Southampton Questions

Appreciate if some of the Southampton experts could give some help.

Leaving on the Celebrity Eclipse for a 14 day cruise early next month. Prior to the cruise will be renting a car out of LHR for a week and tour SW England. Looking forward to visit Bath, Stonehenge, the local cathedrals, etc.. Since the ship leaves on Sunday I have to return the car to the Southampton Airport. John Bull on early post several months ago suggested to me the cheapest way to the Cruise Terminal is the UNI Bus. Checked that out and that looks very good. Like going through the different neighborhoods of Southampton.

Questions?

If we get up early on that Sunday, ride down near the Cruise Terminal, drop my wife off with the bags, are any McDonalds, Starbucks or any of those types of establishments within walking distance of the Cruise Terminal for her to wait with the bags when I travel back to the airport and return the car?

Final question, since we will be getting into Southampton early the next day before the cruise, in case the Holiday Inn Exp I am staying at near the airport does not have a coin operated washer and dryer, any laundry-mats near the Southampton Airport?.

Thanks again, Banjo

Appreciate if some of the Southampton experts could give some help.

 

Leaving on the Celebrity Eclipse for a 14 day cruise early next month. Prior to the cruise will be renting a car out of LHR for a week and tour SW England. Looking forward to visit Bath, Stonehenge, the local cathedrals, etc.. Since the ship leaves on Sunday I have to return the car to the Southampton Airport. John Bull on early post several months ago suggested to me the cheapest way to the Cruise Terminal is the UNI Bus. Checked that out and that looks very good. Like going through the different neighborhoods of Southampton.

 

Questions?

 

If we get up early on that Sunday, ride down near the Cruise Terminal, drop my wife off with the bags, are any McDonalds, Starbucks or any of those types of establishments within walking distance of the Cruise Terminal for her to wait with the bags when I travel back to the airport and return the car?

 

Final question, since we will be getting into Southampton early the next day before the cruise, in case the Holiday Inn Exp I am staying at near the airport does not have a coin operated washer and dryer, any laundry-mats near the Southampton Airport?.

 

Thanks again, Banjo

We're in Southampton right now waiting to sail tomorrow, and we were also here in 2010. As far as I have seen there are no shops near the port; it's pretty much an industrial area. However, it is very near the downtown area where you could stop before getting to the port.

Coin op laundries are not common in Europe. I checked before the 2010 cruise, and all I could find was a laundry service that took 24 hrs. We walked all around the downtown area last evening, and we didn't see any laundries.

John Bull on early post several months ago suggested to me the cheapest way to the Cruise Terminal is the UNI Bus. Checked that out and that looks very good. Like going through the different neighborhoods of Southampton.

Personally I'd spend the extra £1.50 and get the train which can take only 7mins verses almost 45mins on the Uni-Link bus and get a taxi from the station direct to the terminal or City-Link bus to the same place Uni-Link go and walk from there.

If we get up early on that Sunday, ride down near the Cruise Terminal, drop my wife off with the bags, are any McDonalds, Starbucks or any of those types of establishments within walking distance of the Cruise Terminal for her to wait with the bags when I travel back to the airport and return the car?

West Quay Shopping Centre opens at 1100 on Sundays, lots of places to sit in there. There is a McDonalds in West Quay Retail Park, it is open 24hrs.

Final question, since we will be getting into Southampton early the next day before the cruise, in case the Holiday Inn Exp I am staying at near the airport does not have a coin operated washer and dryer, any laundry-mats near the Southampton Airport?.

Which Holiday Inn Express is it? Is it the one they describe as M27 Jct 7?

The word you are looking for in the UK is laundrette (or launderette). I'm pretty sure there is one in Swaythling on the junction of Stoneham Way and Stoneham Lane which is a 5min drive from the airport but I'm not 100% certain if it is still there. It's not that close to the Holiday Inn though (15min drive?)

Thanks Red Fox and Fritz.

Red Fox, the Holiday Inn Exp you described on M27, Jct 7 is the one we are staying at. I am probably going to take your suggestion, be less of a wait time for the wife :). I emailed the hotel to see if they have some self laundry facilities (which would make real easy), waiting for a response.

Again, appreciate the responses and Fritz, have a good cruise.

Not a Southampton expert, but...

There will be porters available to take luggage at the Cruise Terminal, so unless you have to return your rental car at the crack of dawn (before this service is available), your DW won't need to wait with the bags. They can be left and you can return later for the boarding check-in.

You might then have time to breakfast together, or if lucky enough to find a launderette open, do your wash before boarding the ship later in the day.

If not a prepaid reservation at the Holiday Inn, there may be a Southampton Hotel that does have washers/dryers available. I will speak from experience using machines in England and Scotland and on the continent that cycles abroad seem much lengthier than in the US.

PS- found this for you Banjo: http://www.atlantic.uk.net/branchlocations.htm. Or try this: http://www.yell.com/s/launderettes-southampton.html Looks like you have lots of options!

I am in a similar situation - returning the rented car on Sunday. I too thought I had to return the car at the airport until I found out that National has a location that is very close to downtown and is open on Sunday (walking distance from our Premier Inn)

Address: Unit J

West Quay Road

Southampton, SO15 1GZ

Phone: (44)03713845983

Fax: (02380)227443

Hours: Sun: 10:00 am - 04:00 pm

Mon-Fri: 08:00 am - 06:00 pm

Sat: 08:00 am - 04:00 pm

Just FYI.

Hello,

Just wondering about renting a car. We are on the Nautica in June 2015 and will be spending 3 days in London prior to the cruise. It is our first visit there. We were planning on taking the tube everywhere and not renting a car.

Have you been to London before? Are your venturing further out or is it just the most convenient way to get to Southampton? Thanks, Kathy

Not a Southampton expert, but...

 

There will be porters available to take luggage at the Cruise Terminal, so unless you have to return your rental car at the crack of dawn (before this service is available), your DW won't need to wait with the bags. They can be left and you can return later for the boarding check-in.

 

You might then have time to breakfast together, or if lucky enough to find a launderette open, do your wash before boarding the ship later in the day.

 

If not a prepaid reservation at the Holiday Inn, there may be a Southampton Hotel that does have washers/dryers available. I will speak from experience using machines in England and Scotland and on the continent that cycles abroad seem much lengthier than in the US.

 

PS- found this for you Banjo: http://www.atlantic.uk.net/branchlocations.htm. Or try this: http://www.yell.com/s/launderettes-southampton.html Looks like you have lots of options!

Thanks TLMALUM, your links are great.

I try to pre-pay for as much (rental car, hotels, theater tickets, etc...) as I can. Not having to face bills when returning home and sometimes you can get things a little cheaper and get a better exchange or no exchange appeals to me. The big negative is you are stuck.

We are arriving on a late 'red eye' from ATL to LHR so I probably won't be getting the car till around 2pm. So we won't have to hurry in Southampton the day we disembark on the cruise. Your idea of taking the bags to the cruise terminal and dropping them off is great idea. Will they take them between 10a-11a and be able to leave the terminal easily? First time leaving from the Port of Southampton. If so we will do just that and both of us take the UNI back from the airport to the Terminal. Heard that the UNI goes by University of Southampton and other unique neighbors so spending extra time seeing that fine with us.

On our return we will be in London a few days before returning home. For this I did get London Tourist Card with the Public Transportation option. We both been to London several times so we are familiar with London's excellent public transportation. Also have theater tickets for 2 plays in the West End. Should be a great trip.

Again thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Banjo

From what I recall from our check-in for the Eclipse at Southampton in 2010, the first thing we did was hand our pre-tagged luggage to the porters, then we went into the terminal for the paperwork, seapass cards, etc. We arrived via a private transfer from London before noon as I recall, but I am fairly certain that porters will be available sooner (maybe ask on the Celeb forum?).

Just because you relinquish your bags doesn't mean you have to continue with the check-in then. So it should work to come back later in the day so long as you are within the timeframe required by Celebrity.

We'll be in Southampton 8 months from today! We will be taking the train from Gatwick and spending the night at the Premier West Quay before boarding the Eclipse the next day! Can't wait!

Any tips you have after your experience, Banjo, would be very much appreciated!

From what I recall from our check-in for the Eclipse at Southampton in 2010, the first thing we did was hand our pre-tagged luggage to the porters, then we went into the terminal for the paperwork, seapass cards, etc. We arrived via a private transfer from London before noon as I recall, but I am fairly certain that porters will be available sooner (maybe ask on the Celeb forum?).

 

Just because you relinquish your bags doesn't mean you have to continue with the check-in then. So it should work to come back later in the day so long as you are within the timeframe required by Celebrity.

 

We'll be in Southampton 8 months from today! We will be taking the train from Gatwick and spending the night at the Premier West Quay before boarding the Eclipse the next day! Can't wait!

 

Any tips you have after your experience, Banjo, would be very much appreciated!

Thanks TMLAalum,

Unless the weather is totally dreadful that Sunday's embarking day, we are going to drive down to the Cruise Terminal around 10a, drop the bags and drive back to the airport with a stop at the service station to gas the car. Then just take the UNI back.

Except for Civitavecchia, where you have to take a shuttle with your bags to your ship's particular Terminal, most ports in Europe and US I been to operate that way.

I will be sure TLMAalum to let you know how it went around the end of October. The fun of travel is the adventure :p

Thanks TMLAalum,

drive back to the airport with a stop at the service station to gas the car.

Excellent plan - return the car less than full and they charge a premium plus price for the fuel. Note that in general, supermarkets have the cheapest fuel, which is a lot more expensive than you will be used to. (I am paying £1.29 a litre atm, which is nearly $8 per (US) gallon.

Hi TLMALUM,

We have a week till we leave and from your laundrette link found 2 laundry mats near the COSTCO. Hope COSTCO takes my US membership so I can get my cruise wine and maybe good place to gas-up the car.

Bob, you right about making sure the tank is full when you return. Both here in US and in Europe they charge you top prices if they have to put gas in the car after it is returned. Here in the States they have this neat trick of giving you car not totally full and they say bring it back at that amount. Some times really hard to estimate at the pump what you were given just prior to the return. Another thing about rental car companies is what they charge per day for a GPS. Two years ago in Spain I had to rent one and it came out to a significant amount. Our GPS's here in the States are only good for North America. So I found a small European GPS on Amazon for about $80. Worked great last year Italy. Plan to bring it with me on this trip. For the week I am renting the car it will have payed for itself.

Again, appreciate the help.

Banjo,

Enjoy your trip! Interesting that there is a Costco in Southampton- we won't have a rental car there, but if prices are right maybe a taxi ride won't break the bank.

Just got back from seeing the movie My Old Lady and now I want to add a brief return to Paris before our cruise!

Please come back and share your experiences! Bon Voyage!

Hi TMLAlum, thanks again, your help was great.

We arrived in Southampton from 4 days touring SW England the Friday before the Sunday cruise departure. Checked-in at the Holiday Inn Exp by the airport and went over to Winchester to check-out the cathedral. Parking was pretty easy and reasonably priced (unlike Oxford but that's another story) right by the cathedral. After that we ate at a pub called the Crown and Anchor. A short walk from the cathedral. It was very good, with good prices and an American bartender (from Massachusetts). The next day we went to Salisbury. Toured the cathedral. I have to say that the ladies that conduct the tours at both cathedrals do an outstanding job. Very personable and knowledgeable. Both tours included us and maybe 2 or 4 other folks.

After finishing with Salisbury around 1pm we had our wash and started back to Southampton. For some crazy reason none showed-up on my GPS. Looking for St James Laundrette we were driving past Oakley Street and by chance saw Soap Tree. Pulled in and did the wash. Then we drove over to COSTCO, which was only a mile or 2 away and picked up our cruise wine. The COSTCO was identical to the ones here in the States only was disappointed that it did not sell gas. Later that night I filled up for the turn in at a Sainsbury near our hotel out by the airport. That night we ate in an excellent quaint pub called Cowherds. Its in the Common off the A33. Made the mistake of ordering the 20 pound 3 course dinner. Included an appetizer (mine was like a small pizza which could have been a meal in itself), main course I had a steak and dessert, I had cheese cake. We could not move after all that :rolleyes:.

That night at the hotel I read on our Roll Call all these fairs and street markets being planned for Sunday morning around the port area. So I said to my wife, lets not risk it and splurge for a taxi from the airport to the port. So after we turned in the car we did the short walk over to the terminal. Here you go to a taxi desk inside the terminal. You tell them where you want to go and they give you a ticket with the price and a taxi number. It was 22.50 from airport to the cruise terminal. Talking to the cab driver about the fairs and markets downtown, he laughed and said its not very big and won't have any effect on our time getting to the cruise terminal. The streets at around 1030a were still deserted. At the cruise terminal the cab and cars stopped by the curb to allow the porters get the bags. It was very efficient and I asked the porter what was the earliest you can check your bags. The porter responded by saying he is here by 7am taking bags. So I could have done what I originally planned with driving down to the cruise terminal early, turn in the bags and then take the car back the airport. With taking the UNI back to the terminal I would saved 16 pounds. Next time :o.

The cruise on the Eclipse was outstanding. This was our 3rd European cruise with Celebrity. The previous 2 were in the Mediterranean and done a lot Caribbean cruises with Celebrity. This one was very different by being very British. Out of 2900 passengers, 2100 were from the UK. Only 100 Americans and maybe another 100 Canadians. We liked it a lot and both my wife and agreed to do another cruise out of Southampton again.The British were very pleasant and nice. When sitting down to eat at a large table with them, they were very friendly and engaging which we enjoyed. All the ones I met seemed to be very well traveled and been to the States many times. Said many times you seen more of it then I have. The cruise activities like the Life Enrichment and entertainment was British orientated. Also they take 'formal night' very serious. I felt kind of embarrassed with just a blue blazer. You will have a lot of fun on your cruise in 6 months.

Hi, Banjo.

Sorry, I was your side of the Pond during this thread - hate hand-held touch-screen tablets & couldn't join in.

But you seem to have done pretty well without my help.:)

Soap tree is a new business that I've not heard of.

I'll remember it for the fairly frequent posts asking about self-service laundromats (launderettes) in Southampton, though like the Fox's suggestion of Swaythling it's a bit far from the city centre. As TMLA's post, Atlantic Dry Cleaners have a couple of launderette locations in the centre.

Yep, rental GPS is a rip-off.

We bought a cheap one in Aus for a road trip there. Got it re-programmed for our US/Canada trip at even lower cost - net result we were guided around North America by an Aussie accent. :rolleyes:

He did pretty well though.

BTW, here's a free website of detailed maps you can download. Not as good as Googlemaps, but once downloaded you don't need an internet connection

http://www.mapme.com/

Your hotel was right by the Rose Bowl cricket ground - inconvenient for those who don't have a car but handy for the motorway system.

Sainsbury's is one of the supermarket chains that have put so many small gas stations out of business by selective aggressive pricing. That grieves me but yep, I buy gas at that same store.

By coincidence we dined at the Cowherds just yesterday evening - pie specials on a wednesday.:)

A small local chain with several interesting pub-restaurants, but their others are all out-of-town.

The city council puts on a few farmers' markets & produce fairs. The occasional French market is probably the best. They add a bit of colour but no, they don't exactly bring the traffic to a standstill ;)

Bag drop from 7am can be very useful, but isn't available for all cruise lines.

A taxi from Southampton airport rather than the Uni bus may have cost you an extra £16 - but it saved you from a long, slow & winding bus route. It's primarily for university students, there are uni sports fields & accommodation blocks near the airport.

Next time pre-book a private transfer for about £12 to £14.;)

Glad you enjoyed your visit.

JB :)

TMLA - yes, taking the train from Gatwick is your best bet. And Premier Inn West Quay is an excellent choice if you don't have a car.

Yep, rental GPS is a rip-off.

We bought a cheap one in Aus for a road trip there. Got it re-programmed for our US/Canada trip at even lower cost - net result we were guided around North America by an Aussie accent. :rolleyes:

He did pretty well though.

BTW, here's a free website of detailed maps you can download. Not as good as Googlemaps, but once downloaded you don't need an internet connection

http://www.mapme.com/

I'm a big fan of an app called "City Maps 2 Go"; which also allows you to pre-download maps, and no data required to use them.

Thanks JB.

If I had to do it again I agree, would have stayed at one the port hotels. It would just made things easier. But it was not major and was convenient for us getting out to Winchester and Salisbury.

A few years ago I did buy a European GPS. Had hard time finding one here in the States and ended up getting one on Amazon. I used it in Italy last year and this trip and for the most part its good. At home I use Google maps on my cell phone and that's excellent.

Well I hope you had a good of time in the States as we had in UK. The trip was great.

Take care, Banjo

A lot of laundrette do full service wash dry fold for not much more than the coin cost.

If you have time drop and pick up later saves sitting watching.

Glad you had a great trip to SW England and wonderful cruise. The excitement is building for us even more since I booked our Icelandair tix just yesterday (big sale = $250 savings pp for our itinerary!).

Just a little over 6 months til we depart!

Could someone tell me how much a taxi will cost from the Celebrity cruise terminal to the train staion, and how far is that?.....Joan.

Could someone tell me how much a taxi will cost from the Celebrity cruise terminal to the train staion, and how far is that?.....Joan.

£5 to £7 (£5 is the minimum fare).

5 to 10 mins, depending on traffic - it's less than a mile.

Tell the driver your end destination (London?) & he'll drop you on the easiest side of the station.

JB :)

thanks JB, and you got back so quickly!! can count on you .:D......Joan.

PS> were heading to portsmouth .