Rain in London Town

[dusababy]

Posting pre-embarkation in Southampton tomorrow on QM2 en route to New York. First time jumped SS ship in several years - will post comparison review upon return. CruisinPashmina - no Ipad to communicate - this best I can do. Hope Dan doesn't delete.

London very crowded and EXPENSIVE!

Dusababy aka Mary Ann

[Tothesunset]

London very crowded and EXPENSIVE!

I was reading something the other day that stated that London is now the most expensive capital city for a visitor.

 

I also saw an article entitled something along the lines of ''25 best cities to visit'' in which London came eighth. To my mind it is a bit better than Mogadishu but lags behind Lagos or Mexico City. (Now awaiting avalanche of opprobrium from those unfortunate enough to live in our fair capital!)

[Mark_K]

It's not so bad if you just pretend Pounds are Dollars.

[UKCruiseJeff]

It isn't so bad if American's take advice about London from Brits instead of other Americans.

 

:)

 

 

Jeff

[duct tape]

Dusababy, very anxious to hear your report. We took the QM2 from NYC to catch the Cloud in London. Want to compare notes! Enjoy!

[Nigella]

 

To my mind it is a bit better than Mogadishu but lags behind Lagos or Mexico City. (Now awaiting avalanche of opprobrium from those unfortunate enough to live in our fair capital!)

 

I'm with you!

 

Dusababy, sorry about the rain, the weather had been very good for the last few weeks.

 

Keen to hear about the QM2 also.

[GUT2407]

It isn't so bad if American's take advice about London from Brits instead of other Americans.

 

:)

 

 

Jeff

 

Helps to listen to the locals.

[Mark_K]

It isn't so bad if American's take advice about London from Brits instead of other Americans.

 

:)

 

 

Jeff

 

 

Wait until I tell her about eating beans for breakfast.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Mark_K

[UKCruiseJeff]

In some remote areas they eat human beans for breakfast, Not in London though. Yet.

 

Jeff

[Tothesunset]

In some remote areas they eat human beans for breakfast, Not in London though. Yet.

 

Jeff

Mmm. Lightly griiled with a few fava beans and a nice Chianti.

[Mark_K]

Mmm. Lightly griiled with a few fava beans and a nice Chianti.

 

 

Irish babies no doubt, is the going rate still 10 shillings?

[jpalbny]

In some remote areas they eat human beans for breakfast, Not in London though. Yet.

 

Jeff

 

Mmm. Lightly grilled with a few fava beans and a nice Chianti.

 

All right... Yes, I still hear the lambs! You two are incorrigible! (but in a very good way).

 

**

 

Chris and I love visiting London, though. I can't compare it to Mogadishu, Lagos, or Mexico City yet so maybe we'd love them even more. ;) Not sure about Mogadishu; one of my classmates visited there in the early '90s...

 

We have visited four times so far, and London was on the short list for Christmas this year.

 

You are right, hotels and restaurants can be pretty expensive. Despite this, there are lots of free places to visit. Many of the museums are free, and the exhibits are incredible. Personally, I love visiting London for the history; just seeing where so many well-known historical events actually happened is such fun for us. And there are many beautiful parks to walk in and enjoy the scenery. The river offers many different locations to stroll around as well.

 

But try as I might, I can't think of the Pound as a Dollar. Even when the Euro was down to $1.04, the Pound was still hanging at $1.50. That does hurt when the credit card bill comes due... :eek:

[UKCruiseJeff]

If I had to pick two elements that are expensive it is hotels and transport. Everything else is pretty on par with many other cities.

 

One of the things many visitors could do to reduce expense in London and many capitals and it is simple. Many visitors I talk to or exchange with on forums have fast food or a snack at lunch time and eat in a restaurant in the evening. If you reverse that you often improve your main meal and save a packet. And you don't go to bed on a full stomach. Fast food is the same price at lunch as it is in the evening. Restaurant food is nearly always better value at lunch and as you know lunch is the highlight of any day, particularly potentially to those that cannot indulge themselves for the rest of their year with a good lunch because they normally work. Many people I have led astray and lunched with find that lunch is even sweeter because you know that everyone else is slogging their guts out at work.

 

Pretty much all of the best restaurants in London offer cracking deals for the same quality of food at lunchtime.

 

 

 

Jeff

Edited October 21, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[wripro]

Pretty much all major cities offer a better deal at lunch in good restaurants than they do at dinner. Very wise advice.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks.

 

May I just add .... that I find most cities are also really attractive to walk in the evening and at night. The Embankment at night. Brasserie lights in Paris at night. The workers have gone home. Paris and London as two examples are really magic at night and often you have much more of it to yourself.

 

There is so much to be said for a longer better cheaper lunch and the time you save in the evening ....WALK!

 

Jeff

[jpalbny]

Thanks.

 

May I just add .... that I find most cities are also really attractive to walk in the evening and at night. The Embankment at night. Brasserie lights in Paris at night. The workers have gone home. Paris and London as two examples are really magic at night and often you have much more of it to yourself.

 

There is so much to be said for a longer better cheaper lunch and the time you save in the evening ....WALK!

 

Jeff

 

Good idea. We tend to do this on repeat visits, but not our first visit. Usually our first visit to a city is taken up by seeing the "sights" and sometimes we don't even take time for lunch. A mad rush of activity!

 

But when we return to a place we know and love, then relaxing lunches with lots of wine, and evening strolls are great. I'm thinking of what we did in Paris over Christmas, compared to our first visit. Or London, last August. Very different! Both fun, though.

 

Our only problem with this, is that there are so many restaurants we want to try! So we usually end up eating both a big lunch and a big dinner. And there is no amount of walking that will counteract that...

[UKCruiseJeff]

In the days when London was rubbish food wise compared to Paris, and when I use to get BMI seats in Business really cheap I use to regularly take wifey to Paris just for the lunches really ..... to the really top restaurants. Lunch was affordable but dinner not so really. We took in all the major ones over a couple of years. Sometimes we'd make it a night or two sometimes just the day. There is something about Paris on a rainy wintery night. I have some lovely piccies of wifey sitting under a gas heater in Place du Tertre in winter with the lights on the wet pavement.

 

I think we're conditioned by work to automatically and subliminally think of the main meal as being the evening meal and rarely make a conscious decision to reconsider varying it when we travel. Dinner seems always teo be considered the "senior" meal. Not always the right presumption when the opportunity exists.

 

Jeff

Edited October 21, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[CruisinPashmina]

Dusa Baby,

Oh, I am so glad you checked in. Sorry about the rain...that does make getting around a bit more difficult. Are you enjoying the Stafford?

Hope you'll be able to let us know, in detail, how you feel about the QM2. It will certainly be different, but we really had fun, and look forward to a second Crossing in June.

Don't forget to have a few teeny, expensive drinks in the beautiful Chart Room Bar. Makes me laugh at the famous "English Pour". I guarantee you'll miss SS at drinks time!

Cheers! D

[Keith1010]

If dollars were equal to pounds then London would not seem so expensive.

 

Personally, even with the conversion rates I find hotels in Paris to be very expensive.

Also even with the conversion rate going to the theatre in London is less expensive than in New York City and many of the museums do not charge an entrance fee in London.

 

Mary Ann what type of accommodation will you be in on the QM2. I've only sailed her once, but found dining in the Queens Grill to be an absolutely wonderful experience.

 

Keith

[umtali]

Why look at the food and hotels and worry about the dollar v the pound. Look at the history and soak up the sights, enjoy London for what it is, one of the oldest cities in modern history.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Quite right! But it is one of the oldest cities in all history not just modern! ;)

 

Recently structures were found that shows there were people living in London at around 4500BC ... long before the Romans set themselves up in 43AD. The distance between the Romans and those early settlers is over twice the time between the Romans and us.

 

I was brought up in the area during the late '50's and 60's that is now called Barbican (it use to be called Aldersgate) from when it was still all bomb sites from Old Steet to almost up to St Pauls. I could walk from our flat to the South Bank on a Sunday morning and rarely see another person or car ... it was so quiet in The City at weekends. I actually found (discovered) a small bit of Roman wall that had been exposed by the bombs ... and was then dug by archaeologists before eventually being built over with modern offices.

 

The only real compromise visitors have to make in London is accomodation costs. On a short visit I can understand people spending a packet but if you had a longer stay then few really need all the facilities and costs associated with a top 5 star hotel, and if I were a visitor with less budget but more an explorer than tourist I'd consider something like Citadines close to Trafalgar Square so I could trade space and a small kitchen for services of a 5 star I don't need. Then I'd have everyone deliver food and sometimes go to a market. There are cheaper but similar options a bit less central that are even cheaper. There is a great few markets around central London. This allows you to live more independently and pretend to live like a true (albeit more wealthy) Londoner rather than a tourist. The London that is eaten and offorded by ordinary working class Londoners is all available to all visitors with no passports required for access. It is only the expenisve hotels that tourists use that makes London more expensive to tourists than locals. I think this approach gives a much "better London" than the habits that many wealthy people fall into, their wealth actually immunising and preventing them from the real London rather than experiencing it. Real travel is in my view often more a frame of mind than it is depth of wallet.

 

Familiarity often breeds contempt but as a Londoner through and through I never tire of London and still see it as the best capital I have visited.

 

And it is at it's best when it is raining.:)

 

Jeff

Edited October 23, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[dusababy]

Why look at the food and hotels and worry about the dollar v the pound. Look at the history and soak up the sights, enjoy London for what it is, one of the oldest cities in modern history.

 

Not my first visit to London and the point of the visit was to relive the past and "soak up the sights" - alas, some of the favorites ones (pubs) are long gone in favor of NEW London. As our beloved Judy said - I'm glad I saw the world before we ruined it.

Had looked forward to a few special days in London before embarking on QM2 crossing - a small bucket on the bucket list. Glad to cross that one off -- and now can't wait to get back on SS. The Queen is not for me. Yes, elegant, just as expected size-wise, decor-wise, perhaps my expectations were a bit unrealistic in that I'd hoped to be able to relate on a different scale.

Princess Grill suite was very attractive - all comforts with the exception of the totally inadequate bathroom. Very spoiled by SS room service - in Princess deck 10 tray was brought and deposited with covers on - server left and was annoyed when we called for tray pick-up, advising that was responsibility of the suite attendant when turn-down time came.

Distances between venues a challenge at times, particularly in the very rough seas we experienced during a 36 hour period. Captain epitomized keep calm and carry on - he reported next day that overnight sustained winds had been 70 MPH and at 1:30 a gust of 110 MPH was recorded. Later lots of broken glass and 6 broken hips were reported.

Never did discover a cozy little nook(bar) where one could just relax with a drink or coffee. Continually producing room key for charges a pain in the neck. I missed the light/bright decor of SS ships (excluding Spirit) -- most window tables were occupied and most others are interior and dark. Yes Pash - there are some beautiful public rooms - particularly the elegant library with 10,000 volumes, but very few comfortable seats for staring at the sea or skimming a book. Not easy to make new friends and make a date for dinner -- assigned seating observed although at least not set dinner times in Princess Grill. Walked through the Queens Grill and found it almost identical to Princess. I did not think the food was particularly good and can't remember one outstanding dinner. Most of all missed the personal interactions with staff and "family". Personal observations of other passengers indicated most were well pleased and highly impressed - and I'm happy for them.

These are simply my personal opinions. Enjoyed two previous trips on the Queens Elizabeth - so I had some previous experience - but times have changed and so have I, and I'll be glad to be back on one of my favorite ships.

Dusababy aka Mary Ann

[billcrooz]

Not my first visit to London and the point of the visit was to relive the past and "soak up the sights" - alas, some of the favorites ones (pubs) are long gone in favor of NEW London. As our beloved Judy said - I'm glad I saw the world before we ruined it.

Had looked forward to a few special days in London before embarking on QM2 crossing - a small bucket on the bucket list. Glad to cross that one off -- and now can't wait to get back on SS. The Queen is not for me. Yes, elegant, just as expected size-wise, decor-wise, perhaps my expectations were a bit unrealistic in that I'd hoped to be able to relate on a different scale.

Princess Grill suite was very attractive - all comforts with the exception of the totally inadequate bathroom. Very spoiled by SS room service - in Princess deck 10 tray was brought and deposited with covers on - server left and was annoyed when we called for tray pick-up, advising that was responsibility of the suite attendant when turn-down time came.

Distances between venues a challenge at times, particularly in the very rough seas we experienced during a 36 hour period. Captain epitomized keep calm and carry on - he reported next day that overnight sustained winds had been 70 MPH and at 1:30 a gust of 110 MPH was recorded. Later lots of broken glass and 6 broken hips were reported.

Never did discover a cozy little nook(bar) where one could just relax with a drink or coffee. Continually producing room key for charges a pain in the neck. I missed the light/bright decor of SS ships (excluding Spirit) -- most window tables were occupied and most others are interior and dark. Yes Pash - there are some beautiful public rooms - particularly the elegant library with 10,000 volumes, but very few comfortable seats for staring at the sea or skimming a book. Not easy to make new friends and make a date for dinner -- assigned seating observed although at least not set dinner times in Princess Grill. Walked through the Queens Grill and found it almost identical to Princess. I did not think the food was particularly good and can't remember one outstanding dinner. Most of all missed the personal interactions with staff and "family". Personal observations of other passengers indicated most were well pleased and highly impressed - and I'm happy for them.

These are simply my personal opinions. Enjoyed two previous trips on the Queens Elizabeth - so I had some previous experience - but times have changed and so have I, and I'll be glad to be back on one of my favorite ships.

Dusababy aka Mary Ann

 

Mary Ann ,at least you were rocking and rolling!....how,was,the trivia ?.and the cocktails?

[dusababy]

Bill -- Brits seem crazy about trivia -- had 3 games/day and the Golden Lion Pub was jammed.

Drinks British pour - small -- expensive -- I learned to like "hof pints"....:)

[Tothesunset]

Dusababy,

 

Quite a coincidence that you should have posted your QM2 Princess Grill experience yesterday as we have just booked a TA in the P Grills for next year. 3 nights at the Langham in NYC then the Eastbound crossing to Soton.

 

Like yourself we are expecting to miss the intimacy of SS but our TA came up with an unbeatable offer (less than £3000) for the flights, transfers, hotel and crossing and surely everyone needs to do a QM2 crossing one time in their lives?

 

Sadly, because it's early December and therefore at the height of the Christmas shopping period I expect we will have a very full taxi ride back home from Southamptom after Mrs Tothesunset has raided Bloomingdale's, Macy's etc.