London Hotel Recommendations & Transfer to Southamption

We have booked our British Isles cruise (Norwegian Spirit) for July 2019. I am looking at arriving five or six days prior to the cruise and flying home directly after we debark. I am looking for suggestions for my following questions.

1. We plan to fly roundtrip to London (Atlanta is our originating airport). We are not renting a car and will rely on trains, buses and taxis. Looking for suggestions for hotels or the area to look for a hotel while in London.

2. Should we transfer to Southampton the morning of our cruise or plan to spend at least one day and night there? Or more?

3. Suggestions for hotels in Southampton.

4. Suggestions for transfer from London to Southampton. Probably one of the car/limo services.

5. Is it convenient to actually stay in Southampton the whole pre-cruise and just take the train back and forth to London for touring and shows?

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

1.

Will depend to some extent on your arrival airport (for LHR, Paddington is ideal. For LGW, Victoria is ideal), and on your transportation to Southampton - by train Waterloo / County Hall is ideal, by coach (bus) Victoria is ldeal, by private transfer anywhere in those general areas is fine, broadly from Kensington / Victoria In the west to Tower Bridge in the east and either north of the river or the narrow strip along the South Bank of the river.

I rate the County Hall area as the best compromise on cost plus sights within walking distance and tube (London's metro) and ho-hos and ferries. But that area is mainly large chain hotels - if you prefer private hotels there's. better choice inVictoria or Paddington.

2.

Plenty of folk travel from London on cruise day, no worries.

So you may prefer to maximise your time in London.

But there's more to England than London - and Southampton is a good base for lots of historic places like Winchester, Salisbury and Stonehenge, Portsmouth, etc as infinitum.

But (5)

Southampton isn't a suitable base for visiting London, you'd waste a lot of time and money going back and forth.

3.

Most popular hotels for cruisers in Southampton are Holiday Inn (in Herbert Walker Ave, not the HI Expresses which are on the city outskirts) and Premier Inn West Quay. Or for something a little different Ennio's or the Pig in the Wall, or Southampton's top hotel, Southampton Harbour Hotel.

4.

Try http://www.smithsforairports.com (favourite amongst Cruise Critic members) or http://www.westquaycars.com or http://www.aquacars.co.uk

All are based at the Southampton end, so not suitable for LHR / LGW to central London.

JB ;)

1. We plan to fly roundtrip to London (Atlanta is our originating airport). We are not renting a car and will rely on trains, buses and taxis. Looking for suggestions for hotels or the area to look for a hotel while in London.

For a first visit, I suggest to stay in the Victoria station area for ease of transportation to my site choices and bus transportation to Southampton. The train, tube, airport coach, hoho, and bus tour companies are all in the area. We’ve walked to buckingham palace and many other close by sites from the area. The Doubletree and Premier Inn are popular choices in the area. I’m staying at the comfort inn across from the coach station next week before going to Southampton.

2. Should we transfer to Southampton the morning of our cruise or plan to spend at least one day and night there? Or more?

I’m going the morning of the cruise but I’ve been to Southampton twice before. It’s worth going a day earlier for peace of mind on your first visit .

3. Suggestions for hotels in Southampton.

I’ve always stayed at the Premier Inn West Quay. Good bang for the price so no need to try others.

4. Suggestions for transfer from London to Southampton. Probably one of the car/limo services.

I’ve taken the train but prefer the national Express bus from Victoria Coach Station for 5£ each

5. Is it convenient to actually stay in Southampton the whole pre-cruise and just take the train back and forth to London for touring and shows?

Stay in London as long as you can to save the travel time. If you decide to take a car service to Southampton early, you may want to consider swinging by Stonehenge and Salisbury.

1.

Stay in London as long as you can to save the travel time. If you decide to take a car service to Southampton early, you may want to consider swinging by Stonehenge and Salisbury.

lamchops- We are looking for such a car service that would make a stop at Stonehenge on the way to Southampton. Any recommendations?

Thx

lamchops- We are looking for such a car service that would make a stop at Stonehenge on the way to Southampton. Any recommendations?

Thx

I’ve never taken a car service but have read that many on CC have.

JB listed the frequently recommended Southampton based ones in his post.

JB listed the frequently recommended Southampton based ones in his post.

Thanks. I didn't know if all of them would give the option. I'll look into it.

Thanks. I didn't know if all of them would give the option. I'll look into it.

Yes, they will.

Just ask for quote

It adds about 40 miles / 45 miles to the journey, plus waiting time (allow yourselves 75 to 90 minutes at Stonehenge).

If you wish, add a further 60 to 90 minutes in Salisbury - no additional drive-time, it's on the route from Stonehenge to Southampton. https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/salisbury-eng-wlt-sa.htm

Mebbe even ask for a route from Salisbury which takes you across a corner of the New Forest - adds only 10 - 15 minutes to your drive-time.

(Oh, I do love spending other people's money :D)

You should pre-book admission to Stonehenge, and herein lies a problem if you're travelling from an airport. You book for arrival in a 30-minute time-slot which guarantees entry on arrival. Miss that slot and your admission might be delayed depending on how busy it is, which in turn depends on what time of year / time-of-day and day-of-the-week. Get advice on which half-hour slot from your car service - they'll know better than any of us on how much time to allow from scheduled landing to arrival at Stonehenge. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/

If you're travelling from a central London or Heathrow hotel (but not flying in same-day) consider booking a tour-transfer by coach, hotel to cruise terminal door-to-door via Stonehenge at https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_from_london_shared_bus.html

The cost of £91 includes admission to Stonehenge (£17.50), and will be competitive compared to a private transfer, especially for more than two people.

More importantly the tickets issued by the coach operator are not subject to a pre-determined time-slot - entry on arrival is guaranteed. (Same applies to all coach tours to Stonehenge and to the Stonehenge ho-ho from Salisbury)

JB :)