London Airport Transport

The Mayfair is one I'd seen on CC.

It's a 20 min walk to the Civic Centre, at the top of the city centre, so not as convenient as city centre hotels.

But a quiet & perfectly acceptable location and yep, gets great reviews.

 

Nope. I'm way past coffee, and on to the shiraz :D

 

JB :)

Still too early where we are. :p

The Mayfair is one I'd seen on CC.

It's a 20 min walk to the Civic Centre, at the top of the city centre, so not as convenient as city centre hotels.

But a quiet & perfectly acceptable location and yep, gets great reviews.

 

Nope. I'm way past coffee, and on to the shiraz :D

 

JB :)

Drat! I keep messing up on the time difference.

I like a good shiraz--but prefer pinot noir myself.

Drat! I keep messing up on the time difference.

 

I like a good shiraz--but prefer pinot noir myself.

LOL

It's got nothing to do with the time-difference :D

JB :)

Does anyone have a detailed itinerary for the above trip? Thanks

No more than 20 kg, else it will be charged, but luggage "significantly in excess of 20 kg may be charged"??? Yes, or no? Our flight allows us to bring two pieces of luggage, each no more than 23 kg; I wonder if this is "significant" or not.

 

Thanks again.

There has been a 2 x 20kg per passenger ruling for some years.

2 x 20kg, as opposed to 1 x 40kg, for driver's health & safety when loading - the UK has been going through an epedemic of health & safety legislation in recent years. :rolleyes:

But the drivers aren't wimps, they've never worried about it, as long as the overall vehicle weight wasn't compromised - its their drivers's licence that's at risk.

Pretty certain they still don't carry weighing scales, & 20kg or 23 kg makes no odds. Its the significantly overweight luggage that's being targetted - it'll be charged as excess luggage (no big deal) but it may result in the passenger being obliged to wait for another bus if it affects the overall weight. The airport services are most at risk - on other Nat Express routes there's always a fair prioportion of passengers with no luggage.

The ruling change is too new to know the impact, but I'm pretty certain that 2 x 23kg plus hand baggage per person will not be a problem.:)

JB :)

As JB says there is not a lot for a tourist in Southampton. You might consider taking a 30 minute train ride to Portsmouth, for the Historic Dockyard. They have several ships you can go on - not least HMS Victory - Nelson's flaship at the Battle of Trafalgar (Oct 1805) where we trounced the combined French and Spanish fleets. This is the actual ship - not a replica.

Does anyone have a detailed itinerary for the above trip? Thanks

Hi, you two.

Sorry, missed your post.

Heathrow to Harwich by public transport means going into central London, and taking the train from Liverpool Street station to Harwich.

(It’s “Liverpool Street station”. try not to book "Liverpool station", which is hundreds of miles away ) :D.

Several options into London:

Cheapest will be the tube (London’s Underground)

From Heathrow (any terminal) take the Piccadilly line, it’s the only tube line & Heathrow is at the end of the line, so you can’t go wrong. Get off at Holborn & switch to the Central line, in the direction of Epping. This will take you to Liverpool Street station.

Very easy without luggage, but luggage will be a bit of a bind. It needs a Londoner to tell you how easy with luggage the switch of tube trains at Holborn or the exit at Liverpool St.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf

With luggage, easier options are:

- the Heathrow Express, which takes you quickly & comfortably to central London's Paddington station. From there, a taxi from the rank, about 5 miles across central London to Liverpool Street Station.

- - pre-booked private transfer Heathrow – Liverpool St station around £35 - £40 with a specialist such as http://www.simplyairports.co.uk/

From Liverpool Street station, hourly train service to Harwich, takes about 90 mins, cost about £10 to £12 per person. The train takes you right to the pier.

I believe sometimes they run special "cruise" trains on this route.

Private transfers direct to the port from Heathrow would be very expensive, but you could check out the cruise line's coach transfer.

You'd mebbe get better info from a London or Harwich local, so instead of being buried on this thread it might be worth opening a fresh question.

JB :)

Thanks John!

There has been a 2 x 20kg per passenger ruling for some years.

2 x 20kg, as opposed to 1 x 40kg, for driver's health & safety when loading - the UK has been going through an epedemic of health & safety legislation in recent years. :rolleyes:

But the drivers aren't wimps, they've never worried about it, as long as the overall vehicle weight wasn't compromised - its their drivers's licence that's at risk.

 

Pretty certain they still don't carry weighing scales, & 20kg or 23 kg makes no odds. Its the significantly overweight luggage that's being targetted - it'll be charged as excess luggage (no big deal) but it may result in the passenger being obliged to wait for another bus if it affects the overall weight. The airport services are most at risk - on other Nat Express routes there's always a fair prioportion of passengers with no luggage.

 

The ruling change is too new to know the impact, but I'm pretty certain that 2 x 23kg plus hand baggage per person will not be a problem.:)

 

JB :)

I was hoping it was a little flexible. We're not planning on taking the whole house with us, but we've gotten a little skittish after the way some US airlines weigh each bag--to the point that I've bought a small carry-on scale myself in case I have to dispute things. (Many airport scales, at least in the USA, are not all that accurate, according to some studies I've read.)

As JB says there is not a lot for a tourist in Southampton. You might consider taking a 30 minute train ride to Portsmouth, for the Historic Dockyard. They have several ships you can go on - not least HMS Victory - Nelson's flaship at the Battle of Trafalgar (Oct 1805) where we trounced the combined French and Spanish fleets. This is the actual ship - not a replica.

Thanks for the advice. A lot depends upon how much energy we have when we arrive. (We'll be getting up early the day before to take our daughter to sleepaway camp, and then coming back home to catch the flight to Heathrow the same evening.) But a quick trip to Portsmouth certainly sounds interesting.

I was hoping it was a little flexible. We're not planning on taking the whole house with us, but we've gotten a little skittish after the way some US airlines weigh each bag--to the point that I've bought a small carry-on scale myself in case I have to dispute things. (Many airport scales, at least in the USA, are not all that accurate, according to some studies I've read.)

As I mentioned, its too early to know how rigidly the new ruling will be enforced, but I very much doubt the drivers will be fussy about a few kilo's - they're not like the budget airlines.

I suspect its just the company bosses covering their backsides in case a driver sues them for injury or overloading their bus, thats the way things are going in the UK.:rolleyes:

(note all the caveats in my response - that's in case you try to sue me if you get kicked off the bus :D:D:D)

JB :)

As I mentioned, its too early to know how rigidly the new ruling will be enforced, but I very much doubt the drivers will be fussy about a few kilo's - they're not like the budget airlines.

I suspect its just the company bosses covering their backsides in case a driver sues them for injury or overloading their bus, thats the way things are going in the UK.:rolleyes:

 

(note all the caveats in my response - that's in case you try to sue me if you get kicked off the bus :D:D:D)

 

JB :)

Caveats are fine! (g) And despite what you may hear about Americans, not all of us sue everyone at the drop of a hat.

Thanks for the reassurance.

 

Hi, you two.

Sorry, missed your post.

Heathrow to Harwich by public transport means going into central London, and taking the train from Liverpool Street station to Harwich.

(It’s “Liverpool Street station”. try not to book "Liverpool station", which is hundreds of miles away ) :D.

 

Several options into London:

Cheapest will be the tube (London’s Underground)

From Heathrow (any terminal) take the Piccadilly line, it’s the only tube line & Heathrow is at the end of the line, so you can’t go wrong. Get off at Holborn & switch to the Central line, in the direction of Epping. This will take you to Liverpool Street station.

Very easy without luggage, but luggage will be a bit of a bind. It needs a Londoner to tell you how easy with luggage the switch of tube trains at Holborn or the exit at Liverpool St.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf

 

With luggage, easier options are:

- the Heathrow Express, which takes you quickly & comfortably to central London's Paddington station. From there, a taxi from the rank, about 5 miles across central London to Liverpool Street Station.

- - pre-booked private transfer Heathrow – Liverpool St station around £35 - £40 with a specialist such as http://www.simplyairports.co.uk/

 

From Liverpool Street station, hourly train service to Harwich, takes about 90 mins, cost about £10 to £12 per person. The train takes you right to the pier.

 

I believe sometimes they run special "cruise" trains on this route.

 

Private transfers direct to the port from Heathrow would be very expensive, but you could check out the cruise line's coach transfer.

 

 

You'd mebbe get better info from a London or Harwich local, so instead of being buried on this thread it might be worth opening a fresh question.

 

 

JB :)

The trains from Liverpool Street, now require a change at Manningtree (just before Harwich)

The trains from Liverpool Street, now require a change at Manningtree (just before Harwich)

Many of them used to require a change a Manningtree previously, also. When we did this in 2007, that was the most viable option--until construction closed the line and we wound up taking coaches directly to Harwich.

The trains from Liverpool Street, now require a change at Manningtree (just before Harwich)

Hi Scottbee,

I drafted my response "direct train", but deleted "direct" before posting & after checking the timetable.:confused:

Was sure it was direct, and couldn't figure if I was now reading it wrong :confused:

You've answered the question, confirming what my memory & the timetable were telling me - it was a direct service, but now there's a train change at Manningtree. But not a big deal, vaguely the same journey time. :)

Thanx for the post.

MacT - yes, I remember a big chunk of one summer was disrupted.

JB :)

There are a number of airports we could arrive in London with flights from Ireland (we don't have our Irish itinerary yet, so we haven't chosen what city we'll be leaving from yet).

We arranged for a driver & car from Heathrow to Harwich for a cruise recently. The company we used was TheAirportTransfer.com. They were superb and on time! In addition, they probably have the best rates for such transfers to & from cruise ships.

Just came back from London and cruised the NCL Jade around the UK. First and foremost I would highly avoid any transport above ground for London or travel to and from South Hampton. We used International Friends from London to Southhampton and then scheduled a tour on the return. The trip to Southampton was several hours late because the driver did not arrive on time but over an hour late then had to pick up another couple (another hour) then traffic was horrid in London and we got too the cruise terminal with little time to spare. Forget seeing Southampton.

On the return we were late everywhere we went and had to run through the tours. It really was not International Friends fault - just way too many people. Then the logistics of getting to the hotel were a nightmare.

Will not do that again.

Just came back from London and cruised the NCL Jade around the UK. First and foremost I would highly avoid any transport above ground for London or travel to and from South Hampton. We used International Friends from London to Southhampton and then scheduled a tour on the return. The trip to Southampton was several hours late because the driver did not arrive on time but over an hour late then had to pick up another couple (another hour) then traffic was horrid in London and we got too the cruise terminal with little time to spare. Forget seeing Southampton.

 

On the return we were late everywhere we went and had to run through the tours. It really was not International Friends fault - just way too many people. Then the logistics of getting to the hotel were a nightmare.

 

Will not do that again.

Was it the Bank Holiday weekend, if so, then what you experienced is not uncommon. For the rest of the year it is considerably better.