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Transfer: Southampton—London (incl. LHR/LGW) train, car, other?


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9 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

They left me in the lurch, so to speak, in 2019.  I'd been emailing them without response with updates on my delayed flight.  Finally, just as we were pushing back from the gate at JFK, I received an email cancelling my reservation.  That was some gut punch.  Fortunately, AA's wifi worked so I was able to search for and book Blackberry, pay via Paypal, and receive a confirmation, all within the span of 5 minutes, while we were still taxiing.  I'd used Smiths for years and I'm sure they're still fine, just not for me anymore.  (BTW, the gentleman from Blackberry drove a brand new BMW.  Nice ride and even nicer driver.)  Even though it's months away, I've already booked with Blackberry.  Ticking off that box gave me a confidence boost that cruising will back to normal by then.

Thanks for the prompt reply.  Will consider them and Blackberry.   We need to go LHR to hotel and then to Southampton in October. 

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2 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Thanks for the prompt reply.  Will consider them and Blackberry.   We need to go LHR to hotel and then to Southampton in October. 

 

London to Southampton is an easy, frequent, fairly inexpensive (if you book in adv) train ride; that is worth considering, and Southampton Central train station to berth 101 is a pretty short walk (0.6mi).

 

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4 minutes ago, scottbee said:

 

London to Southampton is an easy, frequent, fairly inexpensive (if you book in adv) train ride; that is worth considering, and Southampton Central train station to berth 101 is a pretty short walk (0.6mi).

 

Trying to talk dh into it.  The issue is luggage on the train. 

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1 minute ago, njkruzer said:

Trying to talk dh into it.  The issue is luggage on the train. 

 

Never been an issue for us; and we're certainly not spring chickens or marathon runners by any measure.  The trick is just don't try to take the train  during rushhour (M-F arriving in London before 10a, or leaving London M-F between 3p-6p). Other times it's pretty quiet (weekends too).

 

We've done it a number of times, and carry two suitcases (1med, 1carryon) each. We're not spring chickens, and we're certainly not athletes.

 

The thing to note. The train WILL be faster to Southampton than a car almost all the time. While you could drive the M3 in 1h20m, you'd need to do so at 3a, otherwise the motorway is pretty busy.

Remember, this is European rail, not the Amtrak/Via we're stuck with in North America.

 

image.png.0286ea8271718b4144edf3b604050fb5.png

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3 minutes ago, scottbee said:

 

Never been an issue for us; and we're certainly not spring chickens or marathon runners by any measure.  The trick is just don't try to take the train  during rushhour (M-F arriving in London before 10a, or leaving London M-F between 3p-6p). Other times it's pretty quiet (weekends too).

 

We've done it a number of times, and carry two suitcases (1med, 1carryon) each. We're not spring chickens, and we're certainly not athletes.

 

The thing to note. The train WILL be faster to Southampton than a car almost all the time. While you could drive the M3 in 1h20m, you'd need to do so at 3a, otherwise the motorway is pretty busy.

Remember, this is European rail, not the Amtrak/Via we're stuck with in North America.

 

image.png.0286ea8271718b4144edf3b604050fb5.png

Thanks.  Looking at for a Saturday,  October 9th.  And we will each have 2 cases (b2b cruises) plus dh will have his backpack and I'll have a bag.  We used to do the. Cruise train from Liverpool Street Station to Harwich.   Went right into the port and was very convenient.  Took the train from Nottingham to St. Pancras and walked into our hotel.   Concern is where the luggage goes on the train.

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16 hours ago, njkruzer said:

Thanks.  Looking at for a Saturday,  October 9th.  And we will each have 2 cases (b2b cruises) plus dh will have his backpack and I'll have a bag.  We used to do the. Cruise train from Liverpool Street Station to Harwich.   Went right into the port and was very convenient.  Took the train from Nottingham to St. Pancras and walked into our hotel.   Concern is where the luggage goes on the train.

 

mid day, and weekend trains will be empty enough that you can put suitcases in the seats next to, or in front of you.   Grab a set of seat facing each other, and just put the larger luggage there.  The smaller stuff easily fits in the overhead racks.

 

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  • 2 months later...
On 3/19/2021 at 4:11 PM, John Bull said:

Late to this thread, but here are some pointers.....

 

LHR to Southampton by coach (bus) https://www.nationalexpress.com/en at about £24 per person, or by private transfer for about £100 the car eg with https://smithsairportcars.co.uk/

I don't know whether anyone's already mentioned those options 😉

By car it's about 90 minutes, by coach about 2 hours.

LHR to Southampton by train is convoluted and surprisingly expensive - not a sensible option for this route. Ships' transfer coaches only on sailing day. 

Post again a few months before your cruise for suggestions on timings etc 

 

Altho Southampton's not a tourist city it has enough of interest for a lazy day or two.

And because it's a railway junction, Southampton itself is a good base for day-trips by direct trains to places like historic Bath 90 minutes, ,the historic cathedral City of Salisbury 30 minutes (+ Stonehenge), the historic cathedral city of Winchester 15 minutes, the historic dockyard & ships and other attractions of Portsmouth 50 minutes, the Victorian seaside resort of Weymouth, the cathedral city of Chichester, the bohemian resort of Brighton

http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Reviews/Resources/SWR map 6c.pdf

and

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Off-peak return train fares are excellent value - put in dummy bookings on the website & click on "return"

Google those places including the word "visit" in your search.

 

City centre hotels in Southampton on the useful thumbnail map at the bottom of the page at https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

Two hotel clusters to consider...........

- Holiday Inn (Herbert Walker Avenue, not the H.I.Express's which are on the city limits) and Premier Inn West Quay - blue 4 and 5 on the map, and other nearby hotels.  Very convenient to the city centre, "old town" and waterfront

- and the three very close to the rail station and Nat Express station. (green A and B on the map)

Those clusters are only 10 - 15 minutes apart, so both are tolerably convenient for the stations and the city centre. No hotel on the map is more than a £10 taxi ride from rail or bus stations or city centre attractions or cruise terminals. Princess normally berth at Ocean Terminal (berth 46, red D on the map) or Mayflower Terminal (red A)

All the hotels are perfectly acceptable for a few nights, though the Ibis Budget is a bit basic for more than a night, and Southampton Harbour Hotel might cost more than your cruise.

 

Winchester doesn't have the same direct train routes. Attractive but busy historic city and cathedral, worthy of a half-day visit from Southampton but IMHO not as convenient a base.

 

The historic ships & dockyard of Portsmouth, plus its seafront promenade, its D-Day museum, it's small Henry V111 castle, its forts etc is well worth two days and more, in which case it makes sense to book a hotel there rather than Southampton. Nat Express bus from LHR about 60 minutes longer than Southampton, private transfer about 20 minutes longer. Holiday Inn Express in Gunwharf Quays is ideally located - and handy to Portsmouth Harbour rail station or the Nat Express coach at The Hard travel interchange (Portsmouth Harbour station and The Hard travel interchange are the same place, just with different names to confuse tourists 😉),

Train or Nat Express bus to Southampton on your cruise day 60 minutes, about £10 pp

 

If you' need any further help, just ask

 

JB 🙂

 

 

OMG.  I just read this and there is so much great info.  Thanks for sharing.

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We have cruised from Southampton many times and we always use National Express to get from London to Southampton.  We usually spend the first night in London and we take the bus from Victoria Station to the depot in Southampton.  The driver loads the luggage and there is only one stop.  I don't know if they still offer the £5/pp fares as it is a while since we have sailed from Southampton.  We will be doing a TA next year, so we will find out.  They also go from Heathrow but it is a bit more.

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On 9/26/2021 at 8:23 PM, TeaBag said:

We have cruised from Southampton many times and we always use National Express to get from London to Southampton.  We usually spend the first night in London and we take the bus from Victoria Station to the depot in Southampton.  The driver loads the luggage and there is only one stop.  I don't know if they still offer the £5/pp fares as it is a while since we have sailed from Southampton.  We will be doing a TA next year, so we will find out.  They also go from Heathrow but it is a bit more.

 

 

After a period of minimal timetables due to lockdowns etc, the normal timetable has returned, including mostly-hourly services from London Victoria, Heathrow & Gatwick to Southampton. 

Yes, most one-way fares between Southampton and London Victoria are still £5 (they compete with the railways), from Heathrow it's £15 (no direct train service, hence no real competition)

https://book.nationalexpress.com/

 

JB 🙂

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Thanks to reviews on this thread we used Blackberry Cars for our transfers from Heathrow to Norwich last month.  Blackberry's website made the reservation process easy, with specific rates for the transfer in each category of vehicle.  They followed up with good email contact, which was critically as we had to change our arrival flight twice due to visa delays.  We used Blackberry for our return to Heathrow from Norwich, and had the same driver, who was great.  We will use Blackberry for future visits to the U.K.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Has anyone heard of Kevin's Classic Transportation? I thought I saw that name somewhere on the boards but can't seem to find it now.

We're arriving at Heathrow on July 7th for a cruise leaving the next day. We have been advised to spend the night in Southampton instead of London so I'm trying to find transfer options. Thanks, in advance, for any advice or suggestions.

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  • 2 months later...
On 9/26/2021 at 2:23 PM, TeaBag said:

 if they still offer the £5/pp fares 

I reserved Route 032 yesterday for our trip in May.  It's about $10US per person.  This'll be the 3rd time we've done it (previously caught the bus at Hammersmith, Victoria Coach this time).  So, so easy.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
On 2/11/2022 at 3:25 PM, josh1324342 said:

Does anybody have a recommendation for a central London to Southampton transfer for 9 people and their luggage?  We'd like to all be in one vehicle together.

 

And that makes it your luggage and 10 people including the driver.   I think you may have trouble finding a company to do this with one vehicle.  In any event, take a look at Blackberrycars.com; here's their vehicle list.  Maybe you can split up into two groups.   Send them an email and inquire about what they can do for you. 

 

https://www.blackberrycars.com/our-vehicles/

 

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5 minutes ago, Denmal said:

What is the average cost for a car service from Heathrow to Southhampton for 2 people with 3 pieces of luggage. And 2 backpacks ?  Just wondering so I.do not overpay.  Thanks

I would get a few quotes.  The car service we used in the past is no longer.  It was 5+ years ago so no help.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

There is a flight from LHR to YYZ on Aug. 13 at 2:40 pm via Virgin Atlantic, can we make it?

Ship will arrive Southampton at 6am and now we have to get Covid test at the terminal (Princess will provide free of charge) and they say the test result will take 30 minutes. We will take the Princess shuttle transfer from the pier to London Heathrow. Can we make this flight? They said international flights needs 3 hours before boarding.

Thanks.

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23 hours ago, PC168 said:

There is a flight from LHR to YYZ on Aug. 13 at 2:40 pm via Virgin Atlantic, can we make it?

Ship will arrive Southampton at 6am and now we have to get Covid test at the terminal (Princess will provide free of charge) and they say the test result will take 30 minutes. We will take the Princess shuttle transfer from the pier to London Heathrow. Can we make this flight? They said international flights needs 3 hours before boarding.

Thanks.

 

I would be fairly comfortable with that timing. However, I'm wondering where you found such a flight? I'm certainly not finding it anywhere in my searches (and VS doesn't fly to YYZ, so it would be on a partner airline).

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1 hour ago, Twickenham said:

 

I would be fairly comfortable with that timing. However, I'm wondering where you found such a flight? I'm certainly not finding it anywhere in my searches (and VS doesn't fly to YYZ, so it would be on a partner airline).

 

 

Typo?

Virgin Atlantic / Westjet 12.40 from London Gatwick ?

 

JB 🙂

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6 minutes ago, Twickenham said:

 

Ah, that could be it - and yeah, that changes things. Too tight for my nerves...

 

 

Way too tight for ship's transfer coaches - I think for Gatwick they recommend their coaches only for flights after 1.00pm or 1.30. ................. and that was pre-Covid & all the rigmarole of tests, certs., declarations.

But still should be OK for unassisted disembarkation and a waiting private transfer  - especially as it's a saturday 🙂

 

JB 🙂

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On 7/17/2021 at 9:54 PM, scottbee said:

London to Southampton is an easy, frequent, fairly inexpensive (if you book in adv) train ride; that is worth considering, and Southampton Central train station to berth 101 is a pretty short walk (0.6mi).

^ this??

 

My cruise itinerary was just changed and it's from Southampton now. Got a hotel (Blue Bells Hotel Notting Hill) so I'm trying to sort through ride to the pier. 

 

Train?

National Express Bus?

2 nights London & 1 night Southampton?

 

I'd rather not return to Heathrow for the ship's transfer  

 

 

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