Greetings all,
The last stop on a Viking cruise has us docking in Greenwich from Sunday noon until we disembark on Monday morning. Realistically we will only have a half day to go into London. Not enough time, I'm well aware, and we have been to London before. However, my DH has never been to Tower of London or Churchill War Rooms. We are debating doing one of the expensive Viking excursions vs going on our own. Can anyone tell me how easy/difficult/expensive it is to get a taxi from the Greenwich pier, or should we just take the easy way out and go on the ship's spendy excursion and not have to worry about the transportation logistics. Do you think it would be trying to squeeze in too much to do both in one day, especially given that it will be at least noon before we can even get off the ship, especially on a Sunday when things may close earlier than weekdays?
Thanks!
Posted by
OP
54 posts
Correction, it appears that we will be docked from 8:00 AM Sunday, so that will give us a full day to go into London!
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2600 posts
I would take the Thames Clipper from Greenwich to the Tower (23 minutes) and explore that - great way to travel on the Thames
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17562 posts
Ramblin’ on beat me to it. The Thames Clipper (Uber Boat) would be a great way to reach the Tower of London, passing right under iconic Tower Bridge just before you reach the dock for Tower of London.
Then from the Tower you could ride the #15 red London bus past St. Paul’s and other historic buildings to the end at Trafalgar Square. Walk from there to the Churchill War Rooms.
Posted by
OP
54 posts
Excellent suggestions! Thank you. I would much prefer to get there on the Uber boat than sitting in traffic. And great to see a few sights along the way between the tower and the war rooms.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7206 posts
On one of our trips we took the boat and it’s a great way to get to the tower. We’ve also taken the DLR to the Jubilee line coming back from Greenwich on one occasion. The boat is the way to go.
Posted by
OP
54 posts
Please forgive my ignorance...what is the DLR?
Posted by
Preston UK
1232 posts
For god’s sake don’t use any form of road transport.
DLR - Docklands Light Railway. Part of London’s extensive public transport system and an excellent to to get into or out of central London Greenwich. Boat one way and tube/DLR is best.
Have you been to Greenwich before? There is a full day of interesting stuff to see right there
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
Note that the Thames Clipper can also take you back to Greenwich, from Westminster or Embankment near the Churchill War Rooms. But it will take awhile.
Both places will be crowded on a Sunday, but visit the Tower first if you want to see the crown jewels, go straight to the jewels to minimize waiting in line. Or skip them and take your sights in either order.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33994 posts
Cruise ships docking in Greenwich. Now that's a new one on me. I'm glad to know it now...
Posted by
Lake District, England
8135 posts
Greenwich is used as an overflow berth when the LICT at Tilbury is in use for another vessel. In the past if two ships were at Tilbury then the Gravesend ferry had to be suspended for the day as the second vessel used the ferry berth, also the terminal struggled to handle two ships worth of passengers at the same time.
I've been at LICT when two ships were in, and it was total unholy chaos.
On one only occasion they tried having a second cruise ship embark in Tilbury enclosed docks, but the experiment was not deemed a success.
It appears that the Ambassador Ambience is on her home berth at Tilbury that day.
At Greenwich the river boat pontoon is utilised. There were, now abandoned plans for a Greenwich Cruise Terminal building but huge protests caused those to be ditched.
Posted by
Central Coast CA, USA
165 posts
What are you doing after you disembark on Monday? If you are going to spend any time in London on Monday and after, you may want to spend Sunday exploring Greenwich. There is a lot to do there, perfect for a "day out". And if you are flying out on Monday, your plan of going to the Tower sounds wonderful. Enjoy!