Cotswold Eagle

The Trainline, which the poster said they were checking, does offer split ticketing. In any case, connections on different operators is not generally what is meant by split ticketing.

That’s because the random date you have selected is likely to be affected by works on the West Coast Mainline, as the bulletin on National Rail clearly indicates. Well, that’s one of the routings, but a potentially better one (which clearly comes up as a one change option) is Southampton-Birmingham New Street-Glasgow. Unfortunately, this is the route affected by the works, which is also the reason it’s not showing for the date in September.

All the information you need about industrial action on the railways (pretty much) is on this page of National Rail. The answer to the first question will reassure you (in terms of not losing your money, at least!): "If you purchased an Advance, Off-Peak or Anytime ticket and choose not to travel at all because your service on either your outward or return journey has been cancelled, delayed or rescheduled then you will be entitled to a fee-free refund or change from the original retailer of your ticket." By the way, I'm pretty sure you mean Watford Junction, not Waterford....and presumably HP is Harry Potter, not the famous condiment 😀

🤷‍♂️ Actually, National Rail now gives you the choice of any of the TOCs (and authorised third party retailers), via a dropdown menu, so you can buy from your preferred one. There's no such thing as the "correct" one, although it defaults to the TOC for the service you are booking (assuming a single operator for your journey). I have seen this sort of comment before about SWR - it is odd, as they have an international address finder on the registration page, which works really well for a dummy American address I tried, but then it is giving me the same error, requiring a UK address! Globaliser has the answer - find a TOC that works for you and use that. If I remember correctly, people have had success with Great Western, a bit of searching might throw up a good strategy. This is also why Trainline is sometimes recommended - it has a reliable international interface, apparently, which may be worth their add-on fees to you.

I had a look at Stonehenge's website, because it had never occurred to me that someone might want to wheel suitcases around! English Heritage might not have done either, because the issue is not specifically addressed, but it does point out that there is no luggage storage and asks that only 'essential' items are brought.

It’s a funny place the Old World 😀 It’s fairly obvious, if slightly jarring, for your dates, but something like today which is 8/6 here and 6/8 there can get v confusing….

There are particular arrangements in place for the land border, which have no relevance to arriving by sea. Official Irish government advice on the CTA can be found here. It acknowledges the Catch-22 Globaliser highlighted up thread, that you need to be able (if asked) to establish that you are a British or Irish citizen in order to exercise CTA rights if arriving by sea or air. The best way to establish you don’t need a passport is to produce a passport (and it may be a condition of carriage by an air or sea carrier anyway) 😀

That’s a very good and important observation, thank you. The Games open the day after you are in Le Havre. Something for us to bear in mind when less organised planners post queries here over the next year 😀

Please don’t do this - the port is Southampton, not S. Hampton or South Hampton (or even as we occasionally see Southhampton…) That’s not just being pedantic, it’s important when searching and booking things! Likewise, to avoid confusion in the rest of the world, it helps to spell out your dates, rather than use the anachronistic American layout 🤣

I’m sure if the Claremont was sending people 10 minutes down the street to an entirely separate property there would be numerous complaints online - I can only find one review as you describe, although you say “some”. I suspect this is an exaggeration based on some internal layout, which other reviews have described as a “maze” and involving “an internal bridge” at top floor level. Such things are not uncommon in hotels in large old buildings, where some spaces may have been repurposed over time.

Without wanting to be rude, that’s a pretty big ask in one post! Have you read the numerous threads on these topics on this board - it’s much easier to respond to specific questions….

In addition to Ine’s great list, maybe the National Maritime Museum, also close to the cruise terminal (and the science museum)? https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.com/whats-on/families-and-children

Just to be clear, you absolutely need to book online in advance. No tickets on the door anymore. And it’s booked out until July anyway.

That’s insane to South Ken. Not being rude, but are you sure that’s what you booked - it’s more like their fare to Southampton!

It is on some journeys, but not really to Paddington.

Why quote my post about the Elizabeth Line, then? 🤣

It would perhaps be helpful if you posted a link or screenshot, but I think you are looking at various discounts, not add-ons. If by VIP, you are referring to the option “Vrienden Loterij VIP-KAART“, that is the price for holders of a card from a lottery that supports the arts in the Netherlands.

Why would you take the Elizabeth Line to Paddington to catch a cab? You seem to be recommending the Elizabeth Line on several threads where it is hard to follow the reasoning, in my opinion.

There are previous thread on Le Havre on this board too - it is more sensibly grouped with other Western Europe ports, rather than Mediterranean, but Cruise Critic has always had an odd sense of geography! The search function will bring up previous discussions. OP, Le Havre is IN Normandy, a region of France, so when you say “Normandy is too expensive” can we presume you mean “excursions to the D-Day memorials and sites”? What are you seeing as too expensive? It would be a shame to be so close, but not able to pay your respects to the young men who paid a much higher price in June 1944 - there may be more affordable options, perhaps in combination with other things if a full day of military history is not your thing. Otherwise, the pretty port of Honfleur is a possibility - it’s easy to do by yourself. This recent post has a link to useful report on a Cruise Critic member’s blog about getting there by bus, which is likely to be the cheapest option, other than simply walking round Le Havre (which isn’t a terrible option, but it is a town almost completely rebuilt after WWII).

Oh, no, that sounds horribly like you have bought a ticket to Waterloo (Merseyside), rather than to London Waterloo….

How peculiar! I hope you can get a better arrangement.

This is not strictly accurate, JB. Surcharges were only banned in EU under the second Payment Services Directive in early 2018 (and this still applies in the United Kingdom). They are legal in the US, other than in a handful of states, and in my experience still common in other parts of the world (I have no experience of Canada).

Which website, as a matter of interest? I am struggling to find a connection with an hour in Brussels - and I would really hate to spend an hour at Brussels Midi, unless I really, really had to! Thalys tickets can be quite flexible, so I would recommend you look to exchange to a direct train.

The Biltmore Mayfair is a Hilton property, but maybe you have booked it through Cunard? Bond Street station is probably closest, and gives an extra line option over Marble Arch (which is about the same distance). Green Park is a little further, but offers another couple of lines, so most convenient, rather than closest, may depend on your destination for any given journey.

Same currency, but Scottish banks issue their own notes. See discussion up thread about the difficulty spending those in England occasionally.