I did the unthinkable...

We will be on the Apr 12th, 2008 QE2 eastbound crossing. This is the first TA for us, and the first time I am actually using a ship to get somewhere. Until now the ship was always the destination, as far as I am concerned. This time we are doing the crossing in order to get to Europe. Once in Southhampton we will somehow continue to Germany to visit my wife's family.

Originally I had booked the Los Angeles to New York segment of the world tour. Then, just a few days ago, my wife's sister in Munich called and asked us to visit. We already have our vacation plans for this year, which we did not want to change, so I proposed changing from the 13-day Panama Canal voyage, to the crossing which immediately follows. To my surprise, she agreed. And Cunard was very helpful in making the adjustments.

I have an awful lot of planning to do. I've never really tried to coordinate something like this before, so I hope it all turns out well. I am really on 'foreign territory' so to speak, never having been to Europe at all, much less trying to calculate the best way to bring it all together. Suggestions are very welcome!

As if to prove my over-all ignorance in this matter, is it better fly from England direct to Munich? Does the airport in Southhampton have flights to Munich? Is there an airport in Southhampton? Should we cross the channel by train or ferry, and fly from France to Munich? What's best?

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Don

It is certainly better to fly. Munich is long way to travel by rail - even by Texas standards:D . I would take advantage of the Cunard transfers to London Heathrow and then fly from there. Yuo will have to arranger the flight seperately from the Cunard package. (Southampton has an airport but there are no direct flights to Munich). British Airways or Lufthansa are the main carriers offering flights from Heathrow. Flight time is approx 1 hour. You will also be entering the Euro currency zone where 1 USD = 0.75 Euro (today's rate) so this should give you an idea of the relative costs in Germany.

Hope this helps.

Yes, thank you very much. It does help. This is the sort of firsthand information I need. As some might know, I tend to worry quite a bit before I do anything. I want to avoid that this time, if I can.

Any other tip anyone has to offer will be greatly appreciated. I have come to rely on this board quite a bit for information. In this instance, I am not only experiencing a crossing on the QE2 for the first time, but a visit to Europe as well. Thanks for tolerating my newbishness... I'll be a world-traveler when this is all done.

Sincerely,

Don

Congratulations on your planned crossing. If you have the time and are able you should see some of London before you leave for Germany.

Are you flying back to the US or planning another crossing?

This is all in the very early planning phase, but so far we are planning to fly back. As for seeing London, that would be great! I'm sure my wife would love to spend a little time there as well. The main idea, of course, is to visit her family.... but I'm sure we will be able to spend at least our first day in London before moving on. (I'm having to make all sorts of compromises. The fact that she would even travel to Europe via ocean liner is something of a miracle. Perhaps I ought not to have mentioned that we would be traveling over the same route (well, in reverse....) on the same day as the Titanic...)

Sincerely,

Don

Hi Don:

We have always enjoyed arriving in Europe by QE2. Not only do you have the historical connection to many who have gone before on the great liners, but you also get a firm realization of just how far it is. In Europe, we particularly like train travel if you have the time. The high speed trains from London to Paris via the Chunnel will get you there in quick time. From Paris, there are many options to Germany. Schedules, room types and rates are all available online. On the trains you actually see some of Europe as you travel. An airport is an airport is an airport. Driving in Europe is easy these days. You will find driving to be very similar to home on the main routes (England driving on the left excepted, of course) and you have the freedom to change your plans at will. Any way you choose, sounds like a wonderful trip.

Be aware that Heathrow is a total shambles and will be very stressful.

Pack spare clothes in your handluggage and give Lufthansa a go over BA. Terminals one and four are chaotic.

In Europe, we particularly like train travel if you have the time.

Does train travel actually take that much longer? Of course you must factor in the time getting to the airport, waiting at the airport, collecting baggage, getting into the centre of the place you're visiting, etc. A lot of long distance trains have sleepers - not only do you save on the cost of a hotel overnight but you can travel a long way in your sleep.

If you time travel leisurely from Southampton to München.

For instance stay in London for a while, take the Eurostar train to Paris, and enjoy that city.

From Paris you can reach München in one day via Köln or Mannheim. They operate all very comfortable high speed trains, and the journey along the Rhein is beautiful and stunning. Just look op http://www.db.de, this is the german rail website

Otherwise there are direct flights from Heathrow to München. Cunard offers a very expensive direct bus service from the ship to the airport. For a fraction of that price you can take a cab to the national experss coach station and the coach from there http://www.national express.co.uk. otherwise if oyu want to stay in London order tickets through http://www.megatrain.com. You might be lucky to get a ticket for GBP1.50 in a nearly empty carriage reserved for megatrain passengers

However there are European rail passes available for Americans. Eurorail or something.....

Let us know what you will do....I would have loved to take such a trip...:-)

Reint

I am glad to see you folks weighing in with your suggestions. It's still too soon to make any concrete decisions, but it does help to know what our options are. Whereas, I would be more inclined to take some time and visit London and Paris (who knows when we'll be back?), I am certain my wife will be eager to reach her family as soon as we can. For her, that is the point of the whole trip, the crossing a means to an end. So, I will have to do some serious compromising along the way.

I am leaning toward the whole train idea. Once arriving in Southhampton, I think I would like to get to Paris via the EuroStar, and on from there by train to München, as was suggested. I will continue to do research in the meanwhile. All other advice and suggestions are appreciated.

Sincerely,

Don

You can get a train right to Waterloo from Southampton. Do check Megatrain for that fare and then try Interail for your continetal train journeys. The trains on the continent are on the whole fantastic. Very quick and usually very punctual.

I have never been to Munich, but I have been to Bavaria, it is so very beautiful and I loved it! Nuremburg is a fine city, obviously packed full of history. The Germans, on the whole, are very welcoming, friendly and helpful. Have a wonderful time!

Once arriving in Southampton

The QM2 does some trips where she goes onto either France of Germany. Cutting out the UK all together would save you some time.

Note that from 1st Nov 2007 the Eurostar service will operate from London St. Pancras and not Waterloo so you will have to factor in getting across London with your bags if you plan to go by train (Not fun!!)

Someone asked about this a little while ago. I thought the consensus was that you'd be better, quicker and cheaper getting a taxi to Ashford (and Eurostar from there) than you would be going via London.

Hi Don,

taking trains to Munich will absorbe much time and you will have to change trains which might run you into trouble. I would recommend flying. There are so many options at very reasonable prices.

Have a look at http://www.southamptonairport.com

Search in the Southampton Sheduled Flight Timetable for a variety of destinations.

If you do not want to stop over in London or Paris (which I would do as it is your first trip to Europe) you can fly directly e.g. to Salzburg in Austria. Most beautiful City (think of Mozart) and not very far from Munich (abt. 100 miles). Your family could pick you up.

http://www.muenchen.de/Tourismus/6942/index.html

http://www2.salzburg.info

Take your time and enjoy planing.

Joe

I wouldn't enthuse about traveling to Munich on the train. For a start beware EuroStar with all your baggage. There are no facilities to drop your baggage, you have to lug it on and off the train yourself. When my friends back home in Europe say 'take the Eurostar' they mean 'hop on with a light bag for a short stay away'. You'll find crowds who will almost trample you as they race ahead without heavy bags

The previous poster brings up a very important point....luggage. I have sailed on the QE2 and QM2 twice round-trip in order to get to Europe. Once there I spent an average of 4 weeks visiting family and touring thru many countries all by rail. I don't care to fly, so when I can manage I will find alternative methods of travel.

The beauty of a cruise is that you can pack till your hearts content and someone else is usually handling all your stuff. Not the case once you hit the rails in Europe. I have always sung the praises of European trains until my last trip, and I had the luxury of dropping off all my formal wear and other items at my sister-in-law's who was living in London at the time. I was traveling relatively light considering how long I was to be away, but it still would have been wonderful to have some help. There were no conducters to be seen until ticket collection, no red cap service, no car attendants (except on certain trains, but their duties did not include luggage assistance).

Now if you can somehow manage your luggage, then train travel would be an unbelievable addition to your European experience. The trains themselves and the scenery can be exceptional. Besides the deutsche bahn site (which is excellent), visit www.seat61.com run my an English chap that does a phenemonal job on instructing others how to travel by train from England. He has even answered some personal e-mails when I had some questions in regards to his scheduling information.

Only problem from Paris- Munich is there is no "direct" train. Hence the luggage issue again. But you can get there in 8 hours, plus the 3 plus hours on Eurostar from London to Paris.

Either way, take your time...you have it. Eurail passes will do you no good in this case unless you plan on doing more extensive rail travel.

Rail is a wonderful way to travel around Europe and I usually go to www.raileurope.com and start planning there. You can see the routes, plan trips, see timetables, buy tickets, etc. right on that site. But it is so true about the luggage situation; the only drawback I have found as far as the rail system goes. The night travel is so nice because I feel like I am not "wasting" time traveling ;) Also a good place to check out hotels in London is www.londontown.com. I have found them to have very good prices and many, if not most of the time, you can make reservations without a deposit, so if you have to cancel or change your plans, there is no hassle, you just log on and cancel/change. They also break the hotels down into budget, mid and luxury accommodations. Another good place to check with is www.lhts.com which is the London Hotel and Travel Services. I believe they have rates posted for some hotels through the end of December. All you have to do is email them with the dates you will be in London and they can give you rates on very fine hotels and I believe all of their rates include a full English breakfast. I have always dealt with John regarding hotels. They also have a wealth of other information available.

Hope this helps a little.

Someone asked about this a little while ago. I thought the consensus was that you'd be better, quicker and cheaper getting a taxi to Ashford (and Eurostar from there) than you would be going via London.

The information that would be given now will be out of date by 2008. When St Pancras International opens (14/11/07) I understand that Ashford will lose most, if not all, of the Eurostar traffic.

However, you can leave Waterloo on the level, and then take a taxi to St. Pancras. It is a modern station in the glorious Barlow trainshed and will be well equipped with lifts.

From there you can travel to Brussels, then by Thalys to Cologne and then the ICE to Munich. All wonderful trains. As you'll have reserved seats it doesn't matter if you are overtaken by others walking down the platform.

Flying is dreadful. Rail travel is part of the holiday, and you will see so much more in all.

My own view is that if one can avoid taking a plane, one should - simply to preserve sanity....

Matthew

London is a wonderful city and well worth spending a few days there.There is so much to see.

Try http://www.seat61.com/Germany.htm - a wealth of information for train travel.

David

This thread's jammed - someone suggested an extra post of two to move it on - Lets see:)

It worked:)

This thread's jammed - someone suggested an extra post of two to move it on - Lets see:)

How does a thread get jammed? I've never heard this expression in relation to a forum thread before. Please explain...

As for the info, thanks to all who have responded. I am really leaning toward this whole train idea. I really hate to fly, and that's an understatement. The luggage issue is real, but ours is all on wheels and I am used to handling it. You'd be amazed at how much I can carry or drag at one. Given the fact that we will be doing a TA on the QE2, I am picturing my wife and I wandering the woodlands of Germany, in formal dress... :)

Anyway, it is a long way off but I will definately start a new thread when the time comes, and let everyone know how things turned out.

Sincerely,

Don

They offer luggage shipping with DHL for around $150. I know that's steep, but it would solve part of your luggage problem.

When you arrive in Southampton they will ship your suitcase back home and you can go on your way to Germany with fewer clothes. :D