MichelleR1963

2 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

I don't know the last time I flew United into anything other than T2...

 

If you go to United.com, travel info, Airport and Aircraft info, you'll find info on United at Heathrow. The maps are T2. I'm pretty sure the entire Star Alliance goes out of T2 for connections and lounges.

Thank you.  Needed to know so I could book our bus transport to Southampton.  Will be meeting up with a former co-worker in Southampton on Sunday afternoon.  

32 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

The 8.15 bus should be fine, but you can add the Change & Go supplement during the booking process if you wish.

 

After deplaning you will first clear passport control. Assuming you have a biometric US passport (most now are) you can use the automatic E-gates rather than queue for an immigration officer. You just put your passport in the machine, look at the camera and hopefully it matches your face and lets you through. 

 

After that you reclaim your bags and walk through customs, then you’re landside. If you arrive at Terminal 2 or 3 (all US airlines and Virgin) you’ll need to make your way via the underground walkways to the Central Bus Station. It’s a 5-10 minute walk and clearly signed.

 

 

Thank you so much for the info.  

On 6/2/2023 at 9:57 AM, gumshoe958 said:

It’s perfectly possible to do it in less than an hour if your passport works at the automatic border gates (US passports generally do).

 

The big unknown is always baggage delivery.

 

If you allow 2 hours you should be fine. But you might consider paying £5 for the Change & Go add-on that allows you to use any coach 12 hours either side of the one you booked, as long as there’s space.

 

Or - use the tube which runs every 5-10 minutes from all terminals so no need to worry about missing it. Piccadilly line to Barons Court, then a simple cross-platform interchange to the District line to Victoria with elevators at both ends if required.

 

 

Following this thread... We arrive at 6 am on a Sunday in August at Heathrow.. We are planning to take the National Express bus to Southampton.  Choice is an 8:15 or a 10:00 departure.  It sounds like the 8 would work.  Do you add the Change and Go when you book?  I didn't go that far in the app.  Also I'm assuming the flow is after deplaning, get the bags go through customs and find bus..  Where/How does the automatic border gates work?  Sorry for the stupid question, but first trip to Europe!  🙂  Thanks!

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Well, if you really can't be persuaded to spend one night in London, the way to do it is to pre-book a train  from Southampton to London Waterloo at the "advance" fares.

Advance fares are available from about 12 weeks out, the fares increase (or are sold-out) as the travel date gets closer. Advance tickets are only valid for the train time that you booked - miss that train and your advance tickets are trash, you'll have to buy walk-up tickets for the next train (£52 to £88 !!!! depending on the time) 

Because that route is used by commuters and business travellers, trains which arrive at Waterloo after 10am are cheapest at £14.50 one-way. But since you'll only have one inadequate day in London I'd suggest the 07.30 train at £23.50, which arrives at Waterloo at 08.45 - altho it will be crowded on a monday.

 

Advance tickets for a train back to Southampton are mainly £9.20 to £14.50.

 If you want a "proper" evening meal in Southampton, book a train which gets you back by about 8pm to 8.30pm. If you want an evening meal in London or to eat on-the-hoof, the latest time to be back in Southampton is when/if the hotel locks-up for the night - bear in mind  London's  latest hours for the ho-ho's & inside visits to places, but there's still plenty to see or do in London in the evening. 

 

Waterloo station is a five-minute walk to the nearest ho-ho stop, or a 15-minute walk across Westminster Bridge to the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben etc) & Westminster Abbey. From there it's an interesting walk up Whitehall from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square.

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/ (your stations are Southampton Central and London Waterloo)

 

Useful London info including ho-ho options and links, at 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

JB 🙂

Thanks John.  I know it'll be brief, you learn as you go along.  I should have booked flight separately from the NCL deal, and added more time.  My great grandmother and grandmother were from York and there's definitely not enough time to get there.   Will make plans for another trip.  Appreciate your feedback.

9 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Why would you go to Southampton from Heathrow when you intend to come back to London the next day to do a HOHO? I realize that hotels are cheaper in Southampton, but that makes no sense. 

Wasn't a cost thing, we are cruising out of Southampton on a Tuesday, and my DH wants to stay close to the port.  He also retired from public transport so he wants to check out the rails.  

3 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

Going to Southampton then returning to London the next day chews a lot of time.  Any saving in hotel cost is likely to be chewed up by the extra you pay in rail tickets.  I really would not arrange the trip like this.

Trains between Southampton and London use the Waterloo terminus.  There are a few services to Victoria but these go a circuitous route and take much longer.

Thank you. DH wants to stay at the port.  It'll be an adventure.  Waterloo was what I was looking to find out.  🙂

6 hours ago, markeb said:

What are you overall plans? One night in the UK before the cruise or two?

 

I tend to agree with gnome12 that you're using up a lot of time going to Southampton and then coming back to London. I'd be much more inclined to go into London on your arrival day, take that day to see what you can, explore more the next day, then take a bus or train to Southampton for your cruise. But I'd need some idea of your overall itinerary to really give any options. You'll be jetlagged the first day, but if you're in Waterloo, for instance, you can wander many of the historic sites of London on your arrival day. You won't have those options in Southampton...

 

United uses Terminal 2 at Heathrow.

We are arriving Sunday at 6 am, staying 2 nights in Southampton, I found the train station is a 15 minute walk from the hotel and takes a little over an hour to get to London. Plan is to do a HOHO and do a bit of exploring in London. Originally I was planning to stay in London then transfer to Southampton, but DH wants to stay at the port for ease on getting onboard on Tuesday and not switch hotels.

9 hours ago, JHLH821 said:

this is the website where you can check future schedules- it appears dates for August are not yet posted. https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/.  The NCL ships mare showing berth 102 which is at Horizon terminal

Thank you.  I meant to say terminal at the airport. 🙂 We are doing the NCL Getaway out of berth 102. 

We will be arriving from the states at Heathrow airport and are leaning towards taking the bus to our hotel in Southampton.    I don't know what terminal we will arrive in.  Is there a way to know?  We will be flying in on United Airlines.  I apparently need to know what terminal to book the bus tickets.  Also, we arrive at 6 am -  what time would be a safe bet to book the bus?  We will have to get bag and go through customs and find our way.  This is our first overseas trip.

Also, we plan to take the train into London the following day and do one of the HOHO's.  Any suggestions on a) Which HOHO to use?  b) which train station in London to get off in?   

Is there a savings prebooking the train fare?  Since we will be jet lagged, I'm wondering what time will be up and functional!  LOL..

Thank you.

Thank you Beachlover1989!  I will hang onto the info.

44 minutes ago, Beachlover1989 said:

Just a taxi - Bruges is so easy to do on your own! Research a great lunch spot for mussels, buy some Belgian chocolates, take a canal tour, visit the church, get a beer at De Halve Maan, and fries at one of the little shops at Market Square. 

Good news.  We have 10 hours in port.  Did you have to call for a taxi or were there taxi's at the port?  I'm trying to determine how much I need to prearrange.  Do  you happen to know if they take US currency and what a cab might cost?  Did you have any issues with the language?  Were there any issues getting a cab back to the port?

On 5/12/2023 at 9:47 AM, Beachlover1989 said:

Bruges has been perhaps our most favorite European port!  We took a very fun taxi to city center and then could basically walk the entire city easily!  Such a wonderful little town!

Bruges looks really wonderful.. We have a port stop there and are trying to decide whether to take a taxi into to town or to do a shore excursion.  Thoughts?

43 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

It should take no longer than an hour to get landside, and quite possibly far less.

If you have a US passport (or EU or many other countries) you can use the automated gates at the UK border instead of queueing to see an immigration officer. There’s often no queue at all for those. Customs is normally just a walk-through unless you have goods to declare or are unlucky enough to get stopped. The main variable, as at most airports, is baggage reclaim.

We do have passports so perhaps that will be helpful..  This is our first international flight.  Won't know our airport/flight info until 45 days out.

8 hours ago, Bob++ said:

After our recent holiday, I can confirm that signage in Heathrow is excellent. I can also confirm that it's a long trudge through immigration, baggage claim and customs to the meet and greet area. 

 

If I were you, I would not rush. With any luck, the regulars-in-a-hurry will be long gone by the time you get there.

How long would you say it would take to get through all the above?  Although I don't yet have my flight info yet, We will need to arrange transportation from the airport (either Heathrow or Gatwick)  to the Southampton Port.  Thanks 

14 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If you search here on CC, you’ll find a zillion threads on transporting meds overseas.

At a minimum, get a “back panel” printout from your pharmacy.

The CVS one is excellent with pill pix, Rx info, etc. Only narcotics need to be in original containers.

good to know.. We each get meds from different places (crazy that it's cheaper at CVS with a coupon, that my online pharmacy doesn't honor.  You need to be a researcher to figure out the best price!  Luckily we have time to figure it out.  No narcotics at all.  Diabetic meds, BP, Tylenol.  Advil.  etc.  Thank you

9 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I only take required medications with me. I also take a couple extra days worth. I also understand that none of my medications are life threatening. In other words, I’m not going to die immediately if I should happen to miss a couple of days of BP medication.

 

I don’t travel with all my vitamins either. Yes, good to take but not necessary for continuation of life if I miss a couple of weeks.

Thank you for the quick response!  I agree about taking extra meds.  but my DH won't go without his "horse Pill" glucosamine chondroitin.  . 

Between my husband and I we take a bunch of meds/vitamins.  We are going on a cruise in August 2023 and will be traveling for 12 days.  Going from the states to a cruise starting in England and going to 8 ports.  I normally fill our weekly pill boxes and haven't had a problem.  This is our first travel overseas.  Some of our pills come in Costco sized bottles and other bottles are larger because of having a 3 month supply.  I also have an injectable med which I found a "keep cold" travel pouch.

Any suggestions on how to handle this?  I was thinking of photographing the labels and pill with markings?   

Thank you.  

4 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I flew LAX-Dubai using NCL BOGO air.  The tickets were for Emirates airlines.  I immediately logged onto the Emirates Air website, signed up for a frequent flyer account ( even though i will never fly them again..as far as I know).  After logging on, I paid to upgrade to emergency row seats ( go to seat guru to see a map of the seating plan for your plane configuration), and paid whatever baggage fees I needed to pay.  If you are flying a partner airline from any Frequent Flyer Program you may have, you can probably use your miles to upgrade to Premium class seat.  If you choose exit row, just make sure you, or your traveling partner do not have any mobility issues.   My partner had injured his knee and was using a cane for recovery, Emirates made us move to a different row.  They moved us to bulkhead, with no one sitting between us.  Hopefully your flight won't be full ( fingers crossed), and then you can move to an empty row after the doors close. 

Good info... thanks for sharing!  I'm hoping it won't be full.  We don't fly very often, we've been due for a vacay.

4 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

the moment you get your air flights from NCL, go directly to the airlines website.  Register ( if you have never used them before). You can then choose your seats ( maybe even upgrade to more comfortable seats) and add baggage if needed ( fees may apply).  Pay very careful attention to the baggage weight/size requirements for checked baggage and carry on.  I always travel with a small hand held luggage scale and that keeps me in the required carry on weight limit.  Contact the airlines directly if you have any issues with your flights.  NCL just purchases the tickets for you, but the airlines will be in charge.  

Thank you for the info.  We have just under 100 days till the trip.  Can you elaborate on what kind of upgrade might be an option?  Also, I read a 'tip' to select the aisle and window seats and hope no one choses the middle seat.  Any thoughts on that?  

Thanks everyone... I have booked a 2 night refundable stay at the Holiday Inn Southampton.  I wasn't about to stress over a few bucks..  I'm hoping for a red eye so we can have a much time as possible before the cruise departs. 

7 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Hotel bookings can be very flexible. So one answer is to make two hotel bookings.

 

You could make a booking for two nights and another booking for one night. When you know how many nights you need, cancel the one that doesn't apply.

 

Or you could make a booking for the first night and a booking for the second night. If you discover that you only need one night (which would be the second night), cancel the booking for the first night.

 

To make this work, you would have to forego some of the savings that you might get from pre-paid non-refundable bookings. However, what you've saved on the air fare will probably more than make up for the additional cost of flexible hotel bookings.

 

The second alternative would allow you to make a cheaper pre-paid non-refundable booking for the second night and a flexible booking for the first night only. When you know that the timing of your outbound flight means that you do need two nights, then check whether a cheaper pre-paid non-refundable rate is still available for the first night. If it is, then cancel the flexible booking and rebook at the cheaper rate. Either way, let the hotel know in advance that you're staying for two nights on two separate bookings; most hotels will do what they can to make sure you don't have to move rooms (as it's easier for the hotel too if you don't move).

Very good info... I appreciate it!

13 hours ago, em-sk said:

 

There are differences from one cruise line to the next on how they book airline tickets.  I would assume the "normal" flight would be leaving the US on Monday and arriving into London Tuesday morning.  So a two day deviation would mean departing Saturday to arrive Sunday morning.   However it is hard to say for certain.  40 days out you should have the info available. 

 

 

 

We are using NCL... I am hoping for the option to leave Saturday and arrive Sunday morning, which gives us more time to explore.  Time will tell..  I don't know if I'd book the air 'free' again..  It had mixed reviews and it's our first time using it. Thanks!

3 hours ago, megr1125 said:

Sounds like you've booked NCL's free air promo?  😬   You might know the flight  40 days out, maybe a little less.  

 

Who knows what you'll get, but it might be terrible with several connections.  I would follow Globaliser's advice and book a couple cancellable combinations now and then adjust when you can. 

 

With NCL's promo free air, you CANNOT choose anything.  (Well maybe seats....)

We are using NCL's free air.  I will follow GLobaliser's suggestion in booking our hotel.  Thank you!

I hoping I might get some guidance... We are taking our first trip to from the states to England and getting on a cruise in August 2023.  The cruise departs on Tuesday 8/8.  I requested a 2 day deviation to spend additional time in England pre cruise.  We took the BOGO Cruise Air, but will not know our flight info until we are 40 days out.  I have chosen a hotel, (not yet booked) and was thinking that I would need 2 nights, but now I am wondering if I will only need one because of the varied flight times I've seen while I've been looking online.  ( I'm beginning to think I should have selected my own flights and paid for them, but live and learn!)

Thank you

.

On 4/11/2023 at 6:22 AM, John Bull said:

The mystery third airport is probably London City, or possibly Southampton if the agent is a cruise line or knows you are cruising. That'd be an indirect flight, via a European hub such as Paris or Amsterdam, and included so that they can offer flights  from a wider range of US cities. But they tend to be tiresome and expensive, and the vast majority of cruisers fly direct into London's Heathrow or Gatwick.

The differences between those two airports for transfer into central London or Southampton are comparatively minimal in time, cost & convenience so don't worry which airport - choose the most economical or convenient flight or your preferred airline, and the airport will be whichever one it is.

How to transfer from the airport will depend which one and perhaps the location of your hotel, so worry about that when you know which airport.

 

As others have mentioned. most flights from North America to the UK are overnight, so you're likely to be able to step out of your hotel by early afternoon.

 

A London hop-on bus won't give you a taste of "England", which is very different to "London" if you get my drift - but yes it will give you a good overview of the city and a drive-by of most of its iconic sights. And you can relax on the bus for a complete tour, ideal if you want to make the most of your short time after a jet-lagged red-eye flight. 

Tootbus (formerly known as London Original) and Big Bus are the best for ho-ho because of their  long experience, their frequency & comprehensive routes, and  their freebie add-ons.

But for your jet-lagged overview consider Golden Tours' Panoramic Tour - they offer the same main tourist route as the other two but they're complete 2-hour tours, not hop-on, which means they're not stopping frequently so much quicker thro the traffic. A 2-hour tour which leaves from & returns to the London Eye.  

https://www.londoncitybustours.com/panoramic-london-bus-tour.html

If instead you choose a hop-on, buy only a 24-hour ticket - they're fine for that oversight, but for hopping on & off between a number of sights you're restricted by their route & low speed. So for your second day, or a substantial part of it, use the Tube (London's fast & comprehensive metro system) for inside visits to places like the Tower of London, Churchill's War Rooms, St Paul's cathedral, Westminster Abbey or wherever.

 

For transfer from central London to Southampton your main options by public transport are by direct hourly National Express bus from Victoria coach station (2 hrs 15 mins, about £17 pp) or by direct frequent train from Waterloo station (90 minutes) or direct hourly from Victoria train station (2 hrs 30 minutes). Walk-up train fares up to £45 pp, but advance tickets (subject to conditions) can better than halve that cost - ask about advance train tickets once you've sorted your hotel.

 

A hotel in the Waterloo/Westminster Bridge/London Eye area is more convenient for seeing the sights (especially on foot) but they're quite expensive. A hotel in Victoria is less convenient, but a wider range of prices. Plenty of choice and prices in other areas of central London, but Waterloo and Victoria are the areas I'd concentrate on.

The closer to the date, the poorer the choice of hotel and usually the higher the prices, so you might want to book (esp if you can do so without a big cancellation cost) as soon as you've confirmed your cruise and flight dates.

Your hotel location will be a factor in choosing between bus & train to Southampton, seek out more info when you've chosen.

Travel from London to Southampton is perfectly OK on the morning of your cruise departure.

 

Here's a very useful website for details of London sights, logistics, etc, including airport & seaport transfers. But beware that some of their suggestions are influenced by their sponsors - well, someone's got to pay for that excellent website  😏

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

JB 🙂

 

Thank you so much... I've printed off this message for future reference.  The other airline option is Stansted.  You are a wealth of knowledge!