London and/or Paris on British Isles

[avgsuperheroine]

My husband and I are going to the British Isles and it's our first time overseas. We are trying to make decisions about how to spend our time and money while on this trip. 

So the cruise leaves from Southampton. We could do one day pre or post but it's a bit of a stretch for us (time off-wise) but we're already there. There are things in London I'd like to see. Is one day worth doing? If so pre or post? Post is a weekend day, but I think for energy's sake, pre makes more sense (but is another day off work). 
We go to Le Havre, the only port that is outside of Ireland and Scotland. I thought Paris would be fun even if it's one day, but it's so far away and we don't really have the same ideas of what we would want to see. So a closer city? Normandy doesn't interest us. Versailles is interesting but just as far away. 

Try to do both? Do neither and take it easy, plan to come again sometime? Will we regret not taking a day to see one or both? 

Thank you!

[phabric]

If you stay in London and travel to Southampton on embarkment day.

Check out 

www.internationalfriends.co.uk

They pick up from certain London hotels, LHR hotels, stop at Stonehenge then drop off at Southampton dock.

[TheOldBear]

For Southampton, London and places in between - look for postings on this forum from Jon Bull.

Is your pre-embarkation hotel in Southampton? Do you already have ground transportation planned?

 

For LeHavre options - Cruise Critic geography puts France in the Mediterranean ports section of the forums. Lots of discussions - and again look for postings by John Bull.

 

Typically LeHavre port visits will include a ship's excursion to Paris - but you will spend and much time on the bus as you will seeing any Paris sights. In 2017 our departure from LeHavre was delayed for over an hour waiting for a Paris excursion to return - mechanical problems on the tour bus. If you have similar problems and not on a ship's tour the ship will not wait. Making your own way back to Southampton might not be an issue for you - but our next port is Brooklyn NY.

 

We are looking forward to more tours in Normandy - so far we have done the D Day beaches [American and British sectors], museums and the American cemetery near Utah Beach. There is much that we have not seen after these tours, so we might repeat one of them, or we might consider Bayeux as an option.

[Globaliser]

50 minutes ago, avgsuperheroine said:

Do neither and take it easy, plan to come again sometime? Will we regret not taking a day to see one or both?

 

You ought to travel over to the UK a day early for safety (ie fly on 3 October and arrive on 4 October for a 5 October cruise). So you have a decent reason for spending a day seeing something in London, and transferring to Southampton on the morning that the cruise sails, as phabric says. You can easily do this by public transport if you don't have any mobility problems; Stonehenge isn't worth a stop unless it's something really special to you.

 

But you need to remember that this isn't seeing London. To do that properly, you really need to be here for three to six months - it is that kind of city. You will have enough time and energy to visit one or two sights, and that will be about it. If you want to see London, come back some other time to see London rather than going on a cruise.

 

Paris is similarly worth her own visit some other time. Don't try to do it from Le Havre - it's a waste of time because it's so far away.

[John Bull]

You can achieve a lot with one FULL day (ie two nights) in London.

But you'll not see much in the remains of the day that you fly in, nor will you have time in the morning that you head to Southampton.

 

If you're cruising the day after you fly in, I suggest you head direct to Southampton from the London airport (LHR or LGW, both of which are outside London), enjoy a late afternoon and evening in Southampton and browse the city's admittedly-few sights next morning before collecting your luggage from your hotel & boarding your ship. 

As well as being kinder to your jet-lagged energy, the lower travel costs and much better-value city centre hotels will also be kinder to your pocket.

 

All just MHO as always.

And lots of advice from folk on other threads in this forum.

 

Is Le Havre your last port-of-call before you return to Southampton ?

Which cruise line ?

And have you yet booked your flights?

Depending on these things you could consider doing what plenty of cruisers do - disembark (with cruise line's permission) in Le Havre, head to Paris for a few days & fly home from there. 

You'd miss just dinner and a bed for the night on the ship, but you'd already have had most of a day in Paris before the ship even leaves Le Havre 🙂

Air fares need not be more expensive than return fares to London if you book "multi-city" (aka "open jaw") return tickets. The return fare will be the mid-point between return fares for Toronto - London and Paris - Toronto, but your choice is limited by both flights having to be with the same airline or air alliance. The multi-city add-on on Skyscanner, my go-to flights website, is down but just Google multi-city flights for other websites

 

JB 🙂

 

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by John Bull

[Globaliser]

56 minutes ago, John Bull said:

Is Le Havre your last port-of-call before you return to Southampton ?

Which cruise line ?

 

I think that this is the OP's cruise: https://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruisesonnorwegiandawn-05oct2023.html - ex-Southampton Thursday 5 October 2023, last port Le Havre on Friday 13 October, end of cruise Saturday 14 October.

[edinburgher]

Normandy doesn't interest us.

 

Quite a surprise to read that for a first overseas trip, there is nowhere in the whole of Normandy which interests you as it is a quite large Departement with diverse sights/sites, a number of which can be reached from le Havre without too much difficulty.

 

For a first overseas visit which is both easy and inexpensive, also an introduction to one of the prettiest historic towns in  France, a visit to charming Honfleur might suit you.  it is a fabourite with many cruisers as it has been for centuries with artists from several countries, whose works hang in galleries around the world..(of whom MONET was one)

 

There will be many images and much online info to be found if you search for it, and I think what you find will tempt you to visit.

 

You could also search for the multiple previous threads and replies about Honfleur as it is a FAQ.  ON THE FRANCE BOARDS FORUM, use the SEARCH tool under your username to find them.  This is a good one to start you off

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2929792-le-havre-and-getting-to-honfleur/#comment-65176081

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by edinburgher

[Harters]

We had been looking at a cruise which had Le Havre as its first port after leaving Southampton. As the OP has spotted, it's a long journey to/from Paris (which we've visited before). And we also had no interest in the D-Day sites. The area around Le Havre is also reasonably well known to us from previous visits in connection with my interest in the Great War (my local Territorial battalion  landed there in September 1914, going into action shortly after). The town itself is not very interesting,as it was extensively bombed during WW2 and later rebuilt. So, we decided that, if we did take the cruise, we'd probably stay on board most of that day and just chill out, with maybe a little stroll round the town centre.

[Ashland]

Do London post-cruise and use the HOHO.

[Cotswold Eagle]

9 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Normandy doesn't interest us.

 

Quite a surprise to read that for a first overseas trip, there is nowhere in the whole of Normandy which interests you as it is a quite large Departement with diverse sights/sites

I suspect the OP was using 'Normandy' as shorthand for "the World War II sites in Normandy". Even that I find quite sad, not to spend just a few hours in a lifetime paying respects and learning something of those momentous days in summer 1944 which shaped all our lives. You don't need to be a military history buff to get something out of that.

 

Incidentally, to be pedantic, Normandy is one of the administrative regions of France, made up of several departments. 

[markeb]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

I suspect the OP was using 'Normandy' as shorthand for "the World War II sites in Normandy". Even that I find quite sad, not to spend just a few hours in a lifetime paying respects and learning something of those momentous days in summer 1944 which shaped all our lives. You don't need to be a military history buff to get something out of that.

 

Incidentally, to be pedantic, Normandy is one of the administrative regions of France, made up of several departments. 

 

And oddly enough Le Havre is in Normandy...

 

So back to the OP, Bayeaux and Caen are on the way to Arromanches and the area of the landing beaches. Arromanches is a lovely town even without the World War II history, and Bayeaux offers an opportunity to see the tapestry and the story of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings. Rouen is the opposite direction, unfortunately, but has a beautiful cathedral, and was the site of Joan of Arc's demise. So there is a lot to do in Normandy with or without visiting the landing beaches, which are well worth a once in a lifetime visit.

 

A visit to London will expand to fill your available time. One day, do a HOHO and don't get off. Then wander on your own. Two days, might still do the HOHO (it's not great for point to point transportation...), but I'd pick 2-3 things I really wanted to see, and go see them. London starts to open up at about 4-5 days if you've never been. A lot of well known public sites can be seen and visited (externally) at your leisure and assuming this is a summer cruise, you'll have well over 12 hours of daylight. But London is huge, so stop and have a pint and enjoy the city. And dream of your next visit (July...).

[edinburgher]

So there is a lot to do in Normandy with or without visiting the landing beaches,

 

And not forgetting Mont-St-Michel and Monet's Garden at Giverny.

 

We visited some of the above mentioned, including Rouen, verry easy by train, but on our 4th visit we took the public  bus along the Alabaster Coast to Etretat, a pleasant town with good walking along the white cliffsand the sea .on a fine day, although we ran out of time to reach Fecamp.  That little trip would not be high on anyones first or second trip, but it was our fourth and we enjoyed it more than we had expected to, although the good weather that day  made the difference.

 

ncidentally, to be pedantic, Normandy is one of the administrative regions of France, made up of several departments. 

 

My bad, but I do find "Departements" and "Regions" confusing without referencing, which I did not do this time.

Edited April 13, 2023 by edinburgher

[avgsuperheroine]

11 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

I suspect the OP was using 'Normandy' as shorthand for "the World War II sites in Normandy". Even that I find quite sad, not to spend just a few hours in a lifetime paying respects and learning something of those momentous days in summer 1944 which shaped all our lives. You don't need to be a military history buff to get something out of that.

 

Incidentally, to be pedantic, Normandy is one of the administrative regions of France, made up of several departments. 

I don't think it's quite fair to make assumptions about my lack of willingness (or anyone's) to honor those who've served. I grew up in a career military family and I've spent many, many vacations focused on history. We're all here to learn and personal judgements aren't helpful. 

[Meander Ingwa]

If I had a stop in La Havre I would for sure consider Bayeux Tapestries my priority, Rouen and the cathedral would be second choice.  Having Normandy Cidre would also be a priority.   I am doing a cruise in January and wish I could visit Bayeux after, but the museum is closed every January

 

The 4 - 6 hour bus trip to and from Paris just does not do justice to the city and your effort

 

I would do London at the end of your trip.  Jet lag and timing stress will not make your precious day enjoyable.  You need to focus on getting to Southampton 

 

London is my favorite city and I would hate you to feel less than 100%  during your visit 

[pink845]

Avgsuperheroine, all the posts above are reiterating that the area outside of LeHavre has a lot to offer. Normandy beaches, war memorials, pretty towns, art and culture, Mont st. Michel and on and on. But these spots required concentrated time to truly appreciate not the rushed day of a cruise. We have LeHavre on our British Isles itinerary as well but are only going to make our way to Honfleur and save all the other spots mentioned in all the above posts to a dedicated trip to Paris and that Normandy coast for 2024 when we can truly appreciate.  Tough one about London however. Pre or post if you have only one day. On arrival to London prior to cruise, you will be tired unless you have comfy lie back business class seats, and luggage to unload... hmm not ideal pre and post you would again after your transfer from ship to London, you got that luggage to deal with and chances are you will be tired from all the cruising. London pre or post would benefit from at least 3 full days as a sampler.  My opinion.