London Cruisetours

[cltnccruisers]

We're booked on a TA from Southampton in 2023.  We'd like to spend a few days in London pre-cruise.  Princess has some CruiseTours and I'm wondering if they historically have done any from London. 

[Dickyjeeves1983]

As somebody who grew up in London (and still have a lot of family there), I'm a little bit biased. There is a lot to do depending on what your interests are. I haven't seen what the cruise tours entail but, i would say do a bit of research and plan something out for yourself.

 

Remember London is 80 miles from Southampton and is about 1h 15min by train from London Waterloo to Southampton. 

I'm thinking of stopping over in London  on my next cruise, I'm going to head to London a few days pre cruise and travel to Southampton the day before (staying in a Southampton hotel the night before).

 

Hope this helps. 

[cltnccruisers]

41 minutes ago, Dickyjeeves1983 said:

As somebody who grew up in London (and still have a lot of family there), I'm a little bit biased. There is a lot to do depending on what your interests are. I haven't seen what the cruise tours entail but, i would say do a bit of research and plan something out for yourself.

 

Remember London is 80 miles from Southampton and is about 1h 15min by train from London Waterloo to Southampton. 

I'm thinking of stopping over in London  on my next cruise, I'm going to head to London a few days pre cruise and travel to Southampton the day before (staying in a Southampton hotel the night before).

 

Hope this helps. 

It does, thank you.  There is a CruiseTour for another TA that does Ireland (Ring of Kerry) and we were hoping for something similar.  We've been to Windsor but I'd like to see some of the other tourist sites like Bath and that circle of rocks out in the middle of nowhere.  🙂  A good friend here in Charlotte is a retired London policeman and has turned me into a Hotspurs fan so I wouldn't mind visiting their new pitch.  Maybe see a show.

 

Thing is, I like the idea of having things scheduled by Princess -  flights, land and cruise - even at an extra expense.  So I'm hoping as we get a bit closer something like the Ring of Kerry will turn up.

 

 

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, cltnccruisers said:

We've been to Windsor but I'd like to see some of the other tourist sites like Bath and that circle of rocks out in the middle of nowhere.

 

When we sailed out of Southampton we needed to get back to Heathrow to fly home. Princess offered an excursion that took you (and your baggage) to Stonehenge and then to Heathrow. It was a nice way to make the trip.

[cltnccruisers]

18 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

When we sailed out of Southampton we needed to get back to Heathrow to fly home. Princess offered an excursion that took you (and your baggage) to Stonehenge and then to Heathrow. It was a nice way to make the trip.

We had the same option but chose Windsor instead.  This time it would be fly to Heathrow then spend a few days before starting the TA from Southampton to Ft Lauderdale.  The interesting thing about this TA (our first) is that after the Azores we have 5 sea days then Antigua,  St Maaarten, San Juan, Grand Turk then end in Ft Lauderdale.  As I said, this is our first TA but I've been scoping them out for years and I don't think I seen another with this kind of itinerary.  Just seems like it should be so relaxing.

[geoherb]

I haven't seen anything other than pre- and post-cruise hotels available, but perhaps there will be something offered when Princess starts up these cruises again. I suggest calling and asking. Even if the answer is no right now, you will have put the idea into an employee's head. 

 

That said, London is a fairly easy city to book on your own. We've done three stays before cruises--one a year in 2017, 2018, and 2019. We stayed in three different areas--based around the attractions we wanted to be close to each time. As for day trips, it's easy to book trains and National Express coaches. I took a National Express coach to Bath for a day trip several years ago--before these recent trips. On another trip, I took the train to Cambridge for the day.

 

You could probably find recommended tour companies that would offer what you seek. The concierges at better hotels would be able to recommend tours for you as well. I suggest asking over on the Ports of Call board for British Isles.

[cr8tiv1]

I "had" a cruise out of Southampton booked and cancelled by Princess with a move over offer for 2022.  I reserved 3 nights at one of the three Princess Pre-cruise hotels because that came with transfers from Heathrow to the hotel to Southampton.

 

Then the footwork began.  So many hours went into researching tours and sights to see.  London is a very walkable city with lots to see and do if you invest the time.  It's been a long time since I visited London on my own.

 

This was my final decisions.  Book a hop on hop off bus for a day.  Book a hop on hop off river boat for a day.  Use the third day to visit places that you really want to spend more time at.  Keep in mind that the flight over will be exhausting.  You could easily spend a week in London.

 

Half the fun is in the planning.  Good luck.

[caribill]

10 hours ago, cltnccruisers said:

We're booked on a TA from Southampton in 2023.  We'd like to spend a few days in London pre-cruise.  Princess has some CruiseTours and I'm wondering if they historically have done any from London. 

 

To see what cruisetours Princess offers, go to the Princess web site, click on "Plan a Cruise" and then select "Find Cruisetours"

 

However cruisetours usually cover several cities, not an extended stay in one city.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

This was my final decisions.  Book a hop on hop off bus for a day.  Book a hop on hop off river boat for a day.  Use the third day to visit places that you really want to spend more time at.  Keep in mind that the flight over will be exhausting.  You could easily spend a week in London.

 

Half the fun is in the planning.  Good luck.

As someone who grew up in south London and even worked on the Underground as a driver I think that, as a first-time visitor to the city, what you decided on is actually and excellent plan. The hop-on/off bus/boat will take you to all the highlights. My only comment is that the one day after may not be adequate after. If it were me, with only 3 days, I'd be inclined to do the hop-on/off bus and spend 2 days following up on the places of interest. That would allow you more time at each and you could do things in a more relaxed way to recover from your flight. You could do the river next time 🙂

 

Just a thought 🙂 

[cltnccruisers]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

To see what cruisetours Princess offers, go to the Princess web site, click on "Plan a Cruise" and then select "Find Cruisetours"

 

However cruisetours usually cover several cities, not an extended stay in one city.

That's how I started the process.  Might be too far out at this point.

[cltnccruisers]

Thanks for the feedback.  Based on it I did a search on the Princess site for "pre-cruise hotels".    It returned Cruise Ports & Hotels - Princess Cruises which had 3 options for London with 2 night prices.  I think this may do the trick.

 

[Essiesmom]

The Bible:  https://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

We had two days in London between cruises a few years ago.  Your hotel will have brochures for tour companies, you can book full day or half day tours.  We spent one day visiting places in the city, then the next on a tour that covered Leeds Castle, Dover, and Canterbury.  EM

[phabric]

I took an all day tour outside of London with-

www.evenevanstours.com

 

International Friends www.internationalfriends.co.uk. (Cheaper to purchase through www.londontoolkit.com).   They go on embarkment/disembarkment days from LHR, LHR hotels, and certain London to/from Southampton dock.  Embarkment day,  they stop at Stonehenge, ticket included.  Disembarkment day, they stop at Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor (purchase attractions tickets through them) good if staying in London as they drop you off at your London hotel door or a very late flight, staying at a LHR hotel.

 

Here are a few websites to help you plan your London stay -

www.theoriginaltour.com (HOHO)

www.bigbustours.com. (HOHO)

www.Westminster-abbey.org

www.londoneye.com

www.londonpass.com

www.rct.uk   (Royal Collection Trust - Buckingham Palace)

www.nationalexpress.com (Coach from LHR/London Victoria Coach station/Southampton)

www.londontoolkit.com

www.justairports.com (car service from LHR to/London hotel)

www.westquaycars.com (car service from London to Southampton)

www.premierinn.com (Southampton- Premier Inn West Quay, London Waterloo)

 

Go to Cruise Critic - Port of Call - Britain

 

 

[cltnccruisers]

There is also the option of staying in Southampton for a few days and doing a tour or two from there.  The LondonToolkit site opens a lot of possibilities.  Thanks again for the suggestions.  🙂

[capriccio]

19 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

When we sailed out of Southampton we needed to get back to Heathrow to fly home. Princess offered an excursion that took you (and your baggage) to Stonehenge and then to Heathrow. It was a nice way to make the trip.

On our last cruise that ended in Southampton we did the Princess Windsor Castle excursion.  We had a lovely guide, an interesting ride to Windsor and then on to Heathrow, and a wonderful time at the Castle.  It was a great ending to a fantastic cruise (Norway Land of the Midnight Sun).