Noticed a thread over on CC about getting into Rome independently from some cruise line, not sure which. It occurred to me to wonder how much ones pays usually for a Radisson transfer from ship-airport, etc., when it's not included (i.e., a deviation, own air.) Does Radisson provides these at reasonable cost?

I'm thinking about circumstances where there would be such transportation for other passengers, such as Dover to Heathrow after WAVE next summer. My plan is to dump the cruisewear at Heathrow then take an express bus out of London, although I could change my mind and fly somewhere like Ireland or Scotland.

It's worth checking, but often the transfers are not cost-effective. For instance, for my upcoming Tokyo trip, the quote on the RSSC transfer was $350. A taxi runs about $200. And the limousine bus less than $30 (though a taxi from the drop-off point to the ship will be necessary, the fare should not be more than the equivalent of $10). I do recall a trip years ago where the transfer, purchased separately, was about the same as a taxi ride. I suspect it's a question of whether they can run a transfer in a cost-effective manner.

My gosh, $350 per person's pretty shocking. I think our alternative is an express bus from Dover to Heathrow, which I know exists, but would be much more of a pain with all our cruise gear. Thanks for the perspective on prices in Japan!

Wendy, When we went from Dover to London for our post cruise stay this is the company that we used. When comparing rates I found that they were the least expensive at the time There were 9 (or more?) of us LCTers together in one Van and we even stopped at a Burger King on the way. They were suppose to bring a luggage trailer for all our luggage (this was a 11 day cruise so you can imagine) but they didn't!! It was very tight with so many of us PLUS LUGGAGE but with fewer people there shouldn't be any trouble whatsoever. They give all their prices on their website:

http://www.airportcruisetransfers.com/

We always try to compare/contrast the fees
for ship vs. privately arranged transfers and
consider additional factors such as comfort
[pvt van vs bus] and time control [e.g. for embarkation]. Usually,but not always, the ship's tend to be a bit more expensive and sometimes, drop you only in a central spot in the destination city [if you're not going to the airport] .....but,then, they also are 'definite'. Last summer we had the experience of Elena of Rome NOT appearing.
If you are in someplace like Civitavecchia
or the port for San Jose this can be daunting, whereas if you are at the airport, taxis are
available, so it is only disconcerting.

Yikes Paula, I know what you mean. Once you've been to a place, it's old-hat, but when you haven't, it's nice to have a plan, especially laden with luggage. That's why we booked a driver in Athens, for example, but wouldn't next time, since we now know our way around.

From Dover to Heathrow it's not a big deal, it's just the luggage shlepp. Sounds like Marcie has a good alternative, will certainly check that out, especially if there is someone to share it with.

Wendy - Yes, of course there are people (ahem!) to share it with! We have 8 of us on WAVE and I'd bet Fred and Pat would want to share this too!

We want to spend 3-4 days in London post cruise and will probably spend 2 nights in Nice pre-cruise.

Actually you cant normally buy transfers from RSSC to take you from the airport to the ship OTHER than private car transfers which are very high.

However, sometimes on itineraries where the port is a long way from the airport they do offer the coach transfers and they do this from both Heathrow and Gatwick for Dover Embarkations. This year 2005 - I think it was $125 per person. It left from the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow and the Le Meridien Gatwick.

A new thing they are offering in 2006 is if you buy a hotel package and you do your OWN air they will still include the transfer from the airport to the hotel. That is nice.

Right, that is nice, Ngaire, thinking of that when we book the pre-cruise hotel, for sure, although I don't see any Nice hotels listed currently.

Kathy, yes, of course I thought of you guys, but know that both you and Fred will be going to London, not to Heathrow. We are planning on dumping our cruise duds at the airport, then moseying on out into the hinterland. Of course, a ride into the city might be okay, but still have to get to Heathrow, or maybe we can change our minds and spend a day or two in London first.

Ngaire, sorry to beat this to death, but would Radisson not offer a transfer from Dover to Heathrow for passengers departing that day, but not booked with Radisson air? I have searched, and there is no easy express bus service available. We will not be flying out that day, nor will we be going into London (unless we have to.)

The private car option sounds impractical, since there is only a small group of LCTers on WAVE, and most of them are doing a stay in London post-cruise.

If I recall, there was a group of LCT''er that landed in Dover and rented a van and driver together. It was an adventure and I think they stopped for fast food hamburgers on the way into the city. While we haven't started the official planning yet, maybe that is a practical thing for us to do. I guess we'd need to check on the logistics. Maybe what ever hotel we opt to stay at will be on the way to Heathrow or will have airport transportation and you could just take the shuttle from our hotel.

Wendy,
2 years ago, we travel RSSC using our own air. We asked for the transfer cost upfront, and were astounded by the cost. We figured we would worry about it near the end, hoping others would be planning as well. We got a notice from them offering the same bus service as the RSSC air passengers for someting like 1/5 the cost of the pre-arranged. Not sure if this would always work, but it was really great. Guess they didn't fill the bus.
Cindy

Wendy - Marcie did a great job of arranging the Dover-London transfer. We did have the driver make multiple stops; I am reasonably sure they could quote a price to accommodate both London and Heathrow. Cheers, Anne

Right, thanks Kathy and Anne, good suggestion. I'll just leave it for now and see what transpires. :cool:

Actually, in Montreal, we were going to take a cab to the hotel and drop off our bags. Then we saw on the disembarkation documents an offer to buy the bus transfer and a tour of the city which took passengers to our hotel. The tour was great and the price the same as a moderate shore excursion. The bus stopped at two different hotels. I had reservations at the RSSC location, but, booked it myself.

Make sure you all pick up one of the t-shirts that reads "Good Girls go to Heaven. Bad Girls go to London" while you're there. Cheers, Anne

Sorry Wendy, I missed your post and did not answer your question about a transfer from the port of Dover to London.

POST CRUISE TRANSFERS
For all cruises the "post" transfer is always available from the ship. It comes with your debarkation papers. They have a bus going to the airport, normally a bus with tour with a late drop off the airport and often as Kathy experienced a bus with a tour with drop off at a couple of major hotels. The only HIGH cost is when you try to arrange a PRIVATE transfer then these are very expensive. You can do that on board as well if you want. POST cruise the transfers are NO problem. YOu just do that on the ship. I have yet to see a cruise that does not offer this service. They have everyone in one place so it is not a problem to arrange a bus transfer.

PRE CRUISE TRANSFERS
The problem only comes on PRE cruise transfers. They wont arrange a bus for those doing their own air as people come in all over the place in different airports terminals by different carriers and plans could change with misconnects. They wont take responsibility for that at all. They will only arrange PRIVATE and therefore expensive transfers where a car is meeting specific people.

The exception here is on VERY long transfers they arrange a transfer to the pier from a specific point such as London Heathrow and Gatwick to Dover. This can be pre-purchased and is a bus service.

Right, thanks Ngaire, that's what I wanted to know, sounds about perfect. Our plan at the moment is to go straight to Heathrow, drop our heavy bags off at the luggage storage for a few days, then hop on the express bus to Oxford, which is frequent and puts you in the middle of town.