Scheduling Southampton to heathrow

[raye70]

My husband and I stayed in Southampton 3 days in a historic inn which was awesome and plenty to do. Our main reason was the spite fire museum, and then took the train right into the airport, pleasant, relaxing trip

 

 

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[sammiedawg]

I can almost guarantee Oceania will have passengers booked on a 12:20 flight. We've always made noonish flights from Heathrow and airports around the world after disembarking a ship. We always have a private transfer booked.

Our last two Southampton experiences were on Oceania. Last summer we were off Nautica by 7:45, found our luggage quickly and located our driver. As others have said we had to wait in holding areas at Heathrow to go through security. We've also waited there and in other European airports for the airline check in gate to open for our flight. Then we waited in a second holding area for a gate assignment. The gate was not posted until 60 minutes before the scheduled departure.

[Lady golfer]

Sammie,

Who did you use for a driver between Southampton and London. After the cruise we are spending a few days in London.

Thanks

Suzanne

[sammiedawg]

Sammie,

Who did you use for a driver between Southampton and London. After the cruise we are spending a few days in London.

Thanks

Suzanne

 

Smiths for Airports, I believe they are based in Southampton. They do a great job.

Enjoy London,

[marne-c]

We blinked!

 

Based on postings we saw on this thread and others, it seemed like there was a good chance that something (slow customs, traffic, cosmic rays) would make us late to our 12:20pm flight. So we re-booked on a 2:50pm flight. Originally, we flew direct.Now we have a connection (plus the extra wait to leave LFR). So we'll have a very . l-o-n-g . travel day home, but hopefully one without airport panic.

 

 

--Marne

[Mura]

Regarding transfer from Southampton to London, we have used Darren Parsons (info@adelphiexecutivehire.co.uk) several times with great success.

 

We've also used some other services but I don't have time right now to check them. If you google transfers from Southampton to London you should come up with a number of outfits ... then you can compare prices and come back to ask if others here have used any of them.

 

Mura

[raye70]

Regarding transfer from Southampton to London, we have used Darren Parsons (info@adelphiexecutivehire.co.uk) several times with great success.

 

 

 

We've also used some other services but I don't have time right now to check them. If you google transfers from Southampton to London you should come up with a number of outfits ... then you can compare prices and come back to ask if others here have used any of them.

 

 

 

Mura

 

 

 

My husband and I stayed in Southampton for three days so we could go to the spitfire museum, stayed at the white star inn, which was awesome and then took train right into airport. Enjoyed Southampton very much

 

 

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[Carol From California]

For those of you on the August 1 Marina cruise, Southampton to Southampton, don't forget to sign up for the Meet and Mingle on the Roll Call for this cruise. I am organizing it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2338550

[Jay19]

Our cruise also arrives at Southampton about 8am and we will be leaving from Heathrow around 5pm. We have been in London many times and have no interest in staying overnight but neither do we want to spend most of the day at the airport. Some cruise lines we have been on have had the option of transfers to the airport that include a half day tour for people whose flights leave late in the day. Just out of curiosity, do Oceania offer that option from Southampton to Heathrow and, if so, what does the tour usually include?

[ORV]

Our cruise also arrives at Southampton about 8am and we will be leaving from Heathrow around 5pm. We have been in London many times and have no interest in staying overnight but neither do we want to spend most of the day at the airport. Some cruise lines we have been on have had the option of transfers to the airport that include a half day tour for people whose flights leave late in the day. Just out of curiosity, do Oceania offer that option from Southampton to Heathrow and, if so, what does the tour usually include?

 

They might, but you could do it much cheaper on your own. Here's a good place to start;

 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_cruise_shuttles.htm

 

If you have OBC to burn then that would be another story.

[Jay19]

Thanks very much for your reply. I looked at the tour options you mention and they would have been really good except unfortunately they get to Heathrow too late for our flight. I think realistically the best I can hope for would be 3 or 4 hours stop along the way with an arrival at Heathrow mid afternoon. I thought perhaps Oceania would do a transfer with a stop at Windsor that might work out. We do usually like to organise our own tours but by the end of the cruise I am sometimes looking for the easy option.:) Thanks again for your help.

[LHT28]

Check on the British Isles forum there may be private guides people have used in the past that may work for you

[Jay19]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give that a try.

[Former Goalie]

Sorry, but Southampton is the last place I would stay after a cruise compared to London and I would also not stay at some Heathrow airport hotel, either. Why would you do that?

This is a fairly tight connection. I'm guessing at least 2 hours Southampton-LHR.

Sofitel has a VERY nice airport hotel, directly connecting to terminal 5 at LHR. That perhaps is an option.

[Harters]

Drive time Southampton to Heathrow is about 1.45hrs, assuming no problems. Most of it is motorway so fast moving if all goes well. However, get one car crash and you could be at a standstill for hours. It happens - two hours is the most I've been stuck (different motorway).

 

FWIW, as I write, road problem websites are saying there is a 30 minute hold up on the M3, due to a crash.

 

The Sofitel at T5 is indeed very nice. We've stayed there before a flight to America. Be warned that the restaurant tries to rip-off unsuspecting tourists. They add a 12.5% service charge to the bill (noted on the menu and entirely usual). But they then leave the tip line open for credit card payments. It's obviously intended to catch out tourists who may not be familiar with service charges so end up effectively double tipping. It is a completely in appropriate practice - made worse by the fact it's a French company - a country where service is inherently included in the menu price.

Edited June 14, 2017 by Harters

[Joanzzzz]

The other day the motorway just outside Heathrow was stuck in a traffic jam again due to a traffic accident, and passengers were walking along the side of the motorway (deadly dangerous) because they were held up and trying to get in to meet flights. It's a very busy area and frequently has major traffic problems. Similarly, the Southern trains from Southampton had hold ups due to overtime and work to rule problems with staff, so taking the train wasn't much good either. You can never tell what is going to happen and I think you are wise allowing for it Marne, by booking a later flight. Our last Oceania cruise we arrived in dock at 7 am, but customs and sick passengers were checked on first, then comes the Oceania transfer folks, then those who didn't pay for Oceania transfers. We got off the ship to find our transport at 8:30. So, it's wise to always allow for this and any traffic in the countries you are going to, regardless of how good the transfer companies are, they can't get you in any faster if there are hold ups. My husband and I are in a similar situation next year, Southampton to Heathrow. We were going to do our own air, and looked at the flights and they were all going around 12 noon. So, we thought that Oceania would allow for this if we took their transfers. But they drop you at the airport and after that you are on your own timewise. Sometimes airports lineups are as bad as traffic holdups. Minimum check in is one hour but that's cutting it really fine, and that's because the shuttle gets packed to get you to the terminal, or it's a long haul walking the tunnel. Heathrow has also stepped up security, as all airports have, and so even if Oceania booked our flights, we thought it may be tight and stressful to try and meet a flight just after noon. So we were considering going to an airport hotel and flying out next day as you were Marnie. Now we are looking at a later flight, and allowing time for "surprises" en route. Figure we'd be less stressed once we got in the airport earlier and could pay to go in one of the lounges if we hit no snags or traffic. The airfare will cost a little more, not too much, than doing Oceania but I'll feel a lot less stressed I'm sure at the end.