Easiest transportation from LHR to Harwich

[Go-Bucks!]

Our flight will arrive in LHR about 11:45am, so from what I've read we'll miss many of the coaches going to Harwich that leave earlier. We prefer to leave right from the airport and stay overnight in Harwich. We're not interested in using trains/Tube/public buses because of having suitcases to drag with us.

 

Does anyone have info on private transportation that will pick us up at the airport in early afternoon and drive directly to Harwich?

 

How can I get info on the Celebrity transfer? Who should I contact?

 

Thx for any help! :p

Edited June 22, 2014 by Go-Bucks!

[insanemagnet]

Does anyone have info on private transportation that will pick us up at the airport in early afternoon and drive directly to Harwich?

 

A mini cab (not a London black hackney cab) would probably cost £150+ Google will give you a list (http://www.harwich.co.uk/cruise_taxis.asp)

 

Uber is now also operating in London, and they show a price from Heathrow to Harwich of between £176-£211.

 

We're not interested in using trains/Tube/public buses because of having suitcases to drag with us

 

Fair enough, but had you considered a mini cab / Uber from Heathrow to London Liverpool Street train station (£37) and then a train to Harwich International (tickets from £8.50) - http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/?

[Go-Bucks!]

A mini cab (not a London black hackney cab) would probably cost £150+ Google will give you a list (http://www.harwich.co.uk/cruise_taxis.asp)

 

Uber is now also operating in London, and they show a price from Heathrow to Harwich of between £176-£211.

 

Will the mini cab take us from Heathrow to Harwich?? They will drive all the way up to the airport to pick us up??

 

 

Fair enough, but had you considered a mini cab / Uber from Heathrow to London Liverpool Street train station (£37) and then a train to Harwich International (tickets from £8.50) - http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/?

 

We'd still have to change trains before getting to Harwich. I've shlepped luggage around Europe many times but just not interested this time. We want a direct ride from airport to hotel in Harwich.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Go-Bucks!

[insanemagnet]

Fair enough

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=minicab+harwich&l=1 is your solution then.

[Turtles06]

Our flight will arrive in LHR about 11:45am, so from what I've read we'll miss many of the coaches going to Harwich that leave earlier. We prefer to leave right from the airport and stay overnight in Harwich. We're not interested in using trains/Tube/public buses because of having suitcases to drag with us.

 

Does anyone have info on private transportation that will pick us up at the airport in early afternoon and drive directly to Harwich?

 

How can I get info on the Celebrity transfer? Who should I contact?

 

Thx for any help! :p

 

Last fall, we did exactly what you are seeking to do -- we arrived at LHR the day before our cruise out of Harwich, and wanted to go directly to Harwich and stay overnight there. We had no interest in dragging our luggage into London to take a train. We asked the folks at our hotel in Harwich (the Pier, which I highly recommend, btw) if they had anyone to recommend for a private transfer from LHR, and one of the names they gave us was Harwich Taxi. I also read their name on here.

 

We wound up using them and they were great. Easy to set things up via email, and their driver was waiting for us bright and early at Heathrow, and took us directly to our hotel in Harwich.

 

http://www.harwichtaxis.com/

 

As for a Celebrity transfer, I think they are only available on sailing day.

 

Another name I've read on here for private transfers from London airports to the cruise ports is Smiths for Airports, but I haven't used them so can't speak personally about them.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[cert4me]

We are using Harwich Taxi and their price is fair and they are very good about responding to emails.

 

Mary

[Go-Bucks!]

Thanks to all of you for the information!!!

 

We finally booked the cruise yesterday and have decided to spend our "extra" precruise day in Iceland, so we'll be needing a ride to Harwich on 10/13. Will check into Celebrity transfers (do you call Choice Air for those?) or call Harwich taxis. We'd like to leave early in the morning so we can get to the ship in a timely fashion. :D

[Globaliser]

We finally booked the cruise yesterday and have decided to spend our "extra" precruise day in Iceland, so we'll be needing a ride to Harwich on 10/13. Will check into Celebrity transfers (do you call Choice Air for those?) or call Harwich taxis. We'd like to leave early in the morning so we can get to the ship in a timely fashion.

Do you mean that you're now planning to fly from Reykjavik to Heathrow on a flight that arrives on 13 October, and then transfer to Harwich for a cruise that departs on the same day at 1700?

 

If so, what's the arrival time on 13 October of your planned flight? If it's the first non-stop arrival of the day from Reykjavik, that looks like it's 1145. This wouldn't give you much time to get over to Harwich for your ship's departure. It's 2+ hours by road from Heathrow to Harwich, and you'd be doing this on a weekday (13 October is a Monday, I believe). Not much would need to go wrong before you'd find yourself spending the first three days of your cruise on dry land, getting yourselves to Lisbon (your next port).

[Go-Bucks!]

Do you mean that you're now planning to fly from Reykjavik to Heathrow on a flight that arrives on 13 October, and then transfer to Harwich for a cruise that departs on the same day at 1700?

 

If so, what's the arrival time on 13 October of your planned flight? If it's the first non-stop arrival of the day from Reykjavik, that looks like it's 1145. This wouldn't give you much time to get over to Harwich for your ship's departure. It's 2+ hours by road from Heathrow to Harwich, and you'd be doing this on a weekday (13 October is a Monday, I believe). Not much would need to go wrong before you'd find yourself spending the first three days of your cruise on dry land, getting yourselves to Lisbon (your next port).

 

No, we're not that brave or inexperienced! We're arriving at Heathrow on 10/12 at 8pm, staying at an airport hotel overnight, then booking an early morning ride to Harwich on 10/13.

[John Bull]

No, we're not that brave or inexperienced! We're arriving at Heathrow on 10/12 at 8pm, staying at an airport hotel overnight, then booking an early morning ride to Harwich on 10/13.

 

Then there are three options which fit your criteria:

 

Private transfer.

I've seen Harwich Taxi being recommended on this forum a few times, and as a rule of thumb those smaller operators based at ports do give a better & more personal service than those based in London or at major airports.

But Smiths are based near Southampton so wouldn't be economic for Heathrow-to-Harwich, especially early-morning when it won't tie in with a Southampton-to-Heathrow job.

 

Celebrity transfer.

Since this is now your sailing day, a cruise line transfer is available. But I'm pretty certain they only pick up from airport terminals, so you'd have to make your own way from hotel to terminal - a variety of means, depending on which Heathrow hotel. Transfers operate throughout the morning starting from about 9 to 9.30, so you'll not be tied down to a specific time.

 

Harwich Cruise Bus. A privately-operated service which picks up from specified Heathrow hotels (but not from terminals). Long-established & reputable operator, vehicles similar to cruise-line transfer buses, drops you alongside the ship - same as private transfers & ship's transfer buses.

Has the advantage of a stop at a grocery super-store for wines, sodas, sundries - the cruise line's bus is effectively non-stop.

Costs £59 p/p, I don't know how that compares to ship's transfers.

Details at

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/harwich_fromlondon_shuttle.html

 

JB :)

[cruisefreaks]

oops, wrong thread ...

Edited June 24, 2014 by cruisefreaks