We are sailing on Holland America Line’s ms Prinsendam on a 14-Day Celtic Circle cruise around the United Kingdom, round trip from Tilbury, England. To get from Kansas City, Missouri, to Tilbury, we used some creativity in redeeming frequent flier rewards.
Taking Advantage of a Stop Over
In addition to getting to London to catch our cruise, we wanted to stop in Nova Scotia en route to attend a memorial service and visit family members. Using Continental frequent flier awards program, we booked two business class tickets to Europe using Star Alliance carriers. These award tickets allow a stopover en route to your final destination. We flew on Continental between Kansas City and Halifax, connecting in Newark, New Jersey.
After spending the night in Halifax, we drove to Chester, Nova Scotia for the memorial service on Saturday afternoon, and then returned to Halifax to board the evening flight on Air Canada to London. Flight time between Halifax and London was only five hours and 15 minutes, getting us into London Heathrow around 9:30 am Sunday morning.
Save Money With Heathrow Connect on Sundays
From Heathrow, we took the Heathrow Connect train to Paddington station. The Heathrow Express only takes 15 minutes but costs £16 per person. The Heathrow Connect trains, which run from the same platforms, only cost £8 per person. Usually, these trains take nearly twice as long to reach Paddington station, but on Sundays they make fewer stops and get you to Paddington quicker.
A London Cab to Tilbury
From Paddington Station we took a cab to our London hotel, the Grosvenor House. Once we arrived, we arranged with the same cabbie to take us to Tilbury the next day. The Cruise Port of London at Tilbury is about a 45 minute to 1 hour and 15 minute drive from London, depending on the traffic. We found the fare to be around £80 which was comparably priced with bus transfers for two. London cabs are spacious and comfortable, with the world’s most knowledgeable cab drivers.
Have you traveled to from the United States to Tilbury, England? How did you get there?