A day in Southampton

[globalgertie]

Can I get off the QMII for the day in Southampton on a round trip transatlantic from NYC?

[frankp01]

You can. And, at least pre-COVID, you cleared British immigration enroute. So you could just walk off the ship on arrival.

[Mr&MrsHendricks]

May I suggest getting the train up

to Winchester.  A beautiful city!!!
Much nicer than Southampton 

Sou Central is a 10 min cab ride away and it’s less than 20 mins on the train.  It’s a very easy and short stroll into the city centre.  

The magnificent cathedral is a must!!! 

[exlondoner]

Winchester is OK, the cathedral is great, but the walk from the station is tedious and traffic laden, and up hill going back. If you want a train journey to a cathedral city, I think Salisbury is far nicer.

 

But I would  stay in Southampton, which has some good museums - not just the Titanic, but also the art gallery behind the civic centre, the Tudor Merchant's house, and the Air Museum. There are also Roman walls, the Hythe ferry to view the waterfront from, and extraordinarily good brownies in the John Lewis café. And no worries about missing the ship, if South Western is having a bad day.

[frankp01]

What 

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I would  stay in Southampton,

What exLondoner said. While it may not be the top attraction in the UK, there's a surprising amount to see in Southampton. We have even managed to convince our London-based friend that he was wrong in assuming that there was nothing to see in Southampton.

[Tonopah]

Mister and I have a day in Southampton between the Northern Lights voyage and the subsequent WB crossing. We found the “Visit Southampton” website to be helpful. There is a downloadable walking map and many suggestions for places to visit and things to do. Want personal service? Choose “contact us” . They answered our query within a day. 

[globalgertie]

Thank you all for the helpful tips!

[Lakesregion]

On 2/11/2022 at 6:51 PM, globalgertie said:

Can I get off the QMII for the day in Southampton on a round trip transatlantic from NYC?

Yes. Cunard usually provides a shuttle to the main shopping mall and from there it is an easy stroll around town. While you are doing so, take special note of the two styles of architecture. The pre-war II and the 1950. Initially it seems odd how they were mixed until you realize Southampton was bombed during the war and the less than attractive 1950 style replaced buildings destroyed.

[Solent Richard]

Maybe I'm a little biased but for a relatively short rail journey there is the opportunity for a memorable visit to historical Portsmouth...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2013/06/28/one-way-to-do-historical-portsmouth/

[Cathygh]

Or take a trip to the beautiful villages of Hampshire like Wickham.

[nybumpkin]

We did a walking tour on our B2B - saw Bargate, the Wall, and Holyrood Church, which dates from the 1300s and was bombed in 1940. It's a memorial to merchant sailors and has a Titanic memorial that was relocated to the church in 1972.

 

There was a shuttle that ran from the pier into the city. After our DIY tour we had lunch at a local restaurant, then returned to the ship. We were thankful we could skip the line and go directly back on board - the line for boarding was crazy.

 

Some photos:

[globalgertie]

On 2/15/2022 at 2:44 PM, nybumpkin said:

We did a walking tour on our B2B - saw Bargate, the Wall, and Holyrood Church, which dates from the 1300s and was bombed in 1940. It's a memorial to merchant sailors and has a Titanic memorial that was relocated to the church in 1972.

 

There was a shuttle that ran from the pier into the city. After our DIY tour we had lunch at a local restaurant, then returned to the ship. We were thankful we could skip the line and go directly back on board - the line for boarding was crazy.

 

Some photos:

Was it during COVID you could skip the line? And did you have to get tested before you disembark if you were getting back on the ship the same day?

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, globalgertie said:

Was it during COVID you could skip the line? And did you have to get tested before you disembark if you were getting back on the ship the same day?

 

I think there is always a separate queue for passengers who are simply reboarding as opposed to embarking for the first time at both Southampton and Hamburg.

[Bigmike911]

Cunard offers excursions in Southampton for those passengers there for the day. One is the walking tour, which I did and enjoyed it greatly, though it is a walk and I was thankful of the Cunard shuttle bus waiting at the West Quay shopping center . Other Cunard tours are to Stonehenge. Winchester, Windsor Castle and Tours into London.

 

If you don't want to take a Cunard tour, you can walk to the Solent Sky Museum (or if you are at the Mayflower or QE II terminal a taxi.) and see a wonderful collection of WWII earlier and later airplanes built in the Solent region including the famous Spitfire, as well as a number of amphibian planes. There are plenty of restaurants in the area of the museum as well. 

 

You can also take the Ferry to the Isle of Wight, and a quick local bus to visit Osborne House which Prince Albert built for Queen Victoria and where she died in 1901. The ferry terminal is near the terminals either walking or a short taxi. There is a lot to do in Southampton. 

[nybumpkin]

On 3/23/2022 at 6:07 PM, globalgertie said:

Was it during COVID you could skip the line? And did you have to get tested before you disembark if you were getting back on the ship the same day?

This was 2019, pre-Covid.

[Crown Vic]

Is you are so interested, there are a number of plaques and a Memorial to the Pilgrim Fathers (and Mothers) who set sail on the Mayflower from Southampton to the New World on August 15, 1620.

[WestonOne]

On 2/12/2022 at 12:54 PM, frankp01 said:

What 

What exLondoner said. While it may not be the top attraction in the UK, there's a surprising amount to see in Southampton. We have even managed to convince our London-based friend that he was wrong in assuming that there was nothing to see in Southampton.

I live very close to Southampton, and have lived here for about 10 years,  A few weeks ago I spent almost two hours on a guided tour of St Michael's Church which is in fairly easy walking distance of the West Quay shopping centre, or very short taxi ride from the cruise terminals.  This church was built around 1070 and contains, for example, the only truly medieval lectern in the country.  One of the guides, who we know well, lamented that so few people on cruise ships take any time to look round Southampton.  In part, he blamed the Southampton authorities for doing so little to promote it.

In mid July we are going on another guided talk called 'Hidden Hamtun' , with a guide from the library.    Yet another tour we went on a few months ago was all about the sailing of the Mayflower: we know an incredible amount about many tiny details, like the exact spot some of the victuals were bought (and resold, because of financial issues!)

If you have any interest in history, there is masses to find out about in Southampton, and in many cases the guides do not charge at all.  As I say, we have been here 10 years and there is still plenty to find out!

Edited May 20, 2022 by WestonOne

[Tonopah]

9 hours ago, WestonOne said:

A few weeks ago I spent almost two hours on a guided tour of St Michael's Church

 

We would be interested in such a tour. Do you know how to go about booking it? The official church site is (understandably) about service times, etc. I found one site that is tours by locals but is quite pricey. We wouldn’t mind just taking a taxi and exploring on our own, but it sounds like your tour was informative and entertaining. We won’t be in Southampton until November, so I understand opening times and availability might change.

[WestonOne]

If you can give me the exact day you are in Southampton, I will happily look things up for you.  As for St Michael's, I will get my wife to speak to her friend who is a guide and see when he is available, or whether someone else will be there on the day you are here.

It is probably best to do that using the message facility on here, rather than in the topic as a whole.
 

Edited May 20, 2022 by WestonOne

[Tonopah]

Thanks so much!  November 13. We arrive on the QM2 then embark that same evening for the second leg/TA.

Edited May 20, 2022 by Tonopah

[Host Hattie]

9 minutes ago, WestonOne said:

It is probably best to do that using the message facility on here, rather than in the topic as a whole.

Unfortunately there isn't a message facility on here, except for Admin.

[WestonOne]

Ok.  I will look things up and PM you. As it is some months away still they may not have been announced yet, but I will check again at intervals.  I have made a note in my diary.

As long as you are able to walk, I would not take a taxi too far!   Someone else said they took a taxi from the Holiday Inn to the terminal for £5, so that is all it should cost.  I would take it to the West Gate,  and then go into the old town from there.  You will notice a docked cruise ship in the background here, so you can see how close it is!

Edited May 20, 2022 by WestonOne

[WestonOne]

1 minute ago, Host Hattie said:

Unfortunately there isn't a message facility on here, except for Admin.

Ah, that's a shame.   I don't really want to publish email addresses too widely.

[WestonOne]

I should perhaps explain that, apart from the St Michael's tour, all of the ones I referred to were organised by amateur local history groups or the city council, so they run at most once a month, and what the topic is varies. So they are not like companies organising tours for profit,  with a set schedule and topic.   Whether they are doing something on a specific day is pure chance.  That is why my 'Hidden Hamtun' walking tour is several weeks away.  They ran it over two weekends, found it popular and are trying a one-off midweek tour.  From those, they will decide how often to run it.  

The St Michael tour was a bit different.  There is usually a guide in the church whenever it is open.  Mainly people ask them just a question or two, but most are willing to give you much more information if you are willing to listen.  Indeed my wife's friend was saying that they find it difficult to get people to come into the church because everyone seems to fear they will be kidnapped into some weird sect if they so much as set foot inside the building!

Even so, I will keep my eye open and see if there is anything I can find for November 13th, either by those groups or anyone else.  If it is a company running tours for profit, I will try to decide which are likely to be most informative.

Edited May 21, 2022 by WestonOne

[WestonOne]

I promised months ago that I would post some things here as we approached Tonopah's visit on November 13th to Southampton.   We are still too far from that date to be precise, but here is a link to something that looks as if it, or a similar thing, happens every Thursday. Nov 13th is a Sunday, so visiting St Michael's will be possible, but a formal tour might not. 

Thinking Thursdays: Anglo-Saxon Walking Tour | Facebook

At the moment, all the other council based information is concentrating on the school holidays, so nothing is listed beyond early September.

One app I came across 'might be worth a look.  It does have some walking tours of Southampton https://www.gpsmycity.com and there is a free 3 day trial, so you could use your visit as a trial, and then decide if it is worth a purchase for other places you might visit.

The Tudor House is open Sundays (Planning Your Visit | Tudor House and Garden)

I will post things closer to the date.
 

Edited August 23, 2022 by WestonOne