gumshoe958

See my reply to your other thread but you can buy standard Oyster cards with cash at some tube station ticket machines. There is a £7 admin fee. You are right about capping, the daily cap is £14.90 as long as you stay within London zones 1-6 and don’t use the Heathrow Express train (use the tube or the Elizabeth line train instead). If you have unused credit left on the card at the end, if it’s under £10 you can get it back from a tube station ticket machine. Otherwise you have to call up or apply by mail. But as I said on the other thread, contactless cards or Apple/Google Pay are MUCH easier and are the way to go if you have them.

If you have credit or debit cards that are contactless enabled - ie that let you just tap and pay without having to enter a PIN or sign anything - OR you have Apple or Google Pay on your phone, you don’t need to bother with Oyster or travelcards. Just touch in and touch out at the start & end of every tube or rail journey and you’ll be charged a maximum of £14.90 a day. This is by far the easiest and most cost-effective way of getting around London. Visitor Oyster cards cannot be bought in London or at the airport. You have to order them by mail before you leave home and they’re only worth considering if you don’t have contactless cards or Apple/Google Pay. One-day travelcards cost more - £15.20 if you don’t use them before 9:30am Mon-Fri or £21.50 if you do - and can be bought in London or at the airport. But they’re only worth considering if you don’t have contactless cards or Google/Apple Pay and are using cash. Windsor is a bit more complicated as it is outside London. From Heathrow there is a direct bus (number 8, every 30-60 mins, takes an hour) from Terminal 5 (not 4). Or from London, there is a direct train from Waterloo station (every 30 mins, takes an hour). Either way you’ll need to buy a separate ticket at the station or on the bus, using cash or contactless card, as Windsor is not part of the Transport for London network and its daily fare capping and Oyster cards aren’t valid.

Don’t do it. There are much nicer hotels in nice areas of London for similar or even cheaper prices.

No confusion with dates I fear: 4 nights at the Premier Inn County Hall, 2-6 Aug in a Plus Room with breakfast for 2, Flex rate does indeed price out at £1079 which is $1319. Which, for a Premier Inn, is exorbitant. I strongly advise the OP to look elsewhere in London where prices are more reasonable.

There is no way on earth I would pay $1300 for 4 nights in a Premier Inn! They’re absolutely fine for what they are - basic, clean and consistent - but not at that price! If you’re in London for four nights don’t confine yourself to Waterloo - you can easily jump in a cab to get there on departure morning. For instance for under $1000 I’m seeing the Hilton London Hyde Park which is right above a tube station (Queensway) so easily accessible for sightseeing as well as on several bus routes, both city buses and HOHO, and in a nice part of town. That will be far nicer than a Premier Inn, for less money! (If you do look at other Premier Inns, and there are lots, avoid the “Hub” ones - they have tiny rooms.)

I think there’ll still be big feature shows - just not Broadway/West End ones which cost a lot of money to license and which Royal has little or no creative control over. The Wizard of Oz “reimagined” says to me it’ll be an in-house production inspired by the original, just like Effectors is Royal’s own take on a Marvel Avengers type movie.

If there are five of you I’d book a car service. The trains, while faster and cheaper (if booked in advance) have very little luggage space and you’ll have to load and unload all your cases on and off the train and into and out of cabs at both ends.

Not very easily. The nearest station, called Percy Main, is about a 20 minute walk from the cruise terminal. That’s on the self-contained Tyne & Wear Metro, which runs frequently into Newcastle city centre and stops at Central station where you can catch mainline trains to York, Durham & Edinburgh. In reality it’s easiest to take a cab from the cruise terminal to the city/Central station.

There are M&S Simply Food grocery stores in the arrivals halls at Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 5, after baggage reclaim and customs. I’ve never looked but they may sell a limited selection of wine. They’ll certainly have some sodas. But as @John Bull correctly says, the options around the cruise terminals in Southampton are very limited and involve a fairly grim walk through the industrial port area.

Yes, you can book them in advance via several apps. Eg: https://www.gett.com/uk/city/london/ which is the one we use at work (although this is not an endorsement: Google will throw up many more!) If you don’t book and just jump in a cab at the airport it will be metered and the price will vary according to time of day, traffic etc. But Transport for London, which sets the fares, suggests £52 to £97 for central London. By comparison at this moment Uber is quoting £52.

Yes. Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 all have their own car parks so make sure when you book your Uber you specify the right terminal. The Uber app should tell you where the pick-up is but it can be confusing finding the right level and zone so do ask a staff member if necessary. I believe Uber drivers have to wait somewhere off airport until they accept a job so don’t expect one to arrive instantly. Black cabs, however, can line up right outside arrivals.

Uber or Bolt will probably be cheapest. They pick up in a designated place in one of the short stay car parks opposite the terminal. Taxis (or black cabs, as they’re known in London) and pre-booked limos will be more expensive but may be more convenient.

Good choice. Trains run up to four times an hour and take between 50 and 60 minutes.

If you use the Elizabeth Line/Circle Line option, the price is £13.30 one way. For a return trip the price is £14.90 and you won’t pay any more for any other journeys you make on Transport for London (TfL) services that day as that is the daily cap, assuming you pay by contactless debit/credit card or Apple/Google Pay. Allow 30 mins for the journey from your hotel to T3. If you aim to leave at 6.30am you’ll be fine.

You need to book on board. It’s consistently inconsistent. Some maitre d’s seem to happily let JS guests book multiple nights in one go, others let them book one night at a time, others won’t let them book at all (maybe it’s genuinely full, maybe not, who knows?). Pot luck really. Just head up there as soon as you can and see what happens.

Agreed, it’s very good value given the current high prices for everything in the cruise planner. Just be aware it’s a LOT of food if you have dinner every night and lunch on every sea day! But you have lots of restaurants to choose from.

Nice! In which case you can either take a cab to Waterloo (15 mins if the traffic’s ok, more if not) OR it’s a 5 minute walk to Goodge Street station (which has elevators down to the platforms), then a 10 minute tube journey on the Northern line direct to Waterloo. A cab will be easiest if you have luggage; the tube isn’t easy with big cases. Fast trains from Waterloo to Southampton Central run every 30 minutes and take about 75 or 80 minutes. Then it’s a 10 minute cab ride to the cruise terminal (there are several, so make sure you find out which one your ship is docked at. Your cruise line will tell you).

London’s a huge place with hundreds of hotels and anywhere in central London is an easy cab ride away from Waterloo. However there are a few hotels within easy walking distance of Waterloo which are popular with cruisers, such as the Marriott County Hall and the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge or for the more budget-conscious the Premier Inn Waterloo or Premier Inn County Hall.

That hotel is connected directly to Terminal 4 by an overhead walkway. Terminal 4 has its own (separate) tube and train stations underneath the terminal. You can EITHER take the new Elizabeth line train to Liverpool Street (every 30 mins), then change on to the Circle line tube and go two stops to Tower Hill. That is the more expensive but slightly quicker option - about an hour. OR you can take the Piccadilly line tube (every 10 mins), get off at Hammersmith and from the adjacent platform take a District line train to Tower Hill. The whole journey will take around 1 hour 20 minutes but is a bit cheaper. To get from your hotel to Terminal 3 it’s one stop on either the Piccadilly or Elizabeth lines to Heathrow T2&3, then follow the underground passageways. That’s a free journey BUT you’ll need to ‘touch in’ and ‘touch out’ with a contactless debit or credit card (or Apple Pay/Google Pay) to get through the ticket barriers: you won’t be charged though.

Up to you I guess: the historic centre of Bruges is fairly compact and one of its real pleasures is just wandering around at your own pace, getting a bit lost as you soak up the beautiful architecture and views and stopping off for a beer and a waffle or three! But obviously a guide would be able to explain the context of what you’re seeing and help you avoid getting too lost! Canal trips are easily sorted on the day, there are many competing companies operating more or less continuously. Just bear in mind whether you go it alone or join a tour, there’s quite a lot of walking involved as the centre is largely traffic-free and whether you arrive by cruise line bus or train you’ll have about a 15 minute walk there and back.

Yes on both counts. As you exit the terminal you need to cross the main road that runs past it and you’ll see the tram stop off to the right, just before the bridge. It’s only one stop, literally a 3 minute ride. The station and the busy open space outside it where trams from all over the city stop are built on their own little island surrounded by canals, and as you leave to walk towards the city (just follow the crowds) you’ll see the canal cruise places: there are several different companies.

Most cruise lines offer a “Bruges on your own” tour - basically a shuttle between the Zeebrugge cruise terminal and Bruges, although you’ll have to walk the last mile or so as tour buses aren’t allowed into the historic centre. You’ll also find at least one company at the cruise terminal selling shuttle rides to Bruges as an alternative to the cruise line’s tour. Alternatively the cruise line may offer a cheaper - or even free - shuttle to the nearby town of Blankenberge, from where it’s a quick (15 min) and cheap train ride to Bruges. The trains are efficient but only run once an hour. Finally there’s the super-budget (but quite fun for kids) option of taking the coastal tram from Zeebrugge to Blankenberge, then the train into Bruges.

I’m sure he would! Although it’s a very short journey - only 5 minutes or so, as the cruise terminal and station are only about three quarters of a mile apart. The #26 tram stops outside the front of Central Station and in the street just outside the cruise terminal and runs very frequently, every 5-10 minutes.

I live in the Bush and enjoy that very walk every day! But you’re right, public transport is probably best for a visitor! @SakeDad The simplest route from Shepherd’s Bush to the London Eye is actually the 148 bus - almost door to door (it stops at Westminster Bridge, a 3-5 min walk along the river). It’s not as fast as the tube - roughly 45 mins depending on traffic - but sit up top and you’ll enjoy great views of Hyde Park on the way for much less than a HOHO bus (albeit without the commentary). But if you do want to do the HOHO, both Tootbus and Big Bus pick up at Notting Hill Gate station which is a 3 minute tube/10 minute bus ride or an easy 25 minute walk from Shepherd’s Bush.

Not on a Sunday morning unfortunately. The first train, Dart or otherwise, out of Dun Laoghaire is 9.18.