shofer

We used National Express from Heathrow to London and then London to Southampton. It was an excellent experience and in 2018 the Senior rate was 5 pounds/pp with a 1 pound service charge.

In 2015 we stayed pre- and post-cruise at the Ibis-Central in Amsterdam. It's next to the railroad station and on a canal. I don't remember what we paid but it certainly not expensive. Basic, very clean, very modern. No meals included but close to many restaurants and shopping. We walked to the Anne Frank house. After, we took the canal boat back to the hotel as my friend was dealing with a bum knee.

We had a scheduled 6:30 which was fine the first 2 days. The maitre'd made a "reservation" for our table. Day 3 the couple before us was still occupying "our" table so we were seated in a different station. After that, we just delayed arriving until 7 and were seated immediately.

Our first cruise was on Horizon in 1993 and we were hooked on Celebrity. Over the next 25 years, we mixed in a few Princess and Royal and I can honestly say I've never had a bad cruise or cruise experience. Several were for the ports, Hawaii and Alaska especially and some were just for the cruise. In 2018, we celebrated our 50th Anniversary with a 15 day Trans-Atlantic on Silhouette. The weather was not so good and we did find ourselves somewhat bored by the uninspired "activities". But once we finally landed in Boston, NYC and Bermuda before finishing up in Florida, we had a grand time. We thought Silhouette was one of the prettiest ships we had ever been aboard. This past January, we took a "quick" 7 day on Symphony OTS and were so impressed by all the activities and the shows, that we are talking about going again. I think your state of mind plays a big part in deciding if you have a good time or not. We always anticipate a good time and always have one.