Extra night in London-help!

[hsheffield]

Given the issues with air travel these days, thought I might try to leave a day earlier for our London to Lisbon cruise this September so we'd have a buffer. 

 

TA tells me the SS offered to sell us the extra night in a hotel for $1140 for two people. 

 

Could that possibly be right?

 

What happens if we try to book it ourselves?

Does that mean we have to now make our own way to Southhampton?  

Do we get some sort of refund since we paid for door to door? 

 

first time SS traveller here so I don't really know how things work. thanks for any help

Edited July 16, 2022 by hsheffield

[david63]

10 minutes ago, hsheffield said:

TA tells me the SS offered to sell us the extra night in a hotel for $1140 for two people. 

Unless you are being booked into the Savoy that sounds expensive - even for London

[fudge]

That is very expensive even by London prices. we are in a hotel (the Marriot) in Monte Carlo booked by Regent for about 120 dollars a head, yes, I know its not London but yikes, I could not pay that price even though I can afford it! 

I just googled hotels in London, example, the Kensington Hotel in Chelsea 15th September double room lovely location 428 sterling, a lovely lovely hotel. 5 star rating 428 for a couple.

 

The luxurious Kensington Hotel is situated in the heart of South Kensington and within a 20-minute stroll of Harrods, Harvey Nichols and The Royal Albert Hall. The Natural History Museum and The V&A are just 5 minutes on foot. A state-of-the-art fitness room is provided for exclusive use of the hotel’s guests.

Free WiFi, luxury bed linen and a large flat-screen TV are included in each room at The Kensington Hotel, as well as an en suite bathroom.

The Town House Bar & Restaurant has a magnificent lounge area with period drawing rooms. Its setting offers a blend of traditional and contemporary features, and is an ideal location for for afternoon tea, lunch or evening dinners.

South Kensington tube station is only 500 yards away and offers direct access to the heart of the West End & Heathrow Airport.

This is our guests' favourite part of London, according to independent reviews.

Couples particularly like the location — they rated it 9.5 for a two-person trip.

Edited July 16, 2022 by fudge

[ggo85]

Try googling hotels in London and see if you find something cheaper.  

[RetiredandTravel]

We usually stay at the Stafford Hotel, beautiful smaller hotel with a great location (great club sandwich in the bar).  Not the cheapest but better than $1140.

 

https://thestaffordlondon.com/

 

 

 

 

[hsheffield]

yes, I've heard great things about the Stafford from a couple of friends.

 

I'm hoping to find out what would happen to my SS connections if I book on my own. 

 

I also just started wondering if part of the price involves changing my SS air to one day earlier?

 

thanks to everyone. cruise critic is the best!

[david63]

Depending on what your plans are, and how you intend to get from London to Southampton, it might be worth considering staying in one of the airport hotels (which at top rate would be less that £300) and then getting a taxi from the hotel to Southampton which (from a quick Google search) would be around £150 - in total £400 - $450 (about $500)

[david63]

Never stayed at the Stafford but it is in the same group as our favourite Michelin restaurant/hotel which has always been excellent.

[RetiredandTravel]

If you stay (or not worth a trip) at The Stafford have the club sandwich and a beer at The American Bar, its awesome.

 

https://thestaffordlondon.com/american-bar/

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by RetiredandTravel

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

We are booked on a Rome - Southampton cruise next spring 2023 and Silversea quoted us $560 per night for 3 nights on their Simply option for London post cruise (Grand option is not yet available to quote).  The $560 per night is not per person, its the total amount for 2 people.   $1,140 per night is more in line with the Grand option and even then, that's really expensive.  Like you, the Silversea Consultant urged us to get a hotel for the night before our cruise.  For Rome, price they quoted on the Simply option was $760 per night for 1 night.  

[Gourmet Gal]

I think we are on that same cruise.  The pricing for the hotel sounds about right for a fairly high-end property especially if that includes all taxes, fees and breakfast.  We’re staying at one of the Firmdale properties but usually stay at Taj51 residences.  Firmdale Hotels are all well-located, reasonable prices and super charming boutique properties.  All highly rated by travelers.

 

We booked a car through Blackberry and the pricing is very reasonable - 210 Euro for a Mercedes van for 4 people.  So I think you can easily beat SS pricing on your own and still have comfortable accommodations and transport but I’m surprised your cruise pricing D2D did not already include a hotel night. It’s common sense to arrive the day before a cruise when traveling from such a long distance. In any case, if you opt out of elements of D2D you should have the transfer refunded.

 

I started a roll call for this cruise if you’d like to check it out.

[FauxNom]

Are you already covered with one included hotel night and you just want to add a night? If so, find out what hotel Silversea uses and see if you can book a cheaper one nearby. Splitting the hotel stay might be worth it because you would get to keep the transfer to the port from the hotel where you spend the second night, covered by Silversea. 

 

The price quoted probably does include a fee for deviation from the scheduled dates, but I think that's about $150 per person. Ask for a breakdown so you can tell what you're being charged for. That would make your decision easier.

[Port Power]

4 hours ago, hsheffield said:

Given the issues with air travel these days, thought I might try to leave a day earlier for our London to Lisbon cruise this September so we'd have a buffer. 

 

TA tells me the SS offered to sell us the extra night in a hotel for $1140 for two people. 

 

Could that possibly be right?

 

What happens if we try to book it ourselves?

Does that mean we have to now make our own way to Southhampton?  

Do we get some sort of refund since we paid for door to door? 

 

first time SS traveller here so I don't really know how things work. thanks for any help

Keep your included hotel night and the transfers.  Book the extra night yourself, either at the same hotel or any other one you like.  It will not effect the hotel to port transfer.  Flying a day earlier is completely separate.

[hsheffield]

I guess I am trying to book an extra night. We were not given an included night. 

 

As it now stands, we arrive in London at 6 am on the day the cruise departs. I assume SS will meet us at Heathrow and transport us to Southampton?

 

I'm trying to book SS flight and hotel so that we can arrive the day before so that we have a buffer just in case any of our flights are canceled. Seems like that's happening a lot these days!

[dawntrdr]

Wise move to come a day early!  Yes, if you fly in the day of sailing, and you booked door to door, SS will provide the transfer to the ship.   If I were in your situation, though, and coming in one day early, I would arrange for a private transfer or take a cab directly to Southampton.  You're going to be very tired when you arrive that you won't be able to enjoy London and you are going to have to pay for a transfer to Southampton anyway the next day.  You will also avoid all of the London traffic in and out of London.

[nowornever]

Just an opinion, but arriving the day of is extraordinarily risky these days - in fact 2 days early might be a better option.  What if you arrive & your luggage takes a trip to Spain instead of LHR !  Before "assuming" you have a transfer to the ship, look on the website at "My Bookings" then open "Details" & if you have a transfer, it will show up there.  If you booked air through Silversea, you are probably being charged a deviation fee in addition to the hotel cost for arriving any day other than the departure day.  Good questions to ask your travel agent if you used one or Silversea otherwise.  Good luck.

[hsheffield]

thanks for the opinion nowornever. makes perfect sense to me.

 

not having good luck with my TA. I used a private company and they must be overwhelmed. I can wait weeks if not months for her to answer my questions. because I initiated the trip with her, SS will not talk to me about air, lodging or anything else.

 

 

[Gourmet Gal]

Wow…that’s too bad.  

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

I looked at the Q and A's in the Air and Hotel Programme section on Silversea's website because I was curious about my experiences with arriving early vs what others on this post have indicated.  Based on Silversea's definition of "deviation",  if you book a hotel thru Silversea before or after the cruise and also use their included economy air or upgrade to business class thru them, they do not charge deviation fees on the air for arriving early or leaving late.  If you use their included economy air or upgrade to business class but book a hotel on your own for either pre or post cruise, they will charge a deviation fee of $150 per person on the air portion.   

 

Q. What is considered a deviation?

A. A deviation is considered any action requested by the guest in reference to their air schedule with Silversea, whether it be a preferred airline, layover, aircraft type, stopover city, departure/arrival date +/- from the original embarkation/disembarkation date not coupled with a Silversea provided hotel are all examples of a deviation.

 

Its best to read the latest Terms and Conditions on their website and consult with your TA before making a decision, provided you can ever get a hold of them.  My Silversea rep is also difficult to reach.  Deviation fees, if applicable in your situation, can be waived, either thru the TA or thru your Silversea Rep.

 

Also, I believe Silversea now only includes a hotel in the cruise fare the night before embarkation on expedition voyages, grand voyages and world cruise voyages.  Classic voyages such as the Southampton - Lisbon aboard the Moon do not include a hotel, no matter how far you're travelling from, unless your TA comps it with your package.  

[Gourmet Gal]

And they also charge for each deviation.  They can add up.

[Daveywavey70]

14 hours ago, hsheffield said:

Given the issues with air travel these days, thought I might try to leave a day earlier for our London to Lisbon cruise this September so we'd have a buffer. 

 

TA tells me the SS offered to sell us the extra night in a hotel for $1140 for two people. 

 

Could that possibly be right?

 

What happens if we try to book it ourselves?

Does that mean we have to now make our own way to Southhampton?  

Do we get some sort of refund since we paid for door to door? 

 

first time SS traveller here so I don't really know how things work. thanks for any help

Sounds like quite a bargain to me.

[Mr Luxury]

10 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Sounds like quite a bargain to me.

Indeed 

I just had two rooms at Claridges on Friday.

Occupancy is 97-100% at the moment 

Rooms start at £1100 a night rising way above the rooftops.

And I get a discount and an upgrade 

Supply and demand.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Mr Luxury

[Gourmet Gal]

23 hours ago, hsheffield said:

I guess I am trying to book an extra night. We were not given an included night. 

 

As it now stands, we arrive in London at 6 am on the day the cruise departs. I assume SS will meet us at Heathrow and transport us to Southampton?

 

I'm trying to book SS flight and hotel so that we can arrive the day before so that we have a buffer just in case any of our flights are canceled. Seems like that's happening a lot these days!

Just wondering which hotel SS is quoting?

[hsheffield]

excellent question Gourmet Gal!

 

I just found out that SS quoted the more expensive option because the less expensive one had no room. I guess a lot of people tumbled to this idea long before I did....I asked for a change in the air that would be much more convenient for us. If we can get that, it will be worth the extra money to stay in the upscale hotel. here's hoping!!!

 

CruzinFeraBruzin thanks so much for posting the information about 'deviation' super helpful. 

 

 

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

7 minutes ago, hsheffield said:

excellent question Gourmet Gal!

 

I just found out that SS quoted the more expensive option because the less expensive one had no room. I guess a lot of people tumbled to this idea long before I did....I asked for a change in the air that would be much more convenient for us. If we can get that, it will be worth the extra money to stay in the upscale hotel. here's hoping!!!

 

CruzinFeraBruzin thanks so much for posting the information about 'deviation' super helpful. 

 

 

I wondered if that were the case since the cruise is only 2 months away.  Wishing you and Gourmet Gal a great trip - it's a fantastic itinerary and a beautiful ship.