ElaineCaper

Will a train from Dover take us to Central London? Need just a clean simple room for the night but will want to do something in London and get to Heathrow by 3 pm. Most check outs are morning. What do we do with luggage till we go to airport? Where should we be looking for accommodations to make our travel and touring as convenient as possible? Any recommendations? Am I overlooking anything?

janisj

"<i>Will a train from Dover take us to Central London?</i>"

Yes.

"<i>What do we do with luggage till we go to airport? </i>"

Most every hotel (except for Travelodge and a few others) will hold your bags after checkout. Barring that - most London mainline train stations have left luggage facilities.

"<i>Where should we be looking for accommodations to make our travel and touring as convenient as possible?</i>"

Any area long the Piccadilly tube line (Kings Cross, Russell Sq, Covent Garden, South Kensington, Gloucester Rd etc.) The Piccadilly line goes through to LHR w/o any transfers. Or -- if you have a lot of luggage, you can pre-book a car service like justairports.com and stay anywhere in central London.

"<i>Any recommendations? </i>"

What is your Budget?

alanRow

You can take a fast train to St Pancras where there's also a direct Tube line to Heathrow. There are (much) slower trains to Victoria and Charing Cross both of which have indirect - but easy - Tube rides to Heathrow.

PatrickLondon

But the fast train is expensive (maybe not such an issue if you're on a cruise).

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk for trains to London.

If you end up staying near Charing Cross or Victoria (another option, incidentally, since both are central - Charing Cross is right beside Trafalgar Square and the theatre district), the tube journey to the airport is quite simple - westbound District Line to Hammersmith and walk a few steps across the platform to the Piccadilly Line for the airport.

janisj

My only concern about using the tube is luggage. <i>Some</i> cruisers do tend to over pack. If you are 'take everything' because we're on a cruise' sorts -- the tube will be a royal pain.

If you pack sensibly - any of the areas mentioned and taking the tube to LHR will be easy. Otherwise you'll want a car service to the airport (and likely a cab from the train station to your hotel)

ElaineCaper

Thank you all very much for the good suggestions. Will check out the links. I am interested in "pack sensibly." This is our very first cruise-17 days. There are at least 4 nights we have to dress "formal." Purchased a formal dress at a resale shop for $7! Husband has to bring a suit. It's the dress-up stuff that make packing a pain. (We are former campers.)
Regarding a room budget, can we get a comfortable bed in London around 80 euros?

Hooameye

"Regarding a room budget, can we get a comfortable bed in London around 80 euros?"

You'll need £'s (GBP) in London not Euros.

janisj

Are you sure you need to dress "formal"? Most cruises have dressy evenings but not actual <u>formal</u> nights anymore. Double check the dress code -- maybe by posting over on the Cruise forum about your specific line/ship.

Since your husband only needs a suit I suspect it is really semi-formal/dressy -- if it was formal formal a business suit would not be appropriate. A lot of women handle the dressy evenings by taking a long skirt or palazzo pants and then a couple of dressy or glittery tops. Just separates really - but dressy ones.

But like I said -- double check the dress code for your specific cruise.

ElaineCaper

Thanks again. All good suggestions. Posted on Cruise forum. You're right. Not as formal as we were led to believe.