Travel from London to Southampton August 13, 2014

[ladybema]

Four of us will be staying at the Renaissance Heathrow Hotel and travelling to the ibis hotel in Southampton on August 13th for the August 15th cruise of the British Isles. Since there are no cruise ships in port that day we can't use the cruise bus. Is anyone else travelling from London to Southampton that day? Just joined CC so I originally posted this as a reply to someone else. Guess I need a tutorial!

[KirkNC]

Welcome, one option to consider is National Express. We have used them in the past and they are very comfortable. I think it is something like 10 euros.

[david737]

Just looked at National Express website for that date and cost would be about £55 for four people and its direct from Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 to Southampton coach station and takes about 2 hours and a lot cheaper than a cab or car service hope this helps.

[graceswan]

Looks like Megatrain has 1 and 6 pound trips. I am going that way for our trip on the 9th and my husband and I got the trip for 13.50 pounds. My understanding is you just have to take a taxi from the train station, which is about 5 pounds. http://uk.megabus.com/Default.aspx

[custompcsys]

Just a thought....when we did our med cruise that left out of Southampton several years ago we also landed a couple of days early in London and decided to rent a car to make the trip. We picked up the car from National at Heathrow and drove to Southampton, making several stops along the way to see some sights....Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, plus a couple of others. It was a nice easy drive and driving on the left side took some concentration but was not that bad. We were able to drop the car at the Southampton airport. On the way home we took the Princess transfer back to Heathrow.

 

With four of you going the cost might not be that much different than other transportation and it allows you to set your own pace and see some of the sights. We were glad we did it.

[ladybema]

Only problem we have with that option is getting all of us and our luggage to the train station. My husband had major back surgery last year and can't lift over 20lbs.

[ladybema]

Thanks - we will check that out.

[stunnedinva]

Four of us will be staying at the Renaissance Heathrow Hotel and travelling to the ibis hotel in Southampton on August 13th for the August 15th cruise of the British Isles. Since there are no cruise ships in port that day we can't use the cruise bus. Is anyone else travelling from London to Southampton that day? Just joined CC so I originally posted this as a reply to someone else. Guess I need a tutorial!

 

If you would like private transportation (pricier than National Express or train), I can recommend http://www.smithsforairports.com. They offer fabulous service for a reasonable price, especially for 4 of you splitting the cost.

[Mapu]

If you would like private transportation (pricier than National Express or train), I can recommend http://www.smithsforairports.com. They offer fabulous service for a reasonable price, especially for 4 of you splitting the cost.

 

We have used Smiths several times and have always been pleased.

[azbirdmom]

If you would like private transportation (pricier than National Express or train), I can recommend http://www.smithsforairports.com. They offer fabulous service for a reasonable price, especially for 4 of you splitting the cost.

 

Very timely post! We've used National Express to London, but the car service sounds like it will be just what we need to get to Southampton after a long flight. Just sent a booking request off to Smith's. Thanks for posting the info!

[stunnedinva]

Very timely post! We've used National Express to London, but the car service sounds like it will be just what we need to get to Southampton after a long flight. Just sent a booking request off to Smith's. Thanks for posting the info!

 

You're welcome. Even though my travel companion's connecting flight in the U.S. was cancelled and she ended up flying out of Newark instead of Dulles and arrived 3 hours later than I did and at a different terminal, Smith's was able to figure a way to pick us both up and whisk us to our Southampton hotel. They were great!

[Calgon1]

Here are some options for getting from London's Heathrow Airport, Waterloo Station (train) or Victoria Coach Station (bus) to the ship . . .

 

1) Princess Transfer ($59.00 each). Baggage: I couldn't find anything; so, I'll assume it's the same as with the airlines. If anyone knows, please post.

 

2) National Express Coach (£31/$51.90 each).

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/...al_express.htm

The main alternative to train by scheduled public transport are coach services by National Express. There are separate services between Southampton and Central London, Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport. The National Express Coaches are much slower and much cheaper than the train services. They are modern air-conditioned buses with washrooms. Unlike the trains there are true e-tickets on-line. Significant for people on cruises is the luggage allowance, 2 cases neither of which should weigh more than 20kg (44lbs) before steep surcharges kick in. One extra bag - £8/$13.40 or three extra - £16/$26.78). The bus station at Southampton is by the train station so you still need the local taxi cabs to and from the cruise terminals.

 

3) Southampton Cruise Bus (£59/$98.78 each)

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/...e_shuttles.htm

Not public transport, but a useful option offering prices approaching public transport with the convenience of door to door transfers between your cruise terminal at Southampton and your hotel in Central London or Heathrow Airport. Southbound (London to Southampton), the bus picks up from hotels in all of the major hotel districts of Central London. The bus then goes onto Heathrow Airport where it will pick-up from a selection of Heathrow Airport hotels (but not passenger terminals) before going onto Southampton,arriving around 1 p.m. There is the added bonus that the coach stops for one hour in either direction at Stonehenge, plenty of time to visit this world famous monument if you wish. The vehicles used are normally full size 50 seat luxury, air-conditioned, touring busses.

 

4) The MegaTrain and MegaBus at (£2/$3.35 each)

http://uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx

* MegaTrain - One worthwhile option to look into if you are travelling between London Waterloo and Southampton is the Megatrain web site, an on-line only source of bargain advance purchase train tickets. The Megatrain/Megabus web site is run by the parent company of the train company that runs the trains between London Waterloo and Southampton. If they know a train is going to run half empty they use this site to make available clearance price tickets. You travel in the same trains as if you bought a standard ticket but you have to ride on a specific schedule. The price is volatile, basically if the computer calculates there is going to be a lot of empty seats the prices go down, if there is a run on a particular schedule the prices will go up. There is a fixed allocation of tickets for each train, when the allocation has been sold that's it, only the full price tickets are then available. Only a small subset of the schedules are made available through Megatrain, those schedules off peak. However, this can be just the times you want for a cruise, so its worth checking availability. Your baggage is limited.

 

http://uk.megabus.com/

* MegaBus - The megabus.com service, which was first launched in the UK in 2003, offers fares from just £1 (plus 50p/50c booking fee) across the UK and now Europe including Paris, Boulogne, Amsterdam and Brussels. Linking around 60 locations, offering high-quality, low-cost travel in some of the country's most modern coaches and carrying more than 2 million passengers a year. London Victoria Coach Station is situated on Buckingham Palace Rd at the junction with Elizabeth St. megabus services depart from Stands 15-20, located in the departures area of North West terminal.

* MegaBaggage - " We don’t mind what your luggage is packed in, we only ask that it’s no bigger than a standard ‘large’ suitcase and weighs no more than 25kg. Alternatively you can take two medium cases with a combined weight of 25kg or three small bags with a combined weight of 25kg. You can also take a piece of small hand luggage on board with you and it must either fit on your lap or under the seat in front of you. Please be advised that passengers wishing to travel with more luggage than one standard sized suitcase and one small piece of luggage that can fit on your lap or under the seat in front of you, you may have items refused. "

Edited July 23, 2014 by Calgon1

[cruisequeen10]

have you thought about taking the train. we did this a few years back from london to dover. was a very nice trip. scenery was spectacular

[nanwel]

Thank you Calgon - this is the most detailed info I have seen, and very helpful! I am looking for travel for Oct, and will look into the sites in your email!

[ladybema]

If you would like private transportation (pricier than National Express or train), I can recommend http://www.smithsforairports.com. They offer fabulous service for a reasonable price, especially for 4 of you splitting the cost.

Thanks for the info on smithsforairport.com the quote they gave me is cheaper than if the 4 of us used National Express!!

[stunnedinva]

Thanks for the info on smithsforairport.com the quote they gave me is cheaper than if the 4 of us used National Express!!

 

Great! When we used National Express, they had a senior citizen price reduction, but that's been discontinued for U.S. passengers, so I thought Smiths might be a better deal for 4. Have a wonderful trip!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Welcome to Cruise Critic National Express.

[caribill]

have you thought about taking the train. we did this a few years back from london to dover. was a very nice trip. scenery was spectacular

 

I get the impression the OP is going from Heathrow area to Southampton and thus would like to avoid having to first travel to Central London to take a train or bus from there.