London to Southampton

We will be staying at the Park Lane Sheraton and want to leave early Saturday to go to Southhampton either by train or car. How long is the trip and has anyone gone by train? I read several reviews for transportation from the airport but what about from the city?

There are dozens of threads here on this topic. They are best answered by the London residents, but as a Yank I will take a general go at it.

 

We took the Megatrain (which is a special discounted car on the South West Railroad trains) in November 2007 for a Monday morning trip to Southampton. The fares go on sale about 45 days prior to the train leaving, and the fares are unbelieveably cheap. I know I paid like 5 pounds for two fares. The train left from Waterloo station. It stopped probably 10 times in the approximately 2 hours to go to Southampton Central. The car was clean comfortable and pleasant.

 

I am sure you could just show up at the train station and buy a ticket, but the price will be higher.

 

You can, also, take a bus from Victoria Station called the National Express Coaches. Fares are fairly reasonable.

 

I am sure that there are other options if you search thru this forum.

 

jc

We took the train from London Waterloo station to southampton this past May. It took about 2 hours normally but we ran into some delays. We took the 10:45 AM train, and I thought it was too early, but I was glad we took it. As I recall, there was one about every hour or so. Just go on the Southwest train website and see the schedule.

 

I've heard of Megatrain, but couldn't find any reference to it when we were looking.

 

We bought our tickets the day before (our hotel was close to Waterloo) and had reserved seats. We were glad we did as the train was standing room only by the time we were out of the general London area. I think this was an unusual situation because of some football matches scheduled. Generally, I understand this train runs well with no overcrowding.

 

Taxis weren't exactly lined up in droves when we got to southampton, but we didn't have to wait to long. It was about 10 minutes from the station to the ship.

 

There is no checked baggage that we could see but we were able to get our stuff on our car, either over our head or in the baggage area in the car.

We took the train from London Waterloo station to southampton this past May. It took about 2 hours normally but we ran into some delays. We took the 10:45 AM train, and I thought it was too early, but I was glad we took it. As I recall, there was one about every hour or so. Just go on the Southwest train website and see the schedule.

 

I've heard of Megatrain, but couldn't find any reference to it when we were looking.

 

We bought our tickets the day before (our hotel was close to Waterloo) and had reserved seats. We were glad we did as the train was standing room only by the time we were out of the general London area. I think this was an unusual situation because of some football matches scheduled. Generally, I understand this train runs well with no overcrowding.

 

Taxis weren't exactly lined up in droves when we got to southampton, but we didn't have to wait to long. It was about 10 minutes from the station to the ship.

 

There is no checked baggage that we could see but we were able to get our stuff on our car, either over our head or in the baggage area in the car.

 

The Megatrain, is just another car on the train. You have to go to the megatrain or megabus site to book those fares. I imagine if there were football matches that the megatrain would not be offered on a particular day or if they did they would not be discounted. Our car was exactly like the other cars except for a small placard in the window that said Megatrain. On our car, we left London with 4 people in it. By the time we reached the Southampton Central there were probably a dozen. I think the purpose of the megatrain is to make a few bucks when the trains are not busy. The fares start practically free and as they sell seats the price rises quickly.

 

jc

If you are in Park Lane you are actually closer to Victoria than Waterloo. There is a train that runs every hour from Vic to Southampton Central, but it is a stopping train and takes about 2 1/2 hours. If you go to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ and plug all the details in, after it gives you the various trains there is a button for 'fares'. When this page comes up, there is another one for 'lowest fare'. Quite often you will be able to get the fare for around £3. Be aware that you cannot order tickets from this 12 weeks ahead, but as jc says you can always buy tickets on the day for the advertised price. If you wanted to go by coach, there is a coach every hour from Victoria Coach station (just down the road from the train station) to Southampton coach station which takes about 2hr 40mins for £15. A taxi in Soton to the ship from either rail or coach station will be about £6.

 

Simon

 

PS In regard to trains, you call them 'cars' in the US, we call them 'carriages'. :D

I'd recommend using the South West Trains service from London Waterloo to Southampton Central rather than the Southern service from London Victoria. The SWT service usually takes around 1 hour 20mins, Southern take around 2 hours 30mins and I believe the train splits en-route so you need to make sure your in the right part of the train for Southampton. National Rail Enquiries will give you info on both services.

 

Megatrain offers low fares on off-peak South West Trains services when booked in advance.

 

Keep clear of rush hour trains as you will be very unlikely to get a seat, standing room only.

As I recall, there was one about every hour or so. Just go on the Southwest train website and see the schedule.

If you are in Park Lane you are actually closer to Victoria than Waterloo. There is a train that runs every hour from Vic to Southampton Central, but it is a stopping train and takes about 2 1/2 hours.

Even though the OP is starting from Park Lane, I would still highly recommend going to Waterloo. Not only are the trains faster, but there are more of them. There are usually two fast trains and one slower train every hour from Waterloo, and the slower train is still much faster than the train from Victoria to Southampton.

 

I know that some people are real fans of Megatrain because the tickets are so cheap. But it doesn't cost that much more to buy a normal ticket. And you have enormous flexibility travelling on a normal ticket, because they are all walk-up fares.

 

If you buy a Megatrain ticket, you are tied to using the train that you've booked on, and I think they are use-it-or-lose-it tickets.

 

However, for a commuter route like London to Southampton, one of the joys of planning to use a normal ticket is that you can just check out of your hotel when you feel like it, get over to Waterloo in however long it happens to take that day, buy a ticket when you get to the station, and then jump on the next train - even if you are going to confine yourself to the fast trains, your average waiting time for the next one is only 15 minutes.

 

We'll all have different priorities, but being able to run to my own schedule rather than Megatrain's schedule is worth £10 each way to me!

There is no checked baggage that we could see ...

This is correct. And baggage storage sometimes requires a bit of improvisation. But there will seldom be any problem.

Keep clear of rush hour trains as you will be very unlikely to get a seat, standing room only.

Just to clarify: This is true but only in the direction in which the peak hour traffic is going. For central London, that is into the city in the morning, and away from the city in the evening (as one would expect). In the opposite direction, there will be no difficulty in getting a seat or luggage space.

Thank you for all of the information. I'll look into everythiing. We will be traveling with another couple. Do you think it pays to look into a driver taking us there? Does anyone have any idea what it would cost?

There's only 2 of us, and we're paying to have someone pick us up at Heathrow and take us to Southampton. We don't want to have to deal with hauling suitcases to train/bus stations, etc. We'll willing to pay to not have to deal with that. There are several companies - just do a google search. So far I have gotten estimates from 3 companies - cheapest was bookings@smithsforairports.com - 100 pounds. If there are 4 of you, you can probably get a minivan and split between 4, it will be much less.

 

On our last cruise out of Southampton, there were 6 of us, and we arranged private transportation to pick us up after the cruise in Southampton, take us to Winchester, where we spent several hours and the driver waited on us, and then took us to Heathrow.

I misquoted the Smith quote for private pickup from Heathrow to Southampton - it's 77 pounds or $106 for 2 people. That's the best quote we've found and we'll probably be booking with them - bookings@smithsforairports.com

Even though the OP is starting from Park Lane, I would still highly recommend going to Waterloo. Not only are the trains faster, but there are more of them. There are usually two fast trains and one slower train every hour from Waterloo, and the slower train is still much faster than the train from Victoria to Southampton.

 

I know that some people are real fans of Megatrain because the tickets are so cheap. But it doesn't cost that much more to buy a normal ticket. And you have enormous flexibility travelling on a normal ticket, because they are all walk-up fares.

 

If you buy a Megatrain ticket, you are tied to using the train that you've booked on, and I think they are use-it-or-lose-it tickets.

 

However, for a commuter route like London to Southampton, one of the joys of planning to use a normal ticket is that you can just check out of your hotel when you feel like it, get over to Waterloo in however long it happens to take that day, buy a ticket when you get to the station, and then jump on the next train - even if you are going to confine yourself to the fast trains, your average waiting time for the next one is only 15 minutes.

 

We'll all have different priorities, but being able to run to my own schedule rather than Megatrain's schedule is worth £10 each way to me!This is correct. And baggage storage sometimes requires a bit of improvisation. But there will seldom be any problem.

 

I only like megatrain because it is cheap like me! :D I have been looking at the National Rail website, and they show really cheap fares too. The frustrating thing for us Yanks is that you can't seem to book train tickets very far out in advance, and most of us (definitely me) would like to lock in a good deal so that we can concentrate on what we want to do and not so much on how to get between points on a map.

 

jc

I misquoted the Smith quote for private pickup from Heathrow to Southampton - it's 77 pounds or $106 for 2 people. That's the best quote we've found and we'll probably be booking with them - bookings@smithsforairports.com

 

The hourly coach service from London Heathrow to Southampton coach station is pretty cheap (10 gbp iirc).

Would like to know if there are any inexpensive hotels to stay in London before the cruise? At least two nights? I've read the train takes around 2 hours to Southhampton Port. I am new on all this, first time europe..any advise anyone can give me... hotels, train fares, we will be carrying luggage... does the train have room for that? Places to eat in London? Also any sites to see in Southhampton? Thanks :D

Is anyone else taking this cruise?:)

Is anyone else taking this cruise?:)

 

There is a section of Cruise Critic that has something called Roll-Calls, or in the case of Royal Caribbean they call them meet and mingles. So, you can check there to meet up with people on your sailing. This is very helpful for planning and helping you to enjoy the time until your sailing.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=457

 

Just look for your sailing date.

 

jc

I have been looking at the National Rail website, and they show really cheap fares too. The frustrating thing for us Yanks is that you can't seem to book train tickets very far out in advance, and most of us (definitely me) would like to lock in a good deal so that we can concentrate on what we want to do and not so much on how to get between points on a map.

For other routes, this may be more important. But for London-Southampton, which is probably the route most asked about on this forum, things are different.

 

Other than via Megatrain, there are no cheap advance purchase fares on this route, so you're missing out on nothing by just buying a ticket as you arrive at the station (and you can get them really quickly from the machines then).

 

And while adhering to a train timetable may be more important on other routes on which trains are less frequent, there are so many trains to Southampton that the flexibility of a walk-up ticket really comes into its own here.

Other than via Megatrain, there are no cheap advance purchase fares on this route, so you're missing out on nothing by just buying a ticket as you arrive at the station (and you can get them really quickly from the machines then).

 

Southern trains are offering advance purchase London (Victoria) - Southampton one way fares for 5 GBP one way where you have to purchase at least the day before travel, according to 'The Trainline' ticketing site.

A lot slower than the Waterloo - Southampton route and frequencies are only hourly but a lot of people I guess will take the money saved gladly.

A lot slower than the Waterloo - Southampton route and frequencies are only hourly but a lot of people I guess will take the money saved gladly.

True. But at £5, you might as well see what you can get out of Megatrain. Not for me, thanks!

True. But at £5, you might as well see what you can get out of Megatrain. Not for me, thanks!

 

I guess the key difference for most travellers from outside the UK is that the Southern advance ticket of £5 can be bought from a ticket office with any credit card. The ticket can also be pre-ordered on web sites like 'The Trainline' and picked up from the machines at Gatwick and London's main railway stations.

Frequencies are also much better than equivalent cost Megatrain tickets options.

 

Unless things have changed very recently, Megatrain tickets can only be purchased on the web and the web site doesn't take credit cards issued outside the UK.

I guess the key difference for most travellers from outside the UK is that the Southern advance ticket of £5 can be bought from a ticket office with any credit card. The ticket can also be pre-ordered on web sites like 'The Trainline' and picked up from the machines at Gatwick and London's main railway stations.

Frequencies are also much better than equivalent cost Megatrain tickets options.

 

Unless things have changed very recently, Megatrain tickets can only be purchased on the web and the web site doesn't take credit cards issued outside the UK.

 

Megatrain certainly didn't take my credit cards in late 2007. Although someone on one of these never ending threads said it did take their US issued credit card this year. So maybe now it is working for outside the UK. I cruised and travelled on the Megatrain with a London CC member for my cruise in November 07, and she said she wasn't able to book on Megatrain while she was in Fort Lauderdale with an UK credit card, and had to have her brother in London book the tickets for her. That was again in 2007.

 

As far as Megatrain being inconvenient as oppossed to just buying a ticket at the station when you show up... Well for a cruise for a person from the USA it is not much different from finding the cruiseline coach for transport to the pier, when you fly in the day of the cruise. I have done this in Genoa Italy, when the flights came into Milan. I remember getting my luggage, looking for someone with a Celebrity cruiseline placard, following them around, standing around waiting, when the person gathered their flock of 20 US tourists, they took us after about an hour of standing around waiting to the bus lot, where we loaded on to buses which sat there until the bus was fully loaded at least another 45 minutes and then we took a 2 hour bus ride to Genoa where we stopped at an Autostrada gas/deli where we were able to trundle off to buy a pastry and use the loo and then got to wait another 30 minutes for everyone to get back on all of the coach. So, for me, on my last trip out of London, I sat in my Marriott Marble Arch Hotel room watching television drinking Starbucks coffee and eating Starbucks muffins until about 10am then we caught the tube over to Waterloo, and sat at the train station for about 30 minutes before we boarded the 11:14am Megatrain that cost less than 10 pound for the wife and I. The carriage had almost no one in it. The carriage was exactly the same as the other carriages on the train except for the tiny Megatrain placard. After about 3 stops someone came and took my internet email from megatrain with no questions asked and no close scrutiny of the piece of paper I offered them. In other words, it may not be the classiest way to get to Southampton, but as someone who has truly experienced cruiseline cattle calls it was quite blissful. I far prefer at train to a coach because of the freedom to move around. I would not hesitate to take the megatrain again.

 

Again, my big issue is that there is no easy way to lock in a great deal way in the future so that I can focus not on getting between points of a map, but on the more important cultural experiences.

 

jc

Thanks for the info.. I think with all this train info and luggage.. will try to find a place to stay in Southhampton and just train to site seeing in London. We have friends in Grimsby.. how far this that in miles?

... will try to find a place to stay in Southhampton and just train to site seeing in London. We have friends in Grimsby.. how far this that in miles?

You might want to bear in mind that the correct spelling is "Southampton". This may come in useful if you're internet searching.

 

Quick answer re Grimsby: it's more like the other end of the country - about 250 miles.