Post Captain
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I'm with SteveH2508 on this one. (Sorry Cotswold Eagle & John Bull.:D)
The city of York, about a half hour by train from Leeds (both well served by intercity express train from King's Cross), makes an ideal base for exploring Yorkshire. There are more B&Bs in York than just about any other city/town in England (with the possible exceptions of Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon), and there's enough to see and do in York to keep you occupied for several days:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g186346-York_North_Yorkshire_England-Vacations.html
From York, you can take a bus to Pickering & take the North York Moors Railway (steam train) from there to Goathland. Pickering & Goathland are both delightful small towns, & the scenery is wonderful:
You can also take a tour to Castle Howard from York:
http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/
http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/yorkshire/Castle_Howard.htm
And visit Whitby:
And this is only just beginning to scratch the surface.
(And then there's Leeds itself--not a typical tourist destination, but a quite interesting city, where I once spent an entire year: http://www.vrleeds.co.uk/ )
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I may be wrong (but I don't think so:confused:;)) -- I think luvwater is asking about the feasibility of parking at Port Imperial and then taking a taxi from there over to the Manhattan piers, rather than taking the ferry.
If that's the question, I would say that there is no reason not to take the ferry, regardless of the weather. I don't know the taxi fare from Port Imperial to the West Side piers, but my guess is that it would be fairly pricy. For one thing, it's an interstate trip; after the taxi dropped you off in New York City, it would not be permitted to pick up passengers in there before retuning to New Jersey, so you'd basically be paying the round-trip price for a one-way ride, plus the significant toll through the Lincoln Tunnel.
If the weather is bad, simply take the ferry over to Manhattan as you are planning to do anyway, and then take a cab from the Manhattan ferry terminal to the pier (about 10 blocks). It couldn't be any easier.
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Alaskanb ~
Heathrow to the British Museum is relatively straightforward whichever way you do it. Train (Heathrow Express, or Heathrow Connect if you wish) + bus is faster (in theory, anyway) but more expensive; Underground (Piccadilly Line to either Holborn or Russell Square & then a short walk to the museum) is slower but less expensive. It's up to you.
The bus stop for the number 7 bus from Paddington to the BM is on the north side of Praed Street, about half a block from the station:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/tfl-bus-map/text/stopinfo.aspx?s=14020&r=7&rn=1#
The cash fare for the bus currently is £2.40.
The cash fare for the Underground from Heathrow currently is £5.70 each way = £11.40 round trip. A one-day off-peak travelcard (zones 1-6), good for travel after 9:30 a.m., costs £8.90, so would save you £2.50 per person off the full fare.
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Thanks for these Post Captain. Assault on a Queen I have heard of would love to see someday. Between Two Worlds sounds very interesting but, unfortunately not available on Netflix, will have to keep my eyes peeled for any TCM airings, it sounds like a dandy.
Jonathan
Unfortunately, Assault on a Queen wasn't as good as it sounds. Very talky--the members of Sinatra's gang spend a lot of time arguing among themselves before they actually get down to action, and the story moves rather slowly from there before reaching the denouement. I generally love Sinatra as an actor and as a singer, but this was not one of his better efforts.
Between Two Worlds is a minor classic. (Alas, it was mostly filmed in a studio, not on board a real ship. But don't let that stop you from seeing it.) When our ship entered a fog bank recently, my wife turned to me and simply said: "Between Two Worlds!" I immediately knew what she meant.
Both movies used to be shown frequently, many years ago, on Channel 9 and/or Channel 11 in New York.
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There was a rousing fireworks display on the evening of January 10 as the Queen Mary 2 prepared to depart on a cruise to South Africa and the Queen Elizabeth prepared to depart on the transatlantic leg of her 2014 world voyage. Ostensibly the fireworks were to celebrate the Mary's (almost) 10th anniversary, but they also served as a fitting send-off for the Elizabeth.
The Mary was scheduled to depart first, followed by the Elizabeth. However (according to Captain Wells on the Elizabeth), a stricken passenger had to be taken off the Mary at the last minute, delaying the ship's departure. Captain Wells also delayed the Elizabeth's departure, hoping the Mary would still be able to precede us; but in the end, Elizabeth sailed before her sister.
The fireworks took place shortly after the first sitting--around 8 p.m., if memory serves. I shot a couple of short videos from the starboard side promenade deck of Queen Elizabeth:
The recorded music heard in the videos was piped over the Queen Elizabeth's PA system. A rousing sendoff indeed!
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DEEDIA ~
Excellent advice, as always, from Greatam. Although I usually take the train, in your case the bus service makes much more sense--it's much more convenient for someone traveling with luggage, and it involves much less stress if you don't really know your way around.
According to the Coach USA/Olympia Trails website, you can buy your ticket on the bus. (Though I assume they accept payment in cash only, so of course you'll need to have U.S. dollars to hand.) As 138east notes, there's a savings if you purchase round-trip (=return) rather than single-trip tickets.
By the way... for what it's worth: Of the two hotels you mention, the Hotel Metro is the more centrally located. I walk past it frequently. It's literally around the corner from the Empire State Building, right in the heart of Manhattan. The Park South is a little more out of the way--not a bad location by any means, but a bit further from most of the places you'll probably want to visit during your stay in the city. (Years ago, I worked on in office on Park Avenue South, around the corner from the Park South Hotel.)
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I don't think these two have been mentioned yet:
Between Two Worlds (1944). A classic, atmospheric, haunting (in more ways than one) film starring Paul Henreid, Eleanor Parker, John Garfield, Sidney Greenstreet, et al., set on board a mysterious ocean liner. Fantastic score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold:
Assault on a Queen (1966). In this caper flick based on a novel by Jack Finney and adapted for the screen by Rod Sterling, Frank Sinatra assembles a gang and plans a daring heist. (Shades of Ocean's Eleven.) But it's not just any heist--Old Blue Eyes (in a strictly non-singing role) plans to salvage a sunken German U-Boat and use it to stop the Queen Mary on the high seas and rob the ship. Not a great film by any means, but moderately entertaining (thanks in part to a nice jazzy score by Duke Ellington). And the great Cunarder makes an appearance toward the end of the movie.
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ilovefh ~
I agree with Nitemare about staying in Stamford, an hour or so from New York City (although things get pretty congested during the multi-hour rush hour, especially around Stamford and then again as you near NYC). There are a number of hotels right downtown off I-95. (However, some of those tend to be rather pricy on a weeknight, as many of these hotels cater to corporate business travelers visiting Fortune 500 companies in the area.)
You might also take a look at hotels/motels in the Darien-Norwalk-Westport-Fairfield area, immediately north of Stamford along I-95 or the Merritt Parkway (Route 15).
In any case, coming down from New Hampshire, it doesn't make sense to stay in New Jersey--it's on the wrong side of the Hudson, and you'll pay dearly in $$$ and time (traffic) to get through the Lincoln Tunnel or across the Geo Washington Bridge.
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Twickenham (a few posts before this one) probably was referring to the #88 bus, which stops at Marsham Street near the intersection with Page Street--just around the corner from the Westminster Doubletree--and also just behind the Tate Britain on John Islip Street. The route runs via Westminster Abbey/ Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Circus, and up past Regent's Park, so is fairly convenient for the visitor staying at the Westminster Doubletree who wishes to see some of the major sights in central London.
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/AHF/TLJJP12P1__00006018.pdf
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/westminster-a4.pdf
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/central-london-bus-map.pdf
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If you have watched that Sherlock episode don't expect the inside of the cafe to look the same. The inside shots were taken in a cafe in Llandaff in Cardiff where a lot of Sherlock is filmed as it's made by BBC Wales.
And the interior of "221B Baker Street" is filmed at a studio in Cardiff too. The black door at 187 North Gower Street that doubles as the entrance to 221B Baker Street merely leads to some rather spartan student bedsits.
There's barely room for a dozen people inside Speedy's, let alone a film crew with cameras and sound equipment. When we were there, the place was mobbed (well, not mobbed really, but you know what I mean) by a gaggle of Japanese teenage girls who were hot on the trail of Cumberbatch & Freeman. They went away believing that I was Inspector Lestrade.:)
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But a one mile walk from Kings X to the hotel?
You might walk it.
I might walk it.
But I betcha the OP takes a cab :p:D
Am I right, LiseD?
JB :)
I think it's a safe bet to say that they'll take a cab if it's raining.;)
In other words... there's a 98 percent chance that they'll take a cab!:D
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Would you use the same route returning to Heathrow?
No reason why not.
Although... I prefer to just head to Southampton and board a Cunard liner to New York. Much slower, of course, but a rather more elegant way to travel. :);)
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Embarkation in New York was a shamozzle. The ship was late arriving, which had a cascading impact on everything that followed that day (or so I believe). I'm pretty relaxed about most things but even I thought embarkation was poorly organised. There was only one loudspeaker announcements and no one seemed to be telling the terminal staff what was going on - or they were telling them but the terminal staff were not communicating amongst themselves. There was no area for priority staff to wait, until one lady complained, and then they created one by having us sit on the opposite side of the terminal to the non- priority guests. This proved to be slightly awkward (sitting there looking at each other) so one of the Grills guests asked the terminal staff to have the non-priority guests turn around and face the other way (just kidding). After sitting and waiting for ages we didn't get our priority boarding as the terminal staff stuffed up again and let the wheelchair passengers onboard before the priority guests. So it wasn't a great start.
We disembarked in New York after the transatlantic leg from Southampton. As you've no doubt heard from those who stayed on from Southampton, we had a good four days or so of gales (Force 7 through 9), and Captain Wells steered a much more southerly course than initially planned, taking us southwesterly down past Finisterre and toward the Azores before setting the ship on a more westerly course in order to avoid the worst of the massive storm centered around Iceland. At times, to cope with the "lumpy seas," we slowed down to 12 knots or less. At his Friday (or was it Thursday?) noon announcement, Captain Wells suggested that we might not make it into New York before noon on Saturday.
As it turned out, we docked at around 8:30 a.m. Shortly thereafter, the good captain (who, you will have found, has a delightfully wicked sense of humor), announced that disembarkation might take longer than anticipated, owing to the fact that the Immigration people (or whatever they're called these days) were going to be particularly thorough in processing any and all non-US passengers (er, "guests"). Moreover, as is now the custom, all passengers were required to disembark and go through Immigration, whether or not they intended to go ashore in New York. Boarding of new passengers (er, "guests") would not be permitted until all that process had been completed.
As it turned out, the queues of disembarking passengers quickly backed up in the terminal, and many of us were held on the ship longer than originally anticipated, "for our own comfort."
But yes, QE is a beautiful ship. She doesn't handle heavy (or even moderate) seas particularly well; but otherwise--especially in the Queen's Room, the Cafe Carinthia, and the Midships Bar--you can easily imagine that you're on a true ocean liner, not a Vista-class cruise ship.
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That's the sort of access detail that's needed. :)
But a one mile walk from Kings X to the hotel?
You might walk it.
I might walk it.
But I betcha the OP takes a cab :p:D
Am I right, LiseD?
JB :)
Yup... I assumed that too, but didn't want to suggest it, as I was giving her the most frugal (er, cheapest:D) option.
(I can walk a mile in under 20 minutes, even in my advanced state of very-late-middle-aged decrepitude and trailing a 26-inch piece of rolling luggage behind me. It's good for the soul, if not the soles. I always forget that others may not care, or not be able, to attempt such perambulatory penance.;))
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<b><font color="Blue">Heathrow to hotel</font></b><br />
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<b>Or by tube at £6.50 pp.</b><br />
Obviously the cheapest option & not as difficult with luggage as many tube journeys. Trains every 5 or 10 minutes depending on your terminal, journey time around 35 minutes, no changes if you alight at Russell Square. You board at the start of the route so no difficulty getting seats & setting your luggage around you. Trains do fill later in the journey.<br />
Main krunch is that with luggage I don't know how easy from train to street at Russell Square, perhaps a Londoner can advise. Yes, a nine minute level walk to your hotel.<br />
Goodge Street may be a shorter walk - but changing tube lines at Leicester Square, with luggage ? I certainly wouldn't choose that option.<br />
My preferred route when travelling by Underground from Heathrow to Bloomsbury with luggage is to take the Piccadilly Line all the way to King's Cross/St Pancras. Yes, the Russell Square stop is closer to the Arofsa hotel, but the station itself is a nightmare with luggage. King's Cross/St. Pancras is a "step-free" Underground station, meaning that you can make your way from the train to the surface (street level) with having to negotiate a single stair--there are modern lifts (elevators) throughout the station, making it much, much easier to get out of the station when you are carrying luggage.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/avoiding-stairs-tube-guide.pdf
It's then just under a mile's walk to the Arofsa.
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That looks really nice. I really like this type of private B&B for budget stays in London. And you cannot underestimate the value of having a full English breakfast... Like the location too - in the heart of Bloomsbury, walking distance to the British Museum. If you go up near Euston station, on Drummond St. there's a good and quite inexpensive Indian restaurant called Chutneys - went to the lunchtime buffet, very good as I recall.:D
Exactly!
There are several Indian restaurants on Drummond Street; we recently had a lunchtime all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet at the Diwana Bhel Poori House at 121-123 Drummond Street for £6.95 per person (plus a couple of pounds for drinks).
And just around the corner (and up the street from the Arofsa) is Speedy's Sandwich Bar & Cafe, at 187 North Gower Street, featured in the current BBC (and PBS Mystery) series Sherlock:
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Thanks for all the great advice....especially about setting up a budget and deciding where to spend $ and at which ports! It would be a shame to fly into London and not spend a day or two there. I have been before but my girls and husband have not. I also thought it would be great to have a few days to get over jet lag before getting on ship!
I think I found a good place.....Arosfa.... http://www.arosfalondon.com/ based on a recommendation and good trip adviser reviews. It is going to be $250 per night...but includes breakfast and we get 3 beds....one double and 2 twins. AND they let 4 of us stay in the same room....issue with other hotels was the girls needed to be 16 and under.
From everything I've read, the Arofsa is a very good choice--and it's in my favorite part of London, Bloomsbury. I've stayed in other similar hotels right along the same row on Gower Street many times over the years; I was in the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and walked past the Arofsa on my way to the British Museum, just a 10-minute walk away.
The English breakfasts are substantial and will keep you going through a good part of the day. For a reasonably priced lunch, you might want to try the Pret a Manger chain; they're all over London (and all over New York City too) and do good sandwiches and snacks. Or buy pre-made sandwiches, snacks, and drinks at a supermarket such as Sainsbury.
For getting to Southampton, I too would recommend Megatrain, already mentioned by some other posters. You can purchase an e-ticket six weeks (I think it is) in advance; print it out at home and bring it with you. The train leaves from Waterloo Station and takes just over an hour and a half. Check the Megatrain website. National Express also offers very cheap fares (if you book ahead) on some coach (bus) services from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton.
London is a very expensive city; but with careful planning, it is possible to stay and to get around at less cost than one might otherwise pay.
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Thank you for the link. Convoluted regulations such as those outlined on the page are normally instituted to incent or discourage certain behavior. There is a potential Ph.D. dissertation in trying to figure out the motivational logic behind the Oyster vs Travelcard options.
I'm tempted to say that there's no logic to it... just a perverse motivation to keep 'outsiders' flummoxed.;)
In point of fact, as far as I can figure, the motive is to give regular riders a decent discount off the full fare--a fare that, if charged for buses and the subway in New York City, would have citizens rioting in the streets. (Well, where else would they riot?) Those who ride the buses and Underground trains in London on daily basis have a strong financial motive to learn precisely how the Oyster cards and Travelcards cost out, regardless of the complexity. Those who just happen to be passing through London don't have as strong a motive to put extreme mental energy into learning, in minute detail, how the system works.
When last I lived in London, in the previous decade, you could save money off the regular bus fare by purchasing a book of ten paper tickets for 9 pounds--i.e., 90 pence (roughly $1.50) per ride, not limited (if I recall correctly) by fare zones and calendar constraints. The Oyster card was just being introduced, but those of us who were technically or mathematically challenged, or who just liked to walk, could still hop onto a bus occasionally and not pay the already exorbitant full fare and, at the same time, not expend brain power we didn't possess trying to figure out how much our travels were costing us.
The London Underground, unlike the New York City subway system with its one-price-per-ride-regardless-of-distance fares, has always operated on a graduated fare system based on the distance travelled. In that regard, as in some others, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority's Metrocard is much easier to understand, even with a different level of discounts depending on the price of the card. And whereas each traveller needs his or her own Oyster card to ride the London Underground, up to four travellers can share a single Metrocard on New York City subways or buses (with the relevant number of fares being deducted from the total amount of money on the card, of course).
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I am so glad you are asking these questions.....it is confusing....
Right now we plan on buying a 7-day, travel at any time, zone 1-2 Travelcard with photo ID....and also an Oyster card when going outside of zone 1-2.......hopefully this is a good plan......???
Assuming that most of your travel during those seven days will be within zones 1-2, and that you might travel outside those zones just once or twice during your stay in London... Personally, I would just purchase the seven-day zone 1-2 Travelcard, as you already are planning to do. Then, on a day when you will be travelling outside zones 1-2, just buy a one-day Travelcard (one per person) covering the appropriate number of zones, and use that--or just pay the full fare for those few individual trips... whichever is cheaper.
However--stop the presses!:eek:--my understanding is that the 7-day Travelcard no longer exists as a simple Travelcard. Instead, you need an Oystercard, onto which the money for a 7-day Travelcard is then loaded. It's still called a Travelcard, but it isn't a Travelcard.
See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx
I'm reminded of the old BBC radio programme 'I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue.'
Which is why, in London, most of the time when time is not of the essence, I walk.:)
Mornington Crescent!
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The rules, regulations, and general intricacies of the Oystercard and Travelcard are about as arcane as the hierarchies and practices of the Freemasons or the Order of the Golden Dawn. Even those of us who are frequent visitors to London and can easily find our way blindfolded from Holland Park to Mornington Crescent, from Uxbridge to Upminster, from Shepherd's Bush to the Angel, are often flummoxed by the system.
An American tourist has a better chance of understanding cricket than of comprehending the ins and outs of the London Oystercard. Indeed, a master's degree in engineering from MIT and a double Ph.D in international affairs and astrophysics from Stanford University (along with a chair at the Hoover Institution plus a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton) will be of little avail in penetrating the mysteries of the system and weighing the various options against one another.
That said, here's a comprehensive and reasonably helpful discussion on this very topic:
http://londontoolkit.com/briefing/travelcard_oyster.htm
Study that page carefully, then return here to sit your three-hour written exam on the subject at the end of Michelmas term.;)
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Just to update the story of the end of the Pacific Princess, with some sad details, via Peter Knego's Maritime Matters website:
http://maritimematters.com/2013/08/update-tragedy-befalls-stricken-love-boat/
http://maritimematters.com/2013/08/ex-pacific-princess-heeling-over/
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Thanks. Sorry I was not more specific. :) We are looking at the 21st of December. We would definitely park at the port. We did that last time and it was so convenient and easy.
I was wondering if there was a place away from the airport. I don't really have a specific budget as I am not sure what the prices for hotel stays are like in the area. I would love a hotel that has a breakfast included. There will be four of us traveling together, so the closer we can get to Manhattan on the Jersey side, the better. It would be nice to have walkable access to a train to Manhattan area also.
Thanks so much for your help. I am trying to find time to peruse the boards a bit in order to gain more knowledge about the area.
BTSEN5 ~
The following discussion thread is well-nigh definitive in terms of the information it gives about the hotels in Jersey City, directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan:
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548 West 48th Street is just a few doors from the corner of 11th Avenue--only one block from the entrance to Pier 88 at 12th Avenue & West 48th St. If the ship is berthed at Pier 88, the gate there should be open.
The walk may not be scenic (until you get to the point where you can see your ship ahead of you), but it is quite short and safe. Stay on the sidewalk on the south side of West 48th Street; this will bring you right to the crosswalk across 12th Avenue and directly to the entrance to Pier 88.
The Google street view shows exactly what you'll encounter along the way. (I just tried it myself.;)) Though we can't guarantee what the weather will be like on the day of your departure.:D
For what it's worth, DW & I walk to the pier from the subway at 8th Ave & 50th Street, a somewhat longer walk than you will have. (Though we haven't done this with luggage--just for occasional ship visits.)
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If you are arriving in Newark Penn Station, it is easy getting to Cape Liberty. Take the PATH train to Exchange Place. From Exchange Place take the Light Rail (Stop is on corner as you exit PATH station) to Bayonne's 34th Street station. From there take a taxi approx. 2 miles to Cape Liberty cruise terminal. The total cost, including taxi, will be approx. $12. Have coins for the PATH and Light Rail ticket machines....both trains run approximately every 10 to 15 minutes.
You may have to phone for taxi. There are several local companies that will quickly pick up.
Excellent directions here. Just one slight correction/clarification: The ticket machines for the PATH train and for the Light Rail all take dollar bills as well as coins (giving change in coins); the machines also accept credit cards and debit cards.
What are your Favorite Cruise Ship Movies?
in Ask a Cruise Question
Posted
Thanks... I'd forgotten about The Passage of the Lady Anne. Certainly looks like it was inspired by Between Two Worlds.
If I may mention a particular episode of a TV series that had a ghost/ cruise ship theme...
A few years ago we saw & heard the TV producer and writer Mark Perry as a guest speaker on the Celebrity Constellation. As well as being a prolific producer and scriptwriter for some well-known TV shows, Perry is also a ship enthusiast, serves on the board of the SS United States Conservancy, and was executive producer of the 2008 documentary SS United States: Lady in Waiting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_United_States:_Lady_in_Waiting
In his capacity as a writer-producer on the TV program Ghost Whisperer, he wrote an episode that was filmed on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, titled "Save Our Souls." Melinda (the Ghost Whisperer, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) and her husband take a cruise on the last voyage of an old ship that is about to be retired and sent to the breakers; during the cruise, she discovers that the ship is full of restless ghosts.
The episode is filled with wry, witty references to movies set on ships. For example, the ship is named the Claridon (the name of the fictional ship in The Last Voyage), and one of the ghosts is named Mr. Rogo (the name of the Ernest Borgnine character in The Poseidon Adventure). It's all very silly, but great fun, and it's a good watch just for the chance to see the decks and interiors of the old Queen Mary: