First Time Overseas Cruising

[2wheelin]

6 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

People were politely telling you that because they know that the Mods generally move cruise line specific questions to the appropriate forum.

And yet it was not moved so this was the appropriate forum.

 

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

You are welcome. I see by the number of thank you posts you have posted that you are getting the information, or at least the means to find the information that you need. And that would seem to be a good reason for the mods not to move this thread out of ask a cruise question.

Yes, many other forums were suggested which may not have happened if OP had posted on a specific cruise line forum. Always best to start broad and then narrow down the choices.

[capriccio]

11 hours ago, mpsrtpsi said:

 

However there were a few who voiced that my inquiry was on the wrong forum.  I know, there are a few in every barrel. I just put them and clicked, IGNORED.

 

 

I may be ignored due to my other posts, but in case I'm not this may be useful to OP and others.

 

We have sailed out of Southampton twice on Princess and always went a day early as recommended by another poster.  A well located and comfortable hotel, the Premier Inn West Quay, is where we stayed both times. On our first cruise we arranged a private driver with smith for airports (https://smithsairportcars.co.uk) roundtrip.  They have fantastic drivers and lovely cars.  On our second cruise we only used them to the port because our return flight was at 4pm and we didn't want to spend half a day sitting in Heathrow.  For transportation to the airport we went with a cruise line excursion from Southampton to Windsor to Heathrow.  We also had the option of the an excursion that visited Stonehenge instead of Windsor.  It worked out great.  The bus was only half filled since our luggage traveled with us, a tour guide narrates as we drive along and then went into Windsor Castle with us where we all were given audio headphones.  After a 20 minute or so ride through the countryside (lovely) we were dropped off at our Heathrow terminal 2 1/2 hours before our flight.  I'm sure other cruise lines offer similar transportation.

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, capriccio said:

 

I may be ignored due to my other posts, but in case I'm not this may be useful to OP and others.

 

We have sailed out of Southampton twice on Princess and always went a day early as recommended by another poster.  A well located and comfortable hotel, the Premier Inn West Quay, is where we stayed both times. On our first cruise we arranged a private driver with smith for airports (https://smithsairportcars.co.uk) roundtrip.  They have fantastic drivers and lovely cars.  On our second cruise we only used them to the port because our return flight was at 4pm and we didn't want to spend half a day sitting in Heathrow.  For transportation to the airport we went with a cruise line excursion from Southampton to Windsor to Heathrow.  We also had the option of the an excursion that visited Stonehenge instead of Windsor.  It worked out great.  The bus was only half filled since our luggage traveled with us, a tour guide narrates as we drive along and then went into Windsor Castle with us where we all were given audio headphones.  After a 20 minute or so ride through the countryside (lovely) we were dropped off at our Heathrow terminal 2 1/2 hours before our flight.  I'm sure other cruise lines offer similar transportation.

We did something similar with Dover. We took the Princess tour that included Canterbury. It was a great tour, and made it seem like we were still on the cruise instead of done and headed for the airport. The bus was almost empty which may have at least partly been a function of it was coming off a very small ship, the former Ocean Princess. And we knew 4 people on the bus as they were on our roll call, a couple who like us celebrated their anniversary on the ship and their teenage daughters. 

 

We were supposed to sail out of Southampton this past summer, and were going to do the back to Heathrow tour with Stonehenge. That tour was something we were really looking forward to. Admittedly, looking forward to the cruise ending is very odd and would have definitely been a first for us.

[hernando52]

We live in the US & have sailed out of Southampton twice.  The first time we spent 3 days in London and then had a private driver take us to Southampton 2 days before the cruise.  We stayed at the Grand Harbour hotel & the location was perfect....very close to the historic district, mall, restaurants, ferry & a brewery...and next to the port.  There is a Holiday Inn across the street.  There was plenty to do in Southampton and we were well rested prior to the cruise.  The second trip we had a private driver take us directly to the hotel from Gatwick two days before the cruise, and had cruise line bus transportation to Gatwick after the cruise. We made our own air arrangements.  Both of our trips were B2B so we had more luggage than we usually carry.....because of this, we couldn't manage on public transportation. 

[mpsrtpsi]

Question: Is it better to stay in London or stay closer to the port? Grand Harbor Hotel or Holiday Inn?

[cruizergal70]

5 minutes ago, mpsrtpsi said:

Question: Is it better to stay in London or stay closer to the port? Grand Harbor Hotel or Holiday Inn?

My next cruise departs from Dover. I'm flying in to Heathrow the day before, staying at the Holiday Inn near the airport, and then on embarkation morning, taking the hotel shuttle back to Heathrow.  At Heathrow,  I'll get  the cruise line's ground transportation to the port. 

Edited November 5, 2020 by cruizergal70

[CruiserBruce]

41 minutes ago, mpsrtpsi said:

Question: Is it better to stay in London or stay closer to the port? Grand Harbor Hotel or Holiday Inn?

Depends on how much time you have. Spend a couple of days in London...well worth it.

 

If you are arriving the day before your sailing, I would probably stay near the port.

[JRG]

On 11/4/2020 at 6:41 AM, CruiserBruce said:

"RCG"? I assume that is a travel agency? Keep in mind, we can't discuss travel agencies  by name. 

 

------RCG is not a travel agency------

 

This name change happened a few months ago.  I am surprised you did not recognize this as you have been a daily poster for a number of years.

 

Try doing a search on "RCG" and it will tell you when it occurred if you are interested.

 

 

 

[hernando52]

2 hours ago, mpsrtpsi said:

Question: Is it better to stay in London or stay closer to the port? Grand Harbor Hotel or Holiday Inn?

My 2 cents worth.....if you have more than 2 days before the cruise, London is a wonderful city to stay in.  If you come in the day before the cruise, I would go directly to Southampton.  Grand Harbor or Holiday Inn....Have only stayed at the GH, so you would have to do the comparisons....HI looks good and it is in the same location as the GH.  We never fly home the same day as disembarkation in Southampton....we get dropped off at the Hilton Gatwick which is attached to the airport (I'm sure Heathrow has attached hotels) and get a cab to a couple of pubs to spend our last afternoon abroad very relaxed before a long flight home!  No matter what you decide upon, I am very sure you'll enjoy both London and Southampton.

[mpsrtpsi]

30 minutes ago, hernando52 said:

My 2 cents worth.....if you have more than 2 days before the cruise, London is a wonderful city to stay in.  If you come in the day before the cruise, I would go directly to Southampton.  Grand Harbor or Holiday Inn....Have only stayed at the GH, so you would have to do the comparisons....HI looks good and it is in the same location as the GH.  We never fly home the same day as disembarkation in Southampton....we get dropped off at the Hilton Gatwick which is attached to the airport (I'm sure Heathrow has attached hotels) and get a cab to a couple of pubs to spend our last afternoon abroad very relaxed before a long flight home!  No matter what you decide upon, I am very sure you'll enjoy both London and Southampton.

 

Thanks for the info. I will discuss this with DW and see how she feels. Thanks again.

[ldubs]

We have had RCG arrange the ship transfer out of Heathrow several times.  Always went smoothly.  Sadly, we have never booked the flight through them, so can't help there.  

 

 

[mpsrtpsi]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

We have had RCG arrange the ship transfer out of Heathrow several times.  Always went smoothly.  Sadly, we have never booked the flight through them, so can't help there.  

 

 

Thanks for the information. I have received a lot of great information. Will be meeting with our TA this weekend. 😃

[SuiteTraveler]

One thing you want to check when booking a hotel for July/August in the UK is if the hotel has air conditioning.  I know the Holiday Inn near the port of Southampton has AC but not sure about the other hotel you mentioned.  Not sure what cruise you are planning.  We did the Med from Southampton and got to do the bob on the Bay of Biscaye - it was rough!  It's all luck of the draw but I think I'll plan cruises to avoid that area in future!  What I want to. say is that London is amazing and I would hate for you to fly all the way over there and not get to spend time there.  Please consider spending at least a week or so as there is so much to see!

[crazyank]

9 hours ago, SuiteTraveler said:

One thing you want to check when booking a hotel for July/August in the UK is if the hotel has air conditioning.  I know the Holiday Inn near the port of Southampton has AC but not sure about the other hotel you mentioned.  Not sure what cruise you are planning.  We did the Med from Southampton and got to do the bob on the Bay of Biscaye - it was rough!  It's all luck of the draw but I think I'll plan cruises to avoid that area in future!  What I want to. say is that London is amazing and I would hate for you to fly all the way over there and not get to spend time there.  Please consider spending at least a week or so as there is so much to see!

Suitetraveler has a good point.  A lot of people coming to Europe or the UK for the first time aren't aware that air conditioning is nowhere near as prevalent as in the USA.  The only advice we can offer is if you're flying thru Heathrow be sure to allow plenty of time and bring a BIG supply of patience.  Heathrow is a nightmare.

[mpsrtpsi]

2 hours ago, crazyank said:

Suitetraveler has a good point.  A lot of people coming to Europe or the UK for the first time aren't aware that air conditioning is nowhere near as prevalent as in the USA.  The only advice we can offer is if you're flying thru Heathrow be sure to allow plenty of time and bring a BIG supply of patience.  Heathrow is a nightmare.

Danke, I completely forgot  about A/C not being widely available in Europe.

[mpsrtpsi]

3 hours ago, crazyank said:

Suitetraveler has a good point.  A lot of people coming to Europe or the UK for the first time aren't aware that air conditioning is nowhere near as prevalent as in the USA.  The only advice we can offer is if you're flying thru Heathrow be sure to allow plenty of time and bring a BIG supply of patience.  Heathrow is a nightmare.

Hey Crazyank

Where are you In Deutschland? I was in Pirmasens, Hanau and Rhein-Main. I miss all the summer fests there.

[hernando52]

Grand Harbour does have air conditioning.  My only complaint I have about the place was the uppity front desk who wouldn't budge on early check-in.  We had flown for many hours over night and I was exhausted...we got to Southampton around noon.  We were cruising to Iceland, etc. so I was wearing my hiking boots and jeans (pretty much looked like a street person after no sleep)......so when I couldn't stand it any longer, I found a corner chair in the lobby and stretched out......it took the general manager about a minute before he came over to look into what this street person was doing......when I explained I was a guest, he personally got us a room pronto so I could nap out of sight!....sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

 

[mpsrtpsi]

1 hour ago, hernando52 said:

Grand Harbour does have air conditioning.  My only complaint I have about the place was the uppity front desk who wouldn't budge on early check-in.  We had flown for many hours over night and I was exhausted...we got to Southampton around noon.  We were cruising to Iceland, etc. so I was wearing my hiking boots and jeans (pretty much looked like a street person after no sleep)......so when I couldn't stand it any longer, I found a corner chair in the lobby and stretched out......it took the general manager about a minute before he came over to look into what this street person was doing......when I explained I was a guest, he personally got us a room pronto so I could nap out of sight!....sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

 

Wow, what an experience. I will ensure and get in writing of an early check in. According to most flights we would be getting in in the AM. So I will ensure that's in place We have an appointment with our TA Saturday to discuss our plans.

[SuiteTraveler]

When we cruised out of Southampton, we got a private transfer with some other ladies on our cruise and we did an excursion to see Stonehenge on the way to Southampton.  That was well worth it and by the time we got to our hotel, it was well past noon, so we had lunch at the hotel, walked around a bit and then our room was ready and we were also ready to shower and sleep.  

[jocap]

8 hours ago, hernando52 said:

Grand Harbour does have air conditioning.  My only complaint I have about the place was the uppity front desk who wouldn't budge on early check-in.  We had flown for many hours over night and I was exhausted...we got to Southampton around noon.  We were cruising to Iceland, etc. so I was wearing my hiking boots and jeans (pretty much looked like a street person after no sleep)......so when I couldn't stand it any longer, I found a corner chair in the lobby and stretched out......it took the general manager about a minute before he came over to look into what this street person was doing......when I explained I was a guest, he personally got us a room pronto so I could nap out of sight!....sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

 

The last time we were in a hotel in Southampton, we saw the police removing a street person from a lounge at breakfast time- all very friendly, but he'd obviously crept in and bedded down in the lounge.

On our return we were in the station, and saw the same young lad stretched out on the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting area. 

Perhaps hotel staff around there are on the lookout for such folk.

[crazyank]

19 hours ago, mpsrtpsi said:

Hey Crazyank

Where are you In Deutschland? I was in Pirmasens, Hanau and Rhein-Main. I miss all the summer fests there.

Started out at Ramstein,  now near Munich.

[hernando52]

12 hours ago, jocap said:

The last time we were in a hotel in Southampton, we saw the police removing a street person from a lounge at breakfast time- all very friendly, but he'd obviously crept in and bedded down in the lounge.

On our return we were in the station, and saw the same young lad stretched out on the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting area. 

Perhaps hotel staff around there are on the lookout for such folk.

Oh I am sure it happens...we had lunch & walked around until about 1PM when I just no longer could function before stretching out in the lobby....all turned out well & got an upgraded room by the GM.  

[pris993]

Glad you are planning your first cruise overseas, you will not be disappointed.  Going out of England is easy,  no language barrier.  

 

We have gone in and out of Southampton England a few times, on various lines Princess, Celebrity and Cunard over the years.   We always book cruise, air and hotels ourselves vs thru cruise line. 

 

Depending on the cruise, you may have an "open jaw" air ticket, sometimes that is cheaper thru a cruise line.    If you can use miles for a flight, that is a good option for this type of airline ticket.  Open jaw means arriving at one airport and returning from a different airport. 

 

Hotels are generally are cheaper if you book yourself because you book by room rate and not by person.  Cruise lines charge per person.   Marriott and Hilton has hotels in England that we have used. 

 

Transfer thru cruise line are by bus and cheaper.  If you want a private transfer service that is excellent, we have used several times in England, can book on line, pay on day of services in English pounds.   Smithtotheairport.com    

 

Good luck with your travel planning and trip.