gumshoe958

48 minutes from plane to bus is tight. US flights normally arrive at one of the T5 satellites B or C, which means waiting for and riding a transit to the main terminal. Immigration is usually pretty fast if you use the e-gates (as most US citizens can) but there can be lines if you time it wrong. So while it’s doable if all the stars align, personally I’d aim for the bus half an hour later which then gives you more time to change between bus and train at Woking.

It’s any continuous 24 hour period you choose, starting from the moment you activate it. When you get on board and on the ship’s wifi you can either activate via the app or go to login.com to set up your account and choose whether to redeem your Diamond voucher for just 24 hours, or put the value towards a longer period - up to you.

Yes, seek advice from Royal. Your brother’s past may not be an issue at home, but some countries may take a different view and refuse entry to someone who’s previously been arrested for a sexual offence.

I’d be prepared to bet plenty of people bid on every category they’re offered, regardless of whether they really want it. Just because they think they’re getting a bargain upgrade, even if they’re not.

The algorithm just offers you the next six or so categories immediately above yours. Logic doesn’t come into it.

You don’t have to reserve as there’s always a standby line but if you want to get in early to get good seats yes, you should. You can reserve for all shows in the main theater, the Aqua theater and the ice rink. Until recently reservations opened around the start of the month before departure (eg start of April for a May cruise) but there’ve been reports lately that they’ve been opening earlier than that. There’s no consistency, you just have to keep checking.

London isn’t great for Christmas markets tbh, but what few there are (Trafalgar Square, South Bank, Leicester Square, Covent Garden) should be open by then. Christmas lights will be on by then in the major West End shopping streets (Oxford St, Regent St, Bond St). There’s also the incredibly popular Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park which you have to pre-book (not free). Finally I highly recommend the Kew Gardens Christmas light trail which is always beautiful and, while very popular, feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of central London. Again, you need to pre-book.

I think it comes down to your attitude to risk. If Anthem’s on time and you’re among the first off, you’ll make it. But there’s very little room for manoeuvre and even a 30 minute delay in disembarking would scupper you. I’d be minded to go for the 4pm flight. Yes, it’s a pain having to hang around Southampton but you don’t want to spend your whole cruise worrying about disembarkation day. And the 4pm flight would get you to EDI at roughly the same time as the train.

The EI124 arrives DUB at 10:25. The earliest LHR flight you could reasonably catch leaves at 12:00 and arrives 13:25. So once you’ve got your bags and gone landside you’re probably looking at a 15:30-16:00 arrival at Southampton, and that’s as long as all the stars align. Sorry, but I fear that’s a non-starter. With the earlier EI122 you’d have a very good chance but even I, who quite enjoys the thrill of the chase, wouldn’t dare try this one.

If your ship is due to dock at 10:30 you won’t be allowed off until 11:00 or later, so there’s no way you’ll make a 10:45 train. It’s a very popular train with limited space so I’m not surprised that the departures when the ship’s in dock are already sold out.

Air Canada flights arrive at Terminal 2B at LHR, the satellite terminal which is indeed a long walk to immigration and customs. Aer Lingus flights arrive at Terminal 2A, the main building with significantly less walking and - crucially - no immigration checks. If @Jack E Dawson has an option to fly directly from Dublin to Southampton, though, that would be a no-brainer in this situation. Just have a Plan B ready via London in case the Chicago flight is late or the Southampton flight is cancelled.

You will have to clear immigration at Dublin before proceeding to your connecting flight. Thanks to the Common Travel Area (CTA) agreement between the UK and Ireland you won’t have to clear immigration again at Heathrow, but you will have to clear customs. 99.9% of the time that’s just a walk-through though - no queueing involved unless you’re extremely unlucky and get stopped.

That’s the trouble with Google. Type in “Do I have to wear a mask on a cruise ship” and this is what you get: Click the link and you’ll see Google has just taken a selective quote from a similar question on CC 6 months ago, and presented it totally out of context. You can see why people get confused.

It’s a frequent question. No update.

Utter rubbish. He’s probably reading something written 3 years ago.

I absolutely think it will happen. But will these new smaller ships just be new versions of Radiance & Vision which are popular with many on CC because they feel more like ‘classic’ ships without all the bells & whistles of Oasis & Icon? No, they absolutely will not.

I think Royal are perfectly happy visiting a very limited range of ports. The market they’re now chasing doesn’t care about quirky destinations. The ship (and Coco Cay, obviously) is the destination. The issue is the home ports. They need smaller ships if they’re to continue operating in markets like Tampa and Baltimore. And I agree with @HBE4. Discovery class will be like a mini Icon, not a reinvented Radiance or Vision.

There is no Broadway musical on Odyssey. Just in-house Royal production shows. @leaveitallbehind has already answered for Symphony & Liberty.

Yes, 2/3 Barcelona 1/3 Civitavecchia is about right. For those boarding in Civitavecchia it can feel a bit like you’re joining the ship mid-cruise but it’s really not a problem - you’ll still get to experience everything, just in a different order!

Motion sickness and seasickness are different things. On most large, modern ships you’d hardly know you’re moving so motion sickness isn’t an issue. The thing people do tend to have an issue with is the pitching and rolling of the ship if the sea’s rough. It can be a weird sensation if you’re not used to it.

You’re right. My bad. They do now stop at T4, which makes National Express a no-brainer. For an extra £5 you can upgrade at the time of booking to Change & Go which allows you to move to any coach up to 12 hours either side of the one you booked. You can call up to rebook as soon as you miss your booked coach, if necessary. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/change-go

The train between Southampton and Heathrow is not easy - it involves two changes with a tube or cab ride across London in the middle. Easiest is the National Express coach. They leave Southampton at 9:45 (arrive Heathrow Central 12:00) and 11:45 (14:10). The later one doesn’t give terribly much margin for error if it’s late, which is annoying, but up to you whether you’re prepared to risk it as obviously that would give you a couple more hours to wander around Southampton.

The hourly direct Southampton to Bath trains do not have first class. If you’re seeing first class fares online, they won’t be for direct trains and you’ll have to change en route (maybe at Reading). YMMV on whether it’s worth the extra hassle. Bath to Paddington trains do have first class. It will normally be at the very front of the train (but on occasions may not). You should get some complimentary drinks and snacks, plus wider seats in a 2+1 layout with more legroom, if that makes a difference.

Be aware that National Express coaches from Southampton do not stop at T4, which is some distance from the other terminals on the other side of the airport. If you choose to go by National Express, get off at Heathrow Central then catch the free Elizabeth line train one stop to T4.

Absolutely. And they can change course at very short notice with no disruption to passengers if the situation requires it. Interesting that Cunard have already decided to divert QM2’s 2025 world cruise around Africa instead of through Suez. That’s a whole year away. They clearly aren’t optimistic about the situation improving so anyone who’s booked on the Voyager Rome to Dubai repo in 18 months would be wise to have a Plan B.