How long from port to airport in London

[skeeter195]

We are doing a NYC-London cruise next year.  We are American citizens. Do you think an 11:35am flight from London to NY is doable with customs, driving and airport security?  The ship has a 5am scheduled docking time.  The flight is the only one that day going to our hometown airport.

 

Thanks in advance

[tony s]

If lucky 75 minutes. Do self carry and hope you get off 730

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, tony s said:

If lucky 75 minutes. Do self carry and hope you get off 730

More like 90 minutes on a good day. I would not do it. Customs and security, international flight. I would book a hotel in London and leave the next day.

[www3traveler]

I would not risk it.  The ship might be scheduled to dock at 5:00 A.M., but it might not.  It also may take a bit to clear the local officials before disembarkation can begin.  Guessing, I would think you would need to be at Heathrow by 9:00 or 9:30 A.M. to check-in for an international flight.  If you have not flown into or out of Heathrow before, I can tell you that it is a very huge airport.

[The Traveling Man]

1 hour ago, skeeter195 said:

We are doing a NYC-London cruise next year.  We are American citizens. Do you think an 11:35am flight from London to NY is doable with customs, driving and airport security?  The ship has a 5am scheduled docking time.  The flight is the only one that day going to our hometown airport.

 

Thanks in advance

That would be a tight connection.  The airline probably requests that you arrive at the airport three hours early for an international flight.  You may be able to fudge that time a bit, but you still need to get there early.  It can take more than 90 minutes to get to Heathrow from Southampton during heavy traffic times.  You did not indicate what day of the week you will be traveling, but you should allow more time during the week than on weekends.  You likely would need to exit the ship by 7:00 AM and have your ride waiting for you at the pier to be able to make it.  You may want to consider scheduling your flight a day later.  You could sleep in a bit later, have a leisurely breakfast, stop by Stonehenge or Winchester on your way to your hotel, then catch the next day's flight.  Just a thought.

[Turtles06]

You really should be asking this question in the British Isles port of call forum, where I suspect you will be told it’s far too risky. (And since your ship will not be docking in London, you should identify the actual disembarkation port, which I assume is Southampton.) 

[The Traveling Man]

3 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

I would not risk it.  The ship might be scheduled to dock at 5:00 A.M., but it might not.  It also may take a bit to clear the local officials before disembarkation can begin.  Guessing, I would think you would need to be at Heathrow by 9:00 or 9:30 A.M. to check-in for an international flight.  If you have not flown into or out of Heathrow before, I can tell you that it is a very huge airport.

We usually have been able to get through the Southampton terminal in short order, but the last time we were there it took about 90 minutes from our stateroom to the taxi stand.  Heathrow not only is very large, but there are many, many international flights departing at about the same time as @skeeter195 is planning to fly, so there can be long delays at the airport.

[LauraAnneC]

You haven’t actually said you’re leaving from Heathrow but even assuming you are, it’s definitely way too tight. All you need is an accident on the M25 ( which is often referred to as the biggest car park in the UK) and you’re scuppered! Nevermind morning rush hour traffic. I definitely wouldn’t risk it! 

[complawyer]

you'd be much better off staying the extra night in london at a hotel near heathrow, than chance missing your flight.  even if the ship docs at 5:30, generally speaking nothing happens until after 7 am. this aug we're spending an extra day in stockholm flying to london the next day, then non stop onto los angeles. youre doing yourself a disservice trying to cut it so close

[Globaliser]

12 hours ago, skeeter195 said:

We are doing a NYC-London cruise next year.  We are American citizens. Do you think an 11:35am flight from London to NY is doable with customs, driving and airport security?  The ship has a 5am scheduled docking time.  The flight is the only one that day going to our hometown airport.

 

There are a few bits of missing information here:

1. Where does your cruise end? You say "London" - but cruise lines often lie about this: far more cruises use Dover, Harwich or (most often) Southampton. And this can make a real difference, as none of these places is anywhere near London.
2. Which airport are you flying from? There are five London airports, spread across an area about 50 miles in diameter. Although London Heathrow and London Gatwick are the most likely options for you, travel to each of these airports is different from each of the ports that you might disembark at.
3. Which is your "hometown airport"? If you need to fly to NYC, there are something like 25 non-stop flights a day from Heathrow to JFK and another 10 to Newark, so there would be no need to limit yourself to an 1135 flight. But if you're actually connecting to another airport, you may have more options connecting via somewhere else.
4. On what day of the week does your cruise end? This is a critical bit of information for estimating how long it's likely to take you to get to your airport, and the level of risk involved.

[phabric]

Take a post cruise line excursion and stay at one of Heathrow hotels.  

[skeeter195]

Thank you for all of the information so far.

 

Here are the details

Departing from STN-London Stansted airport @ 1135am

Going to SWF-Newburgh NY

 

This is the only flight leaving to SWF daily

 

We will be on NCL and priority disembarkation 

 

Thanks again all

[gnome12]

10 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

Thank you for all of the information so far.

 

Here are the details

Departing from STN-London Stansted airport @ 1135am

Going to SWF-Newburgh NY

 

This is the only flight leaving to SWF daily

 

We will be on NCL and priority disembarkation 

 

Thanks again all

What day of the week?

[Charles4515]

12 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

We will be on NCL and priority disembarkation 

 

Southampton, Dover or Harwich?

[Globaliser]

34 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

Here are the details

Departing from STN-London Stansted airport @ 1135am

Going to SWF-Newburgh NY

 

This is the only flight leaving to SWF daily

 

We will be on NCL and priority disembarkation 

 

I'm guessing, then, that you arrive at Southampton either on Thu 9 May or Mon 13 May, in which case an 1135 departure from Stansted is much too ambitious. Stansted is the furthest London airport from Southampton: it's 125 miles by road, and on a weekday morning travelling in the middle of the peak traffic, my guess is that it would take 3 to 3½ hours to get there, if there's nothing beyond the ordinary jams on the motorways.

 

If you're keen to get home on the same day, then I'd recommend thinking about taking one of the three dozen daily non-stops from Heathrow to the two main NYC airports, instead of a connecting journey with zero backup on a low-fare airline that may or may not still be in business in 9 months time. After all, SWF is only about 75 miles by road from Newark airport.

[gumshoe958]

18 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

I'm guessing, then, that you arrive at Southampton either on Thu 9 May or Mon 13 May, in which case an 1135 departure from Stansted is much too ambitious. Stansted is the furthest London airport from Southampton: it's 125 miles by road, and on a weekday morning travelling in the middle of the peak traffic, my guess is that it would take 3 to 3½ hours to get there, if there's nothing beyond the ordinary jams on the motorways.

 

If you're keen to get home on the same day, then I'd recommend thinking about taking one of the three dozen daily non-stops from Heathrow to the two main NYC airports, instead of a connecting journey with zero backup on a low-fare airline that may or may not still be in business in 9 months time. After all, SWF is only about 75 miles by road from Newark airport.

This. A rethink is required.

 

It’s the same distance as Cape Liberty to Atlantic City or Hartford CT. At rush hour.

[skeeter195]

Thanks again for of the insight.  SWF is 3 miles from my house.  I will either stay over and fly out on the 14th or take a later flight on the 13th from Heathrow.  

[Island2Dweller]

Stansted is notorious for queues at bag drop and for security.  If you are going to use that option you need a plan that gets you there in good time.  From Southampton it would be nigh on impossible.  Even if you dock in Tilbury, it's still an hour / 90 minutes on roads that can get extremely congested.

If you decide to stay an extra night, there is nothing to do at Stansted.  Stay in London near Liverpool Street station - that's where the express train to Stansted leaves from.

[insidecabin]

The other issue with Stansted and one flight is backup plans to get to USA are very limited if the flight is missed or delayed or cancelled.

 

You might be better looking at alternatives out of other  airports like Southampton (or near) to a different gateway or main London airports

 

We use Flyplay Stansted for US trips  but avoid when open jaw cruise into/out  Southampton it's just does not fit well for transport logistics.

 

 

There is a 9:15 Southampton that will connect(1 stops) to the same Iceland  flight to SWF

 

 

 

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

If you decide to stay an extra night, there is nothing to do at Stansted.

 

I agree with the recommendation to stay in London overnight - but for the record, I seem to recall that the wine bar at the Radisson Blu at Stansted offers some high-flying entertainment.