Coach service from Southhampton to St. Pancras-How crowded is the bus?

[steve4031]

I am considering this instead of a private transfer to save some money.   Our hotel is adjacent to St. Pancras and is a part of the King's Cross station if I understand the layout correctly.  So the bus transfer might be okay to do if we are not jammed on top of each other.

 

If we took the train, how crowded with the train be from Southhampton to London?  

 

We are arriving in Southhampton on Friday, July 14.  

 

Thank you.  

[Pushpit]

The train should not be too busy if you aim for something around 08:30 or 09:00 from Southampton Central - it will get into London well after the daily commuters would be on the service. Moreover on a Friday in July there won't be many commuters anyway, even those who don't normally Work From Home tend to do so on a Friday.  It may get a bit busier for the last few stations nearer to London. Waterloo to Kings Cross St Pancras on the tube involves a transfer (albeit an easy cross platform one at Oxford Circus). Or a taxi from Waterloo Station would be easy to do.

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

The train should not be too busy if you aim for something around 08:30 or 09:00 from Southampton Central - it will get into London well after the daily commuters would be on the service. Moreover on a Friday in July there won't be many commuters anyway, even those who don't normally Work From Home tend to do so on a Friday.  It may get a bit busier for the last few stations nearer to London. Waterloo to Kings Cross St Pancras on the tube involves a transfer (albeit an easy cross platform one at Oxford Circus). Or a taxi from Waterloo Station would be easy to do.

Assuming the train has 8/10 coaches, it is usually less crowded at the back, so easier to find somewhere to put your luggage. If for some reason it is only a five coacher, that is not so good. If you have luggage, I would get a taxi from Waterloo, just to avoid grappling with escalators, and a very long walk at KX/St. P. If you don’t have much luggage, the 59 bus goes from just outside Waterloo to just outside St. P.

[steve4031]

Thank you for this information.  We would definitely use a cab once we got to London.  Is it one of those routes where it is better to buy tickets in advance, or is the price the same if we wait to purchase tickets the day of travel?  I am assuming these trains do not have reserved seats.  

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Assuming the train has 8/10 coaches, it is usually less crowded at the back, so easier to find somewhere to put your luggage. If for some reason it is only a five coacher, that is not so good. If you have luggage, I would get a taxi from Waterloo, just to avoid grappling with escalators, and a very long walk at KX/St. P. If you don’t have much luggage, the 59 bus goes from just outside Waterloo to just outside St. P.

Unbelievably, that bus seems to have changed its route. Apologies.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, steve4031 said:

Thank you for this information.  We would definitely use a cab once we got to London.  Is it one of those routes where it is better to buy tickets in advance, or is the price the same if we wait to purchase tickets the day of travel?  I am assuming these trains do not have reserved seats.  

It can be quite a lot cheaper in advance. They have theoretically reserved seats with Advanced tickets, but this is only to limit numbers, they do not allocate you an actual seat number. (Sorry this sounds so bizarre.) As I say, it is usually emptier near the back.

[Pushpit]

5 minutes ago, steve4031 said:

Thank you for this information.  We would definitely use a cab once we got to London.  Is it one of those routes where it is better to buy tickets in advance, or is the price the same if we wait to purchase tickets the day of travel?  I am assuming these trains do not have reserved seats.  

It can be significantly cheaper to buy in advance, but that gives you an inflexible ticket.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

It can be significantly cheaper to buy in advance, but that gives you an inflexible ticket.

Cheapest fare currently £14.50.

[steve4031]

It is a pretty significant difference between booking in advance and selecting a specific train and purchasing a ticket that is good on any train.  

 

We would not be doing self-disembark.  We would be in Brittania class.  About what time would we get off the ship if everything is on schedule?  How often. are there delays?  I know in the United States Ships are sometimes delayed when they are clearing customs and immigration.  

[Pushpit]

It may vary by a long list of factors, but as a general principle they want you off the vessel by 10:00 hrs, and usually somewhat before. So 08:15 to 09:45 is a common range. They really want you off pronto since they normally have a huge effort getting staterooms ready for the next sailing. The issue really is luggage collection arrangements. The station is less than 10 minutes away by taxi. So anything like 10:30 hrs is safe but there is a good chance you will be off well before that. You shouldn't need to factor in immigration delays (should be done on-board earlier on), and you'll barely notice the customs clearance stage.

 

The other factor I guess being check-in arrangements at your hotel. 

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, steve4031 said:

It is a pretty significant difference between booking in advance and selecting a specific train and purchasing a ticket that is good on any train.  

 

We would not be doing self-disembark.  We would be in Brittania class.  About what time would we get off the ship if everything is on schedule?  How often. are there delays?  I know in the United States Ships are sometimes delayed when they are clearing customs and immigration.  

Immigration is usually done on the ship, and you would be very unlucky to be delayed by customs. However, the ship can be delayed by the weather or airbridge problems. Last summer, because we were quarantined by Covid, we were last off the ship, and that was about 10.30. I think disembarkation is by deck working downwards.

[siforest65]

The only time I got the train home from Southampton after a cruise I said I’d never do it again.

 

The platform at Southampton station was full of cruise passengers with luggage and there wasn’t much storage available onboard. 
 

Fortunately for us we’d only done a 2 nighter on the QM2 from Hamburg so didn’t have a lot of luggage but it was bad enough.

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, siforest65 said:

The only time I got the train home from Southampton after a cruise I said I’d never do it again.

 

The platform at Southampton station was full of cruise passengers with luggage and there wasn’t much storage available onboard. 
 

Fortunately for us we’d only done a 2 nighter on the QM2 from Hamburg so didn’t have a lot of luggage but it was bad enough.

Yes, luggage storage is a problem. This applies to people using the train for travelling to seaside holidays as well.

[steve4031]

Do I understand correctly that there is a bus(coach) service from  Southhampton to St. Pancras?

[exlondoner]

10 minutes ago, steve4031 said:

Do I understand correctly that there is a bus(coach) service from  Southhampton to St. Pancras?

A Cunard transfer.

[elaine5]

how much is the Cunard transfer to StP?

[Yaldi]

On 5/5/2023 at 11:02 PM, elaine5 said:

how much is the Cunard transfer to StP?

Per person rate was $90 in July 2022.

[steve4031]

I think the Cunard Transfer would be the simplest.  Do they run one bus and jam everybody together or do they run a couple so there is more room?

[SPacificbound]

We always get a private car service from London to Southampton. 

[richard_london]

On 5/5/2023 at 2:52 PM, siforest65 said:

The platform at Southampton station was full of cruise passengers with luggage and there wasn’t much storage available onboard. 

I would agree and emphasize this point - if you have large suitcases I would caution against using the train, especially if you get there with all the other disembarking passengers.  If there are other ships disembarking on the same day then the station platform and trains will be very full.

 

Check the Southampton VTS website to see what other ships are in dock when you are due to arrive (https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/)

 

I live in London and it means the default option is to use the train but I curse it every time.  Last summer coming back from a QV voyage was a nightmare because of cancelled trains, so two train lots of passengers on one train.  It was horrendous.  I try to travel light and use the overhead luggage racks but these will only take the aeroplane carry-on size, nothing larger. 

 

If you are after peace of mind, I would go with what options you can organise for Cunard.  At least on the coach you are guaranteed a seat and there will be space for your luggage, whereas on the train neither is certain.

[steve4031]

Thank you all for the answers.  I am definitely not going to use the train.  I do have a private transfer booked but is expensive.  Do I understand correctly that the only way I can book the Cunard Transfer is once I am onboard the ship?  

[techteach]

@steve4031 I agree the private car is expensive, but we found it was worth every penny. We had WAY too much luggage and it wouldn’t fit in a car, so we ended up in a very nice Mercedes van. We enjoyed the countryside and learned lots from our driver. Also, call Cunard before you leave the U.S. and you can book a transfer before you leave home.

[steve4031]

2 hours ago, techteach said:

@steve4031 I agree the private car is expensive, but we found it was worth every penny. We had WAY too much luggage and it wouldn’t fit in a car, so we ended up in a very nice Mercedes van. We enjoyed the countryside and learned lots from our driver. Also, call Cunard before you leave the U.S. and you can book a transfer before you leave home.

We booked a Mercedes van too. 

[steve4031]

14 hours ago, techteach said:

@steve4031 I agree the private car is expensive, but we found it was worth every penny. We had WAY too much luggage and it wouldn’t fit in a car, so we ended up in a very nice Mercedes van. We enjoyed the countryside and learned lots from our driver. Also, call Cunard before you leave the U.S. and you can book a transfer before you leave home.

Does Cunard sell private transfers too, or just the bus ride?  

[techteach]

@steve4031 I have them arrange a private car from the ship to the airport. In London the bell man at our hotel arranged the van from our hotel to Southampton. He had no problem securing the van. In NY the cost was $200. through Cunard. This year it’s $300. to JFK. When you exit in NY there is a person who can see the blue tags on your luggage and she sweeps you in the correct direction where the cars are waiting. Another person grabs your luggage and away you go.