Mini Review of London Pre-Cruise

We flew to London for 3 days of sightseeing before our 14-day cruise back to Boston aboard the Brilliance of the Seas. I did a lot of research on Cruise Critic before we left. Many of you helped me out. Here is the link to the thread I started.:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1990590

So, I am returning to the forum to tell you what I did and if I would do it again. I plan to add lots of pictures of the places we visited. [this post will be all text]

We flew British Airways from Baltimore Washington [bWI] to London Heathrow [LHR] terminal 5. Our flight took off at 9:40 pm. I do not like red eye flights, but with the cost of hotels in London it made the most sense.

We ate an early dinner and arrived at the airport about 3 hours early. We were a little surprised to be served dinner again on the flight around 11am. Since it had been 5 hrs since dinner we ate a light snack. The complimentary wine with dinner was a nice touch. :)

We landed a little before 10 am and were through immigration/customs, got our luggage, and we boarded the Piccadilly line to Tower Hill by 11:15pm.

While at Heathrow we bought Oyster cards for each of us. [5£ for each card and 25£ on the card] We got these at the same desk they sell the Heathrow Express train tickets. I used my swipe and sign credit card with out any trouble.

We had looked at purchasing the London Pass or buying a day pass at a railroad station to take advantage of 2 for 1 admission to some sites. We felt the Oyster card was our best bet. It turned out to be a good decision. We would not have gotten our money’s worth out of the other options. I cashed the 2 cards in on our last evening and got about $22 USD back on my CC from each card.

The tube was easy to take, even with our luggage. There were lots of others with luggage on the tube. We transferred once to the district line [i think Hammersmith]. At Tower Hill we had to carry our bags up a couple of flights of steps. We had been warned about this on the thread I mentioned. I did not love it—but, it was doable. I noted that there was construction at this tube station and the signage said there will be lifts at this station in 2015.

So, the question is would I take the tube from the airport or hire a car? I would take the tube. It was just too easy and too cheap. [i know not everyone can manage their luggage, but it worked for us]

We were so lucky that our room at the Doubletree hotel was ready when we got there just after noon. I had gotten a 3-night rate of 111£/night. [Our cruise left on August 31 and many in London are on vacation at this time, so we got a good rate.]

We dropped off our luggage and ate at the deli in the lobby. By 1:45 we had taken the tube to the Westminster station and were looking at Big Ben.

I had downloaded the Rick Steve’s London “walks” before we left home. He suggests that you walk out onto the Westminster Bridge to get the lay of the land. It was a good view. [these pics are from the street side]

Big Ben

Parliament Building [know as the Palace of Westminster]

Another view

Statue of Oliver Cromwell outside of the Parliament:

We had planned to follow Rick Steve’s walk up Whitehall to see the Churchill War rooms and on to Trafalgar Square. However, we walked by Westminster Abbey and did not see any lines. So, we bought tickets and visited there instead.

Of course there are no pictures inside the Abbey.

This is DH waiting while I looked at all of the plaques in the cloister.

More cloister pictures:

This plaque is for the British explorers that circumnavigated the world.

I had created a spread sheet with the names of everything I wanted to see with the hours, cost/suggested donation, highlight and tube station before I left. [yep, must be a little OCD] But, it really helped me. I did not end up seeing everything on the day I thought I would—but, it made sure I did not forget a location.

The advertised hours that I had found online were not always correct. We found the St Margaret’s Church, [right beside Westminster Abbey], was still open late in the day, although it was supposed to close at 1:30 pm. [no pictures permitted] This church is a frequent wedding location for members of Parliament and families. It is worth a quick visit.

We walked around Parliament Square and looked at the Supreme Court Building, but, did not go inside.

It was after 4 by this time so we rode the tube back to Tower Hill. After a short nap we tried the pub behind our hotel. [Cheshire Cheese] It was very busy during happy hour. We tried fish and chips, but it was not very good.

FYI--I did not know how to order in a pub. I learned this is the typical pub procedure: Find a table and note the number. Then order your meal/drinks at the bar using the table number. Someone will bring out the meal when it is ready. It was very efficient.

After a quick walk around the Tower of London we returned to the hotel. It had been a long day.

This is cool my wife and I will be doing this also in late Oct. any hints and tips would be greatly appreciated. Never been to London. I will look at the other posts and would love to get a copy of your spreadsheet. Keep it coming.

Ed

We had not purchased tickets to Buckingham Palace [state Rooms] before our visit. We knew we were taking a chance they would be sold out; we were not sure how we would feel after the flight. So, did not want to commit to a given timed ticket. So we set the alarm for an early time and headed to the St James tube station to see if we could buy palace tickets. There were about 100 people waiting to get in, but there was no line to buy tickets for the first tour. [9:30 am, 18£ pp senior rate] We waited about 15 minutes and they let us all in at the same time.

We really enjoyed this tour. I think it was good to be in the first tour. The first room was a little crowded, but, then people spread out to take longer in one room or another. The Palace is very impressive. Seeing the inside of the Palace was one of the 4 must see places I identified before our visit.

The art in the Queen’s gallery was wonderful.

There is a special exhibit each summer and this year it is on the royal children. I think that was my favorite thing in the Palace. The toys, clothes and items from the children were very interesting. For example, there was a buggy with an ermine blanket that was Prince Charles’. I wish I could show you pictures.

You exit out the back of the palace and walk down a long walkway.

Look in the middle of this picture. do you see the tents from the back of the Palace? You actually exit the grounds a little farther than this. then we had to fast walk back to the front of the building for the Changing of the Guard. . . . but we made it.

I think that is all for tonight.

This is cool my wife and I will be doing this also in late Oct. any hints and tips would be greatly appreciated. Never been to London. I will look at the other posts and would love to get a copy of your spreadsheet. Keep it coming.

 

Ed

I am glad to be of any help. I learned so much from the people who answered my questions. I will say that one tip is to go to the really popular things the first thing in the morning. This worked for us at Buckingham Palace and at the Tower of London.

Thanks for coming back and reporting - great start :)

Just a little suggestion - could you say what days of the week you were doing things, as that can make a difference for others planning?

Thanks for coming back and reporting - great start :)

 

Just a little suggestion - could you say what days of the week you were doing things, as that can make a difference for others planning?

Thank you for your help before our trip. Everyone's help made a big difference in our ability to see so much. :)

Ok--I can see how the day of the week makes a difference.

We arrived on a Thursday morning. The visit to Buckingham Palace was first thing on Friday AM.

Thanks for reporting back. I followed your pre-cruise thread, and your report will be so helpful as we will do this trip in July 2015. I was particularly glad to hear that taking the Piccadilly line from Heathrow is doable since that's what we're planning to do. I've done the Buckingham Palace tour, and it was one of the highlights for us too. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

This topic is one I frequently see on this forum.

When we exited the Buckingham Palace gardens after the State Rooms tour we had to get back to the front of the palace gate if we wanted to see any of the Changing of the Guard. It was 10:50 and the ceremony happens around 11am. I had researched this and found out several things to consider:

1) At this time of year the ceremony only happens every other day. So, this was Friday August 29, 2014—and the only day this would happen during our 3.5 day stay. Anything we would see [even if we were late arriving] was better than nothing.

2) Although the time is often stated as 11 am, it is really a series of events/ceremonies that takes place over about an hour.

We took the first spot that we deemed not too crowded on the left side of the fence [if you are facing the palace]. Although there were 3 rows in front of us I could see pretty well. DH is 6’3” and never has a problem. This was my view.

So, after we had watched this for awhile we decided to head to Trafalgar Square. [since we were too tired to do this the day before]

All of the streets around the palace are closed off during the ceremony. So, we headed back the way we came for a block until we could cross the street and joined the crowd just to the left of the statue in front of the palace. Imagine our surprise when we realized we had a great view of the band headed to the palace.

This is the band.

Another band shot.

We watched until the band passed and the policeman let the crowd cross that street. Next we headed to the street that is directly perpendicular to the palace. It is called the Mall and runs beside St James Park up to Trafalgar Square.

We noticed a lot of tourists were doing this too and wondered why. We were surprised to see the Horse Guards going back into their area as we walked up the Mall.

Here I am beside one of the guards. They were very accommodating to tourists. I can’t say enough good things about all the Brits we interacted with.

We felt we had an excellent experience watching the ceremony. Yes, there are crowds. However, if you think of the Changing of the Guards as lots of pieces of a whole ceremony [and are willing to move] you will be able to have a very good experience. You do not have to arrive an hour early and be pressed against the fence. In fact, that commits you to one place and limits what you see.

This was my DH only must see in London. I am glad it worked out for us.

I was particularly glad to hear that taking the Piccadilly line from Heathrow is doable since that's what we're planning to do.

As I said, not everyone can manage their luggage.

Getting on and off the tube was not a problem. We had asked which was the best place to switch to the district/circle line to get to Tower Hill. That was no problem at all. The problem was the lack of an elevator/lift or escalator at Tower Hill.

Having the luggage on the Picadilly line is easier than the others. The seats are configured along the outside of the tube all facing in. So there is more room down a center aisle. While on the other lines we rode the seats faced forward or back we were able to find a space nearer the doors the was a little open. [We were careful not to block the doors. We saw this a couple of times] :rolleyes:

It will depend on what you take as to how easy it is. We had one suitcase each. DH had the large suitcase. It weighed 46 lbs. I had the smaller one and it weighed 36 lbs. I had my purse and he carried the book bag we took on the plane. We could not have managed with much more than this.

I took a small gym bag that folds flat and weighs very little in my suitcase. Once we were in London this came in handy for the souvenirs I bought and the water, soda and wine we took on the ship.

After a short walk up the Mall we made it to Trafalgar Square. This is said to be the center of London. It was very lively at around 12:30pm on a Friday afternoon. It was cool and looked like rain, but was dry for the moment.

We walked under the famous Admiralty Arch.

Then we saw the Nelson Statue.

Here is a view of the statue that shows how many people were in the square.

Here is my DH by the central fountain in front of the National Gallery

This is another crowd shot in front of the National Gallery.

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I had wanted to see the St Martin’s by the Fields Church at Trafalgar Square. It is directly across a small street from the National Gallery. There is no charge for the church. On many days they give free lunch time concerts from 1-2 pm. The church is closed to visits during that time and they ask for a donation for the concerts.

Sorry to repeat a picture—but, you can see the steeple of the church in this picture. [top right]

It has a very unique window above the altar.

Here is a good shot of the interior.

Another one

If you visit here do not forget to see the crypt.

There is a nice café in the crypt. The prices were reasonable.

We were ready to eat, but had decided to try to find the pub, the Harp, that had been recommended to us.

Although I had the address and we searched for awhile we never found it. So, we went back to the St Martin’s church and ate in a Pret a Manger that was on the corner. [in fact we saw one of these on almost every corner. ]

Great review and I am really glad that you found us welcoming; I worry sometimes that it may not always be the case.

As far as finding the Harp is concerned, it's a shame you didnt watch

Thank you for your help before our trip. Everyone's help made a big difference in our ability to see so much. :)

 

Ok--I can see how the day of the week makes a difference.

 

We arrived on a Thursday morning. The visit to Buckingham Palace was first thing on Friday AM.

Thanks :)

Just for future reference, it is on Saturdays that St Margaret's closes at 1-30 pm. On week days it is open later in the afternoon, as you happily discovered!

Great review and I am really glad that you found us welcoming; I worry sometimes that it may not always be the case.

 

As far as finding the Harp is concerned, it's a shame you didnt watch

Start about 1 minute in.

Thank you for posting this. I know we walked by this and did not notice it.

I remember seeing the Institute of Chinese Medicine. We walked back and forth twice. I even went into two businesses and they had never heard of the Harp.

So, DH decided we were going back to the Pret a Manger I had pointed out. He was hungry. [Actually we decided it must have closed--too bad we missed it]

We need to put this on the list for a future visit to London. It is a long list. :D

After lunch we decided to walk down Whitehall to Parliament Square. I wanted to see the Banqueting House [from the outside]. I know that this is the site of the beheading of Charles I and that it is the only part of the original palace of Whitehall that still stands. I took a picture, but I moved the camera and it was blurry. This is a link to the official site where you can get additional information and see the building.

http://www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouse/

A few blocks farther down Whitehall we stopped to look at 10 Downing Street again.

In the next block [King Charles St] we turned right to get to the Churchill War Rooms. [This was one of my top 4 must see places in London]

The entrance to the underground museum is actually a long city block, around a corner and down a flight of steps. Those that have mobility issues may prefer to access the entrance from Horse Guards Rd.

It is very difficult to get good quality photos in this location. The lighting is very low and almost everything is behind glass. [Those are my excuses and I am sticking with them. :rolleyes:]

This is the entrance to the museum. There is an elevator available.

Here is a bust of Winston Churchill at the entrance.

Each of the rooms and/or exhibits is tied to a number on the audio tour.

Here is the main control room for waging WWII

We really liked the tour. It is a unique experience and is amazing that they could run the war effort from here. It must have been a very uncomfortable place. [Very smoky and stinky]

The only problem we had at this location was that we passed by a special museum dedicated to Winston Churchill. The entrance to this separate area went off one of the other rooms we visited. We passed it by and kept with the tour [thinking we would go back]. But, it is a one-way tour and we ended up at the exit. We briefly thought about trying to find a way to go back. But, in truth we were getting pretty tired.

We will put this on the list for next time, too.

what lovely photos !!! reminds us of our wonderful trip last year !!!

we could only do one place a day but enjoyed each one so much !!!

5 days was not enough time for us but we'll go back !!!

After our visit to the Churchill War Rooms we briefly considered taking a tour of Parliament. DH and I are retired history and government teachers. If it had been possible to walk in and take a quick look around we would have done this. However, the tour is a 70 min tour. We did not have 70 minutes left in our stamina.

So, we decided to take a river cruise back to the pier at the Tower of London. This way we could get some commentary and see some of the sights along the river. It was great to sit down and just listen and look around.

Here are some river views.

If I remember correctly this arch is the separation between the old cities of London and Westminster. [i hope one of you Brits correct me if I got this wrong]

More river views

We enjoyed seeing the Globe theatre. We would have visited there--but, it was no open for tours in the afternoon on Friday

Thank you for posting. Wife and I will be celebrating our retirements after 37 years as educators/administrator next September. Will be spending 3 days in London (first visit) prior to cruise. Your posts and pictures are very helpful.

Thanks, Scott

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I am following your post cruise review of London with interest. I shall remember to post directions to the Harp pub in future:o. You must come back to our fair city one day and visit the Churchill Museum in the War Rooms.

The Museum of London would also be a good one for you history buffs as well.

If I remember correctly this arch is the separation between the old cities of London and Westminster. [i hope one of you Brits correct me if I got this wrong]

Almost, but not quite :) I think that is Temple Stairs Arch (with a memorial for George V's Jubilee added inside). Temple Bar is one of the boundaries between the two cities, but I don't think the Arch was placed there for that purpose.

Fittingly, given your username, the boundary is marched by a series of dragons (Google 'City of London Boundary Dragons' !) There is one on the Embankment close by the arch.

I am following your post cruise review of London with interest. I shall remember to post directions to the Harp pub in future:o. You must come back to our fair city one day and visit the Churchill Museum in the War Rooms.

 

The Museum of London would also be a good one for you history buffs as well.

Yes--we have a long list of things for our next visit.

Almost, but not quite :) I think that is Temple Stairs Arch (with a memorial for George V's Jubilee added inside). Temple Bar is one of the boundaries between the two cities, but I don't think the Arch was placed there for that purpose.

 

Fittingly, given your username, the boundary is marched by a series of dragons (Google 'City of London Boundary Dragons' !) There is one on the Embankment close by the arch.

As I was posting the Arch picture I was afraid I was getting mixed up. I know the guide was discussing the boundary around that time. That is why I made my comment. I do not want to mislead anyone.

I was glad we got to see the city from the river. It is a different perspective.

Thank you so much for your posts. I gained so much information from your posts pre-cruise and now again with your posts of your actual experiences.

We hope to be in London in September 2015.

Like you I keep a spreadsheet of the places we want to visit and in what order. It has helped us on two visits to New York City and we will do this for next year's trip as well.

Thank you so much for your posts. I gained so much information from your posts pre-cruise and now again with your posts of your actual experiences.

We hope to be in London in September 2015.

 

Like you I keep a spreadsheet of the places we want to visit and in what order. It has helped us on two visits to New York City and we will do this for next year's trip as well.

I am glad it is helpful. I still have another 1.5 days to post. Looking back on what we saw, I realize it was a lot. :D