Blacklane in the UK

[Fletcher]

I have an upcoming 37-day cruise and have booked the Long Stay carpark at Heathrow Terminal 5 for £370.  I live 120 miles from the airport.

 

Before Silversea sent me the link to Blacklane I did a dry-run with Blacklane to see what they might charge me as a regular non-Silversea booking.  For two people it was £350 each way.  So £700 or thereabouts in total.

 

Silversea have now sent me the link to Blacklane and I was first surprised to find we had to book as two separate people.  Not per car.  This was a bit laborious.  They wanted to charge us £160 per person each way, so a total of £640, meaning that Silversea’s contribution to our fare was about £60 or £30 each way or £15 per person.

 

Not a good deal.  With Silversea’s £150 refund my car park bill has reduced to £220.  That’s a good deal.  And I don’t have to stress that the driver won’t show up.

[Mayflower1]

Good Afternoon Fletcher - I too discovered that this ' Luxury Benefit ' really only works if you live within apprx 50miles of Airport/Port. I have a Southampton Round Trip Cruise pending and the Blacklane Add On is far more than I will be charged by my usual Executive Level Provider.

Edited March 18 by Mayflower1
word left out

[Pies4u]

That sounds odd - and excessive. I was quoted a similar price as our normal exec limo provider to go from Nottingham to Heathrow when I enquired last year. That was not an inclusive deal, it was just a direct enquiry - £300 each way. (Our normal firm are slightly cheaper tbh & they are top class, reliable and look after us very well).
 

We’ve got a Blacklane incl “door to door” job for Nott’m to Birmingham in 2026 & I believe we will be charged for a couple of miles on each trip as it is about a 52/53 mile trip.
 

I thought they might waive a fee as it is so marginal - so I’ll have to wait to see what they charge at the time. I was told it would be minimal but I’m not convinced based upon Fletcher’s figures.

[MBP&O2/O]

I tried mock booking with them. Two adults with three cases. The 'basic limo' was classified as too small so an upgrade in size was required .... at double the price.

I think not 😁

I remember someone pointing out that pre D2D they suddenly offered a 'free' limo service. Coincidentally the prices of the few cruises it was offered on increased by £200?

If you did not want the service they offered a 'refund' of £100.

Taking the Mickley is a polite interpretation 🙂

[Salbags58]

17 hours ago, Pies4u said:

That sounds odd - and excessive. I was quoted a similar price as our normal exec limo provider to go from Nottingham to Heathrow when I enquired last year. That was not an inclusive deal, it was just a direct enquiry - £300 each way. (Our normal firm are slightly cheaper tbh & they are top class, reliable and look after us very well).
 

We’ve got a Blacklane incl “door to door” job for Nott’m to Birmingham in 2026 & I believe we will be charged for a couple of miles on each trip as it is about a 52/53 mile trip.
 

I thought they might waive a fee as it is so marginal - so I’ll have to wait to see what they charge at the time. I was told it would be minimal but I’m not convinced based upon Fletcher’s figures.

We are 7 miles outside the 50 on our Heathrow transfer and they have charged us £3.87 going and £6,34 coming back, not sure why there is a differential, but does seem rather petty to charge such a small amount anyway 

[Pies4u]

Many thanks - that’s helpful to know.

[Looking 4Answers]

Slightly off-topic for those of you in the UK as I'm in the U.S., but I just tried to book our Blacklane transfers and got a pop-up stating "We don't offer service in your area." Apparently Cleveland, Ohio is too far off the beaten track? Anyway, Silversea promptly refunded $200 (give or take £158), which "might" cover an Uber both ways, but certainly not a Town Car. Since we need a 4:30 am pickup we'll do as others have and park at the airport - I don't trust ANYONE to be here at 4:30 on a Sunday morning.

[Ovener]

My first time with Silversea and trying to book Door to Door with Blacklane. I’m 65 miles from Heathrow. The Blacklane app/site couldn’t recognise my address (it’s a normal postal address recognised by every other app, not a difficult one). Couldn’t get any further than that. The website didn’t say out of range. Given the pain in the **** of spending two hours trying to get a booking and failing, all the negative reviews of booking with Blacklane, the extra cost, and Silversea’s contractual refusal to accept responsibility for their delays, I’ve gone for the £150 refund and paid for £200 parking at Heathrow. More peace of mind. BTW I couldn’t book my cabin without Door to Door.  Come on Silversea, this isn’t luxury and not a good start. 

[RetiredOnVacation]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:58 AM, Salbags58 said:

We are 7 miles outside the 50 on our Heathrow transfer and they have charged us £3.87 going and £6,34 coming back, not sure why there is a differential, but does seem rather petty to charge such a small amount anyway 

I wonder how they measure the 50 mile limit - straight line, most direct route, route avoiding tolls, live traffic avoidance at the time the booking is made .....?? Do they say anywhere? 

[RetiredOnVacation]

On 3/18/2024 at 7:05 PM, MBP&O2/O said:

I tried mock booking with them. Two adults with three cases. The 'basic limo' was classified as too small so an upgrade in size was required .... at double the price.

I think not 😁

I remember someone pointing out that pre D2D they suddenly offered a 'free' limo service. Coincidentally the prices of the few cruises it was offered on increased by £200?

If you did not want the service they offered a 'refund' of £100.

Taking the Mickley is a polite interpretation 🙂

I guess I just assumed that the contract would include vehicles of sufficient size for the number of people on the booking plus bags - and you're unlikely to be travelling light for a cruise even with the more relaxed dress code! So amazing to hear the standard is a basic limo (even if it's a merc e or s class) 

 

We always took the limo credit off the old D2D fare, even being well within 50 miles of LHR.  Think we'll stick to the new P2P for here on in!