July 2015 - 5 Days in London before Celebrity Eclipse

I'm going to start my trip report/review here and then continue on the Celebrity board when I get to the part where we actually board the ship.

We are an extended family of 8: Four of us are from Texas -- dh Paul (fifty-something); me (also fifty-something); Stephanie, newly minted 18 year old adult; Rachel, 15. Also David and Norene, Paul's parents from California, in their 70s; his brother Brian, 47; Norene's brother, Dale, 80.

Our flight left DFW on time and we arrived at Heathrow about 6:35 a.m. I had hired a car service to pick us up, asking them to arrive an hour after our flight landed. They said they would wait one and a half hours after we landed (they monitor the flight). Every minute after that was a certain amount. We had prepaid online. I had never landed at LHR before and I did not count on the huge line through immigration. By the time we got to the exit, I looked all over, no sign with my name on it. The comany sent an email just minutes before "NO SHOW." I did not have my phone on but one of the nice people at one of the counters called the company and they said sorry, if you want the driver to return you have to pay cash. I HAD ALREADY PAID. (My phone does not show any missed calls or voicemails.)

So, there we were with 8 people, extremely tired after a red-eye flight and no way to get to our hotel in the Bayswater area. Paul, the girls and I asked the info desk what our options were. They said Heathrow Express or the Tube. We walked down the ramp and met the ticket guy for Heathrow Express and he said it was £68 so we took it. We were so tired and mad about the driver. The ride was smooth and easy to Paddington Station. We each had a large suitcase and a duffel bag and I said it's only 15 minutes (per Google maps) so we walked to our hotel, The London House Hotel. It took about 30 minutes. Boy were we really tired by then.

Norene, David, Brian and Dale opted for a taxi. They needed two black cabs, they said it cost them about £150.

We got to our hotel, London House Hotel, and left our luggage.

We booked London House Hotel because it was one of the only hotel rooms I could find in London that would allow four people. We had one double bed and two singles. The hotel faces Kensington Gardens Square and is five minutes from the Bayswater Tube station. Breakfast is optional but there are plenty of places to eat nearby.

On our first morning in London, we walked to an Italian restaurant for lunch, not realizing it was actually breakfast time. I had HOT tea and a cherry-almond pastry, everyone else had breakfast items. We returned to the hotel and were able to check in.

After lunch David, Paul and I walked to Paddington to get travel cards for the week which will let us get two-for-one at some of the attractions. The rail clerk's name was Chris and he was very friendly and helpful. We had to bring British passport sized photos (size matters but quality does not) which Chris adhered to ID cards. With our ID cards and a 7 day train pass, we were able to take advantage of some of the admissions. I think we about broke even. If you were really diligent about it, you could save a lot of money.

If you are interested in this deal, check out http://www.londontoolkit.com/blog/transport/2-for-1-london-pass-with-travelcards-train-tickets/

We walked around the Bayswater area, trying to stay awake until our normal bedtimes although we had had no sleep in over 24 hours.

Dinner was at the Prince Albert pub.

I had cottage pie and the others had fish and chips.

After dinner, Paul, Rachel and I walked to Kensington Gardens.

We walked through the Princess Diana play area, past the carousel, and peeked at the formal gardens. We walked down the road behind the park with many large house and embassies. We planned to return later in the week but for now we were ready for bed.

Our flight left DFW on time and we arrived at Heathrow about 6:35 a.m. I had hired a car service to pick us up, asking them to arrive an hour after our flight landed. They said they would wait one and a half hours after we landed (they monitor the flight). Every minute after that was a certain amount. We had prepaid online. I had never landed at LHR before and I did not count on the huge line through immigration. By the time we got to the exit, I looked all over, no sign with my name on it. The comany sent an email just minutes before "NO SHOW." I did not have my phone on but one of the nice people at one of the counters called the company and they said sorry, if you want the driver to return you have to pay cash. I HAD ALREADY PAID. (My phone does not show any missed calls or voicemails.)

So very sorry about your arrival and transportation issues.

You write "by the time we got to the exit..." How much time were you beyond the 90 minutes you'd set as your pick up time? Was there a limit to the wait time beyond the agreed upon pick-up time. Were you within our beyond 30 minutes or whatever limit your car set? (I picked 30 minutes since that was the amount of chargeable wait time for our car service.)

I notice that you did not name the company. Any reason you're not sharing this information?

Great job, Texasgirl. Looking forward to the next installment! I also want to know the name of the car hire company to warn others away from them.

Enjoyed reading your review, looking forward to more.

How long was your wait at immigration? We are arriving on August 7 at 6:30am, terminal 2. We have tickets for the National Express for 9:50am.

Thanks so much for posting the pictures and review. In May, we flew from BOS to LHR, overnight on BA arriving shortly after 9:AM, and were amazed at how quickly we cleared arrival. Since we had hotel reservations very close to Paddington, we got our tickets at 10:AM and were at Paddington Station by 10:30AM. Once never knows what the lines will be like upon arrival - I've been in a few very long ones and based on experience, always take LHR Express.

The Bayswater area is a great location. We stayed at the Park Grand Paddington and found so many great restaurants were in the area, close to Kensington where we enjoyed the afternoon.

So much to see and do, and not enough time to do it all.

Darcy

So very sorry about your arrival and transportation issues.

 

You write "by the time we got to the exit..." How much time were you beyond the 90 minutes you'd set as your pick up time? Was there a limit to the wait time beyond the agreed upon pick-up time. Were you within our beyond 30 minutes or whatever limit your car set? (I picked 30 minutes since that was the amount of chargeable wait time for our car service.)

 

I notice that you did not name the company. Any reason you're not sharing this information?

The company was Exclusive Airports. I had set a 1 hour beyond the landing time, and they stated they would wait an additional 30 minutes, and any time beyond that would be charged at a flat rate per minute. I don't think we could have been more than 5 or 10 minutes beyond the 90 minute window. The initial landing time was 6:50, which was what I put in my request, but the plane landed at 6:38, and they began counting from then.

Since they already had been paid, I would thought they would wait a little more (there were plenty of drivers still waiting) and charge me the extra minutes. The driver could not have left the parking lot by the time I called them but they refused to return unless I paid again, IN CASH.

Since it was my first time at LHR, I did not know immigration would take that long, so that's on me, I should have said 90 minutes after landing. But I would never pay in advance again. I guess it's a lesson learned.

Day Two

Our hotel made reservations for us with the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off bus and gave us vouchers after giving the company our credit card number. We walked a few blocks to Cote, I guess it's a franchise? It had good reviews on Yelp and indeed was very good. Several had "crepe complete" which was a whole wheat crepe with bacon and eggs in the center and the edges pulled up. Just tea and a croissant for me -- I really like how they give you a whole tea pot in England, not a little stainless steel container with a tea bag as we get in the States.

The waiter gave us directions to the nearest HOHO stop. We took a city bus (our 7 day travel card was good for the Tube or the city bus) to the stop he had indicated. We wandered around a bit looking for the HOHO bus stop and eventually got on after leading the group down the block, across the street, back the other way, and back to the original corner.

We saw many of the famous London sights and stopped for lunch at an Italian restaurant near Cleopatra's needle. I had the special -- salad and margarita pizza. Back in the bus until we got to Buckingham Palace, this was the highlight for the girls!

Back on the bus and finally got off at our first point of entry and walked back to the hotel.

It was a full day but a good day, especially for Brian and Dale who don't manage walking as well (but there is still a considerable amount of walking). I managed to get a sunburn with the intermittent sun and the wind on the top of the bus (who comes to London and gets a SUNBURN???)

Enjoyed reading your review, looking forward to more.

 

How long was your wait at immigration? We are arriving on August 7 at 6:30am, terminal 2. We have tickets for the National Express for 9:50am.

It probably took us close to 90 minutes for immigration and to collect our baggage. If your plane is on time, you'll probably be OK, depending on how you are getting to the bus.

(BTW, I will have a National Express story at the end of my London report.)

Nice pictures..:)

I guess Exclusive Airports just lost a load of potential Cruise passenger business.

The company was Exclusive Airports. I had set a 1 hour beyond the landing time, and they stated they would wait an additional 30 minutes, and any time beyond that would be charged at a flat rate per minute. I don't think we could have been more than 5 or 10 minutes beyond the 90 minute window. The initial landing time was 6:50, which was what I put in my request, but the plane landed at 6:38, and they began counting from then.

 

 

 

Since they already had been paid, I would thought they would wait a little more (there were plenty of drivers still waiting) and charge me the extra minutes. The driver could not have left the parking lot by the time I called them but they refused to return unless I paid again, IN CASH.

 

 

 

Since it was my first time at LHR, I did not know immigration would take that long, so that's on me, I should have said 90 minutes after landing. But I would never pay in advance again. I guess it's a lesson learned.

It sounds a little harsh on you. If you'd asked them to start the clock running at 06:50 and they chose the time the plane landed (over which you had no control) then it would seem unfair.

They would *know* that is peak time for arrivals and roughly how long it would take to clear immigration. It sounds almost like they set you up to fail. If the booking conditions are under UK law, I would suggest this strongly sounds like an unfair contract term (which aren't allowed) and I'd tell my credit card company to charge it back!

I got stranded in Rio where I had the same sinking feeling as you... Long flight, foreign country, and no plaque with my name on it. So I know how you feel.

I'm sorry we didn't give you a very good welcome. If it's any help your immigration lines are just as bad for us [emoji4]. Enjoying reading the review

It probably took us close to 90 minutes for immigration and to collect our baggage. If your plane is on time, you'll probably be OK, depending on how you are getting to the bus.

 

(BTW, I will have a National Express story at the end of my London report.)

On our recent trip to London (IAD -- LHR) we took a day time flight, arriving at 9:55 PM local time. This was only the second time we've taken a day time trans-Atlantic flight. We certainly didn't love the early start of our trip for the connecting flight to IAD, but there was the compensation of somewhat shorter lines going through passport control than the early morning lines from overnight flights.

Once at LHR passport control, I'd been hearing an immigration officer calling out for people holding certain passports in our line to come to the front of the line and head over to the kiosks for UK citizens. (These were primarily calls for holders of passports in the former British Empire.) However, when we were within one or two turns on the snake still to go, I heard the official give a shout for holders of passports from Norway, the United States, and from one other country. We hustled forward and got processed faster.

This is a totally unscientific piece of information based on one experience and my memory!

Day Three

We stopped for a quick breakfast at Starbucks then to the Bayswater station for a ride to Tower Hill. More stairs and walking, then to the ticket office where we used my vouchers for 2-4-1 tickets.

We headed straight to the Jewel Tower without a line and I explained to the girls about who was who as we saw the various scepters and crowns.

Then to the Bloody Tower and walks along the walls. Lots of winding narrow stairs in the White Tower where we saw armor, coins and cannons.

Next to the medieval palace.

By the time we left, it had started to rain.

We went to Harrod's for lunch. In my mind, Harrod's was akin to Macy's in NYC. How wrong I was! We tried a couple of restaurants in the store but they were all very expensive. Lunch at the Cafe Cappuccino was reasonable, at least compared to the other venues.

Afterwards, we wandered separately--Rachel tried on some foundation make up that Grandpa bought for her. Stephanie and I went to "shoe heaven" (yes, the sign actually says that) where she found maroon Jimmy Choo shoes that seemed a bargain at £350. (Mom shakes head no.) We went to the fabulous gourmet food court and she was happy with six macarons.

We returned to the tube about 4. The strike was going to start at 6:30 and it was going to get busy very soon. The strike was called for 24 hours.

After a short rest back at the hotel, we opted for Burger King as Stephanie wanted a good old American hamburger.

Day 4

Today was the tube strike we had been warned about. I had planned to take the Free Tours by Foot tour of Soho and we needed to be at Picadilly by 10 or so. We stopped at Starbucks again, and then to the bus stop. Ha. So did about 70 other people. Bus after bus went by.

There was no way we were going to get a bus to our walking tour so we did Plan B -- we walked to Kensington Palace and used another 2-4-1 voucher to go inside. We had go to the gardens the first evening, but now we were able to go inside. As a bonus, we were invited on a tour focusing on the history of the gardens that was limited to 20 people twice a day. The docent told us about how each monarch who resided in the palace put his or her stamp on the landscape by planting grass, or flowers, or hedges, ripping out what their predecessor had done.

We saw a fashion exhibit with clothes from Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana as they followed or set trends.

My favorite was the Queen Victoria exhibit. She had grown up at Kensington Palace. My daughters couldn't believe she had such petite gowns as a teenager and then a rather, shall we say, robust waistline in her widowhood. I told them that's what 9 children will do to you.

As we left the gardens we had lunch at "Giraffe" and then walked a few more blocks to the Royal Albert Hall and Prince Albert Memorial. He was a very loved man. (Now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall...)

For dinner, we walked a few blocks to Loco Mexicano, a restaurant recommended by a friend back home. Since the four of us are from Texas, it's always with a grain of salt that we try a Mexican restaurant. But it was really good, so much so we came back a second night.

Day 5

Last full day in London. The girls went with their grandparents who were treating them to a ride on the London Eye, so Paul and I took advantage of being on our own to do our own exploring.

We took the Tube to Westminster to explore the Abbey. It was really a gorgeous day.

Being an Episcopalian myself, I felt like I was going to the "Mother ship" of Anglicanism. My husband was EXTREMELY disappointed that no cameras were allowed inside the abbey. As he was to say later at Windsor Castle, if he can't take photos, why bother. Sigh.

I love the diversity of this line up.

I was fascinated to be so close to history. Having read and seen movies about Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I, I was in awe to be standing next to their crypts. I hope that doesn't sound too macabre; it's just being that close to history. I could have stayed all day and read every inscription but Mr. Shutterbug was too impatient. We did get to take a few photos in the cloister and outside.

Thank you so very much for your review! Looking forward for more!

Thanks for the photos and review. I can't wait to read the rest of it.

Great review so far! Nice photos!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

After we left Westminster, we walked through Hyde Park (I think, don't quote me!) on the Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, past a pretty little cottage with flowers and ducks.

Have I mentioned yet it was pretty hot? But we continued walking and came to Trafalgar Square. Of course, we had gone past here on the HOHO bus, but there was so much more to see as you passed through on foot. Sidewalk artists and children climbing on the lions, the fountains and of course, lots of tourists just like us.

We continued on to Picadilly Circus which was very crowded with school field trips and tourists.

We walked up Regent Street to Carnaby Street. I am of the age that I can remember the whole "London Look" phase with Twiggy when Carnaby Street was a big deal.

Back on Regent Street, we stopped for some gelato.

We hopped on a bus to take us back to Picadilly where we got on the subway and headed to Tower Bridge. We had been to the Tower of London and also driven over the bridge on the HOHO bus, but I wanted to walk over it.

A great view of the newest buildings in London from the Bridge:

The Walkie Talkie, the Cheese Grater and the Gherkin (but I think it should be called the Bullet).

July 11 - Leaving London for Southampton

On Friday evening we asked the front desk to call a taxi for the four of us to take us to Victoria Coach Station on Saturday morning. My inlaws planned to take the Southampton Cruise Shuttle that would pick them up at the Phoenix Hotel half a block from our hotel, and take them to the cruise terminal with one stop at Stonehenge.

I believe it cost them about 64 pounds per person, plus the entrance to Stonehenge. With the mobility issues of some in their group, this was a good option for them.

But being budget travelers and a little more adventurous, we opted to take the National Express to Southampton, which was about 14 pounds per person which included an extra bag per person. I got tickets online for the 10:30 bus, and the taxi picked us up at 9 a.m.

I believe the taxi was about 40 pounds.

We arrived at the coach station with plenty of time to spare. Be forewarned if you do this, there is very limited seating in front of the bays in the terminal, and if you need to need to use the bathroom you'll need to bring change.

We passed the time chatting with others at the terminal. I met an elderly lady who was going to visit her grandchildren. She told me how she had traveled all over the world when she was younger. My husband was talking to another person when that person mentioned passports. Paul immediately put his hand to the green shoulder bag where he keeps the passports. The bag was not there. We frantically searched through our bags -- not there. Went to the info desk to see if someone had turned it in. No. Raced to the other information desk to see if we could call our hotel to find out the name of the taxi company to find the bag. The gentleman at the desk was very nice (and calm) and called the hotel for us.

The hotel clerk told us the bag was still there. We asked them to put it in a taxi and send to the coach station, and please hurry as our bus left in 30 minutes. Paul went outside to wait for the taxi. In 20 minutes, still no taxi and he told me to go to the ticket office to see if I could exchange for a later bus. In the meantime, the taxi driver was looking for us! Finally, Paul spotted him and got the bag with the passports. Whew!

As luck would have it, traffic was making the bus from Southampton late, and instead of leaving at 10:30, it was closer to 11:15 and we were able to get on it after all.

Traffic out of London and to Southampton was very heavy; the bus arrived about 2:30, or two hours late. The bus left us at the station, which is not that far from the cruise terminal but too far to walk. We lined up for the taxi, which was pretty quick as they only had to make a short loop. The taxi was less than 10 pounds.

So, if you decide to take the National Express, I still think it's a good alternative, just maybe an earlier one. It did save us money, even with the taxi at both ends (not counting the taxi that rescued our passports).

I'll continue my trip report on the Celebrity board. Thank you for reading.

JoAnn

Heart stopping review!

Your first and last day in London have given me a change of mind as far as transportation goes. Thank you for posting your experiences. ;)

As for getting to Southampton from London, I believe DH and I will pay just $80 more (after adding up your cost to do the National route) and get transportation via private driver and go straight from our hotel to the port. :D Of course, there are only 2 of us versus the 4 of you. A larger transport van would cost more.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review on Celebrity. :)

Thanks for sharing your review and photos.

Heart stopping review!

 

Your first and last day in London have given me a change of mind as far as transportation goes. Thank you for posting your experiences. ;)

 

As for getting to Southampton from London, I believe DH and I will pay just $80 more (after adding up your cost to do the National route) and get transportation via private driver and go straight from our hotel to the port. :D Of course, there are only 2 of us versus the 4 of you. A larger transport van would cost more.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review on Celebrity. :)

We took the National Express from London to Southampton for the same cruise as the OP, but we went a day ahead of time as we wanted to take in the local museum. The bus worked out so well that we cancelled our return bus excursion through the ship which stopped at Stonehenge and took the National Express bus back to Heathrow with no trouble at all and saved ourselves quite a bit of money. Traffic leaving London can be quite heavy so booking an earlier bus vs. a later one wouled be my advice. We didn't know that the last admittance to the museum was 3:30 so, while we could have made a mad dash to see it, we headed for the mall at a more leisurely pace.

Dianne

We took the National Express from London to Southampton for the same cruise as the OP, but we went a day ahead of time as we wanted to take in the local museum. The bus worked out so well that we cancelled our return bus excursion through the ship which stopped at Stonehenge and took the National Express bus back to Heathrow with no trouble at all and saved ourselves quite a bit of money. Traffic leaving London can be quite heavy so booking an earlier bus vs. a later one wouled be my advice. We didn't know that the last admittance to the museum was 3:30 so, while we could have made a mad dash to see it, we headed for the mall at a more leisurely pace.

 

Dianne

Hi Dianne!

I think the entire experience should be titled: "Everything is Easy Once You Know How" or "What I Learned on My Summer Vacation." I still think the National Express is a real money saver -- but if I did it all over again I would go earlier in the day (and not forget the passports).

JoAnn

The company was Exclusive Airports. I had set a 1 hour beyond the landing time, and they stated they would wait an additional 30 minutes, and any time beyond that would be charged at a flat rate per minute. I don't think we could have been more than 5 or 10 minutes beyond the 90 minute window. The initial landing time was 6:50, which was what I put in my request, but the plane landed at 6:38, and they began counting from then.

 

Since they already had been paid, I would thought they would wait a little more (there were plenty of drivers still waiting) and charge me the extra minutes. The driver could not have left the parking lot by the time I called them but they refused to return unless I paid again, IN CASH.

 

Since it was my first time at LHR, I did not know immigration would take that long, so that's on me, I should have said 90 minutes after landing. But I would never pay in advance again. I guess it's a lesson learned.

So they timed it to the minute then left, such service ! They knew baggage etc can take a while but nevertheless they left right on the dot. What a welcome. Basically they stole your money:eek:

You should dispute the charge and file a complaint with the appropriate tourist boards and don't forget TripAdvisor. Good luck:)