Viking Air Questions

[Redtravel]

Just booked this cruise.  Same day as I booked and paid deposit, I got an itinerary change in Email from Viking. Instead of disembarkation in London at Greenwich, they will move the ship to Tilbury.  That is further down the Thames and a longer ride to London Heathrow.  We didn’t plan on staying in London. We’re ok since we booked air with transfers from Viking. For guests who did plan a stay in London, they now have a longer ride to get into town.  On Viking website, they still list disembarkation at Greenwich. They should update it.

[Peregrina651]

1 minute ago, Redtravel said:

Just booked this cruise.  Same day as I booked and paid deposit, I got an itinerary change in Email from Viking. Instead of disembarkation in London at Greenwich, they will move the ship to Tilbury.  That is further down the Thames and a longer ride to London Heathrow.  We didn’t plan on staying in London. We’re ok since we booked air with transfers from Viking. For guests who did plan a stay in London, they now have a longer ride to get into town.  On Viking website, they still list disembarkation at Greenwich. They should update it.

 

Unless all sailings of your itinerary have been moved to Tilbury, it will not be changed on the website.

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Just booked this cruise.  Same day as I booked and paid deposit, I got an itinerary change in Email from Viking. Instead of disembarkation in London at Greenwich, they will move the ship to Tilbury.  That is further down the Thames and a longer ride to London Heathrow.  We didn’t plan on staying in London. We’re ok since we booked air with transfers from Viking. For guests who did plan a stay in London, they now have a longer ride to get into town.  On Viking website, they still list disembarkation at Greenwich. They should update it.

Yes, Tilbury is further distance to LHR, but depending on the time of day it is a faster trip. Tilbury is only a few miles from the M25 and being opposite LHR you can go either direction to avoid potential congestion. The train station is a short taxi ride and has frequent service to Fenchurch at Tower Hill.

 

While we prefer not to use Tilbury, it is because it is a minimally converted cargo shed in an industrial/port area. However, unless you are using DLR/Thames Clippers, Tilbury has easier road access than Greenwich.

 

When we depart the Viking Sun in Greenwich, the limo quote from Greenwich to Kings Cross is virtually the same cost from Tower Hill to Tilbury. Tilbury is more than double the distance, but is mostly highway.

 

If we had a choice of Tilbury/LHR or Greenwich/LHR on a large bus, the preference is most definitely Tilbury.

[deec]

Heidi.  Will you please share the limo service you use in London!   Will be starting with a few days in London before boarding the Sun this June   We will need transportation from heathrow to our hotel and then from hotel to Greenwich 

[-Lew-]

2 hours ago, deec said:

Heidi.  Will you please share the limo service you use in London!   Will be starting with a few days in London before boarding the Sun this June   We will need transportation from heathrow to our hotel and then from hotel to Greenwich 

 

I'm not Heidi; however, we used Twelve Transfers in 2017 and have booked them again for our ten days in London next June.  They are very highly rates...we have found them to be excellent.

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, deec said:

Heidi.  Will you please share the limo service you use in London!   Will be starting with a few days in London before boarding the Sun this June   We will need transportation from heathrow to our hotel and then from hotel to Greenwich 

Hi Deec - We use Addison Lee in London. Nothing fancy, just regular cars, so prices are a little better than the ones that use Beemers & Mercs, etc.

 

In addition to a limo, we often ship our bags to the hotel from LHR & take the Tube. If flying BA and possibly AA, Airportr will pick up the bags right outside customs/immigration and ship them to the hotel in about 4 hrs. With the Tube fare, it was cheaper than a limo and personally we prefer the Tube to driving in London (even when not behind the wheel).

Edited December 12, 2019 by Heidi13

[lovestx]

On 11/26/2019 at 10:25 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

We did Midnight Sun in 2016, starting in London/Harwich. At that time, Air Plus was not available at all for any itinerary that included Bergen. We had to take what we were given and we had to wait until flights were issued at 75-90 days out to see what the flights would be. We wanted to book through Viking because we simply did not want to deal with having to get from London to where the ship was docked in Harwich, two hours from London. In the end, we lucked out. We were booked from non-stop RT from Boston to London and back to Boston and then had a one-way ticket from Bergen to London at the end of our trip.

 

I have gotten a bit more savvy since that trip and now I price shop our flights before deciding whether to book through Viking or on our own. Although, there are times when I want Viking to handle the transfers and don't even bother with checking prices; I just look for the the most convenient flight plan.

 

 

Peregrina, I am working on booking the Midnight Sun cruise for our son and his fiance as a wedding gift.  They will fly out of Boston.  AA is our preferred carrier and I can get good fares RT on AA in Premium Economy to LHR.  But I'm afraid to book the Bergen to LHR flight separately thinking that it will cause them to have to go through security again in LHR to check their bags.  Am I wrong on that?

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, lovestx said:

Peregrina, I am working on booking the Midnight Sun cruise for our son and his fiance as a wedding gift.  They will fly out of Boston.  AA is our preferred carrier and I can get good fares RT on AA in Premium Economy to LHR.  But I'm afraid to book the Bergen to LHR flight separately thinking that it will cause them to have to go through security again in LHR to check their bags.  Am I wrong on that?

 

Whether you book separately or not has nothing to do with going through security again.  Example, EWR, everyone going through customs has to go through security again if they have connecting flight.

 

Viking booked us RT LHR on one ticket and one way from Bergen on another. I can't remember if had to go through security again or not; I have a terrible memory. I only remember eating lunch in LHR.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, lovestx said:

Peregrina, I am working on booking the Midnight Sun cruise for our son and his fiance as a wedding gift.  They will fly out of Boston.  AA is our preferred carrier and I can get good fares RT on AA in Premium Economy to LHR.  But I'm afraid to book the Bergen to LHR flight separately thinking that it will cause them to have to go through security again in LHR to check their bags.  Am I wrong on that?

As Peregrina noted, whether you book separate flights or a through flight, you will most likely have to go security again at LHR. Even with flights into and then out of T5, we have had to go through security again, even when we never left the secure area.

 

If booking separate flights, they will have to reclaim bags at LHR and then check-in for the new flight. If this involves a terminal change, they will be dragging bags on the walkways or connection buses. The other issue is baggage allowances - long haul baggage allowance, with respect to number and weight, is much higher than local flights. This happened to us a few years ago flying Edinburgh to LHR to connect with the Vancouver flight. It cost us a fortune at Edinburgh to get our long-haul baggage on the plane.

[lovestx]

Thanks Peregrina. But I fear what Heidi suggests and Heathrow is huge. Think I'll book together

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, lovestx said:

Thanks Peregrina. But I fear what Heidi suggests and Heathrow is huge. Think I'll book together

 

Definitely, definitely heed Heidi!  Much more experienced at this world travel stuff than I am.