South Hampton Pier to London Hotel

[1oklahoma1]

My husband and I are returning from a cruise on Aug 13 and want to get from South Hampton to our London Hotel. Is there a shuttle or bus so we could avoid using the trains with 3 pieces of luggage and carry ons?

 

We would prefer not to use a private car.

[BlueRiband]

What cruise line? Perhaps they offer a coach service from the pier to a central London location such as Victoria Station?

[Velvetwater]

Not sure on shuttles but there is a company called national express who travel frequently for Southampton to London. The coaches are air conditioned with storage space underneath...we use them a lot...I think they are like the Greyhound buses in Florida?

 

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home1.aspx?utm_expid=46858713-73.7WwqmyxgSP2UiymY86UnDw.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2F

 

There is also Megabus but I am not sure about luggage constraints...although they are often cheaper.

 

http://uk.megabus.com/

 

However it is likely your line with provide coaches too.

Edited July 7, 2015 by Velvetwater

[fishywood]

Do you not still have to wrangle your cases in and out of the luggage compartment yourself on NEX coaches? The express train from Southampton Central to London Waterloo is pricey but has plenty of space for luggage and will get you there in half the time of either NEX or a ship's coach transfer. Or if you are willing to purchase non-refundable tickets in advance, stopping trains to London Victoria will be about the same price as the coach though just a bit faster.

[celle]

If you're doing any searches, be sure to spell the town's name correctly. It's Southampton, not South Hampton. Unlike the US, we don't have an area called the Hamptons.

[John Bull]

Best bet for you is likely to be the National Express bus from Southampton coach station to London's Victoria coach station. Standard fare is about £18 per person, but they frequently offer "fun fares", and on your date the fare is just £5 per person :). Journey time about 2 hrs 20mins.

The driver loads & unloads your luggage.

The service isn't frequent, so its important to pre-book. Simplest would be the 09.30am or even the 10.30am. You could alternatively book the 08.20am, though for that one you'd need early unassisted disembarkation - it sounds like that wouldn't be ideal for you.

Southampton coach station is a 5 to 10 minute taxi hop from any cruise terminal and should cost under £10. There's a line of taxis at each cruise terminal though there may be a short wait at busiest times.

Your ticket is only good for the coach time that you've booked and they do sell-out. Best to book without delay.

http://coach.nationalexpress.com/

 

Or consider the privately-operated coach cruise tour-transfer options - either direct, or via Salisbury/Stonehenge/Windsor, or via Highclere Castle (TV's Downton Abbey)/Blenheim Palace at http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_cruise_shuttles.htm

This is a service from your Southampton cruise pier to your central London hotel, so no hauling luggage. Not desperately expensive and, other than a car service, the easiest with luggage. No need to advise them of your luggage provided that between the two of you, you have no more than hand luggage plus four cases (each 23kg, but not weighed & no problem if they're 23kg or thereabouts) . Again, drivers load & unload luggage.

Pre-booking and pre-payment are required, but this is an established & reputable operator.

Again, your date is fast-approaching and they do book-out.

(BTW there's stack of useful London info on that London Toolkit website at http://www.londontoolkit.com/

Have a browse through it)

 

 

The train station is quite near the coach station - same taxi details as above.

Trains from Southampton central station to London's Waterloo station are much more frequent (2 to 3 trains per hour) and no need to pre-book, and the journey time is quicker at 80 to 100 minutes, but the train is more expensive at around £40 per person. The train is not a great problem with luggage - there's no big steps from platform to train, and if you tell the taxi driver that you want a London train he'll drop you on the appropriate side of the station, where your platform is alongside the ticket office - no walking, and no stairs or elevator required.

No cheap "megatrain" tickets in the Southampton to London direction in the mornings.

There's also an hourly train service to London's Victoria station. Cheaper, but it takes a very convoluted route & journey time is about 2hrs 30 mins.

The train is a useful Plan B if your other travel arrangements foul up.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

Ships offer their own coach transfers from pier to London's airports or to central London's Victoria coach station. Some also offer a service to St Pancras station - primarily for those taking Eurostar to continental Europe, but useful if your hotel is near St Pancras.

I've heard of fares as cheap as around $60 (Princess) and as expensive as £100 (RCI)

 

I'd recommend the Nat Express coach or one of the London Toolkit tour-transfers depending on your plans & depth of pocket.

 

JB :)

Edited July 7, 2015 by John Bull