How to get to Southampton port after flight? Which airport? Transfers?

[ShipShapely]

We have a cruise coming up originating in Southampton. We are prob going to fly in a day early and want to stay in Southampton. I read that irs 65 miles from Heathrow!!!

After flying all night from US we will be tired. What’s the best way to get from the airport to Southampton? Most flights from our home city go to Heathrow but was wondering if there’s a closer airport. Suggestions and info from others who’ve sailed out of Southampton appreciated.

[LHT28]

Check the British Isles forum

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

 

 

If you want fly Aer Lingus to Southampton (SOU) via Dublin

Fly LHR or LGW take the train, bus or private car service

[Flatbush Flyer]

We have a cruise coming up originating in Southampton. We are prob going to fly in a day early and want to stay in Southampton. I read that irs 65 miles from Heathrow!!!

 

After flying all night from US we will be tired. What’s the best way to get from the airport to Southampton? Most flights from our home city go to Heathrow but was wondering if there’s a closer airport. Suggestions and info from others who’ve sailed out of Southampton appreciated.

 

 

 

Silver Fleet private car service: LHR to Southampton port.

[Enforcer]

We have a cruise coming up originating in Southampton. We are prob going to fly in a day early and want to stay in Southampton. I read that irs 65 miles from Heathrow!!!

After flying all night from US we will be tired. What’s the best way to get from the airport to Southampton? Most flights from our home city go to Heathrow but was wondering if there’s a closer airport. Suggestions and info from others who’ve sailed out of Southampton appreciated.

 

Hi,

 

As a suggestion change the "prob" to definitely, too risky flying in the day of the cruise.

 

Pete

[wheezedr]

Primary means would be either a private car service or if cost is a major factor you could use National Express bus service from LHR. If you fly to Gatwick the train is also an option. Each method has upsides and downsides regarding cost, convenience, timing. For our cruise last June we flew GTW as the flights were best and did the train to Southampton. Worked well and we had no real time concerns as we were overnighting in Southampton. For the return we used Smith’s as we had to get to GTW by a very specific time and did not want the risk of train or bus problems

[ShipShapely]

Thank you all very much for suggestions. We will def use private car service being we will have luggage, be tired etc etc. this would not be the time to worry too much about cost cutting. We don’t cruise often but yo date for cruise or land tour we’ve always come a day early. However this time because the itinerary is pretty long, and flights get in early morning hours, ship doesn’t sail until six pm we were thinking of trying to fly in same day. Hotels won’t let us check in that early usually. Pete, I’m with you tho’. Hubby says worst case if we missed it we’d take ferry to next port which is one of the Channel Islands. I’m not a fan of this. Hah.

Marlene

[Ashland]

From LHR to Southampton try Smith For Airports or Blackberry.....have used them both....get price quotes from both...great service and easy to pre-arrange.

[taglovestocruise]

Ditto on Blackberry cars. Used them last year Kensington to Southampton, great service. Kensington to Southampton cruise port was $125.00 for two plus tip. Would have been a little less from Heathrow.

[Kartgv]

We used Smith's...a great driver (looked & sounded like Michael Caine!) and car, simple and it was under $100 for us (2 years ago). It was easy to reserve online, and we got a quick personal response when we emailed a couple of questions. I can't imagine trying to navigate unfamiliar buses & trains when you're tired and have large amounts of luggage, so a private car is the way to go.

[LHT28]

However this time because the itinerary is pretty long, and flights get in early morning hours, ship doesn’t sail until six pm we were thinking of trying to fly in same day. Hotels won’t let us check in that early usually. Pete, I’m with you tho’. Hubby says worst case if we missed it we’d take ferry to next port which is one of the Channel Islands. I’m not a fan of this. Hah.

Marlene

I would not fly in the same day on an overseas flight

 

most hotels will store your bags until check in time

You could just book a day room at an airport hotel then head to Southampton later in the day or overnight there & go in the morning

Sometimes the ship may not port in the Channel Islands due to sea conditions & ferries my not be running either

 

I would have a plan B & C ready if you plan to do this

 

 

penny wise pound foolish as the saying goes

[JMorris271]

We got to our hotel early and were allowed to our room to drop luggage. I guess it depends on the desk clerks mood.

[kctwinmommy]

Yep! We used Smiths last summer and they were great! You can read about it in my reviews. And he even took us further than we asked, taking us to Portsmouth for the day, instead of Southampton. He suggested Portsmouth as there was more to do there. So he took us to our hotel first, the Holiday Inn, and they locked our luggage in a storage room for us with no problems. We also flew in the day before, landing at like 5:30 a.m.! So we spent the day in Portsmouth, then got back to our hotel around 2 and crashed for a few hours, then grabbed some dinner, and finally slept about 10 hours that night! LOL! I would always recommend flying in the day before, to give yourself some extra time just in case.

[LHT28]

We got to our hotel early and were allowed to our room to drop luggage. I guess it depends on the desk clerks mood.

Might depend on if the room was cleaned & ready when you got there

We have gotten into our rooms in some places as early as 8:30 am & some stick to the time noted in the reservation

[Corby114]

Blackberry Cars,located in Central London provides excellent service from Heathrow to Southampton. We used their service two times in June 2018. The first trip was from Heathrow to London. The charge was fifty pounds for my family of three and three large suitcases. The second trip was from Central London to Southampton prior to our fourteen day Royal Caribbean Canary Islands voyage on the Independence Of The Seas. That two hour trip cost one hundred fifteen pounds. I personally recommend them and will use them again when I return with my family to Great Britain.

[Scrapnana]

I've used Smith's four times and have been very pleased each time.

[lamchops]

I would use the National Express bus over a train as the luggage will be safer in the hold. I’ve taken the train and struggled to stay awake to watch the luggage. On the bus, I’ve taken a good 2 hour nap before arriving at Southampton. If budget is no issue, private transfers would be the way to go.

[LoisGriffin1]

If you let the hotel know you will be early I find they can be very accommodating. If your room isn't ready you can store luggage.

 

As someone who lives in the Channel Islands I wouldn't be too keen on relying on it as a missing the ship option. A lot of ships have had to cancel this year due to weather. The tender is also quite long and I wouldn't want to navigate with luggage. Yesterday it was beautiful and we had a large ship in today the seas are horrible but thankfully no ships were scheduled to come in.

[Heidi13]

We have a cruise coming up originating in Southampton. We are prob going to fly in a day early and want to stay in Southampton. I read that irs 65 miles from Heathrow!!!

After flying all night from US we will be tired. What’s the best way to get from the airport to Southampton? Most flights from our home city go to Heathrow but was wondering if there’s a closer airport. Suggestions and info from others who’ve sailed out of Southampton appreciated.

 

Southampton does have an airport, but I believe it only has domestic or European flights. Some major airports that probably have flights to Southampton are Manchester, Paris, Amsterdam.

 

The Southampton airport also has a train station with frequent service to Southampton Central.

 

The options for travel between LHR & Southampton are:

- Bus: National Express & Southampton Cruise Terminal Shuttle - probably the cheapest option

- Rail: not aware of any direct trains from LHR to Southampton. You might find 2 changes, but will probably need 3 changes. Also using the Tube with luggage is not fun. Southampton trains depart London from Waterloo.

- Limo: your distance is correct, using M25 then down the M3. Both routes can be congested, depending on time of day. In London, we use Addison Lee.

 

The other major local airport is Gatwick. From experience, the commute from Gatwick, whether using the M25/M3 or down to the coast is NOT a fun drive.