nmg85

The square hotel is nice, right near station, tivoli and Main Street

Usually means no or smaller lines at major attractions. Work out what you actually want to see while in London and then work out if the pass covers those

What about the ice bar?

Don't know if something has changed since June of 2014, but at that time Flam WOULD NOT reserve any seats for individuals and only do so for groups of 10 or more. As far as buying tickets on the day of, when we went, all tickets for first come, first serve were sold out by 9am except late afternoon tickets.

It has now changed... We were on the June 2014 cruise and couldn't book but now for this August we can.

Never done that journey but http://www.nationalrail.co.uk is the website that you need for train times, costs and to buy tickets. Tickets are usually released 3 months in advance.

You will know if you have noro. I have had it twice, the first time my whole family went down with it within 36 hours of each other. Not trying to be graphic but I have never felt so ill then when I was sat on the toilet and throwing up at the same time. The symptoms were that severe for 12 hours and then slowly declined but it was a good 4 days until I felt well enough to eat full meals. We were also told to not take Imodium ( plus I was throwing up all my water anyway) and to stay quarantined for 48 hours after last symptoms. As previously stated it could occur anywhere and is common in all places with a high number of people in a confined space. I have no idea how or where I got either case. You are usually immune to the strain you have just had so there would need to be 2 strains on a ship to get it again. A little bit of an upset stomach is not Noro it comes on fast and is brutal.

I went to St Petersburg when I was in my early teens and I am now 29 and still remember going to peterhof. It wasn't my favourite port of call because our family like yours usually do their own thing but I still have very fond memories :-)

All of these you are able to get into the town either by walking or public transport.

If you mean las palmas, gran canaria then there is a short 10min walk to quite a nice beach which is easy to do from where the ship docks. In Tenerife your children may like a try to Loro parque which is an animal park so check out ways of getting there.

In lisbon as well as the general sites the aquarium is meant to be very good.

TA has booked us into Adina Aparthotel for night before cruise-it's on Amerika plads apparently close to cruise terminal so need to get there from airport and then on to cruiseport on the Wednesday

 

 

 

will probably get taxi direct from cruiseport to airport following Wednesday as have 2pm flight -I assume taxis are plentiful at disembarkation?

 

 

 

thanks for help so far

I have stayed at the adina it is a lovely place but a little limited on nearby restaurants. When we stayed we got a pizza from the place acrosd the road and took it back to the apartments

We stayed at the premier inn in 2010 which was good for a pre cruise stay and just a short taxi ride to the port

I would visit the new forest area and spend a night in either lyndhurst or brockenhurst.

There is a train from Harwich which could take you to Heathrow if you change in london. This obsession with mega trains people have is silly... Those prices are only on the unpopular departure times if at all. That route is a massive commuter route into london. I think any port in the UK you take that risk getting to the airport as it means you go on the M25 which is notorious for delays. The risk is always there as you never know what might happen I think saying it is a bad port is a little harsh as I am sure numerous people have had no issues.

Nobody seems to have mentioned the ice bar in Honningsvag. Is it easy to find in the town? Is it walkable after a tour to the North Cape?

 

 

 

Thanks

It is a 5 min walk from the dock and easy to find.

How would I know for certain if my card has this? Will ATM's and stores require this too?

Does your card have a chip obvious in it and do you use a 4 digit pin? This is how we buy everything nowadays (unless use contact less which is a whole different story) although most shops will still swipe if needed it doesn't happen very often but shouldn't be an issue.

Example of chip and pin cards can be found if Google for some reason I can't post the link I found.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

 

 

Keep in mind if you take the tube into London you are almost definitely going to have to drag your suitcases up steps or an escalator (or two). If you take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station that is not an issue. Personally, I could not make it out of the tube dragging luggage. All depends on what you are physically able to do.

I would agree with this to be honest. Even though I am happy to use the tube with even a small case it can be a pain. I always use the Heathrow express unless I know the stations I need have step free access

Take the tube from Heathrow into London - takes 30 minutes max and cost

L6 (6 pounds). Buy a ticket at the entrance to the tube. Forget the bus or taxis - you'll be on the road for over an hour.

Actually the tube to Covent Garden for example is 45 min.

I like the Hoxton hotels or citizen m hotels.

We have decided on the Flybe/Air France option vs. the Eurostar in getting from Paris to Southampton. Pricing is less as is time spent traveling. Logistics are far better, especially since we'll be booking a direct hotel-ORY transfer for our group of 6-8!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do the UK ticket machines require a chip/pin credit card? We are still behind the 8-ball in the US in terms of this type of card. We've run into major issues on the continent at train stations, gas stations and toll roads in that our US-issued swipe/sign cards were unusable in these places.

Most if not all require a chip and pin in my experience.

Our cruise will have a stop in Southampton, but I know what I want to do for a few hours, which does include the West Quay Centre. We were at the centre last time. I thought that the bus from Heathrow went thru another shopping centre on it's way to Southampton. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

 

 

Thank you.

I either drive by car or go by train so not sure where it might stop. To be honest It wouldn't be worth going anywhere special to a shopping centre as it will have the same shops as west quay most likely.

good information thanks

 

 

 

Are all these different train companies out of the same station??

 

so many to choose from

Yes from Southampton Central.

We took the National Express bus from Heathrow to Southampton last year. On the way down there, the bus made a few stops. One stop appeared to be a largge shopping mall. Does anyone know anything about this mall?

 

What is the best thing to do with only 1/2 day in Southampton?

 

 

 

Thank you!

There is a large shopping centre in southampton called west quay which is right in the city centre. It is quite good with a variety of shops but nothing spectacular. It's one option if you only have half a day.is this pre cruise? Are you dropping your bags at the port 1st?

Also remember to leave enough time to get across London either by taxi or tube as I am guessing you will be going fairly early in the morning so rush hour will be in full effect if it's a week day

Oxford Circus would offer you similar stores in a better location if u have limited time. You could get the tube to Stratford if u wanted which isn't to hard... Just seems a shame to waste 30 min travelling time for a shopping centre unless u wanted to see the Olympic village area to

I don't think they do family passes but you can get discounts for under 25's I believe (you could when I last booked). I would book in advance as ticket prices tend to increase the more popular that train becomes.

I heard it was the largest mall in Europe. Some in my party really want to shop.

I wouldn't take a trip out to Stratford just to shop. There are plenty of shopping areas in central London. How long do you have? Where are you staying?