4774Papa Posted April 26, 2017 #26 Share Posted April 26, 2017 Good advice from John. We rented a car in 2013 for three days in England, driving from Harwich to near Heathrow, then drove to Salisbury, Stonehenge and Avebury one day. The next day we drove to Windsor Castle. DW helped me immensely by reminding me on the left, on the left. Fortunately, we had an automatic with a navigation system. I strongly advice any American renting a car in Britain to rent an automatic, since shifting with your left hand while negotiating those roundabouts just didn't cut it. Having an automatic helps you to focus on staying on the left and staying out of trouble. Further, a NAV system was a necessity. Sure, you can do a lot with a good map, but once in city, navigating becomes far more complicated. Another issue, parking. You don't want to park in the wrong place. Big mistake. Finding a parking garage is not always easy. Still, the British countryside is amazing. Most of the towns have 700-800 year old Norman churches, thatched houses, fields with hedgerows and history everywhere. We lived in Germany for four years some time ago and loved the German countryside, but in my opinion, Britain's is even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smakcanada Posted July 8, 2017 #27 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Sorry, I give up.More Cruise Critic gremlins :mad: JB :) Sorry to butt in on this conversation. I'm trying to find a car rental near Southampton Cunard dock, or one that will pick up. I have a discount with Avis but they seem to be mikes away at Southamton airport. I will be disembarking on the 4th Aug from the QM2. I plan to drop car at Heathrow gate 5 on aug 5 afternoon. Does antone know what the taxi fare from Cunard dock to Soutgampton airport is? Thank you. S. Sent from my SM-T810 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted July 8, 2017 #28 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Sorry to butt in on this conversation. I'm trying to find a car rental near Southampton Cunard dock, or one that will pick up. I have a discount with Avis but they seem to be mikes away at Southamton airport. I will be disembarking on the 4th Aug from the QM2. I plan to drop car at Heathrow gate 5 on aug 5 afternoon. Does antone know what the taxi fare from Cunard dock to Soutgampton airport is?Thank you. S. Sent from my SM-T810 using Forums mobile app About £20 - £22 from the taxi rank at the cruise terminal. Or about £16 - £17 pre-booked with someone like www.westquaycars.com A little more if it's from QE11 terminal, which is a little deeper in the docks. About 8 miles, 20 minutes. But it does avoid your having to drive in town traffic, the airport is close to the M27 & M3 motorways. Avis used to offer delivery from their airport depot after they closed their depot in town, not sure if they discontinued that. Hertz, Europcar, National, Alamo & SixT are much closer. If it's important to you, bear in mind that cars are usually shift-stick unless you specify automatic transmission JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smakcanada Posted July 9, 2017 #29 Share Posted July 9, 2017 About £20 - £22 from the taxi rank at the cruise terminal.Or about £16 - £17 pre-booked with someone like www.westquaycars.com A little more if it's from QE11 terminal, which is a little deeper in the docks. About 8 miles, 20 minutes. But it does avoid your having to drive in town traffic, the airport is close to the M27 & M3 motorways. Avis used to offer delivery from their airport depot after they closed their depot in town, not sure if they discontinued that. Hertz, Europcar, National, Alamo & SixT are much closer. If it's important to you, bear in mind that cars are usually shift-stick unless you specify automatic transmission JB :) John Thanks so much. I learned on a standard & have driven many times in Norn Iron, but I was worried tge Avis desk was £50 away! Siobhan Sent from my SM-T810 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerelmx Posted July 9, 2017 #30 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Yes, we do this Stonehenge, Winchester Cathedral and King Arthur in our prior cruise full day tour, we hire a private company tour for 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerelmx Posted July 9, 2017 #31 Share Posted July 9, 2017 My camera time was not at London time, Stonehenge picture was at 5:16 AM, Winchester Cathedral at 7:35 AM and King Arthur at 10:24 am, July 27, 2000, Splendour of the Seas British Isles and Norwegian Fjords. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted July 9, 2017 #32 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Ahh yes, the historic Round Table of the knights of King Arthur, hung on the wall of Winchester Castle's Great Hall. That table is certainly historic - it's been carbon-dated to the 13th century. Just one little snag. King Arthur, if he ever existed, would have ruled somewhere around the 6th century. Which kinda shows that forgery is a very old profession ;) JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turangi! Posted July 9, 2017 #33 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Smakcanada, We rented a car at Heathrow and dropped it off in Southampton near the Port through Eurocar. You could see the AZ Quest from the car rental office but we did have to get a cab because the port entrance was at the other end of where our ship was docked but it only cost about £10. Just make sure you indicate that you want to pick up at the Port, not the airport! Lifeasme123 Stonehenge is worth seeing, maybe if you try to do only that it might be workable?? We booked our time on line with an English Heritage pass and walked up to the window but it still takes time to take the bus out to the site and to really enjoy wandering around it. Turangi! Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smakcanada Posted July 9, 2017 #34 Share Posted July 9, 2017 In essence, if you go online in the USA and look for CDW insurance you will find several reputable companies offering it for a modest price. If you buy it at the car rental desk, and be sure that they will try to persuade you, it is a lot more expensive. It pays to examine a rental car carefully when collecting it; taking pictures as well. The big name rental companies are pretty good, but some of the cheaper one have been known to charge users for some minor bit of damage that was already on the car. Normally you get a car with a full fuel tank and they will charge you for re-filling it after you return it. They always charge a lot more than the general pump price, so filling it up just before you hand it back is a good plan - time permitting of course. If you have an American Express Gold card, or other 'premium' credit card, you are automatically covered for additional rental car insurance (reduced deductible), so don't buy it at the rental desk - you will not get more, more insurance. But you have to pay for the car, jncludingvtge deposit with that card. Also, I always video the car front to back, including tire treads, and I photograph odometer reading as well as gas gauge. Sent from my SM-T810 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smakcanada Posted July 10, 2017 #35 Share Posted July 10, 2017 My camera time was not at London time, Stonehenge picture was at 5:16 AM, Winchester Cathedral at 7:35 AM and King Arthur at 10:24 am, July 27, 2000, Splendour of the Seas British Isles and Norwegian Fjords. Enjoy Great photos! Sent from my SM-T810 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crown Vic Posted July 16, 2017 #36 Share Posted July 16, 2017 About £20 - £22 from the taxi rank at the cruise terminal...JB :) JB, spot on! Mid May, taxi from the rank at City Cruise Terminal to Southampton Airport was £23 flat fare plus tip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smakcanada Posted July 16, 2017 #37 Share Posted July 16, 2017 About £20 - £22 from the taxi rank at the cruise terminal.Or about £16 - £17 pre-booked with someone like www.westquaycars.com A little more if it's from QE11 terminal, which is a little deeper in the docks. About 8 miles, 20 minutes. But it does avoid your having to drive in town traffic, the airport is close to the M27 & M3 motorways. Avis used to offer delivery from their airport depot after they closed their depot in town, not sure if they discontinued that. Hertz, Europcar, National, Alamo & SixT are much closer. If it's important to you, bear in mind that cars are usually shift-stick unless you specify automatic transmission JB :) JB: Thanks so much. I'm all set with west quay cars. Fare estimate (they're on metres) should be no more tgan £15. Siobhan Sent from my SM-T810 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha 1 Posted July 19, 2017 #38 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Those interested in the latest research on King Arthurs burial site might peruse grahamphillips.net. There is an 8 page excerpt posted there of Phillips 25 year research on Arthur. And, no, he wasn't buried at Glastonbury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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