London to Southhampton

[bvillemiss]

My flight is through Chicago but would like to hear from the people living in the UK if this is a good idea to fly directly to Southampton. Seemed like a good idea so as not to have to have transportation from London to Southampton. Will stay a few days in Southampton before the cruise.

[Esprit]

It's a great little airport and perfect for transit to the docks (about 30 mins).

 

There is also Bournemouth airport (about 1 hour away) which can take Boeing 767's as they fly from there to the Cairbbean for the P&O fly cruises.

 

Far less hassle using these airports than the main London ones but don't expect fancy shops, bars and restaurants. The waiting lounges are fine and obviously small but still comfortable.

 

If you do your homework there may be a easy way to get to these airports via other major airports at a cheaper cost. Definitely worth investigating.

 

Cheers

Peter

[bvillemiss]

Thanks Peter, that is exactly what I was hoping for. The lounges and shops don't interest me nearly as much as the less hassle. I did get a very good rate going through Dublin and Glasgow rather then Heathrow which to me is totally worth it. Love those small airports.

[Seven_Of_Nine]

Hi Peter,

We will be traveling from US to Stanstead and then will need to get to Sea Princess at Southampton within 5-6 hours. Since there will be 3 of us, and the ladies always forget how to pack light . . . rail seems out of the question.

 

Your suggestions?

 

It is a bit of a faff but I would suggest getting the Stansted Express train to London Liverpool Street, going from Liverpool Street to London Waterloo by tube and the getting another overground form Waterloo to Southanpton. It means two changes but from the time you get on the train to the time you get to Southampton you can do it in about 3 - 3.5 hours depending on the time of day.

[Pam in CA]

We're using a private limo service in a couple of weeks with six people from our roll call from three different hotels. We're being picked up directly at our hotels in London and dropped off at the ship. It's working out to just over 28GBP per person. We don't have to take taxis to the train station or lug our suitcases anywhere. To me, it's definitely worth it.

[Esprit]

£28 per head for a hassle free journey out of London and no lugging cases either.

 

It wouldn't have occurred to me to even think about that idea.

 

Peter

[Globaliser]

... going from Liverpool Street to London Waterloo by tube ...

The Tube isn't feasible for someone with luggage, especially the luggage of ladies who've forgotten how to pack light.

 

The main requirements for travelling on the Tube: You must be able to pick up all your luggage and move it in one go, without having to shuttle backwards and forwards. You must be able to carry it 50 yards on the level, and you must be able to carry it up or down stairs to the equivalent of one storey of a building.

 

If you can't do that, then the Tube is not really practicable.

 

In addition, any Tube journey from Liverpool Street to Waterloo will involve at least one change of Tube trains.

[2ladies]

Stanstead to Southampton. Hmm.

 

Well, the first option is to take the Express train to Liverpool Street and hop into a taxi to Waterloo. Then get the train to Southampton. The taxi journey shouldn't be too bad as apparently its a Saturday. You should make it fairly easily. When you get to Stanstead, get some £1 coins at the Bureau de Change. You can then use these for the luggage carts at the stations - the £1 is refundable if you return the cart!!

 

You could hire a chauffeur-driven car - but you are at the mercy of traffic problems!! And its one side of the country to the other. Difficult choices, but if it were me, I would plump for the train. But don't even think of the Tube for the transfer - not with luggage!!

 

Can't you change your reservation to fly in the day before? This is absolutely the way to go!!

[poppygreendog]

Here are some options for those of you travelling into London for the US.

 

Hotels at Waterloo which is the train station you would need to travel direct into Southampton from:

 

http://www.activereservations.com/hotel/en/hotels-near-attractions/5079.html?subid=PPCGO1a5079en

 

Travel from Gatwick to Waterloo:

 

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en&sessionID=JP09_246455128&requestID=1&tripSelector1=1&itdLPxx_view=detail&tripSelection=on&command=nop

 

Travel from Heathrow to Waterloo

 

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en&sessionID=JP09_246720769&requestID=1&tripSelector1=1&itdLPxx_view=detail&tripSelection=on&command=nop

 

To avoid having to use the tube, which I agree with other posters is at best difficult during busy times and certainly so with the cruise luggage I would suggest alighting at Paddington and taking a short cab ride to the hotel of your choice.

 

I think that the original poster for this thread said they would be arriving 2 days before their departure in Southampton, I would therefore suggest one night's stay in London and one in Southampton, below is a link for Southampton hotels:

 

http://www.activereservations.com/hotel/en/unitedkingdom/england/hampshire/southampton?subid=PPCGO1g130en

 

Alternatively as previously posted you can travel by coach which is a cost effective alternative.

 

http://www.nationalexpress.com/bp/b2.cfm?id=59659008

 

All of these links can be accessed from www.tfl.gov.uk (I work which is the only reason I know lol), you can put in specific times which would be convenient to your time of travel from their home page.

 

If you choose to travel by National Express, hotel choices for Victoria are probably your best bet as you can travel from both Heathrow and Gatwick directly into Victoria where both your accomodation and Victoria Coach Station are both just a small inexpensive cab journey away, hotels in Victoria are as follows:

 

http://victoria.hotels-london.co.uk/

 

I hope some of this has been helpful, if you want any further info let me know and I will be happy to help.

 

My husband and I are planning our first cruise, currently waiting for the Panama cruise choices for the 2007/2008 season, there is one bizzarely on the Princess website but you can only view not book at this stage which is doing exactly what we want; start in FL finish in SF. Sooooo excited and I am sure I will be asking you all lots of questions as soon as we have booked so I am happy to help in return where I can.

 

Have a great day!

 

Poppy (sara)

[Globaliser]

Travel from Gatwick to Waterloo:

 

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en&sessionID=JP09_246455128&requestID=1&tripSelector1=1&itdLPxx_view=detail&tripSelection=on&command=nop

 

Travel from Heathrow to Waterloo

 

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en&sessionID=JP09_246720769&requestID=1&tripSelector1=1&itdLPxx_view=detail&tripSelection=on&command=nop

Unfortunately, these links won't work for anyone else coming along to the thread later.

 

To find public transport options for any journey in the London area, go to the Journey Planner and submit a new request.