I don't know where to post my ?

[travlnblueberries]

I have no idea where to post my ? So don't bash me...okay:o

 

If someone won't answer it here, please let me know where.

 

I'm trying to research a cruise for next year. If you are sailing out of Southhampton England what airport do you fly into? And is it a big hassle to get to the port? If I'm reading it correctly, we would have to take a train??:eek:

Help!

[NoobCruise]

Try the UK Cruising forum

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=683

[John Bull]

I have no idea where to post my ? So don't bash me...okay:o

 

If someone won't answer it here, please let me know where.

 

I'm trying to research a cruise for next year. If you are sailing out of Southhampton England what airport do you fly into? And is it a big hassle to get to the port? If I'm reading it correctly, we would have to take a train??:eek:

Help!

 

If you're flying from Europe, you can fly into Southampton's own airport. But I'm guessing you're from North America, and that would mean flying to a European hub such as Paris or Amsterdam & switching to a Southampton flight from there. All a bit complicated & expensive, so most folk fly direct from North America to one of London's main airports, London Heathrow (LHR) or London Gatwick (LGW).

 

Heathrow is marginally closer & easier to Southampton than Gatwick, but the difference is pretty trivial. And they're equally-convenient to central London if you want to spend a few pre-cruise days in the city.

So don't decide which London airport you want to fly into, instead choose a London flight which is best for your departure airport, your preferred airline, & the best value flight tickets. Doesn't really matter if it goes to Heathrow or Gatwick.

You can travel from the airport to Southampton by train (easiest from Gatwick) or bus (easiest from Heathrow) or cruise ship transfer bus (from either airport, but only on sailing day) or private transfer. Once you've figured out your flights and decided whether you want to spend time in London or elsewhere (pre-cruise or post-cruise), come back with details including the airport, the date & flight arrival time & we'll set out details the various options and costs.

 

If you fly in on the day you sail (because of the risk of a flight delay or cancellation that's not recommended but a lot of folk do it) you will need an early-morning flight arrival time. Up to about 9am. Later is possible but carries a risk if delayed, limits your options, & pushes up the cost - seek our advice before booking a later flight.

 

If you fly home on the day your ship arrives back in Southampton, then choose a flight departure as late in the day as possible, certainly aim for a flight departure after 2pm. Earlier is possible but the same risks, limited options & increased cost.

 

A broad ballpark idea of the cost of a one-way transfer to Southampton for two people is anywhere from about 60USD to 200USD depending on your choice of transport.

For a one-way transfer for two from either airport to central London is between 20USD and 80USD

 

Noob has kindly linked you to the UK cruisers forum.

Unfortunately its the wrong forum :D.

That forum is for us Brits - but we do get the occasional trespasser posting on there & we try to help out. ;)

The ideal forum is British Isles/Western Europe

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

 

Nobody's gonna bash you for posting in the wrong place, we're all far too polite ;)

But the British Isles forum is where you're most likely to get most replies

 

JB :)

[feathersandnananose]

Your icon at the end of your note regarding taking the train suggests that you think it's a scary option. We thought so, too. We walked into a major London train station on our first trip and found it overwhelming.

 

But on our second trip, we went for trains several times, and it was EASY. Even the giant stations are easy to navigate: platforms are well-marked. If you buy the cheapest tickets ahead of time, you DO have to be there for a specific train, but you can also just turn up and buy a ticket when you arrive (more expensive). AND there is no luggage check, so you have to drag your luggage onto the train and stow it on the luggage racks (on every car). And we've seen people dragging their luggage close to their seats when the luggage racks were full. But it all works. The trains run often. Do not rule it out as a possibility.

 

Would that the U.S. had such service!

 

Barb in so cal

[Keith1010]

As usual JB has it right with his solid information.

 

Keith

[travlnblueberries]

Thanks all for the replies. I really appreciate it.

I wanted something different then the Caribbean, Bermuda, Bahamas.... I saw a cruise that went to the canary islands and wanted to give that a try. It would be on MSC, and that would be a whole new line for us. I realize MSC does things a little different then we are use to, (or at least that's what I've been reading) I understand that it seems like no one speaks English on the ship, and that has DH concerned. My concern is that they don't start dining till 8pm, which is really late for me. Someone suggested doing this other cruise that leaves out of London, that sails the canary islands, (the other sailed out of Italy.) But when I read about taking the train, it really did get kind of scary. I wanted to make sure which airport we would be flying into, so I could check flights (at least a rough estimate of prices)

I had no idea where to post the question, so thank you for direction, and thank you for the replies. :) .

If anyone cares to give your take on London, Italy, MSC, Canary Islands....please feel free. It's all new to me as I said, and I'd rather hear first hand experiences. Thanks so much

[John Bull]

Being an Italian line, MSC is very .................. errr.... well .... Italian

The most modern fleet of ships in the business, very stylish, beautifully clean & well-presented. Very competitively-priced, especially for those with children.

 

But the line doesn't suit everyone, so do read reviews. I think you'll find that the positive reviews are from folk who go with the flow, the negative ones from Americans who expected something more "American" and Brits who expected something more "British".

 

We've only sailed with them once, but our experience was:

Crews' command of English isn't good, but its not the big problem that you seem to be anticipating.

Food is very Italian, luke-warm, perhaps a bit repetitive, dinner is lots of little courses.

Service is OK, but mainly rather formal, restrained, and unsmiling. Some folk look on that as unfriendly, but it's just a cultural thing.

Entertainment understandably is visual & musical, and was very good.

I suspect that you'll find announcements are in multiple languages, which can be quite tiresome.

The average Italian passenger is incapable of waiting in line, though I doubt there'd be many on a UK/Canaries/UK cruise. Passengers will likely be Brits, Germans, Dutch, etc. There will be no shortage of English-speakers amongst the passengers.

On-board prices on a par with US ships, but a lot more things are chargeable such as after-dinner coffee.

Sailings out of the UK are a new venture for MSC & they did promise a few UK-friendly changes, such as afternoon tea & some traditional Brit dishes.

 

The Canaries don't appeal to Americans. They're vacation islands in the sun for northern Europeans.

Most Americans come to Europe for sight-seeing in the cities of the Med or the Baltic or the scenery of the Norwegian fjords, not for the beaches & resorts of the Canaries because there's plenty similar much closer to home.

There are some sights, including ports en route, but nothing iconic. Not a problem if sight-seeing isn't your thing.

 

No worries with trains in the UK.:cool:

IMHO not as good as in most western European countries but in a totally different league to Amtrak. Public transport of all descriptions is way better in Europe than in the US, and used by all sectors of the community.

 

JB :)

[travlnblueberries]

JB, Thanks so much for all the helpful information. When I think of the canary islands I think of "paradise scenery". I looked at a review with some pictures, (not sure now if that was Portugal) but it seemed rather gloomy.

DH likes to scuba dive, and I wanted a taste of Italy,(paintings and sculptures etc.) So I thought that the itinerary was perfect. I could see a little of Italy, and he could dive the canary islands. The other choice was Hawaii, but I think he would be the one making out on that deal !

[Thoie]

Having traveled on MSC, speaking English was not a problem - I didn't encounter a single crew member who didn't speak English (usually along with at least 3 other languages).

 

The Canaries landscapes aren't gloomy, but they can be quite arid. I can't see any MSC sailings from Southampton to the Canaries (but I didn't look very hard) - let us know what islands you'll be visiting and we can give you a better idea.

[travlnblueberries]

These are the two. I left out the sea days, I didn't think it was important.

So what are your thoughts?

 

Genoa, Italy 4:00pm

Malaga, Spain 1:00pm 7:00pm

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 8:00am 4:00pm

Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands 10:00am 8:00pm

Las Palmas, Grand Canary Island, Canary Islands 8:00am 5:00pm

Gibraltar, UK Territory 9:00am 6:00pm

Barcelona, Spain 7:00am 1:00pm

Genoa, Italy

　

The other

London (Southampton), England 4:30pm

Lisbon, Portugal 8:00am 6:00pm

Lanzarote, Canary Islands 8:00am 7:00pm

Grand Canary Island, Canary Islands 8:00am 7:00pm

Tenerife, Canary Islands 8:00am 5:00pm

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 8:30am 3:00pm

La Coruna, Spain 11:00am 5:30pm

London (Southampton), England

[travlnblueberries]

Having traveled on MSC, speaking English was not a problem - I didn't encounter a single crew member who didn't speak English (usually along with at least 3 other languages).

 

The Canaries landscapes aren't gloomy, but they can be quite arid. I can't see any MSC sailings from Southampton to the Canaries (but I didn't look very hard) - let us know what islands you'll be visiting and we can give you a better idea.

 

Thoie, if you don't mind me asking...

I read where someone said they went 24 hours before they were able to get a drink of water. Can you elaborate on that? I love my water and that's all I drink...well sometimes with a crystal light in it. But I don't drink coffee or alcohol.

[John Bull]

These are the two. I left out the sea days, I didn't think it was important.

So what are your thoughts?

 

Genoa, Italy 4:00pm

Malaga, Spain 1:00pm 7:00pm

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 8:00am 4:00pm

Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands 10:00am 8:00pm

Las Palmas, Grand Canary Island, Canary Islands 8:00am 5:00pm

Gibraltar, UK Territory 9:00am 6:00pm

Barcelona, Spain 7:00am 1:00pm

Genoa, Italy

 

Genoa as your embarkation port has little to offer compared to London. Though if beaches are your thing & sight-seeing isn't, you may prefer a few lazy pre-cruise days dipping your toe in the Med or stretched out on the beach.　

The only significant city is Barcelona.

But depart Barcelona at 1.00 pm????? What a waste of a glorious port-of-call :(

And Malaga arrive 1.00pm????? Not my favourite Spanish city, and insufficient time to get out of the city other than perhaps on a rushed & expensive ship's excursion to Granada's Alhambra.:(

Yet a full day in Gibraltar :rolleyes:. Interesting port-of-call but easily explored in the half-day visit scheduled by many cruise lines.

 

 

London (Southampton), England 4:30pm

Lisbon, Portugal 8:00am 6:00pm

Lanzarote, Canary Islands 8:00am 7:00pm

Grand Canary Island, Canary Islands 8:00am 7:00pm

Tenerife, Canary Islands 8:00am 5:00pm

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 8:30am 3:00pm

La Coruna, Spain 11:00am 5:30pm

London (Southampton), England

 

London is well worth an in-depth visit. About 75 miles from Southampton, but as you know your flight is likely to be to a London airport so it makes sense to build into your vacation a few days pre or post-cruise in central London, as many many North Americans do.

Lisbon is an interesting city & you have a full day.

But cruising Southampton about as far as Lisbon (down the English Channel & across the Bay of Biscay), the weather can be poor - especially October thru March. In fact we cruised that route in May this year & the weather wasn't special.

 

 

Me? I'd cruise from Southampton. And not just because I live only 20 minutes away.:cool:

 

But I'm not you. You have to choose for yourself.;)

 

JB :)

[Thoie]

Thoie, if you don't mind me asking...

I read where someone said they went 24 hours before they were able to get a drink of water. Can you elaborate on that? I love my water and that's all I drink...well sometimes with a crystal light in it. But I don't drink coffee or alcohol.

 

I went transatlantic from Florida on the Poesia, and there were machines for ice and water in the Villa Pompeiana Buffet on deck 13 pretty much all day (I think they closed between 2-6am or something). At dinner the waiters came around with jugs of iced water, and glasses of water were available at all the bars I went to. I've heard that on the European routes they use bottled water at dinner, but I haven't experienced that. There's no fear of dehydrating :)

 

As far as the dining times went, I chose the later (8:30) dining time, but there was an earlier sitting if you feel that's a bit late. I'd be surprised if they only had one dinner sitting.

 

I'm only fleetingly familiar with Grand Canaria, but Lanzarote and Tenerife are lovely. Lanzarote is very volcanic - lots of black lava. They cover the fields with it as well as it apparently helps retain moisture (I'm just in from a bar, so can't remember all the details). There's great scuba diving and snorkeling there around Puerto Calero. The old town of Puerto Del Carmen is pretty, and parts of Arecife (old Spanish architecture), but the "lunar" landscape in Parque Timanfaya in the south of the island is a big draw. If taking a tour, I'd recommend Los Jameos Del Agua and the Mirador Del Rio in the north of the island. The volcano (active) is interesting, but I found the caves to be moreso.

 

Tenerife is marginally greener, but still very volcanic. It too has an almost perfect cone on the south end of the island, but the Anaga hills to the north are really nice. I haven't dived from Tenerife, but I think the south of the island has the better diving spots (don't take that as gospel though!).

 

Madeira is much lusher than the Canaries. I'd probably prefer the Southampton departure, but I've no good reason for that :) I'd second John Bull's comments about the Barcelona and Malaga stops on the other route. The Bay of Biscay can be notoriously rough all year round.

 

Based purely on this forum, I was wary of MSC before cruising with them - there seem to be complaints about the service. Having traveled with both MSC and Royal Caribbean, I think the difference comes down to differences of service. On RCI you can't go 30 seconds without someone offering you a drink. On MSC they go for the more old-style service in that if you want something, you'll always be able to catch someone's eye, but they won't be standing on top of you at all times. The MSC style is more what I'm used to - I can find the American constant offerings a little over the top at times (which isn't deterring me from going there again!).

[travlnblueberries]

Thoie and John Bull, boy there really is a lot to consider.:rolleyes:

DH and I appreciate all your information. We will continue

to weigh our options. A few days in Italy or London would be

nice, being we don't know if we'll ever get back to Europe.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

travlnblueberries