.uk/About-NFT - or train to Brockenhurst, and from there either rent (pre-booking strongly advised) a pedal cycle (e-bikes available) from the station approach https://www.cyclex.co.uk/hire-new-forest or use the New Forest ho-ho - or Blue Star bus from Southampton to Lyndhurst, where the three ho-ho routes converge If the weather is poor, consider the Hythe Ferry then a taxi from Hythe pier for the six-miles across a little corner of the Forest to https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/plan-your-visit/getting-here/ Essentially a motor museum but in a countryside setting and with the Bishop's Palace (not as impressive as the word Palace suggests), the foundations of the Abbey (sacked by Henry V111 during the Reformation of the Monasteries) and a little museum of the place's use for training spies during WW2. No regular bus service and using the ho-ho would be expensive for just that short journey- arrange with the taxi driver to be collected for the return to Hythe. (Presentation of ferry or ho-ho tickets gives you a 20% discount at Beaulieu) Isle of Wight The island is leisurely & old-fashioned - in many ways it's England in the 1960s. Delightful, but travel on the island is slow, you'll likely see less than you'd expect Wet day ? Osborne House Lazy day ? A "Breezer" bus tour. See the most ? Local buses Two ferry routes, both operated from Town Quay to Cowes by https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/ Traditional ferries to East Cowes. Takes about an hour. Not the best side of Cowes, safe but a little run-down, ideal for visiting https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/osborne/ 100 yards to the bus stop by Waitrose supermarket, take any bus (about 3 per hour), ask the driver to put you off at Osborne House. Quite a walk down the drive to the house, but it's still a good option for a wet day.. Be sure to visit the Swiss Cottage, built in the grounds for Queen Victoria's 9 children - there a free van shuttle from the house. If you have the time, back on the bus to East Cowes & take the chain bridge (sometimes a launch) across the River Medina to (west) Cowes. Busy & attractive little yachting & tourist town, then back to Southampton from there on the Red Jet hydrofoil. Or Red Jet hydrofoil to Cowes to explore some of the island by bus (much quicker crossing than the traditional ferries, & route 1 buses every few minutes from Cowes to the bus hub at Newport, the island's capital Then................. https://www.islandbuses.info/plan-your-journey https://images-islandbuses.passenger-website.com/2024-09/SV_iownetworkmap 287x210_0924_WINTER .pdf Route 12 (scenic) to Alum Bay (cliff walk of about 20 - 30 minutes to The Needles), return to Newport on route 7 then the short bus hop back to Cowes. or Route 6 (scenic) or route 2 or route 3 (both with a stop-off at Godshill) to Shanklin, then continue to Ryde on route 2 or 3 or the island's only train line (retired London tube trains) https://www.southwesternrailway.com/destinations-and-offers/island-line From Ryde back to Newport on route 9 then route 1 to Cowes or direct to East Cowes on route 4. Or a "Breezer" tour bus (usually open-top) https://www.islandbuses.info/days-out-bus but you'll need to get to a start point - Ryde ? Newport ? You'll need to wait until next year for the details JB 🙂

One of Spain's major coach tour operators is https://juliatravel.com/en/tours/? There are lots of private / small group tours in Spain, but many (most?) of those which offer tours from a number of cities are booking agencies (Spanish equivalents of Viator), so you're not dealing with the operator & reviews tend to be about the booking agencies, not the actual tour operators JB 🙂

Ignore any references to around 5am - that's when the ship berths. Unassisted disembarkation from most ships is from around 7am, & assisted in tranches from 7.30. If you're allocated a disembarkation time that's too late it's normally no problem to ask for an earlier slot, citing your onward travel arrangements Depending on circumstances - including your embarkation port & ports-of-call there may not even be immigration control. If there is, it'll depend on the size of the ship but there's usually no line for Immigration at that time in the morning - and you probably won't even know that you've gone thru Customs, it's a walk-thru unless a customs officer feels your collar. A car booked for 15 to 30 minutes after you're permitted to disembark should be OK. What time is your flight ? And what date / day-of-the-week ? JB 🙂