gumshoe958

WH Smith is a newsagent/bookstore, ubiquitous in the UK. They have a store in the arrivals hall at Terminal 3, just after you exit customs with your luggage and go landside.

At Tottenham Court Road the Elizabeth line has an exit leading on to Oxford Street (signed Dean Street), where cabs are hailable/Ubers summonable.

Very unlikely to happen. Oasis class is too big for many of the ports served from Southampton. Anything smaller than Quantum class is a downgrade and puts Royal at a distinct competitive disadvantage.

There are no restrictions at Chops or Jamie’s.

I think they rebuilt that area and it’s now part of the Adventure Ocean/teen zone.

There is no longer a Johnny Rockets on Voyager. Even if there was, Johnny Rockets only serves breakfast on Oasis class ships.

The Dutch don’t really do credit cards, as debt is a big no-no in their culture. Obviously many tourist places will take them but I’ve been caught out before in Albert Heijn, the Dutch equivalent of Publix or Tesco, where the only card they accept is Maestro (and some stores don’t even accept cash!).

I can’t think why customs would take an interest in a cruise that had stopped in Colombia …

I have never seen that in the UK, or indeed anywhere. The OP hasn’t said which airline they’re flying but British Airways, Delta, JetBlue and Norse Atlantic, which all fly to the US from Gatwick, all close check-in 60 minutes before departure.

That is an option, but buses aren’t ideal for large luggage if they’re busy.

Yes, so your cruise originated outside the UK whereas the OP’s is a closed loop. The UK Border Force is far more likely to take an interest in the former than the latter, hence your delays at passport control. After a closed loop cruise it’s rare to even see the Border Force at Southampton, let alone have to queue.

Yes.

Yes, there are escalators and elevators at both ends.

Security at Gatwick is very efficient. Check-in generally closes 60 minutes before departure.

Charing Cross involves stairs I’m afraid, and the Bakerloo line in general isn’t great for accessibility. My advice would be to take the Elizabeth line train from Heathrow Central direct to Tottenham Court Road (every 10-15 minutes), then hail a cab or get an Uber from there (a 5 minute ride). Being brand new, the Elizabeth line is fully accessible with lifts. At the Heathrow end there are lifts from T2 arrivals down to the tunnels with moving walkways that’ll take you to the train station.

Burgers always used to be available in the Windjammer - although I don’t know whether that’s still the case following the recent cutbacks. Reports suggest there are far fewer choices than there used to be.

If your credit card has contactless capability, as many (but not all) now do, or if you have Apple or Google Pay on your phone, you don’t even need to buy a ticket any more. Just tap in on the card reader at the entrance down to the platforms at Schiphol and tap out at the barrier when you leave Centraal, and you’ll be charged the correct fare automatically.

Although the itinerary you’ve posted is the fastest, there is a slower - but direct and much cheaper - train leaving Southampton Central at 8.09am that arrives at Gatwick at 10.09am. That should be doable if you’re quick to leave the ship and carry your own luggage - it’s only a 10 minute cab ride to the station. If you book that train now, it’s only £6 versus £27 for the faster, indirect service via Clapham Junction. If you do go for the 8.30, that 11 minute transfer at Clapham Junction is doable but tight: you’ll have to get from platform 7 to platform 13 using a footbridge or underpass. It’s a large, extremely busy commuter station. There are elevators. The good news is there’s another train to Gatwick from the same platform just 8 minutes later so if you miss the connection it’s not really an issue. Personally I’d go for the slower, direct train: it starts at Southampton so you’re guaranteed seats and it avoids the need to transfer. Plus it’s a lovely journey along the south coast and up the Arun valley past Arundel Castle.

All sensible advice. Le Havre to central Paris is at least a 2 hour drive each way, more if there’s traffic, and there’s so much to see you’d barely be paying lip service to one of the world’s great cities. The Moulin Rouge is very much an evening venue (shows are at 9pm & 11pm) so I’m not sure what you’re expecting to see - AFAIK it’s closed during the day. I agree with the posts above - you may need to adjust your expectations, visit somewhere closer to Le Havre and save Paris for when you can spare some decent time there.

A good travel insurance policy will pay out for missed ports. And Royal may end up offering some token OBC - albeit not a lot. But it’s a fast moving situation and while understandably passengers want answers immediately, organising logistics takes time so a bit of patience may be required.

That’s the risk you take booking a cruise to a notoriously unstable part of the world. Make sure you have comprehensive insurance.

True, probably not that many. Which might explain it - NCL have found a loophole which allows them to save money by not paying for duty or a license to sell alcohol while in port, but which doesn’t affect most passengers because they’ve already prepaid. Clever.

You can set up ‘My Account’ which apparently exempts you from booking fees. I have no idea whether you can do it outside the UK though, you’ll have to try and see. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/my-account

That’s quite possible. Or is it simply that NCL’s management has ordered every department to cut costs by x% and someone decided the bill for duty on alcohol overseas was a cost ripe for cutting, regardless of the consequent loss of revenue?

No, you don’t. Nor does anyone else. So I’m sticking with mine in the absence of any better ideas.