gumshoe958

Just be aware that the ‘Hub’ hotels tend to have much smaller rooms, which don’t always have windows. The Bank (Tower) Premier Inn is indeed very close to the Tower of London and a short stroll to St Paul’s Cathedral and across the river to attractions like the Shard, Shakespeare’s Globe and Borough Market. It’s in London’s financial district though, so not much going on at night or weekends if you want to be near restaurants and nightlife. Very close to the tube though, so easy to get around.

There will be multiple performances at different times on different days. Set the app to the current sailing and you can get an idea of when they are.

Sadly the Gravesend ferry stopped running in April due to funding issues.

I’ve never used them but I believe Hertz and Europcar have locations that are easily walkable from the Horizon & City terminals (a short cab ride from the others), and Enterprise and Alamo have locations next to Southampton Central rail station, only a 5-10 minute cab ride from all terminals.

There is no dedicated luggage space on the Southampton trains, other than overhead racks for your carry-ons. It’s not normally a problem as you’ll be travelling off-peak and they’re (usually) long 10 car trains, but you’ll still have to squeeze your big cases in around your seat area as best you can. It’s not ideal but lots of people do it every day. National Express would avoid that as the driver stows your luggage under the coach, but obviously it’s a longer journey. 1st class: if it’s only a few pounds more than standard, go for it - but you don’t really get anything extra other than slightly nicer seats in a (hopefully) quieter carriage so it’s certainly not worth paying £££ for.

No.

The National Express fares are a bit confusing. As well as the flexible fare @Bruin Steve mentions there’s the “Change & Go” upgrade, which costs £5 and is offered as an extra during the booking process. So you could save a bit of money by buying a standard fare plus “Change & Go”. That lets you change for free to another coach up to 12 hours either side of the one you’ve booked, as long as it’s not full. A private limo transfer would probably cost around £160-180, so considerably more expensive but obviously door-to-door, quicker and more convenient.

Anthem has We Will Rock You (ok, West End not Broadway).

Pure speculation of course but this feels like something that would come out of an emergency brainstorm after Cunard was told last week it couldn’t have the royal it was expecting due to the Palace diary purge triggered by the election.

So reading between the lines there was originally meant to be a royal but Cunard was probably told last week it wouldn’t happen due to the election-linked diary purge. Hence a very hastily cobbled together Plan B (or even C or D).

It’s Southampton to Waterloo that’s the issue on days when multiple ships are in port. Cruise passengers with lots of heavy luggage fighting for space with commuters on trains that are busy even before they reach Southampton does not a pleasant journey make! Waterloo to Southampton is usually easier although weekend mid-morning trains can get very busy with the big spike in leisure travel since the pandemic.

Indeed. The three biggest sports in the US - (American) football, basketball and baseball, are all fairly niche in Europe and don’t feature much on TV. Soccer, on the other hand …

The Clermont, right next to Victoria station, is a favourite with many cruisers. Nearby there’s also the Goring (very pricey), the Doubletree Victoria or the Park Plaza Victoria.

On a weekday, plenty of room. On a sunny weekend, not so much.

No limits, and no. BUT you should know that the Southampton trains are essentially commuter trains with no dedicated luggage storage, except for overhead racks which can take a carry-on size case but nothing bigger. So large cases have to go wherever you can find space to squeeze them around your seat. Not a problem if it’s quiet but not ideal if it’s busy. Think Long Island Railroad, not Amtrak if that helps.

Hotels will all have standard UK 3-pin plug sockets for which you’ll need an adapter. Many modern & refurbished hotels will also have USB ports but it’s a bit of a lottery.

Hertz and Europcar have the closest locations, easily walkable to the City and Horizon terminals but further to the others. Alternatively Alamo and Enterprise have locations next to Southampton Central railway station, a bit further from the port but still only 10 mins walk to City & Horizon, a short cab ride to the others.

There are never any reserved seats on Southwestern trains to Southampton. It’s always first come first served. You shouldn’t have a problem though, the trains are normally 10 coaches so just keep going if the coaches nearest the platform entrance are busy; it’ll be quieter further forward. (That said, the exit on platform 4 at Southampton, which most but not all London trains use, is also at the back of the train so the further forward you are the longer the walk at both ends.)

By complete coincidence (presumably), QM2’s arrival in Cherbourg this morning coincided with the Olympic Torch relay right past the entrance to the terminal.

You can use as many devices as you want, but only one can be logged on at a time. Otherwise, main perks of The Key are priority boarding, embarkation day lunch in the MDR, delivery of carry-on bags to your cabin, reserved seating area at shows (some good, some not so good), reserved times for certain activities (eg Flowrider), priority for tenders from the ship (but not back again) and upgraded breakfast in the MDR on the final day.

Noon feels too early to me. You’ll be there on the first weekend of the Fringe so the city will be extremely busy and you should allow lots of time to get anywhere.

Should be fine, again it’s only a 5-10 minute cab ride to the station. The Southern trains tend to leave from one of the middle platforms though, so allow enough time to use the lifts (x2) if required.

If there weren’t queues, no-one would pay CBP for Global Entry.

Oh, well in that case just get a cab. Probably not much more expensive than the Royal transfer if there are at least two of you.

Agreed - if you want to use Stay Awhile you’re on your own as far as transfers are concerned. The airport buses will be long gone by noon. Assuming you’re going to Heathrow I’d cancel the Royal transfers and book a scheduled National Express coach - they run direct every couple of hours and will probably be much cheaper!