Fyrefly Posted February 5, 2017 #1 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Hi all, We're thinking of doing a transfer from our London hotel to Southampton with a stop by Stonehenge for the way down, but we're a bit unsure about how to handle the return trip. We're thinking of taking the National Express bus back to save a bit of money and taking it directly to Heathrow for our flight home. The trick lies in getting from the cruise terminal to the bus terminal. It sounds like we can expect that to be about 10 pounds, but can anyone weigh in on how hard it's going to be to get a local taxi? Can we expect to get off the ship and there will be a taxi stand? Could it be hours because all the taxis are prebooked? We don't want to end up missing our bus and by extension our plane because it turns out taxis are impossible. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted February 5, 2017 #2 Share Posted February 5, 2017 There are taxi ranks at all cruise piers. Those on the rank aren't pre-booked. And all are available for short journeys such as to the rail or coach (bus) station, it's part of their licence terms. As a general rule there are more taxis than passengers at the start of disembarkation (about 7am unassisted, from 7.30 assisted) but later there's often a line from time to time as passengers exceed taxis, but no worse than 10 to 15 minutes. If it's going to play on your mind, surprisingly I believe you can pre-book a private transfer even for that short distance - will cost you pennies more. Try http://www.westquaycars.com The earliest coach that you can make (a little risky) is 7.45am, the next 9.45am What ship & date, what time coach are you planning to take, and what's your flight time? JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fyrefly Posted February 5, 2017 Author #3 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Wonderful! Having never been to the city I wasn't sure what to expect. We will be disembarking on June 18th from the Celebrity Eclipse. I was thinking of taking the 9:45 coach to Heathrow which should put us there around noon I think, and our flight back to the states is at 3:40. A bit of waiting around that day but I would rather be bored for an hour or two than be worried about missing a connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosepetals Posted February 5, 2017 #4 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Wonderful! Having never been to the city I wasn't sure what to expect. We will be disembarking on June 18th from the Celebrity Eclipse. I was thinking of taking the 9:45 coach to Heathrow which should put us there around noon I think, and our flight back to the states is at 3:40. A bit of waiting around that day but I would rather be bored for an hour or two than be worried about missing a connection. You may want to look up our roll call for this cruise. There are cc members arranging private transfers from the ship to Heathrow on June 18th that you could share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted February 5, 2017 #5 Share Posted February 5, 2017 You have stacks of time. If the weather's fine you could walk from your berth (City Cruise Terminal) in less than a 20 minutes, all on level ground. The next coach isn't until 11.30 - that one would work too, but the last of the disembarking passengers are usually thrown off the ship by about 10am and you don't want to be stuck in Southampton with your luggage for an hour or two on a sunday morning, so the 9.45 probably makes more sense. But do book in advance. Or consider rosepetal's suggestion & see if there are potential sharers for a private transfer - splitting the cost between four would cost about the same as the coach or a little less. JB :). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaletownboy Posted March 7, 2017 #6 Share Posted March 7, 2017 JB is this true for all cruise terminals when a ship disembarks? looking to disembark from Ocean Terminal and head to the rail without pre-booking a taxi at the earliest time possible. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted March 7, 2017 #7 Share Posted March 7, 2017 JB is this true for all cruise terminals when a ship disembarks? looking to disembark from Ocean Terminal and head to the rail without pre-booking a taxi at the earliest time possible. :-) Same routine at all four cruise terminals JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durante Posted March 7, 2017 #8 Share Posted March 7, 2017 There are always taxis waiting at the taxi ranks outside the terminals. No point in booking as you don't always know exactly when you will be getting off the ship. Do book the National Express coach in advance, it does get full, and also picks up people at Southampton Uni and Winchester on the way. We always go for the 9.45 am to Heathrow after a cruise, (for us, not to catch flights, but purely because the journey is quicker than going into Victoria, and we have quicker tube links to get home on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow). The coach stops at Terminal 5 first, then 4, then finally T2/3, so make sure you book the exact Terminal you want for your flight. The coach driver checks the tickets and puts the luggage into different areas in the hold according to which terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly known as Seabee Posted March 9, 2017 #9 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Last summer we took a taxi to the bus terminal. No problem and no wait. I had booked the 9:45 bus but we arrived at the bus terminal at 8:00. There was a bus departing, I believe at 8:15 and we asked if we could get on...answer was yes. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquilegia Posted March 10, 2017 #10 Share Posted March 10, 2017 You don't have to know what time you're getting off the ship before prebooking a taxi. These firms have taxis galore shuttling to and fro. We always use West Quay taxis and the drill when you're prebooked is to ring them when you exit the baggage hall and they will give you the registration number of the taxi they're sending. They come very quickly and the drivers will ring you if they get there before you've reached the rank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaletownboy Posted March 11, 2017 #11 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Same routine at all four cruise terminals JB :) Thanks JB Is there a legal amount they have to charge? meaning, are the taxis metered or is it an unscrupulous caution of checking what the price is before you hop into a taxi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted March 11, 2017 #12 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Thanks JB Is there a legal amount they have to charge? meaning, are the taxis metered or is it an unscrupulous caution of checking what the price is before you hop into a taxi? Yes, those lined-up at the pier are metered for all fares within the city boundary, same as those at taxi ranks or hailed in the street, and the fares are set by the city council.. Fudging the meter isn't worth losing their licence. For journeys beyond the city eg Heathrow the fare is negotiable, but for those longer journeys it's much cheaper to pre-book a private transfer. A minor matter - in order to join the line at the pier they are currently charged a port fee of £1 which I believe they're allowed to include in the fare, next month that gets replaced by an annual fee & I don't know how that's handled. No fee for pre-booked cars or for dropping-off. JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaletownboy Posted March 11, 2017 #13 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Thanks JB! Did anyone ever tell you that you're the BEST! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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