Tour London pre-cruise questions...

[oceanbear]

I thought I would mention a few things that I didn’t see mentioned. Sorry if I repeat something that was previously mentioned.

 

1. The day you fly in from the US you will probably very tired, especially if you started your journey on the west coast. I found that if I arrive in the morning, I can store my luggage at the hotel, if they don’t allow early check-in, and spend the rest of the day with some “easy” touring, then end with an early dinner and crash back at the hotel. I get up early next day to give it my all touring London.

 

2. Pickup or print out a bus map. Riding the buses is much more scenic, and easier and cheaper than the Tube for short distances. The Tube is faster for the longer distances. http://www.tfl.gov.uk

 

3. Buy an “AtoZ” map book. The best investment you can make. You can use it again and again as central London streets don’t seem to ever change.

 

4. “Expensive Dining” has been mentioned, and is very true. Meals are much more expensive, especially if you are not from another high priced city like NYC. The suggestions for takeout and picnics are very weather dependent, and London weather is often uncooperative. Another option to relatively inexpensive pub food and ethnic restaurants is the famous “Fish & Chips”. If you like fried food, this is not to be missed. It can be delicious and relatively inexpensive if purchased at a true “Chippery”, not at a restaurant. Ask the locals for the best in the area.

 

5. No matter the season, don’t forget your umbrella.

 

Dennis

[Kathie44]

I see now why I didn't see this post in June. We sailed on Jewel 6/19 for the Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords after 3 days in London. We stayed at the City Inn Westminster, even more convenient to the main sightseeing areas.

On the day we arrived, 6/16, our British friends from our first cruise met us at the hotel and after a very expensive lunch, took us on a walking tour. It was wonderful to have "native" guides showing us their beloved capital. They live in Brentwood, Essex county and came in on the train.

We saw the Houses of Parl./Big Ben (which is the name of the chime, not the clock itself), Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square where we stopped in to the basement refreshment area to cool off and rest our feet. We spent an hour in Westminster Abbey (make sure you go any day but Sunday to be able to tour) and also went inside the adjacent St. Margaret's church. We saw the horse guards practicing for the Queen's big parade the next day. We strolled through St. James Park with its beautiful flowers and waterfowl, some of which is endangered. We saw other government buildings and residences. The four hours passed quickly and we made it back to the hotel exhausted, but thrilled to have seen so much in a short time with such lovely people as guides. we were worried about them being worn out because they are older than we are, but they were worried about us because we had flown overnight without much sleep. We learned that they are much more fit than we are because they walk a lot.

As other posters have said, food in London, and anywhere we went off the ship is horrendously expensive. Whatever the number of pounds is on the menu, just double it for the $$$ value. Most of the menu was ala carte. The best deal we had was advertised on a card in our room--Scottish steak, french fries and a veg for 10 lbs, instead of just the meat and everything else 3-5 lbs more. And forget about a salad being included, or even water. Water was in a large bottle for the whole table for 4 lbs. The good thing is that breakfast was included in our package and on Sat/Sun it included hot dishes, too, although I skipped the kippers and kidneys. Some hotel guests went to the White Swan down the street to eat and said the food was good, although not cheaper.

On Saturday we went on a motorcoach tour that we had booked online through Evan-Evans, a UK tour company. It was half what RCI wanted to charge for the same tour.

We went to Leeds Castle, Canterbury and Dover--an all day trip, but really great and lots of fun. We saw the Constellation docked at Dover. A lot of those passengers had stayed at our hotel,

We had lunch at a pub in Canterbury (not included in the cost of the tour) and afternoon tea at a pub outside of Dover (included). We were picked up at our hotel and shuttled to the Victoria Coach Station to board the various buses. There were over a dozen tours running that day.

On Sunday we bought tickets from the RCI rep at our hotel for the Original Sightseeing double-decker bus, which included the boat ride. We also got tix for the London Eye--don't miss that!! It's like a huge Ferris wheel with glass enclosed capsules that hold 25 people. None of the capsules including ours had that many so it wasn't crowded at all. You get a bird's eye view of London and 25 mi in any direction. It takes about 35 min to go around. My pics through the glass came out totally clear.

First we took the bus to the Tower of London and took 3 hrs to see almost everything. The Crown Jewels are amazing, as are the torture devices.

After the Tower we had lunch at a nearby Subway, whose prices were also high. Then took the river cruise and the Eye. We got back on a bus to go to St. Paul's Cathedral, even though it was Sunday and at least got a glimpse of the interior. After that we got on another bus to go "home". Every time we changed buses we seemed to be starting over again and got sort of punchy after seeing Trafalgar Square for the umpteenth time. Then our bus pulled over and the driver announced that his run was finished and we had to go across the street to take another bus, which (you guessed it) started all over again. We finally got back to the hotel after almost 3 hrs of bus riding. We could have walked, but we all had to use the restroom and couldn't find a public toilet and were afraid to chance leaving puddles behind us because we had a hard time not laughing, lol.

All in all it was a fabulous weekend, but we were ready for the cruise on Mon. We never did ride the tube, since the hop on/hop off bus was such a good deal.

 

1/02 Explorer E. Carib.

1/03 Explorer W. Carib.

8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour

2/04 Adventure S. Carib.

2/05 Galaxy Panama Canal

6/06 Jewel Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords + 3 days in London

1/07 Mercury Mexican Riviera

[Allis154]

Has anyone used a taxi or private transport to the southampton cruise terminal.

 

We did in December 2003. Our hotel arranged it. Our driver picked us up in front of the hotel, took us to Stonehenge for a couple of hours, then on to Southampton. If I remember correctly, it was about 200 GBP. The cost depended on the size of car, which depended on the amount of luggage. When pricing before we left, I got quotes from 180 to 300 GBP, for the four hours we wanted the driver.

 

Hope this helps.

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

I have enjoyed reading your posts so much thank you so much for all of this wonderful information I am taking notes. Happy Sailing, Joy