Getting to Southampton

[j2ink]

We are booked on the Independence of the Seas at the end of June, and we plan to spend two or three days in London before the cruise. Can anyone please give me some advice about the best way to get to Southampton from London? Also, would it be better to arrive in Southampton the evening before the cruise begins, or on the morning of the cruise? I read on this forum that boarding begins about 11:00 am, but we are not worried about being the first ones to board the ship. Thanks for any advice you are willing to share.

[wanderingjew]

We are booked on the Independence of the Seas at the end of June, and we plan to spend two or three days in London before the cruise. Can anyone please give me some advice about the best way to get to Southampton from London? Also, would it be better to arrive in Southampton the evening before the cruise begins, or on the morning of the cruise? I read on this forum that boarding begins about 11:00 am, but we are not worried about being the first ones to board the ship. Thanks for any advice you are willing to share.

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/cruise_ship.asp

according to this it docks near the downtown train and bus terminals you can take national express bus from heathrow or Victoria bus station

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

I see they also have train service from Waterloo and paddington I took transfers Last time i was in The queens grill last time i was on QE2 :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i

[EJNutz]

Depending from where you start off in London you can get a coach or train.

 

My personal preference is always to get to Southampton the day/night before. There are plenty of shops, pubs and restaurants near the port.

[sddsddean]

This has been asked so many times. Please use the search to save us typing out the options again! Basically train from Waterloo or Victoria to Southampton Central (can be got for £1 from waterloo), or National Express coach or Greyhound coach, both from Victoria area (can be as little as £1). No problems coming down the day of the cruise. If you want to stay the night before, the Holiday Inn is 300 yds from the ship.

 

Simon

[scottbee]

We are booked on the Independence of the Seas at the end of June, and we plan to spend two or three days in London before the cruise. Can anyone please give me some advice about the best way to get to Southampton from London? Also, would it be better to arrive in Southampton the evening before the cruise begins, or on the morning of the cruise? I read on this forum that boarding begins about 11:00 am, but we are not worried about being the first ones to board the ship. Thanks for any advice you are willing to share.

 

This question is asked about 10x /month. A search in this forum will yield a multitude of answers and opinions; rather than us spouting it all over again

[cruzisme]

We are doing the night before in Southampton at a recommended B&B; travelling via train from Waterloo Station. This we decided after reading all the info on these boards.

Sure hope we get the 1 pound train ride versus the regular off peak price in August!

How soon do you hear of the specials or is it hit and miss? Thanks!

[EJNutz]

This has been asked so many times. Please use the search to save us typing out the options again! Basically train from Waterloo or Victoria to Southampton Central (can be got for £1 from waterloo), or National Express coach or Greyhound coach, both from Victoria area (can be as little as £1). No problems coming down the day of the cruise. If you want to stay the night before, the Holiday Inn is 300 yds from the ship.

 

Simon

 

Use this link for the £1 fares. http://uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx

[sddsddean]

We are doing the night before in Southampton at a recommended B&B; travelling via train from Waterloo Station. This we decided after reading all the info on these boards.

Sure hope we get the 1 pound train ride versus the regular off peak price in August!

How soon do you hear of the specials or is it hit and miss? Thanks!

 

 

You need to go to www.megatrain.co.uk . You leave from LONDON and destination is SOUTHAMPTON. There is usually one train an hour that is £1 each (price goes up the longer you leave it). They normally come out about 40 days ahead.

 

Simon

[cruzisme]

thanks Simon for the info!

will keep this in mind this summer when we check the fares again!

getting excited about visiting the UK!

[handfordr]

You need to go to www.megatrain.co.uk . You leave from LONDON and destination is SOUTHAMPTON. There is usually one train an hour that is £1 each (price goes up the longer you leave it). They normally come out about 40 days ahead.

 

Simon

 

Megabus/Megatrain are a web only advance purchase operation.

 

Somebody may correct me with a more up to date status but certainly up to a couple of years ago their systems only accepted credit/debit cards issued in the UK

[sddsddean]

Megabus/Megatrain are a web only advance purchase operation.

 

Somebody may correct me with a more up to date status but certainly up to a couple of years ago their systems only accepted credit/debit cards issued in the UK

 

I know loads of US pax who have used them. Sometimes their card is 'blocked' and they have to phone up their card issuer to unblock it, but otherwise no problems.

 

Simon

[phabric]

We used the National Express Coach (http://www.nationalexpress.com) from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton. If you check their site a couple of months in advance of your cruise, you might be able to get the Funfare price (check under Specials). We were able to get tickets for 4 GBP/pp. There were many taxis at the station. It was 5-7 GBP to go to the Princess dock.

 

We like to spend the night before at the port city. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Herbert Walker. It was within walking distance of pubs, huge mall, grocery store. Taxi was 5-7 GBP from hotel to port (tip - ask hotel to order a taxi for the morning).

[j2ink]

Thanks to those of you who took the time to answer my questions. I originally searched the RCI board for information regarding this subject, and since I didn't see anything, I posted my question there. CC moved my post to this board, and, since I don't live on these boards like some people apparently do, I did not even know it existed. In any event, thanks again for your help.

[cruzisme]

glad you found your answer here

CC is a great source of info

hope you keep tuned in!

[John Bull]

As other posts, you are likely to find silly-cheap offers

By train (Megatrain) from Waterloo station (central London) to Southampton Central Station

By coach from Victoria coach station (central London) to Southampton (coachstation) http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/Offers/funfares.cfm

By coach from Victoria to Southampton town quay by rival coach company http://www.greyhounduk.com/

 

All three Southampton destinations are equally handy (short taxi hop or up to 15 min walk) to IOTS' usual terminal, City Cruise Terminal.

 

Travel from central London to Southampton on the morning of your cruise is quite normal, though summer saturdays by road may be problematic as traffic volume can cause long delays esp since coaches have to stick to their motorway routing.

Southampton isn't a tourist city, but can certainly offer enough to interest you for 24 hours.

http://www.visit-southampton.co.uk/

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/

 

John Bull

[MSMcDuffy]

I know loads of US pax who have used them. Sometimes their card is 'blocked' and they have to phone up their card issuer to unblock it, but otherwise no problems.

 

Simon

 

Do you know how these US passengers obtained their tickets when purchased on the Megabus/Megatrain website? - from one of the ticket machines? Their website has little info on it.

 

Our hotel is not too far from Waterloo station and that might be better than catching a bus/train from Victoria station.

[newport dave]

You will be able to print out the tickets when you buy them online, or they will send you an email were you can print them out via a link.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

If you have never been to London- by all means visit London. Its a beautiful city. I took the train from London Victoria Station. The train conductors will tell you where to get off and transfer. It was easy.

 

Southampton is nice and much cheaper though and you are more likely to have genuine English people to talk to there.

 

We arrived in central London and our porter was Indian, the front desk staff was Italian. At the train station there were a variety of Nationalities working there- none of who were born in England. At the London Eye the staff was not English. So there you have it.

 

If you want to go to England and have English people wait on you... you are more apt to find it in Southampton.

[MSMcDuffy]

You will be able to print out the tickets when you buy them online, or they will send you an email were you can print them out via a link.

 

Thanks! At first (like most people) I thought the Megatrain deal sounded too good to be true but after reading reviews, it is as wonderful as it sounds. However, people have said it's usually not offered at busy times and with all the people heading to Southampton that day, chances are probably slim to none.

[5ofusnow]

We are staying by the Waterloo station as well and we are also looking into taking the train (or a private transfer) to Southampton. However, my biggest concern is with luggage. I've read some about the restrictions but I was wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge about this issue?:confused:

[5ofusnow]

"http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/cruise_ship.asp"

 

After going to this site I'm a little confused about the distance from the train station to the ship. Our ship will be in berth 106, Mayflower Cruise Terminal. it says

"Dock Gate 10 is less than one mile from the terminal

Southampton Railway Station is 1/2 mile from the Dock Gate 10"

So does that mean we need to go to the terminal and then to Dock Gate 10, making it 1 & 1/2 miles from train to ship? Or am I misinterpreting the information?

[sddsddean]

I've just 'Google Earthed' it and using the ruler on that its about 1/3 mile to gate 10 and about 1 mile to the Mayflower. However, its not an easy walk, so I would bite the bullet and get a cab...take you 5 mins tops.

To give you an idea, on http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=Herbert+Walker+Ave&geocode=FQbLCAMdYm3q_w%3BFVnDCAMdOCzq_w&hl=en&mra=prv&dirflg=w&sll=50.903682,-1.419296&sspn=0.015562,0.036306&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=15

'A' is the station and 'B' is the Mayflower (where the ship is).

 

Simon

[John Bull]

I've just 'Google Earthed' it and using the ruler on that its about 1/3 mile to gate 10 and about 1 mile to the Mayflower. However, its not an easy walk, so I would bite the bullet and get a cab...take you 5 mins tops.

To give you an idea, on http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=Herbert+Walker+Ave&geocode=FQbLCAMdYm3q_w%3BFVnDCAMdOCzq_w&hl=en&mra=prv&dirflg=w&sll=50.903682,-1.419296&sspn=0.015562,0.036306&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=15

'A' is the station and 'B' is the Mayflower (where the ship is).

 

Simon

 

Being pedantic, Simon, its a little closer by exiting the station on the south side - same side that London trains arrive. A mile in total. A level 20 min walk, but hardly scenic. And certainly with luggage its well worth a fiver for a taxi.

 

JB :)

In jubilant mood, his team just went to 2nd in the league. Where's a Pompey Elphin when you need one? :D

[sddsddean]

Being pedantic, Simon, its a little closer by exiting the station on the south side - same side that London trains arrive. A mile in total. A level 20 min walk, but hardly scenic. And certainly with luggage its well worth a fiver for a taxi.

 

JB :)

In jubilant mood, his team just went to 2nd in the league. Where's a Pompey Elphin when you need one? :D

 

 

I know that JB, but the blue line wouldn't go from the south side! Bl00dy computers!!

 

Simon

[John Bull]

I know that JB, but the blue line wouldn't go from the south side! Bl00dy computers!!

 

Simon

 

A bad workman always blames his tools :D:D:D

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_en-GBGB302GB305&q=google.com&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

 

JB (smirking smilie) (you'll be needing the second smilie down, on the left ;))