SMF916

Following since we are seriously considering booking the 12-day Japan to S Korea 5/26/2025. 

11 hours ago, smurfington said:

we are arriving in Bruges in a couple of weeks.  What transportation did you end up using?  

I bought the express bus tickets

ahead of my trip. Unfortunately NCL claimed that they couldn’t dock that day, so we ended up not being able to visit Bruges at all which I’m still very disappointed about. The Express refunded my ticket purchase promptly after I requested it. I was relieved and appreciative of that. 

On 6/3/2023 at 3:30 PM, gumshoe958 said:

Don’t panic!

 

Cruise port to rail station in a cab is only about 5-10 minutes. Southampton Central isn’t that big - only 4 platforms linked by a footbridge with elevators so from ship to platform should take no longer than half an hour.

 

Therefore a train at 9:30 should be just fine, given that most ships start disembarkation at around 7 and want the majority of passengers off by 9.
 

Advance tickets are indeed non-refundable and can’t be used on a later train if you miss yours. The 9:30 is currently £14.50 for an advance single but will go up. Otherwise it’s £52 for an anytime single which can be used on any train.

Hi, does anyone else encounter issues buying train tickets? I am having a hard time purchasing tickets on SWR site as it won't let me buy them without creating an account, and when I tried to create an account, it kept saying my address should be in UK. After 2 hours of trying on the website, and on my phone, and even downloaded their app, I'm still unable to create an account - I even faked my country by just put in UK to bypass the initial account creation stage, but then I still got rejected as my credit card billing address is an US address.  Help please? I'm so lost.  Thank you in advance.

48 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Don’t panic!

 

Cruise port to rail station in a cab is only about 5-10 minutes. Southampton Central isn’t that big - only 4 platforms linked by a footbridge with elevators so from ship to platform should take no longer than half an hour.

 

Therefore a train at 9:30 should be just fine, given that most ships start disembarkation at around 7 and want the majority of passengers off by 9.
 

Advance tickets are indeed non-refundable and can’t be used on a later train if you miss yours. The 9:30 is currently £14.50 for an advance single but will go up. Otherwise it’s £52 for an anytime single which can be used on any train.

Thank you SO MUCH!!!!  I'm so appreciative of your help!!

This site has been so helpful!  I'm a single mom taking two girls to London for the first time.  A bit frazzled with all the planning, but I'm really trying.  I feel so stupid and embarrassed that I didn't even realize when cruise line advertises that the ship will end in London, they meant Southampton, and I still need to figure out how to get to London.  So here I am trying to figure out.  Based on all the info I read, I think I can manage take a taxi from cruise terminal to the train station, and take the train to Waterloo London, and then get a taxi to our hotel. 

My question is what time of the tickets should I buy?  I went to the nationalrail website, and it has many to choose from (the cruise ship will arrive on Tuesday, 8/8/2023).  My understanding is that the advanced train tickets are not changeable.  Any suggestions on what time of tickets to buy? I'm thinking 9? or 9:30? I have no idea how long it will take for us to get off the ship, and then taxi to the station, and then find the platform.  Thank you in advance for your help!!

Thank you, Marco2111!  I am very appreciative of you sharing your experience with the company and their service.  

On 4/28/2023 at 7:14 AM, jerrib said:

I've been searching online and have found this, not sure how up-to-date info is -

Taxi - The official fixed rate for Zeebrugge to Bruges is € 50

Cruise Express  (shuttle to town) - € 20 return
https://www.cruise-express.be/en/

Thank you so much for the link.  I'll email them to get more information.  It appears that the website is updated in 2023, so I'm hoping the information is all current.  I appreciate you sharing the link!! 

NCL charges $99/pp for "Bruges on your own".  Basically it's the shuttle service for $99/pp.  Hope to find a cheaper alternative as well.  I'm traveling with my two grown daughters, so taxi might be the way to go, but so far had not been able to find more info regarding taxi between Zeebruges to Bruges.  Help!

On 2/13/2023 at 8:11 PM, Cruiser Nonna said:

Thank you I had read that thread and know that It is not an ideal situation but it is our only option to see as much in that one day thus hoping for a private tour - but still have found no recommendations thus far.  Appreciate your input

Hi, Cruiser Nonna ~ I'm in the same situation with you on hoping to find a private tour company to take me and my daughters from Le Havre to Paris. The excursions to go to Paris offered by my cruise line are already all sold out, so we are kind of stuck.  We know going to Paris is a long drive, but to my girls, it'll be worth it since they had never been there and probably won't have a chance to go any time soon. 

Just wondering if you had found something. I have researched and searched Google, TripAdvisor, and forums here for a while, and couldn't find any recommendations either although there are tour companies that offer this service.  I just hate to go with a company not knowing if they are reliable.  Thanks in advance for your thoughts.