London help - Page 5 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

seetosea · 11-05-2007, 09:47 PM

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. Your detailed responses are greatly appreciated. This is exactly what I was looking for. I feel empowered to take on London and to make appropriate choices while there.

Please keep them coming.

Jackie

BillG35 · 11-07-2007, 06:53 PM

Glad we were able to provide you with worthwhile information. If other questions arise as your trip gets closer, don't hesitate to come back and ask them. Someone is sure to know the answer or where to direct you to find it.

smitty · 11-08-2007, 08:38 PM

hi ilive 40 miles from london. see if this helps
1.the underground is the cheapest and best way into the centre
2.train. i think its liverpool street station. dont know the cost
you will find it expensive i.e. pint of beer $6-8 pack of cigarettes $10
if you use taxis use only london black cabs; they always have a meter inside
try the london eye its worth the money

nealberk · 11-08-2007, 08:54 PM

The London black cabs are almost always more expensive than the other cab companies BUT the black cab taxi drivers are real professionals who know more about London driving than anyone. If they take you a longer route it is because they KNOW it is the best route either because of traffic, construction, or because it offers you the scenery that you wanted.

What is interesting is the amount of training that the cab drivers have to have and the extensive testing that they go through. It takes two years to get a license and the test is murder. The person giving the test is allowed to do anything to confuse the person taking the test including changing destinations, giving poor descriptions of where they want to go, and arguing with the testee. Always fun!

JodiBB · 11-10-2007, 10:52 AM

We've stayed at the City Inn Westminster when we did our Scandanavian cruise in 2005...it's a great hotel!!! It's very modern, almost like Ikea blew up in it or something. The Tube is about a 3-block walk, but in a very charming neighborhood. It's right down the street from the Tate Museum, which is a great place to spend your day.

Did you get transfers with your cruise package? If so, when you get off the plane and get your luggage your travel rep will meet you and make arrangements to get to the hotel and from the hotel to the ship.

If you didn't, you can either purchase those transfers, or go via the Tube. There may be some transfers necessary, but it IS doable.

Before you get to London, purchase a London Pass with a Travel Card for the number of days you'll be in London. It's a great money saver, gets you into most attractions and you get to cut into the front of the line, so there's no waiting!!! We bought these and saves easily about $100/pp by the time we were done on our 3 days there. The funny part was we ended up going to attractions that we would've never spent the time doing, but because they were included on the card, we went and had a good time.

Hope this helps!

nealberk · 11-11-2007, 02:17 PM

One of the things some friends of ours did that was simply because it was on the London Pass was the Churchill war room.

They loved it. (We wanted to go see it but it was one of the (all too many) things that we just did not have time for.

JodiBB · 11-12-2007, 03:52 PM

We did the London Aquarium on the London Pass. It was fun, but small. Had it not been for the London Pass, we wouldn't have spent the money, but we were in the area looking at the sidewalk vendors when we came across it. Like CA's Monterey Aquarium MUCh more....LOL

LuLu · 11-12-2007, 04:12 PM

We LOVE London!

Sooooooooooo agree with Neal! There is no better value than a BLACK CAB! Worth every penny!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nealberk

The London black cabs are almost always more expensive than the other cab companies BUT the black cab taxi drivers are real professionals who know more about London driving than anyone. If they take you a longer route it is because they KNOW it is the best route either because of traffic, construction, or because it offers you the scenery that you wanted.

BillG35 · 11-12-2007, 04:37 PM

We did the Churchill War rooms the last time we were in London and found the tour to be quite interesting and worth the admission price. The wartime tunnels in Dover were a similar experience. Didn't purchase a London pass but will definitely consider it this time.

Char · 11-12-2007, 05:23 PM

Looks like we are going to have to go back to London to see all the things we missed before!