Harwich to Heathrow

What is the earliest flight back to the US you would recommend when returning from a cruise on the Brillance?

With limited flights what flight time should I be looking at which will give me ample time to get from Harwich to Heathrow?

Is there a better way to get to the airport other than the ship's transfer?

I would definitely use the ship's transfer. Getting from Harwich to Heathrow involves crossing London and it can be a complex and time consuming exercise if you plan using public transport. I wouldn't book flights before 2pm at the earliest as London traffic can be a nightmare and you need to allow for 2 hr international checkin.

I would definitely use the ship's transfer. Getting from Harwich to Heathrow involves crossing London and it can be a complex and time consuming exercise if you plan using public transport. I wouldn't book flights before 2pm at the earliest as London traffic can be a nightmare and you need to allow for 2 hr international checkin.

I agree with the after 2:00pm...However..the ship's transfers a long uncomfortable slow trip with much traffic..I would take the train to Liverpool Street Station and then a taxi...Have taken the ship transfers LHR-Harwich and would avoid this option if at all possible...JMHO of course.

Sort of the same answer as your previous question about LGW - Harwich. You can use the ship transfer by coach, which is of course subject to the same traffic problems as a car service. If you have booked your flight independantly and the coach is late, RCI won't help you. However, its easy to do by train. Harwich International is right beside the ship. Train to Liverpool Street station, London is about 1hr 15 mins (with one change at Manningtree, but going London bound you just walk from one side of the platform to the other) for around £15. You could then use the tube all the way to LHR for about £5, but will encounter some stairs. Alternatively get a cab to Paddington station (about £10) and get the Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect (according to which terminal you are going to) for about £15.

Simon

Sort of the same answer as your previous question about LGW - Harwich. You can use the ship transfer by coach, which is of course subject to the same traffic problems as a car service. If you have booked your flight independantly and the coach is late, RCI won't help you. However, its easy to do by train. Harwich International is right beside the ship. Train to Liverpool Street station, London is about 1hr 15 mins (with one change at Manningtree, but going London bound you just walk from one side of the platform to the other) for around £15. You could then use the tube all the way to LHR for about £5, but will encounter some stairs. Alternatively get a cab to Paddington station (about £10) and get the Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect (according to which terminal you are going to) for about £15.

 

Simon

How much would you estimate in time and $$ to get from Liverpool Street Station to Heathrow via taxi? This on a Saturday.

How much would you estimate in time and $$ to get from Liverpool Street Station to Heathrow via taxi? This on a Saturday.

At least an hour' date=' and probably a minimum of £60-70.[/color']

Having done it both ways, I much prefer the train (Heathrow Express/Connect) over a taxi.

Heathrow express doesn't go from LST tho correct?? I goes from Paddington?...how does one get to Paddington from Liverpool Street station. Forgive my ignorance, never been to UK.

How much would you estimate in time and $$ to get from Liverpool Street Station to Heathrow via taxi? This on a Saturday.

Traffic's pretty easy on a saturday' date=' should be about 45 minutes. I guess around £45 pre-booked, perhaps £65 if you grab a cab from the rank.

There are alternatives:

- the tube. Cheap, under £10 pp, takes an hour or so to Heathrow. But this involves at least one change, and the tube system isn't luggage-friendly. Due to stairs/escalators you need a local to advise on routing. Mind the gap :)

- taxi Liverpool Street Station to Paddington station about 5 miles, 25 mins, £10 - £12, then Heathrow Express about 15 mins/£18pp.

- tube to Paddington then Heathrow Express. Also involves one change of tube train.

- direct tube (Circle Line) to Victoria, short walk to coach station, National Express coach to Heathrow. Cheap, relatively simple, but the slowest at up to 90 mins total.

You pays your money & you takes your choice.

[b']JB[/b] :)

http://www.tubemap.com/

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

Heathrow express doesn't go from LST tho correct?? I goes from Paddington?...how does one get to Paddington from Liverpool Street station. Forgive my ignorance' date=' never been to UK.[/quote']

 

Taxi or underground would get you there, but with luggage taxi would be the best way.

 

By the way, used to stay in Haverhill every summer, at the Comfort Suites near the highway. Nice place.

 

You pays your money & you takes your choice.

 

Yep. And discovered a while ago it was infinitely more comfortable to take the HEX than cab it all the way from Central London. Of course, the fact that the last time I cabbed it I was 3rd rider in the back, and sitting on one of those fold-out rear-facing seats may have something to do with it... ;)

Haha...Haverhill in the Summer. Better than Paris. Thanks for the info!

 

 

Of course, the fact that the last time I cabbed it I was 3rd rider in the back, and sitting on one of those fold-out rear-facing seats may have something to do with it... ;)

I got a hankering for an ex-London taxi, they're very handy as a general hack - and if they're good enough for people like Stephen Fry, they're good enough for me.

We took a test-drive in one that had one of the fold-down seats (known as a cricket-seats) fitted alongside the driver, in what had been the luggage space.

Sadly my other-half wasn't impressed with the seating arrangement - told me if I bought it I'd be sleeping in it :D

JB :)

Hi fellow cruisers. We loved the beautiful scenery on the Fiord that we visited right before we went to Bergin. It was on July 3 and we took the Panoramic tour that took us all the way to the top of the mountain - and we were almost late on board. On the tour on the way back web we stopped at a place where we watched a most fabulous DVD with all the views we had just seen. I wanted to buy the DVD but did not have enough money, $25! Did any of you buy it and could copy it for me? I will be glad to pay you for the DVD and your efforts. If not do you have the name of the place you bought it? thank you very much for your help! Miriam Leiva

maleiva@uncc.edu

Traffic's pretty easy on a saturday, should be about 45 minutes. I guess around £45 pre-booked, perhaps £65 if you grab a cab from the rank.

 

There are alternatives:

- the tube. Cheap, under £10 pp, takes an hour or so to Heathrow. But this involves at least one change, and the tube system isn't luggage-friendly. Due to stairs/escalators you need a local to advise on routing. Mind the gap :)

- taxi Liverpool Street Station to Paddington station about 5 miles, 25 mins, £10 - £12, then Heathrow Express about 15 mins/£18pp.

- tube to Paddington then Heathrow Express. Also involves one change of tube train.

- direct tube (Circle Line) to Victoria, short walk to coach station, National Express coach to Heathrow. Cheap, relatively simple, but the slowest at up to 90 mins total.

 

You pays your money & you takes your choice.

 

JB :)

 

http://www.tubemap.com/

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

Bought my ticket for Heathrow express. So London liverpool street, taxi to Paddington then off to the airport. Much more reasonable price-wise, at least 2 very fine martinis worth.

Here are two questions. First, is it in the realm of possibility on a Monday to make it from Harwich to Heathrow in time for a 1:15 departure for the U.S.?

Second, if not, would it be worth it to take the after-cruise tour of Windsor? According to RC, this option requires a flight departing after 3:30. That's not a problem, since there is a 5:15 departure. But, that gets into my home airport 8:15. While getting in after rush hour at Customs, that makes for a long day.

So that would mean being at LHR about 11am. Possible, but very risky! (I wouldn't do it!!:D). However you travel, Monday mornings are a nightmare. Traffic on A12 and M25 would mean at least a 2 1/2 - 3 hr trip. Rush hour trains into Liverpool Street would be packed (standing room if you're lucky!). I would go for the later flight and, as we have said before, Harwich to LHR is one of the few transfers it makes a bit of sense to use the cruise transfer. You probably won't get long to see around Windsor, but I think I would go for the later flight and the tour in these circumstances.

Simon

Is London traffic that bad? I always think that the gold standard for miserable traffic is Chicago or Los Angeles, because too many people in Chicago won't take mass transit, and there is no mass transit in Los Angeles.

That siad, the RC website claims that the after-tour excursion to Windsor includes a tour of the Castle. I would assume that people on the tour would be among the first off the ship.

What time do they start putting people off the ship? RC is showing an arrival time in Harwich of 4am. For ships arriving in U.S. ports, the standard arrival time seems to be 7am, and the early disembarkation starts at 8am.

It's not the 'London' traffic that's the problem. It's the M25 motorway which circles London, and what you'd need to drive on which is the problem. It's not known as Europe's biggest car park for nothing....:mad::mad:

As Dave intimates, yes, the traffic is that bad! I'm a professional driver, so I (almost) know what I'm talking about.

Although the ship gets in at 4, self disembark doesn't normally start until 6.30 - 7.00. I would imagine if you booked the 'Windsor tour than LHR' bus, you would be required to leave the ship about 8.00.

Simon

What is the earliest flight back to the US you would recommend when returning from a cruise on the Brillance?

 

With limited flights what flight time should I be looking at which will give me ample time to get from Harwich to Heathrow?

 

Is there a better way to get to the airport other than the ship's transfer?

This is a bit of an Odyssey and I am fuzzy on details because it was three years ago. There is a cruise train direct from Harwich, right at the cruise terminal to London. I cannot recall what station I was dropped at but needed to take a taxi then to Paddington Station where there is a Heathrow express train direct to airport. It sounds complicated but was very easy and very inexpensive.

Is London traffic that bad? I always think that the gold standard for miserable traffic is Chicago or Los Angeles, because too many people in Chicago won't take mass transit, and there is no mass transit in Los Angeles...

If you've survived LA traffic, London's does not even compare. It can easily take me over an hour to go 20 miles through LA. Had to laugh at our bus driver once while heading up to LHR. He thought traffic was "absolutely horrendous". We were going about 40 miles an hour and actually MOVING! :D

This is a bit of an Odyssey and I am fuzzy on details because it was three years ago. There is a cruise train direct from Harwich' date=' right at the cruise terminal to London. I cannot recall what station I was dropped at but needed to take a taxi then to Paddington Station where there is a Heathrow express train direct to airport. It sounds complicated but was very easy and very inexpensive.[/quote']

 

Anyone taking the HEX should understand it's not the most comfortable if you have two or more bags. The train can get pretty crowded too. You could end up standing the the whole trip. I noticed a marked difference in crowds the second time I used it vs. the first time a 4 years earlier.

Anyone taking the HEX should understand it's not the most comfortable if you have two or more bags. The train can get pretty crowded too. You could end up standing the the whole trip. I noticed a marked difference in crowds the second time I used it vs. the first time a 4 years earlier.

I'm not quite sure why we are commenting on a thread that's over four years old, but I can't let this go unchallenged. I have used the HEX many times and can never remember having to stand. And there are large luggage racks available. Maybe there was an operational issue the second time you used it, unfortunately.

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Anyone taking the HEX should understand it's not the most comfortable if you have two or more bags. The train can get pretty crowded too. You could end up standing the the whole trip.

I have used the HEX many times and can never remember having to stand. And there are large luggage racks available. Maybe there was an operational issue the second time you used it, unfortunately.

I can also assure you that it was a dreadful experience, having to stand for fifteen whole minutes! And in an air-conditioned train carriage at that! I can't imagine how bad my own daily commute must be.

I'm not quite sure why we are commenting on a thread that's over four years old ...

Yet sailin'sam had already contributed to this thread in December 2012 and July 2013.

I once had to stand all the way from Paddington to Heathrow on the HEX. The excuse that HEX trotted out was that the Piccadilly Line was on strike and there was no Tube to Heathrow. For some reason, many people thought that taking the HEX was an alternative way of getting to the airport. Mind-boggling.

 

 

 

I can also assure you that it was a dreadful experience, having to stand for fifteen whole minutes! And in an air-conditioned train carriage at that! I can't imagine how bad my own daily commute must be.

 

 

 

Oh, the humanity!

I have speculated in the past that the other poster's comment about the HEX may have been when they were having to use the Connect rolling stock, so there was no Connect service (and commuter carriages on the HEX).

Of course, if you have more than 2 bags each, any form of public transport is going to be a bit of a struggle :)

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Bought my ticket for Heathrow express. So London liverpool street' date=' taxi to Paddington then off to the airport. Much more reasonable price-wise, at least 2 very fine martinis worth.[/quote']

 

Or less expensive taxi from Liverpool Street to much closer Kings Cross to take much less expensive Picadilly line to LHR.