southampton to airport transfer

what is the best and not super expensive way to get from southampton to gatwick airport. I'll arrive on may 12 on Royal Caribbean navigator and some of the prices I've seen are $120 US or more... any suggestions on what has worked for others

Depends on your flight time.

Although check-in desks close an hour or less before flight time I strongly advise arrival at the airport at least 90 minutes ahead of flight time because of potential delay at security and sometimes-long walks to boarding gates

Direct bus from Southampton coach station (a 15 min walk or £6 taxi fare from your ship).

Bus fare £22.

You'll not make the 06.20 but you'll easily make the 09.10, which arrives Gatwick at noon.

You are very strongly advised to book in advance.

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

Direct train from Southampton central rail station (also a 15 min walk or £6 taxi fare), the train stops inside Gatwick airport's south terminal.

Advance anytime tickets cost £16.20, so probably best to book for the 07.05 and if you miss it your ticket is good for later direct trains.

07.06 arrives Gatwick at 09.06. But even with unassisted early disembarkation your chances of making it are no better than 50/50.

08.10 arrives Gatwick 10.06 To be sure of making that one, best to go for early unassisted disembarkation.

08.32 arrives Gatwick 10.36. If you fix first assisted disembarkation (usually 7.30) that's OK. If you're allocated a later slot it's usually no problem to be switched to an earlier slot, citing onward transportation

09.13 arrives Gatwick 11.06.

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

But .....

but but but but but the train operator for this route (Southern Trains) is in the middle of long-running disputes with staff regarding the introduction of driver-only operation and has been plagued by strikes reminiscent of 40 years ago, making them a laughing-stock.:rolleyes:

They have reached agreement with most trade unions and there are no longer system shut-downs but when the remaining trade union calls a 24-hour strike it affects mebbe 5 to 10 percent of trains.

The good news is that the chances of a strike on any given day are pretty low, and they're always publicised in advance - there are no wild-cat strikes

But you do need to check their website http://www.southernrailway.com/ closer to your date, and have a Plan B in case you're unlucky.

A private transfer will cost you about £120 for the car (makes it cheaper than two seats on RCI's transfer bus).

Earliest time you can expect to be quayside is shortly after 7am. Journey-time is very traffic-dependent, google puts it at just over 90 minutes, but at that time on a Friday you'll hit commuter traffic & I guess around 2 hours is more realistic. If time is critical, your private transfer operator is your best source for estimating journey time.

Try www.smithsforairports.com or www.westquaycars.com or www.aquacars.co.uk

All are based at the Southampton end, all - especially smiths - are frequently used by Cruise Critic members.

JB :)

we have used smithtotheairport.com a few times, excellent, reliable, would not go any other way. not cheapest but comfortable and very reliable, professional... it is up to you. You can book on line and pay in GBP on day of service.