gumshoe958

It’s doable if all the stars align. The airport’s less than half an hour’s drive, and it’s a small airport so you can check in up to 45 minutes before departure. So in theory as long as you’re off the ship by 7.45 you’ll be fine. But there’s hardly any margin for error and you’ll miss the flight if there’s even a short delay to disembarkation. So for peace of mind and to avoid spending your whole cruise worrying about whether you’ll make it, I’d be minded to book a later flight from Heathrow. There are plenty of them to both cities.

On Wonder’s eastbound TA last year the time change was either at 2pm (1400) or 3pm (1500) - can’t remember which. It definitely wasn’t noon though. Or 2am. And it was timed to avoid meal times. I believe the reason they did it in the afternoon was to prevent the crew losing an hour’s sleep every other day.

Even worse - although not included in this itinerary: Paris (Le Havre) which is 120 miles! About the same as LAX to San Diego.

My instinct is that the trouble has now peaked. This weekend was always going to be bad but I suspect things will begin to calm down now.

There are many ways you could go, and you haven’t said which hotel but assuming it’s the Park Plaza or nearby Premier Inn, my choice would be to head due south through Covent Garden via Monmouth St & St Martin’s Lane to Trafalgar Square, then head east to the river, crossing by the northerly of the two footbridges next to Charing Cross station (for the best view), then turn right along the South Bank of the river past the London Eye observation wheel.

There are two stations serving central Portsmouth - Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour. Most fast trains from London serve both. The first one, Portsmouth & Southsea is slightly closer to the cruise terminal but whichever you choose you’ll probably want a cab as it’s well over a mile away. Alternatively, there’s a National Express coach from Victoria Coach Station in London at around 11 or 11.30am every day which runs direct to the cruise terminal in just under 2 hours.

Perfectly safe. There’ll be a lot of people around. Bars and restaurants will be busy. Central London is vibrant in the evening, unlike some American cities’ downtown areas. But if it’s raining or you don’t feel like walking, the 68, 168 and 188 buses all run very frequently from Southampton Row, just east of the museum, and will take you over Waterloo Bridge direct to Waterloo station.

Ok, that’s about a 15 minute walk to Westminster tube station. It’s located in the heart of London’s government district so at that time on a Saturday morning it should be very quiet. Therefore your best options (from lowest to highest in price) are probably: * Tube, as above (District line from Westminster to Barons Court then Piccadilly line to Heathrow) * Taxi to Victoria Coach Station, then National Express coach to Heathrow (book in advance) * Taxi to Paddington station, then Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express train * Taxi, Uber or private transfer all the way

Assuming your hotel is close to Westminster tube station, Heathrow by tube with luggage is actually reasonably simple as there are elevators at both ends and a step-free, cross platform interchange between the District & Piccadilly lines at Barons Court. That’s the cheapest viable way and should take about an hour. Easiest would obviously be a taxi, Uber or private transfer but these days you’re looking at between £50 & £100 for that, and are at the mercy of London traffic. It could easily take an hour, maybe more, maybe less. @spirit rev if you tell us which hotel you’re staying at we can give you more accurate advice.

At some of those ports (Newhaven, Invergordon, Douglas, Dun Laoghaire, Cobh) you will dock within easy walking distance of local bars, cafes and restaurants. But in all cases except Douglas you would need to use local buses, trains or cabs to visit the actual city served - Edinburgh, Inverness, Dublin, Cork - where there are far more choices. The docks at Kirkwall, Belfast & Portland aren’t easily walkable to anywhere but in all cases the cruise line should provide a shuttle bus (maybe with a charge) that’ll take you into the nearest town centre.

It eliminates a venue and its associated costs such as tech support & bar staff. One big comedy show costs a lot less to put on than ten small ones. It potentially saves money by replacing a headliner show in the theatre. And it opens up the possibility of rotating one comedian across more than one ship if they’re only doing one show per cruise, thus reducing the overall number required.

Yes, as the OP noted. But their point was that the nightly shows in The Attic - always popular due to their intimate comedy club atmosphere - seem to have gone. Which looks ominously like yet another cut.

Yep, the app shows no sign of any comedy on Harmony this week apart from one night in the main theatre. Hopefully it’s just a glitch, but presumably entertainment isn’t immune from the cost savings we’ve already seen in housekeeping and dining so maybe comedy in The Attic is going the same way as Jazz on 4.

The Seagate Bus Station stop is closest, although it’s still a 15-20 minute walk. Or you can hop on a city bus, or try and find a cab.

Wow. Royal cancels Christmas. But don’t worry, you can celebrate in October or February instead. Seriously, that stinks. Not even offering an alternative Christmas cruise on another ship.

You’re looking at the wrong bus company. Stagecoach operates the main service from Dundee to St Andrews, the 99, up to every 10 minutes (20 on Sundays). Timetable: https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/East Scotland/Fife/ESCOT_Special_Fife_99_99N.pdf

I guess the choice between cruise or land tour depends on how much of Ireland you want to see. That itinerary only includes two days in the Republic, so you’ll only be able to scratch the surface and won’t really get the chance to explore its beautiful coast and countryside. However two days in Belfast means you’ll get to see a good deal of Northern Ireland including plenty of time for a trip to the Giants Causeway, Derry~Londonderry and over the border to Donegal should you wish. So there are pros and cons to both and if the Princess cruise aligns with a QM2 crossing, that would make for a very special holiday.

It’s not something I’d worry about. A coach can only hold 50-60 people which is only a small proportion of passengers on the ship so it won’t make much of a dent on the check-in queues. And any cons are surely outweighed by the pros of the coach dropping you right outside the terminal, as opposed to the train or National Express which both involve a taxi or walk to the ship.

Ah: yes, I’m afraid the train strike will be a problem if it goes ahead. Details haven’t yet been published but on previous strike days there have been no trains at all between Southampton & Salisbury, and only limited services between Salisbury & London involving a change of train half way, at Basingstoke. There is an hourly bus, the X7, that would get you from Southampton to Salisbury in about 1 hour 20 mins, and the train from Salisbury to London should still be possible as above, so it’s still doable by public transport albeit not as simple as it would otherwise be. But note that the X7 is a normal city bus, not a coach, so luggage space will be limited. Otherwise yes, realistically you would need to book a private transfer OR try the International Friends tour mentioned by @John Bullif it’s available, which has been recommended by many on CC before.

Dundee sees very few cruise ships and doesn’t have the level of infrastructure seen at bigger ports. As such I would recommend pre-booking any transportation you may require. There will be some cabs, but not necessarily enough to meet demand.

I doubt they really care. The ship’s got to get from A to B regardless so if they can persuade anyone to pay to be on her, it’s just a bonus. Which they will.

Yes, I thought about £10. It’s less than two miles, a 7 minute journey. Then I looked at Uber. £23 😮 Could be surge pricing I guess, but that’s daylight robbery. Incidentally a black cab driver will hate you for that journey. They have to queue up, sometimes for a very long time, for what they hope will be a nice lucrative £100 fare into London. They may be allowed to jump the queue after a short hop to Bath Road, but they’ll still hate you.

It’s a very frequently asked question. See this thread for some suggestions:

No shortage of choice then!

The Russia/Ukraine situation has put paid to that. Many Americans won’t go near the Baltic now, and St Petersburg was the big draw for many on those itineraries.