Transportation from Southampton Pier to London Hotel

Hi, My husband and I will be taking the Queen Mary 2 from NYC to Southampton, arriving on Nov. 18th. What is the best reasonable way to get to our London hotel? Seems to be lots of option for the other cruise lines that do not service Cunard ships. Thanks for your help.

Cunard has options, you should look for the excursions in your voyage personalizer. I prefer to take the train. Get a taxi at the terminal, tell the driver you want him to drop you off at the 'London' side of the Southampton Central rail station. Go in buy a ticket, wait a max of half and hour, board the train.One and a half hours later you will be at London Waterloo, where another taxi will take you to your hotel. No muss no fuss. By the way the reason I say the London side, is that Southampton Central is actually two stations connected by a stairs, lifts (that usually don't work) and a bridge. By getting off at the London side you avoid this little exercise. Normally they will drop you off at the other side. Others can will likely tell you about car services which I have found to be expensive and slower, but possibly more direct.

Some words of warning. Take care regarding travelling by rail on the 18th November as it looks like there are major rail works taking place and that the trains will possibly be re-routed and / or have a bus replacement service running between various stations. It probably means that it will take much longer than normal for the journey and that the train departures times may not be that reliable!

Other options are fairly obvious and all depend on what you are prepared to spend. By far the lowest cost is by coach and would take 2 - 2 1/2 hours depending on to where in London you need arrive.

That's good to know. Thanks!

You can also book the CUNARD sponsored coach service to either one of the 2 airports,

LHR and LGW, or the coach to " central station".

Then take a taxi to your hotel, from whichever coach destination you choose----whichever is closest to your hotel.

Some words of warning. Take care regarding travelling by rail on the 18th November as it looks like there are major rail works taking place and that the trains will possibly be re-routed and / or have a bus replacement service running between various stations.

More generally, be very careful booking trains on any Sunday, when engineering work commonly takes place. And, with large cases, avoid bus replacement services, potentially for only part of the journey, so lots of changing of transport like the plague.

I order a car and driver from Smith's for Airports. I've used them multiple times. They are always there when you need them. They are completely familiar with Southampton ship arrivals and procedures. Pricewise, I find it a reasonable expense. I've used them both to Heathrow and central London hotels.

The cars have wifi hotspots, too. That way you can get caught up on emails on your way into town.

It's all arranged via email. I always confirm the details before I leave from my point of departure.

Thanks for all the input! I really appreciate your help.

When booking with Smith's you may be asked whether you want an "estate car" (station wagon) or a "saloon car" (sedan). I had to look up the terms in my English-American dictionary. Given what I know about relative car sizes I opted for the estate car. Still not sure it was necessary but it was only £5 or £10 more.

What is a reasonable amount of time to allot between arrival in port and train departure in Southampton? Does QE (Sept 14th cruise, return 28th) generally arrive early am? I would like to reserve seats on train to London unless just showing up is more advisable. Thanks in advance.

What is a reasonable amount of time to allot between arrival in port and train departure in Southampton? Does QE (Sept 14th cruise, return 28th) generally arrive early am? I would like to reserve seats on train to London unless just showing up is more advisable. Thanks in advance.

Ship,usually gets in by 7. You can't reserve seats on South Western. Just catch the first fast train available. Providing you miss the morning rush hour, you should get a seat. A taxi would take less the 15 mins to get from port to station.

I've used Smiths several times and they deliver a very good service. Always ahead of or on time, clean cars, friendly and professional staff. With four adults and cruise luggage we needed a minivan, which is quite comfortable with more space to stretch the legs. Already booked them for our next crossing.

Good information. Thanks so much.

Ship,usually gets in by 7. You can't reserve seats on South Western. Just catch the first fast train available. Providing you miss the morning rush hour, you should get a seat. A taxi would take less the 15 mins to get from port to station.

Sorry, this was unintentionally misleading. You can't reserve seats, but if you can buy your ticket in advance, it will be a lot cheaper.

If you look at www.nationalrail.co.uk you should find train times from Southampton Central to London Waterloo. Roughly every half hour for the fast train. Trains are slower on Sundays. The site also lists engineering work and strike action. You can buy tickets on online. The cheapest prices are released 1 weeks in advance and rise closer to the travel date. With cheaper fares you do have to book a specific time. Or as some else suggested a coach www.nationalexpress.com/en can get you to London Victoria in 2.5 hours HTH!

If you look at www.nationalrail.co.uk you should find train times from Southampton Central to London Waterloo. Roughly every half hour for the fast train. Trains are slower on Sundays. The site also lists engineering work and strike action. You can buy tickets on online. The cheapest prices are released 1 weeks in advance and rise closer to the travel date. With cheaper fares you do have to book a specific time. Or as some else suggested a coach www.nationalexpress.com/en can get you to London Victoria in 2.5 hours HTH!

I think that should be 12 weeks in advance.

Cunard provide a few transfer options, we wanted one to St Pancras but couldn't find it on the Cunard site (although some indicate it would be there ??). TA confirmed that yes St Pancras transfer is available latest it would leave is 9:30. Have made Eurostar booking based on that info. The attached was provided by someone off an earlier QM cruise and details the type of services offered (but that sheet is only issued on board the day before departure (??). not sure if it helps or just causes greater confusion.

OK ... no attachment can't quickly work out how to insert a photo, will try to find the link.

If you check the thread ....Arrival Time of Coaches Southampton ....... you'll find a copy posted by "Hostie Hattie"

Ship,usually gets in by 7. You can't reserve seats on South Western. Just catch the first fast train available. Providing you miss the morning rush hour, you should get a seat. A taxi would take less the 15 mins to get from port to station.

The ship is usually at the dock and cleared by 7:30A. But the scheduled - by deck- normal passenger departure schedule may have you getting off the ship at 10:15A if you are on decks 3 or 4. The taxi is quick and advance purchase train fares (the day before +/-) can be very cheap. You do run the slight risk of a strike or other disruption but you can always hire a cab or take a bus as Plan B. You will get advance notice of these. I would argue the risk of a train disruption is about the same as getting caught in traffic in a car or limo.

Thanks for the information!

I've taken train, bus, and once even taxi (but that's a long story including a three day snow delay from the States) and I have found that Smith's is the most economical and easiest way for two to travel between the ship and London. They will pick you up at the quay and drop you off at your hotel's front door. It's all very convenient, and you won't have to schlep your luggage from train or bus to taxi or underground to get to your hotel.

Thanks!