London and Dover
So London is a major historical city and there is so much to do and say, I can't put it all in one thread as the cruisers here will be staying varied times, from a day to a week pre cruise. You all will have different families and tastes
As a local living and working in London all my life, and my job taking me all over London, I know a lot about it and London really is a hobby of mine.
I still find new things, I like to walk around the city and west end and turn into new streets and just be amazed by some new architecture etc.
So London has a fantastic public transport system, we moan about it, the cost and when it occasionally doesn't work, I think the biggest issue is it goes from being very busy to being over crowded or sardines as we call it. On the tube us more about being savvy on the times you travel and which line may have less over crowding at certain times. I.e. I get on trains at stations where they terminate and turn around to get a seat.
The tube, - London Underground is inconic , it's having upgrades to trains, we are getting a major new line introduced in stages between now and December 2019, the Elizabeth line, which will have a local station to me, so in future I can get one train to Heathrow direct.
But we do not just have The tube, there is London overground, there is national rail and there are a number of operators. For Dover you will be looking at SouthEastern trains, from St Pancras- high speed and Victoria. Note London locals call the London terminals by their names, Paddington Victoria etc, but the trains will say, London Paddington or London Victoria these national rail terminals are typical not in the city or west end and require a taxi or tube to the centre.
That leads me to airports and travel to London.
We have a number of major airports, most tourists think, London Heathrow as its the biggest, but Gatwick is a major London airport with many transatlantic routes, typically cheaper, and good connections to London. There is stansted quite easy to get to, then Luton, a bit further out, and for Europe London city airport and Southend.
Heathrow to London.
So black cab taxi, expensive and can get caught in traffic.
Pre booked taxi, slightly cheaper, care, book with TFL licensed operators, and note UBER currently has lost a London license, they will take your bookings as under appeal, but London feels they are not safe, and I hear horror stories.
- Addison Lee is a licensed operator and good, has a phone app and new bookings typically get a discount.
Tube. Piccadilly line direct from terminals 123, 4, and 5. Cheapest, but crowded and slow, many stops, and it's an hour into town, and in the west end you may be going up escalators in rush hours with crowds and luggage, but there are ways to change lines to reduce issues.
There is Heathrow express non stop to Paddington.
There is ( now concentrate as confusing), currently Heathrow connect a cheaper stopping service, on the same tracks, which will be, " TFL Rail" in the spring this year, and by Summer 2019, the Elizabeth line. Different costs and use of oyster apply. I will cover oyster soon.
If you get the Piccadilly or a taxi you go direct to your destination. On the others you need to then go by taxi, bus, tube from Paddington to your hotel. Some easy some a bit harder, it's best to link your hotel with your airport and route in, i.e. If Heathrow - Paddington, then above Paddington there is a Hilton there, dump your bars there, and then it's easy to tour London from there.
Gatwick to London
There are less options so actually easier.
Trains go to Victoria and London Bridge. Different operators but all on the same tracks.
Gatwick express, every 15 minutes one stop to Victoria but the highest cost.
Southern to Victoria or London Bridge, a few more stops, cheaper.
Southern or Thames link to London Bridge, - Thames link continues into the city and Kings Cross, st Pancras.
Stansted.
Stansted express to Liverpool Street.
Oyster.
Oyster this is a touch card for London transport and details are here:-
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-informati...on/best-ways-for-visitors-to-pay?intcmp=27718
You will see this is an official site, for all London based transport enquiries this is the official site, TFL, transport for London. A coordinated service, run by our London mayor.
Now you can pre buy these, or obtain at automated kiosk, note places like Heathrow may have queues. You use the card to touch in and out on readers and it automatically calculates the fare by zones you travel. There is a daily cap, the cost depends on the zones, the service and route. If you avoid the central zone , zone 1 it can be cheaper. But it can be confusing, i.e. Heathrow to London.
Piccadilly line, cheapest, oyster included all route.
Heathrow express, not oyster premium fare.
Elizabeth line, it will be on oyster, but a premium service cost, however subject to the daily cap, so if you used it but then continued to use it that day, you erode the extra cost! Confused?
Children, up to age 10 are free! Just direct children through the " maned" gate. Over 10 our children have reduced fares but need a child card called a zip card, and their cost is low on standard services but if they use national rail it's a proportion of the adult cost.
You can pay by contactless bank cards instead of oyster, as long as you use the same card to touch in and out, it will work like outer and with a daily cap. Note if you use Osterley, keep contactless cards away, or the machines could detect it and debit it. We call it card clash.
Do always touch out, or the highest fare applies.
Oyster covers all of London and the main suburbs and so typically you only need the one ticket on most routes out to what we call Zone 6 or special zones. You pay more the further you go, so say Harry Potter studios in Watford, or Hampton court will cost more, Windsor is outside the oyster zones, Gatwick is outside oyster. For travel outside oyster you can book online at Trainline, or the operators website like Southern , Gatwick express, or SouthEastern, best fates are about three months out, turn up and pay on longer journeys like Dover, are more expensive.
Tube lines.
Are colour coded, and have names i.e. The red line, the central line, the dark blue line, the Piccadilly, and the maps and stations reflect this. The trains were coloured but with new trains this is not always the case. The trains will have their destination at the front, this maybe the end if the line or a station on route that it terminates early. The destination board s indicate the terminus, this gives you the indication of direction, as when it says eastbound northbound it may confuse you, the circle line can confuse you going clockwise and anti-clockwise and in a loop not a circle! Some lines share the same tracks, on a map, they will have their colours together with no gap, some go parallel , different tracks and platforms, they will have a slight gap between them on the map.
So check the destination , check the route on the map and see if your destination is on that train route, some lines split up at various points so may go a different way to what you expect.
Tube hours.
Our tube runs every day bar Christmas but some lines close for engineering work and upgrades these are listed on the TFL site in advance.
Tubes run 5 am to midnight , and some lines have an overnight service on Friday and Saturday night. Peak rush hours are weekdays 6.30 to 9.30 and 4 pm to 7 pm, higher prices on, pay as you go. But peak hours doesn't mean at off peak the trains are empty, they are busy all the time even weekends.
At peak times you may find commuters rude, but that's normal, try to follow our rules, escalators stand on the right, the left is for walking up and down, if you stand on the left you will upset people. Do not get off at the bottom of an escalator and suddenly stop, the people behind you, will not stop. Do not use seats for bars or shopping, it may look empty this stop, then 100 get on the next stop. Pregnant ladies and people with disabilities ( visible or not) have priority seating, if you sit on one, expect to offer it up if required.
Safety and areas.
Care book accommodation on official websites, they tend to open 12/11 months in advance. Care we have some scans where tourist book accommodation direct, say apartments and they do not exist. They take your money and on arrival you find someone else owns it. Book with verifiable people.
I feel London is very safe, but we do have increasing crime. Book in good areas, that are safe, I can't list everything what's safer or more risk, but if you ask I can confirm.
I will walk anywhere in London, but there are places I would avoid at night, or take care more on my valuables. An example Kings Cross area is generally safe in the day, but I wouldn't hang around there at night. Brixton, Kilburn, Hackney, Newham, I would take care there.
Generally my advice, tie in your London hotel with your route to London. If via Gatwick consider, Victoria or Westminster or London Bridge for a hotel. For Heathrow, then consider Paddington, or Lancaster Gate as a hotel area, ( if using Piccadilly line from Heathrow, consider Knightsbridge, Kensington, Holborn).
Do not stay at airport hotels, too expensive, nothing else there, limited choice on restaurants and airport noise. An hour in and out from the sights.
We have all price brackets on hotels from budget to very expensive, if touring in London then a budge hotel like premier inns is fine, you will be out all day.
Many cruisers have booked the premier inn county hall in prior years, close to rail stations, next to the London eye, and opposite Westminster. Shakespeare's globe and the Tate a nice walk up the Thames or a bus ride.
Sites.
So many.
Best advice, pre book, guaranteed time slots.
Buckingham house, if open to the public in the summer, pre book.
Tower of London.
Madame Tussauds
https://www.madametussauds.com/lond...jvPzP5ujpgHbDuuiZBkaAgINEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Harry Potter studios. Watford. Train from Euston.
https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/tickets
Oxford street and Regent street shopping.
Walking around Trafalgar Square Piccadilly Circus.
The museums , British, science, Natural history , V&A, typically the main part is free.
Catty sark, Greenwich, the meridian time line.
Docklands, travel front seat on the driverless trains on the DLR, great fun for children.
Stratford East London, where London Olympics were, plus a massive shopping mall, Westfield.
St Paul's cathedral. City tourist centre near it with guided walking tours.
Westminster.
Eating at Covent Garden.
London theatre like Lion king. Pre book. You typically can get a show and meal deal offer.
Hampton court. Train from Waterloo.
Kensington Palace.
Windsor. Train out from Paddington via Slough fastest or from Waterloo.
We have tourist HOHO but bar commentary you can do exactly the same on oyster in London buses.
Law courts, Chancery Lane, Fleet Street.
The parks, Green park, Hyde park, Regent's Park with the zoo, - best access from Camden Town, which Also has the famous Camden lock market.
Thames river rides.
Our O2, millennium dome, with shows, restaurants and a cable car across river Thames to Excel centre.
Go up The Shard at London Bridge for great views.
http://the-shard.com/
Pre book, city gardens,
https://skygarden.london/.
London dungeon.
Wembley stadium tour the home of British football.
Afternoon teas, varied offerings and varied costs.
Visit Harrods Knightsbridge and Hamleys toy shop regent street for great shopping.
Others at;-
https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/london-attraction/top-ten-attractions
London for little or no cost:-
http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/tower.php
http://britishmuseum.org/ there used to be free volunteer led tours here worth checking at the info desk when you arrive
http://changing-guard.com/times-routes.html even if you can't see through the railings it is quite impressive to see the soldiers arrive and leave
The open topped bus tours can be frustratingly slow and clogged up with traffic.
This site might be useful to plan your own walks
http://www.londonforfree.net/walks/
Best price.
Look for hotel deals, book direct, the exchange rate is favourable to tourists at this time, Brexit, may effect the exchange rate. I would suggest booking 11 months out as July is popular and prices can increase with bookings. There are typically best rates non refundable and refundable rates.
Shops.
Whilst shops are open long hours, we have Sunday trading laws and big shops only open six hours on a Sunday. Typically From 10 am to 4 pm, or 11am to 5 pm, We have alcohol licensing rules, on limited hours, so if buying booze for the cruise, the embarkation day on the Sunday is not the best day and options in Dover very limited from 10am/11am.
Dover.
Trains from St Pancras and Victoria are recommended, pre book on Trainline, or SouthEastern, takes circa an hour, check for engineering work. St Pancras is high speed trains in the Eurostar tracks that also carry trains to Europe through the channel tunnel.
Dover cruise port is a taxi ride from Dover Priory station, the route has through a commercial dock on a windy road and not recommended to walk. I have done it without cruise luggage, I have been at the port taking photos of the Magic and seem people end their cruise walking along this busy port road with children and luggage and others walking to embarkation. Do Not do this! Get a cheap taxi.
Do not consider national express coaches from London, too slow, too many stops, and the ferry port causes over crowding. It's for students etc.
To port use:-
Train.
Or private pre booked taxi if you have a family.
DCL coaches from airports Heathrow and Gatwick or DCL hotels, typically very expensive.
Not coach, unless it is one that includes say visits to Leeds castle, ( in Kent), or Canterbury.
Car rental/ hire.
This is an option, roads in Kent are great, we have the motorway M20 and M2, there is a rental drop off at the start of the cruise pier road, I think it's Enterprise. It means dropping luggage and family at port then going to drop it off and a walk back.
Drilling outside London is fine, but care, driving in the city and west end is an art form. Congestion, we have a weekday congestion charge, driving is slow and hard, public transport quicker and less stressful. Parking charges high, and fines for bad parking. If drilling avoiding London, say airport to port via Kent it's an option, but not recommended through central London.
Note Dover cruise port is small, do not arrive too early, PATs will be from 11.30, do not get there before -10.30, they are strict, you will not save a lot on boarding cards. When in it moves quick but there us in,y a small cafe in there. Limited seating. It's not port Canaveral.
Dover itself has the great castle, and the white cliffs walk, there is not a lot else there, and I do not recommend a hotel stay there, unless your coming from Europe and it fits with your route in by ferry. Stay in London, travel down in the morning. Do not stay in Dover, if you want to stay in Kent, book a hotel in Canterbury. Far better.
Dover centre a night doesn't have a lot, and recently was voted the UK worst town. It is not that, but it's a very busy commercial port, with many people in transit in varied wars from Europe. Castle and cliffs are nice, not a lot more there than that.
This is just a starter, an quick overview, an orientation let's say, written frankly as a local. Tourists do make mistakes.
The first thing when planning is the overall route, time in London, and flight in. Your hotel choice should fit in, with your arrival airport, transport to London, and route to Dover. Next then what you plan to do with your time here, then, safety, and tuning up on where you are booking attractions, like Disney etc, you need a schedule and plan, to avoid loosing time, bouncing around. Like ,:- combine, DLR front of train, Bank via docklands for views, to Greenwich, Cutty sark, meridian line, park, then either Thames boat back to London, or DLR to Stratford, Olympic park, and Westfield shopping.
Tipping.
Us Brits do not tip as much as in the USA, for a taxi round up the fare to a round amount , max add 10%, same as restaurants, for full service, add up to 10%, note some places automatically add an optional charge. Tips by cards are normally pooled and not given directly to the person who served you, cash tips normally are kept by that person. Max 10%.
Port you do not need to tip, but a small amount per bag is appreciated, they do not move the luggage very far, port tractors move them from bag skips onto the ship. It's all very close.
Weather.
OK, If I knew myself I would be a millionaire. London, is always changeable, people think it rains a lot here, well it may or may not rain, it maybe a lot, it may be a shower.
July should be hot, it can be, but equally it can be cool and wet. Plan for everything.
I know this is not helpful, but normally anything can occur. Occasionally we get a year when we suddenly get a long run of hot sunshine, that's maybe once every four years. I suggest look at Wimbledon tennis tournament on TV and whatever is the weather then at the start of July is an indication of the weather for the cruise.
We have had sunny Dover departures, windy and cool ones and rainy.
Plan for everything including an inside deck party.
It will be cooler than port Canaveral.
Our weather is governed by the jet stream, the fast flowing wind direction from the USA and in the ocean the Gulf Stream from the Caribbean area. They warm us up more than Europe, gives us the end of tropical storms.
If the jet stream ( wind) is to the north of Scotland we should get warm and hot air from Spain and France, if it's lower, it can drag in Icelandic air or air from Europe that's cooler. That route of air can vary, giving changeable weather, or suddenly stick, and if in the right place give us a heatwave and dry weather. We maybe lucky, maybe not.
This has made me laugh. It might surprise everyone but in the UK we dress the same as anyone from the US. Yes we wear our WDW t-shirts and sweatshirts around London (what are we going to do with them after our holiday to WDW?). We also wear trainers with white socks. You will see people wearing baseball caps. Although i live 30 minutes away from London i quite often use a map to find my way around but more often than not now i use Google maps on my phone. Please feel free to walk around with a camera around your neck, there will be many more Japanese people doing it than Americans.
