cruise-quest1 Posted April 20, 2021 #1 Share Posted April 20, 2021 Hi, We are taking 2 cruises The Aegean Oddessy which finishes in the Port of Tilbury and the following day we leave on the Queen Mary at Southampton. We would like some people suggestions for 4 somewhat physically challenged 70+ year olds --how to get from Port of Tilbury, UK to Port of Southampton, UK and stay in hotel near Port of Southampton? Thanks Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Kat Posted April 20, 2021 #2 Share Posted April 20, 2021 4 minutes ago, cruise-quest1 said: Hi, We are taking 2 cruises The Aegean Oddessy which finishes in the Port of Tilbury and the following day we leave on the Queen Mary at Southampton. We would like some people suggestions for 4 somewhat physically challenged 70+ year olds --how to get from Port of Tilbury, UK to Port of Southampton, UK and stay in hotel near Port of Southampton? Thanks Rick Howdy Rick and welcome to the Cruise Critic message boards! Thank you for your first new thread! 👍 To help you out, I have moved your thread to the Ports of Call - Europe - British Isles/Western Europe forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have sailed there or live there frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles here on this forum and l👀k for titles of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that will be of interest to you. Cruise Critic is a great resource for new as well as experienced cruisers and we are so glad you found us! Please feel free to browse the Cruise Critic Community Categories list. Read a few threads in the different forums to get a feel for what each forum is about. Make sure you read any pinned threads (aka Stickies) on the top of the first page of threads in a forum. You will find very important instructions or information there. Please remember the following stated in the Guidelines we all agreed to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships: Browse Before You Post Browse a topic first to see if your question has already been asked or answered by someone else. Also, many of the major cruise lines forums have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) topic that has been created by our members. Give that a try first. Browsing is your #1 best resource! Please post your messages in an appropriate topic so that you'll receive the best possible response. It is very time consuming to move misplaced messages that are in the wrong topics. Anytime you need to start a new thread on a forum, first make sure you are in the correct forum for your topic. Word your new thread title in a way to help the members know exactly the information you seek. This greatly helps the members browsing through the thread titles and if they know the information they will reply to you. It is best to limit each inquiry to only one topic or concerning only one cruise line, one ship, one port of call, etc. and of course, on the correct forum. You will get more replies that way. Be sure to mention your cruise line, ship, port or sail date in your inquiry as that sort of information will help your fellow members help you. Wanted to let you know the Cruise Critic Roll Call thread for your line, ship and sail date will be the place for you to get to know the other Cruise Critic members sailing with you before the cruise. Your fellow Roll Call thread members may have important information posted in your Roll Call thread. Especially those that have sailed your line, ship or itinerary before. Also, the Roll Call threads for your two cruises are the only place on Cruise Critic where you and your fellow Roll Call thread members are allowed to post personal ads about sharing private tours, excursions, transportation etc. with each other to 💲ave money. That is ... if COVID-19 protocol allows by then. There is a "captive audience" since you are all sailing together! You will receive a much better response to your share request if you take some time to read the entire Roll Call thread, post an introductory post about yourself, and continue on with more posts back and forth to get to know the other thread members and allow them to get to know you first before you post your share request. That is the spirit of our Roll Calls. To explain our Roll Calls and finding the Roll Call thread for your line, ship and sail date, please read What is a Roll Call? Everything you Need to Know and How To: Create A New Roll Call if one has not been started for your ship & sail dates. For more information about our famous Roll Calls, please read the Roll Calls and Our Policy Regarding Facebook and Roll Calls sections in the Guidelines. Also, since you mention 4 somewhat physically challenged 70+ year olds, be sure to research our Disabled Cruise Travel forum. That is where cruisers with physical limitations share their advice & experiences. And don't forget, after your cruise be sure to submit your review for publication. Many cruisers will benefit from your experience! See How To: Submit a Member Review. So sorry this is so long, but I sincerely hope this information will be helpful to someone new to posting on our message boards. So glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! Happy sails, Host Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted April 21, 2021 #3 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Hi, and welcome to Cruise Critic As an Irish friend of mine would say, "the easiest way to get to Southampton would be not to start from Tilbury" 🙃 Not an easy journey by public transport, especially for old-timers with luggage. By train - Short taxi hop to Tilbury town station, train to central London's Fenchurch St station, cross central London by tube (includes one change of tube train) or taxi to Waterloo station, then train to Southampton. Journey time about 3 hours, Walk-up fare £53 per person - or only £22 per person for advance ticket purchase and the ticket is is only for the train time that you book. By bus - 25 minute taxi ride to Bluewater shopping centre, National Express coach to central London's Victoria coach station, change there to coach to Southampton. Convoluted route, total journey time about 6.5 hrs, fare about £22 per person plus £?? taxi fare. Or if Voyages to Antiquity offer airport transfer buses, you can then take a direct Southampton bus from Heathrow airport or a direct Southampton train from Gatwick (Gatwick would be easier). Fare from either is about £25 pp, plus ship's transfer bus from Tilbury Since there are four of you, I suggest a pre-booked door-to-door private transfer. 115 miles. Journey time nominally just over 2 hours, but much of this is on the notorious M25 London orbital motorway so could be 3 hours. At a vague guess probably around £170 to £200 for the vehicle. I don't know the operators in Tilbury, see how you get on by googling "Tilbury UK taxi" And seek quotes from https://www.smithsairportcars.co.uk/ (based near Southampton) and https://www.blackberrycars.com/ Both are frequently recommended on Cruise Critic If your dates are a a long way out they might not quote until closer to your date. .......................................................................... Queen Mary usually sails from QE11 cruise terminal or Ocean cruise terminal but all hotels listed on this page are in Southampton city centre and none are more than a £10 taxi fare from any cruise terminal https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm (I suggest you don't book any transfer service offered on there, they tend to be over-priced - someone has to pay for that excellent website 😉) JB 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sddsddean Posted April 21, 2021 #4 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Not often I get a chance to say JB has boobed, so I'll say it now...JB has boobed! The bus from Bluewater would mean getting the little passenger ferry from Tilbury to Gravesend first, so don't even think about it! (I think JB was thinking of Thurrock Lakeside shopping centre). However, all the other info is fine, but as there are 4 of you, definately try and get a car or van (we call them minibuses over here) service of some sort. The train journey is OK and I think the cruise line normally runs a bus shuttle from Tilbury pier to the station, but if you do it that way I would definately use a cab (London black cab) from Fenchurch St to Waterloo. More money, but the Underground is a nightmare with luggage. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted April 21, 2021 #5 Share Posted April 21, 2021 2 hours ago, sddsddean said: Not often I get a chance to say JB has boobed, so I'll say it now...JB has boobed! The bus from Bluewater would mean getting the little passenger ferry from Tilbury to Gravesend first, so don't even think about it! (I think JB was thinking of Thurrock Lakeside shopping centre). However, all the other info is fine, but as there are 4 of you, definately try and get a car or van (we call them minibuses over here) service of some sort. The train journey is OK and I think the cruise line normally runs a bus shuttle from Tilbury pier to the station, but if you do it that way I would definately use a cab (London black cab) from Fenchurch St to Waterloo. More money, but the Underground is a nightmare with luggage. Simon The cruise line is no longer Voyages to Antiquity, but rather these cruises are being run by Road Scholar. It looks like they transfer to the airport at the end of the cruise, so that might be the best choice for the OP's group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekent Posted April 21, 2021 #6 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I agree with the posters above in that with the circumstances given by the original poster a private transfer by car does seem the most appropriate and easiest way to do this journey. The train journey does not have to be quite as difficult as that quoted in that all Tilbury line trains into London stop at West Ham station prior to Fenchurch street which interchanges step free (if the lifts are working!) with the Jubilee underground line that would take you directly to Waterloo for the Southampton trains. For one or two people with manageable luggage this might be the best option but for the 4 of you as stated I suspect the car would be a much better choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted April 21, 2021 #7 Share Posted April 21, 2021 1 hour ago, gnome12 said: The cruise line is no longer Voyages to Antiquity, but rather these cruises are being run by Road Scholar. It looks like they transfer to the airport at the end of the cruise, so that might be the best choice for the OP's group. What was I thinking! That wasn't what I meant to say at all. I said more and then erased some, and left it not making sense. What I was trying to say was that a private transfer probably makes the most sense. It isn't worth the trek to the airport (either one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted April 21, 2021 #8 Share Posted April 21, 2021 4 hours ago, sddsddean said: Not often I get a chance to say JB has boobed, so I'll say it now...JB has boobed! The bus from Bluewater would mean getting the little passenger ferry from Tilbury to Gravesend first, so don't even think about it! (I think JB was thinking of Thurrock Lakeside shopping centre). However, all the other info is fine, but as there are 4 of you, definately try and get a car or van (we call them minibuses over here) service of some sort. The train journey is OK and I think the cruise line normally runs a bus shuttle from Tilbury pier to the station, but if you do it that way I would definately use a cab (London black cab) from Fenchurch St to Waterloo. More money, but the Underground is a nightmare with luggage. Simon National Express bus No, Simon, JB didn't expect the OP to take the foot ferry from Tilbury to Gravesend. JB didn't even know about a ferry from Tilbury to Gravesend 😄 Hence the "25 minute taxi ride to Bluewater shopping centre" for a Nat Express coach. But I guess neither makes much sense Dave's local knowledge makes crossing central London to Waterloo station by tube easier, but even without that change the tube is no fun with cruise luggage. Fenchurch St station to Waterloo station is about 3 miles by taxi. Any idea of the fare, anyone? Probably double it, cos 4 + luggage would be a bit snug in one cab. We all reckon that private transfer is best. Which is fine, cos none of us are paying for it.😉 But I still think ship's transfer bus to Gatwick airport and train from there to Southampton (or ship's bus to Heathrow airport & Nat Express bus from there to Southampton) is worth considering. Gatwick is much closer to Tilbury than Heathrow & trains to Southampton run hourly, buses from Heathrow are less frequent. Check ship's airport transfer charge, add £25 for train or bus, & multiply by four. Then decide if that saves a lot compared to a private transfer . JB 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now