Trade Routes London excursion- is it worth of travel time?

[vnb2003]

We've never been to London but not sure the 9 hours excursion (actually only 5 hours. 4 hours of travel) worth of long travel.

 

For people who have done this, please give me pros and cons

 

Thank you.

[Peregrina651]

I think it depends on how many years of travel you think you have left in you. If you are in your 60s or older, do it. You never know what tomorrow will bring. IMHO, it is better to sit on a bus for 9 hours driving around the town, seeing what you can see than to not see it at all. London is one of those cities that you just must see. At least you will be able to say that you have been there.

[vnb2003]

I think it depends on how many years of travel you think you have left in you. If you are in your 60s or older, do it. You never know what tomorrow will bring. IMHO, it is better to sit on a bus for 9 hours driving around the town, seeing what you can see than to not see it at all. London is one of those cities that you just must see. At least you will be able to say that you have been there.

 

It's 4 hours or more to/from London. I'm afraid to stuck in London's traffic after those hours of travel. But you have a point - at least I would know what part of London I would love to re-visit :) Thank you Peregrina!

 

I'm still interested what people say about excursion.

[lackcreativity]

We are doing this same itinerary in October, and I have considered this question about both this excursion and the included one to Paris. Our situation is different in that we have been to both of these cities for short visits. I do want to return to both one day, but not for such a short time, so we will visit new places from both of these ports. However, I would likely make a different choice if we had never been there. As Peregrina says, you never know what the future holds (no matter what your age), so I would take a taste of Paris and London rather that risk never seeing them at all.

[vnb2003]

We are doing this same itinerary in October, and I have considered this question about both this excursion and the included one to Paris. Our situation is different in that we have been to both of these cities for short visits. I do want to return to both one day, but not for such a short time, so we will visit new places from both of these ports. However, I would likely make a different choice if we had never been there. As Peregrina says, you never know what the future holds (no matter what your age), so I would take a taste of Paris and London rather that risk never seeing them at all.

 

Thank you! We love Paris and the excursion looked ridiculous to us. 3 hours in Paris?! Are they kidding?! And all these brings me back to London. I know it's beatiful, I know the history, and I feel that we need to spend there at least a week. I'm afraid to be disappointed with the bus tour.

I'll check on my roll call if there are private tours.

[Twitchly]

We’re doing Trade Routes next month and decided against both London and Paris. We’d rather spend more time in each of those cities, especially London, and would rather fly directly to them. It’s about a 5-hour flight from our home to London; taking a lengthy bus trip just didn’t make sense to us.

 

We’re doing Stonehenge and Salisbury instead, since it’s truly unlikely we’ll ever get to those places again.

 

But that’s just us. And yes, we’re in our 50s and hope to do more travel.

[orchestrapal]

Thank you! We love Paris and the excursion looked ridiculous to us. 3 hours in Paris?! Are they kidding?! And all these brings me back to London. I know it's beatiful, I know the history, and I feel that we need to spend there at least a week. I'm afraid to be disappointed with the bus tour.

I'll check on my roll call if there are private tours.

 

Given the traffic we have experienced in London for the last few years you may be spending most of your time there waiting for the bus to move... London needs weeks not hours and any good Rick Stevens London will show you more than you will see from a few hour bus ride.

[dln929]

We've never been to London but not sure the 9 hours excursion (actually only 5 hours. 4 hours of travel) worth of long travel.

 

For people who have done this, please give me pros and cons

 

Thank you.

This is the way I look at it. It's a two hour bus ride to and from. The scenery through the countryside is nice for the most part so it's not a wasted two hours. Then you have five hours in the city. With proper planning you can see and do a lot. The bonus is that just from this quickie visit you will come away with one of two worthwhile conclusions: (A) "Ok, we can cross this off our bucket list. Been there & done that." or (B) "Wow! We've got to start planning a real vacation in London! This city is astounding!"

 

 

If you don't take advantage of being in the UK and seeing London even in this most limited way, how will you know if you're missing out on something you might really enjoy? I always think back to the first time we saw Lisbon. It was on a cruise years ago and Lisbon was on the itinerary. We certainly didn't pick this cruise because of Lisbon--the city wasn't even on our radar--but lo and behold we saw Lisbon and fell in love with it and now we visit as often as we can. Point is, we had an opportunity to see a city, took it, and have reaped years of enjoyment from it.

[TruJeffie]

I am also very interested in a post from someone that has taken this excursion and their thoughts. It is offered on my cruise in 2019.

 

Jeffrey

[dln929]

I am also very interested in a post from someone that has taken this excursion and their thoughts. It is offered on my cruise in 2019.

 

Jeffrey

Since you're interested, here's the description. The tour runs from 8:45 am - 5:45 pm and costs $119 pp. On our cruise next month it's already sold out.

 

Discover London, a bustling capital where the historic past and the vibrant present come alive. On this panoramic tour, you will pass some of the world’s most famous landmarks, including the iconic shopping districts of Regent Street, Oxford Street and Harrods department store in Knightsbridge. From Trafalgar Square, you will get a glimpse of the National Art Gallery, and pass Whitehall and Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister. Walking along the mall, admire Buckingham Palace, the London residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837. You will stop at Parliament Square to see the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Enjoy free time from your drop-off point in Covent Garden, home to a fabulous selection of handmade craft stalls and boutique shops, and experience the buzz of London’s famous Theaterland district. Savor a pint at one of the capital’s many traditional English pubs before returning to meet your ship in Portsmouth.

 

My opinion is that it gives you a nice little taste test of London. Is it the preferable way to see London for the first time? Well no, but if this is your only option to see it, why not try it?

[vnb2003]

Given the traffic we have experienced in London for the last few years you may be spending most of your time there waiting for the bus to move... London needs weeks not hours and any good Rick Stevens London will show you more than you will see from a few hour bus ride.

 

This is what I was afraid of and I agree with Twitchly that it would be much easier to visit London that just 6 flight hours away from us that visit other places Viking offers.

 

Thank you all of you who replied to this thread. All of your suggestions and thoughts are very valuable to me. :)

[lackcreativity]

I am also very interested in a post from someone that has taken this excursion and their thoughts. It is offered on my cruise in 2019.

 

Jeffrey

 

I think this itinerary (Trade Routes of the Middle Ages) is new, and has yet to sail for the first time. Unless there is another Viking cruise that has stopped in Portsmouth and run this excursion before, you will have to wait at least until after the first sailing that begins April 14, 2018.

[Peregrina651]

Oops. I didn't type fast enough and was beaten to the punch with the answer. I can't delete the whole post but I can delete what I wrote--especially since it didn't really answer the question.

[Peregrina651]

I think this itinerary (Trade Routes of the Middle Ages) is new, and has yet to sail for the first time. Unless there is another Viking cruise that has stopped in Portsmouth and run this excursion before, you will have to wait at least until after the first sailing that begins April 14, 2018.

 

I don't know but is it possible that Viking has already done similar from Tilsbury or Southampton (names I've seen on itineraries but don't know if they have sailed yet or not).

[stretchcruz]

Would I, personally, want to take a several hour bus ride to London to take a several hour bus around around London to take a several hour bus ride back? No. I don't think you can say that you have "seen" London from a bus. I've been there twice, renting apartments, and exploring. As we were walking around we'd look up at the tour buses and see the folks peering down and we felt sorry for them. But that's just us. We also did not do the tour to Paris. We had been there, also renting an apartment, for 4 days. The bus ride to Paris wasn't worth it in our opinion. We took a cab to Honfleur instead and enjoyed it greatly. We also didn't do the train ride to Berlin. Never been to Berlin, would love to go, but not spend hours on the train for a few hours there and then hours back. We enjoyed our day in Warnemunde and Rostock very much. So..to each his own! If you think you could enjoy "seeing" London for just a few hours, go for it!!