Southampton Departure

[tulips*n*truffles]

Hi there!

 

I wasn't sure if I should post this here or on the London board, but this made more sense to me!

 

I'm departing from London (Southampton) on a 10-day British Isles cruise this July. Couple of questions with that.

 

How do I know which airport makes the most sense to fly in to?

 

We're staying a few days on the front end of the trip in London - is there any way to still use a Princess transfer? Or are there other options for getting to the cruise terminal?

 

On the return trip, we're disembarking early in Paris to stay there a few days, but have to take Eurostar back into London to catch the return flight (train in the morning, flight late afternoon) - I've not traveled through Europe since the late 1990s...any red flags about that plan?

 

Thanks so much!

Natalie

[HJH]

We departed from Southhampton on the Crown in June, 2011. Stayed in London for two nights and took the train from London to Southhampton and a taxi to the ship. Simple and easy.

[katisdale]

From my perspective, it doesn't matter which airport (Heathrow or Gatwick are the two we have flown into) you fly into. We just took the train into London and then either the underground or a taxi to our hotel. We would have had to go back to the airport to use Princess transfer so taking the train (or national express bus would work too) to Southhampton would work well. We have taken the Eurostar from London to Paris and arrived about 1.5 hours late due to problems with the rails (they said something was on the rails so we stopped in the french countryside for awhile for it to be checked out). That said you will then have to get from London back to the airport so you will want to check your timing carefully.

[aquilegia]

Well, if you're going to London first, Heathrow is a bit nearer, 15 miles instead of Gatwick's 24, but that's not enough to make much of a difference if you can find a cheaper or more convenient flight to Gatwick.

 

Incidentally, London's port is Tilbury and some cruise ships do leave from there. The majority, like yours, leave from Southampton, but it isn't anywhere near London, it's 70 miles away. The cruise lines who persist in referring to it as London (Southampton), are very misleading.

[KirkNC]

I would go through Heathrow and use National Express to get to Southampton.

[Pia1913]

I would go through Heathrow and use National Express to get to Southampton.

 

I agree. Been there; done that.

[CruzinNoony]

I agree. Been there; done that.

 

Us too!! Easy peasey, lemon squeezy! :D

[caribill]

Hi there!

 

I wasn't sure if I should post this here or on the London board, but this made more sense to me!

 

I'm departing from London (Southampton) on a 10-day British Isles cruise this July. Couple of questions with that.

 

How do I know which airport makes the most sense to fly in to? Since you will be staying in London a few days, it does not matter which airport is better located to get to Southampton. Pick the airport that offers you the combination of airline, cost, and flight times you llike.

 

We're staying a few days on the front end of the trip in London - is there any way to still use a Princess transfer? Or are there other options for getting to the cruise terminal? Princess does offer an option of xfer from London near Victoria Station on the day of the cruise. Contact Princess or your travel agent for deatails and costs. Others have responded with some non-Princess options.

 

On the return trip, we're disembarking early in Paris to stay there a few days, but have to take Eurostar back into London to catch the return flight (train in the morning, flight late afternoon) - I've not traveled through Europe since the late 1990s...any red flags about that plan? Main red flag is that weather sometimes does not allow the ship to make port in France and you may thus not be able to disembark early.

 

Thanks so much!

Natalie

 

see above in red

[lamchops]

How do I know which airport makes the most sense to fly in to?

I would go with the one with the best combination of price and arrival time.

 

We're staying a few days on the front end of the trip in London - is there any way to still use a Princess transfer? Or are there other options for getting to the cruise terminal?

I would take National Express from Victoria Coach station. If you wait till 90 dys before travel, you can get "funfares" on their website.

 

We just did this last month and it was super easy.

 

 

 

[tulips*n*truffles]

Thanks for all the input! I've been trying to see about the National Express transfer to Southampton, but no matter what date I choose - it says "sorry, we were unable to find any results" - whether it's my actual date in July or any other date in 2013. Is it possible there are that many sold out already? Or just a fluke?

 

Thank you!!

[Pia1913]

Thanks for all the input! I've been trying to see about the National Express transfer to Southampton, but no matter what date I choose - it says "sorry, we were unable to find any results" - whether it's my actual date in July or any other date in 2013. Is it possible there are that many sold out already? Or just a fluke?

 

Thank you!!

 

It's probably still too soon to book for July, but it works well when I punch in a January date. What I think you are doing wrong is entering Southampton Cruise Port. Your destination should be Southampton Coach Station. The cruise port is only used for Cunard and perhaps others unknown to me.

[phabric]

Heathrow is closer to London than Gatwick. I would go with whatever is the cheapest and best times for you.

 

You can use a car service from Heathrow or Gatwick to your London hotel. We were met at the airport and driven to the hotel. We used http://www.justairports.com from Heathrow to & from our London hotel. To get a quote, use the hotel's postal code (ours was SW1).

 

Princess' transfer from Victoria Coach Station is $49/pp each way. We used the National Express Coach http://www.nationalexpress.com to Southampton Coach Station. National Express Coach price for January is 12GBP/pp. There are 3 stops for Southampton, you need Southampton Coach Station and London Victoria Coach Station. If you check out the National Express site three months in advance of your cruise, you will see the cheap fare.

 

The difference between using Princess transfer and National Express - Princess, handles all the luggage from coach station direct to the ship, you don't see your luggage until it is deliveried to your cabin,- National Express, handles all luggage from London coach station to Southampton Coach station, you need a taxi (about 5-7 GBP) from coach station to the dock and you handle all luggage from coach to taxi, taxi to dock workers.

[lamchops]

How do I know which airport makes the most sense to fly in to?

I would go with the one with the best combination of price and arrival time.

 

We're staying a few days on the front end of the trip in London - is there any way to still use a Princess transfer? Or are there other options for getting to the cruise terminal?

I would take National Express from Victoria Coach station. If you wait till 90 dys before travel, you can get "funfares" on their website.

 

We just did this last month and it was super easy.

 

 

 

 

 

I just checked my records and FYI:

 

National Express from Gatwick to Victoria coach station was about $28us for the 2 of us.

 

National Express from Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station was about $19 for the 2 of us.

 

We took a 10 minute walk and stayed at the Premier Inn West Quay for about $110us the night before and enjoyed the town area. It was about an $8us cab ride to the ship. (my exchange rate was 1.65)

 

It was our first trip to London and using transit was not intimidating at all.

[Pia1913]

I just checked my records and FYI:

 

National Express from Gatwick to Victoria coach station was about $28us for the 2 of us.

 

National Express from Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station was about $19 for the 2 of us.

 

We took a 10 minute walk and stayed at the Premier Inn West Quay for about $110us the night before and enjoyed the town area. It was about an $8us cab ride to the ship. (my exchange rate was 1.65)

 

It was our first trip to London and using transit was not intimidating at all.

 

We stayed at Premier West Quay in June and did even better. We flew directly into Southampton. What a coup. Then again, we didn't need to spend any time in London.

[kool kruiser]

Heathrow is closer to London than Gatwick. I would go with whatever is the cheapest and best times for you.

 

You can use a car service from Heathrow or Gatwick to your London hotel. We were met at the airport and driven to the hotel. We used www.justairports.com from Heathrow to & from our London hotel. To get a quote, use the hotel's postal code (ours was SW1).

 

Princess' transfer from Victoria Coach Station is $49/pp each way. We used the National Express Coach www.nationalexpress.com to Southampton Coach Station. National Express Coach price for January is 12GBP/pp. There are 3 stops for Southampton, you need Southampton Coach Station and London Victoria Coach Station. If you check out the National Express site three months in advance of your cruise, you will see the cheap fare.

 

The difference between using Princess transfer and National Express - Princess, handles all the luggage from coach station direct to the ship, you don't see your luggage until it is deliveried to your cabin,- National Express, handles all luggage from London coach station to Southampton Coach station, you need a taxi (about 5-7 GBP) from coach station to the dock and you handle all luggage from coach to taxi, taxi to dock workers.

 

 

 

At Southampton docks, porters will take luggage from your taxi.Then straight to cabin. Only carrying is from coach to taxi

[tulips*n*truffles]

So much help! Thank you! I've never been so confused about details in my life! I'm looking into a tour that leaves from the hotel (yet to be chosen - ahhh!) in London, spends an hour at Stonehenge, and then drops off at the cruise terminal. It's like $175 for the two of us, but to get that side trip in there seems worth it. I think?? Thank you again for all the help!! Love these boards!

[Pia1913]

So much help! Thank you! I've never been so confused about details in my life! I'm looking into a tour that leaves from the hotel (yet to be chosen - ahhh!) in London, spends an hour at Stonehenge, and then drops off at the cruise terminal. It's like $175 for the two of us, but to get that side trip in there seems worth it. I think?? Thank you again for all the help!! Love these boards!

 

That's a bargain. Grab it and enjoy.

[pizzalady1]

So much help! Thank you! I've never been so confused about details in my life! I'm looking into a tour that leaves from the hotel (yet to be chosen - ahhh!) in London, spends an hour at Stonehenge, and then drops off at the cruise terminal. It's like $175 for the two of us, but to get that side trip in there seems worth it. I think?? Thank you again for all the help!! Love these boards!

 

This looks like the same tour, but appears to be a little less expensive.

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/southampton-cruise-bus-from-150-central-london-hotels-via-stonehenge.html

[tulips*n*truffles]

That's a bargain. Grab it and enjoy.

 

Well see, I'd love to...but it requires you choose your hotel at booking...and I'm more confused about hotels in our pre and post-cruise cities than anything else! So as soon as I figure out where exactly we're staying in London...I will!!! :-)

[tulips*n*truffles]

This looks like the same tour, but appears to be a little less expensive.

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/southampton-cruise-bus-from-150-central-london-hotels-via-stonehenge.html

 

It would appear I've done my conversions incorrectly! That's indeed the tour! So it's GBP 133.50 for the two of us with the upgrade to include the Stonehenge tickets...which I think means like $215 USD? All this currency conversion is going to make my head explode! HA!

[John Bull]

Thanks for all the input! I've been trying to see about the National Express transfer to Southampton, but no matter what date I choose - it says "sorry, we were unable to find any results" - whether it's my actual date in July or any other date in 2013. Is it possible there are that many sold out already? Or just a fluke?

 

Thank you!!

 

National Express timetables/bookings open about 5 months out, so you're a little too early to book. Timetable is unlikely to change, so you can use a random date in, say, April to figure timings - just be sure to use the same day-of-the-week.

And don't select Southampton (cruise ship terminal), this applies only to Fred Olsen sailings. Instead, select Southampton (coach station). It's then a £5 to £8 taxi ride to any cruise terminal.

 

Most forms of transport, central London to Southampton are covered on this thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1732040&highlight=jb

 

There's also the door-to-door coach service from central London hotel to ship via a stop at Stonehenge, linked for you by Pizzalady.

This is a new service, only started this year but run by an established & reputable operator. Early days yet, but it has received positive reviews from CC members. The reverse transfer, Southampton to London, is much more comprehensive but of course the trip to Southampton is governed by getting to the ship in good time.

 

I believe you can book the Princess transfer from Victoria coach station - but the scheduled Nat Express coach from the same place is way cheaper, the only additional cost with a scheduled coach is that £5 - £8 taxi fare in Southampton.

 

As Caribill's post, there's no huge difference getting into central London from Heathrow or Gatwick, each has a very minor advantage depending on the location of your hotel. Check out http://www.londontoolkit.com/mnu/london_airports.htm

 

Disembarking in Le Havre.

Yes, it's done. You'll need Princess' OK, but it's been given in the past.

Re Caribill's comment, Le Havre is a pretty good foul-weather port. But there's also the very minor risks that the port will be missed if the ship is running late/slow due to mechanical or weather problems, or of the port being blockaded - it's a favourite trick of french fishermen when they get uppity with their government. All very unlikely, but be aware.

 

Eurostar Paris-London. You need to pre-book, much more expensive to buy on the day - and if there's problems with flights or ferries that day everyone will want to be on Eurostar.

And again you're relying on the transfer being trouble-free. Which it usually is. But breakdowns etc do happen.

But do you need to go back to London????

You should be able to get "open-jaw" return flights (Iowa to London, then Paris to Iowa) for the same cost as a simple Iowa-London-Iowa return. Would make life simpler & cheaper.

 

JB :)