Best way to spend a day in Southampton?

Hello all,

We will be on our first cruise this August, departing from and returning to Southampton. The ship (Caribbean Princess) is scheduled to disembark on the morning of August 15th, and we have a flight from Southampton to Dublin late that afternoon (5:00p.m.). We are wondering what the best way to spend the day is? We are particularly concerned about our luggage. Should we make our way to the Southampton airport just after disembarking, and leave our luggage there before heading out for the day, or is there some more convenient place near the port to lave the luggage for a few hours?

What is the best way to get from the port to the airport? Should we just take a taxi, or is there some better way?

We would also appreciate any advice on what to see or do for the day.

Thanks in advance!

Hi DrMark, & welcome to Cruise Critic.

Southampton is a working port city, not a tourist destination. And your time-scale doesn't really allow you to take a train to visit the many beautiful places in the area.

But the city does have enough to interest you for the time that you have

- a walking tour around the old part of the city with sights such as the Tudor House & Gardens, the Medieval Merchant's House, and the (walkable in parts) city walls and Bargate. Plenty of pubs in the area - places like the Duke of Wellington in Bugle Street, the Wool House (aka the Dancing Man) on the waterfront at the bottom of Bugle Street, and the Red Lion in High Street.

The Bargate is where the old town meets the modern city, the main shopping street of Above Bar and the big West Quay Mall are the other side of the Bargate.

- or, particularly if it's a wet day, the Sea City museum at the Civic Centre (Havelock Road, near the other end of Above Bar) majors on Titanic. Few artefacts, but interesting & beautifully-presented dioramas & stories.

http://www.discoversouthampton.co.uk/visit

The big problem (ain't it always :rolleyes:) is your luggage.

There's a left-luggage counter at the airport (about 7 miles out of town) but the only way I know to leave luggage in the city is at the Grand Harbour Hotel in West Quay Road.

I've spoken to Mark, the concierge, and the way that's done is by booking the Cruise Lounge at £12.50 per person - a comfortable lounge with included luggage storage, tea & coffee etc. You can book, or ask about the arrangements, by e-mailing him at concierge@grandharbourhotel.co.uk

Your ship is scheduled to berth at Ocean Terminal (Cunard Road Southampton) which is at the bottom of old town, and the Grand Harbour Hotel is to the side of old town, near the West Quay Mall. So you'll need a short taxi hop (about £7) from the ship to the Grand Harbour Hotel, but old town sights are close to the hotel.

To then get to the airport, if you phone for a private-hire taxi from the hotel (I'm sure staff will help) it will be a little cheaper than the approx. £20 cost of simply hailing a taxi in the street. Journey time to the airport about 20 mins.

Alternatively you can walk from the Grand Harbour to Southampton central station in about 15 minutes and there are several Winchester-bound trains per hour that will whisk you to Southampton Airport/Parkway station in under 10 mins & cost under £4 per person. (but taking a taxi from the hotel to the station plus train fares will cost almost as much as a taxi all the way)

Perhaps a simpler alternative:

Because of your luggage and because the airport is half-way to the historic cathedral city of Winchester, you could spend your day there.

http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/

Pre-book a private hire car eg http://www.westquaycars.com or http://www.smithsforairports.com from your ship to the airport and deposit your luggage there (£6 per piece) http://www.southamptonairport.com/at-the-airport/services-facilities/

Then walk all of 99 yards to the airport rail station & buy cheap-day-return tickets to Winchester for £5.20 per person. Several trains per hour, journey time under ten minutes.

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

The train station is about a 10-15 minute walk from the cathedral & historic centre - I suggest you go via the Great Hall, the only surviving part of Winchester castle.

Southampton airport is a comfy & laid-back little one-terminal place, not the hectic maze typical of bigger airports. :)

Hope this helps

JB :)

I'm seriously considering a cruise that will briefly stop in Southampton. It's a HAL Canary Islands cruise, some passengers will embark in Southampton, others---like me---will embark the following day in Rotterdam. Then, the day before Rotterdam disembarkation, some passengers will disembark in Southampton. :rolleyes:

The schedule says we'll arrive Southampton at 7am and disembark at 11am. I know the primary purpose is for some passengers to disembark and HAL isn't even offering shore excursions that day. Since we're there for such a short while, I'm curious what we should prioritize to see. I still want to see as much as I can in these few short hours.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Hi Syesmar,

You mention disembarking at 11am - can you just clarify the hours?

If you can name the ship & day/date it would help too, cos I see HAL's Rotterdam in Southampton on a few dates this year, all en-route to the city of Rotterdam but all with different arrival & departure times

JB :)

JB,

Hi & thanks for your response. I meant to say "depart"! It is the Dec 3 sailing on the Rotterdam (Dec 2 for those boarding in Southampton).

Thanks!

JB,

Hi & thanks for your response. I meant to say "depart"! It is the Dec 3 sailing on the Rotterdam (Dec 2 for those boarding in Southampton).

 

Thanks!

Not good news for you.

Presumably an 11am departure will mean a back-on-board time of 10.30 at the latest.

Not only is that a short time, it's also the wrong time of day & the wrong time of year. You'd be wasting your time going ashore before sunrise, about 8am, so you'll have little more than a couple of anti-social hours.

I think you're going to have to content yourselves with a walk around Southampton's few old-town sights like the Tudor House, the Medieval Merchant's House, the Westgate Hall, the city walls and the Bargate.

But you're not going to be able to see inside, no visitor sights opens til 10am, and may be permanently closed at that time of year.

http://www.discoversouthampton.co.uk/uploads/media_items/old-town-walk-map.original.pdf

http://www.discoversouthampton.co.uk/visit

The old town is only a ten minute walk from either City Cruise Terminal (berth 101) or Ocean Cruise Terminal (46) but you'll need a short taxi hop (5 mins, £5 - £7) from either Mayflower Cruise Terminal (105/6), which is further along the quay, or from QE11 Terminal (38/9), which is deep in the docks. Taxis available at all terminals.

You can only get a flavour of Southampton, and you won't be seeing it at its best.

But a walk round old town will take only about an hour, and near the Bargate the shops of Above Bar and the big covered West Quay Mall open at 9am. There are several taxi ranks near the Bargate & West Quay Mall.

Unfortunately Rotterdam's port visit that day is not currently showing on the port website, http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/ so I don't know which terminal.

JB :)

Thank you very much, JB, for the response. It's very helpful and exactly what we needed to know! We'll make the best of our short visit.

Hi,

We disembarked this past Sunday from our wonderful Canary Islands Adventure and I wanted to report back on how our day in Southampton went.

We were at City Cruise Terminal, so it was a short walk to town. Each guest had to appear before immigration authorities and we got off the ship around 8am, just around sunrise. All Aboard was at 10:30am.

We walked the areas advised in the post above and also visited the Christmas Market (Above Bar). We really enjoyed our short time! I would love to visit Southampton again with more time.

Happy Travels!