Gatwick or Heathrow?

I'll be flying to London from NY next October for a cruise from Southampton and have heard so many

negative things about Heathrow. Will stay in London a few days pre-cruise.

Would I be better off flying into and out of Gatwick? TIA

Well...the first question would be if there are flights to the destination you wish to go to, and do they fit your schedule.

 

Was just at Heathrow a month ago. It is a big, busy airport. But that didn't cause us any grief.

Edited October 9, 2016 by CruiserBruce

Both airports are zoos, like big airports everywhere. Heathrow is a bigger zoo, but spread over 5 terminals instead of 2.

Differences in the journey time & cost to Southampton are minimal - Gatwick is marginally further.

Both offer direct flights from NYC.

 

I suggest that you choose based on your preferred airline, best value, flight times etc, & don't worry whether it goes to Gatwick or Heathrow.

For same-day flights avoid those scheduled to arrive after about 10.30am & those which head back to NYC before noon - and preferably widen those time windows by a couple more hours.

Or a couple more days ;)

 

JB :)

Both airports are zoos, like big airports everywhere. Heathrow is a bigger zoo, but spread over 5 terminals instead of 2.

Differences in the journey time & cost to Southampton are minimal - Gatwick is marginally further.

Both offer direct flights from NYC.

 

I suggest that you choose based on your preferred airline, best value, flight times etc, & don't worry whether it goes to Gatwick or Heathrow.

For same-day flights avoid those scheduled to arrive after about 10.30am & those which head back to NYC before noon - and preferably widen those time windows by a couple more hours.

Or a couple more days ;)

 

JB :)

 

I'm also sailing from Southampton next summer . I'm wondering what the travel time is from these airports to Southamptom?

 

thanks!

I'm also sailing from Southampton next summer . I'm wondering what the travel time is from these airports to Southamptom?

 

thanks!

 

Heathrow 75 to 90 minutes by private transfer (pre-booked around £90 the car), 2 hrs by direct Nat Express coach (around £18 per person), somewhere in-between by ship's coach ($ poor value). By train isn't too practical because it involves a "RailAir" coach shuttle between Heathrow & the nearest direct train station, total time same as Nat Express coach but twice the cost at around £40 pp. But trains are frequent & no need to pre-book, so a useful Plan B if other arrangements go belly-up.

 

Gatwick around 90 mins to 2hrs by private transfer (pre-booked around £115 the car), 2.5 hrs by direct Nat Express coach (around £18 pp), somewhere in-between by ship's coach ($ same poor value), 2 hrs by direct train (very variable fares, but work on about £20)

 

By road the journey time is variable depending on which day-of-the-week, time-of-day, national holidays & any hold-ups such as accidents or road closure.

By train or Nat Express coach add 5 to 10 minutes (£6 to £10) taxi ride to any cruise terminal.

 

For those travelling from central London rather than an airport, a different range of options, journey times & costs.

JB :)

Just a little add on...JB forgot our normal proviso. There is no direct train Gatwick to Southampton (or vice versa) on a Sunday. One of the wonderful quirks of our rail system!

 

Simon

Would I be better off flying into and out of Gatwick?

Only if you make sure that you don't read all the negative things about Gatwick, and you're prepared to limit your flying options to a minute fraction of those available if you're flying to Heathrow.

Thanks John Bull and Globaliser. Feeling a bit overwhelmed as I've never sailed from Southampton.

Some people find that flying via Dublin, direct to Southampton Airport is a viable option. Both are smaller and more friendly than the big London Airports.

Some people find that flying via Dublin, direct to Southampton Airport is a viable option. Both are smaller and more friendly than the big London Airports.

 

Thanks but I would prefer a non stop.

Thanks but I would prefer a non stop.

 

If you wanted to visit Dublin for a few days its a good option. If you fly into Dublin and then to Southampton usually its cheaper to buy your transatlantic ticket to Dublin and then Dublin to Southampton on Flybe separately, they run about 4 flights a day. Other options are Glasgow or Edinburgh, same thing buy the transatlantic then Flybe into Southampton, but you'd only do it if you had interest in visiting them. Otherwise its best to just fly nonstop into Heathrow or Gatwick. Southampton is a nice little airport though, I've flown out of there to Faro.

Thanks but I would prefer a non stop.

I think you may have misunderstood the point: you cannot travel from New York City to Southampton non-stop.

 

So you can either fly to a London airport and connect there to road or other surface transport to Southampton; or you can fly to Dublin and connect there to air transport to Southampton.

 

You have to remember that Southampton is not London. It's a different city which is broadly as far away from London as Philadelphia is from New York City. (And cruise lines continually lie about this.)

I personally don't find LHR as bad as many others do. Two things I really like about it is the direct access from T5 to the Piccadilly line. Not only is it far less expensive, but I also am not a fan of Black Cabs, which IMHO are extortionate in price for LHR. I also love the Sofitel there. :)

I think you may have misunderstood the point: you cannot travel from New York City to Southampton non-stop.

 

So you can either fly to a London airport and connect there to road or other surface transport to Southampton; or you can fly to Dublin and connect there to air transport to Southampton.

 

You have to remember that Southampton is not London. It's a different city which is broadly as far away from London as Philadelphia is from New York City. (And cruise lines continually lie about this.)

 

I am flying non stop to London a few days prior to our cruise. We will travel to Southampton the morning of the cruise.

I am flying non stop to London a few days prior to our cruise. We will travel to Southampton the morning of the cruise.

 

Ignore most of the previous comments then. There is little difference between the two airports for access to London. Choose the one that gives you the best deal.

Ignore most of the previous comments then. There is little difference between the two airports for access to London. Choose the one that gives you the best deal.

 

100% agree. For me the most important variables on this trip would be price, airline and convenience of timings.

Thanks but I would prefer a non stop.

 

You can also do Southampton via Paris.

 

You swap a 2hr car/bus/train trip for a 1hr20 flight + 10 min taxi.

 

no use if you actually want to do London.

Edited October 16, 2016 by insidecabin

You can also do Southampton via Paris.

 

You swap a 2hr car/bus/train trip for a 1hr20 flight + 10 min taxi.

 

no use if you actually want to do London.

 

Also Amsterdam, flight time is about the same as Paris.

I am flying non stop to London a few days prior to our cruise. We will travel to Southampton the morning of the cruise.

 

Here's a link to bucket-price train tickets London Waterloo to Southampton.

https://uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx

Trusted website, belongs to a consortium of travel operators (including South-West Trains, the operator of the Waterloo to Southampton route) to promote travel on under-utilised trains. Fare anywhere from £1 (not a typo) to £15, must be pre-booked, & you must travel on the train that you booked.

There are 2 to 3 trains per hours but Megatrain tickets are only available for about 6 to 8 trains per day (none on sundays). However there are 2 to 3 trains which suit a cruiser's schedule.

Can only be booked from about 6 weeks out, so for research enter a date (not a sunday) in 4 to 6 weeks time

Journey time about 90 minutes, trains are direct to Southampton central.

Full timetable at

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

but walk-up fares are around £40.

 

If you prefer bus travel, or your hotel is in Victoria, a pre-booked bus seat is £8 to £15.

Journey time about 2hrs 20, buses are direct to Southampton coach station.

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

 

JB :)

You can also do Southampton via Paris.

Also Amsterdam, flight time is about the same as Paris.

But as the OP needs to fly to London for the pre-cruise stay, the routings to Southampton don't make any sense for the same reason: there's no point flying to Southampton if you're really going to London.

But as the OP needs to fly to London for the pre-cruise stay, the routings to Southampton don't make any sense for the same reason: there's no point flying to Southampton if you're really going to London.

 

Never hurts to know all your options. The OP does not say whether they are committed to a pre-cruise stay in London or not. It also may be helpful to other readers. I think most people assume one must fly into a major London airport then travel to Southampton overland.

Never hurts to know all your options. The OP does not say whether they are committed to a pre-cruise stay in London or not. It also may be helpful to other readers. I think most people assume one must fly into a major London airport then travel to Southampton overland.

 

Thanks to all that responded. Yes, a visit to London pre cruise is a must.

 

I will weigh my options based upon cost of flight. Thanks all!

I can't answer the airport question as we stayed with a friend in London before going to the ship in Southampton. However, I can tell you that taking the train from London to Southampton (and then a bus or cab) wasn't bad. Of course, as has been noted, Southampton isn't right next to London, so it was not particularly quick. We DID enjoy the scenery and the comfortable seats.

 

Next year we'll need to get from Heathrow or Gatwick directly to Greenwich to board a ship. If the original poster doesn't mind me asking for it, I'd love to get any information the London helpers can give me on the issue of Gatwick versus Heathrow to Greenwich. I'll be making flight arrangements soon. The airline I've chosen (Icelandair, not the best, but OK, especially since we're stopping off in Reykjavik) has flights to both airports departing and arriving almost the same time. It costs more to go to Gatwick, but not so much more that I would automatically rule out Gatwick. We had a bad experience connecting in Heathrow but I'm hoping a simple flight in would be OK. What I'm struggling with is how to get from either airport with cruise-sized luggage on a Saturday in June, not spending a fortune, but not spending hours getting there either.

 

We'll be flying to London and getting to Greenwich on a Saturday, and the ship won't leave until the next evening, so those two things are (probably) helpful. Of course, I have no clue where a small cruise ship tenders in the Thames in Greenwich, but I'm assuming I would be taking a taxi there once I get to Greenwich.

Of course, I have no clue where a small cruise ship tenders in the Thames in Greenwich, but I'm assuming I would be taking a taxi there once I get to Greenwich.

To be honest, if you've got to Greenwich using public transport you might as well walk to the pier. If you think you need a taxi because of your luggage, then your best bet is probably just to use one of the "usual suspects" airport transfer services.

 

Normally, I think that the route from Gatwick would be to London Bridge by train, and then another train from London Bridge to Greenwich. However, this is messed up at the moment because of major works at London Bridge, and I don't know what the situation will be when you travel. An alternative would be to walk from London Bridge station to London Bridge City pier and get the Thames Clipper ferry to Greenwich pier, which may well be where your ship tenders from.

 

If you were going to do it from Heathrow, then Piccadilly Line to Barons Court, District Line to Tower Hill, DLR from Tower Gateway to (probably) Cutty Sark. It sounds more complicated than it is; both changes are step-free (at Tower Hill it's lift up, walk, lift up).

If you were going to do it from Heathrow, then Piccadilly Line to Barons Court, District Line to Tower Hill, DLR from Tower Gateway to (probably) Cutty Sark. It sounds more complicated than it is; both changes are step-free (at Tower Hill it's lift up, walk, lift up).

Sorry, too late to edit the post: There is one more change you need on the DLR, best done at Westferry. This is because DLR trains from Tower Gateway go to Beckton; you need to change to a Lewisham train to get to Cutty Sark. But it's a same-platform change.

 

An alternative that's occurred to me: get off the District Line at Westminster, change (via lifts) to the Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf, then DLR from Heron Quay to Cutty Sark. At Canary Wharf, the change should be similar to the Tower Hill / Tower Gateway change.