Considering a TA,,, where to start??

[Jcol5786]

Hello,

 

My wife and I enjoy cruising and have recently retired so we are planning to do some additional cruises. We love the idea of a TA cruise but the logistics of getting back from a one-way cruise are a little daunting. We have done all of our cruising on RCI and want to stay with them because of the perks that have accumulated. We live in southern Ontario and have been cruising quite a bit on Anthem of the Seas out of Bayonne NJ. It's a 4 - 5 hours drive for us  and we use the park and cruise packages offered by the hotels in the area. Anthem does a TA repositioning cruise to Southampton  on May 1st next year and we are considering taking this cruise.  The price is reasonable but we would need to get accommodations for a day or 2 after we arrive and then get a flight back ideally to Newark airport which would be very close to our hotel where our car would be parked. We have never travelled overseas so we are a little nervous about the simple logistics getting to and from the SH cruise port to  hotel to airport etc.  I guess this is probably a job for a travel agent but it anyone has any suggestions or advice it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Jcol5786 said:

Hello,

 

My wife and I enjoy cruising and have recently retired so we are planning to do some additional cruises. We love the idea of a TA cruise but the logistics of getting back from a one-way cruise are a little daunting. We have done all of our cruising on RCI and want to stay with them because of the perks that have accumulated. We live in southern Ontario and have been cruising quite a bit on Anthem of the Seas out of Bayonne NJ. It's a 4 - 5 hours drive for us  and we use the park and cruise packages offered by the hotels in the area. Anthem does a TA repositioning cruise to Southampton  on May 1st next year and we are considering taking this cruise.  The price is reasonable but we would need to get accommodations for a day or 2 after we arrive and then get a flight back ideally to Newark airport which would be very close to our hotel where our car would be parked. We have never travelled overseas so we are a little nervous about the simple logistics getting to and from the SH cruise port to  hotel to airport etc.  I guess this is probably a job for a travel agent but it anyone has any suggestions or advice it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Southampton has a number of hotels within an easy taxi ride from the various cruise terminals. In addition to Southampton, you could also book a hotel in London for a few days, as they have multiple trains most hours.

 

Southampton does not have a direct train to LHR, but National Express Coach has multiple buses every day to Heathrow. If you stay in London you have fast train service from Paddington, or the regular tube.

 

In addition to bus & train, you can hire a limo, or a shared ride service. Lots of options. 

[shippmates]

If you could get a ride to Bayonne to take the Anthem to Southampton, why not check out returning to NYC on the Queen Mary 2.  You would need to get transportation to Bayonne from NYC or return home from NYC.  This option could take a good bit of planning but it can be done.

 

[TheOldBear]

4 hours ago, Jcol5786 said:

Hello,

 

My wife and I enjoy cruising and have recently retired so we are planning to do some additional cruises. We love the idea of a TA cruise but the logistics of getting back from a one-way cruise are a little daunting. We have done all of our cruising on RCI and want to stay with them because of the perks that have accumulated. We live in southern Ontario and have been cruising quite a bit on Anthem of the Seas out of Bayonne NJ. It's a 4 - 5 hours drive for us  and we use the park and cruise packages offered by the hotels in the area. Anthem does a TA repositioning cruise to Southampton  on May 1st next year and we are considering taking this cruise.  The price is reasonable but we would need to get accommodations for a day or 2 after we arrive and then get a flight back ideally to Newark airport which would be very close to our hotel where our car would be parked. We have never travelled overseas so we are a little nervous about the simple logistics getting to and from the SH cruise port to  hotel to airport etc.  I guess this is probably a job for a travel agent but it anyone has any suggestions or advice it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

You may want to explore a non RCI option.

Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 does many crossings each year, not just seasonal repositioning sailings. As suggested above, you could combine a QM2 crossing with a RCI repositioning, and avoid airport and airplane hassles.

Mrs Bear and I have decided a better option for us involves round trip crossings, with a few European port visits in between Southampton turn around days. Our next sailing has 26 nights, but we only need to unpack once.

[LHT28]

You could think about flying to NJ  then fly back to YOW  from London

or find a cruise  coming back to NYC  within a few days of your arrival in the UK   like Cunard

 

 We stayed at the Mecure Dolphin in Southampton then took Smiths  transport to LHR for the flight home

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Southampton here we come!  First of all…why not expand your horizons a wee bit?  So many pax are glued to the idea that they have to stay in Southampton to catch the ship…boring IMO.  There are so many other alternatives.  Why not fly to NY from Ontario and Uber to NJ?  Why not land in Southampton and go up to London via rail or bus?  Years ago we always started or ended in London.  The last time we went we decided London had gotten too crazy so we decided to hang out in Brighton for a few days.  Love the restaurants, the fish and chips in Brighton and shopping in The Lanes and great hotels too!  We took the coastal rail to Southampton.  It turned out to be a great adventure and loads of fun.  We were four people with twelve pieces of luggage (We like to dress onboard ship.) and Brit Rail handled it all splendidly they even arranged for luggage handling and transportation to the ship.  There are also some excellent places to visit along the South coast of England and some great hotels.  London to Southampton is just two hours by rail.  Avail yourself of the excellent public transportation.  Even the National Express (bus) is really good.  We traveled from Heathrow to Brighton by bus and it was an excellent experience.  You don’t need a private car to transport you.  Use your transatlantic crossing as a springboard to create an excellent adventure.  

[Jcol5786]

Thanks for all of the replies. We hadn't considered looking into a return cruise on Cunard which is an interesting option. I guess we will need  to spend some time researching our stay in SH or as suggested travel to London or perhaps tour around a bit.  The south coast sound very nice. I assume there are  better return flight options from Heathrow then the SH airport so ending up in London might be helpful?

 

As for flying from Ontario to NYC or NJ we tried it once and after that we decided that we  would prefer to drive. We are not close to any major airport so by the time we factor in the drive to the airport, normal time to check in, wait in the terminal and finally getting on the plane it's actually quicker and more comfortable for us to drive to NJ. We spend the day before the cruise in a nice hotel and our parking is fixed based on the hotel park and cruise package so it doesn't matter how long we are gone for. Looks like we will have a lot of things to research and consider. I noticed that no one has suggested getting a travel agent involved. Do people generally sort and plan all these details directly or is a TA suggested. We haven't used a TA before.

 

Thanks

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, Jcol5786 said:

I noticed that no one has suggested getting a travel agent involved. Do people generally sort and plan all these details directly or is a TA suggested

 

I'll chime in and suggest that a travel agent's services could be very helpful for you.  

 

Sailing to Great Britain on a RCL ship, I expect that they will offer a transfer service to London from Southampton.  Utilizing their service might reduce your concerns and allow you to use your research time as to what you would like to try to do in/around London before you return home.  

[LHT28]

I use a TA to book the cruise but flights/hotels etc.. I DIY

 

Enjoy

[shippmates]

A travel agent would be very helpful in planning all the logistics of cruise, flights, hotels, and transportation to an from.  Planning is just as much fun and taking the trip.

 

[shipgeeks]

OP, I'm envious of your adventure-to-come!

I agree with the idea of researching whether a Cunard crossing, for your return, would work.

Also, since you prefer to drive to the port, would you consider using a rental car, which you could just turn in, and not have to worry about retrieving after you return to the US?

Please keep posting your thoughts and questions.  I bet there are more good ideas around, just waiting to be added to your options.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

You are limited yourself  by only looking at driving to Ny area ,

drive to Ottawa or Kingston and fly 

nothing is nice than doing a week cruise in the Mediterranean and than taking a transatlantic back to North America 

This fall we are doing a cruise out Copenhagen up to Oslo and back than staying on the ship going to Iceland and Greenland end up in Boston 

our last cruise was a 12 night cruise Athens to Israel to Rome than 14 days to Fort Lauderdale 

 

[Worldcruiser1983]

On 4/6/2022 at 4:44 PM, Jcol5786 said:

Hello,

 

My wife and I enjoy cruising and have recently retired so we are planning to do some additional cruises. We love the idea of a TA cruise but the logistics of getting back from a one-way cruise are a little daunting. We have done all of our cruising on RCI and want to stay with them because of the perks that have accumulated. We live in southern Ontario and have been cruising quite a bit on Anthem of the Seas out of Bayonne NJ. It's a 4 - 5 hours drive for us  and we use the park and cruise packages offered by the hotels in the area. Anthem does a TA repositioning cruise to Southampton  on May 1st next year and we are considering taking this cruise.  The price is reasonable but we would need to get accommodations for a day or 2 after we arrive and then get a flight back ideally to Newark airport which would be very close to our hotel where our car would be parked. We have never travelled overseas so we are a little nervous about the simple logistics getting to and from the SH cruise port to  hotel to airport etc.  I guess this is probably a job for a travel agent but it anyone has any suggestions or advice it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Take the Queen Mary back to nyc. Or another ship back. I am taking a TA from Florida to Southampton and taking a TA back to Florida. Stopping in Iceland, etc.

 

[Jcol5786]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. We clearly have lots of options to consider. Let the planning begin!

[SbbquilterUT]

We are booked on the Anthem TA next May but it is only the beginning of the trip.  If I am traveling all the way to Europe from the West coast I want to enjoy Europe and make the most of the time.  We are going from Southampton to Prague for 3 days, then on to Budapest for 3 days and finally boarding a river cruise.  We see that TA as so much more fun than the flight over. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

6 hours ago, SbbquilterUT said:

We are booked on the Anthem TA next May but it is only the beginning of the trip.  If I am traveling all the way to Europe from the West coast I want to enjoy Europe and make the most of the time.  We are going from Southampton to Prague for 3 days, then on to Budapest for 3 days and finally boarding a river cruise.  We see that TA as so much more fun than the flight over. 

We might see each other in Le Havre , I am on the Apex 

[Fairgarth]

Anthem gets to Southampton on 12th May.  QM2 leaves Southampton for NYC 6 days later on 18th May, arriving on 26th May.  So if you wanted a few days in Blighty and a sail home, there you go.

 

You can relax about getting around over there, public transport is pretty good.  If you want to come straight home, I'm sure RCI will have a bus from the ship to Heathrow.  LHR to Newark non-stop would be on United or British Airways.  You could be back in Newark same day if you book an afternoon flight.  Note that airlines book only 300 days in advance so you can't find out schedules for next May.  If you look at this year's schedules, next year won't be that different.

 

If you wanted to spend a few days over there, London is hard to beat.  From central London to Heathrow, you can choose from taxi, Uber, tube or Heathrow Express.  Or here's a thought - if you just want a couple of days, why not take the RCI bus to Heathrow and check in to a Heathrow Hotel.  You can easily get into central London when you want to do some sight-seeing.  And then you are already in the airport vicinity when it's flight time.

[travellovers2]

We have cruised out of Southampton several times. We always stay at The Pig in the Wall. It's a cute boutique hotel.  It's very close to the port. You are also close to shops and restaurants. 

 

Happy Travels! 

[Cruise Kay]

I am debating on the Anthem Transatlantic, so I’m following this discussion!

[YoPhilly]

We've wanted to do a transatlantic for years and never quite managed to do one.  So what did we choose for our first trans-ocean cruise?  29 days Los Angeles to Auckland!!  Fingers crossed that we'll enjoy it.  I think so, because we mostly love just being out on the water.  Here's hoping!

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, YoPhilly said:

So what did we choose for our first trans-ocean cruise?  29 days Los Angeles to Auckland!! 

 

You will be stopping at some islands en route to Auckland and that will add more enjoyment for you.  I hope you are planning on staying in Auckland and New Zealand for a few days.  Auckland many attractions and New Zealand is an interesting and beautiful country to visit.  

[YoPhilly]

22 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

You will be stopping at some islands en route to Auckland and that will add more enjoyment for you.  I hope you are planning on staying in Auckland and New Zealand for a few days.  Auckland many attractions and New Zealand is an interesting and beautiful country to visit.  

Yes, we'll do a 15-day cruise around NZ and then Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney.

[rkacruiser]

On 7/17/2022 at 3:11 PM, YoPhilly said:

Yes, we'll do a 15-day cruise around NZ and then Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney.

 

Great!  Probably two areas on that itinerary that you will visit are Fjordland National Park and Milford Sound.  I wish for you the same great weather that I have enjoyed each time I have visited those areas.  The Sounds of Fjordland are my favorite, but Milford Sound is lovely in its own way, I think.  

[YoPhilly]

14 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Great!  Probably two areas on that itinerary that you will visit are Fjordland National Park and Milford Sound.  I wish for you the same great weather that I have enjoyed each time I have visited those areas.  The Sounds of Fjordland are my favorite, but Milford Sound is lovely in its own way, I think.  

Thank you, rkacruiser.  We have 18 months of excitement until embarkation!