7/18/2010 Mickey's Baltic Ballyhoo!! Part 2

[MrsG]

I was just checking the dates of our cruise. DH gets 2 weeks of vacation (not sure if they will let him tack on an extra day before.) That said, we will probably get a flight on Fri. July 16 landing in London Sat. AM. That will give us about a day in London before the cruise (and maybe some time on Sun. before we board). We dock back at Dover on the 30th which will give us Fri. at the end of the trip to maybe spend in London.

I know we're starting to think of pre-post cruise stays. Anyone else doing something like this. My preference would be to fly in one day earlier (Thurs night) but not sure how doable that would be.

 

[jilljill]

I was just checking the dates of our cruise. DH gets 2 weeks of vacation (not sure if they will let him tack on an extra day before.) That said, we will probably get a flight on Fri. July 16 landing in London Sat. AM. That will give us about a day in London before the cruise (and maybe some time on Sun. before we board). We dock back at Dover on the 30th which will give us Fri. at the end of the trip to maybe spend in London.

I know we're starting to think of pre-post cruise stays. Anyone else doing something like this. My preference would be to fly in one day earlier (Thurs night) but not sure how doable that would be.

We did what you are thinking, flew over Friday night, spent Sat. touring and went to the port on the 9:45am coach and arrived at the port a little after 12noon. We could have taken a later coach, but didn't want to risk any delays on the motorway even if it was Sunday morning.

For coming home we went from the port directly to Heathrow to fly home. It's not that easy to just pop into London for a couple of hours if you fly out that day.

Rather than flying in on Thurs. why don't you just stay an extra night after the cruise? Flights are usually the same rate if you fly out on Fri. or Sat.

 

[bellelinus]

Train, coach or private transfers.

Easiest place to catch the train or coach is Victoria Station, but there are a couple of other connection options in the city. There are many private transfers available but can be outrageous due to the distance, about 2 hours.
Last summer we used the National Express Coach and it was around $60 for the 3 of us one way. Had I booked it sooner it would have been cheaper. Will definately book it at 12 weeks out for this cruise.

I've found some links for transfers:

http://www.acxtransfers.com/dover.htm
http://www.adlg.co.uk/dover.htm
http://portcullis-uk.com/11.html
http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

I'll add this to the first post . . .

Honestly, the next Sat. Feb 28th is better for us. The airfare might be cheaper then as well as the 21st is within Feb. school break here and rates that week are awful.

Just my 2 cents.

It's fine with me . . . let's just see if that date works out for most of the rest

I must "come out" and confess ......... My name is Isabel and I've just been pricing up flights from London to New York so that I can go and play with my DIS friends when I KNOW I can't afford it

You know you are welcome here!

 

[MrsG]

We did what you are thinking, flew over Friday night, spent Sat. touring and went to the port on the 9:45am coach and arrived at the port a little after 12noon. We could have taken a later coach, but didn't want to risk any delays on the motorway even if it was Sunday morning.

For coming home we went from the port directly to Heathrow to fly home. It's not that easy to just pop into London for a couple of hours if you fly out that day.

Rather than flying in on Thurs. why don't you just stay an extra night after the cruise? Flights are usually the same rate if you fly out on Fri. or Sat.

Yes, we will probably do one night before and one after the cruise. We usually like to go home the day the cruise ends, but we just might have to do it this way. Thanks for the input.

 

[jilljill]

I must "come out" and confess ......... My name is Isabel and I've just been pricing up flights from London to New York so that I can go and play with my DIS friends when I KNOW I can't afford it

Another confession.....

.....My name is Barb and I've been looking at going to Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or Iceland this summer while DD is in the Baltics. I've looked at airfare, hotels, even packages and several different dates.

Is there a 12 step program for vacation addicts?!?

 

[jilljill]

I'll add this to the first post . . .

Thanks

 

[jilljill]

Yes, we will probably do one night before and one after the cruise. We usually like to go home the day the cruise ends, but we just might have to do it this way. Thanks for the input.

You are more than welcome. I'm thinking we might add another night at the end of the cruise as well. Any excuse for extra time in London.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Quick drive by hello/ good bye have a terrible migraine so staying off the old laptop,

 

[Caropooh]

You have a much better paper person than I, my paper usually shows up about 6:30 AM!

That's just not right. Your paper should have just been coming off the presses when you left in the middle of the night.

I normally hear them deliver it around 4:45-5:00 when I'm out in the living room saying good morning to all of you!

 

[Caropooh]

I had no clue my very early 'Morning to all would cause such a conversation when most should have been in bed.

we can be chattilicious at any time of day or night!

 

[Caropooh]

I first wanted to thank everyone for posting information. I had seen in the past information on transfer options, not DCL, from London to Dover but I can't find it and it wasn't listed on page 1

Can anyone list those otions again if you don't mind?

Train, coach or private transfers.

Easiest place to catch the train or coach is Victoria Station, but there are a couple of other connection options in the city. There are many private transfers available but can be outrageous due to the distance, about 2 hours.
Last summer we used the National Express Coach and it was around $60 for the 3 of us one way. Had I booked it sooner it would have been cheaper. Will definately book it at 12 weeks out for this cruise.

I've found some links for transfers:

http://www.acxtransfers.com/dover.htm
http://www.adlg.co.uk/dover.htm
http://portcullis-uk.com/11.html
http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Welcome aboard
Glad you asked about pre-cruise stays in London as my family is going to do that as well. We'll probably fly in 2 days before the cruise leaving one day for jet lag and one day for exploring London. With only one day in London we want a hotel that is close to a lot of tourist sites too.






Thanks for the info
Was that rate for the Park Place for 2 people or more ? I remember reading that some rooms only accomodate 2 people so the rates can be deceiving if you're looking for a room for 4.

When do the hotels start taking bookings for July 2010, this summer ?

You'll want to explore the day you get in as well. You can sleep when you get home. We arrived at our hotel and checked in at 9am, freshened up a bit, and then set out exploring and did not return to the hotel until 9:30 that night. It was a long day and we had a blast and did not experience jetlag at all. This is what we always do when we fly to the 'other side of the pond'.

Since everything is spread out in London you really need to decide what you want to see and then look at a map and decide the area you want to stay in. We base our hotel in location to a tube station or in this case close to Victoria Station to cut down travel time on embarkation day.
We've also been to London many times and know the area we like to stay in, but this past trip was the first time to stay in the Victoria station area and we did like it. It kept me away from the shops that I like to go to and since we didn't have the time for shopping scared1: horrors, I know) it didn't matter that I wasn't close to Oxford Street or Bond Street.

The Park Plaza Victoria London, http://www.parkplaza.com/londonuk_victoria rate was for the 3 of us. Sometimes it can be challenging to find a room for a4.

I was just checking the dates of our cruise. DH gets 2 weeks of vacation (not sure if they will let him tack on an extra day before.) That said, we will probably get a flight on Fri. July 16 landing in London Sat. AM. That will give us about a day in London before the cruise (and maybe some time on Sun. before we board). We dock back at Dover on the 30th which will give us Fri. at the end of the trip to maybe spend in London.

I know we're starting to think of pre-post cruise stays. Anyone else doing something like this. My preference would be to fly in one day earlier (Thurs night) but not sure how doable that would be.

We did what you are thinking, flew over Friday night, spent Sat. touring and went to the port on the 9:45am coach and arrived at the port a little after 12noon. We could have taken a later coach, but didn't want to risk any delays on the motorway even if it was Sunday morning.

For coming home we went from the port directly to Heathrow to fly home. It's not that easy to just pop into London for a couple of hours if you fly out that day.

Rather than flying in on Thurs. why don't you just stay an extra night after the cruise? Flights are usually the same rate if you fly out on Fri. or Sat.

Yes, we will probably do one night before and one after the cruise. We usually like to go home the day the cruise ends, but we just might have to do it this way. Thanks for the input.

You are more than welcome. I'm thinking we might add another night at the end of the cruise as well. Any excuse for extra time in London.

You all are very planalicious! I haven't even begun to think of pre and post cruise except to know we want a couple days in London!

 

[Caropooh]

Honestly, the next Sat. Feb 28th is better for us. The airfare might be cheaper then as well as the 21st is within Feb. school break here and rates that week are awful.

Just my 2 cents.

I checked and airfare is the same for us either weekend.

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Another confession.....

.....My name is Barb and I've been looking at going to Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or Iceland this summer while DD is in the Baltics. I've looked at airfare, hotels, even packages and several different dates.

Is there a 12 step program for vacation addicts?!?

WOW thats quite an itinerary and totally different hemispheres as well I'm impressed We definately must belong to the same therapy group

 

[jlawall]

Morning all those Ballyhooers !!!! who should be in bed by now

Wow, I just missed you by one minute, I was up all night...........

 

[jlawall]

I first wanted to thank everyone for posting information. I had seen in the past information on transfer options, not DCL, from London to Dover but I can't find it and it wasn't listed on page 1

Can anyone list those otions again if you don't mind?

Train, coach or private transfers.

Easiest place to catch the train or coach is Victoria Station, but there are a couple of other connection options in the city. There are many private transfers available but can be outrageous due to the distance, about 2 hours.
Last summer we used the National Express Coach and it was around $60 for the 3 of us one way. Had I booked it sooner it would have been cheaper. Will definately book it at 12 weeks out for this cruise.

I've found some links for transfers:

http://www.acxtransfers.com/dover.htm
http://www.adlg.co.uk/dover.htm
http://portcullis-uk.com/11.html
http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Wow, actual posts about the cruise.......weird.

 

[jlawall]

Honestly, the next Sat. Feb 28th is better for us. The airfare might be cheaper then as well as the 21st is within Feb. school break here and rates that week are awful.

Just my 2 cents.

I must "come out" and confess ......... My name is Isabel and I've just been pricing up flights from London to New York so that I can go and play with my DIS friends when I KNOW I can't afford it

I'll add this to the first post . . .



It's fine with me . . . let's just see if that date works out for most of the rest



You know you are welcome here!

Let's just say February 28th as our lunch meet in NYC. That way, Izzi can book it on a non-holiday weekend............

 

[bellelinus]

Quick drive by hello/ good bye have a terrible migraine so staying off the old laptop,

I haven't heard you talk about headaches for a while! Have they been monitoring your condition and it has deteriorated????

Let's just say February 28th as our lunch meet in NYC. That way, Izzi can book it on a non-holiday weekend............

Since Maryann was better with the 28th and I haven't heard any one say they COULDN'T do it on the 28th, let's start to plan for that date . . .

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

OK Ballyhooers !! We're about 6 pages off being shutdown. I did say I would start part 3 but it's too soon to do it now and as it's late my side of the pond and I want to go to bed there are a couple of options

1. You keep the overnight posting down to less than 6 pages and I'll set it up tomorrow morning

2. If you are feeling very chattylicious then someone else will have to start off part 3

I'll leave the choice to you

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Let's just say February 28th as our lunch meet in NYC. That way, Izzi can book it on a non-holiday weekend............

Thanks for thinking of me but unless a miracle happens ...... like we win the lottery I wouldn't count on me being there but thanks for thinking of me and you never know stranger things have happened at sea

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Ok off to bed now, got to keep the post count down Night, Night, play nice