Precruise change of plans--suggestions?

I suppose this is a good problem to have, but would like some ideas.

We were originally planning 5 days in London with day trips before our Brilliance cruise next July. We're planning to stay in London on Starwood points, most likely at the Sheraton Park Lane. HOWEVER, we can get a supersaver BusinessFirst flight on the 21st of July, which would give us 7 days precruise in the UK (coach home on the 10th of August, but we'll live...).

If we decide not to spend the entire 7 days in London, the most logical thing is to head for Harwich a day or two early. Is there anything to do there? Decent hotels for one or two nights? I assume the cruise train only runs on cruise days? Is that correct? If we went early we'd have to change trains?

Appreciate any ideas. SWMBO, i.e., DW, kind of likes the lay flat overnight flight option, and I have the miles...

Thanks!

Harwich and the surrounding area is not all that interesting. My suggestion would be to split the time between somewhere like Bath, and then London. The train from London is a pretty easy one to navigate, even with the change at Manningtree.

You could consider Hiring a car at Heathrow for the first part, which would give you even more flexibility.

Yes the direct cruise train only runs on cruise days, but the change at Manningtree isn't difficult, even with luggage, except for those with significant mobility problems. And an earlier date may coincide with another cruise turnaround.

But at the risk of upsetting the locals, I have to agree with Bob - the Harwich area has serious limitations.

Colchester has some Roman interests (but not the best), the university city of Cambridge isn't far, ditto Bletchley Park (WW2 enigma-decoding computers etc) and Old Warden Aerodrome (early aircraft) but these are for specialised interests, all but Colchester really need private transport, and the countryside is flat and boring.

You will certainly want to reserve at least three days for London, but those extra two days give you scope to visit pretty-well anywhere in the country over four days.

Bob's suggestion of Bath is well worth a couple of days - one in Bath & at least one more exploring somewhere like the Cotswolds or Wells + Cheddar + Glastonbury tho' those explorations really need to be by coach excursion or private transport - rented car or car plus driver.

Ditto a little further north - Shakespeare's Stratford-upon -Avon + Warwick castle (private or public transport). Or south-west to the Jurassic coast + Dorset downs & villages + Corfe castle (by car).

Or keep your London base for the full seven days and take day trips to some of these or other places like Canterbury or Windsor or Hampton Court or Oxford or Stonehenge - there's a whole raft of day excursions by coach from London. Or by train, if you're selective about choosing places which can then be explored on foot or by local transport - in which case delete Cotswolds, Jurassic coast & the Wells trilogy.

Unless you have a car (other than London itself :eek:), the capital is a far better base than anywhere else for exploring southern England because of its transport links, both tourist excursions & public transport.

Best public transport in the UK, and especially the rail network, radiates from London. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/css/OfficialNationalRailmaplarge.pdf

It would also allow you to mix up your days - five straight days in London might be overload, and incorporating a couple or three random days outside London would give you a bit of variety.

Sheraton in Park Lane isn't the cheapest place to add a couple of days, but just the one base would be simplest for logistics & luggage & give you more flexibility.

Here are the offerings of just one very reputable London-based coach excursion operator

http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/

Public transport links to Harwich are dire - except for that train from central London. So for ease, travel there from your London base - from most places in the country your transfer to Harwich is going to take you via London.

You have a variety of good options.

But spending those extra days in the Harwich area isn't really one of them.

JB :)

Thanks!

We were really just thinking about doing an overnight to Harwich the day before the cruise, but sounds like even that isn't all that interesting...

Time to check my Starwood points again!

How about a day or two in York and Yorkshire? Loads to do there.

If we decide not to spend the entire 7 days in London, the most logical thing is to head for Harwich a day or two early.

If you do decide to go to Harwich to stay the night before the cruise, one obvious suggestion would be to stay at the Pier and have dinner there.

While harwich itself does not have too much to do you could stop for a day or two in Colchester. While it is not always thought of as a tourist destination it does have loads of history which can match anywhere in the UK. Its the oldest recorded town and was the original Roman capital as well as having the foundations to the Temple of Claudius it also has the largets Norman keen in Europe. In recent years (and even weeks) other discoveries have been made such as a Roman chariot track so theres loads in the way of history to see.

If you stayed there you would also have the option to head out to Constable country (about 20mins north by car) known as that due to John Constables famous paintings of the area. It would require a car to get to but places like Flatford and Dedham are beautiful and you also have the option to hire a boat and row up and down the river.

While other places maybe more well know i honestly think this part of the country is often overlooked and it would be right on your route to Harwich.

Personally, I still wouldn't waste time travelling elsewhere if you only have 7 days in London. There is so much to see and do here that you could stay for 7 weeks and still not have done everything that would interest you.

 

If you do decide to go to Harwich to stay the night before the cruise, one obvious suggestion would be to stay at the Pier and have dinner there.

+1

We've been to London twice and still have more to see. I would spend the 7 nights in London at a more leasurely pace if given the choice. I wouldn't want to go to another hotel and unpack/pack again. I would consider arriving late the "night" before just for the peace of mind of being at the port.

I suppose this is a good problem to have, but would like some ideas.

 

We were originally planning 5 days in London with day trips before our Brilliance cruise next July. We're planning to stay in London on Starwood points, most likely at the Sheraton Park Lane. HOWEVER, we can get a supersaver BusinessFirst flight on the 21st of July, which would give us 7 days precruise in the UK (coach home on the 10th of August, but we'll live...).

 

If we decide not to spend the entire 7 days in London, the most logical thing is to head for Harwich a day or two early. Is there anything to do there? Decent hotels for one or two nights? I assume the cruise train only runs on cruise days? Is that correct? If we went early we'd have to change trains?

 

Appreciate any ideas. SWMBO, i.e., DW, kind of likes the lay flat overnight flight option, and I have the miles...

 

Thanks!

London is one of the few international destinations where DH and I go to the theaters in the evening and that's in spite of, like you, having the riches of the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, etc. nearby.

At most London destinations, there's always an in-depth option or limited option. A visit to the Churchill War Rooms is one of the best examples of this. Your visit might range anywhere between 1 1/4 and 4 hours. You could simply do the in-depth version of all the visits you were planning on accomplishing in five days to stretch a five-day itinerary into seven days. If that has little appeal, consider adding the recommendations for day trips from London. I'd certainly consider those destinations long before I'd go early to Harwich and vicinity.

For our best advice, we'd appreciate some help from you. Please share your interests and your current plans for the five-day visit.

London is one of the few international destinations where DH and I go to the theaters in the evening and that's in spite of, like you, having the riches of the Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, etc. nearby.

 

At most London destinations, there's always an in-depth option or limited option. A visit to the Churchill War Rooms is one of the best examples of this. Your visit might range anywhere between 1 1/4 and 4 hours. You could simply do the in-depth version of all the visits you were planning on accomplishing in five days to stretch a five-day itinerary into seven days. If that has little appeal, consider adding the recommendations for day trips from London. I'd certainly consider those destinations long before I'd go early to Harwich and vicinity.

 

For our best advice, we'd appreciate some help from you. Please share your interests and your current plans for the five-day visit.

Believe me, we can definitely entertain ourselves for 7 days in London! It's one of my favorite cities. I've been a number of times, and we're already planning to do day trips. The genesis of this question was that we suddenly were going to have 2 extra days in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and would going elsewhere (Harwich in this case) make sense. I'm not real big on relocating and still having to get to Harwich.

We'll likely spend time at the British Museum, maybe the Imperial War Museum (that will have been 20 years between visits), Greenwich (visited in 2012, but the Observatory was closed for the Olympics), among others, and then day trip to Salisbury/Stonehenge, possibly Windsor, and at least one more in the area. It's likewise been 20 years since we were in the War Cabinet rooms, so that might be possible again. We will have to check out the theater, and maybe check and see if there's any interesting music in town (last trip our ship departed Harwich on the day of the infamous "curfew" Hard Rock Calling show where they cut off Springsteen and McCartney...).

Thanks!

We'll likely spend time at the British Museum, maybe the Imperial War Museum (that will have been 20 years between visits), Greenwich (visited in 2012, but the Observatory was closed for the Olympics), among others, and then day trip to Salisbury/Stonehenge, possibly Windsor, and at least one more in the area. It's likewise been 20 years since we were in the War Cabinet rooms, so that might be possible again.

The War Cabinet rooms have undergone two major renovations and expansion within the last ten years. The Churchill museum, the 2005 addition, is the factor most responsible for the wide spread of time an individual might spend in the War Cabinet rooms.

My husband and I rented the audio guides and found them really helpful. For example, there's one room with phones in about three or four colors other than black, and some of those phones have different color bases and handsets. Without the audio guide, I would not have know the special function of each color phone. Is this information crucial to a basic understanding of the War Cabinet rooms? No. But there are little details like that in every room that add up to a much fuller understanding.

We will have to check out the theater, and maybe check and see if there's any interesting music in town (last trip our ship departed Harwich on the day of the infamous "curfew" Hard Rock Calling show where they cut off Springsteen and McCartney...).

 

Thanks!

Here's a link to a UK site that I like to use when we're trying to choose among London performances:

http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/index.html

The site includes reviews by resident reviewers along with excerpts from the reviews in various newspapers. At the end of many entries, you'll find links to the full reviews in the newspapers.

We saw "Bring Up the Bodies" and really enjoyed it. I think that and its companion "Wolf Hall" have closed in London but will be opening on Broadway in the Spring 2015.

I find this site useful when booking theatre tickets: http://londontheatre.co.uk/londontheatre/seatingplans/index.htm

I find this site useful when booking theatre tickets: http://londontheatre.co.uk/londontheatre/seatingplans/index.htm

The Imperial War Museum has just reopened after major refurbishment too, so worth another visit after 20 years!