gumshoe958

I stand corrected! I guess it does kind of fit in the chilling category.

VV’s USP seems to revolve around partying by night and chilling out by day rather than visiting scenic destinations so I can’t really see them doing Iceland, Alaska or Norway.

Royal Caribbean has also just cancelled the Marseille call on a number of sailings. So there certainly seems to be a wider issue with southern French ports this summer.

I’m afraid @Cotswold Eagleis right - $200 won’t get you much in central Amsterdam. The cheapest hotels tend to be in the south of the city, in the area south of the A10 ring road and Amsterdam Zuid station, or in the modern Amstelkwartier nearby. They’re both some distance away from the historic and tourist areas but they’re perfectly safe, easily accessible via tram or metro and only 15-20 minutes by cab from the main cruise terminal.

12.20 is quite tight - it’s 90 miles so a 1 hour 40 minute drive on a good day, more if traffic’s bad on the notorious M25 motorway. So you’d probably want to be on the road by 8.30 at the latest.

I’m not an expert on transfer options in Le Havre but assuming Princess allow you to disembark a day early (some lines do, some don’t) I can’t imagine it’ll be a problem finding a car service to take you to Paris, although it won’t be cheap. Or there’s a direct train to Paris St Lazare station every couple of hours if you can manage it with your luggage, which would be cheaper. There’s one at 10.03am, arriving at 12.20pm which would be ideal. Otherwise if you have to return to Southampton, you can fly direct to Paris CDG. There’s one direct flight, with Eastern Airways, at 3.10pm on the day you arrive.

Great! I should have said make sure you book the correct National Express stop at LHR. The Southampton coaches start at Heathrow Central (for Terminals 2 & 3), then pick up at Terminal 5 (British Airways).

Sure, it’s not ideal. But if there have to be compromises, parking is a relatively minor one. If folks aren’t happy they’ll almost certainly have the opportunity to cancel or move to another sailing.

I can see no issue whatsoever with dock scheduling. There are no other cruise ships due in port on any of Vision’s turnaround days in 2024. Parking may well be an issue, but it’s not an insurmountable one. They can always shuttle people to & from parking lots further afield, like Carnival does at Long Beach where the garage is too small to cope with two ships. This is an emergency situation. There’s no perfect solution and there will inevitably be disruption and inconvenience. All Royal can do is minimise it and do its best by its guests. But it can’t and won’t please everybody.

Not an issue. No other cruise ships are scheduled at Bayonne on any of Vision’s turnaround days in 2024.

She needs to go somewhere with availability that’s easily accessible for all the passengers who’ve already booked assuming she’d sail from Baltimore, and somewhere that’s convenient logistically with the necessary infrastructure already in place. Bayonne fits all those requirements. It’s the obvious choice.

LHR to Southampton - National Express run scheduled direct coaches every couple of hours. Quick, easy and relatively cheap. Otherwise you’re looking at a private car for $200 or more. Southampton to Paris - there’s one direct flight a day, normally around 5pm (3pm on Fridays, none on Saturdays). Otherwise you can fly from Heathrow or Gatwick or catch the train up to London Waterloo, jump in a cab to St Pancras and catch the Eurostar train from there direct to Paris Gare du Nord. Best to book the Eurostar asap as it’s dynamic pricing which only goes one way!

Tendering really isn’t a viable option at a home port where passengers will be carrying bags and the ship needs luggage and supplies loading and offloading.

Even in the peak summer vacation months of July & August there are many days when Bayonne has no ships scheduled. So availability isn’t an issue although of course there may have to be some tweaks to Vision’s itineraries - the odd day added or taken away - to make the schedules align. But Bayonne seems by far the most logical and sensible option for a temporary home port for Vision. I95 links them both and Amtrak runs trains between Baltimore and Newark as often as every 20 minutes. I’d be amazed if Royal opts for another solution.

I’d be surprised if a temporary terminal’s set up anywhere. That would be a costly logistical nightmare. Far easier for Royal to use Bayonne where the necessary infrastructure is already in place (not least CBP capability). It’s not busy - in April it only seems to be used once a week, by Anthem on Sundays. For those passengers unable or unwilling to drive Royal could arrange travel with Amtrak to Newark and lay on buses from there.

Officially no, but in practice once the window for early traditional closes they’ll start filling empty tables from the MTD line.

I hope Cunard make it very clear that it’s not a straight play, otherwise I foresee a lot of confusion and a lot of complaints from Jane Austen aficionados! The show is going on tour across the UK from September, presented by Cunard. https://prideandprejudicesortof.com

A hotel near Bond Street would work, as would Tottenham Court Road. Both stations are on the Elizabeth line with frequent direct trains to/from LHR, and both are also on a tube line with direct trains to/from Waterloo so take your pick. Tottenham Court Road also benefits from being within easy walking distance of the Theatre Royal. If you know which trains from Waterloo to Southampton and back you want, you’ll save quite a bit of money by booking in advance (but note with an advance ticket you can only travel on the exact trains you book).

Yes, I’m afraid you’ve found out the hard way that Eurostar’s best fares can sell out very quickly. Dynamic pricing in action I’m afraid. Waterloo to St Pancras should be a lot easier than it is by tube but annoyingly involves a change and a lot of dragging your luggage on to and off trains and escalators and along busy corridors. So I would recommend a cab or an Uber. A cab from the ship to Southampton Central should take no more than 10-15 minutes, depending on the terminal. If you’re off the ship early there’s rarely much of a line.

VV do things very differently to any other cruise line. It can take some getting used to. No MDR. Instead, six speciality restaurants which are all included for no extra charge (and are of far better quality than any MDR on Royal or Celebrity) but must be booked in advance on the app. Alcoholic drinks cost extra, either pay as you go or buy a bar tab in advance. No unlimited drinks packages that you may be used to elsewhere. Basic internet is included but you can pay to upgrade to premium. And you’ll obviously pay additional for the spa, excursions, certain onboard experiences, casino etc. But in general there’s less hard sell than on some lines.

Agreed. A world cruise is a huge investment and if you discover cruising isn’t for you, being stuck on a ship for 3 months having potentially shelled out tens of thousands of dollars would be utterly soul destroying. If you’re based in New York, why not try a transatlantic crossing on the QM2 first, to see if you enjoy life at sea the Cunard way? Also, you should be aware that Cunard is probably the most formal line there is when it comes to evening attire, and while there is no obligation to dress formally you would find yourself very much in the minority and excluded from several venues (not least the main restaurant and a number of bars) on gala nights if you didn’t.

Yes.

There’s a Refreshment package which includes all non-alcoholic drinks. I’ll leave others to confirm whether you can get Frappuccinos on ships without a standalone Starbucks kiosk like Liberty. They sell Starbucks coffee in the café but I don’t know whether it’s the full range.

My cruise was supposed to stop at Labadee on April 24th and I got the notification on Tuesday. So just over a month in my case.

Depends on the cruise line. The mainstream American lines like Royal Caribbean aim to start boarding around 11, so much the same as in the US (maybe a few minutes later). But the UK-based Cunard and P&O tend to be later - typically noon to 1:00.