happycruiser#1 Posted February 16, 2023 #1 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Any suggestions for transfer from Island Princess to Heathrow airport after Norway cruise. We are looking for a shared van (that would be resonable), how much time should we allow if ship is suppose to dock at 6am. Is customs at Southampton lengthy and how long will it take to get to Heathrow, check in and make our flight to Philadelphia that is scheduled at 12:50 pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SbbquilterUT Posted February 16, 2023 #2 Share Posted February 16, 2023 We just booked the National Express Bus from Southampton to LHR for a reasonable rate. The times may not suit you but it is a direct trip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe958 Posted February 16, 2023 #3 Share Posted February 16, 2023 99% of the time you’ll never see a customs or immigration officer at Southampton so there should be no delays there. National Express is generally a good option to LHR but with a 12:50 transatlantic flight you’ll want to be there by 10 or 10:30 so you’d be cutting it fine. Normally it’s about a 90 minute drive but could easily take longer if it’s busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victory2020 Posted April 5, 2023 #4 Share Posted April 5, 2023 On 2/16/2023 at 12:28 AM, gumshoe958 said: 99% of the time you’ll never see a customs or immigration officer at Southampton so there should be no delays there. National Express is generally a good option to LHR but with a 12:50 transatlantic flight you’ll want to be there by 10 or 10:30 so you’d be cutting it fine. Normally it’s about a 90 minute drive but could easily take longer if it’s busy. Can you walk to the national bus station from the cruise terminal? I'll only have carry on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe958 Posted April 5, 2023 #5 Share Posted April 5, 2023 33 minutes ago, victory2020 said: Can you walk to the national bus station from the cruise terminal? I'll only have carry on Probably. It depends on your terminal. Horizon - 10-15 mins City - 15 mins Mayflower - 20-25 mins Ocean - 20-25 mins QE2 - not really walkable All involve a fairly uninspiring walk through industrial docks and retail parks, with some busy roads to cross (although there are pedestrian crossings). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victory2020 Posted April 5, 2023 #6 Share Posted April 5, 2023 27 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said: Probably. It depends on your terminal. Horizon - 10-15 mins City - 15 mins Mayflower - 20-25 mins Ocean - 20-25 mins QE2 - not really walkable All involve a fairly uninspiring walk through industrial docks and retail parks, with some busy roads to cross (although there are pedestrian crossings). Thanks, it looks like msc is at horizon. Is there a basic hotel you would recommend? Don't need anything fancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe958 Posted April 5, 2023 #7 Share Posted April 5, 2023 There’s a Novotel and an Ibis Budget half way along the walk between the Horizon terminal and the coach station - they’d be most convenient. Many cruisers also recommend the Premier Inn Southampton West Quay (note there are several other Premier Inns in Southampton so check it’s the right one), the Leonardo and the Holiday Inn which are slightly further away but all easily walkable from both the coach station and terminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted April 5, 2023 #8 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Ignore 6am, that (or earlier|) is when the ship berths, disembarkation is normally from about 7am (unassisted) with regular disembarkation in tranches from about 7.30am. The 9am Nat Express coach is scheduled to arrive at LHR at 11am, that's cutting it too fine for a 12.50 flight. A 7am coach next day would comfortably get you to LHR in very good time. Fare is £16.50 pp. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en Cheapest & most-convenient hotel would be the Ibis Budget, it's between the cruise terminal (10 minutes) & the coach station (5 minutes). But somewhere like the Premier Inn West Quay (15 mins & 5 mins) would be more convenient for spending a day around Southampton's shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs & sights. https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/southampton-eng-hmp-so.htm Hotels in the UK will usually store luggage for guests who arrive before check-in time. https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm (map at the bottom of that page) The first ships' transfer coaches usually leave the terminal at about 8am, and barring any unusual delay would be good for a 12.50 flight. Fares vary wildly amongst cruise lines, you'll need to find out the fares from MSC. A pre-booked private transfer would cost upward of £140 for a sedan. Lots of suggestions in the top thread on this forum. There are no shared van services altho you could check your cruise RollCall to see if anyone is organising a van & looking for sharers, or if you want to book a van ("minibus" in the UK) and seek sharers. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/403-msc-roll-calls/ Southampton to Heathrow by train is a little complicated (it involves a train plus a RailAir transfer coach or train into London and back out to LHR), surprisingly expensive and time-consuming - unsuitable for your time-frame. JB 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nini Posted April 8, 2023 #9 Share Posted April 8, 2023 We booked with Blackberry Cars and shared it with two other couples. But you need to do the legwork through your Roll Call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted April 8, 2023 #10 Share Posted April 8, 2023 On 4/5/2023 at 12:11 AM, gumshoe958 said: Probably. It depends on your terminal. Horizon - 10-15 mins City - 15 mins Mayflower - 20-25 mins Ocean - 20-25 mins QE2 - not really walkable All involve a fairly uninspiring walk through industrial docks and retail parks, with some busy roads to cross (although there are pedestrian crossings). Is there an airport shuttle or something? I can't imagine getting off the ship and walking 20 minutes with luggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe958 Posted April 8, 2023 #11 Share Posted April 8, 2023 4 hours ago, mskaufman said: Is there an airport shuttle or something? I can't imagine getting off the ship and walking 20 minutes with luggage. See the excellent post #8 by @John Bull for your options for getting between the Southampton cruise terminals and Heathrow Airport. But in short, if you want a direct transfer from ship to plane, your options are either (a) the ship’s transfer coach, (b) a pre-booked private car transfer or (c) a cab to the National Express station from where you can catch a scheduled coach to LHR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted April 9, 2023 #12 Share Posted April 9, 2023 17 hours ago, gumshoe958 said: See the excellent post #8 by @John Bull for your options for getting between the Southampton cruise terminals and Heathrow Airport. But in short, if you want a direct transfer from ship to plane, your options are either (a) the ship’s transfer coach, (b) a pre-booked private car transfer or (c) a cab to the National Express station from where you can catch a scheduled coach to LHR. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victory2020 Posted April 9, 2023 #13 Share Posted April 9, 2023 Would a 12:50 flight to Amsterdam from LHR be doable if I do national express bus & only have carryon? Is it easier to check in for European destinations rather than transatlantic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted April 10, 2023 #14 Share Posted April 10, 2023 21 hours ago, victory2020 said: Would a 12:50 flight to Amsterdam from LHR be doable if I do national express bus & only have carryon? Is it easier to check in for European destinations rather than transatlantic? Is this for Saturday 3 June 2023? If so, it's doable. Are you planning to fly to Amsterdam on BA438? If so, the answer to your second question is basically no - there's little difference between destinations in BA's check-in processes at Terminal 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victory2020 Posted April 10, 2023 #15 Share Posted April 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Globaliser said: Is this for Saturday 3 June 2023? If so, it's doable. Are you planning to fly to Amsterdam on BA438? If so, the answer to your second question is basically no - there's little difference between destinations in BA's check-in processes at Terminal 5. Yes for Sat June 3, flight BA438. Do you think there's no problem to get of MSC cruise, walk to NE bus, get to LHR & check in for the flight without too much stress? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted April 11, 2023 #16 Share Posted April 11, 2023 10 hours ago, victory2020 said: Yes for Sat June 3, flight BA438. Do you think there's no problem to get of MSC cruise, walk to NE bus, get to LHR & check in for the flight without too much stress? It's impossible to answer that question, because I don't know what your personal stress tolerance levels are. The scheduled arrival time at Terminal 5 is 1045. If you're not going to check a bag for your flight, your hardest deadline at T5 is to scan in before 1215 at the entry to security. (That's automated; if you miss that by even one second, you'll be automatically offloaded from the flight.) So you have 90 minutes there, if you can get to Southampton coach station in time to board the National Express coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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