FionaMG

The Ibis Sagrada Familia is a good choice if you're budget conscious. They have a decent, reasonably priced breakfast buffet and it's only a couple of minutes walk from the Sagrada Familia and the metro. The metro in Barcelona is very easy to use. You can get a shareable card that gives you ten journeys. Also, look up Runner Bean Tours. They are great and they offer a variety of walking and tapas tours. A couple of their walking tours are free. You just tip the guide at the end.

I can't help thinking that as far as slow sales in Europe are concerned, it's less likely to be about Brexit and more likely to be about the astronomically high prices. We are doing the Caribbean again this year because it's actually cheaper for us to fly all the way across the pond and cruise there than it is to cruise in our own back yard.

Why do they have to reposition empty? Is it something to do with that law about travel between US ports?

MSC actually does precisely this in December, January and February with two alternating 7-night itineraries: Cozumel, Cuba, Belize and Honduras; and Cozumel, Cuba, Montego Bay and Caymen Islands. I can't help wondering if it's a deliberate ploy. But I guess it's not much help if you have to break the law to do it. ? Hope it all works out for all of you who have been looking forward to visiting Cuba.

They will change them for you in the casino.

I have. I can't remember whether it was Harmony or Adventure or possibly both and on at least one of those they had a Spanish language version of it as well.

We will be new diamonds on our next cruise. I don't drink alcohol at all, ever. I was wondering if mixer juices would count as soda or if you can really only get things like Coke and Sprite? Also, is the soda fountain soda or in cans? Thanks a lot.

I have done the "Rome on your own" (not sure if that's still the name of it). It is essentially a bus ride to and from the centre of Rome with a guide on board who gives you a bit of commentary along the way. They dropped us off very close to the Vatican and we then had (if I remember right) 6 hours to do our own thing. It was ideal for us as it combined the convenience and peace of mind of being on a ship sponsored tour, especially bearing in mind the distance from port, with the flexibility of not having to follow a big tour group around.

Have you looked in your Cruise Planner to see if it is there? You would find it by clicking on the Order History tab. Otherwise, it would be worth checking your Cruise Planner daily because prices fluctuate wildly. In my CP, the price of the key has shot up astronomically from yesterday to today but it has also shown as sold out and then reappeared for sale a couple of days later. I wish I could be of more help. Hope it works out for you.

It's just popped up in my Cruise Planner too. Price (in GBP) is £49.40, which works out at about $64. This is on Adventure in November. Doesn't seem like a great deal on my sailing, with the 3-night package currently selling at £52.44 ($68).

Can I throw out another option for you to consider? The Best Western Plus Oceanside Inn on Seabreeze. We stayed there for 3 nights two years ago and will be staying again this coming November. We like it because of the location very close to the beach and with plenty of shops and eating places in walking distance. It's on the sun trolley route and there's a water taxi stop in walking distance. Also, there is a very decent buffet breakfast included in the price. If you are a member of the BW rewards scheme you can get a bit if a discount.

I can recommend the Hampton Miami Brickell. We stayed there this past November and would definitely stay again. A big plus is that the price includes a very decent breakfast buffet. Lots of eating places in walking distance and just a couple of hundred yards away you have the free metro mover which will take you to the Bayside area. Just a suggestion, whichever hotel you choose, if you are not a member of their loyalty programme sign up before booking as this will often get you an extra 5% to 10% off the price. Hampton Inn is a member of the Hilton chain, for example.

It disappeared from my cruise planner two days ago. Now only shows UDP and 3-night package.

This is our philosophy too. We will usually pick the cheaper option between a promenade cabin and an ocean view cabin. I have never sailed in a "proper" interior because I think it might feel like being in a big cupboard.

A couple we met on Navigator sailed in one of these. They said it's like a big tv turned on its side. They weren't particularly enamoured with it. They turned it off at night because they found it disturbed them. I have not sailed in one myself so can't give any first-hand impressions.

We stayed in 7279 on Navigator this past November. This room is in the centre but right opposite the pub and we found it could be quite noisy at night, with live music playing until after midnight, so that's something to bear in mind if it might disturb you. The photos show the view from the window.

Corfu is easy to do on your own. You can get a cab or the local bus from outside the port terminal to the old town. It's just a short drive. Athens can be done on your own. We got a local train. However I felt we did not see as much as we might have done on an excursion because we did not know our way around and by the time we reached the acropolis it was packed. Also, we could have done with a guide to explain everything we were seeing. If you can find a reliable local tour company that will pick you up early from the port so you reach the acropolis before the crowds arrive, as well as seeing some of the other sights, that would be a big plus in my book. I can't comment on your other two ports as I have not been to either.

Which ones will you be calling at and how much time do you have in each?

We had 3550 o/v on Serenade, which is the same class as Brilliance so I imagine almost identical. We did not hear any noise from the centrum even once during our 12-day cruise, so you should be fine in that respect. A couple of things to consider are that the view isn't anything to write home about that low down and you may have to keep the curtains closed for privacy if the ship ties up with your side next to the dock.

You can cancel and rebook any cruise planner purchases multiple times to take advantage of any sales. However, always look at the bottom line and not the percentage discount because that is usually off the on board prices which tend to be higher than cruise planner prices. That said, you can sometimes snag a really good deal (on our last cruise I managed to get the BOGO dining package at a price that worked out to $15 per person per meal) but you need to be vigilant (read "obsessive"), checking your cruise planner every day and keeping track of prices so that you will be able to recognise a genuine sale when one crops up.

While waiting to board a flight recently I saw another variant of the "Not your bag" tag that I liked a lot. It said: "Not worth taking". ? Great idea about making a DIY version.