Thejuggler

Daughter and a friend went to Amsterdam for a day trip a couple of weeks ago.

They had no issue booking on one of the many canal trips at the quayside as there are so many.  You just need to decide how long a tour you want.

I'm just back from a 4 day visit to Belfast.  Incredible place and offers as much as Dublin.  We didn't use the HoHo bus, but in a day may be a good option if you want to see the main sites briefly, but nothing in depth.

Over 4 days we did

City Hall Tour

Black Cab tour

Crumlin Road jail

Botanic Gardens

Ulster Museum

Gasworks quarter

Titanic and Nomadic

Walked miles, but refreshed at many local pubs.  Duke of York, Robinsons, the Crown Liquor Saloon and my favourite The Sunflower (not for the faint hearted!)

The Black cab tour of the Shanklin and Falls Road left us with more questions than answers.  Driver was very knowledgable, but I'm not sure its possible to find a completely neutral driver.  Within minutes it was obvious our driver was from Shankhill Road area, but that worked for me as I have a colleague whose father grew up in the area.

Well worth doing such a tour if the history of Northern Ireland/Ireland relationships from the 1600s is of interest.

The extra time is getting to, from the centre and the time to get between the different sights.  An hour at Vasa really isn't enough if you want to appreciate it.

30% off for Apex in September has been offered to us for weeks.  Still too expensive,

We did Trollstigen trip, but we only know what the view was like because of a photo in the visitor centre due to low cloud!  Never saw the top of Trollveggen.

Closure is not unheard of and if you look at the route you can see where it has been damaged previously and new stretches of road laid.

However if both Trollstigen and Trollveggen are missed the trip probably isn't worth it.

Spent a few days there last year.  When you leave ship there is a small Ocean Race Museum and exhibition which is worth a look around if open.  There's also one of the yachts which took part which is also open occasionally for visits.

As above a walk along the promenade, a lift up to the castle for views.  The lift only takes you to the lower ramparts, its walking and a climb to the very top.  You can the  walk down from the castle.  The walk starts on the castle access road, but a footpath then leads you down the back of the castle to the main centre, very close to the main market which is well worth a visit if you are there Tuesday thru Saturday.  The fish market doesn't open on Mondays, which is the main highlight.

From there you can wander through the old town back to the port, having a few tapas on the way!

The price of individual drinks on US cruise ships is kept very high to encourage passengers to buy drinks packages.
 

 £95 a day for premium is still high (with my current 30% off deal taking it to £66 it is still more than I would pay) but not when a cocktail is priced at say £20 plus tip.

Akureyri has a free local circular route bus service.  It will get you to the gardens.

https://www.visitakureyri.is/en/plan-your-visit/transport/free-city-bus

If its a same day transfer take the crusie transfer.  Multiple legs of public transport if you aren't used to the system with luggage after a long flight isn't my idea of fun.

Not sure its worth being disgusted, more disappointed.

Cots will be available on board.

Milton fluid and tablets are still a thing (thats what we used when  we took our baby daughter on trips).

Food will be available.  There is also the option of taking your own.

As for check in, turn up at the later time.

Not good for Maleth to wash laundry in public.

As I suspected it appears they don't have the money to pay the compensation, or deliberately delaying in the hope people get bored trying to claim,

Contract dusputes between them and Carnival are of no concern to passengers and could take years to resolve,

Re luggage distribution and using passenger lifts.  Its a new ship, these issues could be connected.

Faulty service lift means passenger lift is the only option.

Somewhere like Skye will probably end up with restrictions.

The island can barely cope with the visitors arriving by car, adding a few extra thousand arriving by ship doesn't improve things.

Cruise ships work on the basis of total revenue per passenger.  A couple will pay twice as much in gratuities, buy more in bars, spend more on excursions, shops, casino etc etc.

Singletons spend far less.  I have a friend who travels solo 5-6 cruises a year. Her only on board spends are the OBC.

It also explains why in general larger ships are better value than smaller ones operated by the same cruise company.  More on board revenue opportunities from 4,000 passengers over 2,000.

M1 for its whole  length from Leeds to London has very long stretches of roadworks, mile after miles of traffic going nowhere near the 50mph limit due to reduced number of lanes.

Starts north of Sheffield almost as far as East Midlands, then again near Milton Keynes, then finally around Luton.

6 hours to do 180 miles last Friday.

If you are going to call P&O do it on the basis of a general query.

Something along the lines of:

You are considering booking a cruise but as a couple of passengers are elderly you need clarfication on what happens if someone on the booking dies before date of travel and what if the person who dies is lead passenger.  What if the booking is done through an agent, do the same policies apply?

If you mention your booking through an agent they will ask you to contact them as P&O don't know the agent Ts and Cs and policies.

Sorry for your sudden loss.

Whilst you are requesting what appears to a simple solution, it is complicated by the fact the person passing is the lead passenger.  They are the individual that holds the contract, as they have passed they can no longer be party to that contract and novation to another person probably isn't an option,

The other complication is any refund or insurance payout forms part of the deceased estate ( regardless of who actually paid).

Due to these  issues I'd change tack and go through the agent's process for cancelling the booking.  You then claim on insurance for any money paid.

Southampton only handled about 750,000 passenger last year, a large drop from the 2m plus pre covid thanks to the failure of a major airline, flybe.

Whilst you may want to avoid London airports you will need to transit a major hub to then fly to Southampton.  Dublin would be my choice as its not huge and transfers are easy.

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

Fairly standard tbh. They have to offer free wifi as people expect it in 2024 and their competitors all do. But they make it as useless as possible to make you upgrade to the premium wifi. It’s a budget hotel - you want frills, you pay extra.

I should have added I stay in Premierinns a lot and the free wi fi is generally more than acceptable.  When it is not available or drops out on a regular basis they aren't even offering what is promised,

I stayed in a Premierinn just outside London on Friday night.  The basic wifi was hopeless and I couldn't tether as we were surrounded by buildings so no signal!

I was on the tube a lot yesterday and the majority of passengers used smartphone to pay fare.

I recommend Joolz Guides youtube channel for anyone visiting London.  Well produced videos covering all sorts of stuff.  He also now has a book with some self guided walks.

Tower and Westminster Abbey are in different areas of London and some distance apart,so wherever you stay you will need transport between the two.  Hubs are a more basic option with smaller rooms and fewer facilities, great for maybe a night, but not somewhere to spend much time.
 

The Tower is in the City of London, which is a city within a city and has lots of history alongside modern architecture.  Whilst not as busy in the evening as the west end there's enough going on.  

I'd recommend the Skygarden, a rooftop bar with great views (free, but you need to book).  A restaurant booking is your 'beat the line' pass.  The food in the brasserie is v good.

In a day its a lot to fit in, but a private tour is available which covers Cawdor, Castle Urquhart and a Loch cruise.  Invergordon Tours are the operator.

Number 99 bus from the port bus stop will take you to Tilbury Town railway station.

https://bustimes.org/services/99-tilbury-ferry-to-tilbury-ferry

28 minutes ago, LINDAE3213 said:

.have not figured the transit out yet..we need Holborn station.   And not keen on smartcard usage...i'm old school...the oyster card will get a magnet upon return home and get stuck on fridge as a souvenir  

Elizabeth Line service to Tottenham Court Road (far quicker than the traditional tube), then a black taxi to your hotel.  Its not far to Holborn, but with luggage its not worth changing tube lines to Central Line at Tottenham Court Road.

Its only a short distance to Holborn so a taxi won't be much,  Holborn is an old station and isn't step free so you would need to carry luggage up stairs to the exit tube and you will still probably have a walk to the hotel.  

We are all different but for me the number one is sleep.  I am however someone who can fall asleep almost as soon as the wheels leave the ground and wake up many hours later!

Noise cancelling headphones are also a must have.  I never use inflight entertainment, preferring my own phone with downloads.  Podcasts or audio book work for me as they send me to sleep.

If that isn't possible for you then battle through, get to the hotel, have a couple of hours sleep, shower, refresh, walk and food with a few drinks. Early to bed first night.