Burgmeister

If you want to get rid of your old notes I would not see it as an insult if you sent them to me!

The hotel staff will, in all likelihood, have UK bank accounts and will find it much easier to exchange than a tourist would (I appreciate that most of the staff encountered in the hospitality industry in London will not be UK nationals, but they will, most probably, have a UK bank account).

wouldn't the shuttle be on their own time?

Then you may sit & wait for the bus to fill up

Yes, but they run every 30 minutes so there is flexibility in which one you catch (Viator type shuttle bus - not ship's/port's shuttle). The same with the train (every hour).

A booked taxi leaves once.

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/replacements-and-refunds/oyster-pay-as-you-go-credit-no-longer-needed

 

Looks like you need to have less than £10 left to use a machine, it it isn't clear if you can get a full refund at visitors centres.

Thanks for that. You learn something new every day.

But from what I understand I can get a refund of whatever is left on my Oyster Card. If I get a Visitor's Oyster Card then you don't get the deposit refunded IIRC.

Really? Well, if you can then that's fair enough. I have never seen this but that definitely doesn't mean it isn't correct.

How do you go about getting the refund?

Contactless is a better option than Oyster for UK visitors (or overseas visitors that have free currency conversions) as you have to top up an Oyster and you have no idea how much you will need. You could end up with a fair few quid left on your Oyster that you will probably never use, Contactless card just debits the amount you need. Obviously, if you live in or regularly visit London then the Oyster is the way to go

I find the main problem keeping track of which contactless card I have been using. If I use more than one then I lose the benefit of the cap

I'm going to try for a tour, I may only get there once and trying to do as much as possible.

Definitely worth it.

As for not liking museums, I totally get that. The Tower has lots to see without being "museumy" (I reckon that could be a real word one day), although I really liked the armoury exhibition (I avoided the word museum on purpose).

Obviously then, the Maritime museum and the Cutty Sark probably aren't for you but Greenwich is still worth a visit. Really nice area and the walk up to the observatory is a very pleasant experience - especially if the weather is playing along!

Burgmeister-

 

If you are organizing the taxi you pick the times. We would meet the taxi at 9:00am and be in Brugge by 9:30. Then depending on the time the ship leaves we would meet again at the arranged place and return to the ship about 1 hour before sail away. We posted the tour on the roll call board with the info about the times. If a couple was interested in going with us they got in touch and we added them. Once in Brugge everyone is " on their own" and we didn't wait long if they weren't back at the meeting place. Worked great both times. You are on YOUR schedule and everyone else is too.

 

<<<Karen>>>

That's fair enough. We are not great with fixed schedules (despite opting for fixed dining!) and usually like to go when it feels right rather than at a pre-determined time (within reason of course, don't want to miss the ship!)

I'm sure it works really well for some but I like being a bit flexible. It really is a good idea for keeping costs down though.

Have never seen any rum besides coconut rum. But then again I don’t drink rum so not high on my list to check. As for beer...no beverage package. We never buy beverage package and get beer frequently. Liquor purchased through room service and mixed with your own mixers is supposed to be drunk in your room only.....😄

On my Cruise Itinerary I can pre-order Bacardi White Rum as well as Cruzan Coconut. This is for a cruise on Sapphire out of the UK.

Also try Rony's Taxi at Rony@ronystaxis.com We used them twice, 2013 and 2016. Got a group of 8 together on our Roll Call so it came to 25 euros per couple round trip. Can't beat that and they drop you off and pick you up right in the center of town.

 

<<<Karen>>>

The only issue I have with doing this sort of thing is that you are then tied in to someone else's schedule

We are staying in Notting Hill so Portobello Road should be pretty easy to get to. :)

 

What I'm thinking about doing is getting up early on Fri and heading to Tower of London, then Tower Experience then Greenwich. If there is any energy left, head back to Tate Modern (open late Fri) for a short visit before heading back to Notting Hill. Trying to group the farthest from where we are staying into one (long) day.

 

I really appreciate all the advice.

Never been to Tate Modern (not my thing) so can't offer any advice on that.

As Ocean Boy has said, the Tower is well worth a very long visit. Piece of advice - make sure you do a Guided Beefeater Tour. I'm sure the tour was free, but I could be mistaken - it couldn' t have cost much else I wouldn't have paid it! It really is the best way to get the most out of a visit. As well as being extremely knowledgable, those guys are just so funny. After the tour you will still have plenty to keep you occupied - we spent hours there and we didn't even bother to join the enormous queue for the crown jewels (school holidays = packed tourist attraction).

Not sure what the Tower Experience is. Is that Tower Bridge or teh Tower of London (Hopefully its not a tour around Tower Hamlets!). If its the bridge then it is just a short stroll from the Tower to get there.

Greenwich always seems to take longer to get to than you think and is worthy of a good half day on its own (at least). When I was a kid we went on a school trip to the Greenwich Maritime museum which I loved, but I haven't been back since (not my wife or daughter's thing) so the 40-odd year old memory may not be all that reality is! There's also the Cutty Sark which is a popular touristy thing, but I haven't bothered since that visit to the maritime museum in short trousers. Always seemed quite expensive for what it is to me. Again though, other people's opinions are bound to differ. Not sure whether you said when you were going but, if its in the summer, then at least the evenings stay light.

You just made my day. Our Stonehenge excursion post-cruise had to be changed and I hadn't yet figured out a way to get there in the time we have. Now I don't feel so bad.

 

Portobello Road Market was one of the first things I added to my "London list"

 

Don't remember ever hearing about the canal boat trip from Camden Lock.

 

Greenwich is what I'm trying to figure out now. Transport for London with Oyster Cards and Travelcards and now Thames Clippers confuses the heck out of me.

Camden Lock canal boats https://www.camdenmarket.com/journal/camden-lock-take-a-canal-tour

We took the boat from Camden Lock to "Little Venice" (sounds grander than it is) and back. Little Venice is very close to Paddington Station. It was very enjoyable and serene - which is unexpected in the middle of London.

Camden used to be a fantastic place for street food but they are, unfortunately, closing all the places down for "Redevelopment". A real shame.

For Portobello Road I would exit the tube at Notting Hill Gate as that then takes you down the hill and generally "with the flow" of people. On our first trip we made the mistake of getting out at Ladbroke Grove and trying to "swim upstream" to Notting Hill Gate. Lesson learned!

As I said in my other response, don't use a travelcard, just use your AMEX or an Oyster card.

We have only done on Thames trip and I'm not sure we used the Clipper so can't really be of more help there. Definitely worth doing at least once though.

We got on at Westminster Pier where you can buy tickets from the booths, and got off at Greenwich. We used The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to get back from Greenwich, this is covered by the Oyster card (or AMEX) and counts towards the cap.

I think I was one of the ones who mentioned Stonehenge as OP said they had several days, it's a wonderful day trip if you have the time but if you're only in London for two days then it's not worth missing out on everything else.

I think its very much a subjective thing. I drive past it quite regularly and have failed to ever be impressed with it.

I reckon it is much smaller than people think it will be and, whilst it is historically of interest, it takes a about 10 minutes to walk around (not including the walk up "the avenue") and, considering its distance from London, I would say (and, again, this is my personal view) that its a waste of a day other than to say "I've seen it".

Trying to make sure I understand before we go (and know what to buy/setup in advance)

 

London May 30/June-6 Transportation arranged for getting to and leaving London

Staying in Notting Hill area

Will visit Greenwich one day (prob June 1st) would like to take river boat

Will be visiting Windsor June 4

If time allows may visit KEW

 

Am I correct that our best option would be an contactless Oyster Cards with one day Travelcards if we decide to go to KEW?

There is no Concessions (+60) rate for visitors using contactless Oyster?

We need separate train ticket for travel to Windosr?

River boat will use our Oyster Cards but cap will not apply?

We can use our AMEX cards (2 cards, one each) as contactless payment instead of physical Oyster cards with no need for deposit?

For contactless we will need two Oyster accounts, one for each of us?

 

Thanks for the help

Assuming your AMEX cards are contactless then, yes, you can use them instead of Oyster cards. They would not need topping up. Remeber to use the same card each time as you would reach the daily cap quicker than if you mixed your cards. You do not need an Oyster account for using AMEX cards. You can, if you wish, set up an online account with TfL and register your AMEX cards butthe only advantage of that is that you can see a history of your travel. It isn't necessary to have an account to use your AMEX card for payment and you still havethe benefit of the cap

I wouldn't recommend a travel card as they really are not great value. The contactless card (or Oyster if you don't have contactless) has a fare cap that is no more than the price of a travelcard (I believe that it is actually less than the price of a travelcard - though this may have changed since our last visit). Kew is easily reached on the District Line.

You will need a separate train ticket for Windsor as that is not covered by TfL (too far out of central London). It is a good day out though - I can recommend it.

As far as I am aware there are no concessions for visitors over 60 with TfL.

For anyone else reading these pages it may be useful to know that there is a little known concession for kids under 16. You are able to take an Oyster card to a staff member at an underground station and they are able to electronically "convert" the Oyster card to a kids card and fares and cap are half that of an adult. The "conversion" lasts for 7 days. Kids under 11 travel free with an adult.

Finally, I know this sounds confusing but it is a really good system that, once you get your head around it, is quite straightforward.

As a native of the UK (but not London) I'll throw my tuppence in.

Do a HOHO early in your trip so you can get an idea of where everything is.

Use Citymapper to help you get around using the Transport for London (TfL) buses, tube and overground trains.

Don't bother with Stonehenge. Its a fair trot out and you will be disappointed (just my opinion of course)

If you have time after doing the "must see" attractions already mentioned by others then a couple of things that we enjoyed on our trips to London are a visit to Portobello Road market (check days when the full market is on) and a canal boat trip from Camden Lock.

Oh, and if no-one else has mentioned it (I may well have jsut missed it) Greenwich is well worth a visit.

some of the free shuttle buses will only take you to the train station or the port gates

I would confirm with the cruise line where you are dropped

I was referring to the purchased bus trips (e.g. Viator) rather than the free shuttle buses. I wouldn't expect a cruiseline to provide free transport from Zeebrugge to Bruges (although it would be nice!).

Had conisdered using the train but the hourly schedule has put me off. We aren't in port that long and losing a potential 2 hours* waiting for trains is a bit offputting.

*knowing our luck we will miss the outbound train by 1 minute and the same on the return.

Be sure to climb to the top of the Belfort if you are not mobility-challenged; wonderful views of the city.

Wife is a little challenged in the mobility stakes, so that might be a task for my daughter and me. Wife can take a rest on a bench (probably eating chocolate!).

Re: The Horse Drawn carriage... Some friends of ours went to Bruges for a week during the last half term holiday and they said it was a Bruges "must-do", so that's what I'm up against!!

To be fair, it is our wedding anniversary whilst we are on this cruise (although, not that day) so I could just stump up as an anniversary treat. Mind you, maybe I shouldn't bother. After all, I'll be taking her out for dinner on the day (MDR - obviously)!

Interesting info regarding the buses at the port. I was wondering whether we shoudl pre-book Viator, but fi you can just hop on a bus for the same cost then there doesn't seem to be much point in booking. Can you pay on the bus with credit card ro do you need cash?

Thanks for the info on the canal cruise. That sounds good. Do I need cash to pay for that or do they accept plastic?

Thanks again for the responses.

Be careful in Copenhagen' date=' last time it changed at last minute.[/quote']

What changed? If its the quay you dock at then a change would be good as Oceankaj is a bit of a faff to get to and from, whereas the other 2 options are far more central.

Thanks, that's very helpful.

My wife is keen to do one of the horsedrawn carriage tours (I'm not keen on paying for it though!!)

Hi

We will be docking in Zeebrugge in late May and we have decided that we would like to go to Brugges. There are 3 of us and we think we will get the bus from Viator or Cruise Express at 20EUR each (return).

We will be arriving on a Sunday - do Brugges shops/cafes/bars close on Sunday?

Secondly, is there anywhere at Zeebrugge port to buy bottles of wine & spirits?

Thanks

Just be aware that alcohol in Scandinavian countries is not cheap so I would buy it in the duty free when you leave home rather than buy it in Copenhagen.

No need to carry beer to pool. Five for price of four is available at pool bar. Also soda and water....you can bring on as much as you can carry. And you can replenish supplies when in port.

I've read on other threads that some bar tenders are insisting on opening all the bottles at the time of purchase claiming its Princess policy. Not sure how common that is though.

It varies depending on ports...can be as little as $60-$70 for a week to $400-$500 for longer cruise. Some cruises have known high port charges...Ie: Panama Canal

Thank you. Much appreciated.

So you can buy a bottle of rum on board for consumption on board? Where do you order that on the site?

Manage my booking>Onboard Reservations>Princess Cellars

Then scroll down past all of the wines

Although, I believe, that you can also order on board - I haven't actually tried this.

As a general piece of idle curiosity, how much of an average cruise price is made up of port charges?