Hotel stay night prior to South Hampton cruise

[dianfarmer]

My husband and I are taking a cruise out of south Hampton in May 2023. We are both older and I am in a wheelchair. We always fly in the day prior to our cruises to give us a day to rest up before boarding the ship. We are having a hard time finding a hotel. Should we get a hotel by Heathrow Airport or close to the ship? No hotels at the airport have shuttle service. The hotel the cruise line uses is $600 plus. Any suggestions?

[John Bull]

Hi,

First of all it's Southampton.

"south Hampton" will screw-up results on some websites.

 

To some extent, staying at Heathrow airport or in Southampton seaport is a matter of personal choice.

 

A HEATHROW HOTEL

There's a "Hotel Hoppa" bus service between Heathrow terminals and hotels. Not rated as good value, but no big deal in the greater scheme of things. I don't know about wheelchair accessibility. https://www.hotelhoppa.co.uk/

But in your circumstances, for a short ride to an airport-land hotel, a London cab (all are wheelchair-accessible) from the rank at any LHR terminal is a better bet.

 

Hotels in Heathrow are very much in airport-land, fine if you're an aviation enthusiast but remote from "England" and local amenities - you'll be spending your arrival day in the hotel with a view of a sea of parking lots unless you fix a taxi ride to Windsor & its castle or venture into central London.

 

Windsor is awkward by public transport - a taxi will cost about £35 each-way. Windsor is a little hilly.

 

Central London is 15 urban miles away - if not too jet-lagged, after about 90 minutes between touchdown & Arrivals Hall, then travel to your hotel to drop your bags, you'll have the rest of your arrival day to go there & explore and return to your Heathrow hotel but you'll have no time next morning.

Once you're in central London, I'd suggest in your circumstances a tour on a hop-on bus   https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/product/affb216c-6875-44e7-b4ad-8a7ce1d220d4?optionId=96025d4a-20dd-4632-ab2e-4a6e1a27cb19 (there are several other operators)

or (despite the header in the web-page) a simple bus tour 

https://www.goldentours.com/london-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours/open-top-london-bus-tour-with-live-guide    

Or if you want to push the boat out, a pre-booked tour by taxi https://www.visitlondontaxitours.com/ (there are several other operators)

 

For travel to Southampton on either your arrival day or sailing day you can do so by pre-booked private transfer or National Express bus (all their buses are wheelchair friendly).

But on your sailing day you also have the options of

- your cruise-line's bus transfer direct to your ship (you'd have to make your own way from your Heathrow hotel to an airport terminal)

- or a tour-transfer from Heathrow hotels to your ship in Southampton via Stonehenge or Windsor Castle or Winchester Cathedral.

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html#tour-tab1

International Friends is a long-established and reputable coach tour operator, who also started offering door-to-door cruise tour-transfers about 7 or 8 years ago and have been used by many Cruise Critic members. The tour -transfers are ship-specific - because of the need to arrive at the cruise terminal in good time for registration they only offer one sight/stop en-route. All three tour-transfer options are wheelchair accessible, but as mentioned Windsor Castle is a bit hilly. All fares include admissions.

(also listed on their page is their direct transfer by shared van - but that's not good value, you can get better-value  private transfers)

 

A SOUTHAMPTON HOTEL

As above, the two major options for transfer from Heathrow are by National Express bus or private transfer.

National Express bus is by far the cheapest.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

The buses are comfortable, have a bathroom and wifi, & are wheelchair-accessible. But the frequency is poor - pre-booking is strongly advised for anyone,  and for wheelchair-accessible it's essential. Usual recommendation is to allow a bare minimum of 90 minutes for airport formalities from touchdown to bus - if you need wheelchair assistance from the aircraft & thro airport formalities I'd guess you should allow two hours (tho I do see wheelchairs being allowed to jump the line at immigration etc).

Or a private transfer will cost in the region of £125 to £150. Scroll thro the thread at the top of this forum for private transfer operators (but ignore Smiths For Airports, who sadly were a casualty of the Covid restrictions).

 

A precis of the Southampton city centre hotels below, with a thumbnail map which also shows cruise terminals & Nat. Express bus station) at the bottom of the page.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

Nearest hotel to any cruise terminal is Holiday Inn Herbert Walker Avenue which is right by the dock gate for City Cruise Terminal - but with a wheelchair even that is a bit of a haul. So assume to take a taxi from any hotel to any cruise terminal - from any hotel on the linked map its no more than £10 to any cruise terminal.

Southampton is pretty level, other than a rise between the shoreline and the very centre of the city (The Bargate) but that rise is very gradual in some places, or negotiated in a wheelchair by an elevator in the shopping malls or multi-storey carparks where its steeper. Check with your hotel staff for the best route to wherever with a wheelchair.

This is "proper England", especially compared to Heathrow airport-land. Good selection of shops, pubs & restaurants, and some city centre sights.

Best locations for a hotel are around the waterfront & "old town". Choose one & post it here for a bit more detail.

 

But, as per the start of my massif, an LHR or Southampton hotel boils down to personal choice.

 

Happy travels

 

JB 🙂

 

[Bob++]

JB gives excellent and comprehensive advice as always,  but I have a little experience with travelling with a wheelchair to add.

 

My wife uses an electrically powered chair, but can walk short distances. Yes, you will be able to get through the formalities at Heathrow faster, but you will be the last to leave the plane and if, as happened to us earlier this year, you are not parked on an air bridge you may have to wait some time to be lifted off.

 

Whether to stay at Heathrow or go straight to Southampton is a case of deciding which is the more daunting: Tackling a 1½ hour drive in a taxi or 2 hours on a coach to get to a Southampton hotel, or having to stay the night and up sticks and travel to Southampton in the morning.

 

I know which my wife would choose, although it might depend on the arrival time of your flight. Being met by a helpful pre-booked driver and driven to the door of a Southampton hotel would, in our opinion be well worth the cost. You would then, as JB says, have time for a leisurely breakfast and look around Southampton before boarding your ship. Southampton, in common with most of the UK has come a long way towards being wheelchair-friendly in recent years. Dropped kerbs at most crossings and level access to most buildings are the norm.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Bob++

[bunnyette]

I agree with @Bob++.  Much nicer to go to the port straightaway and less stressful.  Highways in the UK are smaller, one bad accident can delay you for hours.  I agree with a pre booked  car as well.  Not having to make your way to your hotel from the bus station especially with mobility issues will be worth it.