Walking to Train or Bus in Southhampton

[Sudoku]

Our ship, Sun Princess,is arriving in Southampton on Sept 22 at 7 am. We spend the night there and depart Sept 23 at 6 pm. We are thinking of taking the train or National Express into London for the day on Sept 22.  We will have no luggage with us. How walkable is it from the port to either the train station or bus terminal?  We have used Natl Express in the past and were satisfied. Don’t have anything scheduled in London, as we’ve been there a few times.  Just want to do a little shopping and maybe see a matinee musical. 

[gumshoe958]

You are currently scheduled to dock at Ocean Terminal, which is a bit further from the city centre than some of the terminals.

 

From there the coach station is just over a mile and the rail station just under 1.5 miles. Both are perfectly walkable, with sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. But if it’s raining you may prefer a cab.

[seahorse001]

4 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

You are currently scheduled to dock at Ocean Terminal, which is a bit further from the city centre than some of the terminals.

 

From there the coach station is just over a mile and the rail station just under 1.5 miles. Both are perfectly walkable, with sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. But if it’s raining you may prefer a cab.

Hi apologies for jumping on the post 😄

Looks as if I'm on the same cruise as Sudoku.

I have a similar question gumshoe if you can assist?

 

I'm planning on squeezing in a quick breakfast & heading to train station (is it Southampton central?) for the train home. Looking at booking a 9.30 to 10 am train

Do you know what time we have to embark by & if my schedule is doable (timings) ? 🙏

[gumshoe958]

14 minutes ago, seahorse001 said:

Hi apologies for jumping on the post 😄

Looks as if I'm on the same cruise as Sudoku.

I have a similar question gumshoe if you can assist?

 

I'm planning on squeezing in a quick breakfast & heading to train station (is it Southampton central?) for the train home. Looking at booking a 9.30 to 10 am train

Do you know what time we have to embark by & if my schedule is doable (timings) ? 🙏

That’s fine. It’s a 10 minute max cab ride to Southampton Central station so as long as you’re off the ship 30-45 minutes before your chosen train you’ll make it no problem. Most ships tend to want you off by 9 or 9.30.

 

 

[John Bull]

6 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

You are currently scheduled to dock at Ocean Terminal, which is a bit further from the city centre than some of the terminals.

 

From there the coach station is just over a mile and the rail station just under 1.5 miles. Both are perfectly walkable, with sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. But if it’s raining you may prefer a cab.

 

 

Yes, the port website shows Sun Princess scheduled to berth at Ocean Cruise Terminal. 

The train station is about a 30 minute walk, the coach station a little less. A taxi to either would cost about £8.

Without luggage and with a taxi you should be able to catch a train as early as 07.54, but 08.26 (arrives Waterloo 10.00) would be more-comfortable timing.

Bear in mind that if you choose to take your evening meal in Southampton, the kitchens of worthwhile restaurants close by 8 pm. 

 

No comb & no toothbrush ?

Nothing to haul ?

Carrying only a pocketful of dreams & a heart full of love ?
(apologies to Cliff Richard & The Shadows).

But if you've got luggage that you're planning to ditch at your Southampton hotel you'll need to take that time into account.

 

September 22nd is a sunday.

 

Travel to London by National Express coach is cheap but frequency is poor, coaches are direct but the journey takes a little under 3 hours each-way.  Good for most purposes, but not for a day-trip. 

 

On sundays, two direct trains per hour between Southampton Central and London Waterloo, journey time about 90 minutes. And you'll know that Waterloo train station is far more convenient than Victoria coach (bus) station.

Return train tickets cost between £20 and £106 (no typo's) - such are the complications of train ticketing. Yes, JB is off on one of his rants again 😡

But fear not, you have two main choices....

A Super Off-Peak return ticket costs £46 per person - this allows you to buy in advance or at the station and to travel at any time in both directions (there's no peak-time supplements on a sunday)

or

An Advance return ticket  costs around £20 per person (would have been cheaper if you'd booked 6 weeks ago, will cost more as the date approaches). The big difference is that you have to book in advance and select a train time for both directions. If you miss that train your tickets are not valid & you'll have to buy walk-up tickets (word is that if you present your Advance ticket they'll deduct that cost from the price of the walk-up ticket).

 

The National Rail website is https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

I find it the easiest (make that "least-difficult") website to use, but once you've chosen your tickets it will re-direct you to the website of the train operator,  https://www.southwesternrailway.com/

However, non-Brits have reported difficulties in buying on that website because they do not have a UK address.

But you can buy tickets for an operator's trains from any other operator's website, folk  report no such problem if you book through https://www.lner.co.uk/ (London & North-East Railway)

Fares & restrictions, train times etc are the same whichever site you use. 

If you choose Super Off-Peak I suggest you buy at the station.

If you choose Advance you have no option other than buying on-line.

 

@Globaliser, @gumshoe958 @Cotswold Eagle or any other frequent train traveller, I'd be grateful if one of you could check that this info is correct -  or otherwise 🙄

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[Sudoku]

Thanks all. This is the info I was looking for!

[33Minnie33]

5 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

 

Yes, the port website shows Sun Princess scheduled to berth at Ocean Cruise Terminal. 

The train station is about a 30 minute walk, the coach station a little less. A taxi to either would cost about £8.

Without luggage and with a taxi you should be able to catch a train as early as 07.54, but 08.26 (arrives Waterloo 10.00) would be more-comfortable timing.

Bear in mind that if you choose to take your evening meal in Southampton, the kitchens of worthwhile restaurants close by 8 pm. 

 

No comb & no toothbrush ?

Nothing to haul ?

Carrying only a pocketful of dreams & a heart full of love ?
(apologies to Cliff Richard & The Shadows).

But if you've got luggage that you're planning to ditch at your Southampton hotel you'll need to take that time into account.

 

September 22nd is a sunday.

 

Travel to London by National Express coach is cheap but frequency is poor, coaches are direct but the journey takes a little under 3 hours each-way.  Good for most purposes, but not for a day-trip. 

 

On sundays, two direct trains per hour between Southampton Central and London Waterloo, journey time about 90 minutes. And you'll know that Waterloo train station is far more convenient than Victoria coach (bus) station.

Return train tickets cost between £20 and £106 (no typo's) - such are the complications of train ticketing. Yes, JB is off on one of his rants again 😡

But fear not, you have two main choices....

A Super Off-Peak return ticket costs £46 per person - this allows you to buy in advance or at the station and to travel at any time in both directions (there's no peak-time supplements on a sunday)

or

An Advance return ticket  costs around £20 per person (would have been cheaper if you'd booked 6 weeks ago, will cost more as the date approaches). The big difference is that you have to book in advance and select a train time for both directions. If you miss that train your tickets are not valid & you'll have to buy walk-up tickets (word is that if you present your Advance ticket they'll deduct that cost from the price of the walk-up ticket).

 

The National Rail website is https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

I find it the easiest (make that "least-difficult") website to use, but once you've chosen your tickets it will re-direct you to the website of the train operator,  https://www.southwesternrailway.com/

However, non-Brits have reported difficulties in buying on that website because they do not have a UK address.

But you can buy tickets for an operator's trains from any other operator's website, folk  report no such problem if you book through https://www.lner.co.uk/ (London & North-East Railway)

Fares & restrictions, train times etc are the same whichever site you use. 

If you choose Super Off-Peak I suggest you buy at the station.

If you choose Advance you have no option other than buying on-line.

 

@Globaliser, @gumshoe958 @Cotswold Eagle or any other frequent train traveller, I'd be grateful if one of you could check that this info is correct -  or otherwise 🙄

 

JB 🙂

 

 

Great information…..So is the Super-Off Peak a Round trip ticket? 
Also is that Super-Off Peak good on any train that Sunday…..time wise?
I am a bit worried in picking a time to leave Southampton seeing we don’t know how fast we can get off the ship. We would like to go as early as possible. 
Thanks Again for this information. 

[CCJack]

We made this very walk to the bus station after out cruise... We did have luggage.   No issues, a pleasant walk, however, some cobblestone surfaces made luggage rolling a little difficult.  Nice weather = walk, bad weather = taxi !

[John Bull]

43 minutes ago, 33Minnie33 said:

Great information…..So is the Super-Off Peak a Round trip ticket? 
Also is that Super-Off Peak good on any train that Sunday…..time wise?
I am a bit worried in picking a time to leave Southampton seeing we don’t know how fast we can get off the ship. We would like to go as early as possible. 
Thanks Again for this information. 

 

 

Yes 🙂

And yes.🙂

 

"Return" tickets in English are "Round-trip" tickets in American.

 

And peak prices apply to busy commuter trains into London & elsewhere.

No commuters on sundays, so no peak fares.

 

Disembarkation from Princess (and most others) usually starts around 7 am for unassisted (that includes you cos you'll have no checked luggage) and it'll be pretty quick because assisted dis-embarkation doesn't usually start before 7.30.

And no line for taxis that early.

But if you choose to walk, be sure to walk on the pavement (another difference between English & American languages 😏)

 

You'll almost-certainly make the 07.54 train - ask your taxi driver to drop you at the station's Platform 1 entrance. (If you take that train you can switch to a faster train at Basingstoke, but it gets you to Waterloo only 5 minutes earlier so not worth the complication).

But if you choose to buy the much cheaper Advance tickets - for which you have to state a time - I suggest you book for the 08.26 to give you a wider window for any delays.

 

BTW London will be a little quieter and more laid-back on a sunday than on business days.🙂

 

JB 🙂  

 

 

 

[Cotswold Eagle]

JB is broadly right, but note that Advance tickets can only be changed BEFORE the departure of the first booked service, after which they have no value. (Useful for changes of plan, not for missing the booked service.) The rules are quite opaque and depend on how the ticket was purchased, too, so I'd say not worth factoring into this scenario. Incidentally, there is no such thing as an Advance Return - you buy two Advance single tickets, but the booking engines make that quite simple these days and show the options when a search is made for a return. 
 

To add more complexity, to JB’s delight, SWR do now have a semi-flexible return, which is like an Advance on the outward (i.e. valid only on a booked service), but can be used on any return service, so you could leave London whenever you liked that day. This would have been good if you were sure which train to London you wanted (more useful for those already in Southampton, rather than arriving!) It’s slightly cheaper than a Super Off Peak Return, but ties you to a particular time to London, and they have to be purchased the day before at latest. 

 

So if I were you, I’d just rock up at the station at your convenience, and buy Super Off Peak Returns, which will be valid on any outward and return trains that Sunday. 
 

 

[Planning to cruise]

Just bear in mind that Sunday rail travel in the UK can be less reliable.  Ubiquitous "Engineering Works" can mean delays, cancellations or part of rail journey being on replacement buses.  

Any works and timetable alterations are usually scheduled and advertised in advance.