Bob++

Where are you going, and what time do you need to be there?

Only two ships on the day we sail thank goodness. https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

You are not allowed to visit Brugge without sampling the hot chocolate. The Old Chocolate House, just off Simon Stevinplein is probably the best, but there are several others.

Let your taxi operator tell you what they think. As said above, they will monitor the flight and make allowances for any delays. Waiting at the airport is expensive, so they keep it to the minimum.

After our recent holiday, I can confirm that signage in Heathrow is excellent. I can also confirm that it's a long trudge through immigration, baggage claim and customs to the meet and greet area. If I were you, I would not rush. With any luck, the regulars-in-a-hurry will be long gone by the time you get there.

Or at Westminster Abbey - a 40-minute stroll through Green Park, or a little longer via Buckingham Palace.

You could try your role-call to see if there is a group booking a taxi.

It's a common theme that people from North American countries are generally not aware of how far towards being cashless Europe has moved. I live in England and rarely use cash. In fact, the only cash I have used this year is to pay the window cleaner. We were recently in Gibraltar and the only time we needed cash was on the bus and for tips.

Another link to a website I have found informative. https://www.sagetraveling.com/barcelona-accessible-travel And this is the part of that site specifically aimed at cruisers: https://www.sagetraveling.com/accessible-cruise-ports-barcelona-spain

When we booked our first accessible cabin, the paperwork made it clear that my wife must have a helper and that the staff on the ship could not be expected to provide that help. In practice, we found that well-meaning fellow passengers were a bit of a pain as they don't know what was needed and usually just get in the way. Staff on the ship were great within their limitations. Restaurant staff happily moved chairs around and the gangway team pitched in to help when the high tide made it rather steep. I too have stories about the difficulties we have faced, but I accept that most people have no experience of these situations and while I admire your courage in cruising alone with such a disability, I think that you should consider looking for an able-bodies friend to accompany you in future. It does make things so much easier.

I just got back from Gib. Note that their Pounds are a straight swap for UK Pounds and everyone is happy to take GBP in payment. This doesn't work the other way around, so if you bring any back, you will have to pay a transaction fee to change them.

It is usually a bad idea to use a credit card to withdraw cash. The CC company will treat it differently to purchases and start charging interest immediately. Almost every vendor, even small ones, accept 'tap and go' credit cards these days, so apart from cash tips which can be paid in Dollars, you don't really need cash at all.

We did the P&O Norway cruise in an ordinary cabin with a rented electric wheelchair (the type that folds in to half the width). We even went on the rail trip at Flåm where they stowed the chair and my wife sat in a window seat. (Well worth the trouble but gets booked up v quickly).

I see that they have three depots in Southampton, so it's not obvious why they would charge different prices for the drop-off. I see that Alamo, Enterprise and National are all part of the same group, but they say that they are not franchises in the UK, so they should all be quoting the same prices.

The publicly funded museums are closed on Mondays but private offerings such as the Chocolate Museum, Friet Museum and Historium are open. You need to check out each place you are interested in.

Which rental company is it?

My wife, who is wheelchair-bound while travelling, regularly uses the train. She books the tickets for her choice of train and then contacts the assisted travel people for the relevant train company. It usually works very well and the staff are always most helpful. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/on-the-train/accessible-train-travel-and-facilities/

I think that now it's all online, there is no great advantage to being in Southampton. Many years ago, before the worldwide wotsit took over, some people I knew up in Durham used to drive down to Southampton on a Friday and tour the cruise company offices looking for bargains. They said that they would sometimes get up to a 90% discount.

It's pretty rare these days. In general, the ladies are dressed up to the nines and most of the men make some attempt to look smart. Sadly some do not - asserting their right to turn up in jeans and a T-shirt, whatever the occasion. Like many women these days, my wife rarely gets a chance to dress up, so it's a long dress, uncomfortable shoes, and the best jewellery for her; smart shirt and trousers, and clean shoes for me

Very strange: Our "letterbox" is in our front door, not attached to a wall. We do not publicise the dates when we are going to be away. It's a bit like taking out an ad in the local paper saying that your house will be empty from... to... Our neighbours will push any junk mail through, so it's not left poking out. We do everything financial online these days and take our computers and phones away with us.

We have duck races locally. They used to be real ducks but they are now replaced with plastic after one of the ducks sued over their avian rights. Watch the video - it is from 1976 television and shows how much things have changed 😀 I wonder why he chose to interview that particular young woman? https://www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-12071976-duck-race-part-two-studley-warwickshire How it's done today: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/warwickshire/coughton-court/events/1646bd46-64f6-43b3-a2d0-8fde976ef840

With VAT at 20% in the UK and 25% in Denmark, it may well be worthwhile claiming it back on an expensive item. It is usually up to the seller to process the paperwork and not all of them will do it. Those that do, usually advertise the service prominently. One common procedure is to ask the seller to ship the item directly to your home. This avoids problems with customs in countries you are just passing through.

Get the E-tickets and save a picture on your phone. That way it doesn't matter if you have a signal.

A lot depends on your time of arrival at Heathrow. If you arrive early enough in the day to get to Southampton for the night, then that's your best option. It takes a couple of hours on the bus, plus (say) an hour to get through immigration and customs (although that may be quicker with no checked luggage) so any arrival before 4 pm would qualify. Holiday Inn or Premier Inn at Southampton have both been popular overnights for cruisers and both are walkable from the bus station and to the ship. If your flight land in the evening, you will be stuck at Heathrow, so I suggest using a search to find the most suitable. You can then take the coach to Southampton in the morning.

We went on the Dartmouth Steam Railway a couple of years ago. An enjoyable day out. The line was originally intended to go to Dartmouth on the other side of the river Dart, but they never got around to building a bridge, so it terminates at Kingswear and you have to take a ferry to cross to Dartmouth. They did build a station though, so Dartmouth Station is unique in never having had any connection to a railway. It now houses a cafe and gift shop.