Southern Rail Waterloo to Southampton 1st or Regular ?

[FLCruZar]

Hi

 

posted this question in another forum, but thought there might be more experienced travelers here. Coming from the US and spending some time in London prior to the cruise. 

 

We are ready to book rail to the port!  Waterloo is close to where we are staying. Advance ticket prices are £9/£15 coach/1st. Is there any benefit to 1st or just go with the cheap seats? Looking at a noon or later departure on a weekday - hopefully luggage will not be an issue (we travel pretty light). 

 

thanks

[cabin4three]

I would book first class,  I haven't travelled on this particular route, but in my area first class carriages have more leg room, quieter carriages, free hot drinks and snacks such as fruit and cookies and newspapers.

Its the less crowded carriage that I like.

 

[MicCanberra]

For the 6 pounds, I would go 1st class as well.

[Heidi13]

Use the rail network extensively when in UK and always use First Class. In this case it is a no brained at only UKP 6 differential.

 

The seats are 3 across, rather than 4 across in standards and as a previous poster mentioned the staff serve hot drinks and snack (biscuits). Did the same journey Waterloo to Southampton in 2017.

[lebreos]

Well worth first class for only £6

 

[NeroliGirl]

Hi

As a regular commuter on this route I have a fair bit of experience of First vs Standard. 

 

Most carriages in First class have 3 seats across, and Standard carriages have 4 (or even 5 in some cases). However new rolling stock has been introduced which has some First carriages with 4 seats across - although these tend to be full leather seats and tables that have phone chargers built in - useful if your phone has air charging capability. It's not possible to select in advance which of these carriages will be on your departure time.

 

Free drinks and snacks are not offered on this route. For trains arriving in to Waterloo before 10am there is a free hot drink and a biscuit (cookie) for First class customers, but at the time and direction you will be travelling there will be no complimentary snacks. There may be an 'at seat' trolley service selling light refreshments for purchase - but not on every service.

 

I would also look again at the fares for your planned journey - the £9 Standard Advance fare is only valid on certain trains, and rises to £14.40 or £17.20 for more popular departures. The equivalent First Advance fares are £19.90/£23.80/£28.20 depending on departure. Here's the web link for the SouthWesternRailway website which operates this route from Waterloo:

https://www.southwesternrailway.com

 

If you are travelling early afternoon and won't have too much luggage I would personally stick with Standard class - the trains won't be too busy at that time of day and you won't really see any huge benefit from paying more for a first class ticket.

 

When you leave the train at Southampton Central there is a signposted walking route to the Portside, this is approx. a 15-minute walk. Depending on the weather conditions and the quantity of luggage you have, you might prefer to take a taxi. There will be cabs on the rank at the station, and Uber also operates in that area.

 

I hope that's useful info for you - enjoy your time in London and your cruise of course! I've sailed many times from Southampton (on Celebrity) and will be there again in September!

 

 

[MicCanberra]

the walk from the station to the dock also depends on which dock you want. Berth 101 is fine but you may well be right down the other end.

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

For what it is worth .........  We are catching the bus (coach)   ........ cheaper and faster

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, Dobby_The_Ship_Elf said:

For what it is worth .........  We are catching the bus (coach)   ........ cheaper and faster

Definitely cheaper by bus, but don't see how you can possibly get from Waterloo to Southampton faster by bus than train.

 

National Coach website indicates their fastest service is 1 hr 50 min and it leave from Victoria, not Waterloo.

[Dobby_The_Ship_Elf]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Definitely cheaper by bus, but don't see how you can possibly get from Waterloo to Southampton faster by bus than train.

 

National Coach website indicates their fastest service is 1 hr 50 min and it leave from Victoria, not Waterloo.

 

Oops my error.  I was only stating what the carrier was telling me.

 

I was using an APP called Trainline.  I believe the carrier is National Express.

 

We are traveling from Victoria Coach to Southampton Coach.

 

Coach travel time 2h.15m; cost approx $10 Aussie Dollars (Direct, no stops)

 

Train travel time is 2h.26m; cost approx $80 Aussie Dollars (Direct, no stops).

 

Hope that clears it up.

[John Bull]

20 hours ago, Dobby_The_Ship_Elf said:

 

Oops my error.  I was only stating what the carrier was telling me.

 

I was using an APP called Trainline.  I believe the carrier is National Express.

 

We are traveling from Victoria Coach to Southampton Coach.

 

Coach travel time 2h.15m; cost approx $10 Aussie Dollars (Direct, no stops)

 

Train travel time is 2h.26m; cost approx $80 Aussie Dollars (Direct, no stops).

 

Hope that clears it up.

 

 

Those train details are for travel from London VICTORIA rail station (10-15 min walk from Victoria coach station).

But the train from London WATERLOO rail station takes only 1 hr 20mins  - 1hr 30mins.

The Victoria trains travel two sides of a triangle, the Waterloo trains travel a more direct route. 

The train fares from both Victoria & Waterloo also depend whether you pre-book. For instance from London Waterloo the walk-up fare is about £40, but an advance ticket (available from about 6 to 8 weeks out)  can be well under half that cost.

The train operators don't like to keep things simple 

 

Whether to travel by bus or train, and from Victoria or Waterloo, depends on a number of factors, such as location of your hotel.

 

JB 

Edited July 17, 2019 by John Bull

[John Bull]

BTW, Dobby, its simpler (and mebbe cheaper) to use

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/  for train travel, and

https://www.nationalexpress.com/ for coach (bus) travel

 

JB