Disembark Tower Bridge

[sassycruiseher]

We are disembarking the Silver Wind at Tower Bridge on May 16. Does the ship use its tenders to take passengers to Tower Pier or are there local tenders? I'm trying to determine what sort of hand luggage to keep in the room the night before we disembark. We did this once before, long ago, and I remember walking for a short distance on the deck of the battleship. Any information would be greatly appreciated. 

[WesW]

You have a good memory.  The wind will dock next to the HMS Belfast@ the Tower Bridge.  The Wind crew will escort you down stairs on the HMS Belfast to Tower Bridge tender boats to take you to the pier about 50 meters across the Thames.  You will be met by Silversea agents who will help you identify your luggage for private or group transfer to your next destination.

 

Have a wonderful voyage--our favorite embark/disembark port in over two dozen cruises is @ the Tower Bridge.

[jpalbny]

Local tenders. No need to keep too much hand luggage. It's a really quick trip!

 

We have embarked here twice, and disembarked once. Last time, we walked from disembarkation to our hotel (Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square). About 5 minutes away, with a suitcase each. Could not be easier!

 

Like Wes, we really like this location.

[sassycruiseher]

Thanks for the reply but I was hoping for a little more specific information. When you say stairs are they battleship ladder type stairs? And could you describe the tenders they use? My worry is that I will have a small overnight bag that will be difficult for me to carry going down the stairs and boarding the tender. My many past experiences with Silversea lead me to believe that there will be assistance from the crew but I want to make sure I'm able to do it on my own if necessary.

[jpalbny]

Sorry, your question semed general so I didn't know that you wanted this specific information. The stairs are not bad at all. More like a gangway than a ladder, for sure. We just did this last September and I remember nothing difficult about it at all.

 

It's a step or two down from the dock into the tender. There are standard tender seats and a step or two up to the pier when you get out. There are crew around.

 

If your carry-on overnight bag is "small" then I doubt you should have a problem.

[dbbsteve]

There are a series of gangway type walkways that you will have to negotiate before you reach the tender.   First you disembark the Silver Wind on the usual ship's gangway (quite level) onto the deck of the HMS Belfast, then walk a bit on the starboard deck aft.  Then you descend a second walkbridge (inclined, no stairs) to a lower deck, move further aft and finally descend another gangway type exit stairs (well made, under cover) to reach the local tender (Catamaran).  It is not difficult, but can be slow in single-file.  

 

I attach some random photos that show the process (2017, 2018) and also one of inside of the tender.  The last exit steps were taken on boarding but they were the same stairs.  Hope this helps.

 

Leaving the Silver Wind

 

 

Descend walkway aft

 

Moving aft towards tender

 

Last steps onto tender (Taken on embarkation)

 

Inside of tender

Edited April 19, 2019 by dbbsteve

[sassycruiseher]

Thank you, all. Cruise Critic Boards are tremendous sources of knowledge and help.

[tsavorite]

And if you are on the starboard side and of a nervous disposition, don’t watch them loading the luggage on to the barge! They do this regularly and I have never heard of a case going into the river, but the loading looks so casual and risky...

[jpalbny]

Great pictures, dbbsteve. It brings back some (sad) memories of getting kicked off the ship last September. 😥

[CruisinPashmina]

Sassycruiseher,

 

I’ll also be on this cruise. Have you signed up for The Mix and Mingle? It’s fun to meet up and be able to say an easy hello...especially on a Transatlantic voyage.

Deborah

[T&C Fulham]

Be warned that there is little space for taxis and driver cars to park shoreside.

 

Be prepared to hunt for your car if you have pre-booked one. And don't expect to see a stream of black cabs plying for hire.

 

I am not suggesting it is major problem but if you are worried about getting a cabin bag on to the shuttle boat it is something you should be prepared for when you get ashore.

 

We were travelling as a couple. My wife went in search of our pre-booked car and I stood guard over our cases until she found it.

 

Tony

London UK

[les37b]

Some info from a previous thread a couple of weeks ago that might be helpful

 

Certainly agree with Tony re taxi's. On our upcoming Tower Bridge arrival, I will have a 16 minute train journey to get me home, but will need to traverse the 5 minute drive from Tower Pier to London Bridge station. A walk I used to do frequently, but not feasible with 3 suitcases and 4 smaller cabin bags. 

 

It will feel very strange catching a train home after a cruise which is my daily commute.

 

I'll make a video clip of the tender journey next month and post for future reference so it becomes easy to see where the tender starts and ends.  Only 6 weeks to go before I'll be making that little trip myself for s Cloud lunch visit.

 

 

 

[Tothesunset]

We need to get to King's Cross by 10.06 and will need a taxi/uber. What time do you think we need to be off the ship by? 

[T&C Fulham]

In theory it should not take even half an hour once you are in your cab.

 

What is uncertain is how long it will take to find one. The black cabs might all be grabbed and Uber is a moving feast in London.

 

BUT when we got back from our Norway trip last year the tender service itself was slow. It was being supplied by those Clipper folk that we use a river taxis from Putney. I was told they had supplied one boat and not the two requested by SilverSeas

 

Quite frankly I'd get off the boat as soon as you can. If you arrive at Kings Cross an hour early you can go to the hotel and have a nice cup of coffee. You have seen the picture of that gangway. I guess we stood on it in a queue for half an hour. It is just one of those little things that can go wrong and there is nothing you can do about it.

 

[les37b]

Can you not get a later train?

 

Timing is really dependant on too many factors. The tender would likely be every 30 mins... And then through customs... And then city peak traffic once you've got your taxi and loaded and unloaded.

 

I would want to be off by no later than 8.30.... but ideally I'd go for a later train and no too timing dependant.

 

BTW.... There appears to be a lot staying on for your leg, many being offered a great price they couldn't refuse.

Edited April 22, 2019 by les37b

[jpalbny]

TTS. The Tower Hill tube station is less than 5 minutes away from where you disembark. The circle line goes from there, directly to Kings Cross - St. Pancras in 13 minutes.

 

That's what I'd probably do, but you may not want to mess with the tube if you're not traveling light. Especially at 9AM. However, it may be worth it, if traffic is ugly.

 

If it's like our disembarkation experience, you can easily be off by 8:30. Then, just hope the traffic isn't too bad.

[Tothesunset]

Good advice, you two. Train booked for 11.06 and if we are early then KC has a 1st Class waiting room to kill time in. 

 

Tube is a non-starter because of Mrs TTS's recent shoulder op. It's grim enough at the best of times without luggage in tow! 

[jpalbny]

5 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

Tube is a non-starter because of Mrs TTS's recent shoulder op. It's grim enough at the best of times without luggage in tow! 

 

Oops, sorry! Forgot about that little detail. Good luck and I hope you have time to enjoy a wander around St-Pancras.

 

You may recall that we spent a night there in September, before our last SS cruise. We arrived mid-morning at Heathrow, took the Express to Paddington, then the tube to St-Pancras. It is really a beautiful station, with so much to see and do. Next time, I think we will hit the Champagne bar...we walked by it a few times but never stopped.

[Tothesunset]

We know the area well and the Eurostar particularly from when we lived in France - much easier than driving. Kings Cross is only 48 minutes by train from our nearest station now and makes getting into London very easy. Its just the timing of our disembarkation that's an unknown. 

[drron29]

We are due to board the Wind on May 16th and disembark on the 30th May at Tower Bridge.

Today though the cruises on the 16th and 30th have disappeared from the Silversea website.

[drron29]

So Rojaan noticed a new feature on silversea.com.There is a new function just above the first cruise on the right side-show waitlist.Hit that and those cruises re appear.So no worries.

[jpalbny]

Ron, that happened to me a few months ago. Our Iceland cruise on Silver Cloud in August disappeared. After a moment of panic, I was able to find it. I went to the cruise immediately following ours, then clicked on the arrow for the previous cruise. Voila!