NCL Prima - European Cruise - Advice on Flying Home.

[LongIsland-Cruiser]

Hi all, 

 

Any information from previous cruisers is appreciated.

 

I am taking the NCL Prima on a 15 day cruise in April 24, starting in NYC and ending in Southampton UK.  I am using NCL option to buy airfare back to NYC.

 

I know that NCL bills Le Havre France as PARIS and Southampton UK as LONDON.  I also know that those are only technically true with around 3 to 4 hours of travel.  

 

We are terminating in Southampton at 6 am, which gives me plenty of time to travel to London and see the sights.  We were thinking about asking NCL to book our airline the next day and just stay in a hotel so we could see as much of London as possible.  However, we are disappointed about seeing Paris.  We will be in port in Le Havre for about 15 hours...so even with a 2 to 3 hour trip both ways into Paris, we would be able to spend a few hours there and see the city...but it just seems a shame to not have more time for the City of Lights.   I might not get to see Paris again in my life, I want to spend as much time as I can.

 

Could someone that has made a similar trip before tell me about the logistics of two options I have been brainstorming about below?

 

OPTION 1

 

Take the trip from Le Havre into Paris.  Enjoy the (hopefully) 9 hours or so I will get there.  I will incur no extra costs other than what I spend travelling around the city and the train/excursion to take me back and forth.  Continue onto London and get a hotel there, spend all day touring, fly out the next day.

 

OPTION 2

 

Spend the time in Le Havre.  Enjoy the historic town.  Don't rush, venture out and really enjoy the French country side.   Then, when the ship drops me off in Southhampton at 6 am, take the train to London. Drop my bag off at the hotel and tour London.  Then wake up early the next day and take the train into Paris and enjoy a full day exploring the city, and fly back to New York from Paris.

 

 

I could always spend the day in London, and take a late train to Paris and stay in a hotel there, giving myself an early start on exploring that city, but I don't know what I would do with my bags all day. We travel very light, but would still have at least one rolling bag following us around in London without an English hotel to drop it off at.

 

 

Has anyone any advice for me?  I'll take all suggestions.  I am only going off what I have read online.  Perhaps the train from London to Paris is a nightmare?  Flying out of Paris is much more difficult than flying out of London?  I know I won't abandon the cruise in Le Havre and skip the London leg to give myself more freedom, because they severely punish you for that.  

 

Curious if anyone has done any of the options above?  Thanks in advance.  

[smillerholmes]

Following, as I was considering something similar.  

[Island2Dweller]

There's a left luggage facility at St Pancras (the station that Eurostar uses for the London-Paris train).  So you can leave bags there if you want to explore London before catching a train to Paris.  Note that Eurostar tickets can sell out, and the cheapest tickets sell out very early, so as soon as you are comfortable with your plans you should book.  You clear Schengen immigration at St Pancras before catching the train so you need to be back at the station a good hour ahead of train departure.

[herbanrenewal]

Of the two options you mention i would do the second, but NCL may not allow the departure city deviation from Paris instead of London. Island2Dweller's recommendation is much more likely to work.

If there is any way you can extend your trip by I few more days I'd do it. Both London and Paris are worthy of much more time exploring. I'd consider cancelling the NCL air and fly home independently. I'm on the same cruise and I found Norse Air to be cheaper than NCL with extended stay.

[debenson0723]

I would also cancel the NCL air, spend 2 days in London, then 2 days in Paris and fly home from there. You will be lucky if you get 5 hours in Paris from an NCL excursion.

I did something similar last year prior to the Prima TA from Southampton to the US.  I flew to Barcelona, spent 3 days there, then took a flight to London and 3 days there. Take your time and enjoy both cities if you think you will never be there again. 

[TwinMamainMN]

I haven't done either of your options with a cruise, but I have been to both cities. I agree with @debenson0723, take the extra days at the end of the trip to see each city over at least 2 days. More days if you can do it. Both cities have gobs to see and giving them each 8 hours or less will mean no chance to actually enjoy either, and a long plane ride home when you are exhausted too.

[Joanne G.]

If you are not able to add a couple extra days in both London and Paris, I would go with Option 1.   I would spend whatever extra time I had in London.   Doing so eliminates the time spent getting to Paris.   I know the Eurostar is fast, but the process is still going to take up a chunk of time, so that full day exploring Paris that you considered in Option 2 will not actually be a full day. 

 

For what it's worth, there are reports on these boards from people who have taken one of the long excursions into Paris from Le Havre and have enjoyed it and were glad they did it.  These were people who felt that was going to be their one and only time to see Paris, and they considered a short visit better than no visit.  I'm sorry I can't remember the names on those postings, or I would try to find their reports.  

 

London and Paris - two great cities!  Have a wonderful vacation, however you decide to spend your post-cruise time.  

 

[sanger727]

For me, personally, 6-8 hours of travel time to get into and out of Paris sounds like a nightmare. Our absolute favorite thing about traveling in Europe is to take a few days to experience the city.

 

I would take option 2, but you will have to cancel your air with NCL. They will deviate by up to 2 days, but they won't deviate to a different airport. 

[schmoopie17]

We're looking at itineraries for 2025 that include both Le Havre and Southampton. I wouldn't think of going to Le Havre and not doing the Normandy tour...in fact, as a veteran, it would be my main reason to go to Le Havre. Paris? Not so much...been there, done that...didn't like it too much except for the corner crepe stand. Of course, we were there in a rainy November when a transit strike was going on. But still...

 

London? Could spend a week there mainly pub-hopping...which is what we did last time.

 

Of course, I do get the attraction of seeing Paris for someone who has never been there. For us, once was more than enough. But like all things...YMMV.

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by schmoopie17

[UKstages]

i disembarked the prima in southanpton in june and took the NCL transfer service to heathrow whereupon i took the tube into town and had a five night theatre holiday.  i've been to london more than thirty times, so there is very little i haven't seen. most of my time in london these days is spent at the thetare, shopping and at restaurants.

 

you can take a train from southampton into central london, but it is more cumbersome to do so, especially with luggage. at least that was my experience. there is nothing easier than getting off the ship and going immediately to a waiting bus to be whisked away as soon as it is filled. the trip to london, by the way, is less than two hours, possibly as little as 90 minutes if no traffic.

 

NCL does offer a disembarkation excursion for those staying in london. it goes to several major tourist attractions including stonehenge, if memory serves, ending at victoria station, at which you can easily catch a taxi or the tube for your onward journey to your hotel.

 

as for le havre/paris, there is no need to arrange your own transportation to paris. NCL offers a transportation option... usually called something like "paris on your own." essentially, it's commentary from, a guide while on a bus trip to paris, then they drop you off in a central location and you explore on your own. the guide gives you a meeting time for the return bus. i have no experience with this for paris, but i did do it in brussels, where, similarly, NCL's port is not in the city, but in a city a few hours away.

[ColdCruise]

I would do as @debenson0723suggest in post #5. Nix NCL’s air. Spend 2 full days in London then go to Paris for a couple days. Seems this would be 5 days post cruise 2 London 1 travel 2 Paris with late flight from Paris. CDG is  a good way outside Paris but can be reached by public transit.
 

If you decide to do this, I’d suggest putting together your planned island itinerary & timeline, then post on the appropriate forums in Trip Advisor. I’ve had great luck with the feedback on my proposed itinerary, tweaking them and sometimes some suggests something else I’ve what I’d planned (eg megaliths in France en route to Chartres).

 

alternately, if you can’t spare the time, when you’re at Le Havre a visit to the D Day battlefields would be highly recommended if that interests you. I’d go with that over the 2-3 hours each way to Paris. We used D Day Battle Tours - excellent operation! we focused on the US sector,,but they also do the Canadian and British beaches. 
 

But if you opt for Paris, stick with the NCL excursion- there was a cruise earlier this year that left people behind because of a snafu with traffic getting back to port. Search cruise critic for the thread. 

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@LongIsland-Cruiser

 

#2 by a long shot having checked in your bags at the airport first.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Anoynmous Phoenix

[complawyer]

i dont mean to rain on your parade, but last year we were on the ncl from southampton with the 1st port being paris. while the excursion says 9 hrs, le harve is about 3 hrs away from paris itself, do figure 3 hrs there/3 hrs back, and your 9 hr excursion is cut down to 6 hrs. you're 100% right, i wanted more time in paris, but seeing the eiffel tower was on my bucket list, so at least that was accomplished .

 

if one of the ports onyour cruise is bruge, we took a cab from the port and had the driver take us around. it was a beautiful city, and we loved it.

[mking8288]

Good & useful info shared here, but ... what about the CC roll call for these TA, folks not networking there and getting mileage out of them ???  Aren't we missing or leaving other Prima cruisers sailing the TA out in the cold.  Maybe, cross-link this (just a suggestion, of course.)  

 

Just spotted another related thread - 

 

[ColdCruise]

On 12/20/2023 at 10:41 AM, mking8288 said:

Good & useful info shared here, but ... what about the CC roll call for these TA, folks not networking there and getting mileage out of them ???  Aren't we missing or leaving other Prima cruisers sailing the TA out in the cold.  Maybe, cross-link this (just a suggestion, of course.)  

 

Just spotted another related thread - 

 

@mking8288

All valid points. There may also be value in posting or reading the port stop threads.

 

OTOH maybe no one on the roll call has experience or interest in the OP’s proposed travels or the OP is trying to broaden the base for input? Some roll calls are way more active early on and sadly some never get past a couple pages….

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all travelers today (IRL and armchair alike), 🎄

[GreenFamily]

What a fun problem to have!
 

I would choose Option 1 with more days in London. Book your own flight home. 
 

London is a huge place with so many amazing sights. There’s no way you can see it in half a day. 
 

If you choose option 2, prepare for rail strikes, especially in May. Have a contingency plan. 
 

Since you speak the language in England, it will be easy to catch the double decker bus (fun!) or subway to all the famous attractions. 

 

Here are my favorite things to do:

1. Tour of Westminster Abbey that includes Parliament. Reserve in advance. Love this! 
2. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. - take a free morning walking tour (pay with tips) that includes this ceremony to get the most out of your day. 

3. Tower of London to see where Elizabeth I was imprisoned, where Anne Boleyn lost her head, and the Crown Jewels.

4. The British Museum 

5. The London Legal walking tour

6. The Tate Britain (not Tate Modern). Research pre raphaelite painters and watch the movie Effie Gray. Love this! 
7. A play at the outdoor theater in Regents Park (reserve in advance). Love this!!
6. Shopping on Oxford St.

 

If you have time for a day trip. It’s easy to travel by train to Bath, the most beautiful town in England in my opinion. The hop on hop off bus has an option to go into the Cotswolds. 
 

Windsor is another great day trip. I believe you need to book the castle tour in advance. It’s interesting to see how the royals live. 
 

I hope this helps.