National Express excess baggage fees

[alcpa1]

Without doing a mock booking is there any way I can find the cost of excess baggage for a National Express bus from LHR to Southampton? I have scoured the web site and cannot find a list of excess fees. 

The trip is in a few months but there is no way I can calculate luggage size or weight at this time.

Thank you

[LHT28]

does this help

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/luggage-lost-property

 

also

Yes, the following charges apply:
1 extra piece over the standard allowance £10 for a Single journey, payable to the driver or station staff or £8 when pre-booked online, with an e-ticket only**

£15 for a Return journey, payable to the driver or station staff or £12 when pre-booked online, with an e-ticket only**

Upto 3 extra pieces over the standard allowance £10 per item, upto a maximum of 3 extra items for a Single journey, payable to the driver or station staff or £16 (total price for upto 3 extra items) when pre-booked online, with an e-ticket only.**

£15 per item, upto a maximum of 3 extra items for a Return journey, payable to the driver or station staff or  £24 (total price for upto 3 extra items) when pre-booked online, with an e-ticket only.**  
 

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help#/

just put in excess baggage in the search box

[John Bull]

LHT28 has found the answer for you - not excessive, it's not an airline. 

 

If you're a little over you probably won't be charged, most luggage isn't weighed and the driver won't want to do the paperwork.

 

But there's a different risk if there are a number of passengers with waaaaay more - like 4 or 5 large cases each.

Coaches, like all commercial vehicles (and theoretically private cars), have a maximum gross weight. Whilst usually many passengers won't have any luggage, if the coach is full and everyone has luggage the driver might decline to accept excess luggage because keeping the vehicle within its permitted weight is his legal obligation, and it's his licence that's at risk. 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/conditions-of-carriage Sect 11 - 1b

Weigh-stations are nowhere near as numerous as in the US and a random check is unlikely but if there's an incident such as a blow-out then the police are likely to check.

 

If you're going to be massively over-weight you might want to avoid that risk and consider alternative transport.

I'm no advocate of over-priced ships' transfers but there's no limit on their coaches (coaches similar to Nat Express coaches). Cruise lines over-cater, they allow for an average of about 35 pax in a 48-seater coach cos they know that with no luggage restrictions the luggage lockers will be jammed-full with 35 cruisers aboard. 

 

JB  

(former cruise coach driver)  

Edited March 18, 2019 by John Bull

[alcpa1]

Thank you for your replies. 

I don't think the weight of the bags will be an issue but our bags are larger than the web site allows.

Our hard sider carry ons, as I understand the web site, will have to go under the bus and will not encounter a charge but they are also beyond the accepted dimensions but only by 1".

I guess my question now becomes not a matter of weight but size. 

I don't want to get to the bus station and be denied passage.

 

[LHT28]

how large are your cases

 

probably would not notice 1 inch extra in size for carry on

[John Bull]

6 hours ago, LHT28 said:

 

 

probably would not notice 1 inch extra in size for carry on

 

Delete the word "probably" and I'll agree.

As per my previous post, the rules aren't rigorously applied like some airlines.

 

No worries 

 

JB 

[Lv-to-sail2]

On 3/20/2019 at 4:20 AM, John Bull said:

 

Delete the word "probably" and I'll agree.

As per my previous post, the rules aren't rigorously applied like some airlines.

 

No worries 

 

JB 

 

Hi JB, 

I'll be staying at a LHR airport 2 days pre-cruise and will need transportation from there to a Southampton hotel. If I take a oversize bag that may also be a few lbs overweight can I just pay them for it at boarding. Also when I board do I give my bags to the driver right there to put on the bus while I can see that they get on the same bus as I and will the Express go all the way to the Southampton station without stopping anywhere else?

My fear is that I won't be able to take my carry on bag in the bus and they will lose it. I will have a lg suitcase, wheeled carry on and a tote. I know the tote is allowed on the bus with me but there is no way I can fit all my important stuff I need to bring in it. 

I have never used public bus transportation, only the transports provided by the cruise lines or taxi's. ( I have always lived where their is no bus service) My mom once took a trip using a bus for part of it and they made her put her carry on in the luggage area under the bus and THEY LOST IT! It was found 3 weeks later and they did ship it too her but it caused her so much stress. 

When I pack for trips I always pack some clothes in my carry on along with other stuff I have to have so in case the airport loses my checked bag I'll have a few things I can get by with. I'm trying to find private transportation but it's not easy. 

[John Bull]

6 hours ago, Lv-to-sail2 said:

 

Hi JB, I'll be staying at a LHR airport 2 days pre-cruise and will need transportation from there to a Southampton hotel. If I take a oversize bag that may also be a few lbs overweight can I just pay them for it at boarding.

 

That depends on your idea of "oversize"  and "a few pounds" over-weight.

As much as 4" oversize and about 25kg instead of 20kg the driver probably won't even bother to charge the excess, especially if the total weight of the two cases doesn't exceed their 40kg per passenger limit.

 

But if it's patently obvious that you're exceeding the limit (eg the check-in case is 30kg or 36" long) it's best to pre-pay the relatively small excess and avoid the worry.

The driver has the right to refuse over-weight luggage if he believes that it would take his vehicle over its max permitted gross weight (it's his driving licence that's at risk). So in the very unlikely event that  the bus is full and a lot of folk have over-weight luggage it's best that yours is pre-booked / pre-paid.  

 

 

6 hours ago, Lv-to-sail2 said:

 

Hi JB,  

I have never used public bus transportation, only the transports provided by the cruise lines or taxi's. ( I have always lived where their is no bus service) My mom once took a trip using a bus for part of it and they made her put her carry on in the luggage area under the bus and THEY LOST IT! It was found 3 weeks later and they did ship it too her but it caused her so much stress. 

 

 

You take your luggage, to the bus stand, it doesn't disappear down a conveyor like at aircraft check-in. And you hand it to the driver and can watch him load it - no danger whatsoever that your cases don't get loaded onto your bus.

 

The driver will almost certainly want to load your carry-on case into the luggage locker with your checked case. This isn't just to ensure that folk have space on the bus, it's also to avoid the risk of cases flying around in the unlikely event of an accident - or even if the driver has to break sharply.  If a driver has to brake suddenly, a case can be thrown the full length of the bus.

Exactly the same rule applies to cruise transfer buses, and again the driver's licence is at risk for carrying an unsecured load, though I know that drivers don't always follow the rules..

 

Coaches on your route will start at Heathrow bus station (for terminals 2 & 3) and call at T5 and T4, and then make one or two intermediate stops -  Basingstoke or Winchester and sometimes Southampton University, depending on the schedule.

You can see those stops by clicking the little "i" button against your chosen travel time, then in the little pop-up "show calling points" .

If you are concerned that someone might accidentally or deliberately go off with your case, do make it distinctive (for instance a bright ribbon), don't make it look valuable, do mention your concern to the driver. And if a seat with a clear view of the locker is available, take it.

The risk is tiny - especially compared to the risk on the airport baggage carousel. I'm pretty happy-go-lucky but do worry that a hold-up at immigration means that our cases are going round-and-round on the carousel before we get there. 

 

A private transfer should cost £80 to £90. Operators like www.smithsforairports,com or www.westquaycars.com or www.auuacars.co.uk or www.blackberrycars.com 

I mention this only because you asked, not because you should be concerned about your luggage on the bus.  

 

My long posts tend to make stuff look complicated. 

It's not. It's very simple and safe.    

 

JB 

[Lv-to-sail2]

JB, 

 

Thank you for the information. It's very helpful. 🙂

Now if I can just figure out how to put my US address on UK forms. Yours are different format and no matter how I put it in it keeps saying invalid. Nowhere can I find any instructions on how to do it. I don't want to call as that will cost too much and am always put on hold. I did send an e-mail to the hotel but who know when they will respond. 

You don't by any chance know how to do this like what part of my address goes on each line and where my zip code goes? I've tried several ways and nothing works even though I am using the part that says not UK address. 🙁

 

 

 

 

[John Bull]

37 minutes ago, Lv-to-sail2 said:

JB, 

 

Thank you for the information. It's very helpful. 🙂Now if I can just figure out how to put my US address on UK forms. . 🙁

 

 

I dug out a random hotel address in Los Angeles and entered that - got a big green tick for each line that I entered 

 

Firstly, include your e-mail address & forename & family name where indicated - they're mandatory (see the asterisk)

Phone number isn't mandatory.

"Country" is a drop-down. So scroll to United States.

Address one - will be your house number and street. The asterisk shows it's mandatory. So I entered that random address as 1920 Santa Monica Boulevard 

Address  two - will be village, suburb, district, whatever. No asterisk, so not mandatory - but I entered Santa Monica 

Address three I left blank. No asterisk so not mandatory - it's just for folk with complicated addresses

Town/ City. That line is mandatory, so I filled in Los Angeles.and got a green tick. Tried it with Santa Monica and California instead - green ticks each time.

Zip code CA 90404 Another green tick.

 

Does the website give you any clue which line it's unhappy with?

 

JB 

 

[Lv-to-sail2]

JB,

Thanks very much for your Help. I went back on and tried again another way. It would have been helpful if the site had been labeled where each part of the address went. The area I put the postal code in was 1, with the street address in 2, my State in the 3 with the town in it's own box along with another box at the end for the country. Once I did that It went thru. After I did this I remembered Ok that was what the other sited did last time. What was throwing me off was that this site (same as the other site I used last time) was using line 1 for the postal code. The Postal code is always at the very end here. 

Again Thank you for your help!  I got the room booked!  😁

[John Bull]

It's quite late in the evening here.

My excuse for thinking your grief was with the Nat Express booking, not the hotel.

 

Many websites in the UK now ask for your postcode (zipcode) first.

That automatically brings up a list of properties with that postcode, you click on yours & job done.

In my case I enter my postcode, scroll down to Number 7, job done.

Quick and easy 

 

But of course no automatic address from a zipcode for overseas addresses.  

 

JB 

[Host Bonjour]

On 3/18/2019 at 12:01 AM, alcpa1 said:

Without doing a mock booking is there any way I can find the cost of excess baggage for a National Express bus from LHR to Southampton? I have scoured the web site and cannot find a list of excess fees. 

The trip is in a few months but there is no way I can calculate luggage size or weight at this time.

Thank you

 

No one would have believed the size and weight of my bags on my last visit to London and in fact my uncle labeled one of the bags "the beast" because that's about how big it is/was and it did rather beat me up 😕 (the bag, not my uncle...he's alright!) and I couldn't/wouldn't ever use it again.

 

But...my point is, I took National Express into London from Terminal 5 where I arrived into, rolled up to the kiosk, bought my ticket, no one asked about my bags, neither did the driver though he noticed the heft when swinging them into the underbelly of the bus. 

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much is the thing. So long as you're not arriving to the bus with steamer trunks, it's probably alright. And no worries, I did get hammered for extra baggage fees when I left Gatwick later on in that trip heading to Verona. Sort of like my travel karma balanced out maybe? I don't know. Probably more like aviation costs and profit margins, fuel, regulations, or....just luck. 

 

Ended up catching a taxi from Victoria to my hotel which wasn't far so it wasn't a grand splurge. No way I could have managed on the tube with those things and I didn't want to offend the riders with these too large bags on the morning commute. - the cars are more narrow and I'm tired and clumsy on arrival So paying a little extra for the taxi was my "baggage fee" I suppose, the drivers are so kind and helpful. 

 

But now.....I just bring less. I realized I don't need a lot of the stuff, I don't want to lug it around and, I just cannot do it...I oughtn't ever have done it but...you learn 😉

 

Good luck, have an incredible journey 🙂