Princess transfer vs. private car

[superdave57]

I read several different responses and it was a little confusing for me. Just to be clear. If you pay the $49 transfer fee from Princess when you book the cruise, does that take you directly from Heathrow to the cruise ship with no stops, no fuss, etc or do you still have to catch an additional cab that takes you to the ship from a drop off place. Sorry to be dense here so please enlighten me... I have a family of 4

[sunluva7]

I read several different responses and it was a little confusing for me. Just to be clear. If you pay the $49 transfer fee from Princess when you book the cruise, does that take you directly from Heathrow to the cruise ship with no stops, no fuss, etc or do you still have to catch an additional cab that takes you to the ship from a drop off place. Sorry to be dense here so please enlighten me... I have a family of 4

The transfer is from airport directly to the ship, or ship to airport. If you purchase a transfer and hotel package, you will be transported from airport to hotel to ship and then back (if round trip).

[John Bull]

I read several different responses and it was a little confusing for me. Just to be clear. If you pay the $49 transfer fee from Princess when you book the cruise, does that take you directly from Heathrow to the cruise ship with no stops, no fuss, etc or do you still have to catch an additional cab that takes you to the ship from a drop off place. Sorry to be dense here so please enlighten me... I have a family of 4

 

No worries :)

 

The Princess transfer, like all cruise-line transfers, is from your airport terminal direct to the cruise terminal, though first it will probably trawl a couple of other terminals at the airport, picking up other cruisers.

You'll be responsible for getting your luggage from baggage re-claim to the terminal's coach concourse (plenty of free trollies at Heathrow), then you can forget it - the driver will load & next time you see it will be outside your cabin.

 

JB :)

[superdave57]

No worries :)

 

The Princess transfer, like all cruise-line transfers, is from your airport terminal direct to the cruise terminal, though first it will probably trawl a couple of other terminals at the airport, picking up other cruisers.

You'll be responsible for getting your luggage from baggage re-claim to the terminal's coach concourse (plenty of free trollies at Heathrow), then you can forget it - the driver will load & next time you see it will be outside your cabin.

 

JB :)

 

Thanks JB and sunlava7 - one followup - I am arriving at Heathrow at 7:00am and cruise ( grand princess) leaves at 4:00pm - would it be adventageous and do I have time to see either Stonehenge or Bath or Salisbury on way to Southampton or just go straight there? I don't think the Princess transfer will do that so I am open to any idea without risk of missing departure at 4:00p - thanks

[phabric]

Princess offers post cruise transfers directly to the airports and also transfers that include Stonehenge for people that have a later flight. These are under Excursions.

[John Bull]

Thanks JB and sunlava7 - one followup - I am arriving at Heathrow at 7:00am and cruise ( grand princess) leaves at 4:00pm - would it be adventageous and do I have time to see either Stonehenge or Bath or Salisbury on way to Southampton or just go straight there? I don't think the Princess transfer will do that so I am open to any idea without risk of missing departure at 4:00p - thanks

 

Bath is pretty-well out of the question, you'll be travelling two sides of a triangle. Luggage & the poor train services/infrequent coach service out of Heathrow means it'd have to be by car. You'll be lucky to get away from Heathrow by 8am, which gets you to Bath about 10.30. To make your ship by around 2.30, you'll need to leave Bath around 1pm. Although the route from Bath to Southampton takes you thro Salisbury, you'll not have time to stop - though Stonehenge is only about 5 miles off-route & is clearly viewable from the road. You could seek a quote from www.westquaycars.com or www.smithsforairports.com

I doubt it's worth the money for such a short time in Bath, but hey, its your money & not mine & perhaps worth an e-mail or two.

 

Stonehenge & Salisbury are much more do-able, they're not a million miles off the Heathrow-Southampton route & way better than the boring motorway. You'd get to Stonehenge about 9.30, Stonehenge needs no more than an hour there, then 20 mins by the Wylie Valley (much prettier than the main road) to Salisbury, about 90 mins in Salisbury for the cathedral & historic laid-back city centre, and a 30 min drive (or 40 mins including via the New Forest from Fordingbridge to Cadnam) to Southampton well before 2pm.

Same transfer companies as above - a direct Heathrow/Southampton transfer costs about £90 the car, so I guess via stops at Stonehenge & Salisbury would cost about £150 the car & it's a popular diversion.

 

Alternatively, a new "cruise tour-bus" service from Heathrow to Southampton via Stonehenge.

http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_london_transfers.htm

costs £45 each.

It's dedicated to passengers on the same cruise travelling from central London hotels & selected Heathrow airport hotels - so you'd have to get a hotel hoppa bus from your airport terminal to one of the selected Heathrow hotels. From there the cruise bus takes you & your luggage to Stonehenge & on to your ship.

If you're not flying out same-day at the end of your cruise, this option is waaaay better for the reverse journey, since it includes stops in Salisbury, Stonehenge & Windsor, & on to Heathrow & central London hotels for just £55 pp. Heathrow to Southampton only includes a stop at Stonehenge, because of time constraints in getting to the ship in good time.

 

BTW, have a good nose around that London Toolkit site, it has a lot of excellent info. But the private transfers offered on that site aren't best value

 

JB :)

[superdave57]

thanks for the feedback... Sounds like the post cruise decision is the best but will look at them all. Thanks for the travel tips. Haven't been to London since 89.

[ahoymatey1]

we have used a very reputable chap from heathrow into dover, london, and will use him again to southampton....his name is darren, I will leave my email here...

 

ahoymatey1athotmaildotcom

[Bob++]

Those wishing to fly to Southampton Airport may find that they can go via Dublin - this is a much better option than Charles de Gaul.