Transatlantic, then London and Paris?

Hi, has anyone done the transatlantic to Southampton, then toured London and Paris? We only have 5 nights before we fly home and I was wondering if we should tour Southampton the day we port, spend the night there, then take the train to London and spend 2 nights there, and then Paris for 2 nights. Has anyone done this? How would you get from London to Paris?

Thanks for the help.

Can't wait till 4/22!

Elly

Take the Eurostar train from London's Waterloo Station to Paris. It's quick and comfortable.

London and Paris are two of my favorite cities.

if you only have five nights dont waste one in southampton. spend it in either london or paris. and the eurostar is defintely the way to go between the two.

if you only have five nights dont waste one in southampton. spend it in either london or paris. and the eurostar is defintely the way to go between the two.

True on both points!

Plan ahead on Eurostar though, as the trains can sell out depending on day and time. www.eurostar.com

Second class on Eurostar is plenty nice, the money you'd spend on first class is better spent in London or Paris, especially with current exhange rates!

kj

I just did the reverse last month. Flew to Paris for 3 nights, Eurostar to London for 2 nights, then one night in Southampton. If sailing into Southampton, I would head right to London. My time there was too short, way too much to see and do.

Do you have to return to London to fly home?

Hi Howard

You've not told us what you thought of the Star Hotel, Southampton. Any comments?

Did you eat at The Olive Tree?

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Elly

Don't waste a night in Southampton if you're pressed for time, you can see the best of it in less than a day. It's a nice place but not bimming over with things to do.

National Express buses (http://www.nationalexpress.com/home/hp.cfm) run from Southampton to London, they are a very acceptable way to travel.

Trains in the UK can be expensive and often not a very pleasant experience. Here is the National Rail website, http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney/time_table/journey_requirements.asp, the best source of timetables. (There is an endless number of rail operators, National Rail co-ordinates them all).

Thank you so much for the great info! I will definately spend just the day in Southampton, and straight on to Paris. My husband is concerned about carting around the luggage. He has a good point, any suggestions?

Thanks again!

Elly

Fastship, if you have time I would love to hear about some things not to miss in London and Paris.

Thanks!

Elly, In London with very limited time, I did the Big Bus tour. It's not cheap at GBP 16, but the 2 1/4 hour round trip tour will provide a great overview of the city and drive you past all the big attractions. Make sure you get one with a live guide. You can also hop on and off anywhere along the route, and your fare includes a boat ride on the Thames from near Big Ben to Tower of London, or reverse. They have a very good website, http://www.bigbus.co.uk and you can board anywhere along the routes.

I'm sure there is a similar operation in Paris, though I didn't use it.

Jon, the Star was just fine. I think I was fortunate that Cheryl, who I met here at CC, visited the hotel in advance and put in a good word for me, thus I got a larger room, with a very large bath. My room was right on High St, and there is virtually no insulation of noise from either the street or the hallways of the hotel, but that did not bother me. The place was clean, the front desk very helpful, and there was a very nicely presented full breakfast included with the tariff. I found the location very convenient, a cab stand is just outside the door, and there is a free shuttle bus to the harbor and elsewhere just a block away. I would absolutely return.

Thanks for the link, it looks great, and it gives me a lot of ideas on which places to visit. I just found out we are leaving from London, so I think it would make more scence to go from Southampton to Paris and then from Paris to London. Thanks again!

Elly

We are doing an Eastbound crossing in June and will be doing the same thing, with a little more time to spend, though, in Paris. We will be interested to know how easy it is to get to Paris from Southampton, especially if you are thinking of taking a ferry from there to LeHavre and by train to Paris (which is what we are thinking of doing).

Excuse me if I am incorrect but I'm assuming this is your first time to either London or Paris. My reason for saying this is you are scheduling BOTH London and Paris in 5 nights when either place would need at least 5 nights to fully enjoy them. However, be that as it may some tips for you. In London don't miss going on the London Eye. It really is impressive and since it takes a full half hour to revolve, you hardly are aware of any movement. Try to eat at least one meal in a Pub-they are delightful. Watch for the traffic! Since they drive "on the other side" in England, cars will be in the most unexpected places.

In Paris,reserve one night for a dinner/dance cruise on The Seine. During the day, lunch on the roof terrace of the Smartaine Dept. Store for a great view of "historic" Paris. If you have time for only one museum, I would go to Musee D 'Orsay instead of the Louvre. Buy a Museum Pass for your stay in Paris. You get them at Metro stations. They allow you to go to the front of the lines getting into the various attraction. Well, well worth the money!! Paris does have an on and off tourist tour bus. Paris is a great city to walk and the Metro is a great way to get around also but it is underground and you will miss a lot of the sights.

Paul NH:

I would suggest purchasing the transfer to Waterloo station on board the Mary and then traveling to Paris via the Eurostar. I've done this a number of times on board Queen Elizabeth 2 and once on board Mary 2. I would also advise, as mentioned earlier in this thread, to have your train ticket reserved in advance.

Make sure you purchase the transfer within the first day or two of your crossing, as I've seen it sold out before.

Ahh Paris!

Dear Flick, thank you for the info!! Yes, it is our first time in both places, and I do agree that we will just get an overview of each city. That is the blessing and curse of cruising as you usually only get one day in port, so I feel lucky to have 2 days in each city! Our goal is to get a feel for the area, and if we love it, we go back for a land tour at some point in the future. I am dying to go to a Pub as I have heard so many great stories about them.

Fastship, So it is better to purchase the transfer from the ship to Waterloo in London than to go through getting the Eurostar from Southampton to Waterloo? Sounds good to me! Less luggage problems. Again, thanks to everyone for the input. Our travel agent was willing to do a lot of this, but I have found that on every cruise I have been on that we have had the most fun (and BEST excursions ) by getting input here on the boards.

Wow, I am really excited now!Elly

twinkletoes,

since time is of the essence to you in order to get as much time in paris as possible might i make a suggestion, altho probably a more expensive alternative. you cannot get the eurostar from southampton to paris, you must get another train to london (which means a taxi to the train station) and switch to the eurostar there. this jmeans coordinating train schedules. therefore i am suggesting a private car to pick u up at the pier and drive u directly to waterloo station. if you book your eurostar in advance (they run quite often) you will save lots of time and have HOURS of extra time to see paris instead of spending it getting there. i realize it costs more but in your case id say time is more valuable. whatever you choose im sure youll have a great time.

Twinkletoes - You are doing the right thing asking and planning in advance of your trip. Use the open topped sightseeing busses in both cities. These are the cheapest and best way to see the city. Hop on and off at will and plan ahead where you want to get off and you will cover more sights than any other way. And do try to get on the bus as early in the morning as posible. You will have a lot to see in a short time.

A good resteraunt guide that includes pubs is here. All picked by the Earl of Bradford no less.

http://www.london-restaurants.com/london/introduction.asp

Have a great trip.

David.

Wripro, that is exactly what we are going to do. My very generous DH says why end a great relaxing time on the ship by runninng around like crazy with luggage and worring about the train schedule. My travel agent is setting up the car and the London, Paris, London Eurostar. She said that would be 245 us each.

Mufi, will do the open busses in both cities, already printed out the stops so I can plan in advance where we will get off.

Thanks everyone!

PS I am surprised that only one person answered my Roll Call, as on Celebrity there were over 50 of us!

David,

I am not sure who the 'Earl of Bradford' is, but I found the website confusing. I go to London a lot, so thought I would check out some of my fav restaurants. It took a while to sort things out and I know the neighborhoods.

Zagats is also a good reference guide. However, for a good pub, just ask the staff at the hotel where they hang out!

Jane

Hi folks,

Great feedback so far on this topic! Seems that all of the focus, though, has been on getting to London and then taking the Eurostar or other train to Paris from there. That sounds like that is the most popular route, and we are stongly considering it.

Has anyone taken a ferry across the channel straight from Southampton, to say, LeHavre (or some other French port)? I haven't decided which way to go, but it seems more interesting and possibly simpler to take the ferry. I'm assuming we would be able to take a train from one of those ports into Paris?

Paul

Yes you could (from Portsmouth) but it would take a lot longer (ferry time alone 5.5hrs) and there are not that many ferries in the week on that route. The Eurostar journey takes around 2.5 hrs to Paris (186mph) and is an experience in itself. No contest really.

David.

Yes you could (from Portsmouth) but it would take a lot longer (ferry time alone 5.5hrs) and there are not that many ferries in the week on that route. The Eurostar journey takes around 2.5 hrs to Paris (186mph) and is an experience in itself. No contest really.

 

David.

True...no contest! Additionally, from the ferry, you would have the train journey into Paris. You are so squeezed for time already, Eurostar is really the best way to go, by far. On Eurostar, 2.5 hours from central London to central Paris, it's just unbelievably convenient. If you take the Cunard ground transfer from the ship to Waterloo Station in London, and then Eurostar to Paris, the whole thing would be rediculously easy.

Have fun!