Sarah

I've had a GTY room several times and have always had the cabin assigned very quickly and it's never changed. Enjoy Alaska ?

@Cruisemad888 if booking in the UK we are not able to take advantage of price drops like those booking in the US - UK bookings (as far as I know) are protected by ABTA / ATOL and usually command a higher price. The only "solution" is to cancel, forfeit deposit and rebook.

I have used Panet Criuise in the past (they advertise on the Ideal World shopoing channel and are part of Iglu). The first couple of times was ok and then they made a mistake with some of our info (names, date of birth etc) - which you think they'd have had from previous bookings and then they got my email address wrong so there were issues. To be honest I wasn't that impressed and the last couple of cruises I have booked I have done so directly with the company as Planet / Iglu were not offering any extra incentives (OBC etc) to book with them. Oh and they forgot to add our Crown & Anchor numbers to the booking which was something else to sort out

Thanks Jane for a fab live blog

I priced up a cruise from Southampton to sail this year. I looked at the solo price and the price if I added a non-travelling mystery companion. The solo price was more than having two people in the cabin!! Ridiculous. In the end I chose to sail with another company. I only wanted a week's cruise, I didn't mind where to put me onto diamond level in C&A. Oh well, there's always next year to try!

thank you @Lovetocruise2002 for a great, fun review

Thank you @twangster for another amazing blog. The ship looked lovely with lots of space for a small ship and places to relax and hang out. And, as always your pics were fantastic

Yes - even on an inside cabin!!

On sailings from Southampton there will be a kettle in your stateroom. If it only has tea with it (which mine did last year) ask for coffee and your stateroom attendant will put some in for you... or leave them a note! Enjoy ?

Last year I cruised 12 nights from Southampton to Baltic capitals - fabulous - but could have been a day or two longer as it can take a day or two from Southampton. Several of the ports were back to back days - a day off in the middle would have been a great rest day. Last month I did a 7 night crusie and was just starting to relax and get my bearings around the ship when it was time to get off. Longer is better!!

I sailed from Southampton last year. I'm Emerald status. My friends had not cruised before. We were all permitted to join the Emerald (or however it's classed) queue when checking in. I did ask on arrival if that was ok

Thank you so much for sharing your cruise. This time last year I was on a very similar cruise - Navigator from Southampton - it's great to hear of your experience.

Absolutely stunning pics - thanks for sharing

Usually on ships departing the UK Royal have a kettle in the cabin. If there isn't any coffee (for some reason they sometimes only put tea in) ask your stateroom attendant and they can get some sachets for you

Jamie Fentiman was great when he was CD on a cruise out of Southampton I took a couple of years or so ago