Southampton to Heathrow in shared transport

[happycruiser#1]

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.

[SbbquilterUT]

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.

[gumshoe958]

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.

[victory2020]

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

[gumshoe958]

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).

 

 

 

[victory2020]

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

[gumshoe958]

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.

[John Bull]

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 🙂

[nini]

We booked with Blackberry Cars and shared it with two other couples. But you need to do the legwork through your Roll Call.

[mskaufman]

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.

[gumshoe958]

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.

[mskaufman]

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

[victory2020]

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?

[Globaliser]

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.

[victory2020]

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?

[Globaliser]

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.