What to do with luggage after cruise while touring England

[cruiseconcious]

We will be cruising for 3 weeks and then get off the ship in Southampton to tour around England for a week. In England we will be on trains, buses and the tube before flying back to the USA from Heathrow and we certainly don't want to be lugging around all our cruise luggage, but we don't know how to get around it. What to do?

[TC1957]

We will be cruising for 3 weeks and then get off the ship in Southampton to tour around England for a week. In England we will be on trains, buses and the tube before flying back to the USA from Heathrow and we certainly don't want to be lugging around all our cruise luggage, but we don't know how to get around it. What to do?

 

Any family in your hometown? Ship the "excess" luggage to them. When my daughter studied in England for a semester, that is what she did. Shipped us everything she didn't need for the two week adventure she took.

[Enforcer]

Hi,

 

Tough one, maybe looking into hiring a storage locker.

 

Pete

[Athlen]

Another option is a "left luggage office". The major London train stations and Heathrow have them. The cost is fairly high though I imagine it's less than shipping the luggage home. It's worth every penny, compared to taking the Tube with bags you don't absolutely need to have.

 

There's some information here: http://www.toptiplondon.com/practical-tips/left-luggage

[Bizmark'sMom]

Any family in your hometown? Ship the "excess" luggage to them. When my daughter studied in England for a semester, that is what she did. Shipped us everything she didn't need for the two week adventure she took.

 

I have done this before.

Now, I simply make sure I don't pack more than I can comfortably carry around. It takes some planning, but is very doable.

[navybankerteacher]

No matter how lightly you pack, you do not want to trundle all your cruise gear about England on trains, busses, etc. I am not sure about left luggage storage places, but you could contact the hotel where you will stay your last night in England (likely near Heathrow or in London?) and make it your first stop upon leaving the ship. Most hotels will store luggage for future guests.

[tartanexile81]

Try this company. You could drop your luggage off at Paddington on your way through London then pick it up there on your way to Heathrow.

 

https://www.left-baggage.co.uk

[Pudgesmom]

The most affordable and efficient option might be to pack lightly- why would you not wear the same clothing in England as on the ship? Then send your things out to the ship's laundry right before leaving the cruise.

[John Bull]

There's no left-luggage facility at Southampton train station, or indeed at any station in the provinces - only at London's mainline stations.

 

Hotels are now more reticent about accepting luggage days before a one-night stay, but the only way to find out is to ask.

 

There's a left-luggage desk in the terminal at Southampton airport

http://www.southamptonairport.com/at-the-airport/services-facilities/

A straight £6 per bag per day - whether that's competitive depends on the minimum terms for the self-storage depots. For opening hours & other info gay.roberts@swissport.com

The airport has the advantage that it's out-of-town, so no complicated town navigation as soon as you collect the car.

 

The other local options are self-storage depots.

All those below are quite convenient to the docks and all offer units as small as 10 sq ft. The websites all need basic personal details before coming up with a price, but I went through that routine with the first one on the list & it'll cost you no more than £20.

https://www.alligatorstorage.co.uk/self-storage/southampton/

https://www.safestore.co.uk/storage/southampton/

http://www.loknstore.co.uk/self-storage/southampton/

https://www.accessstorage.com/hampshire/access-self-storage-southampton

 

If you're flying out of Heathrow, that of course would be the most convenient for retrieving, and it's tolerably convenient from Southampton- Heathrow is on London's western outskirts. There are left-luggage facilities at all terminals.

 

Does storage at Southampton or Heathrow suit your itinerary, or is there some other town that's ideal for the beginning and end of your road trip?

 

JB

[sail7seas]

Where will you be sleeping and showering? Haven't you booked a hotel room? Leave your luggage in your hotel. :rolleyes: :)

Edited October 13, 2016 by sail7seas

[Bizmark'sMom]

Where will you be sleeping and showering? Haven't you booked a hotel room? Leave your luggage in your hotel. :rolleyes: :)

I think the problem is getting the luggage from one hotel, down the road, onto the train, off of the train, onto a bus, and then to the next hotel. If you have several large suitcases, that routine gets old in a hurry.

[cruiseconcious]

I was unawares of the left-luggage facilities, which is a good option. The problem is that I've made plans to go from Southampton to Bath and then from Bath to London and then fly out of Heathrow, so none of the left-luggage sites would be convenient for that. The idea of shipping directly home from Southampton seems efficient but I will have to get more info to see if it is practical.

[BeagleOne]

Where will you be sleeping and showering? Haven't you booked a hotel room? Leave your luggage in your hotel. :rolleyes: :)

 

Um...the original post said they are going to be travelling around by bus, train, and tube. They aren't just checking into one hotel. No need for snark...or eyeroll icons.

[John Bull]

I was unawares of the left-luggage facilities, which is a good option. The problem is that I've made plans to go from Southampton to Bath and then from Bath to London and then fly out of Heathrow, so none of the left-luggage sites would be convenient for that. The idea of shipping directly home from Southampton seems efficient but I will have to get more info to see if it is practical.

 

If you're staying at various hotels around the country, you'd have to back-track somewhere to retrieve your luggage, so that's pretty inconvenient. There's a left-luggage facility for non-residents at the Backpackers' hotel near the station in Bath if that's any use.

But if it's just Southampton to a Bath hotel & then a London hotel, best bet is to schlepp the luggage for those two simple direct journeys.

 

JB :)

[navybankerteacher]

I was unawares of the left-luggage facilities, which is a good option. The problem is that I've made plans to go from Southampton to Bath and then from Bath to London and then fly out of Heathrow, so none of the left-luggage sites would be convenient for that. The idea of shipping directly home from Southampton seems efficient but I will have to get more info to see if it is practical.

 

If you are just going to Bath then London then home, you are only looking at three "hauls". Because shipping luggage internationally is pretty pricy, it might make sense to keep your bags with you and do one or two of those transfers by car service - for not too much more total cost.

[navybankerteacher]

I just did a quick scan - it would likely cost about $150 or so per bag (30 -55 lbs.) less than 30 would be easy to carry, so OP must be looking at $300 - plus time wasted- to ship - which could go a long way towards providing more comfortable land travel.

[Hlitner]

Interesting thread. We often spend time in Europe after a cruise, and our favorite technique is to simply use a rental car. Using trains with lots of luggage is a real issue. And shipping luggage home will likely cost at least $250 per piece. I guess you could take old clothes on your cruise and leave them behind :). Have actually known folks who did this on a cruise. But seriously, we are in the process of planning a trip where we will spend some time in Europe after a 30 day cruise. Our initial plan will be to limit ourselves to two large suitcases plus carry-ons. We can handle that on a train and are only planning a single train journey (Rotterdam to Paris).

 

Hank

Edited October 14, 2016 by Hlitner

[Viv0828]

we have spent at least a month in europe before and again after a cruise. we each take a carry on plus a backpack and do a lot of laundry - LOL!

alternatively, can you fed ex or ups a suitcase or two back to the usa? probably expensive, though.

[SadieN]

.......... And shipping luggage home will likely cost at least $250 per piece.....

 

Hank

 

 

Spot on.

Just sent a 50 pound box to DD, ONT-FCO for $254.

We used luggageforward.com. She received her box in 35 hours, door to door, non-expedited.

Could also check DHL.

[kelmac]

We've been down this road many times; here is our two strategies:

 

#1 -- book the same hotel when you first get off the cruise, and the evening before flying home. Then leave all luggage with them the first night and pick it up when returning to that same hotel. We always plan this in to our travels. We have two "Rick Steves" like backpacks that we use for land travel. Luggage and train travel do not go well together! We've never had a hotel say no to keeping our cruise luggage. We always tip well for the service.

 

#2 -- We did a three week land trip post cruise, and all of our cruise luggage was "second tier" clothing items that we were about to get rid of anyway. We used and old piece of luggage and at the end of the cruise, we gave away some stuff and trashed all on the rest. Actually, kind of cathartic! When we returned home, I bought a new cruise Tux and my wife purchased some new formal dresses. This was about eight years ago.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[navybankerteacher]

Spot on.

Just sent a 50 pound box to DD, ONT-FCO for $254.

We used luggageforward.com. She received her box in 35 hours, door to door, non-expedited.

Could also check DHL.

 

Helps to have specifics - my $150 per bag estimate was a minimum. Given the realities, renting a car or using car service is a reasonable alternative - unless, of course you want to spend every evening rinsing your socks and underwear so you can live for a month out of a back pack (while looking and feeling like you are living for a month out of a backpack).

[Hlitner]

Helps to have specifics - my $150 per bag estimate was a minimum. Given the realities, renting a car or using car service is a reasonable alternative - unless, of course you want to spend every evening rinsing your socks and underwear so you can live for a month out of a back pack (while looking and feeling like you are living for a month out of a backpack).

 

At the risk of repeating myself (nobody does this in CC) you have hit on why I have been advocating the use of rental cars, in Europe, for many years. One often hears about the wonderful trains in Europe without being told of the issues inherent in European train travel. So lets talk about it. In many cases, trains are no longer cheap (especially the faster intercity trains). There are generally no folks to help train passengers deal with luggage. Using a train means you generally have to get your luggage to and from stations, up and down steps (elevators do not always work or even exist), on and off trains (which sometimes means steps)...and that is just the start. On a train you either have to be able to lift bags into overhead racks, or leave them at the end of a car (we use a cable lock to protect our luggage when this is necessary). And, most importantly, trains go from Point A to Point B..and miss everything between...which happens to be most of Europe outside major cities.

 

Now consider a car. You have a place to put your luggage (although one has to exercise lots of common sense in leaving unattended valuables in a car) and maximum flexibility. When driving between Point A and Point B, you can stop and explore point c, d, e, etc. In many cases, a long term rental car is a lot cheaper then using trains plus tours. For example, try to get from Florence to San Gimignano. Or perhaps you want to explore the villages and vineyards of Chianti....which you can easily do with a car......but not with a train or any public transportation.

 

For those that want to explore Europe without a car, we think they are generally better off booking a bus tour (which also has some major issues).

 

Hank

Edited October 14, 2016 by Hlitner

[navybankerteacher]

At the risk of repeating myself (nobody does this in CC) you have hit on why I have been advocating the use of rental cars, in Europe, for many years. One often hears about the wonderful trains in Europe without being told of the issues inherent in European train travel. So lets talk about it. In many cases, trains are no longer cheap (especially the faster intercity trains). There are generally no folks to help train passengers deal with luggage. Using a train means you generally have to get your luggage to and from stations, up and down steps (elevators do not always work or even exist), on and off trains (which sometimes means steps)...and that is just the start. On a train you either have to be able to lift bags into overhead racks, or leave them at the end of a car (we use a cable lock to protect our luggage when this is necessary). And, most importantly, trains go from Point A to Point B..and miss everything between...which happens to be most of Europe outside major cities.

 

Now consider a car. You have a place to put your luggage (although one has to exercise lots of common sense in leaving unattended valuables in a car) and maximum flexibility. When driving between Point A and Point B, you can stop and explore point c, d, e, etc. In many cases, a long term rental car is a lot cheaper then using trains plus tours. For example, try to get from Florence to San Gimignano. Or perhaps you want to explore the villages and vineyards of Chianti....which you can easily do with a car......but not with a train or any public transportation.

 

For those that want to explore Europe without a car, we think they are generally better off booking a bus tour (which also has some major issues).

 

Hank

 

Great summary - if you are staying in England and want a couple of days in Paris, by all means take the Eurostar with a carry-on. Otherwise, train travel in Europe is primarily only good for the unimaginative who just travel with carry-on luggage, or the extraordinarily fit sorts who only want to see city centers and can horse their luggage around.

[sail7seas]

Take a taxi.

[kelmac]

At the risk of repeating myself (nobody does this in CC) you have hit on why I have been advocating the use of rental cars, in Europe, for many years. One often hears about the wonderful trains in Europe without being told of the issues inherent in European train travel. So lets talk about it. In many cases, trains are no longer cheap (especially the faster intercity trains). There are generally no folks to help train passengers deal with luggage. Using a train means you generally have to get your luggage to and from stations, up and down steps (elevators do not always work or even exist), on and off trains (which sometimes means steps)...and that is just the start. On a train you either have to be able to lift bags into overhead racks, or leave them at the end of a car (we use a cable lock to protect our luggage when this is necessary). And, most importantly, trains go from Point A to Point B..and miss everything between...which happens to be most of Europe outside major cities.

 

Now consider a car. You have a place to put your luggage (although one has to exercise lots of common sense in leaving unattended valuables in a car) and maximum flexibility. When driving between Point A and Point B, you can stop and explore point c, d, e, etc. In many cases, a long term rental car is a lot cheaper then using trains plus tours. For example, try to get from Florence to San Gimignano. Or perhaps you want to explore the villages and vineyards of Chianti....which you can easily do with a car......but not with a train or any public transportation.

 

For those that want to explore Europe without a car, we think they are generally better off booking a bus tour (which also has some major issues).

 

Hank

 

Good points! Especially in Scotland and Ireland. England you can get away with rail travel for most people that just want to sample the country.

I had no trouble adjusting to right hand drive on the left side of the road, but others may find it intimidating. Most rental cars are manual shifting, but the good news, the floor pedals are the same pattern. For extra £££s you can get an automatic + all the necessary insurance. Parking can be a nightmare.

 

Not for everybody,

Kel:)