Questions about Flying Lisbon to London

You should look at flying into Lisbon, out of London under the category “ multi- city” not two one way tickets! Fly to USA from London. Yes, LHR is huge but it is divided into different terminals. You can take a train or bus between them. The www. heathrow.com website is very helpful, in fact it is one of the most helpful travel websites that I use. You can find which terminal your flight takes off from plus lots more. And English is spoken at LHR! . Focus on the terminal where your flight will depart from. The transportation from your ship will/ should drop you off there.( I do not cruise so don’t know how you get to LHR from cruise dock) Honestly I do not find LHR any more difficult than DFW.
Book flights directly with the airline not through a third party so you will get help if there are cancelations or other problems. You can research on Kayak but always book directly with the airline.

If you are thinking about doing a round trip to/from London and then doing a one way ticket independently for the Lisbon to London leg, I think you need to plan to arrive back in London the day before your flight home leaves.

Unless you book all the segments together you are not on what they call a "protected" ticket. That means if something goes sideways on the Lisbon to London flight and you miss your London to Austin flight then the airline has no "duty of care" to get you back home and you'll wind up buying a new, expensive ticket for your international flight.

What line are you sailing, bostonphil7? Some, if not all, cruise lines have in-house staff who book flights exclusively for their cruise passengers. We use Celebrity's all the time for several reasons: 1) they generally get fares that are less expensive than even booking direct with the airline, 2) they keep an eye on schedule changes and updates for you and 3) if you do miss a flight or connection, they can help you get back on the right track. There is no fee for this service. Southampton, London's port is about 1.5 - 2 hours from Heathrow. Again, the cruise line's transportation office should offer help in the form of a transfer. More expensive, yes, but a lot less aggrevation. No getting yourself to the train station or finding your own coach.

If, however, you're up for a bit of adventure, this website is helpful: https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_train.htm#:~:text=The%20distance%20between%20Southampton%20and,around%201%20hour%2020%20minutes.

Lisbon is a lot easier--about 20 minutes by taxi from the pier to the airport.

Thanks for your replies.

I use Kayak for research only but always book directly through the airline. And I always buy insurance for whatever it is worth. (you never know until you try to use it)

I have credit cards and rewards with American and Delta. I sometimes can book through American and they will allow me to fly British Air using my rewards.

I am sailing Norwegian but if you use their air service, you are only allowed to stay two nights going and
coming at the most. I want to stay about 5 days in London and 4 in Lisbon. Also, I am in chat rooms and some cruisers have bad experiences using NCL's air service while others do have good ones.

Suki,

where do I find the category multi-city? Is it on the airlines site. Kayak has a category "multi airlines" which I have never used. Is that the same?

I only use Kayak for research and always book directly with the airlines.

I am not going to use my ship's transportation because I plan to spend about 5 days in London before or after sailing and about 4 days in Lisbon before or after sailing.

Pam,

Very good info and advice.

I always buy insurance but you never know what they will cover until you need to use it.

If I have a very long layover at Heathrow, I believe they have showers and even pods for rent.

Where to you find multi-city on Kayak? When you are entering your travel details, such as your travel cities, there is a drop down all the way on the left just above your departure city. You can select one-way, round-trip, multi-city or trip builder. Choose multi-city.

I found the multi-city on Kayak. as well as American. I never knew until now about the multi-city booking.

I am so glad that I asked this question. It never hurts to ask.

I can book through American using rewards and or earning rewards. American will then put me on British Air.

Thank you RS for this site and for all the helpful members.

Almost all British Air flights now land and depart at Terminal 5(the dedicated BA terminal). So you will be in the same terminal. That said, the terminal is huge and to get from inter-Europe to transatlantic flights usually involves lots of walking. So allow enough time to get to your next flight.

yes, Heather.

I cruised the Baltic in 2019 from Copenhagen. I had to fly to Heathrow and change planes at Heathrow. This was my first experiences at Heathrow. It seemed like the walking would never stop. I went up and down on escalators and elevators and maybe a train.

Maybe it will be easier the next time or at least I will be better prepared.

Be aware that award flights redeemed on American but flown by British Air have significant fuel surcharges added. A “free” flight can cost you hundreds of dollars that you wouldn’t pay if the redemption is flown by AA.

Hi MichaelB

I have noticed that the award amount might seem reasonable enough but sometimes the cash amount that I have to pay when using rewards is outrageous.

Going through American Airlines my awards and required cash was reasonable booking Austin to London but it was a completely different story booking Lisbon to Austin trying to use awards. The awards amount seemed reasonable enough but I was required to pay something like $500.00. ???? That is close to half price of a round trip.

I could not understand why. Maybe you have explained it.

Now I will do my research more aware and more carefully.