Help with Airlines from Boston to ? London - Destination Harwich, England

[ILikeShips]

I've had wonderful info given to me by this board re: Norweigan Fjords cruise for 7/2013, and find I need to book travel insurance by Saturday to cover preexisting conditions. I think airlines usually book one year out and was trying perhaps to use a rough estimate for 2012. (?) However, would we fly to London and then what would be our choices to get to Harwich, England, our destination port? Sorry, I'm so new at this! Tried calling Delta and the response was they don't fly to "LGW" as of this year. I was then referred to Luftanza but unable to pull up their web site.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Diane

[Desertbelle]

We took a train from London to Harwich. The train lets you off about 500 feet from the ship. It was fun, there were lots and lots of other people heading to the ship so we got to meet some folks that we later saw on the ship. :)

 

P.S. It was our first time on a train, so we were very nervous and excited. It was a great new adventure.

[Azulann]

diane,

For help about airlines for your particular situation go to the Cruise Air forum on the CC main page. Post your question. There a some experts that monitor that forum and have a wealth of information.

[stipmom]

If you are flying in the same day as the cruise the cruiseline will be offering a transfer.It is more money but somethimes the convienence is worth it. Also, sometimes they offer a transfer from a central part of London to the port.

[compman9]

If you go to Gatwick, you can get a train to London Victoria from the airport. From there you get an Underground to London Liverpool Street.

 

If you go to Heathrow, you can get the Underground to London Liverpool Street (one change on the Underground) from the airport.

 

London Liverpool Street Underground an the overground train station are at the same place.

 

You get a train to Harwich

 

Use; thetrainline dot com to get your train tickets in advance to make savings.

 

It couldn't be easier.

[Ellan Vannin]

You need to be aware that any journey involving the London Underground involves lots of escalators, narrow walkways and pretty well is always crowded so keep any changes to the minimum as dragging your luggage on these is not fun.

 

There are plenty of places to book train tickets in advance for the UK on the web. Some e.g Southern Trains don't charge a booking fee and will sell you tickets for any journey

[ladylemondrop]

You can always choose a taxi transfer service, we use this company regularly, (my husband works overseas and travels to and from UK airports monthly with them) they are reliable, friendly and competitive.

http://www.airporttransfersipswich.com/

[compman9]

You can always choose a taxi transfer service, we use this company regularly, (my husband works overseas and travels to and from UK airports monthly with them) they are reliable, friendly and competitive.

http://www.airporttransfersipswich.com/

 

How much from Heathrow to Harwich?

 

I'd be quite surprised if it's competitive with a tube and train :eek:

[Ine]

You will find little information re flightprices and schedules for july 2013, since most airlines publish this about 11 months (330 days) before.

Take in account that also applies for the returnjourney.

Your best chances for a nonstop flight will be Delta and British Airways, which might be to London Heathrow.

 

[edgee]

You do not have to know the full amount of the trip cost when you initially buy the policy. For example you could just purchase the insurance for the cruise cost right away to protect pre existing conditions exclusion exemption. Then when you buy plane ticket contact insurer and increase coverage and pay additional cost to cover air fare. Then if you incur additional non refundable costs such as transfers call the insurer, pay additional premiums and cover those costs. I had a situation where I expected to use frequent flyer miles so did not purchase plane ticket or buy trip insurance coverage for plane fare, then due to change in plans had to buy tickets for the air, I called travel insurer, added the coverage to the initial amount I had bought to cover cruise and put addl cost on my credit card...no problem...AND I was assured that adding costs and insuring them during ongoing trip planning process does not hamper pre existing condition coverage as long as you buy policy and cover initial cruise cost within the prescribed time frame, eg. 15 days, or whatever the number of days required is from cruise deposit date.

[BKFlowerMound]

I've had wonderful info given to me by this board re: Norweigan Fjords cruise for 7/2013, and find I need to book travel insurance by Saturday to cover preexisting conditions. I think airlines usually book one year out and was trying perhaps to use a rough estimate for 2012. (?) However, would we fly to London and then what would be our choices to get to Harwich, England, our destination port? Sorry, I'm so new at this! Tried calling Delta and the response was they don't fly to "LGW" as of this year. I was then referred to Luftanza but unable to pull up their web site.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Diane

 

Diane -- I think that there are three separate topics here: 1) Insurance Requirements; 2) Flights from Boston to London; and 3) How to get to Harwich.

 

Insurance. Buy the insurance tomorrow. You do not need to have all of the details on flights and transfers to book it. You can raise the amount of insurance when you get all the details (and still get the pre-ex waiver). Call your vendor and ask questions to be sure.

 

Flights BOS/LHR. Four airlines currently fly from Boston to London. They all now go into Heathrow, which is the larger airport in London, rather than Gatwick. You're lucky in that there is competition on the route and a lot of capacity. Fares (compared with other gateways) are good. You can book flights there this summer for about $1000. It's $1500 from most places this year.

 

Your options are American (3 flights), British Airways (3 flights), Delta (1 flight), and Virgin Atlantic (1 flight). When you go to book, because of Code sharing it will look like American and British Airways each have 6 flights, but the reality is that they have 6 total together. You'll see notes on an American flight like flight operated by British Airways and vice versa.

 

Typically flights to London leave Boston in the evening and arrive in London in the morning. American and British Airways have daytime flights that leave early in the morning (7 or 8am) and arrive in London in the evening (8-9pm). These can be somewhat better for jetlag.

 

Finally, I would strongly recommend that you consider flying in at least a day ahead. Among my cruise rules is that I never, never, never fly in the day of the flight. Your options are limited if something goes wrong with your flight.

 

London to Harwich. You have some decisions to make here and there are a lot of options. Generally, the more convenient and easy it is, the more expensive it is. Celebrity transfers from Heathrow to Harwich or Central London to Harwich (if available) will be fairly convenient but also expensive. A taxi will be very expensive. A car service perhaps more expensive, perhaps less when you take into account the drive to Harwich. Most inexpensive are Tube (their T) and train combinations.

 

If you are able to give more information about your limitations and desires we could be more help.

[edgee]

For transportation to Harwich, I highly recommend Woodford Chauffer Cars. It is an excellent small company with prompt e mail followup to your booking request and any questions you may have. We used them for pickkup in Southampton to a post cruise stay in London. Beautiful cars, courteous driver and very competitive pricing. Their website, however, is pretty basic, so you will need to send e mails to get an idea of current pricing. Here is their website link:

http://www.woodfordchauffeurcars.co.uk/index.php

 

Have a great trip!

[shoreham01]

I lived in London for a few years, and there is no way on earth I would want to drag suitcases up and down escalators and trying to get them on over crowded tube trains. For this reason Harwich is out of the question for us living on the south coast of England. To go by train would mean getting 3 different trains, plus a journey across London. As we always like to travel down the night before, we would not be able to take advantage of any Celebrity transfers. For this reason we will stick to Southampton which means we will probably not be going with Celebrity next year as the destinations we are interested in are all going from Harwich. Such a shame.

[emilygrace]

When we did our Harwich to Boston TA two years ago we flew SFO to London (Heathrow) and I had arranged for a car service to take us directly to Harwich. I toyed with the idea of the train, but by the time we got a cab to Liverpool station and the train tickets it wasn't much less than the car. We flew in a day early, went directly to Harwich and stayed at the Premier Inn. It was a very nice place (if basic), very clean with a nice restaurant on the premises and very, very reasonable. There is a small convenience store right next door so you can pick up any odds and ends you might need.

 

We would have loved to go several days early to see London, but DH is still working and just didn't have the time. But this all worked out very well for us.

[compman9]

Okay, in light of all these suggestions to spend vast amounts on car services, I'll be a little more clear.

 

No escalators between Heathrow and the London Underground.

 

You can get on one tube and get off at Holborn. I do not know if there are stairs to walk up, but if there are this is the only place you will encounter any.

 

You then get a tube to Liverpool Street. As far as I an aware, there are no stairs, but don't quote me on it.

 

The train will leave Liverpool Street. Again, no stairs.

 

It will take about two and three quarter hours and cost about £15.

 

I hope that helps.

[takemewithyou]

Okay, in light of all these suggestions to spend vast amounts on car services, I'll be a little more clear.

 

No escalators between Heathrow and the London Underground.

 

You can get on one tube and get off at Holborn. I do not know if there are stairs to walk up, but if there are this is the only place you will encounter any.

 

You then get a tube to Liverpool Street. As far as I an aware, there are no stairs, but don't quote me on it.

 

The train will leave Liverpool Street. Again, no stairs.

 

It will take about two and three quarter hours and cost about £15.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Thank you for your post. I still don't know what we will do.....but all these posts about all the stairs and escalators were scaring me from wanting to try the train and that is really the only alternative to hiring a car.

[takemewithyou]

We took a train from London to Harwich. The train lets you off about 500 feet from the ship. It was fun, there were lots and lots of other people heading to the ship so we got to meet some folks that we later saw on the ship. :)

 

P.S. It was our first time on a train, so we were very nervous and excited. It was a great new adventure.

 

If you are still reading this thread, can you tell us how difficult it was to manage your luggage for your train journey? Were there stairs and escalators to negotiate? I'd really like to hear more from some one who has actually done this. Did you use the train to take you back to London or to the airport after the cruise? How was that trip?

 

Thanks. This thread has been quite interesting.

[Nanatravel]

Last year when we lived in NH, we flew on American from Boston Logan to Heathrow, non-stop both ways. Book with a price you can live with as American will not give you a credit if the fare goes down and does charge a pricey penalty.

 

We stayed 3 nights pre-cruise and took a private chaufered car to Harwich; $160 per car but we shared it with another couple who we met on Cruise Critic. The driver picked us up on time and on a Sunday morning, we were at the port within an hour. Suggestions about taking a private bus or the train are for those who don't mind schleping luggage over cobblestone streets, up and down escalators and getting a taxi from the train or bus station. Not worth the stress IMHO. On the return trip, we booked a Ship Tour to Windsor Castle and then to Heathrow.

[TSC]

In 2009 we flew Delta into Gatwick and had Celebrity pick us up and transfer us to Harwich (we had a wonderful Baltic cruise on the Connie). I toyed with the idea of the train, but ultimately decided that dealing with the luggage and the unfamiliar transfers after no sleep on an overnight transatlantic flight was not something I wanted to deal with. :eek:

 

The transfer was easy and we had no complaints.

 

However, several others on our cruise used a variety of transports including a group organized on the Roll Call "Connections" page. They ened up getting a bus to pick up about 25 of them (at several different hotels) and transport them to the port. That ended up being less expensive than what we paid. I'd try your Connections Roll call page and see if your cruise mates are already making similar plans.

[ILikeShips]

Thanks everyone so much for your information. When we travel we do need assistance with our luggage; we are in our late 60's. I am with a cane and manage fairly well for myself. My husband can handle the carryon luggage but it would be difficult with stairs, esculators, cobblestone etc as I am now reading. So, I guess this is where the next important focus should be. We would have two checked bags also. Sharing a car service would help $$ wise but if we weren't successful I get the feel there isn't another option with the needed luggage assistance. Am I thinking correctly? Would definitely go at least a day early.

 

Would taxi's on average be higher or maybe they don't do longer distances?

 

Diane

[Twickenham]

Thanks everyone so much for your information. When we travel we do need assistance with our luggage; we are in our late 60's. I am with a cane and manage fairly well for myself. My husband can handle the carryon luggage but it would be difficult with stairs, esculators, cobblestone etc as I am now reading. So, I guess this is where the next important focus should be. We would have two checked bags also. Sharing a car service would help $$ wise but if we weren't successful I get the feel there isn't another option with the needed luggage assistance. Am I thinking correctly? Would definitely go at least a day early.

 

Would taxi's on average be higher or maybe they don't do longer distances?

 

Diane

 

Diane, I don't think you need to completely abandon the idea of taking the train - but with your mobility issues, I would rule out the tube. While I have not taken the train from Liverpool Street Station to Harwich, I have taken numerous forms of transport in and around London. Here's what I would do:

 

-Heathrow Connect to Paddington, or Gatwick Express to Victoria (depending on which airport you fly into) - both stations have luggage carts, and no stairs from platform to exit/taxi rank;

-Stay that night at an hotel convenient to whichever station you arrive at - you don't say if you'll be visiting London at all, but it would be a shame to not at least see some of London;

-Travel in the morning to Liverpool Street Station by taxi;

-Take the train to Harwich - I have not done this, but everything I've read indicates that this is quite easy and the best way of getting to the dock at Harwich, where the train station is literally beside the dock.

 

This, for me, represents the best compromise between price and convenience.

 

Ask if you need more detailed info re: Paddington, as I am familiar with both the train station and area.

[takemewithyou]

A great resource which has info about the train to Harwich and using the Tube in London is: (I think this is an OK web site to post)

www dot londontoolkit dot com.

[capecodder2]

Make things as easy on yourself as possible. We used the Silver Fleet, a shared van, from London to Dover last Sept. and they were great and very reasonable - they schedule the other passengers, you don't have to do that. They do all the ports in the UK. Check them out at http://www.silver-fleet.co.uk. The prices are listed on their website. Do try to go at least a day early for a relaxing trip.

[takemewithyou]

Make things as easy on yourself as possible. We used the Silver Fleet, a shared van, from London to Dover last Sept. and they were great and very reasonable - they schedule the other passengers, you don't have to do that. They do all the ports in the UK. Check them out at www.silver-fleet.co.uk. The prices are listed on their website. Do try to go at least a day early for a relaxing trip.

 

WOW! That web site looks very good. Thanks! :)

[NLH Arizona]

I've had wonderful info given to me by this board re: Norweigan Fjords cruise for 7/2013, and find I need to book travel insurance by Saturday to cover preexisting conditions. I think airlines usually book one year out and was trying perhaps to use a rough estimate for 2012. (?) However, would we fly to London and then what would be our choices to get to Harwich, England, our destination port? Sorry, I'm so new at this! Tried calling Delta and the response was they don't fly to "LGW" as of this year. I was then referred to Luftanza but unable to pull up their web site.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Diane

I'm also doing a Norweigan Fjords cruise July 2013. Haven't decided if I'm going into Gatwick or Heathrow. If going into Gatwick, you might want to try Aer Lingus, US Air, United, KLM or Virgin, as well as Luftanza, I think they all go into that airport.

 

I'll probably fly in a couple of days early and either stay in London or go to Harwich and stay there prior to the cruise....most likely, I'll take car service from London to Harwich and then back to London after the cruise, as it seems the easiest way to get to Harwich....less stress and probably more comfortable.