LHR to Tilbury private transfers

[SoBaycruiser]

Since we are flying into to LHR from the West Coast USA, we are arriving (after an overnight flight) the day before our cruise on a Tuesday.  Assuming no delays, we will have 24 hrs before boarding Viking Venus.  Because we are NOT arriving on sail day, we can NOT purchase Viking’s transfers to Tilbury.  ( our original thought was to stay at/near the airport and catch the transfer the next day at LHR… but that is not allowed).  We were wondering what other independent travelers have done.

 

 We are looking for an easy (more than cheap) transportation as we are in our 70s and are no longer up to schlepping our luggage through train/tube stations.  It seems a car service would be the easiest, any recommendations?  Then the question is at which end do we spend the night .. the airport or the port?  We have used the Premier Inn on Bath Rd multiple times in the past (for early morning flights), but will the car service pick us up there?  We will be terribly jet lagged when we arrive (8hrs difference) and it sounds good to just go directly to a hotel,  take a nap and then try to stay up to a GMT bedtime.  On the other hand, would it be better to have the car service take us to Tilbury the day we arrive?  If so does anyone have a hotel to recommend near the port?  What time is boarding usually for 5 pm departures?

 

Lots of questions… we appreciate the help.  We’ve sailed out of Dover multiple times and know how to do that.  Tilbury is totally new to us.  
 

Thanks in advance.
 

[Heidi13]

13 minutes ago, SoBaycruiser said:

Since we are flying into to LHR from the West Coast USA, we are arriving (after an overnight flight) the day before our cruise on a Tuesday.  Assuming no delays, we will have 24 hrs before boarding Viking Venus.  Because we are NOT arriving on sail day, we can NOT purchase Viking’s transfers to Tilbury.  ( our original thought was to stay at/near the airport and catch the transfer the next day at LHR… but that is not allowed).  We were wondering what other independent travelers have done.

 

 We are looking for an easy (more than cheap) transportation as we are in our 70s and are no longer up to schlepping our luggage through train/tube stations.  It seems a car service would be the easiest, any recommendations?  Then the question is at which end do we spend the night .. the airport or the port?  We have used the Premier Inn on Bath Rd multiple times in the past (for early morning flights), but will the car service pick us up there?  We will be terribly jet lagged when we arrive (8hrs difference) and it sounds good to just go directly to a hotel,  take a nap and then try to stay up to a GMT bedtime.  On the other hand, would it be better to have the car service take us to Tilbury the day we arrive?  If so does anyone have a hotel to recommend near the port?  What time is boarding usually for 5 pm departures?

 

Lots of questions… we appreciate the help.  We’ve sailed out of Dover multiple times and know how to do that.  Tilbury is totally new to us.  
 

Thanks in advance.
 

 

In addition to booking a car service from LHR to a hotel and then again the following day to Tilbury, you may wish to consider this option, which we have used.

 

Prior to flying, book luggage pick-up with Airportr.com. They will pick up your bags right outside arrivals and ship them to your hotel on the same day (usually about 5 hrs). You can then take the Tube or Heathrow Express into a London Hotel.

 

On previous London trips, we have used the Travelodge at Waterloo & Tower Hill. For heading to Tilbury, we would book Tower Hill, which is a short walk from the Tube Station and has a good pub next door with meals. Reasonable breakfast included the next morning.

 

I would then book a car service out to Tilbury.

[loriva]

We have used "Just Airports" car service for years for airport pick-ups and transfers.  They have always been reliable.  We used them last month for a transfer from LHR to Southampton and again this past Sunday for hotel to LGW for a flight.

[geffric]

following as I am doing the same thing in April 2023.

[bookedit]

Tilbury is not a great tourist stop, you may better to consider an airport or London hotel. Although I believe there have recently been vast improvements at Tilbury to promote the cruising terminal.  The Heathrow airport hotels IMO are not great- other than the price- but given jet lag perhaps the best option.

If you want to go into London, the Tower Hill suggestion above sounds a reasonable mid-way point. The Tower Hotel there is right on the river too.  

The recently opened Elizabeth Rail Line, in purple, offers step free access from Heathrow to London and beyond.  See TFL (Transport for London) website for maps and connecting stations. 

[bookedit]

Tilbury is not a great tourist stop, you may better to consider an airport or London hotel. Although I believe there have recently been vast improvements at Tilbury to promote the cruising terminal.  The Heathrow airport hotels IMO are not great- other than the price- but given jet lag perhaps the best option.

If you want to go into London, the Tower Hill suggestion above sounds a reasonable mid-way point. The Tower Hotel there is right on the river too.  

The recently opened Elizabeth Rail Line, in purple, offers step free access from Heathrow to London and beyond.  See TFL (Transport for London) website for maps and connecting stations. 

 

 

Amendment: Have just found this via Google

How to get from Tilbury cruise terminal to London?

The Tilbury cruise terminal is quite basic, housing a café, general store, and pay phones. As you exit the building, you’ll see a taxi rank which can take you into London. A much cheaper alternative is to take one of the shuttle buses which run back and forth from the terminal to St Pancras International Train Station in central London.