Disembarkation At Southampton to Southampton Airport

[LJS24]

Hi, apologies if this question has already been asked.  I am currently looking at flights for after my cruise and considering whether to fly back home from Southampton or Heathrow.  Does anyone know roughly what the earliest time I could make it out to Southampton airport after disembarkation, I would be unable to do self-disembarkation.  I have never cruised before so not sure roughly how long disembarkation would take.  If it makes a difference it is a Canary Islands cruise that I'll be doing.

[gumshoe958]

Southampton Airport is about a 20 minute cab ride from the port. It’s a small, easy to navigate airport so you can comfortably arrive and check in 60-90 minutes before your flight.

You’ll almost certainly be expected to disembark by about 9.30, possibly earlier depending on the ship, so even if you’re last off you should be at the airport by 10 at the latest. And potentially much earlier - 8.30 is perfectly doable if you’re in an early group to disembark.

 

Heathrow, on the other hand, is a good 90 minute to 2 hour drive (and potentially more if the traffic’s bad), and is a vast airport so you’d be well advised to check in at least 2 hours before your flight. If you’re not self disembarking I wouldn’t risk a flight that leaves before 1.30/2pm.

[Pushpit]

The journey to the airport takes under 30 minutes from say Mayflower Terminal. 10:00 at the airport would be unambitious, maybe even 09:00 hrs. Self disembarkation would be 07:30. This is off a Cunard sailing.

[John Bull]

Assisted disembarkation is likely to be from  7.30am. If you're allocated a later disembarkation slot which makes your transfer tight, go to Guest Relations with the luggage labels that you'll be given on your last full day and ask for an earlier slot citing your flight time - they'll provide you with fresh labels (they're usually coloured to suit your disembarkation slot.

 

It's difficult to know how long it takes to disembark, it depends on the size of your ship (we need the ship's name or the number of pax)  and your cruise itinerary - UK or Europe or further (immigration).

Not many airports are served from Southampton by more than one flight per day, Where to, and do you know your flight time?

Which day-of-the-week makes a small difference too.

 

With that information, plus anything out-of-the-norm (eg young kids or wheelchairs, we can give you an idea of whether and how you can make the flight.

 

JB 🙂

[LJS24]

Thank you to @gumshoe958; @Pushpit @John Bull for your responses they are most helpful.  It's good to know that there is an option of a taxi to the airport, that would save trying to negotiate getting to the station.

 

@John Bull sorry never thought about giving that information.  I am sailing on QM2, in a Britannia Balcony cabin, around the Canary Islands so it would be a European cruise, I think 🙂.  I am flying back to Edinburgh not sure of the flight time, but I know they are in the morning (the times seem to be regulary changing at the moment with Logan Air which is why I am also considering flying from Heathrow).  I am returning to Southampton on a Saturday.  Other than that there isn't anything out of the norm for me 🙂 

[Scottishclover]

I would highly recommend using Southampton airport rather than Heathrow. It was  so easy to move through security etc. It’s honestly just one hall with maybe 5 check- in counters. After security it’s one room with some doors with gates. No walking for miles along corridors. For information - we walked down the gangway at 7:50 and were at the airport at 9. That was with walking from Horizon Terminal to Southampton Central station and then waiting for a train to the airport. A taxi would be much quicker. We did EasyJet to Glasgow at 11:15. I noticed the Edinburgh flight went a bit earlier but you would have no problem making it.

[John Bull]

Yes, others have complained about LoganAir messing around with their flight times, but I can only comment on the times quoted - 09.55 and 14.00 on random saturdays

 

But I'm struggling to find a QM2 cruise returning on a saturday.

Is this for a cruise next year?

 

A 9.55am flight is perfectly feasible.

I don't know whether you have to go thro immigration - probably not on a Canaries cruise starting in Southampton  but a queue might cost you 5 minutes..

Customs is a simple walk-through for most passengers, you might not even realise you've passed through. They do tend to target cruises from the Canaries because smokes & alcohol are very very cheap in the Canaries. But they rely a lot on sniffer dogs and even if your collar is felt it won't delay you more than 5 minutes - unless your cases are full of cigs 😉

 

There will be taxis at the cruise terminal. Sometimes there's a queue but it moves quickly, and the earlier you disembark the less-likely there'll be a queue.

Altho I don't know your cruise terminal, I'm assuming you won't want to walk with your luggage to Southampton Central station, which is a 15 minute walk from the nearest cruise terminal which Cunard use .

Since a taxi to Southampton Central plus train fares will be almost as expensive as a taxi from cruise terminal to airport (plus having to use lifts at the airport station) it makes sense to take a taxi all the way from ship to airport.

On a saturday the drive won't be clogged with commuters & won't take more than 20 minutes from any cruise terminal.

Altho you won't want to cut it that fine, check-in doesn't close until 40 mins before flight time.

 

To give yourselves as wide a window as possible I suggest you disembark at 8.00am.

Most cruise lines allocate disembarkation times on the last full day of the cruise. If you are allocated a later time, go along to the purser's office (usually called Guest Relations" or similar) and ask for an 8.00am slot, citing your onward travel arrangements - they'll almost-certainly oblige.

That will get you to the airport well before 9.00am

 

BTW, a morning flight to Southampton will get you to the ship in good time to register at the cruise terminal even if LoganAir screw-around with the flight time, so consider it if you're not already committed to a Gatwick flight.

But their later Southampton flight will be too late

 

JB 🙂

[LJS24]

On 8/7/2024 at 3:01 PM, John Bull said:

Yes, others have complained about LoganAir messing around with their flight times, but I can only comment on the times quoted - 09.55 and 14.00 on random saturdays

 

But I'm struggling to find a QM2 cruise returning on a saturday.

Is this for a cruise next year?

 

A 9.55am flight is perfectly feasible.

I don't know whether you have to go thro immigration - probably not on a Canaries cruise starting in Southampton  but a queue might cost you 5 minutes..

Customs is a simple walk-through for most passengers, you might not even realise you've passed through. They do tend to target cruises from the Canaries because smokes & alcohol are very very cheap in the Canaries. But they rely a lot on sniffer dogs and even if your collar is felt it won't delay you more than 5 minutes - unless your cases are full of cigs 😉

 

There will be taxis at the cruise terminal. Sometimes there's a queue but it moves quickly, and the earlier you disembark the less-likely there'll be a queue.

Altho I don't know your cruise terminal, I'm assuming you won't want to walk with your luggage to Southampton Central station, which is a 15 minute walk from the nearest cruise terminal which Cunard use .

Since a taxi to Southampton Central plus train fares will be almost as expensive as a taxi from cruise terminal to airport (plus having to use lifts at the airport station) it makes sense to take a taxi all the way from ship to airport.

On a saturday the drive won't be clogged with commuters & won't take more than 20 minutes from any cruise terminal.

Altho you won't want to cut it that fine, check-in doesn't close until 40 mins before flight time.

 

To give yourselves as wide a window as possible I suggest you disembark at 8.00am.

Most cruise lines allocate disembarkation times on the last full day of the cruise. If you are allocated a later time, go along to the purser's office (usually called Guest Relations" or similar) and ask for an 8.00am slot, citing your onward travel arrangements - they'll almost-certainly oblige.

That will get you to the airport well before 9.00am

 

BTW, a morning flight to Southampton will get you to the ship in good time to register at the cruise terminal even if LoganAir screw-around with the flight time, so consider it if you're not already committed to a Gatwick flight.

But their later Southampton flight will be too late

 

JB 🙂

Hi, yes the cruise is for next year, it comes back in on 1st March.  I hadn't realised I could request an earlier disembarkation time, if needed, so that is very useful to know.  

[Pushpit]

The immigration is usually done on board in Connexions at the back of the Royal Court Theatre. They will advertise this as at starting at 07:00 hrs or some such, but you will see the Border Force team boarding on the small gangway, and they will up and running about 10 minutes later, which may be before 07:00. So if on Fast Track you can get to Southampton Airport for 07:30, my record is something like 07:10 hrs off QM2. That's actually too early for Loganair, it's a tiny airport and if it's 09:55 then arriving at 09:00 hrs is fine even with checked luggage, it's closes at 45 minutes to departure and they could go a bit later really.  

 

The day before arrival back in Southampton you will get a letter and coloured tags for the bags. If you go fast track you don't need these tags and you can just walk off as soon as you have been to passport control on board, through the baggage hall, and straight to a taxi.

 

If you do have to get luggage portered ashore and the letter makes it too late, go down to the Pursers office with the letter and tags and they can usually get you an early colour. You would need a disembarkation of about 08:15 hrs or so. That said, they don't actually check your tags when leaving the ship (they say they do, I've never seen it) so you could just leave at 08:30 and hopefully your bags are there.