gumshoe958

All good advice. The whole journey can also be done by rail, by catching any train from Charing Cross to London Bridge (all trains go there), then transferring to the frequent direct service down to Gatwick. Charing Cross is less than a 5 minute walk from your hotel, and the total journey time is between 45 and 60 minutes.

I should point out that Zeebrugge-Strand station is only served 7 days a week during the summer holidays. The rest of the year, it’s only served at weekends and during the week trains run to & from Zeebrugge-Dorp station instead, which is slightly closer to the cruise terminal (a 20-25 minute walk).

That is indeed an option for the more adventurous. Trains leave Zeebrugge-Strand at roughly 5 past each hour and return from Bruges at about 35 past, taking 17 minutes.

This. A rethink is required. It’s the same distance as Cape Liberty to Atlantic City or Hartford CT. At rush hour.

There’ll be plenty of taxis, and it’s only a 5-10 minute drive to the coach station, depending on which terminal you arrive at. Disembarkation at Southampton is normally very quick. Very occasionally the UK Border Force does spot checks which slows things down, but that’s unlikely to be an issue for cruises that start and end at Southampton.

Train strikes are always a possibility, yes. But they’re not that frequent and you’d be unlucky to encounter one. And there’s always at least two weeks’ notice, giving you time to find a Plan B. So I wouldn’t overthink it if that’s your preferred option. Finding a taxi won’t be a problem, there might just be a bit of a wait. National Express is ok but very, very slow. The cruise line shuttle and tour are massively overpriced. You’re basically paying an extra £100 per person to take you the last mile in Dover and guarantee you’ll make the ship. If there’s more than one of you you might as well get a cab, it’ll probably work out cheaper. So all things considered I’d go for the train. And come back here for advice if there’s a strike - there are always options.

Notifying them in advance just means they can confirm a seat on your new departure if it’s not already sold out. If you don’t notify them in advance it’s up to the driver whether to let you on, which will come down to whether there’s space. If it’s full, it’s full but if it’s not they’ll let you on. I would always buy in advance - (a) because it’s cheaper and (b) because you’re guaranteed a seat if everything goes to plan, which it does in the vast majority of cases. So I would stick with your plan and book the 2000 departure. If you’re lucky you might even make the 1730. And I’m sure you’re aware but Terminals 2/3, 4 and 5 have their own separate stops so make sure you check which terminal your flight arrives at and book the right one.

Avonmouth station is on the other side of the river from the port, and there’s no crossing.

Well that’s a new one on me - I never even knew cruises called there! The port is in a very industrial area - there is literally nothing nearby. So you’ll either need a taxi or you’ll have to rely on whatever shuttle option the cruise line lays on (and I’m pretty certain they’ll lay on something even if they don’t tell you about it until you’re on board). The port website has more details and a cab company number if you want to pre-book: https://www.bristolport.co.uk/cruise/finding-bristol-cruise-terminal

There’s no return fare as such on Oyster/Contactless - that £13.20 is actually just two £6.60 one-way journeys. But it still works out slightly cheaper than buying a paper return ticket.

Euston to Watford Junction (off-peak) fares: Adult one-way paper ticket - £12.20 Adult return paper ticket - £13.80 Adult one-way Oyster/contactless - £6.60 Adult return Oyster/contactless - £13.20 Child one-way paper ticket - £6.10 Child return paper ticket - £6.90

It’s about 1.5 miles from hotel to terminal, so about a 30 minute walk. And not a particularly nice one through the docks. So a cab may be preferable. There are plenty of places to eat within easy walking distance of your hotel but one that’s been recommended recently is https://dancingmanbrewery.co.uk which is a 5 minute walk away.

A taxi is your best option with luggage. True, they’d much rather have an £80 fare into central London but I think Bath Road is close enough for them to be allowed to jump the normal queue to return to the rank at the airport. So you’ll be fine. There are thousands of hotel rooms on Bath Road and people have to get there somehow so the cab drivers are perfectly used to it, even if they don’t particularly like it. And yes, avoid the Hoppa if possible!

Sadly not in Southampton though. Portsmouth and Bournemouth are the nearest.

Banks and post offices will only accept them if you have an account with them. Technically, if you just want to exchange them you have to take them to the Bank of England in London. The obvious workaround would be to ask a British friend to exchange them for you, then they can pay them into their bank account.

@chpal Tilbury is, frankly, grim. As is everything near it. Unless you’re into oil terminals. There’s a large (by British standards) shopping mall called Lakeside not far away which is only a couple of stops (7 minutes) away on the train - the station is called Chafford Hundred and trains run every 30 minutes, continuing on to London. Or, as already mentioned, in the other direction by train there’s Southend - a traditional English seaside resort and very popular with Londoners on a sunny day. But I’d be minded to catch the ferry over to Gravesend which departs from right next to the cruise terminal and is actually easier to get to than Tilbury itself. The ferry runs about every 30 minutes, only takes 5-10 minutes and costs £5.50 for a round trip. It doesn’t run on Sundays though. Gravesend itself is also grim but you can hop on a train a couple of stops to the ancient and attractive city of Rochester for its cathedral: https://www.rochestercathedral.org and its castle: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rochester-castle/ - then either walk or get the train one more stop to neighbouring Chatham for its Historic Dockyard: https://thedockyard.co.uk. That would be a nice day.

If there’s a cruise ship in town, you can bet there’ll be taxis lined up outside the station. You may have to wait a few minutes if demand temporarily exceeds supply, but it shouldn’t be long.

Yes, you can walk.

It’s Royal’s punishment for moaning about Anthem.

Use the app to look at the current sailing, that’ll give you an idea of times and shows.

It’s a half mile walk and perfectly doable in 10 to 15 minutes, albeit not what you’d call scenic. There are pavements (sidewalks) all the way BUT it’s not signposted and it does involve crossing a couple of very busy roads at intersections (there are light-controlled crossings). Put very simply you need to leave the train station by the exit on Platform 4, which most trains from London use, head right up the hill then left, and keep going.

Yes, pre-Brexit you’d have been fine but not any more. If the receipt says you can get a refund I’d try standing my ground and escalate if necessary via Guest Services. But if they still refuse there’s probably not a lot you can do on board.

Sadly that is not true on cruises where all the ports of call are in the European Union, in which case VAT will be added to all on board purchases. Some or all of it can be claimed back at the airport on departure if your destination is outside the EU. For @shilu the question of whether they need to declare their purchase to UK Customs depends on how much it cost. Goods worth up to £390 can be imported duty free. Ditto if they’re worth over £390 and you can prove they were made in the EU. Details here: https://www.gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use/arriving-in-Great-Britain

Yes, if you plan ahead and get hold of a £5.50 HEX ticket (or even £7.50 or £10) it’s good value and well worth the effort, even if you’re going beyond Paddington and need to pay an additional fare to transfer to the Elizabeth Line or the tube. However the HEX advance fares have limited availability and the cheapest ones get snapped up quickly. The reality, though, is that most visitors to London will only pay for their journey from Heathrow on the day, and for them the Elizabeth Line will always be cheaper than the HEX.

Victoria is the closest station to your hotel, and there are direct trains to Southampton, once an hour - but they’re very slow (2.5 hours). The faster trains, taking half that time, leave from Waterloo every half hour. Waterloo is an easy 10 minute cab ride from your hotel. There are also direct National Express coaches from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton, roughly every hour. That’s about half a mile from your hotel so a 10 minute walk or 5 minute cab ride. Whether you take the train or the coach, once you get to Southampton you’ll need a cab to the cruise terminal. It’s a 5 to 10 minute ride. From Heathrow to your hotel you can either take a cab, an Uber, book a private pick-up (all in the £60-80 range) OR take the Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line train to Paddington and pick up a cab there.