gumshoe958

They are primarily commuter trains so they don’t have dedicated luggage space. Carry-ons can go in the racks above the seats but you’ll just have to find room for large cases where you can around your seat. It’s rarely an issue at off-peak times when the trains are nowhere near full. The closest US comparison would be something like the Long Island Railroad or Metro North in New York.

The South Western Railway website doesn’t allow bookings from addresses outside the UK unfortunately. Try https://www.lner.co.uk which does. Different train company, but still sells tickets for any British rail journey. Just ignore the warning it’ll show that the train is fully reserved and you may have to stand. SWR trains never have seat reservations so it’s irrelevant.

The drive from Southampton to Heathrow typically takes about 90 minutes, assuming no delays en route. But best to allow 2 hours in case of traffic. A 2:30pm flight is absolutely fine.

And remember your carry-on must be able to fit through the scanner at security before you board.

The Novotel is very easily walkable from the City and Horizon terminals, but Ocean is probably about a 25 minute walk (just over a mile) so YMMV.

There are five different cruise terminals, all quite spread out. Some are more walkable than others, depending on where you’re staying.

That’s actually very good value for a cruise line transfer which I’d normally expect to cost at least double that. National Express will rarely be less than $20, often more.

At a guess £20-25, but it is just a guess!

On arrival, take a cab to Southampton Airport Parkway station (20 mins), then a train direct from there to London Waterloo (leaving at 26 minutes past each hour). From Waterloo it’s a 5-10 minute walk to your hotel. (Note that on October 6th there are no trains from Southampton Central, the closest station to the port, due to engineering work. Hence the advice to use Southampton Airport Parkway instead)

Unfortunately only one direct National Express coach a day to LHR stops right outside the entrance to the port, at around 8pm which is of little use to cruisers. Otherwise, you’ll need to make your way to the main Portsmouth stop (called The Hard) from where there are more frequent direct coaches. It’s about a 10 minute cab ride or 30-35 minute walk from the port. Yes, you can book coach tickets online at https://www.nationalexpress.com

By then you may need the UK’s own, totally separate ETA, which is currently being rolled out. No start date yet for Canadian or US passport holders though.

Whether VV uses the new terminal or the temporary one it used last time, I would work on the assumption there’ll be shuttle buses as both are some distance from the dock and it’s a working commercial port. The bus ride is very short (less than 5 minutes) and they run continuously so it shouldn’t delay you too much, but you can rule out ship-side taxis or Ubers.

Yes, if anything Portsmouth is even easier to get to from London than Southampton as National Express coaches stop right outside the port as opposed to a cab ride away. Heathrow, however, is trickier by public transport. And with far fewer cruises than Southampton, transfer and excursion options from Portsmouth are more limited as the demand simply isn’t there.

Portsmouth may be slightly different as you have to board a shuttle bus to get from the terminal to the ship, which IMHO slows down and elongates the embarkation process.

May 25th is in the middle of a holiday weekend so if the weather’s good it’ll be very busy.

There is no usual. It can be several weeks before you sail. It can be the day you sail. Or any time in between.

Paying crew to do the job they’re contracted to do is what my cruise fare is for.

As of June there are no direct trains from LGW to Southampton any more, but it’s a very simple same platform change at Barnham or Havant. Trains run every 30 minutes (hourly on Sundays). Absolutely no need to go via London.

Unfortunately Portsmouth isn’t geared up for a range of private shore excursions the way Southampton is, as it’s a far less busy cruise port. If you were arriving in Southampton, International Friends offers exactly what you’re looking for - a transfer from the port to your airport hotel at LHR stopping at Stonehenge en route. Sadly they don’t operate from Portsmouth though, and I’m not aware of another company that does. So on this occasion you’re probably best using Virgin’s own excursion.

No, they’re more or less hourly all night and there’s one at 7:45am. But that’s probably too tight for most cruise ship arrivals.

That’s fine. It’s a 10 minute max cab ride to Southampton Central station so as long as you’re off the ship 30-45 minutes before your chosen train you’ll make it no problem. Most ships tend to want you off by 9 or 9.30.

You are currently scheduled to dock at Ocean Terminal, which is a bit further from the city centre than some of the terminals. From there the coach station is just over a mile and the rail station just under 1.5 miles. Both are perfectly walkable, with sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. But if it’s raining you may prefer a cab.

Ignore that. It’s just a default message because SWR doesn’t do seat reservations - it’s always first come first served. Although it’s not guaranteed (for anyone), you should be fine getting a seat.

You might just be able to do it in 1hr15 in the middle of the night but otherwise, no chance. It’s just over 70 miles so 1hr30 at best, potentially 2 hours if there’s traffic.

No, SWR won’t let you book with an address outside the UK. You can, however, book tickets for SWR trains on any other operator’s site, and some do allow international purchases. Try LNER instead: https://www.lner.co.uk