Train ? - London Hotel to Southampton

I've done a few searches - looks like it is fairly easy to take the train from the Waterloo Station in London to Southampton (??)

 

Am I correct - once you get off the train in Southampton - you need to take a taxi to the cruise ship (NCL) ?

 

What about luggage ? - How is it handled when you board the train in London ?

(do you "check it")

 

Thanks for any helpful hints or clarification on the train trip !

 

(we plan on arriving into London a day or 2 prior to boarding the cruise ship - sounds like it would be best to find a hotel within waking distance to the Waterloo Station (avoiding transfers) ??

I've done a few searches - looks like it is fairly easy to take the train from the Waterloo Station in London to Southampton (??)

 

Yes' date=' quite easy.[/font']

 

Am I correct - once you get off the train in Southampton - you need to take a taxi to the cruise ship (NCL) ?

 

Correct.

 

What about luggage ? - How is it handled when you board the train in London ?

(do you "check it")

 

No checking of luggage - you handle it! That said' date=' the platforms at Waterloo are level, there are luggage carts available, and the doors are wide and easy to navigate (one easy step). Trains to Southampton I believe have luggage racks at the end of the carriage, and fairly spacious overhead racks (I remember my mom managing to put her 24-inch hard-sided roller up there, with the help of a suitably muscular young man :D)[/font']

 

we plan on arriving into London a day or 2 prior to boarding the cruise ship - sounds like it would be best to find a hotel within waking distance to the Waterloo Station (avoiding transfers) ??

 

It's convenient' date=' but certainly not a must. If you don't want to fuss with buses/underground transfers, you can probably get a cab to Waterloo from most of Central London for maybe 10-15 pounds at most[/font']

Near Waterloo is also pretty convenient for the sights - for instance a walk across Westminster Bridge to the north bank of the River Thames takes you to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill's War Rooms, and up Whitehall to Cenotaph, Downing Street, Horse Guards Parade & Trafalgar Square. The London Eye & river trips are close by, as are the two major ho-ho routes and tube stations at Waterloo station and Lambeth North. Pleasant promenade along the South Bank of the river as far as Shakespeare's Globe Theatre & Tate Modern, & plenty of watering holes.

Most hotels near Waterloo station are national / international chains, eg Premier Inn, Marriott & Park Plaza in County Hall, Premier Inn Waterloo, Park Plaza Westminster.

A wider range of hotels in other districts, such as Victoria or Paddington. Not quite so convenient for the sights, but not "inconvenient" and mainly cheaper.

Paddington is very convenient from Heathrow, or if you choose a Victoria hotel consider transferring to Southampton by bus from Victoria coach station rather than by train.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

Journey time about 2.5 hours, fares anywhere from £5 to £15, but limited frequency & imperative that you pre-book.

 

Two to three direct trains per hour from Waterloo to Southampton central, journey time about 90 minutes. http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

Walk-up fare is about £40.

 

Consider booking through

https://uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx where the fare is anywhere from £1 (not a typo :)) to £15.

Megatrain is a safe & reliable website, run by a consortium of travel operators including SouthWest Trains, who operate that Waterloo to Southampton route, and it offers cheap fares to encourage folk to use under-utilised trains & buses.

Only a few of those trains per day can be booked via Megatrain but there are 2 or 3 morning trains that suit a cruiser's schedule.

Must be pre-booked, non-refundable, and you must travel on the train that you book. But well worth the limitations for such a big saving.

Tickets available from about 6 weeks out - run a dummy booking for a date in mid to late October to check out times and prices.

No Megatrain tickets available for sundays.

And no Megatrain tickets available for mornings in the opposite direction (Southampton to Waterloo)

 

No checking-in of luggage on the train, but unless you've brought a ton of baggage it's very easy.

 

NCL's usual berth (City Cruise Terminal) is about a 15 minute level walk from Southampton Central station or coach station.

Whether you take a taxi (about £6) depends on your fitness, luggage, and energy levels. Wet weather may make your mind up for you. ;)

 

Browse this website for useful logistics (hotels, transport, etc) about London & its airports, and Southampton

https://www.londontoolkit.com/mnu/london_hotel_accom.htm

 

JB :)

Edited September 9, 2016 by John Bull

Thank you !!!

Back in 2013, we spent 3 post cruise days in London and took the train from the Port of Southampton to London. 10 minute taxi ride at max from ship to train station and we pre booked our 1way tickets using SouthwestTrains from Southampton to Waterloo Station London. Our Hotel was in Victoria so we transferred in Waterloo station to underground tube to Victoria . Stayed at Rubens at the Palace which was about a 1-2 block walk from exiting Victoria Underground. Just have to be willing to roll and manage your luggage.

In departing London we took tube I believe to Paddington, not 100% sure? but then bought tickets for Heathrow Express to get to Airport.

 

 

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If you're departing to Southampton on a weekend, as John Bull said, definitely consider the Mega Train from London to Southampton.. I say weekends, because there are almost always Mega Train discount tickets to Southampton available on the Saturday or Sunday.

 

Srpilo

If you're departing to Southampton on a weekend, as John Bull said, definitely consider the Mega Train from London to Southampton.. I say weekends, because there are almost always Mega Train discount tickets to Southampton available on the Saturday or Sunday.

 

Srpilo

 

Errr..... no, not so.

Almost the opposite, in fact. ;)

Megatrain tickets are available for monday thru saturday, but not for sundays.

 

This is because weekday train services to London are very frequent, to cope with the number of commuters who work there or are travelling there for business meetings. Then the trains return to Southampton pretty empty, and it's those returning trains that the operators need to fill, hence cheap Megatrain tickets to Southampton on weekdays.

Because they're travelling in the opposite direction to those morning commuters, discounted Megatrain tickets suit a cruiser's schedule.

 

Megatrain tickets are also available in the Southampton to London direction on weekdays - but not until gone noon, when demand from those regulars is very low. So unless the cruiser wants to cool their heels in Southampton for 3 to 4 hours cheap Megatrain tickets don't suit their schedules.

 

There are no commuters on a sunday, so a much reduced timetable & no need to offer discounted tickets.

There have also been a very few rare weekdays when Megatrain tickets aren't offered, such as when the Isle of Wight holds its big annual rock festival. Festival go-ers help fill the trains, so no need for discounted tickets.

 

JB :)

Edited October 18, 2016 by John Bull

If travelling at the weekend, there is South West Trains' long-running participation in the Weekend First promotion. From the zone map, it looks like it's £10 to Southampton. Well worth it IMHO if you were going to pay a normal fare anyway.

If travelling at the weekend, there is South West Trains' long-running participation in the Weekend First promotion. From the zone map, it looks like it's £10 to Southampton. Well worth it IMHO if you were going to pay a normal fare anyway.

 

Hi G.,

 

Is that not just the extra cost of a cheap weekend upgrade from cattle-class to first-class?

 

JB :)

We have been crazy trying to find a way from Southampton to Paddington that we can afford. Without hiring a car, is there a way to get there?

 

We have considered the train to Waterloo but that is expensive. Where does the "Megatrain "drop you in London? If we stay in Waterloo, what is the best way to Heathrow?

 

We have curised into or out of Southampton 5 times, but always stayed in Southamton because we could not "crack the London code" Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Doug

We took Southwest Trains from Southhampton post cruise to Waterloo and then transferred to London Underground to get to Victoria station. You could do same only transfer from Waterloo to Paddington. Back in 2013, the fares on Southwest trains was very reasonable. Check it out.

 

 

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We have been crazy trying to find a way from Southampton ton Paddingto that we can afford. Without hiring a car, is there a way to get there?

 

We have considered the train to Waterloo but that is expensive. Where does the "Megatrain "drop you in London? If we stay in Waterloo, what is the best way to Heathrow?

 

We have curised into or out of Southampton 5 times, but always stayed in Southamton because we could not "crack the London code" Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Doug

 

There is no direct train to Paddington. As you correctly say, the best train goes to Waterloo. Megatrain is really a 'bucket shop' train ticket dealer that sell legitimate seats on trains that would otherwise have few passengers. Trains to London are busy in the mornings, and trains from London are busy in the afternoons. So Megatrain only works for afternoon trains to London and not at all on weekends.

 

On a random Saturday in November, I see the cheapest standard fare at £14.95 per adult, so I am not sure what you consider expensive.

 

There are several recommended hotels and restaurants within walking distance of Waterloo and it is a good place to explore London from.

 

You should be aware that London is an expensive place to visit, although with the present rate of exchange, it is a lot cheaper now than it was six months ago.

 

Do not hire a car to get to London - traffic and parking is impossible for strangers. If you don't want to take the train, take a private hire car (with a driver) which will cost around £120/£130. for four passengers and luggage.

Thanks Bob....we have looked at the megatrain and see that it gives a very interesting option. ...again...thanks

 

Doug

We have been crazy trying to find a way from Southampton to Paddington that we can afford. Without hiring a car, is there a way to get there?

 

We have considered the train to Waterloo but that is expensive. Where does the "Megatrain "drop you in London? If we stay in Waterloo, what is the best way to Heathrow?

 

We have curised into or out of Southampton 5 times, but always stayed in Southamton because we could not "crack the London code" Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Doug

 

Hi Doug,

As Bob's comment and my previous posts in this thread, there are no Megatrain tickets available for the Southampton to Waterloo direction in the mornings. More precisely on a random date the earliest is 12.55pm.

 

Regular train tickets to Waterloo are mainly around £40, but yes, the cheapest (pre-booked) is the 9.55 at £14.95. There's also one at 9am for £20.70.

Both are direct.

 

If you want to go Southampton to Paddington, by train, rather than to Waterloo & then crossing central London, you can take a different train route, with just one change at Reading. Total travel time is a little quicker, gets you right to Paddington in 90 minutes, same as Southampton to Waterloo.

The fare for that journey is one of many ridiculous anomalies of train fares in the UK. :mad:

For the 9.46am from Southampton to Paddington via a change at Reading, a through ticket costs £40.50.

But if you buy separate tickets for that 9.46am from Southampton (£10.90) and for the connecting train Reading to Paddington (£18.10) the total cost is only £29. :rolleyes:

Still a little more expensive than Waterloo plus taxi, but pretty easy.

 

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

Paddington is more convenient for Heathrow, the Heathrow Express runs every 15 mins & takes only 15 mins but you do need to buy tickets months ahead to get cheap tickets at about £5. The walk-up fare is over £20.

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/

 

From Waterloo you can take a direct tube train to Paddington for that Heathrow Express.

Or you can go all the way to Heathrow by tube but with luggage that means one difficult or two easier changes of tube train.

Or you can book a private transfer from Waterloo to Heathrow (£50?)

Or a combination of taxi & tube.

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

Quote your party numbers, day-of-the-week & travel time, and hopefully a Londoner can suggest the best option.

 

So Waterloo is the better for travel from Southampton, Paddington for travel to Heathrow.

 

As for the other pro's & con's of Waterloo vs Paddington.................

 

Waterloo is easy for walking to a number of sights - London Eye, river cruises, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Churchill's War Rooms, up Whitehall past Downing Street, Cenotaph, Horse Guards Parade, etc to Trafalgar Square.

And riverside walks and drinking / dining on the South Bank as far as Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Paddington is sensible walking only to Hyde Park (& mebbe across Hyde Park to South Kensington's museum complex), Marble Arch and Oxford Street, the city's main shopping street. (if you don't want your lady to see the reference to Oxford Street shops, post within 15 minutes & I'll delete it :D)

Both locations need transport to many sights, but both have good tube links.

So IMHO Waterloo is the more convenient for the sights.

 

But whereas Waterloo is mainly modern international & national chain hotels and comparatively expensive, Paddington offers a wider range & generally lower prices.

 

There are other areas where hotels are popular with tourists, such as Victoria (which has direct bus links to Heathrow & Southampton), Kings Cross, & "the City" / Tower Bridge - all have their pros & cons.

 

Shame on you for by-passing London 5 times ;)

Yes, it's more complicated and fraught than Southampton, but very much more rewarding.

 

Mind the gap

 

JB :)

Once again John Bull, I am in your debt. Thank you.

 

Doug

Is that not just the extra cost of a cheap weekend upgrade from cattle-class to first-class?

Yes, that's exactly what it is. Full details via the link in the post. If you're paying a normal fare anyway, the extra £10 to sit in first class is well worth it.

We have been crazy trying to find a way from Southampton to Paddington that we can afford.

I couldn't immediately see whether you'd said why you need to be in Paddington. If (and I'm simply guessing here) it's only for transport to Heathrow, and the problems of getting to Paddington are driving you crazy, you're probably better off not going to Heathrow via Paddington at all. It's only one of dozens of ways of getting to Heathrow.

John Bull....I dont get it. When you first posted this information, I was very happy that I could book the 9:55 train to Waterloo for 14.5 GDP . Today, I have looked and looked and I can find that fare nowhere. Where does one go to discover that fare?

 

Thanks again for helping a poor confused Texan

 

Doug

John Bull....I dont get it. When you first posted this information, I was very happy that I could book the 9:55 train to Waterloo for 14.5 GDP . Today, I have looked and looked and I can find that fare nowhere. Where does one go to discover that fare?

 

Thanks again for helping a poor confused Texan

 

Doug

 

It's typical of the fare complications that puts me off rail travel, Doug.:rolleyes:

On the National Rail site http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ (not the Megatrain site) I just found it easily enough for random dates in Nov & Dec.

But not for January, when it's shown at the same fare as other trains. :confused:

 

The regular fare changes from £37 to £40 in January, that's probably the annual revision.

But the £14.50 fare for the 9.55 disappearing? :confused:

And to add further complication, the £16.90 fare for the 9am train is available up to 6th Jan, but then that disappears too.:confused:

 

Mebbe it was a short-term offer, more likely they only do the offer from a few weeks out. After all, the regular timetable only goes out 3 months.

Best bet is to keep an eye on that website from time to time.

 

When's your date of travel?

 

And can anyone else shed any light?

JB :)

Thank you John...I had to laugh.OF COURSE the lower rate would be offered anytime but when we are traveling.....

 

Our actual travel date is 20 April,2017. I think you gave good advice when you said to keep an eye on the schedule from time to time. Thanks so much for putting up with us.

 

Doug

Thank you John...I had to laugh.OF COURSE the lower rate would be offered anytime but when we are traveling.....

 

Our actual travel date is 20 April,2017. I think you gave good advice when you said to keep an eye on the schedule from time to time. Thanks so much for putting up with us.

 

Doug

 

No Doug, such things happen to ME :D

But yep, check on that website from time to time, and dial in a few closer dates as well as your own.

 

There are two other options, just to confuse you more :p..........

 

By train - there's a different route, different train operator, which goes to London Victoria. Hourly direct service, fares mainly £17 to £30, but on random November dates the 10.13am train is available for £5 to £8.50. But again, those offers seem to come & go.

To see the Victoria option as well, type your destination as "London" and click on "all stations".

That route is two sides of a triangle - journey time around 2,5 hrs rather than around 90 minutes for trains to Waterloo.

 

By bus - there's a direct service roughly every hour to Victoria coach station, suitable buses would be 8.40am (best to disembark unassisted, usually from about 7am) or 9.50am. Fare for your date (and other dates) just £5. Past experience tells me that the bus fares can also change, but it never costs more than about £15. Journey time 2.5hrs.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

 

By bus you'd be very wise to pre-book, they do fill.

By train you need to pre-book if you want a cheap fare, the walk-up price is around £40 to Waterloo, £30 to Victoria.

 

A snag with making a late decision between Victoria (train or coach) & Waterloo is that you shouldn't delay booking a hotel to suit.

The way round that is to book through a site like http://www.booking.com which has free cancellation on a lot of the hotels. So you book one in Waterloo & one in Victoria, then when your transport is sorted cancel one or the other.

 

Complicated. innit :D

JB :)

Edited October 21, 2016 by John Bull

It works in a similar way to air fares and, dare I say it, cruise fares. That's to say - the operators will use price to encourage people to use a service that will run, but looks to be under utilised.

 

We all know how cruise prices can vary, depending on the take-up, so it should be no surprise to find rail operators doing the same thing. After all - once the basic cost is covered, more bums on seats are all benefit to the bottom line.

 

Many trains have to run, simply because they will be needed at the other end, so the canny, and flexible traveller can take advantage.

It's typical of the fare complications that puts me off rail travel, Doug.:rolleyes:

On the National Rail site http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ (not the Megatrain site) I just found it easily enough for random dates in Nov & Dec.

But not for January, when it's shown at the same fare as other trains. :confused:

 

The regular fare changes from £37 to £40 in January, that's probably the annual revision.

But the £14.50 fare for the 9.55 disappearing? :confused:

And to add further complication, the £16.90 fare for the 9am train is available up to 6th Jan, but then that disappears too.:confused:

 

Mebbe it was a short-term offer, more likely they only do the offer from a few weeks out. After all, the regular timetable only goes out 3 months.

Best bet is to keep an eye on that website from time to time.

 

When's your date of travel?

 

And can anyone else shed any light?

JB :)

 

The £14-95 was an Autumn promotion - https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/offers--days-out/offers/promotion/autumn-tcs/

 

Dunno about the other fares you posted (£16-90, £20-70?), but could they have been Advance fares, now sold out, or did they show 'Off Peak' too, in which case probably another promo?

Edited October 22, 2016 by Cotswold Eagle