Thinking about Escape TA. Some questions about Euro travel

[sdmike]

Guys - I "jokingly" sent my wife an email suggesting that we leave the kids with grandma for 3 weeks (actually, grandma would live at our house for 3 weeks) and we would go to Europe then on the Escape TA. Shockingly, she said "we need to make this happen". :eek::D

 

I'd like to get your views on how we might approach this. My wife has never been to Europe, and I've only been to the Netherlands and the London area.

 

I was thinking we would fly into somewhere like Amsterdam to start our trip, but I'm flexible as to the destination. We could spend a few days there seeing the area, probably renting a car to see some areas outside of the city. I would then want to travel down to Rotterdam, and maybe Brussels, and finally to Paris for a couple of days. Then, from Paris, go up through the tunnel under the channel on on to London for another few days before boarding the ship down in Portsmouth.

 

I have heard how efficient and enjoyable the European rail system is, so I'm wondering if we could do this via rail without needing to rent a car anywhere. We could take taxis within the cities (or maybe rent a car where staying a few days), but I'd love to be able to do most of the trip via rail. Is this possible? Any suggestions on where to start and what routes to take (in general, not specific)? For example, if it's easier to start in Paris then circle up through Amsterdam then back down to the crossing.

 

Also, what would be the best way to get from London down to Portsmouth? Is there a train for that as well?

 

This is all just early planning, but I know many of you here on the board are very "worldly" and might have some input

 

Thanks!

[bugeater2]

Guys - I "jokingly" sent my wife an email suggesting that we leave the kids with grandma for 3 weeks (actually, grandma would live at our house for 3 weeks) and we would go to Europe then on the Escape TA. Shockingly, she said "we need to make this happen". :eek::D

 

I'd like to get your views on how we might approach this. My wife has never been to Europe, and I've only been to the Netherlands and the London area.

 

I was thinking we would fly into somewhere like Amsterdam to start our trip, but I'm flexible as to the destination. We could spend a few days there seeing the area, probably renting a car to see some areas outside of the city. I would then want to travel down to Rotterdam, and maybe Brussels, and finally to Paris for a couple of days. Then, from Paris, go up through the tunnel under the channel on on to London for another few days before boarding the ship down in Portsmouth.

 

I have heard how efficient and enjoyable the European rail system is, so I'm wondering if we could do this via rail without needing to rent a car anywhere. We could take taxis within the cities (or maybe rent a car where staying a few days), but I'd love to be able to do most of the trip via rail. Is this possible? Any suggestions on where to start and what routes to take (in general, not specific)? For example, if it's easier to start in Paris then circle up through Amsterdam then back down to the crossing.

 

Also, what would be the best way to get from London down to Portsmouth? Is there a train for that as well?

 

This is all just early planning, but I know many of you here on the board are very "worldly" and might have some input

 

Thanks!

 

It is nice to help the man that usually has answers to all of our questions.

 

You don't need a car unless you are going way out of the way. Thalys runs from Amsterdam to Paris with stops at both Rotterdam and Brussles.

 

You can then take Eurostar from Paris to London.

 

Just work your way down to Paris throughout the week. No need for a long, time wasting round-trip car rental.

 

A tip about the Thalys trains. You can book the trains 3 months in advance. When you are about 4 months out, sign up for the TheCard. This will allow you to get paperless tickets (if you wish) and also will get you lounge access as well.

You may get an e-mail from them a couple of weeks after signing up with a one time offer (per person) for a low price special that isn't readily available.

I got offers for 25€ Amsterdam-Brussels on any train any day. Some of the mid-day trains start out at 59€ so not too bad of a deal.

 

You initial thoughts are mirroring the first 10 days of my trip before our Med cruise out of Barcelona. In my 3.5 weeks, I am only renting a car for Iceland for 2.5 days and Corsica for 2.5 days. Everywhere else in Continental Europe will be via public transportation.

 

p.s. If you are going to stay in Belgium you MUST go to Brugges.

 

p.s.s. When using the Thalys website, set your region/language to Belgium/English. This will ensure you do not get hit with any additional fees or higher prices

[Froggitt]

Also, what would be the best way to get from London down to Portsmouth? Is there a train for that as well?

 

Dunno. But there is a train from London Waterloo to Southampton, which is where the Escape will be departing from. ;)

[KeithJenner]

I'll leave it to others to help with plans for mainland Europe, although using the train should work fine.

 

Make sure you end up in either Brussels or Paris. From there you can take the Eurostar direct to London.

 

Trains to Southampton go direct from Waterloo as stated above. Waterloo is on the south bank of the Thames not far from the Houses of Parliament and there are plenty of hotels in the area. It's a pretty good area to base yourself.

 

Hope you make it.

[meatball_nyc]

Go for it, sdmike

Escape is calling your name.

It's been ages since my Paris/Madrid trip but it is something you really should consider :)

 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[Magickpyggie]

I am not sure if anyone else has suggested seat61.com but it is a really useful website for rail travel, we used it to book from S****horpe to Barcelona and it brought up great deals. Hope it is useful.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Casino Comp Chick]

It is nice to help the man that usually has answers to all of our questions.

 

You don't need a car unless you are going way out of the way. Thalys runs from Amsterdam to Paris with stops at both Rotterdam and Brussles.

 

You can then take Eurostar from Paris to London.

 

Just work your way down to Paris throughout the week. No need for a long, time wasting round-trip car rental.

 

A tip about the Thalys trains. You can book the trains 3 months in advance. When you are about 4 months out, sign up for the TheCard. This will allow you to get paperless tickets (if you wish) and also will get you lounge access as well.

You may get an e-mail from them a couple of weeks after signing up with a one time offer (per person) for a low price special that isn't readily available.

I got offers for 25€ Amsterdam-Brussels on any train any day. Some of the mid-day trains start out at 59€ so not too bad of a deal.

 

You initial thoughts are mirroring the first 10 days of my trip before our Med cruise out of Barcelona. In my 3.5 weeks, I am only renting a car for Iceland for 2.5 days and Corsica for 2.5 days. Everywhere else in Continental Europe will be via public transportation.

 

p.s. If you are going to stay in Belgium you MUST go to Brugges.

 

p.s.s. When using the Thalys website, set your region/language to Belgium/English. This will ensure you do not get hit with any additional fees or higher prices

 

I was going to suggest Ze Brugge myself, great city!

[nadeki]

Wow, Mike what a great husband you are!!

 

Train tickets will be much cheaper the earlier you buy them.

 

In England keep an eye on the transportation web sites to be sure there is not any work being done. We have found that there is always work going on somewhere on the tracks and it can delay your trip. However it can be avoided with some research.

 

Sounds like a great trip and we will all be waiting for your reviews.

[djmess]

Mike

definitely check out seat61 dot com. That site helped me tremendously this past October when I flew to London, train to Paris, and then train on to Rome.

 

I also learned that purchasing train tickets in advance does help on the budget. I was looking and looking and put off purchasing and when I felt I was ready, one set of my tickets really increased in price.

 

You are far enough out now, so do that research.

 

Hope to finally meet the person who has helped so many here on Cruise Critic!

[Froggitt]

In UK, work on the tracks is generally done at weekends or on Bank Holidays.

 

Tickets are generally cheaper if you book a specific train in advance e.g. the 10.27 from Waterloo. Its called an Advance ticket. Usually available 12 weeks in advance of travel. However if you miss the train, you get to buy a new ticket at full price, which could be five to ten times as much.

 

The other cheap ticket is Offpeak. For travel after 9.30am usually.

 

Buying a walkup ticket at the station is the most expensive......and UK has some of the most expensive routes in the world on a cost per mile basis!!! Particularly those that affect travellers e.g. Heathrow Express.

[Froggitt]

Heres a story on it http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16390608

Recent research by the Campaign for Better Transport suggested that season tickets for commuters around London cost more than three times those of their Spanish and German equivalents, and 10 times more than those in Italy.

[NMLady]

Go for it! You've gotten some excellent advice. I agree that using trains in Europe would be much preferable to renting car. We've used Europe trains in the past including Eurostar from Paris to London. Wonderful experiences.

 

You will need to really plan your packing though when using trains instead of car. Hubby and I each had a backpack and each pulled medium size wheeled soft side luggage for a six week Europe land trip. We hand washed some items when staying more than one night in hotel (actually most nights were in cheap pensiones, based on Rick Steves guidebooks). We also found a laundromat a couple times and figured out how to use the unfamiliar machines. We splurged once and had a laundry do our laundry for us while we went sightseeing. Was worth the cost.

 

For original packing leave plenty of room for souvenirs you will want to purchase. Omit packing some Tshirts and buy some souvenir ones instead. Playing cards are also small useful souvenirs. So is jewelry. :)

 

Keep us posted. Looking forward to your future posts about it.

Edited April 28, 2014 by NMLady

[Sauer-kraut]

Great information here, BUT

why not post this on the Europe boards as well. Many more posters who actually live in the areas you are considering will be able to chime in more specifically and even give train transfer advice.

 

John Bull posts over there quite a lot as well as Heinbloed and there are other resident experts to help guide you.

 

Good luck and have fun!

[dalgirl]

And don't forget CC partner, trip advisor, lot's of good info there. And then their is everyone's favorite Rick Steves. Lot's of info on planning your land trip and then your cruise.

 

3 weeks away from work, kids, to travel Europe and relax on the way back??? Are you typing in your sleep??? - that would be my dream:D

[sdmike]

Thanks Guys, exactly the kind of help I was looking for. Great information on trains, websites, discounts and what to watch for.

 

Froggitt - Thanks. I guess I should go where the ship is. :)

 

Sauer-kraut - I did post on the Europe board when I posted here. Thanks for suggestion though.

[yoj13]

Don't forget http://www.megatrain.com London - Southampton on train for sometimes £2.00 + 50p booking fee. Very cheap if the timings suit you

[Planmaam]

Wonderful information here, and sounds like a great itinerary.

 

I have one additional suggestion; look to Airbnb for places to stay in some of the cities if you'd like an alternate to regular hotels. Medicalma'am got a flat in Paris for, I think, 5 nights for a really good per-night price later this summer.

 

And though I love the trains in Europe (traveled on a Euro-rail Pass for 2 months years ago), she tells me that if you just want to jump to another city quickly, some of the flights are a fraction of the train prices.

 

Have a fabulous trip; I'm jealous!

[kylenyc]

Hey Mike! Hope you decide to book this cruise.

 

Many of us on the roll call are hoping that NCL will eventually announce a 1 Day Escape from Rotterdam cruise to Southampton as the official first paid passenger cruise. This means we can fly into Amsterdam, spend a couple of days and take the train easily to Rotterdam and board the ship (or arrive a day early to explore Rotterdam).

 

When she arrives in Southampton they'll be at least one day that NCL will host the press and travel agents when you can then disembark and do day trips to the surrounding area (London, etc.). For Getaway there were two days out of Southampton, a 1-Day paid Cruise to Nowhere and 1 Day for press/travel, before starting her maiden transatlantic.

 

If you have enough time, certain extend your precruise itinerary to include Paris or Brussels. IcelandAir and Air Dingus also provide free layovers into Reykjavik and Dublin respectively although I would choose the other cities first.

 

Amsterdam has a fantastic public transit system and a very walkable city. No need to rent a car.

Paris has a great metro and bus system to get around. Just have your "pardonez moi's" on the tip of your tongue if you have to negotiate rush hour.

London is a single regional train from Southampton and then into the chunnel or take a hop on hop off bus.

Edited June 2, 2014 by kylenyc

[Crusin6]

Fly to Rome. Spend 4 days or more there and then do whatever you want go to wherever else you want before your cruise. Use whatever method of transport that pleases you. See whatever other cities you are inclined to see but by all means add italy to this trip regardless of convenience or location to wherever you are boarding your ship.

 

Stepping foot on the European continent without going to Italy is just not right as far as I am concerned! Lol

[FreestyleNovice]

Great Mike! :D

 

Just a first quick one:

 

Italy would be too far off the map for me. Save that one for a Med cruise, another excuse to fly across!

 

Check http://www.bahn.de/i/view/DEU/en/index.shtml for train timetables/planner, those Germans run the best one! It has all the European (even regional) trains. Great for planning.

 

Add Rotterdam to a daytrip from Amsterdam or combine it with (if you like) something around. One hour drive by car or even less (45 min) by train. Almost anything in Holland can be done from one location, this should save you time.

 

Great tip about the 1-nighter from Rotterdam, if you like to stick to the mainland. Saves you some time which could be spend on a quick 2day trip by plane to another European city from Amsterdam.

[FreestyleNovice]

By the way, NCL tends to plan in the onenighter very very very late. Plan it in, be early with booking as it is a really popular cruise (cheap, cruise addicts from all over Europe, etc etc).

 

Otherwise Flybe operates excellent Amsterdam Schiphol - Southampton flights.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Guys - I "jokingly" sent my wife an email suggesting that we leave the kids with grandma for 3 weeks (actually, grandma would live at our house for 3 weeks) and we would go to Europe then on the Escape TA. Shockingly, she said "we need to make this happen". :eek::D

 

Mike, I can't help you one iota with your planning having never been to Europe myself. What I can say is, "Go for it!" I hope you get to make this happen, just the two of you. My DH and I just had a couples only cruise. Should have done it years ago! The best gift we can give our kiddos is a loving, strong, nurtured marriage. Everyone in the family is the better for it. :D