Travel between London and Southampton

[phabric]

If you want to see something on the way to Southampton, look at

 

www.internationalfriends.co.uk

 

They only go on embarkment/disembarment days.  They pick up from certain London hotels, and stop at Stonehenge before being dropped off at the dock

[mrgabriel]

When we did this in late 2019, we used a company recommended by our Southampton hotel. They recommended Cab My Ride, which is now call Aryvo. Good service. Driver was waiting just where he was supposed to be in spite of our flight from ATL being diverted to Ireland for a medical emergency and us arriving about an hour late. 

 

We fly in and out of Heathrow a couple of times a year and have come to the conclusion that car service is always a more stress-free way to start or end a vacation - unless it's a single train like Heathrow Express. 

[Ellaleah]

What about the charge from the cruise lines for a transfer from London to South Hampton?  We are booked on Celebrity for late 2024 and they don’t have the transfers listed yet.  I’d be grateful to have an idea.  Thank you.

[Derbie]

On 2/6/2023 at 9:53 PM, reedprincess said:

Blackberry Cars or Smith's for Airport. Door to door transport, excellent customer service, clean comfortable spacious cars..

 

We are going to need two vehicles (five people).  Can you advise of the average cost?  

[fishman620]

If we take the London Waterloo train to Southampton, is there room for storing luggage?

 

[Simon-t]

14 minutes ago, fishman620 said:

If we take the London Waterloo train to Southampton, is there room for storing luggage?

 

It depends on how much luggage you have. UK trains have luggage racks with a reasonable amount of space at the end of each carriage, as well as some overhead luggage space which will take carry on bags. You should usually be ok unless the train is very busy when you might end up with the luggage on your  lap!

[John Bull]

2 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

What about the charge from the cruise lines for a transfer from London to South Hampton?  We are booked on Celebrity for late 2024 and they don’t have the transfers listed yet.  I’d be grateful to have an idea.  Thank you.

 

Probably best to ask that on the Celebrity forum.

Currently Princess charge about $60, but they've always been significantly cheaper than the others - last I heard Celebrity & RCI was about $100 and that was 3 years ago.

 

If your post is about transfer from central London, the pick up for cruise ship transfers is usually at the National Express coach station in Victoria. That's the same place as National Express' own direct coaches to Southampton which cost as little as £5 (about $8) - add a 10-15 minute walk or £6 for a taxi from Southampton (note spelling) coach station to Celebrity's berth.

Or three direct trains per hour from Waterloo from as little as about £15

 

More difficult to choose a Nat Express coach time from LHR or LGW because of the vagaries of flight delays & airport formalities, but Nat Express costs only about £17

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[nini]

10 hours ago, Derbie said:

We are going to need two vehicles (five people).  Can you advise of the average cost?  

You need to go to the Blackberry Cabs website.

[nini]

10 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

What about the charge from the cruise lines for a transfer from London to South Hampton?  We are booked on Celebrity for late 2024 and they don’t have the transfers listed yet.  I’d be grateful to have an idea.  Thank you.

Transfers through cruise lines are on embarkation disembarkation days... You board the coach at Victoria Station for embarkation day.

[gumshoe958]

9 hours ago, fishman620 said:

If we take the London Waterloo train to Southampton, is there room for storing luggage?

 

Very little, I’m afraid. 

Whereas trains on long distance leisure routes do have luggage racks at the ends of coaches, this is primarily a commuter route and the trains used on it are notorious for lack of luggage space. It’s been sacrificed in favour of cramming in as many seats as possible.

 

There are big overhead racks above the windows which take all but the largest cases, but they’re not very useful for heavy luggage.

 

If the train’s quiet you’ll be able to squeeze your luggage into an empty seat area or under a table. But that’ll be a problem if it’s busy.

[John Bull]

5 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

Very little, I’m afraid. 

Whereas trains on long distance leisure routes do have luggage racks at the ends of coaches, this is primarily a commuter route and the trains used on it are notorious for lack of luggage space. It’s been sacrificed in favour of cramming in as many seats as possible.

 

There are big overhead racks above the windows which take all but the largest cases, but they’re not very useful for heavy luggage.

 

If the train’s quiet you’ll be able to squeeze your luggage into an empty seat area or under a table. But that’ll be a problem if it’s busy.

 

Agreed.

But Waterloo to Southampton trains are generally quiet at the times when cruisers are heading for their ship. And Waterloo is the terminus, so  even easier to find several seats together.

The problem is late afternoon / early evening when commuters and those in London on business are heading home.

 

JB 🙂

[gunnywife]

Derbie:  We are going by Blackberry Cars from Heathrow to Southampton.  There are 5 of us with 2 walkers.  They have arranged a van for us.  So 5 is not a problem for them.  We also have two others coming in earlier and they have a car from them.\

You can go on their website to ask questions and they answer right away.  Payment doesn't have to be made until a week before the cruise.

[XuGator]

Can someone share some insight on how reliable / dependable the National Express coaches are? Specifically we are debating taking the National express coach from Victoria station to Southampton on the morning of our cruise for a price of only 10 pounds each. Its this or the Princess transfer from the same spot for 60 dollars each. Our concern isnt so much the money or savings but rather the assurance we wont have any issue making it to SOU. We are on a 14 night cruise and definitely don't want to miss it. We are considering the 830 National express coach that gets to the Southampton station around 1030 but our question basically is  - are there ever cancellations of these coaches, mechanical issues where they break down, labor strikes etc) ? Is it safer to just go with the Princess cruise transfer ? We are leaning just taking the National express bus I just like having contingency plans in case something happens. In my mind Im thinking that something will happen with our coach that morning and all other coaches will be booked by then. Any advice would be appreciated.

[gumshoe958]

National Express are generally very reliable, unlike Britain’s trains at the moment! Of course they can be delayed in heavy traffic, but so can cruise line transfer buses. Their vehicles are clean, modern and well maintained and I’d have no hesitation using them.

[nini]

3 hours ago, XuGator said:

Can someone share some insight on how reliable / dependable the National Express coaches are? Specifically we are debating taking the National express coach from Victoria station to Southampton on the morning of our cruise for a price of only 10 pounds each. Its this or the Princess transfer from the same spot for 60 dollars each. Our concern isnt so much the money or savings but rather the assurance we wont have any issue making it to SOU. We are on a 14 night cruise and definitely don't want to miss it. We are considering the 830 National express coach that gets to the Southampton station around 1030 but our question basically is  - are there ever cancellations of these coaches, mechanical issues where they break down, labor strikes etc) ? Is it safer to just go with the Princess cruise transfer ? We are leaning just taking the National express bus I just like having contingency plans in case something happens. In my mind Im thinking that something will happen with our coach that morning and all other coaches will be booked by then. Any advice would be appreciated.

The Princess transfer is $59.00 per person so you can see that it is considerably more than booking directly with the National Express. We are paranoid so we booked through Princess from Victoria Station to Southampton. It was comfortable.

[Senga]

Gunwharf Executive Travel, which has EXCELLENT reviews, quoted us 140GBP for a transfer LHR to Southampton.  

[wcGma]

I’m seeking some information about using the National Express coach from Heathrow to Southampton 2 days before my cruise departure. My flight is scheduled to arrive at 14:10. Do I need to purchase tickets for the 1615 coach ahead of time?  Can that ticket then be used later if my flight is delayed or the next day?  Can I purchase tickets at the Heathrow station?

[gumshoe958]

You don’t have to buy tickets in advance but it’ll be cheaper if you do, and you’ll be guaranteed to get on the coach if it’s full.

But there are ticket machines at all the Heathrow stops, or you can buy a mobile ticket online once you’ve landed.

 

As for flexibility, apparently you can pay £5 extra for a ‘Change & Go’ add-on which allows the following:

 

• Board any available coach 12 hours before or after your original departure time
• Amend your ticket to a new departure date - free of charge
• Refund on your ticket up to 24 hours before departure

So if your flight is delayed, then there's no need to panic; you can just hop on the next available coach.

Simply add the 'Change & Go' option to your ticket in the Add Extras section of the booking process.

 

(source: https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/airports/heathrow)

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by gumshoe958

[Ellaleah]

2 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

You don’t have to buy tickets in advance but it’ll be cheaper if you do, and you’ll be guaranteed to get on the coach if it’s full.

But there are ticket machines at all the Heathrow stops, or you can buy a mobile ticket online once you’ve landed.

 

As for flexibility, apparently you can pay £5 extra for a ‘Change & Go’ add-on which allows the following:

 

• Board any available coach 12 hours before or after your original departure time
• Amend your ticket to a new departure date - free of charge
• Refund on your ticket up to 24 hours before departure

So if your flight is delayed, then there's no need to panic; you can just hop on the next available coach.

Simply add the 'Change & Go' option to your ticket in the Add Extras section of the booking process.

 

(source: https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/airports/heathrow)

I am planning a trip to LHR for a cruise leaving South Hampton.  I’m trying to understand the process of securing my luggage at LHR and getting it to theNational Express.  We are older.  Do they have porters?  How far away is it?

[Senga]

45 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

I am planning a trip to LHR for a cruise leaving South Hampton.  I’m trying to understand the process of securing my luggage at LHR and getting it to theNational Express.  We are older.  Do they have porters?  How far away is it?

Southampton.  You can use a cart to transfer your luggage to the National Express coach.  Determine which terminal you are arriving at then check the National Express website for detailed instructions and maps.

[Incognito1]

Has anyone taken the Megabus?  We're headed to Liverpool rather than London.  Showing $50 for TWO people, but there's only one per day and it's at 8:45 am.  Wondering what the feasibility is to disembark in time.

[Ellaleah]

1 hour ago, Senga said:

2 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

 

Southampton.  You can use a cart to transfer your luggage to the National Express coach.  Determine which terminal you are arriving at then check the National Express website for detailed instructions and maps.

Thank you for the info. So will National Express employee load the luggage for us?

[Senga]

41 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

Thank you for the info. So will National Express employee load the luggage for us?

Sorry, can’t answer since this is our first time using it.

[gumshoe958]

5 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

Thank you for the info. So will National Express employee load the luggage for us?

The driver will load your luggage into the coach.

 

According to Heathrow porters are available for £30 to help you get your luggage through customs and out to the bus station.

 

https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/airport-services/porters

[gumshoe958]

7 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

Has anyone taken the Megabus?  We're headed to Liverpool rather than London.  Showing $50 for TWO people, but there's only one per day and it's at 8:45 am.  Wondering what the feasibility is to disembark in time.

Should be doable - the Megabus stop is only a 10 minute cab ride from the terminals and most ships tend to start disembarkation around 7.

Note that Megabus is a ‘low cost’ operation and doesn’t use the National Express coach station in Southampton but a different stop in the city centre instead.
 

And I think you’ll have to change coaches in Birmingham with a 70 minute layover, so time to stretch your legs and grab a quick lunch.