Transfers included, X air, our own post cruise

[budster]

We are using X air but doing our own post cruise in London. I have been told twice by reps at X that we can get transferred into Central London as part of our air pkg. Our TA says no, we have to buy our transfers. Has anyone done this? Who do I believe?

[dbh62ark]

I don't know for sure, but I have cruised in and out of Dover many times and have noted that the transfers are priced separately on all our cruise lines for the past 6 or 7 years (a decade or so ago some cruise lines did include the transfer). When we cruised from Dover in 2005 on the Constellation, transfers were priced separately at approx $90 - $100 per person. It is disconcerting when information from your travel agent conflicts with the cruise line information, so I would suggest asking for a printout of the specific charges.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[RickT]

Not that I trust X reps (been lead down the garden path a time or two), I'd listen to them before your TA. Just in case, check the bristish rail schedules and http://www.nationalexpress.com/ to see what options are available in the event that you don't get the pass with X.

 

We cruised Princess this past summer and booked our own air, we used National Express to get to and from the port to Heathrow and found it to be much less expensive and very convenient. Our cruise was out of Southampton however so I can't say how well it would work out of Dover.

 

I'd see if X will send you a note saying that transportation to the City is included post cruise. With that in your hand you'll be well armed to deal with them once on board if you get told otherwise.

[dbh62ark]

Budster, I've taken the train between Dover and London so can give you info on that if you determine that you want to try the train (and if you're not going to Southampton or purchasing ship's transfers).

 

Donna

[budster]

Actually we will be in Harwich. I think I will call X again but I just bet they won't put anything in writing for me. I am pretty sure I have also read on the boards before that transfers still worked with X air even while doing our own post cruise. Thanks for all the input.

[CruisinD]

Ruth Ann,

 

Maybe what is going on is this: since you have Celebrity air, they could be allowing you 2 transfers, airport to ship, and then ship to central London. You could then have to get your own transfer London to airport since they may not have transfer buses available on your return day. Make any sense? That is, they'll still give you 2 ways of transfers that would be part of your air package, but they'll just replace ship to London instead of the typical ship to airport? Of course, this is just what I thought of as why you are getting conflicting answers. May not be correct!

 

Denise

[budster]

That is pretty much what 2 reps at X told me. They said rather than taking the transfer to the airport just request it into Central London. We know for sure we have to get ourselves to the airport and when we arrive in Miami we have to get ourselves back to our car in Fll. I am going to talk with custom air tomorrow and maybe they have more specific information. The previous reps I talked with were not in custom air. Actually I don't see why X would care if we went to Heathrow or London. We will see. Thanks.

[Albert Ross]

We are using X air but doing our own post cruise in London. I have been told twice by reps at X that we can get transferred into Central London as part of our air pkg. Our TA says no, we have to buy our transfers. Has anyone done this? Who do I believe?

If you have bought the air through X but you have deviated your flts by a few days and are doing your own hotel etc then no, you do not get the transfers after the cruise. You make your own way to the hotel and from the hotel back to the airport.

If you booked a X hotel in London then yes, you would have got the transfers to the hotel and from there back to the airport.

There are many posts on this board about the trains from Harwich back into Central London.

There is also the X transfer bus that will take you to Victoria Coach Station in London which you will have to pay for. This costs £57pp one way. That is around $114pp. So the train works out a lot cheaper.

On this occasion your T/A is correct!

[dbh62ark]

Oh yes, Albert, that makes a lot of sense. I assumed that the original poster was booking her own hotel because she said "on her own." So yes, I also believe that if you use Celebrity hotels, the transfers are included. If you don't (we always book our own hotel separately) use Celebrity hotels, then you are on your own for transfers or can purchase (at a premium in my opinion) from Celebrity.

 

Happy travels,

Donna

[budster]

I called X and got the lowdown. Our transfers are not good because we are doing custom air and not doing their hotel. The worst part is we can't even buy our transfers from them because they are complimentary. That is beyond my scope of reasoning. She said they coordinate the transfer to the flight and since we will be doing custom air it won't work. Their system will not let them do it. So, it looks like we are on our own. My Dh does not want to do the train because of the luggage issue so will have to look for another option. Thanks for everyones help. Oh, she did say the bus goes to Victoria Station, where we want to be, and then they put you on the train to the airport. Does that sound right? I have no idea.:confused:

[dbh62ark]

That is beyond my scope of reasoning. She said they coordinate the transfer to the flight and since we will be doing custom air it won't work. Their system will not let them do it. So, it looks like we are on our own. My Dh does not want to do the train because of the luggage issue so will have to look for another option. Thanks for everyones help. Oh, she did say the bus goes to Victoria Station, where we want to be, and then they put you on the train to the airport. Does that sound right? I have no idea.:confused:

I agree and think that Celebrity "customer service" is very poor.

 

I haven't sailed into or out of Southampton, but I can recommend http://www.woodfordchauffeurcars.co.uk for transfers into or out of London. You may be able to find others from your roll call sailing to split the cost like we did.

 

To answer the question regarding airport, which airport are you using. Is it Heathrow or Gatwick? The Gatwick Express train runs from Victoria Station to the airport. For Heathrow, I would probably use a taxi or driver from Victoria Station, but that's personal preference too.

 

Donna

[budster]

We have found two different companies that will transfer us from Harwich directly to the hotel. The cost is less than the ship's transfers. That is a better deal as the ship's bus will just get us to Victoria Station versus the hotel. Has anyone heard of the Harwich Taxi company? I don't know if anyone has used them but the other other company comes highly recommended but a little more expensive. Either way, it eliminated us having to bother with Celebrity getting us into London. Too bad they don't reduce our air price since we are not using their transfers.:( The concept of a taxi versus the big bus is very appealing.:)

[Pirate at 47]

Budster, what is the other company? We are planning a stay in London before our June 28, 2008 cruise on Constellation out of Harwich so I am very interested in what you learn.

 

Thanks!

[budster]

You know, I didn't contact that company but one of the girls on our Roll Call is using them and got the info for me. I will have to ask the name for you. She said they had used them a couple times and were satisfied. I will post back when I find out.:)

[budster]

I found out the name of the limo service is www.limo.co.uk I hope this helps you. The girl on our Roll Call says she has used them about 10 times and highly recommends them. Good luck.

[pcur]

Regarding the question about Victoria Station:

 

Yes, it makes sense. Victoria is a London underground, AND a rail station both.

 

I highly recommend Ntional Express buses. They help you with your luggage, are very efficient, and their main coach station is about 1 block from Victoria Station.

[budster]

Thanks to everyone. I think the National Express bus is the best option for getting to Heathrow. We are all set now for our Limo from Harwich to our hotel in London. With 6 of us it is less expensive than the ship's transfer and takes us right to the hotel. Once we get our custom air things will will really start to take shape.:)