Hi! So glad I came across this thread and I appreciate all of the info provided.
Like many of the previous posters, I'm trying to figure out the best option for getting from Southampton (post-cruise) to London (specifically Novotel London Bridge hotel). We are a family of 4 with two kids under 10. We will have two 30" roller luggage and we rarely ride commuter trains (we are from Southern California).
After reading this thread, I'm leaning toward: train (advanced purchase South Western railway to Waterloo) then Uber to hotel but I had a couple of quick questions:
- I've checked the Southampton Port schedule, and it looks like we'll be disembarking at the Horizon Cruise terminal. That looks to be a 15 minute walk to the Southampton Central train station, but is this an easy walk with kids/luggage (not uphill, paved sidewalks, etc.) How much would an Uber cost from Horizon to the train station?
- The disembark time is scheduled for 8am, and we do not plan to get off the ship early. Factoring in the disembark process, travel time to train station, random delays b/c of kids, general ignorance of the train station/system.. what time train departure would you recommend we target?
- If we don't do advanced purchase for tickets and walk-up instead, are seats generally available (we're arriving on a Wednesday)? Since it's a terminus, I'm guessing it should be pretty easy to secure tickets and seats together, but just wanted to make sure.
- Is luggage stored in areas in the train cars, or underneath the cars, somewhere else? I'm guessing many passengers boarding in Southampton will have luggage from their cruises, so I'm wondering how convenient/accessible luggage storage will be on the train.
Also, after coming across this read and learning about International Friends post-cruise tour, we're also looking into this as well! Thank you for mentioning it! Quick questions about:
- Do they pick up from all of the cruise terminals, or would we need to go from the Horizon terminal to whichever one they are located at?
- Is the drive from Southampton to Stonehenge and then Stonehenge to London very windy (frequent turns, not atmospheric wind), mountainy, etc? I often get carsick on large coaches (the tour coach looks like a standard large bus) with those road conditions.
Thanks for all of your help!