Feedback needed on our proposed plan for our cruise out of Southampton

Hello all,

We are a couple in our 40's going a a cruise out of Southampton in October. It will be our first time in London so this is what we are thinking and would appreciate feedback or suggestions from those in the know.

Flight arrives in London Heathrow in the morning day before cruise. Planning to take some kind of ground transportation/tour combo from airport to Southampton. Looking at staying at the Grand Harbour Hotel for one night pre-cruise and dinner in a local pub..

Upon return from the cruise plan to take another ground transportation/tour combo with a stop at Stonehenge and any other sites along the way. Planning to stay 3 nights in London at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. Is this a good location to plan sightseeing from? We want to do as many of the major attractions as we can (knowing we cannot do it all) . We are comfortable with walking, taking subways/trains/boats, hired drivers, etc.

What are we missing? What is your "must do" for a first time visitor in London? Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Carmen

Post-cruise

Your plans post-cruise are fine. :)

Yes, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge is a good location for sight-seeing - close to the London Eye & river cruise pier, the biggest cluster of sights (Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall ) is just across the bridge with more sights off Whitehall including Churchill's war rooms, 10 Downing Street, Horse Guards Parade & Trafalgar Square. And the riverside walk with plenty of eateries & watering holes between Westminster Bridge and Shakespeare's Globe /Tate Modern, ideal for an evening stroll. All these places are walkable from Park Plaza Westminster Bridge

Nowhere is convenient for all of London's sights, but it's close to a tube (metro) station and the major ho-ho route (use the ho-ho for an over-view - but for transportation from A to B the tube is much quicker).

I doubt you'd find a more convenient location for the money.

The International Friends' coach tour/transfer from Southampton to Park Plaza kills several birds with one stone - visits to iconic sights, a tiny taste of England rather than just London, and a convenient transfer for you and your luggage. Rather than booking direct, it's actually a little cheaper if you book through https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_to_london_shared_bus.html

You are likely to have a choice between

- Salisbury cathedral + Stonehenge + Windsor castle

- or Bath + Lacock + Cotswolds.

Each has its merits, both pack in quite a bit so some folk find them a bit rushed.

If you choose the one with Stonehenge be sure to buy your Stonehenge entrance tickets with your tour/transfer tickets, because that guarantees entry without delay. Admission nowadays is by timed tickets - if you buy in advance separately and miss your timed slot, or if you choose to buy on arrival, you risk a delay if admission is fully-subscribed when you arrive. The tickets issued by the coach are exempt from the timing, so no delay there even if your coach arrives early or late.

There are no timing issues at other venues on either tour.

Pre-cruise

The Heathrow to Southampton tour/transfer won't suit you because

- it visits only Stonehenge, because of the need to arrive at the ship around 1 - 1.30 pm.

- because it's just that one stop and because you're only travelling from Heathrow rather than central London, it's poorer value

- their Heathrow pick-ups are only from Heathrow hotels & not airport terminals, because that tour/transfer is designed for those who arrived the previous day. They're aware that flights or airport formalities can be delayed, and if the traveller misses the coach their money is wasted. So you'd need to get from your terminal to one of the nominated Heathrow hotels

- the tour only operates on sailing day. You're arriving the previous day - probably there's another ship sailing the day you arrive & you can book for that tour/transfer, but you then have to get from that ship's pier to your hotel - and hope that your luggage doesn't take that cruise rather than your own cruise :D

I don't know of any other seat-on-bus shared tour transfers between London/Heathrow and Southampton, (IMHO car or van offerings on the London Toolkit website are seriously over-priced) so you'll have to re-think that transfer................................

..

Cheapest is a simple transfer by direct scheduled bus http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

Allow for 2 hours between flight arrival and bus stop. For bus journeys from airports only, tickets can be switched to a later bus (subject to seats being available) if your timing doesn't work out, but do check the timetable because the service isn't particularly frequent so you could be hanging around at the airport.

The train is most flexible because it's frequent and there's no need to pre-book. But because Heathrow isn't on the Southampton rail line your journey starts with either a train to London Paddington then cross central London to London Waterloo (close to that Park Plaza hotel) for a direct train to Southampton, or - quicker and easier - a RailAir bus to Woking rail station, an intermediate station between Waterloo and Southampton.where you switch from the RailAir bus to a Southampton-bound train. Not an easy transfer, but a useful Plan B. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Ships' transfer coaches only operate on sailing day.

A simple private transfer from Heathrow to Southampton will cost around £90 with www.smithsforairports.com or www.aquacars.co.uk or www.westquaycars.com

You can consider visiting a number of places en-route or just off the route, but that will add significantly to the cost.

You might find inspiration and tour-share opportunities with others on your RollCall (or the RollCalls of ships sailing the previous day) though I'm very wary about sharing transportation from airports - one aircraft cancellation or delay screws up the whole arrangement.

Depending on your arrival time, you can drop your luggage at the hotel and visit a number of places from Southampton.

Winchester and its ancient cathedral (10 mins by train) springs to mind, or Salisbury and Stonehenge by train and Stonehenge ho-ho http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

(the ho-ho has the same un-timed Stonehenge tickets as the Heathrow tour/transfers)

Or you can enjoy Southampton's few historical sights (well worth half a day) or retail therapy (big West Quay mall and traditional high street) or relax at a pub or coffeeshop and people-watch from behind a pint of English beer or a cup of coffee.

Grand Harbour hotel gets mixed reviews but is a good location, as are any of the hotels on this map

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

You also have the option of staying at a Heathrow hotel (I hate them, but they have their uses for a one-night stop-over) and taking a taxi to Windsor (about 20 minutes), then travelling from airport to ship next day by any of those methods.

Finally, browse the other pages of that London Toolkit website - it's a mine of information about logistics etc in the big bad city.

All JMHO as always

JB :)

Not a lot one can add to JB's comprehensive answer other than to suggest that a trip down river from Westminster pier is an excellent and easy way to get a look at some of the iconic buildings that you see on TV. You can ride all the way down to Tower Bridge and The Tower of London, worth a visit even if you don't go in. St Paul's Cathedral is nearby.

On arrival day I would head straight to my Southampton hotel to drop the luggage and take stock. After a long flight you may just want to chill out for a while and there may well be some shopping to do at supermarket prices before you join your ship. If you have the time and energy, you can catch a train to Salisbury or Winchester (Salisbury Cathedral is amazing) or even to Portsmouth for some Royal Naval History.

Not much help here, but did want to say that when we went to Southampton from London (forget where - stayed with friend - somewhere near Abbey Road, though) we took the train and it wasn't bad. I think our friend ordered a car service to the train station for us and then we took the train. The ride wasn't bad and the train wasn't crowded, although I forget what day we traveled. When we got to Southampton I think we took a cab, but it might have been a bus, to the port.

If, we take the train from Southampton to Winchester, are the sights within walking distance from the train station or will we need to a bus to get to them?

Is the train better than the National Express?

It looks like the train goes often to Winchester, I don't think we have to pre book tickets?

Thank you all for the great advice, especially JB - WOW! Thanks for all the tips and links - they are very helpful.

We will rethink our pre-cruise plans and do a bit more research for that leg!

Thanks all!

Carmen

If, we take the train from Southampton to Winchester, are the sights within walking distance from the train station or will we need to a bus to get to them?

 

Is the train better than the National Express?

 

It looks like the train goes often to Winchester, I don't think we have to pre book tickets?

Yes, the trains are frequent - 3 or 4 per hour, and no need to book.

Less frequent on a sunday, and there are complications in entering Winchester cathedral on a sunday.

Winchester train station is at the top end of the city centre, a 15 minute walk to Broadway and the cathedral. At the station ask directions to the Great Hall (the last remnant of Winchester Castle).

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/greathall

it's only worth 10 mins but entry is free & on the wall is a huge table, reputed to be King Arthur's Round Table. Arthur was around 700AD, and the table has been carbon-dated to the 13th century, but why let the truth get in the way of a good visitor attraction LOL.

Then it's a straight downhill walk to the cathedral - on the way, a little museum in the Westgate.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Winchester/Winchester+Cathedral,+Winchester/@51.0637071,-1.3219052,16z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x48740d8d2a4a1553:0xc350ce77347c30cb!2m2!1d-1.3197511!2d51.0672781!3m4!1m2!1d-1.3137108!2d51.0623617!3s0x48740d8bd7c9b681:0x7ea5a2a8eadf3b30!1m5!1m1!1s0x48740d88fd71060d:0x1b980e7e2b0eb7ea!2m2!1d-1.3131538!2d51.0606892!3e2

Alternatively you can take a Blue Star bus from Southampton to Winchester Broadway. Avoids that walk, but buses are much much slower and less-frequent

JB :)

For after the cruise, try: https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/cruise-transfer-and-tour-to-london-via-stonehenge-bath-and-windsor.html

They have other options too I think. Definitely a well-run organization and a fantastic tour. Oh, I see that John Bull mentioned them too. I would definitely recommend them.

We have hired a private car with smithsforairports for our pick-up at Heathrow and trip to our hotel in Southampton. For us, it is money well spent after a long and tiring all night flight. Door to door service. We know we are going to be tired so we never plan anything too ambitious for that first day.

Post-cruise, we have booked a tour with InternationalFriends to Bath-Lacock-Costswolds and then into London to be dropped off at our hotel. Again, door to door service. Zero hassle with luggage. We did the Salisbury-Stonehenge-Windsor tour with them previously and had a great experience. We especially liked that the tour guide on the bus gave us the history of what we were about to see, took care of the entrance tickets (make sure you include any entrance tickets needed when you book your tour..you'll see that option on the booking website), walked us to a central spot, gave us instructions for a meeting time and left us on our own to wander at our own speed.

While we have been to London many, many times, we had never done the HopOnHopOff bus. This last time we decided to give it a try...and loved it! Truth be told, we never got off. OK, it started pouring rain and we had great seats so we just rode the bus around and around for a few loops until the rain stopped. It is a great way to get a nice overview of English history and get your bearings in London. Included in the bus price was a river cruise..again, something we had never done before. It was surprising great. The London "tube" (subway) system is a great way to get around. Expect big crowds during morning and afternoon rush periods.

Lots of information on these boards. have a great time planning your trip!

We have hired a private car with smithsforairports for our pick-up at Heathrow and trip to our hotel in Southampton. For us, it is money well spent after a long and tiring all night flight. Door to door service. We know we are going to be tired so we never plan anything too ambitious for that first day.

 

Post-cruise, we have booked a tour with InternationalFriends to Bath-Lacock-Costswolds and then into London to be dropped off at our hotel. Again, door to door service. Zero hassle with luggage. We did the Salisbury-Stonehenge-Windsor tour with them previously and had a great experience. We especially liked that the tour guide on the bus gave us the history of what we were about to see, took care of the entrance tickets (make sure you include any entrance tickets needed when you book your tour..you'll see that option on the booking website), walked us to a central spot, gave us instructions for a meeting time and left us on our own to wander at our own speed.

 

While we have been to London many, many times, we had never done the HopOnHopOff bus. This last time we decided to give it a try...and loved it! Truth be told, we never got off. OK, it started pouring rain and we had great seats so we just rode the bus around and around for a few loops until the rain stopped. It is a great way to get a nice overview of English history and get your bearings in London. Included in the bus price was a river cruise..again, something we had never done before. It was surprising great. The London "tube" (subway) system is a great way to get around. Expect big crowds during morning and afternoon rush periods.

Lots of information on these boards. have a great time planning your trip!

You'll love Lacock, here's a link to some photos from a few years ago. Once you reach the photo of a white horse in the hillside that's the end of the Lacock photos. They're then Avebury Ring and some Manor house I can't remember.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjJ9ucnQ