Southampton to Paris? Best and most efficient way

[jmwg49]

We are travelling on the Sapphire Princess, arriving in Southampton on September 14.   We are planning on a few days in Paris post-cruise.   I am finding all the information for getting to Paris very confusing! 

 

What is the best and most economical way to get to Paris?   I understand we have to get back to London, to St. Pancras Station to get the train to Paris.  We have not booked the Eurostar yet, but hope to get to Paris at least early evening.    Should we consider a private transfer from Southampton directly to St.Pancras station?   I really don't want to be dragging luggage around on the streets/subways etc.  Is there a direct bus/train from Southampton to LOndon St. Pancras?  or at least into London where we could get an Uber or taxi?

[Thejuggler]

Cheapest will probably be a flight from Southampton, rather than Eurostar.

[gnome12]

You might want to give this thread a look

 

[fabnfortysomething]

flybe fly direct from Southampton to Paris

[Globaliser]

3 hours ago, Thejuggler said:

Cheapest will probably be a flight from Southampton, rather than Eurostar.

 

1 hour ago, fabnfortysomething said:

flybe fly direct from Southampton to Paris

 

Did anyone bother to look up the flight schedules for 14 September 2019 before giving this advice?

[Cotswold Eagle]

36 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

Did anyone bother to look up the flight schedules for 14 September 2019 before giving this advice?

 

So you think the 0630 departure might be a stretch? 🤣🤣🤣

 

OP, if you haven’t yet booked the Eurostar, have you at least considered a transfer to Heathrow and a flight from there? That’s a straightforward option (at the U.K. end, at least).

 

If I have found the right cruise, the other standard piece of advice, to consider hopping off in Le Havre, doesn’t apply to you (seems that Gdańsk is your final port of call, a couple of days before getting to Southampton). 

 

You  have asked for the best, most economical and most efficient way. I’m afraid there will likely be a different answer to each of those questions! John Bull’s Post in the thread you were given a link to above rounds up the public transport options for St Pancras International. 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Cotswold Eagle

[Turtles06]

2 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

You  have asked for the best, most economical and most efficient way. I’m afraid there will likely be a different answer to each of those questions!

 

Exactly!  “Best,” like food, is very subjective. E.g., some folks don’t mind flying, others do. 

 

OP: a word of advice about the Eurostar — the earlier you book, the cheaper it will be, so do make up your mind soon.

 

We did the reverse of your trip several years ago.  We took the Eurostar from Paris to St. Pancras, then used Smith’s for Airports from there to Southampton. Terrific and relatively low-hassle way to travel, and we really loved the Eurostar.

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

Did anyone bother to look up the flight schedules for 14 September 2019 before giving this advice?

 

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

So you think the 0630 departure might be a stretch? 🤣🤣🤣

 

 

Well-spotted, G.

Flybe  offer two direct flights SOU - CDG on most days, but only the 06.30 on that date, and every other saturday that I tried.

And an 06.30 flight isn't possible on cruise arrival day for any ship.

 

So the Eagle's suggestion of LHR is worth checking-out.

Or even LGW, since there are more budget flights from LGW, though it's a little further and less-convenient from Southampton.

 

Possibly the most economical route, tho certainly not the best or most efficient, would be National Express bus from Southampton to Portsmouth International Port, ferry to Le Havre (about 6 hrs), taxi (or mebbe a free shuttle?)  to Le Havre station & train to Paris are du Nord..

Off the top of my head, about 12 to 14 hours including faffing around.

 

But despite the grief or cost of crossing central London from Waterloo to St Pancras, I think Eurostar is the way to go.

It's a bit different to Amtrak 

 

JB 

Edited June 3, 2019 by John Bull

[Turtles06]

51 minutes ago, John Bull said:

But despite the grief or cost of crossing central London from Waterloo to St Pancras, I think Eurostar is the way to go.

It's a bit different to Amtrak 

 

You can say that again!   

[Bob++]

I would use one of the usual taxi firms to get to St Pancras. The alternative of taking a coach or train to London and then transferring will not be easy with cruise luggage. If you book a train at around 1 pm, you will have plenty of wiggle room and still arrive in Paris in plenty of time. Southampton to St P should take around 2 hours, but I would allow three in case of problems. The train takes around 2 hours 20 minutes, but you have to add an hour for the time difference and you need to check in half an hour before departure.

 

St Pancras is not a bad place to hang around in and you can get a nice lunch while you wait.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Bob++

[Turtles06]

OP: if you do wind up taking the Eurostar and haven't yet seen this web site, it's an invaluable resource which I recommend consulting before you book:

 

https://www.seat61.com/

[Cotswold Eagle]

5 hours ago, Bob++ said:

 The alternative of taking a coach or train to London and then transferring will not be easy with cruise luggage.

 

The OP will, of course, have to wrangle their cruise luggage on and off the Eurostar, unless they book a special service. 

[piper]

We ended up taking Blackberry car service from Southampton to London, then Eurostar from London to Paris. 

We had a few communication issues with Blackberry - we were off of the ship 2 hours before our scheduled pick up time so I called the BlackBerry dispatcher to let them know. I was told the driver would be contacted - he wasn’t and he sat in a parking lot for a long time when he could have picked us up. It is EXTREMELY hectic at the Southampton cruise ship terminal and it was very crowded and uncomfortable waiting the additional 2 hours. 

The trip to London was long with lots of traffic so allow plenty of time. We were picked up at 8:45 am for a 1:30 train time. 

We did have to wrestle our luggage on and off the train. It was a challenge as there are steps on and off the train, therefore, you can’t just roll your luggage on.  The train trip was uneventful but once we got to Paris, getting a cab to our hotel large enough for 4 people and 4 suitcases was difficult. We tried Uber but the guy showed up in a small car.