Princess Cruise Transfer Bus...Arrival Time at Heathrow...Questions

[2Canucks]

Has anyone used the Princess cruise transfer bus from Southampton to Heathrow Airport?

 

What time will the bus arrive at Heathrow?

 

Where do I get off? At each Airline...like at home?

 

Will a 1:20pm flight time be workable with the Princess transfer bus arrival time?

 

What is the procedure when I arrive at Heathrow...to get checked in for my flight? How long does this take?

 

Not familiar with Heathrow...how can you tell!

 

I haven't booked my flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam yet...waiting for suggestions on the best timeframe that will work with the Princess transfer bus. What do you suggest?

 

Thank You in advance for any info you can share with me about finding my way through Heathrow to my flight.

 

Pat :)

[Twickenham]

I haven't booked my flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam yet...

 

If you're flying to AMS, why not fly out of Southampton airport - Flybe has non-stop flights. Easy taxi ride from the dock.

[John Bull]

Princess transfer to Heathrow:

You need to know your airport terminal, there are five at Heathrow.

There will be a fleet of ship's transfer coaches to Heathrow. In the main, coaches are allocated to just one airport terminal. When one coach for your terminal fills & departs, the next coach for that terminal starts filling.

The last couple of Heathrow coaches will be for stragglers for any terminal and those staying at Heathrow hotels.

First coach leaves around 7.45 to 8am, the last one around 9 - 9.30.

Toward the end of a cruise most cruise lines, I think that includes Princess, ask on a form for details of your onward travel and allocate a disembarkation slot (usually between 7.30 & 9am) to suit. If they don't, or if you are unhappy with your allocated slot, you can ask for it to be changed. But a 1.20 pm flight is easily manageable even with a late slot & even on a Monday (worst day of the week for traffic), unless there's been mayhem on the highway.

 

Or Twickenham's suggestion, Southampton airport to Amsterdam

The service is operated by http://www.flybe.com/

Flybe is a no-frills airline.

Fares are low but add-ons such as luggage boost the figure, so for an accurate quotation you need to run a dummy booking thro to the point where you're asked for card details.

Fares are also flexible, they significantly rise or (rarely) fall as the date draws nearer according to demand so early booking is strongly advised.

Check-in time is about 45 minutes before flight time (small single-terminal regional airport) & flight time about 90 minutes.

Normally 3 flights per day but that does vary according to the date. You won't make the early-morning flight so probably you're looking at the early-afternoon flight.

Southampton airport is about 8 miles from the port, a taxi from the stand at the pier will take around 15 to 30 minutes depending on traffic & cost about £20. Pre-booked will be a few pounds cheaper.

 

Like most of continental Europe, Amsterdam is an hour ahead of the UK so the actual flying time is an hour less than shown on airline timetables.

 

JB :)

[Cotswold Eagle]

Heathrow can almost be considered as three airports sharing two runways (no wonder it is congested!) In the centre of the airport you have Terminals 1-3, which share transport facilities such as the bus and rail stations. Terminals 4 and 5 are some distance away and almost at diametrically opposite corners of the airport to each other - they each have their own station and bus services. I have heard of people thinking T4 can't be far from T5 so they could walk it - they are at least a couple of miles apart :)

 

There has been a complicated dance of airline moves in terminals over recent years in an attempt to group as many of the large alliances together in a terminal. Terminal 5 is almost exclusively BA, but by no means all BA flights and BA code shares are operated from there. So you need to know your airline and destination to be sure which terminal you need.

[Bob++]

If you're flying to AMS, why not fly out of Southampton airport - Flybe has non-stop flights. Easy taxi ride from the dock.

 

That's what I would do. A nice leisurely breakfast on the ship, hanging it out until they kick me off. Then a taxi to the airport and the short hop over the Channel.

[2Canucks]

I just checked the Southampton Airport website. I tried a fake booking and there are No flights available for my travel day...April 16, 2016. I'm thinking it's too far out to book a flight.

 

I like to book my flights well ahead of time to be sure I get the timeframe I want. When are the Southampton flight times usually available to book?

 

Thank You.

 

Pat :)

[John Bull]

I just checked the Southampton Airport website. I tried a fake booking and there are No flights available for my travel day...April 16, 2016. I'm thinking it's too far out to book a flight.

 

I like to book my flights well ahead of time to be sure I get the timeframe I want. When are the Southampton flight times usually available to book?

 

Thank You.

 

Pat :)

 

Hi, Pat,

The site is currently accepting bookings for up to the end of next March, so I'm guessing you can get a quote / book within the next month.

BTW it offered me the afternoon flight on 29th March at £50 before add-ons.

 

That flight will get you to Amsterdam (Schipol) about an hour later than the Heathrow flight, but a much more relaxing day.

 

JB :)