2 nights in UK before cruise

[Ombud]

1st I thought I'd stay in Earls Court or Notting Hill but another poster was discouraging on Earls Court. Then I thought maybe just go to Southampton and take a tour to get there from LHR. Now I'm confused. It would be my 4th time in London (usually a week on a little park in Earls Court). But the only time I've spent in Southampton is getting on a ship once. WWYD? Is there enough to fill 1.5 days? (Marking 1 day for an all day tour to get there)

[phabric]

I have stayed in Winchester, enjoyed see Winchester Cathedral.

 

www.winchester.com

 

I have stayed in Portsmouth and enjoyed the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Spinnaker Tower

 

www.visitportsmouth.co.uk

 

Both places can be visited from Southampton by National Express.

 

 

[John Bull]

19 hours ago, Ombud said:

1st I thought I'd stay in Earls Court or Notting Hill but another poster was discouraging on Earls Court. Then I thought maybe just go to Southampton and take a tour to get there from LHR. Now I'm confused. It would be my 4th time in London (usually a week on a little park in Earls Court). But the only time I've spent in Southampton is getting on a ship once. WWYD? Is there enough to fill 1.5 days? (Marking 1 day for an all day tour to get there)

An all-day tour ending in Southampton???

Visiting which places?

 

JB 🙂

[Ombud]

53 minutes ago, John Bull said:

An all-day tour ending in Southampton???

Visiting which places?

 

JB 🙂

My 1st choice would be a return to Bath. My 2nd choice would be anything near Southampton. I've been to London for a week on work several times (which was how I found Earls Court) but haven't been to Southampton other than the pier to get on a cruise. 

 

I did find a walking tour for the full day there 

 

Now I just need the ride down 

[Post Captain]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

My 1st choice would be a return to Bath. My 2nd choice would be anything near Southampton. I've been to London for a week on work several times (which was how I found Earls Court) but haven't been to Southampton other than the pier to get on a cruise. 

 

I did find a walking tour for the full day there 

 

Now I just need the ride down 

 

Bath certainly would work as your base for two nights before your cruise.  It's really no further from Southampton than London is.  There are frequent trains from Bath to Southampton Central; the journey time is only an hour and a half, and the advance fare is as low as £19.50.

 

[Ombud]

On 3/17/2022 at 2:15 PM, Post Captain said:

 

Bath certainly would work as your base for two nights before your cruise.  It's really no further from Southampton than London is.  There are frequent trains from Bath to Southampton Central; the journey time is only an hour and a half, and the advance fare is as low as £19.50.

 

If my plane lands in Heathrow at 12:10, what time should I clear immigration? Trying for a tentative plan 

[John Bull]

8 hours ago, Ombud said:

If my plane lands in Heathrow at 12:10, what time should I clear immigration? Trying for a tentative plan 

it varies quite a lot, but reckon on an average of 60 to 90 minutes to clear the formalities..

 

JB 😊

[ihopfar]

This is probably a silly question, but I have not flown internationally very much.

 

How do they time the bags being delivered to the carousels?   Since you have to clear immigration before you get to the baggage reclaim area, I assume they don't deliver the luggage until folks have time to get through passport control.   But do they time it for the quickest folks, the slowest folks, or the average folks?    

 

Not really important in the grand scheme of things, but I don't want to wait for my luggage because I was quick through immigration, but I don't want it going around on the carousel for a while without me either. 🙂

 

Thanks!

Brad

[Post Captain]

1 hour ago, ihopfar said:

This is probably a silly question, but I have not flown internationally very much.

 

How do they time the bags being delivered to the carousels?   Since you have to clear immigration before you get to the baggage reclaim area, I assume they don't deliver the luggage until folks have time to get through passport control.   But do they time it for the quickest folks, the slowest folks, or the average folks?    

 

Not really important in the grand scheme of things, but I don't want to wait for my luggage because I was quick through immigration, but I don't want it going around on the carousel for a while without me either. 🙂

 

Thanks!

Brad

 

At Heathrow, I've never had to wait at the carousel for any length of time at all.  In fact, as far as as I can recall of my Heathrow arrival experiences in the 2010s, my luggage has already been on the carousel by the time I've gotten there; just a few minutes to get a luggage cart, watch a single revolution of the conveyor belt, and grab my bag, and I'm on my way.

 

(I doubt that the luggage unloading/delivery process is "timed" in the way your question implies. I'm sure the unloading process has been pretty well refined for maximum speed and efficiency, in order to clear the aircraft as quickly as possible and prepare it for the next flight. By the time you've walked from the gate to immigration and queued there for umpteen minutes, the baggage handlers will have had plenty of time to unload the plane and get all the luggage into the terminal.)

[Cotswold Eagle]

So many variables at play here, that I can’t see a basis for any sort of strategy! I’ve waited for luggage at Heathrow, I’ve found it on the belt and last night I, with thousands of others, didn’t receive it at all! Of course, as a Brit I usually have no delay at the border. 
 

(BA is currently having regular operations difficulties at T5, mostly at weekends and late in the day, it seems, which I suspect are due to trying to get enough staff after a hugely slimmed down operation during the pandemic and current very high levels of COVID infections resulting in sickness and isolation absences). 

[John Bull]

Like your other replies, I don’t think there’s any strategy or timing.

 

I’ve usually arrived at the carousel before my luggage, but not always.

 

JB 🙂

[phabric]

One time, we waited for our luggage. We were told no more luggage coming.  We all line up at the lost counter.  Then someone came out to say they found a luggage cart which had all our luggage.

[Globaliser]

On 3/20/2022 at 1:53 PM, ihopfar said:

How do they time the bags being delivered to the carousels?

 

They don't. They simply get the bags onto the belt as quickly as they can.