Help With Pre-Cruise Arrival in London
 

My husband and I plan to arrive a day ahead of our Princess cruise around Great Britain next summer (paranoid about a delayed, etc. flight and missing the ship's departure). We'll arrive at Gatwick in the early AM with luggage, etc., and would like to see a little of London in the time we'll have before our transfer leaves from the Gatwick airport to Southampton the next day. Can someone tell us an easy way to see some of London under these circumstances? Are there taxis that leave from the airport into London that could take us directly to a hotel in town? If so, how much would the taxi cost? And if so, pleas recommend a hotel (centrally located, nice, but fairly inexpensive)? Or should we get a shuttle to a hotel near the airport, dump off our luggage, then go into town for the day and back out by evening? If so, which hotel, and how do we get into London from there and back? If there's another better plan, please let me know. Thanks!!

What time does your transfer leave LGW? Makes a difference re where you might want to stay.

As for how to get into London, <b>DO NOT</b> take a taxi. LGW is more than 30 miles from London and the drive could easily take 1.5 to 2 hours and cost up to &pound;100. There are fast, cheap trains that go directly from the terminal to a few different parts of Londonn in 30 mins or a bit more.

But, tell us what time you land and what time your transfer is, and we can make suggestions whether to stay in London or near the airport. And while you are at it - tell us your budget. &quot;fairly inexpensive&quot; is a moving target . . . .

We stayed at the Victor hotel in Victoria, 65 pounds B&amp;B through www.venere.com , We took the National Express bus from LHR to Victoria pounds ea,&amp; you will get a bus to Gatwick from there www.nationalexpress.com they give senior &amp; student disscounts, we are seniors &amp; find the buses are better than the trains for hauling luggage as the driver puts your luggage in the hold for you &amp; you are sure of a seat. Mail me for more info.

Sorry the bus was 5 pounds each

Why did you take the National Express coach from Heathrow to Victoria - it would have been cheaper (and quicker) on the Tube.

As for OP easiest way is by taking a train into London but which one to take depends a lot of a) where you are going to stay &amp; b) what you want to visit.

Until you answer those questions it's a waste of time recommending a particular train

Thanks for the replies! First time to Great Britain, so we know NOTHING about getting around. So - - we WON'T take a taxi obviously and we'll choose the train from LGW instead. - - With our luggage, etc., would it make any sense to FIRST take a shuttle to a nearby hotel (near the airport), then come back to the airport to ride the train into London (just to see a few of the common, touristy sights), then take the train back to the airport in the evening, shuttle back to the hotel, and then back to the airport the next day to get the Princess transfer to Southampton? (We'll be arriving in early morning on the first day and need to connect with the Princess transfer around mid-morning the next day.) This is all to avoid hauling our luggage around on the train. If this all sounds like a halfway good idea, we'd like a recommendation for that &quot;nearby&quot; hotel in the $75-100 range. Thanks!

That plan sounds a bit daft to me. You'll spend loads of time shuffling back and forth.

I don't see that it's really much harder to get luggage to a London hotel (if you pick one near the tube) than to a Gatwick hotel, and you can enjoy an evening out in London instead of sitting in a hotel room next to a motorway. (And Gatwick hotels may be more expensive than a lot of London ones!).

&quot;we'd like a recommendation for that &quot;nearby&quot; hotel in the $75-100 range&quot;....ummm, not a very realistic budget for popular areas in the UK I'm afraid. eg Holiday Inn Gatwick is from &pound;75 a room(pounds not dollars).

I'd give Priceline a go and stay in London at a nice hotel in your budget.

I was going to recommend the Arora International hotel in nearby (to Gatwick) Crawley which has access to the Crawley station rail platform a few steps from the hotel lobby since it looks as if you have paid for the transfer from Gatwick to the ship.

However I don;t think it is within your budget constraints.

For getting back and forth from London by rail the hotel is nicely situated. However, there is a Hilton actually AT LGW (and there may be several other hotels closer) but again not sure as to prices.

For my pre-cruise stay in London (cruised our of Dover) I used Just Airports for my car service (www.justairports.com) to pick me up. I had booked online and got a great rate of 32&pound; (approx $63) with tip. Much better price than a taxi and didn't have to deal with my luggage on a train or bus. I used priceline to get my hotel in London, which helped me pricewise while in expensive London. My EXTREMELY LONG Baltic cruise journal: http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/BalticJrnl.html

Monica ((F))

Hi L,

I'd arrive 2-3 days early and actully visit London.

However, www.gatwickbelmont.com/ is about 55GBP for a small double room with full bkfst.

They have shuttle service to/from the airport, and are very nice people who will help you get into London and back.

((I))

Lois, if you stay at a Gatwick hotel be VERY sure they have a shuttle to/from airport and what hours they operate. Most airport hotels in the London area do not have free shuttles to and from airports like we are used to in the U.S.

I'd take the train into London if I were you and get a hotel right at Victoria Station. I believe there is a Thistle right there. There is also a Holiday Inn Express close to Victoria. as for budget .. well, what is expensive to one person is not to another and vice versa. You have to define budget carefully on these forums.

We normally fly into Heathrow and I've only been to Gatwick once but we took the Gatwick Express into Victoria that time and it was NO problem. You can also hire a car/driver but with the distance from Gatwick into London it is more convenient to take the train.

Thanks to all again. So we either need to expand our budget significantly to stay in a hotel near LGW also with rail service nearby - - OR - - just plan on taking our luggage with us straightaway to a hotel in London. The &quot;justairports&quot; suggestion sounds interesting! Assuming we go with that suggestion to get picked up and taken to London, or bite the bullet and struggle onto a train with all our luggage and then struggle off the train with our luggage to find our London hotel near our &quot;touristy&quot; sites, could you give us a suggestion or two for a hotel in London, maybe in the $150-175 range? (As I write this, I wonder about which solution is more &quot;daft.&quot; Also - - which train from LGW. Thanks again!

Yes, maybe we SHOULD plan another day or two - - in that case a London hotel would be better for sure. It's more likely, though, that we'll have to cram everything into the day of our arrival and part way through the next (which also suggests we should try to stay in London - - near Victoria Station?) The luggage issue is still a pain to think about, but maybe that &quot;justairports&quot; solution, at least for the trip into London, might work pretty well. Another issue: I guess there are machines in the airport to exchange USD into GBP? Any problems, etc. with doing that?

Maybe you could divide up your luggage and leave part of it at Gatwick to be picked up on your way to Southampton. Is there a Left Luggage at Gatwick, anyone?

A hotel near Victoria Station would be very convenient for visiting London. The sights are a bit spread out for just walking, but Victoria is a tranportation hub. But hotels in London are VERY expensive. Many advise using Priceline.

You should have no toruble finding an ATM to get local currency at Gatwick.

Lois,
We have used car service pickups many times (from Heathrow) but they all serve Gatwick too. It's wonderful to get off a long flight and find someone waiting for you .. that someone holds a sign with your name on it and helps with luggage and takes you door to door from airport to hotel. We always use Ray Skinner, www.london-transfers.com but all are good choices. While they are &quot;expensive&quot; to some nothing beats the sheer convenience of it all :-)

Gatwick is served by the Gatwick Express train, it takes 20 min. (or so) into Victoria and is clearly marked. There is another train you can take (Southern Trains I believe) but I think most tourists go for the Express.

Now, about your luggage --- take half of what you planned on. Seriously, you do not need to take everything you own :-) People who go on cruises tend to do that we noticed. You are probably never going to see any of those people again so who cares if you wear the same outfit to formal nights anyway. Actually, we have been on a few Caribbean cruises and we skipped formal nights so that we did not have to bring extra clothes...it worked really well.

You will have no problems with finding an ATM at the airport. What we usually do when we go to the UK is order some money (About 50-75 pounds) from our bank. There is a service charge but it is nice to have the money in hand when we arrive and not have to think about the ATM. If you take a driver service be sure to find out about payment (cash, credit card).

The other choice you have, which I would think seriously about if I did not want to drag luggage in/out of London is see if the Hilton at Gatwick is &quot;attached&quot; to the airport terminals. The one at Heathrow is and we stayed overnight there once and simply took the train into London that evening. By being attached to the terminals you do not have to worry about shuttle buses or taxis.

You really do not have alot of time to see things, and as a frequent visitor to London I can tell you there is alot to see :-) One bit of advice tho is what I said earlier - rethink the luggage issue, it is not fun to haul luggage on/off trains, up and down escalators, etc. even if you are in great health and perfectly fit.

A few of the folks answering you are really more familiar w/ Heathrow than Gatwick. A car service from Gatwick makes almost NO sense, especially in the morning. For Heathrow - sure. But Gatwick is miles farther out and there is no motorway route into the city. During the norning commute it could easily take 2 hours to drive in from Gatwick, and cost twice the rates from Heathrow.

W/ a morning arrival and morning transfer the next day, I would not stay near Gatwick. You can (very) easily take the train from the Gatwick terminal right to Victoria station in central London. There are many hotels w/i walking distance of Victoria station - none however for $75. But you've already accepted that. One hotel (the Thistle) is right AT Victoria and another is less than 100 meters out the side entrance. The train takes only 30 mins each way so you would have no problems.

Now, about the luggage. If you are typical cruisers and are literally pack mules, then leave the big bags at LGW - &pound;5.50 per bag per day. Take only small day packs or carry-ons to Victoria since that is all you'd need.

(But if it were me, I wouldn't take the kitchen sink in the first place so taking all my luggage on the train wouldn't be difficult)

I agree. Take the train to Victoria Station and look at lastminute.com for hotels a few weeks before your arrival. Don't let the high prices scare you. There are some in the $120-$175 range. Just pick some and ask here for reviews

Why don't you just do a 1 night pre-cruise hotel thru Princess. Their &quot;package&quot; includes the transfer from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the pier. Breaking everything all apart is a huge hassle and will probably save you next to nothing. This is your vacation after all.

Since you haven't been to London before, and if the pre-cruise package for some reason doesn't work for you, I suggest you take the Gatwick Express (clearly marked, with plenty of room for luggage, and going directly to Victoria Station) and stay at the Thistle Victoria. You can enter the hotel from Victoria Station without even going outside. Couldn't be easier. If you arrive before your room is ready, they will store your luggage.

Then you could get the Big Bus hop-on, hop-off tour (the concierge can help you) and ride all over the city seeing the all the main sights. You can get off if something strikes your fancy and then get back on all day.

As a pretty inexpensive dinner suggestion, there is an ASK (part of a chain) restaurant on a street beside the hotel. They are called a pizza chain, but they have white tablecloths and offer a number of entrees. I have had a chicken and mushroom with pasta in cream sauce dish that I enjoyed a lot.

Also, the Apollo Victoria theater is on another side of the hotel where you may be able to get a same-day ticket if the play is to your liking.

The hotel is within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and St. James Park.

P.S. I don't own stock in this hotel and actually prefer the South Kensington area, but I did stay there once and it's a nice hotel and very convenient.