Transtlantic crossing from liverpool

[ToadOfToadHall]

Liverpool to London rail is showing as a minimum journey of 2 hr 54 min.

 

Both bookings are from Liverpool central to London Victoria.

 

You need to work on your UK stations !!

 

Liverpool Central is, in effect, an Underground Station (it's not the main station in Liverpool ) and London Victoria is on the south side of London - it's the main station when arriving from Brighton etc.

 

Liverpool Lime Street (i.e. the main station in Liverpool) to Eutson (one of the 3 mainline stations when arriving from the North) is 2 hours and 9 mins.

 

c.f. Southampton Central to Waterloo is 1 hr 23.

 

So it's 46 minutes longer to London from Liverpool than from Southampton.

 

Also, out of interest, by road, it's 210 miles (using the correct stations) from Liverpool to London but 80 miles from Southampton to London.

[Happyboating]

I've found this short clip showing the inside of Liverpool's Cunard Building:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7816440.stm

 

We'd certainly like to do a departure from there. Liverpool was one of our stops on a Round Britain voyage and we were very impressed - there was lots to see and do and everyone we met welcomed us. It was possibly the friendliest place in the UK we've ever visited.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Happyboating

[ToadOfToadHall]

Come on now, be fair; if arriving from NY (or indeed anywhere) who'd want to arrive here:

 

When they could arrive here ?

 

 

And once you get to Liverpool, you only have:

 

1) Historic City centre & buildings

 

2) Waterfront and Albert Dock

 

3) St George's hall (often described as the finest Neoclassical building in the world).

 

4) Largest number of museums in any city (outside London)

 

5) Matthew Street/Home of the Beatles

 

6) Hope Street / Philharmonic halls/buildings

 

7) Two very famous cathedrals

 

8) Etc, etc

 

Or, Southampton

 

1) A hanger

 

2) A shopping centre

 

3) Erm

 

4) That's it.

 

 

Yep, Southampton has it all compared to Liverpool.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

The interiors of the Cunard Building in Liverpool do look beautiful. This is beginning to look like a war of words between Southampton and Liverpool. Nothing personal against Southampton but I as an American would like at least one crossing that ends in Liverpool. I have read in books about Ocean Liners that Liverpool was the UK terminal port city for Cunard until 1919 when Cunard moved its UK terminal port city to Southampton because the White Star Line moved to Southampton from Liverpool several years earlier and because the port facilities in Southampton are better and because Southampton is much closer to London than Liverpool. Something similar like this happened here in the USA when Royal Caribbean International which owns Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruise Line moved its New York area port operations from the Manhattan West Side piers to the former Bayonne Ocean Military Terminal in Bayonne,New Jersey where the ships for the U.S. military used to dock. Royal Caribbean International moved to this location as a place to dock its Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Ships from the Manhattan West Side piers because the Royal Caribbean International officials felt that the Manhattan West Side piers have become obsolete at the time they moved to Bayonne in 2003. This is why the NYC officials in 2008 had 2 of the 3 Manhattan West Side piers which are Piers 88 and 90 renovated so that NYC would not lose anymore Cruise Ship business to New Jersey. I being a New Jersey resident would have LOVED to see Cunard move its New York area docking facilities instead of Brooklyn to the same dock in Bayonne,New Jersey that Royal Caribbean International uses. This same dock is only about a few miles South of the Statue of Liberty which is also really located in the New Jersey side of the harbor. Regards,Jerry

Edited October 3, 2013 by Cruise Liner Fan

[Toffeegirl68]

A quick dummy booking on National Express shows Liverpool to London coach times between 4 hr 50 min and 8 hr 20 min.

 

Liverpool to London rail is showing as a minimum journey of 2 hr 54 min.

 

Both bookings are from Liverpool central to London Victoria.

 

I never posted with malice, Toffee. I really don't understand why you felt the need to come in guns blazing. It was totally unnecessary.

 

The facts speak for themselves. I'm merely pointing out that Liverpool is not a suitable port for anything more than infrequent visited by Cunard ships.

 

Feel free to disagree, but please leave the sarcasm at home and the attack dogs leashed.

 

:)

 

I never meant to offend, but I spend a lot of time travelling from London to Liverpool by train, coach and car. Your posts - probably unintentionally - came across as very anti Liverpool full stop. Let's kiss and make up as bickering is not my style either.

[Austcruiser84]

You need to work on your UK stations !!

 

Liverpool Central is, in effect, an Underground Station (it's not the main station in Liverpool ) and London Victoria is on the south side of London - it's the main station when arriving from Brighton etc.

 

Liverpool Lime Street (i.e. the main station in Liverpool) to Eutson (one of the 3 mainline stations when arriving from the North) is 2 hours and 9 mins.

 

c.f. Southampton Central to Waterloo is 1 hr 23.

 

So it's 46 minutes longer to London from Liverpool than from Southampton.

 

Also, out of interest, by road, it's 210 miles (using the correct stations) from Liverpool to London but 80 miles from Southampton to London.

 

Regardless of the times (it's still significantly longer from Liverpool to London than Southampton to London - I appreciated the transport knowledge), Liverpool is not the suitable choice for starting or ending even the occasional TA.

 

It's really interesting to witness such passion from some UK posters about having Liverpool as a destination port.

 

I don't think we get this kind of passion in my country about ports :) Mainly because Sydney is just the best there is. Full of warships at the moment for the int. Fleet Review.

[Austcruiser84]

I never meant to offend, but I spend a lot of time travelling from London to Liverpool by train, coach and car. Your posts - probably unintentionally - came across as very anti Liverpool full stop. Let's kiss and make up as bickering is not my style either.

 

Nothing against Liverpool at all. My dismissal of it as a destination port for large cruise ships / liners is purely based on economic and demographical reasoning.

 

I dont know about a kiss given the alleged persistence of Norovirus on Cunard ships :)

[ToadOfToadHall]

Regardless of the times (it's still significantly longer from Liverpool to London than Southampton to London.

 

Yes, I could see that, having spent several days, or even weeks sailing to the UK, how an extra 46 minutes on the train to London could easily be described as significant.

 

I don't think we get this kind of passion in my country about ports :) Mainly because Sydney is just the best there is.

 

The point I'm making is that whilst Liverpool is known for it's cultural significance in the UK, Southampton is known for having a cruise terminal - there is absolutely nothing of cultural note there at all.

Edited October 4, 2013 by ToadOfToadHall

[capnpugwash]

Regardless of the times (it's still significantly longer from Liverpool to London than Southampton to London - I appreciated the transport knowledge), Liverpool is not the suitable choice for starting or ending even the occasional TA.

 

It's really interesting to witness such passion from some UK posters about having Liverpool as a destination port.

 

I don't think we get this kind of passion in my country about ports :) Mainly because Sydney is just the best there is. Full of warships at the moment for the int. Fleet Review.

 

Is that why we sent so many people there in the past? I imagine it must be. :)

[ToadOfToadHall]

Is that why we sent so many people there in the past? I imagine it must be. :)

 

I've always felt it was a bad idea to stop doing that really.

[david,Mississauga]

Yes, I could see that, having spent several days, or even weeks sailing to the UK, how an extra 46 minutes on the train to London could easily be described as significant.

 

 

Although I have not travelled on Virgin Trains between Liverpool and London, I have travelled on them several times on other routes, such as London to and from Scotland or Manchester. We always purchase a first-class Britrail pass for our annual visits to the UK, so the following fares do not affect us but they may be of interest to others. I picked a date at random about a month from now. For the same date, the best fares between Liverpool and London are £38 first, £26 standard. Between Southampton and London first is £61.80; standard is £37.40. On all our trips on Virgin we have received complimentary food and beverages. Depending on the time of day we have had a G&T, a hot meal (the lamb casserole was the best as I recall) wine with meal and a pudding or cheese and grapes. In between main meal hours it is snacks such as sandwiches or salads.

 

It was my intention that my first trip to the "mother country" would be from Montreal to Liverpool on a Canadian Pacific Empress liner, but the last Empress was sold off in 1971 before I could save enough for the trip. So we took the New York - Southampton route in 1973 for my first trip abroad. I have, therefore, a nostalgic attachment to Southampton but I would certainly be interested in crossings to or from Liverpool.

 

I wonder if Liverpool could be added to some of the So-ton - NY crossings? For next year, Cunard has added Halifax, Nova Scotia, to one crossing in each direction. Sadly, they are not selling them as So'ton - Halifax crossings. (I can understand that Cunard wouldn't want empty staterooms between NY and Halifax, but they could sell limited local passage as they do between So'ton and Hamburg). My TA in Toronto says Cunard might be persuaded to let us board or disembark in Halifax by special arrangement, but we would have to pay the full fare for the eight-day NY trip.

[Austcruiser84]

Is that why we sent so many people there in the past? I imagine it must be. :)

 

Given that our average wage is 50% greater than the average UK wage, we have near perfect weather year round, and we have the most beautiful harbour in the world I'd say it doesn't much matter that two centuries ago you lot sent some people here for petty crimes.

 

Granted, our heritage and culture lack the sophistication of Europe, but with our higher wages we can afford to travel there and back whenever we please :)

 

Just not to Liverpool ;)

[Austcruiser84]

Yes, I could see that, having spent several days, or even weeks sailing to the UK, how an extra 46 minutes on the train to London could easily be described as significant.

 

 

 

The point I'm making is that whilst Liverpool is known for it's cultural significance in the UK, Southampton is known for having a cruise terminal - there is absolutely nothing of cultural note there at all.

 

Apart from the Titanic museum (which is rather small) I agree entirely that Southampton offers very little culturally.

 

It's basically just a convenient locale for docking large ships.

 

Remember that Cunard isn't just pitching itself to UK residents. You'll find that most international visitors would look at a map of the UK and go 'geez, Liverpool is a long way from everything'. Perception counts more than reality with these things.

 

Maybe that will change with the high speed rail being built in the UK. Who knows.

 

But it's clear for the foreseeable future that Liverpool is out.

 

Anyway, Southampton doesn't seem to stop the Liverpool fan club motoring or railing down to meet the ships. If you're willing to travel all that way, why should they even think about moving operations? :)

[Whitemarsh]

Is that why we sent so many people there in the past? I imagine it must be. :)

 

You can have Julia Gillard back. We're done with her now. :cool:

[Cruise Liner Fan]

You can have Julia Gillard back. We're done with her now. :cool:

So I guess you're not a fan of the former Prime Minister of Australia? Regards,Jerry

[Salacia]

Nothing against Liverpool at all. My dismissal of it as a destination port for large cruise ships / liners is purely based on economic and demographical reasoning.

 

I dont know about a kiss given the alleged persistence of Norovirus on Cunard ships :)

 

An "alleged" persistence of Norovirus on Cunard ships? That is a rather serious accusation, and it's the first I've heard of it either on this forum, on board, or reports by the CDC. I've experienced 12 voyages on QM2, and my first experience of "Code Red" was last month on the NY/Canada voyage. Please share your source/s of this allegation. Thank you. -S

Edited October 5, 2013 by Salacia

[Whitemarsh]

So I guess you're not a fan of the former Prime Minister of Australia? Regards,Jerry

 

That's right.

[Toffeegirl68]

....given the alleged persistence of Norovirus on Cunard ships :)

 

An "alleged" persistence of Norovirus on Cunard ships? That is a rather serious accusation, and it's the first I've heard of it either on this forum, on board, or reports by the CDC. I've experienced 12 voyages on QM2, and my first experience of "Code Red" was last month on the NY/Canada voyage. Please share your source/s of this allegation. Thank you. -S

 

 

The background to this 'allegation' (please note the 'I'm not really being serious' yellow smiley at the end of this comment....) is to keep me away from planting a smacker on Austcruiser as part of our kiss and make-up...

[Salacia]

The background to this 'allegation' (please note the 'I'm not really being serious' yellow smiley at the end of this comment....) is to keep me away from planting a smacker on Austcruiser as part of our kiss and make-up...

 

 

Oh, I didn't know that the yellow smiley at the end of a comment meant "I'm not really being serious".

 

I understand now, thanks. :)

[MsDeva]

I feel so sorry for those new to Cunard that come on this forum looking for advice and guidance only to find such bickering and bitchy comments between those who are supposedly Cunard fans.

 

To stay on topic l would say that having sailed from Liverpool on a few occasions and in view of the fact that the Cunard building is now once again coming to life it's a no brainer that eventually we shall see Cunard sailings from this port again at some point in the future, it may justify the now longer transatlantic voyages.

 

Just my opinion

Best

Judy

[pmb1]

... To stay on topic l would say that having sailed from Liverpool on a few occasions and in view of the fact that the Cunard building is now once again coming to life it's a no brainer that eventually we shall see Cunard sailings from this port again at some point in the future, it may justify the now longer transatlantic voyages.

 

Just my opinion

Best

Judy

I agree. And since QM2 is already dawdling across with occasional NYC-Halifax-Southampton crossings why not make a few NYC-Liverpool-Southampton crossings too. We do like Halifax, but who knows, we may love Liverpool given the chance.

[Whitemarsh]

I feel so sorry for those new to Cunard that come on this forum looking for advice and guidance only to find such bickering and bitchy comments between those who are supposedly Cunard fans.

 

To stay on topic l would say that having sailed from Liverpool on a few occasions and in view of the fact that the Cunard building is now once again coming to life it's a no brainer that eventually we shall see Cunard sailings from this port again at some point in the future, it may justify the now longer transatlantic voyages.

 

Just my opinion

Best

Judy

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say that we're all Cunard fans. Some people on here say the most horrible things about the crew and talk about committing violent acts against them.

 

Those aren't the actions of fans.

[MsDeva]

I agree. And since QM2 is already dawdling across with occasional NYC-Halifax-Southampton crossings why not make a few NYC-Liverpool-Southampton crossings too. We do like Halifax, but who knows, we may love Liverpool given the chance.

 

Pmb1, it really does make sense. Initial departure from Soton, pick up in Liverpool and maybe even Cobh.....both north and south would hopefully be happy and Cunard goes back to the roots. She is just dawdling across the pond at present, with the occasional Hamburg call which for most pax is a pain in the proverbial....

Liverpool is a most interesting city and well worth a visit for the maritime history alone.

 

Best

Judy

[MsDeva]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that we're all Cunard fans. Some people on here say the most horrible things about the crew and talk about committing violent acts against them.

 

Those aren't the actions of fans.

 

As if us dedicated Cunarders would go that far Whitemarsh!!;) On recent voyages in QG l have often been tempted to throw my butler overboard....but one must exercise some patience at times!:eek:

 

A good banter on this board is essential.....along with a good sense of humour.....which sadly a lot of folk tend to forget when voicing their so called experience and opinions......kindness doesn't cost anything to our fellow passengers, particularly those that are so looking forward to their first Cunard voyage.

 

Best

Judy

[capnpugwash]

I think that a call at Liverpool is an excellent idea, it might be problematical though as entry into and departure from the Mersey needs to be at high tide. I was on QM2 earlier this year and we entered at 4am which rather marred the event.