Odesitka70

7 hours ago, phabric said:

I have stayed 1x at the Park Plaza Westminster and 1 block behind Park Plaza Westminster 3x at the Premier Inn Westminster.

 

 It is a great location, near the London Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben,Thamas river, pubs, restaurants, HOHO, Waterloo train station, tube - Westminster and Waterloo, regular bus and taxi.

 

We would ask at the front desk for help for bus and tube directions.  They told us to go to the Waterloo tube station under 10 minute walk. 

 

 

Yes we like the location also, and pictures and reviews are great too. 

16 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Did you try just walking over the bridge to Westminster Tube? For many journeys, I reckon that would be the easiest way to get somewhere.

Can we take a tube from Westminster to go to gatwik airport?

On 10/17/2018 at 1:22 PM, Cruise Junky said:

We just got back on Saturday from two days in London. We've been there a few times previously. We really loved the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel.  A highlight for us this trip was the Borough Market if you're a foodie at all.   So much to see and do in London.

We really like reviews of this hotel and will probably book it for our stay. Can you please tell me a bit more from your experience. How convenient was it? 

On 10/19/2018 at 9:14 PM, phabric said:

I don't know how busy London is during your time, you might what ti purchase your attraction tickets in advance.

 

London Eye

Westminster Abbey

Kensington Palace

Parliament

 

We went to a few plays while in London.  We saw Fawlty Towers Dining Experience (dinner & show)

www.torquatsuitetheatre.com

The more information I read on londontoolkit, the more I think buying a 3 days city pass might be a good idea. We are getting of the ship on Thursday and will do transfer with stops at Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor. So one day will be fool. And with city pass we will get access to some of the attractions we interested in. Plus it includes one day of hoho bus. I don't think we will have time to see any shows. On Monday we will only have till mid afternoon before we had to airport. How does my plan sound to you? Now if only we can decide on the hotel. 

8 hours ago, phabric said:

My cruise was the end of July 2018, so you can see the crowds.

 

I would purchase the tickets through them to save time there, the price is the same if you purchased them at the different websites.

 

At Salisbury - the guide walks you to the church and told us time to be back on the coach..  Once you enter the building, there is the entrance to the church and other room further in the building.  If you want to go into the church there is a small fee (donation, I only had a 5 GBP) and there is another room that is free.  We did not have time to see the town.  Some purchased sandwiches from the cafe at the church to eat on the coach.

 

At Stonehenge - the guide told us the time to be back to the coach and gave us our ticket and told us where the line was for the bus (which was long, moved once the bus was full) to take you to the stones. If you had to purchase, I think (?) they are timed tickets, you would have to line up to purchase then the line for the bus to the stones.  At the ticket area, there is a gift store, some huts and other things to see, bathrooms. The stones are now roped off so you are not up close to them to touch them.  If you did not purchase a ticket, you can walk up the road but you are not as close to the stones and have to see from the road.

 

This is where we eat our sandwiches (I had brought some from the International Cafe) on the coach while waiting for others to return to the coach. The driver sold water (I think .50/1 GBP).

 

At Windsor - the coach is parked in the coach parking area.  The guide walked us through the train station, up stairs, there is one elevator, pass some outside shopping mall with some stores, crossed the street up to the castle to the group entrance.  He purchased the tickets and we waited in line to go through security baggage check, (long slow line) and told us time to be back to the coach.  There is a stand for free audio guide  ear phone machine near the entrance.  There was a HUGE line to purchase the tickets when we went in and when we left.  Depending on how long you spend at the Castle, if you can see some stores going back to the coach.  If you don't purchase any tickets you can walk the streets and see the outside of the Castle.  To return to the coach have to do the same as going to the Castle.  There are bathrooms before going to the stairs up to the train station.

 

At Windsor Coach parking, this is where they separated the passengers going to London hotels and LHR and LHR hotels.  We went on another coach with our luggage.  The driver stopped at varies London hotels.

 

Do not plan on doing anything in the evening as you do not know the time of arrival at your hotel. You have to meet them around 8 am and I think we arrived at our hotel around 6 pm, a long day.

 

If you doing all these places on your own, you would spend more time at each. The coaches have a time limit so you only get a feel for each place, like any excursion. 

 

What I did, instead of doing self disembarking (where you carry all your luggage yourself off the ship), I when to the Pursers desk and got the first colour luggage tags (which was first tags after self disembarking) and put our luggage out the cabin the last night.  The next morning, after an early breakfast, walked off and picked up our luggage. and met the check in person before exiting the building.

 

 

We will have priority dissembarkation,  so we can leave the ship anytime we want. 

6 hours ago, phabric said:

You did not say when you are going.  Buckingham Palace staterooms may be open during your time.

 

www.royalcollection.org.uk

We are leaving NY on April 27 and arriving at Southampton on may 9. Can you please explain what you mean by "buckingham palace staterooms may be open"?  

On 10/6/2018 at 10:35 PM, phabric said:

 

I do not remember what I paid for International Friends for July 2018.

 

I purchased through www.LondonToolkit.com, (under cruise ports - Southampton Cruise Ship Shuttles and tour transfers) the tickets were cheaper than going direct through International Friends.

 

If I use the same dates for 2019

International Friends wants £94/pp

London Toolkit wants £89/pp

 

If you plan on going to see Stonehenge and Windsor purchase your tickets through them so you do not waste time purchasing tickets yourself. Both Stonehenge and Windsor had long lines.

 

What happens-

Southampton - met outside after you have picked up your luggage to be checked in.

They walked us to the Coach.

Salisbury - walked to the Cathedral and given a time to return to the coach.

Were advised to buy sandwich/lunch to eat on the Coach.

Stonehenge - given a time to return to the Coach.

We ate our lunch while waiting for others to return to the Coach. The driver sold water.

Windsor Castle - walked to group entrance and given time to return to the Coach. Just inside can pick up free audio set.

People going to LHR or LHR hotels stayed on that Coach.

People going to London hotels switched to another Coach.

People were dropped off at different London Hotels.

 

I have taken International Friends from Dover and Southampton, a great way to another part of Britain.

 

For our date, they advised that London was having a bike event that day and they might not be able to drop off at certain hotels. They replied to my inquiry fast.

 

International Friends might be more expensive than the cruise line transfer ( drop off at LHR or London Victoria Coach station) or National Express Coach (drop off at London Victoria Coach station) or train (Waterloo train station or London Victoria train station) and we are dropped off at our London hotel.

 

For your London stay, I would try to pre purchase your attraction tickets sometimes you save £ and time. Seniors are 60+ in Britain. Buss are cashless.

Thank you for great information. Most likely we will use Londontoolkit and book our transfer through them, with stops at Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor. In your opinion should we book additional tickets to go inside or it's enough just to look from outside?  

On 10/16/2018 at 3:48 PM, phabric said:

This is www.internationalfriends.co.uk that I mentioned in the above threads.

Yes we looked at it and after we book our stay, most likely we will book them for this tour. It would be a great way to start our England vacation. Thank you

2 hours ago, Bob++ said:

Most of Central London is "close to transport". The part to consider is the connection to and from the hotel when you have all your cruise luggage. For a pre-cruise stay, it makes sense to stay somewhere near Victoria (for a coach) or Waterloo for a train. Post cruise you need to think about the journey to whichever airport you are using.

This weekend we booked our return air tickets. We are flying on Norwegian air from gatwick airport. What would be your suggestion for where we should a

stay. We would be staying 4 nights and don't want to spend more than $1000. 

We are on a TA next year that ends up in Southampton but we are getting off the ship a day early in LeHavre and taking a train from there to Paris.

We are on the cruise next April too. The day before we disembark in Southampton we will be in lehavre. I asked NCL if it would be possible to leave the ship early and the answer was absolutely not. How are you getting off early?

Hmm... never knew it had the wrong link! Thanks for letting me know. Here it is...

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2561970

Read your review, very helpful. Thank you!

A quick look shows that the International Friends tour to Central London, via Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor would cost around 130GBP each including admission charges. Pretty good value really, but a long day so you wouldn't want to plan anything for the evening.

Yes I look at it too. Thank you! I think it would be perfect way to start our short vacation in england.

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If you read my review (in my signature), we did 4 days post-cruise in London. So you can see how we spent our days and the things we did. We did a LOT of walking on the first day, I think 11 miles. But that's because we hit many of the big tourist places, and wanted to stay above ground. But then we used the tube the next days to get to things faster.

Cindy I read your cruise report, thank you. But when I click on the link for post cruise review it still brings me to your cruise report. If not too much trouble can you please send me a link.

I have taken www.internationalfriends.co.uk from Southampton to my London hotel. They only go on embankment and disembarkment days. We stopped at Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor before being dropped off at my London hotel.

 

 

I have also taken www.nationalexpress.com from LHR to Southampton Coach station then a short taxi (under £10) to the dock and short taxi to Southampton Coach station to London Victoria Coach station.

 

 

I have stayed at Premier Inn Westminster 3x. The hotel is close to HOHO, regular bus, Waterloo train station, tube, London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Thamas river, Parliament, restaurants, pubs.

 

 

I used www.justairports.com, a car service to/from LHR/London hotel. The price is per car, use your hotel’s postal code to get a quote.

Thank you for such a great information. We would definitely look into this company once we decide on hotel. If it's reasonable we would love to see Stonehenge and Windsor on the way to London. Do you remember by any chance how much they charge you? I went on their website but can't get a price since I don't know where I'm going in London.

We don't have return air tickets yet, but will check this car service when we do.

You really need to look at a map, and look at things to do in London; that may be a Fodors or Frommers, even in these days of the internet.

 

For instance, if you want to experience a British Pub (or two), they're everywhere except when you want to find them. There's a pub or two near Leicester Square, and China Town is nearby. There's a wonderful, and relatively inexpensive, Indian Place in Covent Garden. It can be a lot of fun to just wander around Piccadilly Circus. That's all in a fairly compact area. I really would look at a map, and seriously consider what you want to do. Make a top 5-10 and come back. I've been to London quite a few times for work and leisure; there are people here who live there...

British pub is good but not on my priority list right now. What we need to figure out now is how to get to London from Southampton after we disembark. Then where to stay in London. I know we want to stay in central London to be close to main attractions.

What are your interests? Do you want to see a lot, or experience a little less? How mobile are you? Are you into art? History? Have you looked seriously at a budget? Do you want to get out of the city, or are you content to spend your four days in London (there's plenty to do there!).

 

May should be good. If you're mobile and don't tire real easily, you can do things early and late. A lot of the "just see this" locations (exterior of Buckingham Palace, the Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, etc.) are open all the time and you'll have daylight. Other attractions (interiors of the above, for instance) require planning.

 

A lot of the major attractions are fairly centrally located, and also give you an ability to experience being in London. Trafalgar Square is just a really nice urban location, but the National Gallery is there as well (free except for special exhibits). Personally, if the budget allows, I'd look for a place to stay roughly between Mayfair and County Hall, and not far from the Tube. I'm not a HOHO fan, but if you've never been, at least research your options. The Tower of London is kind of a "must see"; take the Tube and get there early before the crowds. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is at 11:00. Couple that with a walk around Westminster and maybe Green Park. The London Eye is touristy, but IMHO well worth it for the views, if the weather is good. You can pre-book times online and save time in line. The British Museum is amazing, but you'll spend forever there if you don't have a plan (I'd spend forever, but you only have 4 days). Windsor is worth a trip as well. The river boats up the Thames to Greenwich are also very nice for an overview you won't get otherwise. Greenwich is a great day, but, there's always your time...

 

BTW, I've just killed your four days with any reasonable pace...

Omg thank you so much for such a quick and wonderful response. We are celebrating my husband big 50 on cruise, so we consider ourselves still young and pretty mobile. We just booked our cruise few days ago and started our planning.

This is our first TA to Southampton from NY. We would like to stay in London and explore as much as possible in 4 days after the cruise. This will be our first time in London as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We will be coming to London mid may if it's makes a difference.

Is this 8 digit number already waiting for you at your cabin or do you have to retrieve it from guest services?

Just used this last week. You get the code from either internet manager or guests services. Once it's activated on your account you can start using it right of way. Phone calls can only be made from your cabin. I was able to call states and canada.

What a great review! Thank you! We will be in santorini in August and will take your advise of what to do and how to get there.

We were on getaway in January. And yes you can smoke by the bar.

I'm sorry to hear you guys missed the port. We were there last week and it's a beautiful port. They did a really good job and place looks like a resort.

There are 3 elements to a Kosher kitchen. 1> The kitchen is cleaned to an exacting standard. 2> Dairy products and meat products are stored and prepared separately (separate preparation surfaces, coolers (or a clearly segmented shared unit), even separate dishes. 3> Certain products are not allowed in the kitchen at all.

 

I'm oversimplifying there. As far as food, the basic rules are no 'Treyfe' or unkosher products (Shellfish is a main one, no pork as well and others). Meat and dairy products may not be served at the same time, and there is a period between serving one or the other.

 

There's a lot more to it. If the price of $200K is correct, they paid $2k per passenger for the privelege, or the equivalent of 4,000 specialty dining meals (paid), so I can't say I can fault them. They probably also had to bring their own rabbi (Masgiach) and possibly chef (as I doubt the ship's team is familiar with Kashruth (Kosher rules) to the level an orthodox group would need). Probably special ingredients needed to be onboarded as well (as an example, nothing with gelatin in it can be used with dairy and you'd be surprised whats in some stocks and bases)

 

They still could have handled it better unless it was a fairly last minute thing. Not sure compensation was required, but those bumped should have gotten priority at other venues.

There was a rabbi in the galey first sea day, while we were doing behind the seen tour.

We were on board getaway last week as well. Prior to cruise we had 2 platinum diner reservations. First day on board we got a phone call in cabin about our reservation being canceled. I went to restaurant reservation desk and after going back and fourth they said we can go to any restaurant with our voucher. So we choose teppanyaki and cogneys as a alternative. Later on on the cruise I address that question to restaurant manager and was told that a kosher group bought the place for breakfast, lunch and diner for $200000.

Last week on getaway plenty of laxs in garden cafe and grilled salmon for lunch in osheehans.

I got the email directly. Looks like they use third party to send emails and process the bids. I don't know how they select who gets the emails.

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