This section of Solent Richard’s Cruise Blog is dedicated to answering specific questions that readers of the blog may have regarding any of the reviews that appear on the blog.
To ask a question simply add your question to the ‘Comment’ box that appears at the end of each review.
A self confessed Cruiseaholic...... with barely enough funds to support his passion!
Cruises, cruising, and cruise news by Tom Burke
Welcome aboard and nice to meet you. My wife and I are seasoned cruisers having first dipped our toes into the world of cruising in 1990, a one week cruise on board the Cunard Countess. The majority of our cruising has been with two cruise lines, Cunard and P&O. We have, however, sailed on 21 different cruise ships, some many times over, on 11 different cruise lines while completing 619 cruise nights on board.
Solent Richard's Cruise Blog 
What a great review of the Viking Star! A quick question. We will be on the Star next April and Rome is one of our stops. It sounds like the included 10hr excursion covered all to be seen in Rome – would this suit us as first timers to be able to “see and do” Rome on a limited budget without having to pay for an independent tour? Thanks in anticipation
Good afternoon Helen.
In response to your question it certainly will suit you as first timers. What’s more the excursion uses the best of local guides and covers one hell of a lot of ground. You will be given some free time for lunch but can still put it to good use to see a bit more. Ask the guide for advice.
Hope that helps.
Richard
Dear Richard,
I’m writing to say that your blog has made it onto our Top 10 Cruise Blogs! You can see the page here – http://www.antarcticaguide.com/top-10-cruise-bloggers-2016/.
We love your blog and believe that our readers will get a lot from it when preparing for a cruise. I particularly like how detailed each of your cruise reviews are – literally packed with information! Just what any reader wants 🙂
Let me introduce myself though, I am the senior editor for the website http://www.antarcticaguide.com . Antarctica Guide is a totally free portal dedicated to giving Antarctica cruise travelers the best information possible for their trip, please check it out and see what you think. We’re all very passionate about Antarctica cruises and we really just want to get the word out there as to the possibility of visiting the unique continent.
If you like our site, would you mind linking back to us in your ‘Blogs I follow’ section? It would be a real privilege to receive a link back from your blog as it’s truly one of our favorites! There is very little unbiased travel information surrounding Antarctica cruises and your readers would hopefully get a lot of info from our site.
Kind regards Richard and I hope you have a great week!
Burnham
Hi.
I am writing a blog about parquet flooring – parquetflooring.blogspot.com – and i would like to publish a short article containing an image copyrighted to you from Livadia Palace in Crimeea. Unfortunatelt there is no contact section to this blog so I am asking permission to use this image with the mention that we will quote the source with a link to your blog.
Thank you.
I have responded by email with approval to use the image.
Hello Richard! Scott from China/HongKong in March. Nice website! I wish you guys the best.
Richard, just wanted your advice planning a cruise in June that finishes in Barcelona and am thinking of getting a cruise from Southampton the same day, just wondering how doable is getting from Barcelona to Southampton in time to board for the second cruise. Disembarkation on the first cruise means we could aim for 9am flight to Heathrow??? And then get a car service direct to Southampton to board second cruise. Your thoughts and comments would be much appreciated. Cheers V. PS we are Aussies so no EU passport which could mean delays in Heathrow???
Hi Richard . Your review of Croatia on the Lady Eleganza was inspirational reading. Re the actual yacht: could you please advise how steep the stairs are between the main and lower deck cabins. ie: Are they more like ladders on a steep angle? Or reasonably pitched stairs? Hope that makes sense.
Hi Richard,
My wife are travelling on a cruise to Ho Chi Ming City and we are aware that it is a fair distance from the cruise port to Ho Chi Ming City. So we are wondering if you know of any private transportation providers that we could pre-book to take us from the cruise port to and return to Ho Chi Ming City.
We look forward to hearing from you regarding this question or maybe other bloggers may be able to help.
Good morning Peter. I don’t have a list of private transfer operators. What I would recommend is that you possibly source a DIY transfer using the ship’s excursion desk. Once in Saigon there will be plenty of eager Vietnamese guides to whizz you around the best places. Hope that helps.