London Travel Agents

[SubmarineMark]

Would like to ask if anyone has worked with a London Travel Agent. I’m going nuts trying to find a reasonable Hotel ($300), any transfers to the hotel if the hotel does not have a shuttle. My wife has difficulty walking. Then would like to tour London on the day we arrive. We used the cruise line for flights so no info yet! And last transfers from hotel to Southampton cruise port with a company that can take 4 large pieces of luggage. Again reasonable, $150-225 total. I was thinking that a local agent may have the a better understanding than I can find. I have reviewed other posts, but still can be overwhelming. We will be traveling 21 Jun 24, arriving London on 22Jun24 and heading to cruise port on 23Jun24. Thank you for any help.

[SubmarineMark]

Thank you, really just hoping to see if people do recommend a travel Agent from London not specific one. Sorry

[leaveitallbehind]

I would always suggest using a TA in situations such as yours.  I guess just google UK based TA's to see what options you find.

[SubmarineMark]

Thank you

[leaveitallbehind]

To add, a good US based TA should also be able to assist with UK based hotels, etc.

[mom says]

Hotels in London- look at booking.com. you can filter for price and location among other things. Or look at the Premier Inns chain. It's a UK chain of hotels that are reputable and of quite consistent quality. Similar to a Holiday Inn in the US.

 

Transportation from airport to Hotel. I seriously doubt that you will find any London hotel with shuttles to/from LHR. Have a look at the POC forum:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/  

 

City tour on arrival day. Check TripAdvisor.  There are a couple of different HOHO bus companies.

 

Transfers from London to Southampton- same forum as above. There's an entire sticky devoted to the subject.

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, SubmarineMark said:

I’m going nuts trying to find a reasonable Hotel ($300), any transfers to the hotel if the hotel does not have a shuttle. ... And last transfers from hotel to Southampton cruise port with a company that can take 4 large pieces of luggage. Again reasonable, $150-225 total.

 

My first impression from these figures is that you may simply have to adjust your expectations of what is reasonable.

 

London hotels are just really expensive at present. No hotels have shuttles from Heathrow (assuming that's the airport you're likely to fly to); they are banned by the airport.

So far as the transfer is concerned, the cost is exacerbated by the fact that Southampton is a long way away from London.

 

Otherwise, I would echo CruiserBruce's advice: there is a lot of information about all of this on this board already.

[markeb]

I'm concerned that your price point is unrealistic, but you might get lucky.

 

As others have said, there are frequent (constant?) discussions on where to stay. Convenience versus cost...

 

A good starting point is the London Toolkit, https://www.londontoolkit.com/.  You might peruse there for information. You don't have much time in London, so you're probably going to have to trade time for money. I'd be inclined to look at hotels on the Southbank near Waterloo. But it's all a matter of price:convenience, always considering your time. With the added challenges of mobility you're describing. And convenient for seeing a bit of London in your limited time may not be as convenient for getting to Southampton. Doable, I think, but maybe not easy, and maybe not at the cost you're hoping for...

[Cotswold Eagle]

Hi, Mark.  There is a collective groan on this board when the word ‘reasonable’ is used, particularly when followed by US dollar amounts that appear to have been plucked out of the air!  You’ll have got the message - stop chasing unicorns and deal with the realities of the post-pandemic London market 😀
 

Your most pressing need is a hotel room on a Saturday night (some hotels may have minimum 2 nights at weekends for their best rates) in high season in one of the most expensive cities on the planet. The Premier Inn chain was mentioned on your post on a different board. They are a large chain, with a very consistent product. No frills, but often with a bar and restaurant attached.
 

Some people still think of them as ‘budget’ - I regard them as very price sensitive, with dynamic rates that reflect demand, and even if I’m not intending to stay in one (although I frequently do for a one night stay) I always check their rates, as it helps me to set expectations. Thier cheapest pre-pay rates are fully refundable up to 28:days prior, so I also think about locking in a rate and then looking for other deals with the pressure off! (Using a foreign card, you will lose a little on fees and exchange, but it may be a price worth paying for flexibility). 
 

One of their properties frequently mentioned here, London Waterloo (Westminster Bridge), is available on that basis now for £232 (around $296) on 22 June. Many people would balk at that - a few years ago it would be a ludicrous amount for a Premier Inn room - but to me it indicates that your $300 target is very challenging for anything higher end. 

Edited January 12 by Cotswold Eagle

[Cotswold Eagle]

I’d also urge you to have a hard think about what you are seeking to achieve by staying in London for one night.  As I understand it, you are flying overnight, so by the time you get into town from Heathrow (that’s a transfer that will take an hour or so, and you’ll have immigration and baggage collection to clear first) it’s likely to be late morning. You’ll need an early check-in to your hotel in if you want to freshen up, of course. That only gives you a few hours to “tour London” (whatever that means), whilst dealing with travel fatigue and several time zones worth of jet lag. 

Edited January 12 by Cotswold Eagle

[Harters]

8 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Many people would balk at that - a few years ago it would be a ludicrous amount for a Premier Inn room -

Your comment prompted me to look at my usual London PI (Euston), which I've not stayed since pre-pandemic. For the night of 22/6, it's £248 which I would very much have a sharp intake of breath over. It used to be around £150.

[SubmarineMark]

Thank you everyone, we have decided on a hotel in London center close to a hop on hop off station, and are staying two nights so we don’t feel rushed. Great insight from everyone.

[Cotswold Eagle]

21 hours ago, Harters said:

Your comment prompted me to look at my usual London PI (Euston), which I've not stayed since pre-pandemic. For the night of 22/6, it's £248 which I would very much have a sharp intake of breath over. It used to be around £150.

PI's quarterly financial update got some press coverage the other day and although the headlines were about the 'Taylor Swift effect' I noticed this: 

 

Revenue per available room (revpar) — a key industry metric — rose by 9 per cent, or 39 per cent, compared with pre-Covid trading, with high occupancy and strong pricing.

 

That's a huge shift from pre-pandemic. Obviously their cost base has risen significantly too, but I suspect we will continue to see some PI rooms regularly well over £200, because they can sell them at that price point. That said, I'm staying at PI Heathrow T4 next month for £56 🙂 

[Cotswold Eagle]

19 hours ago, SubmarineMark said:

Thank you everyone, we have decided on a hotel in London center close to a hop on hop off station, and are staying two nights so we don’t feel rushed. Great insight from everyone.

That seem sensible and I hope you have a great time. Please come back if you have. questions about your time in London (but be prepared for a million opinions - it's a big place and so much to see and do!) 

[fruitmachine]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:28 PM, SubmarineMark said:

Thank you, really just hoping to see if people do recommend a travel Agent from London not specific one. Sorry

I doubt a UK Travel agent would get 10% commission of this, and it may be much less or even zero. For a one-night stay, I don't think you'll get the time of day from them.

 

If you're prepared to pay them an hourly rate rather than be commission based, then there may be some out there - but be aware that many (perhaps most) UK travel agents are not small or one-man businesses.  In order to provide the financial backing that our regulations require, they are either large corporations or members of large networks that will take their cut. 

 

A concierge service may be what you need, but I suspect they'd cost the same again as your overnight budget!  For the sort of small thing you're considering, the vast majority of people here will DIY book.

[John Bull]

Hi, Mark, and a belated welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

 

Firstly you should be aware that you will have little time, and after a red-eye flight perhaps little inclination, to explore London.

Even with an early-morning arrival it'll be lunchtime before you get to central London. And no time next morning before you head to Southampton to check-in for your cruise.

So it'll be an overly-brief visit - an afternoon and (if you're still up to it) an evening..

 

Sadly, for your logistics I can do little better than to agree with other posters.

You are very unlikely to find a T/A willing to book your hotel & transfers for your one day stay in London - and if you did find one you'd be paying well over the odds.

 

The answer is to book the separate elements yourselves - but that's not as daunting as you might think.

Choices of hotel, transfer to Southampton, etc will be inter-dependent - and dependent on your arrival airport.

 

Transfer from your London airport to a central London hotel.

You need to find out from the cruise line at least which London airport you will arrive, Heathrow (LHR) or Gatwick (LGW) . If you fly from Boston it's likely to be LHR or from New York it could be either. If the cruise line books indirect flights there are a couple more airports which serve London.

Central London hotels won't offer a shuttle - perhaps one would suggest a private transfer operator for you, but you'd do better to avoid that extra cog in the arrangements.    

 

Hotel

For a one night stay you should consider an airport hotel.

An airport hotel attached to your airport terminal or a taxi from the rank to a nearby hotel would save precious time (but for driving to central London you nee a pre-boked car because a taxi from the rank would be extremely expensive) . This will allow you to leave your bags at the hotel and use the train or the Tube or the (much slower) bus into central London - all of these options are much cheaper than a private transfer. And airport hotels are much cheaper than those in central London.

Next morning for your transfer to your ship in Southampton you could consider a pre-booked direct National Express bus (from LHR) or a direct train (from LGW), or your cruiseline's transfer bus or a pre-booked car from either. A pre-booked car from ether airport would be quite a lot cheaper than one from central London.

The savings on hotel & transfers might even be enough for you to splash out on a private tour of London.

 

But if you want a hotel in central London ...............

you need to choose a location that is convenient to the sights and to a ho-ho bus, and - unless you choose a private transfer next morning - one that is convenient for travel to Southampton.

You can't choose one that's convenient to your airport unless you know at which airport you'll be arriving !!!! And if you wait until the cruise line tells you, the choice of available hotels will fall and the prices will rise.

 

I suggest either

 

- around London Waterloo / Westminster Bridge. Ho-ho bus from near the London Eye, lots of sights (eg Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill's War Rooms, Horse Guards Parade) in walking distance, and frequent direct trains to Southampton (if you choose this location, post back and we can tell you how to get train tickets for as little as £10 instead of the walk-up price of around £50). 

But this is quite an expensive area, mainly large international chain hotels.

 

- or in London Victoria. On the same ho-ho route, a few local sights (eg Buckingham Palace), direct National Express buses from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton for as little as £8 or cruise line's transfer bus from the same coach station for significantly more money.
A wide range of hotels & prices.  

 

Follow @mom says suggestions of booking.com, a very useful site with lots of photos, verified reviews,  information, map, etc

And check out https://www.londontoolkit.com/ which gives some great logistical info for visitors.

 

Pour yourself a large drink, read again, and & check out those websites.

 

JB 🙂

[John Bull]

A further thought to maximise your sight-seeing in your limited time by taking a shared tour-transfer from your central London or Heathrow hotel to your ship on the morning of your sailing.

 

International Friends, a long-established & reputable coach tour operator, offers shared coach tour-transfers with a guide from central London hotels and LHR hotels to ships in Southampton with a choice of visiting Windsor Castle or Stonehenge (my choice would be Windsor Castle) en-route.

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html

 

Often recommended by Cruise Critic members, available for most cruises, and scheduled to arrive at your cruise terminal in good time to register.

If your hotel isn't listed, a short walk or taxi hop to the nearest listed hotel.

The coach is specifically for those on your cruise, and takes you to your cruise terminal.

Driver loads & unloads luggage.

Not available for hotels at LGW airport, and their direct private and shared van transfers aren't great value 

 

JB 🙂

 

[gnome12]

Just a reminder that in post 15 the OP has decided to stay 2 nights in Central London, giving them an afternoon, evening - maybe, and then a full day before transferring to Southampton for the cruise.

[SubmarineMark]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Hi, Mark, and a belated welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

 

Firstly you should be aware that you will have little time, and after a red-eye flight perhaps little inclination, to explore London.

Even with an early-morning arrival it'll be lunchtime before you get to central London. And no time next morning before you head to Southampton to check-in for your cruise.

So it'll be an overly-brief visit - an afternoon and (if you're still up to it) an evening..

 

Sadly, for your logistics I can do little better than to agree with other posters.

You are very unlikely to find a T/A willing to book your hotel & transfers for your one day stay in London - and if you did find one you'd be paying well over the odds.

 

The answer is to book the separate elements yourselves - but that's not as daunting as you might think.

Choices of hotel, transfer to Southampton, etc will be inter-dependent - and dependent on your arrival airport.

 

Transfer from your London airport to a central London hotel.

You need to find out from the cruise line at least which London airport you will arrive, Heathrow (LHR) or Gatwick (LGW) . If you fly from Boston it's likely to be LHR or from New York it could be either. If the cruise line books indirect flights there are a couple more airports which serve London.

Central London hotels won't offer a shuttle - perhaps one would suggest a private transfer operator for you, but you'd do better to avoid that extra cog in the arrangements.    

 

Hotel

For a one night stay you should consider an airport hotel.

An airport hotel attached to your airport terminal or a taxi from the rank to a nearby hotel would save precious time (but for driving to central London you nee a pre-boked car because a taxi from the rank would be extremely expensive) . This will allow you to leave your bags at the hotel and use the train or the Tube or the (much slower) bus into central London - all of these options are much cheaper than a private transfer. And airport hotels are much cheaper than those in central London.

Next morning for your transfer to your ship in Southampton you could consider a pre-booked direct National Express bus (from LHR) or a direct train (from LGW), or your cruiseline's transfer bus or a pre-booked car from either. A pre-booked car from ether airport would be quite a lot cheaper than one from central London.

The savings on hotel & transfers might even be enough for you to splash out on a private tour of London.

 

But if you want a hotel in central London ...............

you need to choose a location that is convenient to the sights and to a ho-ho bus, and - unless you choose a private transfer next morning - one that is convenient for travel to Southampton.

You can't choose one that's convenient to your airport unless you know at which airport you'll be arriving !!!! And if you wait until the cruise line tells you, the choice of available hotels will fall and the prices will rise.

 

I suggest either

 

- around London Waterloo / Westminster Bridge. Ho-ho bus from near the London Eye, lots of sights (eg Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill's War Rooms, Horse Guards Parade) in walking distance, and frequent direct trains to Southampton (if you choose this location, post back and we can tell you how to get train tickets for as little as £10 instead of the walk-up price of around £50). 

But this is quite an expensive area, mainly large international chain hotels.

 

- or in London Victoria. On the same ho-ho route, a few local sights (eg Buckingham Palace), direct National Express buses from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton for as little as £8 or cruise line's transfer bus from the same coach station for significantly more money.
A wide range of hotels & prices.  

 

Follow @mom says suggestions of booking.com, a very useful site with lots of photos, verified reviews,  information, map, etc

And check out https://www.londontoolkit.com/ which gives some great logistical info for visitors.

 

Pour yourself a large drink, read again, and & check out those websites.

 

JB 🙂

Thank you JB for the honest and detailed reply.