Southampton port to Waterloo by train

So my son the Jason Bourne fanatic thinks it would be cool to ride the train from Southampton to Waterloo station after disembarking our cruise this July. I see that it would involve a quick taxi ride from the cruise port to the Southampton train station, and then I assume we can buy train tickets there for the trip to Waterloo. It looks like there are trains running to Waterloo from there every half hour on our disembarkation date, which is a Saturday. Has anyone done this train journey recently? Would appreciate any info.

We did this 3 weeks ago. The most arduous part of the journey ended up being the taxi - we had a 1-hour wait in line! For some reason, traffic into the port area was badly backed up (our taxi driver commented on how unusual this was), and so taxis were having a hard time getting in to pick up fares. I think there was some sort of road construction which may have contributed to this, so I don't think this is a regular occurrence, rather an exception.

But as we didn't have a set schedule, we didn't mind. Once we got a taxi everything was quite efficient - 10-minute ride to the station, which is quite small and easy to navigate, then purchased our tickets from the machine, the hopped on the next train. Not too crowded, so no problems finding a seat and spots for our luggage (there are racks overhead and near the doors). There was also a refreshments trolley that came thru from which you could purchase something to eat or drink, a nice touch. All in all, a very civilized trip.

Thank you so much Twickenham! This is very helpful. Hopefully your taxi wait delay was a fluke.

Just as an aside, if you are on RCI, Celebrity or NCL you will almost certainly use City Cruise terminal which is an easy 10 minute walk with rolling luggage to the station. This would obviate the taxi dilemma.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Herbert+Walker+Ave&daddr=Unknown+road&hl=en&ll=50.904007,-1.414726&spn=0.008065,0.018861&sll=50.904318,-1.414726&sspn=0.008065,0.018861&geocode=FWeuCAMdgmvq_w%3BFfbHCAMd1Wzq_w&t=h&dirflg=w&mra=me&mrsp=1&sz=16&z=16

Simon

It looks like there are trains running to Waterloo from there every half hour on our disembarkation date, which is a Saturday.

I don't know what you're thinking of doing after you arrive in London, but if your son really wants to see all the bits of the station and the surrounding area that featured in the movie, it might be worth your while either taking your luggage to your hotel and coming back to explore the station and the surrounding area in more depth, or leaving it at the left luggage facility at Waterloo while you explore. You probably know that the movie included shots in a number of staircases that lead to and from the station that would be a pain to be looking at if you were still dragging your luggage around.

It wouldn't necessarily be a waste of time to go to your hotel and then come back, because (as you probably know) Waterloo station is pretty much next door to the London Eye and County Hall, and only a few minutes walk across the river either to the Houses of Parliament (over Westminster Bridge) or Covent Garden (over the Hungerford footbridges or Waterloo Bridge).

Thanks for more great info! Globaliser, that's exactly what I was thinking about my son exploring Waterloo Station - I would book our overnight at the London Marriott County Hall next to it. And sddsddean, we are a Princess cruise, so I don't know if we will dock within walking distance to the train station or not. That would indeed be a plus.

And sddsddean, we are a Princess cruise, so I don't know if we will dock within walking distance to the train station or not. That would indeed be a plus.

No. You'll probably be berthed at Ocean Terminal, alternatively Mayflower. Neither is ideal for walking, especially with luggage. But there should be plenty of taxis & the fare will be no more than £10.

Tell the driver you're London-bound & he'll drop you on the correct side of the station, a very short level walk to your platform.

There have been long-term road works to improve the road past the access to Ocean Terminal & QE11, and from time to time they've caused the sort of grief that Twickenham mentioned for Ocean & QE2 terminals. They should be completed by April. :)

Doesn't affect Mayflower terminal

Check here for your terminal (and, if it's Ocean, whether there's a ship in at QE11 terminal) http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

JB :)

Thank you John Bull! Very helpful information! :-)

Unfortunately for the experience, Eurostar no longer terminates at waterloo, as they refurbished the magnificent St Pancras station for it.

If you don't mind the walk, it's really not that far to Southampton Central. For cheap tickets, you can visit MEGABUS.COM who sell cheap tickets (about 6 weeks out) on the slightly less fast routes into london, typically 5-10GBP vs the normal walk up fare which is about 20.

If you don't mind the walk, it's really not that far to Southampton Central. For cheap tickets, you can visit MEGABUS.COM who sell cheap tickets (about 6 weeks out) on the slightly less fast routes into london, typically 5-10GBP vs the normal walk up fare which is about 20.

Except, Scottbee, that Megatrain tickets Southampton-to-London are only for trains after 1pm.

The object of Megatrain tickets is to encourage folk to use under-subscribed trains - and there's no need to do that in the mornings, because under-subscribed morning trains are in the London-to-Southampton direction. The hourly service to London Victoria goes "the pretty way" & takes 2.5hrs, compared to around 90 minutes to London Waterloo.

A standard walk-up ticket to London Waterloo costs around £37.

Walking to Southampton central station from Mayflower terminal takes about 25 mins, most of it in the docks. From Ocean terminal it's about 30 minutes.

Both routes are on level ground, both seem to take an hour when its raining. ;)

JB :)

If you don't mind the walk, it's really not that far to Southampton Central. For cheap tickets, you can visit MEGABUS.COM who sell cheap tickets (about 6 weeks out) on the slightly less fast routes into london, typically 5-10GBP vs the normal walk up fare which is about 20.

Just to confirm here -- this is a bus (coach) company selling tickets for rail? So if we are traveling on a weekday morning from London to Southampton, is it an option for us to book rail tix via Megabus? (I'm in the USA.)

Thanks!

Just to confirm here -- this is a bus (coach) company selling tickets for rail? So if we are traveling on a weekday morning from London to Southampton, is it an option for us to book rail tix via Megabus? (I'm in the USA.)

 

Thanks!

Yes. Megabus/Megatrain (don't worry about the precise title) is a bucket-ticket agency set up by a consortium of transport operators to fill empty seats on their own buses & on seriously under-subscribed trains.

There's no Megabus route between London & Southampton, your bucket-price tickets are for the train.

Morning trains from Southampton to London are never under-subscribed, hence the first which can be booked via Megatrain is 1pm.

But in the London to Southampton direction the first available train for Megatrain tickets is at 5.30am & costs just £1. If that's a little too early for you, trains at 7.39, 9.39, 11.39 will all work comfortably with a cruise departing Southampton same-day. On a random date they cost between £1 and £9 (walk-up fare about £38).

There are no Megatrain tickets for travel on sundays.

The limitations:

Must be pre-booked. Available from about 7 weeks out, and prices usually increase closer to the date but still good value.

You must book for a specific train - tickets cannot be cancelled or amended. So if you miss that train your ticket is wasted, though you can just buy full-price walk-up tickets for the next train - train frequency at full price is about 2 or 3 per hour.

There's a 50 pence booking charge.

Theoretically you sit in carriages set aside for Megatrain tickets. But these are identical carriages to the rest of the train, and staff often forget to put Megatrain labels on the windows.

Frankly, even if you're unsure of your travel plans it's worth risking £1 per person even if you end up travelling by some other means.

http://uk.megabus.com/

JB :)

Yes. Megabus/Megatrain (don't worry about the precise title) is a bucket-ticket agency set up by a consortium of transport operators to fill empty seats on their own buses & on seriously under-subscribed trains.

There's no Megabus route between London & Southampton, your bucket-price tickets are for the train.

Morning trains from Southampton to London are never under-subscribed, hence the first which can be booked via Megatrain is 1pm.

But in the London to Southampton direction the first available train for Megatrain tickets is at 5.30am & costs just £1. If that's a little too early for you, trains at 7.39, 9.39, 11.39 will all work comfortably with a cruise departing Southampton same-day. On a random date they cost between £1 and £9 (walk-up fare about £38).

There are no Megatrain tickets for travel on sundays.

 

 

The limitations:

Must be pre-booked. Available from about 7 weeks out, and prices usually increase closer to the date but still good value.

You must book for a specific train - tickets cannot be cancelled or amended. So if you miss that train your ticket is wasted, though you can just buy full-price walk-up tickets for the next train - train frequency at full price is about 2 or 3 per hour.

There's a 50 pence booking charge.

Theoretically you sit in carriages set aside for Megatrain tickets. But these are identical carriages to the rest of the train, and staff often forget to put Megatrain labels on the windows.

Frankly, even if you're unsure of your travel plans it's worth risking £1 per person even if you end up travelling by some other means.

 

http://uk.megabus.com/

 

JB :)

Thanks JB, the info you and others provide on here is invaluable.

Actually, we'll be arriving in London from Paris via the Eurostar on a Monday morning (in October) and immediately heading over to Waterloo Station to catch a train to Southampton. Our ship doesn't leave until the next day, so we are okay not cutting things too closely with the Eurostar arrival.

Thanks to all the info I've already learned on here, I know to book the Eurostar as soon as the seats open up (about 6 months from the date of travel), which will be too soon to book a ticket all the way through to Southampton. I do know about contacting Eurostar's domestic travel folks when the London-SOU seats become available, but it sounds like getting a ticket via Megatrain might be even easier, as it can be done on line, whereas I'd have to call the UK to add my London to SOU ticket to my Eurostar booking.

So does it make sense then just to get the London-SOU tickets through Megatrain?

Thanks for any advice!

Thanks JB, the info you and others provide on here is invaluable.

 

So does it make sense then just to get the London-SOU tickets through Megatrain?

 

Thanks for any advice!

I don't know the cost of adding WAT to SOU to your Eurostar tickets, and Megatrain ticket prices are fluid, so I can't comment on value between the options.

But do bear in mind that

- a Paris to SOU through ticket will likely include a tube pass for St Pancras to WAT. But not the easiest tube journey with luggage, so even tho the tube may be "free" for you, you may still want to cross between London stations by taxi.

- as said, there are 2 to 3 regular WAT to SOU trains per hour. I don't know whether the Paris to SOU ticket commits you to a specific train - I'd have thought not, since if a Eurostar arrives late passengers will miss a specified onward train & that'd be a frequent source of friction between operator & passenger. So you're likely to have full flexibility for any WAT to SOU train. But a Megabus/Megatrain ticket is for a specified train - a problem if you miss it, and a bit of a bind if you're super-early for it.

Your money, your choice ;)

JB :)

I don't know the cost of adding WAT to SOU to your Eurostar tickets, and Megatrain ticket prices are fluid, so I can't comment on value between the options.

 

But do bear in mind that

 

- a Paris to SOU through ticket will likely include a tube pass for St Pancras to WAT. But not the easiest tube journey with luggage, so even tho the tube may be "free" for you, you may still want to cross between London stations by taxi.

 

- as said, there are 2 to 3 regular WAT to SOU trains per hour. I don't know whether the Paris to SOU ticket commits you to a specific train - I'd have thought not, since if a Eurostar arrives late passengers will miss a specified onward train & that'd be a frequent source of friction between operator & passenger. So you're likely to have full flexibility for any WAT to SOU train. But a Megabus/Megatrain ticket is for a specified train - a problem if you miss it, and a bit of a bind if you're super-early for it.

 

Your money, your choice ;)

 

JB :)

Thanks again, JB. We will be taking a taxi between St. Pancras and WAT (not schlepping luggage around the tube :) ). The Paris-SOU ticket via Eurostar is for a specific WAT to SOU train, BUT if you miss it because the Eurostar is late, they pay for the next train. (Nice deal.) That would be my preference, except for the hassle I outlined above: you can't add the WAT to SOU part of the trip without what for me would be an international phone call, and without knowing how long I'd be waiting on hold on the phone.

So Megatrain may be a good option. I can't easily tell from their web site, but do you print their tickets at home or pick them up at the station?

One other question since it's come up: on a Monday morning, say anywhere between 9am and 11am, how much time should I leave for the taxi between St. Pancras and WAT? I know it's not that far, but I do know about London traffic. :)

Thanks again!

Thanks again, JB. We will be taking a taxi between St. Pancras and WAT (not schlepping luggage around the tube :) ). The Paris-SOU ticket via Eurostar is for a specific WAT to SOU train, BUT if you miss it because the Eurostar is late, they pay for the next train. (Nice deal.) That would be my preference, except for the hassle I outlined above: you can't add the WAT to SOU part of the trip without what for me would be an international phone call, and without knowing how long I'd be waiting on hold on the phone.

 

So Megatrain may be a good option. I can't easily tell from their web site, but do you print their tickets at home or pick them up at the station?

 

One other question since it's come up: on a Monday morning, say anywhere between 9am and 11am, how much time should I leave for the taxi between St. Pancras and WAT? I know it's not that far, but I do know about London traffic. :)

 

Thanks again!

"The Smoke" (London) isn't my specialised subject, but googlemaps says 10 mins for the 3 miles. And in my experience, most of the route (Kingsway) has always been generally free from massive jams. Give yourself a minimum 20 mins for the drive, add the logistics at each end & at least a small allowance for a late train, & I guess you should allow at least an hour between timetables. You'll only miss that train if Eurostar is significantly late, in which case not your problem.

I've never actually travelled on a Megatrain ticket (as per the travel limitations above, it doesn't work out for folk who live at my end of the line) but I believe you print off an e-mailed numbered voucher to exchange at the station.

JB :)

........googlemaps says 10 mins for the 3 miles. And in my experience, most of the route (Kingsway) has always been generally free from massive jams.

 

JB :)

Just to prove me wrong, Kingsway screwed-up this-afternoon by a bus which lost its roof to an overhanging tree. :rolleyes:

I guess the bus will now be heading for the open-top ho-ho tour business. :D

And the driver heading for a desk-job. :rolleyes:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31097083

JB :)

Thanks again, JB!

And wow, what a horrible accident. Thank goodness no fatalities!

Turtles06 -

Forgive me if we have already had this conversation, but I know there is a special telephone number for Eurostar when calling from abroad. I have used this myself and it costs the equivalent of a local call.

This gets you to the main switchboard and then they put you through to DomesticTravel.

However, what I don't know is whether this number is just for calling from within Europe.

Might be worth investigating?

Turtles06 -

 

Forgive me if we have already had this conversation, but I know there is a special telephone number for Eurostar when calling from abroad. I have used this myself and it costs the equivalent of a local call.

 

This gets you to the main switchboard and then they put you through to DomesticTravel.

 

However, what I don't know is whether this number is just for calling from within Europe.

 

Might be worth investigating?

We have. :) They told me it's a UK number (international call). I've written again to ask specifically about this. We'll see what they say.

Thanks!

Has anyone heard or tried this service. Looking at them from Southampton to London.

Has anyone heard or tried this service. Looking at them from Southampton to London.

Sorry, what service are you referring to?

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Turtles, there is no waiting on the line when you call the Eurostar UK train link line because you have Bob's direct number. However, he is super friendly so does chat a bit.

I can see why Skype isn't an option for you because the minimum amount to start an account to ring landlines is $16.

Maybe you can email Bob and ask if he has a Skype account on his computer. If you talk from computer to computer (or mobile with data) Skype is free and no need to ever put money on hold. I have never used money for Skype.

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Sorry, what service are you referring to?

 

 

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