Coach to Southampton from Glasgow

[Ilovemygarden]

Could anyone who has done this tell me about your experience ie - how comfortable, tedious or otherwise you found the journey and which coach company does P and O use when booking their freedom fare? Has anyone booked their coach independently and gone saver fare? All comments appreciated. 

[john watson]

This may seem a bit radical but I looked on kiwi.com and flights from Glasgow to Southampton direct are about £114 to £160 return per person and take about 1 and a half hours to get to the destination.  

 

Another excellent travel options site is www.rome2rio.com you just put in the two destinations and the website tells you virtually all different mode options, air, train, coach, bus and car etc.  costs associated and time with maps.

 

Regards John

Edited January 2, 2019 by john watson
extra information

[Eglesbrech]

I haven’t done the coach from Glasgow and the reason for that is that it leaves in the middle of the night (or at least it used to, this may have changed). That would be fine if you can get someone to drop you off at the bus station but it is no use at all if you have to take public transport into the city centre.

 

It’s not even worth taking a room for the night as you would not get time to sleep and at the cost of a hotel in central Glasgow you would be better using the money for a flight to Southampton.

 

 

[Rawmac]

Unlike Eglesbrech, I have done it.  Often.  His comments are valueless.

 

The bus leaves Buchanan St Bus station at around 4 am, and may have started off from Edinburgh should there have been demand.  It will arrive at the dockside at about 2 pm, having stopped to uplift passengers at various service areas on the M6, for breakfast and for lunch (driver's break). 

The coaches are modern, comfortable and the temperature will be adjusted as requested.  Whether the journey is boring or interesting depends on you.  Should there be traffic problems, the driver will be notified and he will use his favourite side roads to avoid trouble.  In extremis, the ship won't sail without you.  You can't lose your luggage. 

 

The drivers use the Holiday Inn close to the bus station,  not overly expensive.  A taxi to the bus station costs much less than a taxi to the airport, and is painless!

 

If you can travel by coach without sickness problems,  and if you book your cruise early enough to get the offer of free coach travel, it is very well worth considering.

 

I have also often used Flybe to fly to Southampton the day before sailing, staying overnight at Travelodge, Premier Inn or similar and getting a taxi to the ship.  This is definitely more hassle than the coach, perhaps less comfortable and costs a fair bit.  You choose.

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, Rawmac said:

Unlike Eglesbrech, I have done it.  Often.  His comments are valueless.

 

The bus leaves Buchanan St Bus station at around 4 am, and may have started off from Edinburgh should there have been demand.  It will arrive at the dockside at about 2 pm, having stopped to uplift passengers at various service areas on the M6, for breakfast and for lunch (driver's break). 

The coaches are modern, comfortable and the temperature will be adjusted as requested.  Whether the journey is boring or interesting depends on you.  Should there be traffic problems, the driver will be notified and he will use his favourite side roads to avoid trouble.  In extremis, the ship won't sail without you.  You can't lose your luggage. 

 

The drivers use the Holiday Inn close to the bus station,  not overly expensive.  A taxi to the bus station costs much less than a taxi to the airport, and is painless!

 

If you can travel by coach without sickness problems,  and if you book your cruise early enough to get the offer of free coach travel, it is very well worth considering.

 

I have also often used Flybe to fly to Southampton the day before sailing, staying overnight at Travelodge, Premier Inn or similar and getting a taxi to the ship.  This is definitely more hassle than the coach, perhaps less comfortable and costs a fair bit.  You choose.

 

 

What is valueless about pointing out that it is difficult if not impossible to get to Glasgow for the middle of the night if you are relying on public transport, depending on where you live?  We have looked at the bus and decided that flying was easier and quicker for us. The coach may suit ilovemygarden. It’s just providing information.

 

I’m glad  you are able to give a more personal perspective however dismissing others is not helpful.

[tartanexile81]

On 1/2/2019 at 6:45 PM, Rawmac said:

Unlike Eglesbrech, I have done it.  Often.  His comments are valueless.

 

The bus leaves Buchanan St Bus station at around 4 am, and may have started off from Edinburgh should there have been demand.  It will arrive at the dockside at about 2 pm, having stopped to uplift passengers at various service areas on the M6, for breakfast and for lunch (driver's break). 

The coaches are modern, comfortable and the temperature will be adjusted as requested.  Whether the journey is boring or interesting depends on you.  Should there be traffic problems, the driver will be notified and he will use his favourite side roads to avoid trouble.  In extremis, the ship won't sail without you.  You can't lose your luggage. 

 

The drivers use the Holiday Inn close to the bus station,  not overly expensive.  A taxi to the bus station costs much less than a taxi to the airport, and is painless!

 

If you can travel by coach without sickness problems,  and if you book your cruise early enough to get the offer of free coach travel, it is very well worth considering.

 

I have also often used Flybe to fly to Southampton the day before sailing, staying overnight at Travelodge, Premier Inn or similar and getting a taxi to the ship.  This is definitely more hassle than the coach, perhaps less comfortable and costs a fair bit.  You choose.

This is my genuine, recent first hand experience. I did the coach from Edinburgh to Southampton in September. In the past the coaches have been great,  provided by Ellison Coaches. We found them very comfortable and the drivers helpful. However there were lots of ships leaving Southampton the same day as us, so we ended up with a coach from Weardale Travel and we had a very unpleasant experience. The driver had never done the route before so it took ages for him to find the various pick up points (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Carlisle, Lancaster and a service station in the Midlands). We stopped for meal breaks at Norton Cane North of Birmingham and Cherwell Valley on the M40. There was no storage under the coach for luggage so we had to have a trailer and  the driver didn't communicate with us about times we'd stop or emergency procedures etc. We dropped off passengers at Britannia and Queen Mary before arriving at our ship Aurora at 3:45. And we met a couple on the same coach as us who'd lost a suitcase. NEVER AGAIN. However I have to say there have never been any problems with Ellison's

 

I cannot see the point of flying to Southampton. One of the joys of cruising is to take as much luggage as you want so when you fly, you're severely restricted.  IMO it's as stressful a way of starting a cruise as my coach journey! We usually get the train from Edinburgh to Newcastle then direct to Southampton. From Glasgow to Birmingham then to Southampton. It's very pleasant and relaxing especially if you go first class. 

[goodsailors]

3 hours ago, tartanexile81 said:

This is my genuine, recent first hand experience. I did the coach from Edinburgh to Southampton in September. In the past the coaches have been great,  provided by Ellison Coaches. We found them very comfortable and the drivers helpful. However there were lots of ships leaving Southampton the same day as us, so we ended up with a coach from Weardale Travel and we had a very unpleasant experience. The driver had never done the route before so it took ages for him to find the various pick up points (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Carlisle, Lancaster and a service station in the Midlands). We stopped for meal breaks at Norton Cane North of Birmingham and Cherwell Valley on the M40. There was no storage under the coach for luggage so we had to have a trailer and  the driver didn't communicate with us about times we'd stop or emergency procedures etc. We dropped off passengers at Britannia and Queen Mary before arriving at our ship Aurora at 3:45. And we met a couple on the same coach as us who'd lost a suitcase. NEVER AGAIN. However I have to say there have never been any problems with Ellison's

 

I cannot see the point of flying to Southampton. One of the joys of cruising is to take as much luggage as you want so when you fly, you're severely restricted.  IMO it's as stressful a way of starting a cruise as my coach journey! We usually get the train from Edinburgh to Newcastle then direct to Southampton. From Glasgow to Birmingham then to Southampton. It's very pleasant and relaxing especially if you go first class. 

We have flown on numerous occasions from either Edinburgh or Glasgow to Southampton the day before sailing, staying overnight in a Southampton hotel. We also send our luggage ahead to the hotel using one of the baggage transfer companies. So when we arrive at the hotel our baggage, as many cases as we choose, is there waiting for us. The next day the hotel provides transport to the dock and on return transport back to the hotel. We then leave our luggage with the hotel and the same company picks up our baggage that afternoon as we go to the airport and fly home. Baggage delivered home the following day.

 

Just what can be more hassle free, traveling at a respectable time of day, a relaxed overnight stay in Southampton and with no baggage to worry about. 

[Eglesbrech]

12 hours ago, tartanexile81 said:

We usually get the train from Edinburgh to Newcastle then direct to Southampton. From Glasgow to Birmingham then to Southampton. It's very pleasant and relaxing especially if you go first class. 

 

We take the plane for short to medium cruises (and pay for a decent amount of baggage) and the car for longer ones when we have more luggage but the car journey is getting to feel longer every time now.

 

Can I ask when and how you book the train, as the odd time I have looked at it is has been phenominally expensive, much more than the flight and a stay in Southampton. Is there a “right” time to book to get it at a decent price?

[tartanexile81]

7 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

We take the plane for short to medium cruises (and pay for a decent amount of baggage) and the car for longer ones when we have more luggage but the car journey is getting to feel longer every time now.

 

Can I ask when and how you book the train, as the odd time I have looked at it is has been phenominally expensive, much more than the flight and a stay in Southampton. Is there a “right” time to book to get it at a decent price?

 I agree about the car journey. We used to live South of London and did the journey up home regularly without a second thought but though my OH sometimes mutters "We could take the car" it's not a serious comment these days.

 

I use the LNER website for Edinburgh to Newcastle and the Cross Country for the journey to Southampton. I book it in 2 legs because we like to choose how long we allow for our change-over and we also find it cheaper like that. I seem to remember you live in the West so I'd be using Virgin Trains to Birmingham then Cross Country to Southampton. It seems to be cheaper to use cities where trains start / finish. Whatever company, the best tickets are available 12 weeks in advance, give or take a day or two. I just keep an eye on the website from about 13 weeks before we travel so I know what the lowest prices look like, then book as soon as the prices go to that level for the date I want. You get amazing deals on first class if you book the first day possible.

 

In November,  I also converted £100 Tesco vouchers for £300 Red Spotted Hanky which is a ticket agent. The tickets are the same price there as on the Virgin etc websites but you pay £1 booking fee. We also have a Two Together Rail Card which we've been getting  with £14 worth of Tesco vouchers since we started travelling by train so much. It gives you around a third off tickets so well worth the investment. Without  vouchers, it still only costs £30 which you'd save in one journey. No brainer really.

 

If you'd like to know any more, message  me on tartanexile81atoutlookdotcom

Edited January 4, 2019 by tartanexile81

[Eglesbrech]

3 hours ago, tartanexile81 said:

 I agree about the car journey. We used to live South of London and did the journey up home regularly without a second thought but though my OH sometimes mutters "We could take the car" it's not a serious comment these days.

 

I use the LNER website for Edinburgh to Newcastle and the Cross Country for the journey to Southampton. I book it in 2 legs because we like to choose how long we allow for our change-over and we also find it cheaper like that. I seem to remember you live in the West so I'd be using Virgin Trains to Birmingham then Cross Country to Southampton. It seems to be cheaper to use cities where trains start / finish. Whatever company, the best tickets are available 12 weeks in advance, give or take a day or two. I just keep an eye on the website from about 13 weeks before we travel so I know what the lowest prices look like, then book as soon as the prices go to that level for the date I want. You get amazing deals on first class if you book the first day possible.

 

In November,  I also converted £100 Tesco vouchers for £300 Red Spotted Hanky which is a ticket agent. The tickets are the same price there as on the Virgin etc websites but you pay £1 booking fee. We also have a Two Together Rail Card which we've been getting  with £14 worth of Tesco vouchers since we started travelling by train so much. It gives you around a third off tickets so well worth the investment. Without  vouchers, it still only costs £30 which you'd save in one journey. No brainer really.

 

If you'd like to know any more, message  me on tartanexile81atoutlookdotcom

 

Brilliant, thanks for the detailed information. At least it’s another alternative to consider.

[scarlet ohara]

Having vowed never to get the coach from Glasgow again some years ago, we took it last month to Southampton. We spent 3days last March stuck in Newcastle during the beast from the east, with no transport north, by road, rail or air, and therefore none South from Scotland. We also spent 2nights in Gatwick airport at the beginning of December 2010, having changed our connecting flight from Edinburgh to travel by train to London a day earlier as Edinburgh airport had been closed all week due to snow. But the snow arrived in London as we were travelling! We decided for this cruise it would be best to do P&O travel so if the weather prevented us getting there, at least we would have no trouble with a refund. As it turned out the weather was ok but it might not have been. The journey down was okay, most slept until the first stop at Carlisle. We got straight on when we reached the port. The journey home was ok too. It’s just a long day. The coach was comfortable, but surprisingly for such a long journey, did not have power/USB sockets or Wi-fi. I would book the coach again for a winter cruise but would fly/take the train otherwise. 

If you check train tickets earlier than 12 weeks before, they either don’t show a price, or it shows as full price only. As tartanexile says, first class advance tickets booked 12weeks before are very reasonable and they include your food and drinks which often make them not much dearer than standard. 

[cruise saint]

We live in Perthshire and getting the coach in Edinburgh doesn't appeal due to the time you need to meet it.  I prefer to drive down the day before, staying overnight at a Premier Inn at Didcot, near Oxford.  The drive takes around 8 hours including 2 breaks of around 30-45 minutes (usually at Gretna services and again at Stafford services on the M6).  We have never paid more than £40 for the Premier Inn at Didcot and when we travel down in April for our Fjords cruise on Britannia our room is £30.

We then have a drive of less than an hour on the morning of the cruise, so we travel down and have a wander round Southampton, go for lunch and then head to the ship feeling a lot fresher than I feel we would after 10-11 hours on a coach then arriving straight at the ship.  

[mary heyworth]

On 1/4/2019 at 9:33 PM, scarlet ohara said:

Having vowed never to get the coach from Glasgow again some years ago, we took it last month to Southampton. We spent 3days last March stuck in Newcastle during the beast from the east, with no transport north, by road, rail or air, and therefore none South from Scotland. We also spent 2nights in Gatwick airport at the beginning of December 2010, having changed our connecting flight from Edinburgh to travel by train to London a day earlier as Edinburgh airport had been closed all week due to snow. But the snow arrived in London as we were travelling! We decided for this cruise it would be best to do P&O travel so if the weather prevented us getting there, at least we would have no trouble with a refund. As it turned out the weather was ok but it might not have been. The journey down was okay, most slept until the first stop at Carlisle. We got straight on when we reached the port. The journey home was ok too. It’s just a long day. The coach was comfortable, but surprisingly for such a long journey, did not have power/USB sockets or Wi-fi. I would book the coach again for a winter cruise but would fly/take the train otherwise. 

If you check train tickets earlier than 12 weeks before, they either don’t show a price, or it shows as full price only. As tartanexile says, first class advance tickets booked 12weeks before are very reasonable and they include your food and drinks which often make them not much dearer than standard. 

Need to be aware that some train companies are now limiting the amount of luggage you can take. We travelled on Cross Country trains in 2017 from Manchester to Southampton which is a convenient mode of transport for us not living too far awy from Manchester. We had done this journey some years previous and direct time with no changes of around 4 hours. However, I had omitted to read all the small print so I suppose in a way my fault. We had booked first class seats as got them at a good price by booking 12 weeks in advance and didnt think there would be any problem with 2 cases each as away for 35 days. No problem putting them on the train in Manchester but we did notice there wasnt that much baggage space. I think that like the airlines the train companies are adding more seats giving less leg room and on the trains less luggage space. However, on leaving the train in Southampton the guard was very rude indeed telling us we had no right to take so many cases on and we would have to pay extra when returning and also put the cases in a different carriage to the one we were travelling in and I should have seen that on the paper work. We contacted the company before returing home asking how we could pay to take the cases back with us and were advised to take them on the train and not able at that stage to pay any extra but may have to put them in a different carriage. However, the guard on return was very obliging and managed to accomodate our cases with us for which we were very grateful. A lesson learnt for next time !

[darknightsdespiser]

We sailed from Southampton last year and flew down the day before with Flybe and stayed at Premier Inn near the terminal.  Very relaxing way of doing it and takes away the anxiety of not getting there in time for departure.  That said, on the way back the flight was cancelled and we had a lovely 8 hours in Southampton airport!!

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, darknightsdespiser said:

We sailed from Southampton last year and flew down the day before with Flybe and stayed at Premier Inn near the terminal.  Very relaxing way of doing it and takes away the anxiety of not getting there in time for departure.  That said, on the way back the flight was cancelled and we had a lovely 8 hours in Southampton airport!!

 

We always book the lounge at Southampton airport, it’s small but great if you get a delay on the way home. They don’t tend to kick you out if there is a flight delay so at least you have a decent place to sit.

[darknightsdespiser]

5 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

We always book the lounge at Southampton airport, it’s small but great if you get a delay on the way home. They don’t tend to kick you out if there is a flight delay so at least you have a decent place to sit.

That's a good idea! This year we have the luxury of a fly cruise direct from Glasgow to Malta which should be fab!