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

[susierailroad]

Oh dear.  Big questions:  On the national rail website, which Waterloo and which Southampton stations to I inquire regarding?   Thanks for assisting ignorant tourists.

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 minute ago, susierailroad said:

Oh dear.  Big questions:  On the national rail website, which Waterloo and which Southampton stations to I inquire regarding?   Thanks for assisting ignorant tourists.

London Waterloo. 

 

Southampton Central. 

 

It's easy for us locals to forget how confusing all the transport options can seem from a distance. It will all be perfectly clear-ish once you get here 🙂 

[John Bull]

7 hours ago, susierailroad said:

Actually, very helpful info.  At least I have an idea where my hotel is in relationship to the train stations. Your suggestion re the SouthWest trains from Waterloo appears to be the better option for us.  I did read somewhere, however, that your coaches are far superior to the US buses.  For viewing the countryside enroute to Southampton, is the train the better idea?  Thanks so much.  

 

London to Southampton simply isn't scenic whether by coach from Victoria coach station or by train from  Waterloo train station, though I guess the train has the edge..

The  direct hourly train from Victoria train station to Southampton is often overlooked - it's more scenic because it takes a convoluted route, but journey time is an hour longer than the train from Waterloo &  IMHO not worth the extra journey time.

 

We always use the Waterloo train.

As the Eagle's post, the journey is from London Waterloo (not Waterloo East) to Southampton Central.

Walk-up fare is £44 but advance tickets (available 10 - 12 weeks out) can be as little as £9 but increase as the date gets closer.

Cheap advance tickets are only available for a  few of the train times, but there are several that suit a cruiser - best to choose a departure time before about noon.

IMPORTANT . Those advance tickets are only good for the train time that you book - miss it & you'll have to pay the full walk-up fare for the next one.

Check out the advance-ticket times & fares for trains on any upcoming weekday at http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

JB 

[ontheweb]

We just recently booked a cruise from Southampton, and do not have a hotel yet. We are thinking of just making sure and using the Princess transfers. As I see it we have 2 options (staying in London one day in advance). The first is to get a hotel near Victoria Station. The other is to get a hotel near the airport, leave our luggage there, and then go to London for the day before returning to check in. We would get the transfers from the airport.

 

Any comments on which makes more sense.

 

We did stay in London for a day once for a cruise, but it was from Dover. There were no Princess transfers. We took the National Express and were let off quite near the cruise port. We understand the National Express stop in Southampton is not near the cruise port, which is one of the reasons we are considering the transfers.

 

Oh, and one other thing. The last time we stayed in a hotel that was actually apartments. It also had a swimming pool, which is very important to DW. If anyone can figure out the place I am referring to (as we cannot remember the name, only something apartments,), I would appreciate that information.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Cotswold Eagle]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Oh, and one other thing. The last time we stayed in a hotel that was actually apartments. It also had a swimming pool, which is very important to DW. If anyone can figure out the place I am referring to (as we cannot remember the name, only something apartments,), I would appreciate that information.

 

Could this have been Town Hall Hotel & Apartments in Bethnal Green? 

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

Could this have been Town Hall Hotel & Apartments in Bethnal Green? 

No, does not sound familiar. But, thanks anyway.

[John Bull]

18 hours ago, ontheweb said:

We just recently booked a cruise from Southampton, and do not have a hotel yet. We are thinking of just making sure and using the Princess transfers. As I see it we have 2 options (staying in London one day in advance). The first is to get a hotel near Victoria Station. The other is to get a hotel near the airport, leave our luggage there, and then go to London for the day before returning to check in. We would get the transfers from the airport.

 

Any comments on which makes more sense.

 

We did stay in London for a day once for a cruise, but it was from Dover. There were no Princess transfers. We took the National Express and were let off quite near the cruise port. We understand the National Express stop in Southampton is not near the cruise port, which is one of the reasons we are considering the transfers.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

If you're in the London area for two or more nights, most opinion is that you should book a central London hotel (and for travelling to Southampton by Nat Express lodgings in Victoria make perfect sense)

 

But with just one night, will you get value for the cost & grief????

 

Even with an early fight arrival it'll be well past mid-day before you check-in in Victoria.

So you'd have a chunk of the afternoon & evening in central London.

Whilst theoretically you'd also have some time in Victoria next morning, you won't have long and jet-lag may bite so I suspect you'll just want a lazy breakfast & head to the coach station.

 

If you lodge at LHR you'll have to get to the hotel, drop your bags, & get back to an airport terminal for the tube or Heathrow Express into London. That'll cost another hour, shortening your afternoon in London  - unless you choose an in-terminal hotel (do you know which terminal you fly into?).

 

Since you've already ticked the London box, to get best value out of your time consider that one night in a Southampton hotel.

No ship's transfer since it wouldn't be sailing-day, but the Nat Express' direct service LHR to Southampton is significantly better value at around £21 pp.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en 

Southampton has four cruise terminals, the coach station is tolerably walkable to one or two of them.

Hotel prices are significantly better value that central London.

 

Or splash out on a private transfer at around £90 - £100 the car.

www.smithsforairports.com

or www.westquaycars.com

or www.aquacars.co.uk or

www.blackberrycars.com

 

Southampton coach station is easily walkable to a number of city hotels - choose one between the coach station and Ocean cruise terminal (the likely terminal for Princess) and you'll be in easy walking distance of both, plus the city's few historic sights, plenty of historic pubs and a very broad range of restaurants, and the city centre shops.

Since you'll be close to your ship, you'll also have a free morning.

 

Ideal locations walkable from both coach station and cruise terminal are Premier Inn West Quay, Holiday Inn (Herbert Walker Avenue), Leonardo Royal, Pig-in-the-Wall and Ennio's.

Walkable from the coach station (but mebbe not Ocean cruise terminal) are Ibis, Ibis Budget and Novotel.

Walkable from Ocean cruise terminal (but mebbe not the coach station) are Room2 and Southampton Harbour Hotel.

If your ship instead berths at Mayflower cruise terminal the taxi fare from any city centre hotel will be under £10

Check out the thumbnail map at the bottom of

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

 

JB 

 

Edited September 24, 2019 by John Bull

[dickinson]

Fabulous information!  Thanks for taking the time to post it.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

 

If you're in the London area for two or more nights, most opinion is that you should book a central London hotel (and for travelling to Southampton by Nat Express lodgings in Victoria make perfect sense)

 

But with just one night, will you get value for the cost & grief????

 

Even with an early fight arrival it'll be well past mid-day before you check-in in Victoria.

So you'd have a chunk of the afternoon & evening in central London.

Whilst theoretically you'd also have some time in Victoria next morning, you won't have long and jet-lag may bite so I suspect you'll just want a lazy breakfast & head to the coach station.

 

If you lodge at LHR you'll have to get to the hotel, drop your bags, & get back to an airport terminal for the tube or Heathrow Express into London. That'll cost another hour, shortening your afternoon in London  - unless you choose an in-terminal hotel (do you know which terminal you fly into?).

 

Since you've already ticked the London box, to get best value out of your time consider that one night in a Southampton hotel.

No ship's transfer since it wouldn't be sailing-day, but the Nat Express' direct service LHR to Southampton is significantly better value at around £21 pp.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en 

Southampton has four cruise terminals, the coach station is tolerably walkable to one or two of them.

Hotel prices are significantly better value that central London.

 

Or splash out on a private transfer at around £90 - £100 the car.

www.smithsforairports.com

or www.westquaycars.com

or www.aquacars.co.uk or

www.blackberrycars.com

 

Southampton coach station is easily walkable to a number of city hotels - choose one between the coach station and Ocean cruise terminal (the likely terminal for Princess) and you'll be in easy walking distance of both, plus the city's few historic sights, plenty of historic pubs and a very broad range of restaurants, and the city centre shops.

Since you'll be close to your ship, you'll also have a free morning.

 

Ideal locations walkable from both coach station and cruise terminal are Premier Inn West Quay, Holiday Inn (Herbert Walker Avenue), Leonardo Royal, Pig-in-the-Wall and Ennio's.

Walkable from the coach station (but mebbe not Ocean cruise terminal) are Ibis, Ibis Budget and Novotel.

Walkable from Ocean cruise terminal (but mebbe not the coach station) are Room2 and Southampton Harbour Hotel.

If your ship instead berths at Mayflower cruise terminal the taxi fare from any city centre hotel will be under £10

Check out the thumbnail map at the bottom of

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

 

JB 

 

Thank you, quite a lot of information to process there.

 

We are flying in on British Airways, I believe they use Terminal 5.

 

I don't know which pier we are sailing from; I'm sure I can find out. Our ship is the Princess Crown.

 

What is there to do in Southampton? DW is into museums as she is an art teacher. Last time in London we missed the New Tate Museum which I think she would want to see this time.

[Triptkr]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Thank you, quite a lot of information to process there.

 

We are flying in on British Airways, I believe they use Terminal 5.

 

I don't know which pier we are sailing from; I'm sure I can find out. Our ship is the Princess Crown.

 

What is there to do in Southampton? DW is into museums as she is an art teacher. Last time in London we missed the New Tate Museum which I think she would want to see this time.

I agree with the advice given to you by John Bull.  After you arrive at LHR, go straight to Southampton.  We just went on a British Isles cruise this summer and did this very same thing.  You won't have enough time for London and 1-2 days is a good amount of time in Southampton.  I recommend getting a private car from LHR so you don't have to mess with trains and transferring from train to train.  We used Blackberry Cars and were very impressed with the service and communications by the company.   We enjoyed Southampton more than we thought we would.  It seems as though they are making an effort to keep it up.  Nice to walk around and see the old wall not to mention the neighborhoods are neat to see.  We went to the Tudor House, that's a museum of sorts.  We stayed at the Southampton Harbor Hotel--recommend it!  They have a private car that they can drive you to the port the next morning if you make those requests once you arrive.   It is true that renting a private car is more money but my view was that it was less stress so that made it worth it.    Enjoy your time!!

[scottbee]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Thank you, quite a lot of information to process there.

 

We are flying in on British Airways, I believe they use Terminal 5.

 

I don't know which pier we are sailing from; I'm sure I can find out. Our ship is the Princess Crown.

 

What is there to do in Southampton? DW is into museums as she is an art teacher. Last time in London we missed the New Tate Museum which I think she would want to see this time.

 

Stay in London.  The New Tate Modern is on the southbank (south of the river Thames), not far from Waterloo Station

 

From Waterloo there are 3x/hourly trains to Southampton Central. Cost is 10-40GBP depending on when you book (best deals are 9-12 weeks out - try some sample bookings). Travel time Waterloo - Southampton Central is approx 1h15 - 1h40 depending on the train, and they're quite reliable.  From the station, it's an under 10GBP taxi to the cruise port 

 

As for hotels, we stayed in the "Mad Hatter" earlier this year (about 1/2 way from Waterloo to the tate Modern), and it was very good.  We walked from Waterloo with roller suitcases (maybe 15 mins).   As for Heathrow to Southbank area, I'd probably just take the subway, but it's not fast, and involves a change -- easiest at Baron's Court .

Get off at Blackfrairs and just cross the bridge

 

Edited September 24, 2019 by scottbee

[John Bull]

6 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Thank you, quite a lot of information to process there.

 

We are flying in on British Airways, I believe they use Terminal 5.

 

I don't know which pier we are sailing from; I'm sure I can find out. Our ship is the Princess Crown.

 

What is there to do in Southampton? DW is into museums as she is an art teacher. Last time in London we missed the New Tate Museum which I think she would want to see this time.

 

 

Yes, almost all BA flights are at T5

Sofitel is at the terminal - if you stay there you can go from the arrivals hall to hotel, drop your luggage, & be on a tube train or Heathrow Express  heading to central London within 15 - 20 minutes.

 

Crown Princess will almost certainly be at Ocean Cruise Terminal, (berth  46), but next summer's port schedule won't be updated til around the New Year.

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule

If it's at any other cruise terminal, it'll be a short taxi hop from he coach station or any city centre hotel - about 5 minutes, £8

 

Southampton  won't hold a candle to London for tourism, but certainly enough to interest for a day or two.

It has an art gallery  https://www.southamptoncityartgallery.com/ nothing like as extensive as Tate Modern - but at least not housed in one of the ugliest post-war buildings in the country 

The art gallery and  Titanic museum / experience https://seacitymuseum.co.uk/ are both located at the Civic Centre.

Near Ocean terminal is an aviation museum, which focuses on aircraft (including the Spitfire) which were designed & built in Southampton, and flying boats which were based on Southampton Water (flying boat terminal was on the site of City Cruise Terminal) https://www.solentsky.org/

Along Town Quay,, housed in the historic God's Tower House, is an archaeology museum .

Just off Town Quay in old town, is the Tudor House & Gardens, a restored Tudor merchant's house https://tudorhouseandgarden.com/

There are a number of other historic buildings inside the town walls in old town, but the area is a mix of historic & post-war because the city was heavily bombed during WW2.

And there's the city Bargate, which was the northern entrance to the city & now separates the old city from the post-war main shopping street and modern malls. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186299-d215486-Reviews-Bargate-Southampton_Hampshire_England.html

I've visited all those places except the archaeology museum, none are mind-blowing but all are interesting.

Plus pubs old & new,  wide range of eateries,, plenty of shops for last-minute purchases.

Southampton's not a tourist mecca, but heading direct to Southampton would be simple,  relaxing, easy, economical & rewarding. 

 

JB 

ps Southampton also has a Premier League football (soccer) club, which this-evening thrashed local rivals Portsmouth 4-0, hence my late response .

 

 

 

[sddsddean]

To be fair JB, Pompey are 2 divisions below the Saints, so its not exactly unexpected!

 

Simon

[Cotswold Eagle]

8 hours ago, John Bull said:

Yes, almost all BA flights are at T5

 

Almost, but by no means all. Depends (a) where you are flying from and (b) if you are on a BA operated service, rather than (for example) a BA codeshare on an American flight. 

[Cotswold Eagle]

8 hours ago, scottbee said:

As for hotels, we stayed in the "Mad Hatter" earlier this year (about 1/2 way from Waterloo to the tate Modern), and it was very good.

 

Good to hear - I think the area round the southern end of Blackfriars and Southwark bridges can be a good value location to stay. I remember mention of the Mad Hatter previously on the board, as I was explaining its history as Tress & Co’s hat factory! Was that you? 

Edited September 25, 2019 by Cotswold Eagle

[Cotswold Eagle]

19 hours ago, ontheweb said:

No, does not sound familiar. But, thanks anyway.

 

Dolphin House Serviced Apartments in Dolphin Square? 

[John Bull]

6 hours ago, sddsddean said:

To be fair JB, Pompey are 2 divisions below the Saints, so its not exactly unexpected!

 

Simon

 

Correct, Simon.

So they were onto a hiding to nothing -  no kudos in beating a lower-league team, but massive embarrassment if they lost - as the mighty Spurs experienced when they were beaten last night by a team three divisions lower. 

Had Saints been humbled in the same way, I wouldn't have mentioned it 

 

But Pompey vs Saints was a local derby, so bragging rights were involved.

Hence my irrelevant bragging 

 

JB 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

Dolphin House Serviced Apartments in Dolphin Square? 

I don't think so. I think apartments was definitely in the title.

 

But, thanks for trying.

[ontheweb]

First, thanks to everyone for their advice. We still have a lot of time to make a decision as the cruise is still 10 months away.

 

I mentioned staying in Southampton instead of London to the boss, DW. And her first reaction was "I want to stay in London.". But then she asked what is there to do in Southampton. I showed her the google page on museums in Southampton, and will have her read this thread from John Bull's first response to me. The aviation museum might be of great interest to her; she grew up in an airline family as her late father was an RAF pilot in WWII before emigrating to the USA. He went to work for British Airways (BOAC at that time), and worked his way up to being in charge of their computer system at the time of his retirement. More art would be helpful, but at least there does seem to be an art gallery.

 

Again, thanks to everyone, It makes sense to me, but I'm not going to force it if she really wants London. We did miss the New Tate the last time we were there before a cruise. On an earlier land trip to London, she did get to see the Tate. 

[scottbee]

7 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

Good to hear - I think the area round the southern end of Blackfriars and Southwark bridges can be a good value location to stay. I remember mention of the Mad Hatter previously on the board, as I was explaining its history as Tress & Co’s hat factory! Was that you? 

 

no it wasn't me; but the history is interesting.  Along with the whole thing about curing felt with Mercury, which had negative mental affects on the hatters, hence "Mad Hatters"

 

The hotel room itself wasn't large, but extremely comfortable, and (a first fior me), came with a fully INCLUSIVE mini-bar, with soft-drinks, a couple of beer and cider, etc.  Downstairs the pub serves Fullers beer, and had a really good meat pie sampler (that they're known for).

 

 

 

 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

First, thanks to everyone for their advice. We still have a lot of time to make a decision as the cruise is still 10 months away.

 

I mentioned staying in Southampton instead of London to the boss, DW. And her first reaction was "I want to stay in London.". But then she asked what is there to do in Southampton. I showed her the google page on museums in Southampton, and will have her read this thread from John Bull's first response to me. The aviation museum might be of great interest to her; she grew up in an airline family as her late father was an RAF pilot in WWII before emigrating to the USA. He went to work for British Airways (BOAC at that time), and worked his way up to being in charge of their computer system at the time of his retirement. More art would be helpful, but at least there does seem to be an art gallery.

 

Again, thanks to everyone, It makes sense to me, but I'm not going to force it if she really wants London. We did miss the New Tate the last time we were there before a cruise. On an earlier land trip to London, she did get to see the Tate. 

Replying to myself LOL

 

I just did some research on hotels in Southampton with a pool. (A pool is very important to DW.) I came up with 5.

 

1. Holiday Inn Southampton

2. Meon Valley Hotel and Country Club

3. McDonald's Botley park Hotel and Spa

4. Leonardo Royal Southhapton

5. Novotel Southampton.

 

Any comments on any of these hotels? The Holiday Inn said it was near the docks and could include a package that included transportation to the docks.

[John Bull]

6 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Replying to myself LOL

 

I just did some research on hotels in Southampton with a pool. (A pool is very important to DW.) I came up with 5.

 

1. Holiday Inn Southampton

2. Meon Valley Hotel and Country Club

3. McDonald's Botley park Hotel and Spa

4. Leonardo Royal Southhapton

5. Novotel Southampton.

 

Any comments on any of these hotels? The Holiday Inn said it was near the docks and could include a package that included transportation to the docks.

 

Strike 2 & 3.

They're in the countryside 10 - 12 miles from the city centre.

 

Location of the others is fine. 

Leonardo Royal just has the edge with HI a close second. And  both have views over Southampton Water.

 

JB 

 

[FritzG]

On 9/25/2019 at 5:57 PM, John Bull said:

 

Strike 2 & 3.

They're in the countryside 10 - 12 miles from the city centre.

 

Location of the others is fine. 

Leonardo Royal just has the edge with HI a close second. And  both have views over Southampton Water.

 

JB 

 

We just checked out of the Leonardo Royal yesterday. It was our fourth time staying there although the first time with the new owners, and we won’t be back. The rooms are shabby and dusty with stained carpets. They seem to be pinching pennies every chance they get; the food in the buffet at breakfast is a mere shadow of what it was before, the lightbulbs in the rooms can’t be any more than 40 W and it’s impossible to see to put make up on or do your hair.  The heat/ac goes  off every 2 hrs. unless you ask for it to run all the time. We woke up freezing the first morning. Most of the staff in the bar & restaurants seem like they don’t care very much.  The hotel is such a big beautiful building, and it has a lot of potential, but at this point we have given up on them. 

[John Bull]

35 minutes ago, FritzG said:

We just checked out of the Leonardo Royal yesterday. It was our fourth time staying there although the first time with the new owners, and we won’t be back. The rooms are shabby and dusty with stained carpets. They seem to be pinching pennies every chance they get; the food in the buffet at breakfast is a mere shadow of what it was before, the lightbulbs in the rooms can’t be any more than 40 W and it’s impossible to see to put make up on or do your hair.  The heat/ac goes  off every 2 hrs. unless you ask for it to run all the time. We woke up freezing the first morning. Most of the staff in the bar & restaurants seem like they don’t care very much.  The hotel is such a big beautiful building, and it has a lot of potential, but at this point we have given up on them. 

 

That's a great shame - I was hoping for better under  new management. 

 

Being a local, understandably I've never stayed there - never been beyond the foyer.

 

Checked Booking.com reviews - more reliable than T/A.

Scores 8.1 overall. Not bad, but nowhere near as good as it should be. 

Top mark is 8.8, unsurprisingly for location.

Lowest is 7.4 for value for money.

(One snag - those reviews go back to 2017, so include time under previous management)

 

JB 

ps - off to Croatia today for a week on a gulet. Unlikely to post during that time unless my trusty old I-pad gets a half-decent signal out in the Adriatic. 

[sddsddean]

2 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

JB 

ps - off to Croatia today for a week on a gulet. Unlikely to post during that time unless my trusty old I-pad gets a half-decent signal out in the Adriatic. 

 

Hope its not too rough. A boat like that can 'bob about' a bit! Have a good time!

 

Simon