12 day British Isle Cruise in June....Help please

[Derbie]

Good morning,

 

We have taken quite few cruises, but none abroad.  I am hoping you all will bear with me, as I ask multiple questions on here (over the next few days). I feel like we have a lot of planning to do in a short amount of time.  There will be 5 of us traveling.  DH and myself.  My sister and her two daughters...18 and 20 years old.  We will have one full day before the ship sails in S. Hampton.  The nieces really want to see London. We have been there before, so it is not so important to us, but they are truly wanting to go. A day in London is simply not enought to do anything.  So, we are trying to decide if we should book a hotel near the airport, and drop luggage and go into the city, or head into London to a hotel and store luggage and set out?  Our flight arrives at 7:40 on June 23rd (Friday) in Heathrow.  So, what do you all recommend as the easiest way to handle our first leg of our journey?  Any place you all recommend to lodge?  Any area we should steer clear of when booking? I have noticed that many lodgings are severely limited on 3 people to a room.  Best way to go into the city, if we choose this route?  Honestly, all recommendations are welcome, and truly appreciated.  

[CruiserBruce]

Stay in town...there are several threads here on London hotels...and use the hop on, hop off bus.

[Ocean Mouse]

If you are planning to get to Southampton by train (the station is only a short taxi journey to the cruise terminals) you might want to consider an hotel near Waterloo station (which is where the trains to Southampton go from).

[Ocean Mouse]

A simple search on Google maps will give you many hotel possibilities. Travelodge and Premier Inn are basic but clean and the beds are OK.  Unfortunately prices will be quite high because of the short notice 

[Ocean Mouse]

You can get to Waterloo by underground utilising either the Piccadilly or Elizabeth line and the Jubilee line

[MeHeartCruising]

For my September British Isles cruise, I arrived at Heathrow at a similar time.  I took the Elizabeth Line/Tube to the Premier Inn near Waterloo station.  Premier Inns are not fancy or charming, but they are affordable and decent enough for a short stay.  Upon arrival around 10:30 am, they even had an available room for me to check in early -- they charge £10 for early checkin.  

 

I then explored London the rest of that day.  That evening, while out and about finding dinner, I checked out Waterloo to familiarize myself enough to know how it worked for my trip the next morning.  That next morning, I walked (with my suitcase) to Waterloo and took the train to Southampton.  There were taxis at the train station waiting to take me to the ship.  It was really quite easy to do.

[Derbie]

8 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

For my September British Isles cruise, I arrived at Heathrow at a similar time.  I took the Elizabeth Line/Tube to the Premier Inn near Waterloo station.  Premier Inns are not fancy or charming, but they are affordable and decent enough for a short stay.  Upon arrival around 10:30 am, they even had an available room for me to check in early -- they charge £10 for early checkin.  

 

I then explored London the rest of that day.  That evening, while out and about finding dinner, I checked out Waterloo to familiarize myself enough to know how it worked for my trip the next morning.  That next morning, I walked (with my suitcase) to Waterloo and took the train to Southampton.  There were taxis at the train station waiting to take me to the ship.  It was really quite easy to do.

Thanks so very much!  My husband had been looking at this very area.  Was you cruise of the British isles?  

[MeHeartCruising]

Just now, Derbie said:

Thanks so very much!  My husband had been looking at this very area.  Was you cruise of the British isles?  

Yes.  It was from Southampton to Amsterdam and included stops in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.  On NCL’s Norwegian Dawn. 

[John Bull]

Your flight arrives on the friday.

And you sail on the saturday (Azamara or Celebrity or MSC)  or the sunday (NCL or Princess or Queen Vic) ?

Altho your flight arrives at 7.40 it'll take up to 90 minutes to clear airport formalities, then you have 15 urban miles into central London, and deposit your luggage at your central London hotel. 

You won't be out sight-seeing until around noon.

If you sail on the saturday, the effort and cost  of seeing London really isn't worhwhile for half a jet-lagged day - but I can understand the desire.

 

As other replies, choose a hotel in central London, either

- the County Hall / Waterloo area. Convenient for the ho-ho. And the evenings are light until about 9.30pm. Very walkable across Westminster Bridge to  Big Ben & Westminster Abbey, and up Whitehall with sights like 10 Downing Street (Prime Minister's home) and Horse Guards Parade to Trafalgar Square. Riverside restaurants nearby. Frequent direct train service to Southampton (all one word) on the morning of your sailing day, Advance -purchased fares as low as £14.50 pp (but walk-up fares around £50!!!), journey time about 90 minutes.   But hotels in the area are national & international brands and room prices are high. And travel from Heathrow by Tube will involve a change.

- or Victoria. Convenient for the ho-ho. Walkable to Buckingham Palace, places like Big Ben to Trafalgar Square a little further, depends on the effects of jet-lag, Plenty of life in the evenings. Hourly direct National Express bus service from Victoria coach station to Southampton on the morning of your sailing day, fare as low as £5 pp. Journey time 2hrs 20 min., booking very very strongly advised.  Mix of hotels, generally more pocket-friendly than Waterloo but London prices are still high. Direct National Express buses from Heathrow to Victoria coach station £6 pp but journey time around one hour, again book in advance - because you're travelling from an airport you can't be sure what time to book the coach, so you need to add the "change & go" option

 

To repeat, if you're sailing on the saturday you'll have half a jet-lagged day (you won't want to get up early enough on the saturday to do any sight-seeing).

If you think this will be your last opportunity to see London (if your sister has 18 and 20-year-old daughters I doubt it is) then go for it. If not, it would be more sensible to put London on the back burner for a "proper" visit another time, & take a direct Nat Express bus from Heathrow to a Southampton hotel for a leisurely day and a good night's sleep.

Just MHO, of course

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

https://book.nationalexpress.com/

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/home and https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/map

(there other ho-ho operators, all quite similar, all with the same main route)

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

(excellent tourist info & logistics)

 

JB 🙂

[Harters]

Knowing how wrecked I've been, from jetlag, returning from the States, I can only echo John Bull's advice not to bother with London touristing until you can devote a decent amount of time to it. If you do decide to go straight to Southampton, check what time your hotel check-in opens and, if necessary, book the previous night as well, so  you can get straight to your room (something I did a couple of years back travelling to South Africa). You want to board your cruise as fresh and rested as possible and ready to enjoy it.

[craig01020]

On 4/30/2023 at 11:20 AM, MeHeartCruising said:

I walked (with my suitcase) to Waterloo and took the train to Southampton.

Was there a place to store luggage on the train?

[Globaliser]

 

29 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

On 4/30/2023 at 4:20 PM, MeHeartCruising said:

I walked (with my suitcase) to Waterloo and took the train to Southampton.

 

Was there a place to store luggage on the train?

 

As long as you are not travelling at a peak time (and in the direction of the peak traffic), there is plenty of space on these trains to put your luggage. There isn't much dedicated luggage space, but that's no problem if the train isn't full because all you have to do is to put it in some space near you. Countless thousands of people do this every day. You just improvise.

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, craig01020 said:

Was there a place to store luggage on the train?

Exactly as Globaliser says above.  The train only had about 10 people in my car.  I didn’t notice a luggage rack but there may have been one.  But with so few people on the train, I just kept it on the floor beside me.  This effectively stopped anyone from sitting there, but I was traveling solo so it didn’t matter to me. 

[Derbie]

On 4/30/2023 at 7:32 PM, John Bull said:

Your flight arrives on the friday.

And you sail on the saturday (Azamara or Celebrity or MSC)  or the sunday (NCL or Princess or Queen Vic) ?

Altho your flight arrives at 7.40 it'll take up to 90 minutes to clear airport formalities, then you have 15 urban miles into central London, and deposit your luggage at your central London hotel. 

You won't be out sight-seeing until around noon.

If you sail on the saturday, the effort and cost  of seeing London really isn't worhwhile for half a jet-lagged day - but I can understand the desire.

 

As other replies, choose a hotel in central London, either

- the County Hall / Waterloo area. Convenient for the ho-ho. And the evenings are light until about 9.30pm. Very walkable across Westminster Bridge to  Big Ben & Westminster Abbey, and up Whitehall with sights like 10 Downing Street (Prime Minister's home) and Horse Guards Parade to Trafalgar Square. Riverside restaurants nearby. Frequent direct train service to Southampton (all one word) on the morning of your sailing day, Advance -purchased fares as low as £14.50 pp (but walk-up fares around £50!!!), journey time about 90 minutes.   But hotels in the area are national & international brands and room prices are high. And travel from Heathrow by Tube will involve a change.

- or Victoria. Convenient for the ho-ho. Walkable to Buckingham Palace, places like Big Ben to Trafalgar Square a little further, depends on the effects of jet-lag, Plenty of life in the evenings. Hourly direct National Express bus service from Victoria coach station to Southampton on the morning of your sailing day, fare as low as £5 pp. Journey time 2hrs 20 min., booking very very strongly advised.  Mix of hotels, generally more pocket-friendly than Waterloo but London prices are still high. Direct National Express buses from Heathrow to Victoria coach station £6 pp but journey time around one hour, again book in advance - because you're travelling from an airport you can't be sure what time to book the coach, so you need to add the "change & go" option

 

To repeat, if you're sailing on the saturday you'll have half a jet-lagged day (you won't want to get up early enough on the saturday to do any sight-seeing).

If you think this will be your last opportunity to see London (if your sister has 18 and 20-year-old daughters I doubt it is) then go for it. If not, it would be more sensible to put London on the back burner for a "proper" visit another time, & take a direct Nat Express bus from Heathrow to a Southampton hotel for a leisurely day and a good night's sleep.

Just MHO, of course

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

https://book.nationalexpress.com/

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/home and https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/map

(there other ho-ho operators, all quite similar, all with the same main route)

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

(excellent tourist info & logistics)  

You could not have described it any better.  Many thanks...,much obliged!  Here is what we decided to do.  We are lodging at a hotel at the airport.  Honestly, our finances couldn't handle approximately $1200-$1500 for one night in the city proper, so early in our journey So, we are going to leave our luggage at the hotel, and head to the city.  We will be staying in Paris 3 nights up on our return.  We are going to be disembarking the ship in La Favre. My final hard "detective" work will be forthcoming.  Once again; many thanks.

 

On 4/30/2023 at 7:32 PM, John Bull said:

 

JB 🙂

 

[Derbie]

Thank you one and all for your kind assistance!  I will be posting several more questions very soon.  I promise to try locate the answers, before I ask.  

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, Derbie said:

We are lodging at a hotel at the airport.  Honestly, our finances couldn't handle approximately $1200-$1500 for one night in the city proper, so early in our journey So, we are going to leave our luggage at the hotel, and head to the city.

 

There's no way that you need to spend $1,200 for one night in London. And airport hotels aren't always much cheaper than hotels in central London, so the amount of money you're saving would be fairly limited.

 

Also, from a jet lag / tiredness point of view, staying at the airport but travelling into central London to sightsee is choosing the worst of both worlds - not least because after you've exhausted yourselves from sightseeing, you still have to haul yourself all the way back to the airport and then from the airport to the hotel.

 

John Bull's advice was spot-on: either go to central London, or else go straight to Southampton. If you can still change your plans, I would seriously advise doing so.

[Derbie]

7 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

There's no way that you need to spend $1,200 for one night in London. And airport hotels aren't always much cheaper than hotels in central London, so the amount of money you're saving would be fairly limited.

 

Also, from a jet lag / tiredness point of view, staying at the airport but travelling into central London to sightsee is choosing the worst of both worlds - not least because after you've exhausted yourselves from sightseeing, you still have to haul yourself all the way back to the airport and then from the airport to the hotel.

 

John Bull's advice was spot-on: either go to central London, or else go straight to Southampton. If you can still change your plans, I would seriously advise doing so.

 I couldn't agree with you more; however, the issue is finding rooms that will sleep 3 in one room and 2 in another room, at a reasonable rate.  Just as an example...Park Plaza Waterloo total one night/one room $567, Hampton by Hilton Waterloo...$592, Marlin Waterloo $664.  The prices are for one room/one night. We need two rooms. So, we are looking at least on the low end...just under $1200 for two rooms for one night.  As I stated in my original post, if it were up to my husband and myself. we would go straight to South Hampton and call it a day.  Even the Hostel was (I believe) around $450 for the five of us in the room with at least three other people.  If you can make a recommendation, I would much rather go and stay in Waterloo.  I did note the Novotel is $476 per night,  We can cancel our reservation with no penalty,  I sincerely appreciate the assistance.

[Ocean Mouse]

Have you looked at Travelodge and Premier Inn?

[Cotswold Eagle]

You can get three double rooms at the Premier Inn County Hall for a total of £510, so around $640, on 23 June. As you say, rooms for three adults are unusual in the UK, so you may be better off looking for three rooms.

[Derbie]

Things changed again, and I think we found a Airbnb in the Waterloo area, that looks quite nice, and is reasonable. An apartment near the Shard. I hope this is a good spot, and we do much better than the airport.  

 

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 minute ago, Derbie said:

a Airbnb in the Waterloo area, that looks quite nice, and is reasonable. An apartment near the Shard.

If it's near the Shard, it's in the London Bridge area, not Waterloo. Equally close to the river and lots of things to see and good transport links, but you'll need to hop on a very short train journey (or take a cab or the tube) to get to Waterloo.

[Harters]

8 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Premier Inn County Hall

I've stayed here two or three times when I was doing research at the Imperial War Museum. Good location, with lots of touristy stuff within a few minutes walk, on both sides of the river. As ever with Premier Inns, decent quality and reasonable prices (always my first choice of hotel chain when I'm travelling round the country).

[Globaliser]

9 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

If it's near the Shard, it's in the London Bridge area, not Waterloo. Equally close to the river and lots of things to see ...

 

Indeed - the Shard is within easy walking distance of (for example) Borough Market, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the Monument, Shakespeare's Globe, and Tate Britain. Just a little further away, over the Millennium Bridge, is St Paul's Cathedral.

 

Incidentally, your ship will be departing from Southampton. You'll get better search results if you use the correct name.

[John Bull]

11 hours ago, Derbie said:

Things changed again, and I think we found a Airbnb in the Waterloo area, that looks quite nice, and is reasonable. An apartment near the Shard. I hope this is a good spot, and we do much better than the airport.  

 

 

The Shard is something under 2 miles from Waterloo station, so in the morning take the Tube (Jubilee Line, no changes) or simpler if you're zonked-out to just take a cab (or two) to the station.

It's on that same main ho-ho route, & quite convenient to London Bridge tube station.

As others have posted, a different selection of sights to see close to The Shard.

 

f you had the time  - perhaps in the evening - a 30 minute walk along the riverside to Big Ben etc (or as far along the riverside path as you want), passing Shakespeare's Globe, the Millenium footbridge over the Thames (it frames St Paul's cathedral on the other side of the river) & Tate Modern. 

 

You can go up to the Skydeck of The Shard - not the same "experience" as the London Eye but a higher view

https://www.theviewfromtheshard.com/

 

Not a bad location 🙂

 

JB 🙂

[Calleililly]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:50 PM, MeHeartCruising said:

For my September British Isles cruise, I arrived at Heathrow at a similar time.  I took the Elizabeth Line/Tube to the Premier Inn near Waterloo station.  Premier Inns are not fancy or charming, but they are affordable and decent enough for a short stay.  Upon arrival around 10:30 am, they even had an available room for me to check in early -- they charge £10 for early checkin.  

 

I then explored London the rest of that day.  That evening, while out and about finding dinner, I checked out Waterloo to familiarize myself enough to know how it worked for my trip the next morning.  That next morning, I walked (with my suitcase) to Waterloo and took the train to Southampton.  There were taxis at the train station waiting to take me to the ship.  It was really quite easy to do.