Southampton-London Transfers - Airport (LHR/LGW) - NEW THREAD!

[renebfl]

I have been trying to figure out how to transfer from London to the cruise port in Southampton for a princess cruise in July. I know how to work this website but I can’t find an answer. Could someone please help me. I am also looking to transfer off the princess cruise ship and get to the airport to get a noon time flight. I’ve called Princess and I’ve got the runaround.

[gumshoe958]

9 hours ago, renebfl said:

I have been trying to figure out how to transfer from London to the cruise port in Southampton for a princess cruise in July. I know how to work this website but I can’t find an answer. Could someone please help me. I am also looking to transfer off the princess cruise ship and get to the airport to get a noon time flight. I’ve called Princess and I’ve got the runaround.

London to Southampton: take your pick between train, National Express coach, cruise line bus transfer or private car transfer. Depends how much you want to spend, how mobile you are, how much you want to haul your own luggage etc. 

 

Southampton to Heathrow: depends on flight time. If “noon time” means 12:00 a private car transfer is really your only option but if it means 2:00 there’s also the National Express coach or cruise line bus transfer.

[John Bull]

19 hours ago, renebfl said:

I have been trying to figure out how to transfer from London to the cruise port in Southampton for a princess cruise in July. I know how to work this website but I can’t find an answer. Could someone please help me. I am also looking to transfer off the princess cruise ship and get to the airport to get a noon time flight. I’ve called Princess and I’ve got the runaround.

 

 

From London (as in central London) to Southampton you have quite a wide choice

- frequent direct trains from London Waterloo rail station. Journey time 90 minutes, fare upward from £14 for a restricted advance ticket (ask again here for ticket details if train is your choice)

- hourly National Express bus from Victoria coach station.. Journey time about 2hrs 15mins, fare upward from about £10, Advance booking strongly advised.

The location of your London hotel is likely to influence whether train or bus is better.

Both Southampton Central train station & Southampton coach station are a short taxi ride (£10 or less) to any cruise terminal. 

Other options include ship's transfer bus from Victoria coach station, pre-booked private transfer from hotel to ship (about £170 - £200 total), and a tour/transfer coach specifically for passengers on your cruise from your hotel to your ship via either Windsor Castle or Stonehenge https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html

 

Not such good news for your transfer from ship to Heathrow, because of your noon flight time 😮.

There's no public transport to suit that flight time, and cruise lines strongly (and wisely) suggest that you don't use their transfer service for flights before 1.00pm.

Your only option is to disembark unassisted (ie haul your own luggage from your cabin) as early as possible, that's usually around 7.00am, with a pre-booked car waiting for you at 7.15am. Heathrow is about 68 miles on a motorway thick with commuter traffic and excluding any unusual hold-ups takes 2hrs to 2hrs 30 mins.. That gets you to the airport around 9.15 to 9.45 which is OK but there's little wiggle room if you're exceptionally delayed.

If your flight is a saturday or sunday the pressure is off - no commuter traffic & little commercial traffic reduces your travel time to about 75 minutes, giving you a wide window for problems. 

But if this is a weekday, I'd recommend a later flight time if available. If its the only suitable flight of the day you'll need to keep your fingers and toes crossed. 

 

JB 🙂

[SkippersCruisersMN]

Has anyone used uber to get from London to the cruiseport in Southampton? Debating on using Uber vs. taking the train?

Edited March 31 by SkippersCruisersMN

[CRUISIN2X2]

14 hours ago, SkippersCruisersMN said:

Has anyone used uber to get from London to the cruiseport in Southampton? Debating on using Uber vs. taking the train?

Following, we are pondering the same thing. Thought about if trains don't run for some reason how hard or costly to book Uber. I know many are thinking about using the train, including us. We thought about ride sharing an Uber so it would be cheaper but haven't found anyone yet.

 

[Homeport5]

21 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

 

From London (as in central London) to Southampton you have quite a wide choice

- frequent direct trains from London Waterloo rail station. Journey time 90 minutes, fare upward from £14 for a restricted advance ticket (ask again here for ticket details if train is your choice)

- hourly National Express bus from Victoria coach station.. Journey time about 2hrs 15mins, fare upward from about £10, Advance booking strongly advised.

The location of your London hotel is likely to influence whether train or bus is better.

Both Southampton Central train station & Southampton coach station are a short taxi ride (£10 or less) to any cruise terminal. 

Other options include ship's transfer bus from Victoria coach station, pre-booked private transfer from hotel to ship (about £170 - £200 total), and a tour/transfer coach specifically for passengers on your cruise from your hotel to your ship via either Windsor Castle or Stonehenge https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html

 

Not such good news for your transfer from ship to Heathrow, because of your noon flight time 😮.

There's no public transport to suit that flight time, and cruise lines strongly (and wisely) suggest that you don't use their transfer service for flights before 1.00pm.

Your only option is to disembark unassisted (ie haul your own luggage from your cabin) as early as possible, that's usually around 7.00am, with a pre-booked car waiting for you at 7.15am. Heathrow is about 68 miles on a motorway thick with commuter traffic and excluding any unusual hold-ups takes 2hrs to 2hrs 30 mins.. That gets you to the airport around 9.15 to 9.45 which is OK but there's little wiggle room if you're exceptionally delayed.

If your flight is a saturday or sunday the pressure is off - no commuter traffic & little commercial traffic reduces your travel time to about 75 minutes, giving you a wide window for problems. 

But if this is a weekday, I'd recommend a later flight time if available. If its the only suitable flight of the day you'll need to keep your fingers and toes crossed. 

 

JB 🙂

Thank you for all of your posts!!  

 

Trying to figure out how to get from Kensington area to Southampton on outbound.  Then from Southampton to Gatwick on the return.  No tight time frames as we are flying in early and flying out a day later.  Looking to be lazy and not rushed as this is our first time and recognize we are uneducated on transportation/area.

 

When you say train from Waterloo....is that "Southern"?  Is it best to book direct with "southern"?

 

Is one option (train vs national express) more comfortable for a larger man...6'4".  Our past experiences generally speaking that some busses are really cramped (no knee space).

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, Homeport5 said:

When you say train from Waterloo....is that "Southern"?

 

Trains from London Waterloo to Southampton Central are operated by South Western Railway.

 

Southern Railway operates trains from London Victoria to Southampton Central, but direct trains on this route will no longer operate after Saturday 1 June 2024. They are, in any event, much slower than SWR trains from Waterloo.

 

To give you better directions, you might want to say where in the "Kensington area" you are planning to start from. "Kensington" covers a pretty sizeable chunk of London.

[Homeport5]

27 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

Trains from London Waterloo to Southampton Central are operated by South Western Railway.

 

Southern Railway operates trains from London Victoria to Southampton Central, but direct trains on this route will no longer operate after Saturday 1 June 2024. They are, in any event, much slower than SWR trains from Waterloo.

 

To give you better directions, you might want to say where in the "Kensington area" you are planning to start from. "Kensington" covers a pretty sizeable chunk of London.

Oh thank you!   The neighborhood names are confusing...as with any city!  We are near the Marriott London Kensington.

[John Bull]

2 hours ago, Homeport5 said:

Thank you for all of your posts!!  

 

Trying to figure out how to get from Kensington area to Southampton on outbound.  Then from Southampton to Gatwick on the return.  No tight time frames as we are flying in early and flying out a day later.  Looking to be lazy and not rushed as this is our first time and recognize we are uneducated on transportation/area.

 

When you say train from Waterloo....is that "Southern"?  Is it best to book direct with "southern"?

 

Is one option (train vs national express) more comfortable for a larger man...6'4".  Our past experiences generally speaking that some busses are really cramped (no knee space).

 

 From central  London to Southampton Central station.

Kensington to Waterloo station. Your hotel is about 1/4 of a mile from Gloucester Road tube station. Take either a Circle Line (yellow)  or District Line (green) tube train to Westminster tube station & either change to a Jubilee (silver) line tube train, or hail a taxi or walk 1/2 mile over Westminster Bridge to Waterloo . Needs a Londoner to advise which is easiest with luggage.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

Or say the hell with the tube, and pre-book a private-hire taxi or (more expensive) hail a black cab from your hotel to Waterloo, 4 miles.

Again, needs a Londoner to suggest an approximate fare.

 

As has been mentioned, Waterloo to Southampton is served by South-Western.

2 direct trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes. Walk-up fares are about £55, but Advance tickets available from about 12 weeks out start at around £14 then increase as the travel date draws near.  Those tickets are only good for the train time that you've booked, so don't miss it.

 

From Southampton Central station to Gatwick.

There's no longer a direct train.

Two routes involving one change of train

 

 - One is twice per hour via an awkward change at Clapham Junction costing £44.50, The first train is by South-western & the second is by Southern but that makes no difference

But just to show how complicated the ticketing is,..............if you choose via Clapham Junction for monday to saturday it's cheaper to buy Advance tickets (same terms as WAT to SOU) for Southampton to Clapham Junction costing as little as £14, then the walk-up fare from Clapham Junction to Gatwick is £14.50. Advance tickets for this second leg at £14 save only pennies over the anytime fare of £14.60 & not worth the restrictions. So split-ticketing can save you £16 each

No cheap advance fares on sundays.

 

 - The other route is hourly via a simple same-platform change at Havant at £20.10, both trains are Southern, journey time about 20 minutes longer but that's the one to go for. No need to buy in advance, this is effectively the all-day walk-up fare

This service doesn't operate on sundays - by train your only choice on sundays is the more expensive route via Clapham Junction.

 

You can book any train journey on any rail operator's website, or via the National Rail website which I find simpler

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Fares are the same whichever of those sites you use

 

JB 🙂

 

[Globaliser]

48 minutes ago, John Bull said:

From central  London to Southampton Central station.

Kensington to Waterloo station. Your hotel is about 1/4 of a mile from Gloucester Road tube station. Take either a Circle Line (yellow)  or District Line (green) tube train to Westminster tube station & either change to a Jubilee (silver) line tube train, or hail a taxi or walk 1/2 mile over Westminster Bridge to Waterloo . Needs a Londoner to advise which is easiest with luggage.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf

Or say the hell with the tube, and pre-book a private-hire taxi or (more expensive) hail a black cab from your hotel to Waterloo, 4 miles.

Again, needs a Londoner to suggest an approximate fare.

 

If using the Tube, I'd suggest walking the other way from the hotel, and using Earls Court station, which is also on the District Line and is almost exactly the same distance from that Marriott. This is because at Earls Court there's step-free access from street level to platform level, which is handy for luggage. I'm pretty sure that Gloucester Road station only has stairs, equivalent to about two storeys of a domestic house.

 

If you've managed that, then changing at Westminster to the Jubilee Line and taking that for one stop to Waterloo is the best option. Step-free exit from the Tube to street level and then again up to National Rail concourse and platform level.

 

Personally, though, I'd be tempted by the option of a cab or a minicab. A cab (ie a licensed, metered taxi) would probably be something like £20-25? But that's really more of a guess than an estimate.

 

55 minutes ago, John Bull said:

From Southampton Central station to Gatwick.

There's no longer a direct train.

 

Doesn't this cease after 1 June 2024 as well? Isn't it simply part of the London Victoria to Southampton Central direct train service that's being discontinued after that date? In other words, it's still running at present.

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

 

 From Southampton Central station to Gatwick.

 

 - The other route is hourly via a simple same-platform change at Havant at £20.10, both trains are Southern, journey time about 20 minutes longer but that's the one to go for. No need to buy in advance, this is effectively the all-day walk-up fare

This service doesn't operate on sundays - by train your only choice on sundays is the more expensive route via Clapham Junction.

 

 

On Monday to Saturday from June 1st Southern’s service will run every 30 minutes involving, as you say, a change of train en route at Havant. Trains normally leave Southampton Central at 20 and 50 minutes past the hour.

 

On Sunday the same service runs once an hour, normally leaving Southampton Central at 30 minutes past the hour, also with a change of train at Havant.

 

Total journey time to Gatwick is between 2 hours 20 and 2 hours 40 mins Mon-Sat and around 2 hours 10 mins on Sundays.

 

It will nearly always be quicker to use the other route via Clapham Junction, which normally takes less than 2 hours.
 

However it’s more expensive and the change of train at Clapham Junction involves negotiating elevators/stairs and a footbridge or underpass at an extremely busy commuter station so is really not recommended with heavy luggage.

 

The bottom line is from June 1st the loss of the direct Southampton to Gatwick service makes the train a far less attractive proposition. And there is no direct bus service so the only choice is an indirect train or a very expensive taxi/limo service. Such is progress.

 

Edited April 1 by gumshoe958

[dstein]

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

You can book any train journey on any rail operator's website, or via the National Rail website which I find simpler

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Fares are the same whichever of those sites you use

...and to complete this, based on what else I've read here (and relevant to those of us coming from the US): apparently, South Western's online ticket purchase requires creation of an account but doesn't know how to deal with non-UK-based buyers.  You apparently can't enter a US-based address.  Others have noted that US-based pax can successfully complete a purchase via the LNER website.  I don't know whether the National Rail site above is "US-friendly" or not, but you do have at LEAST one known-good option via LNER.  Just be aware.

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

 

If using the Tube, I'd suggest walking the other way from the hotel, and using Earls Court station, which is also on the District Line and is almost exactly the same distance from that Marriott. This is because at Earls Court there's step-free access from street level to platform level, which is handy for luggage. I'm pretty sure that Gloucester Road station only has stairs, equivalent to about two storeys of a domestic house.

 

If you've managed that, then changing at Westminster to the Jubilee Line and taking that for one stop to Waterloo is the best option. Step-free exit from the Tube to street level and then again up to National Rail concourse and platform level.

 

Personally, though, I'd be tempted by the option of a cab or a minicab. A cab (ie a licensed, metered taxi) would probably be something like £20-25? But that's really more of a guess than an estimate.

Yep, I saw that the Earls Court tube station was the same distance as the Gloucester Road one from the Kensington Marriot, I mentioned Gloucester Road because  the Circle Line was also accessed from there. 

But the above from Globaliser is the reason why I suggested a Londoner as a better source than a South Coast yokel 😏

 

1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

 

Doesn't this cease after 1 June 2024 as well? Isn't it simply part of the London Victoria to Southampton Central direct train service that's being discontinued after that date? In other words, it's still running at present.

Yes, the change is from 1st June - I was tryin' to keep it simple by treating it in the present tense,

But no. it's still the same hourly Southern service from Victoria via Gatwick and along the South Coast, but from 1at June it terminates in Portsmouth instead of Southampton.

Hence for Southampton a change of train a little before  Portsmouth  - at Havant in the Gatwick direction but at Barnham (at Ford on sundays) in the Portsmouth direction, all small stations, all same-platform changes. 

 

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

On Monday to Saturday from June 1st Southern’s service will run every 30 minutes involving, as you say, a change of train en route at Havant. Trains normally leave Southampton Central at 20 and 50 minutes past the hour.

 

No, not quite. That route is hourly, leaving Southampton at 39 mins past the hour. Other trains listed go via that difficult change at Clapham J.

 

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

 

On Sunday the same service runs once an hour, normally leaving Southampton Central at 30 minutes past the hour, also with a change of train at Havant

 

Agreed, except that just to keep life complicated, the service on sundays in the opposite direction (from Gatwick to Southampton) is also broadly hourly,  but at various minutes past the hour - and the change is at Ford (again a simple same-platform change)/

Havant, Barnham & Ford are al small stations a few miles apart) 

 

Total journey time to Gatwick is between 2 hours 20 and 2 hours 40 mins Mon-Sat and around 2 hours 10 mins on Sundays.

It will nearly always be quicker to use the other route via Clapham Junction, which normally takes less than 2 hours.
 

Agreed 

 

However it’s more expensive and the change of train at Clapham Junction involves negotiating elevators/stairs and a footbridge or underpass at an extremely busy commuter station so is really not recommended with heavy luggage.

 

Agreed

 

 

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

The bottom line is from June 1st the loss of the direct Southampton to Gatwick service makes the train a far less attractive proposition. And there is no direct bus service so the only choice is an indirect train or a very expensive taxi/limo service. Such is progress.

Atho we've managed to make it  sound complicated, IMHO it's not a big change - the south coat route is the same as it was but with one simple change.

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

 

 

 

JB 🙂

 

[gumshoe958]

For the avoidance of doubt, this is an excerpt from the new Southampton to Gatwick Airport train timetable from June 1st, showing the easiest and cheapest route (with a change of train en route at Havant).

 

Monday-Saturday - half hourly:

 

 

Sunday - hourly:

 

 

Other faster (and more expensive) options are available via Clapham Junction but the change of trains there isn’t as easy, especially with luggage.

 

Edited April 2 by gumshoe958

[Globaliser]

9 hours ago, dstein said:

Others have noted that US-based pax can successfully complete a purchase via the LNER website.  I don't know whether the National Rail site above is "US-friendly" or not, but you do have at LEAST one known-good option via LNER.

 

The National Rail website doesn't itself sell tickets. It will give you the information you need, but when you start to buy a ticket it redirects you to the website of one of the Train Operating Companies. I think that it usually sends you to the most logical TOC (usually, the TOC that's operating the service that you're thinking of), but you can choose - or, of course, you can always just go directly to whichever TOC's website you want to use.

 

For those interested in why there's a website that's devoted to giving you information but doesn't sell tickets, this is because the National Rail website is run by what used to be called the Association of Train Operating Companies (now called the Rail Delivery Group), so it's essentially a cooperative venture run by the TOCs.

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

For the avoidance of doubt, this is an excerpt from the new Southampton to Gatwick Airport train timetable from June 1st, showing the easiest and cheapest route (with a change of train en route at Havant).

 

Monday-Saturday - half hourly:

 

 

Sunday - hourly:

 

 

Other faster (and more expensive) options are available via Clapham Junction but the change of trains there isn’t as easy, especially with luggage.

 

 

 

Now I'm well-confused.

For various weekday dates, eg Thurs 20th June, neither the National Rail site nor the Southern site are showing me the trains at 50 minutes past the hour, only those at 20 mins past.

Hence you say half-hourly via Havant at £20.10, and I'm saying hourly.

In desperation I checked the LNER site (a different operator covering a different part of the UK but should show the same). That needs the "go cheaper" filter to show any trains on that route, which I rate as ridiculous, but again shows only the trains at 20 mins past the hour.

 

I think I've sussed it. 🙂

The timetables show half-hourly trains from Southampton to Havant and half-hourly from Havant to Gatwick, but only hourly (20 mins past the hour) from Southampton to Gatwick 🙄

But I give up on why they don't show the 50 mns past the hour trains, journey time is the same and timetabling shows they're not overtaken by the trains which go via Clapham.🥴

Jeez, what a mess.

Can you please tell me which website you've pasted, it might be better if I got my information from it.

 

JB 🙂

[gumshoe958]

43 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

 

Now I'm well-confused.

For various weekday dates, eg Thurs 20th June, neither the National Rail site nor the Southern site are showing me the trains at 50 minutes past the hour, only those at 20 mins past.

Hence you say half-hourly via Havant at £20.10, and I'm saying hourly.

In desperation I checked the LNER site (a different operator covering a different part of the UK but should show the same). That needs the "go cheaper" filter to show any trains on that route, which I rate as ridiculous, but again shows only the trains at 20 mins past the hour.

 

I think I've sussed it. 🙂

The timetables show half-hourly trains from Southampton to Havant and half-hourly from Havant to Gatwick, but only hourly (20 mins past the hour) from Southampton to Gatwick 🙄

But I give up on why they don't show the 50 mns past the hour trains, journey time is the same and timetabling shows they're not overtaken by the trains which go via Clapham.🥴

Jeez, what a mess.

Can you please tell me which website you've pasted, it might be better if I got my information from it.

 

JB 🙂

I used Chiltern. But you have to specify via Havant to get the full timetable. It’s the same with the National Rail website and Southern’s own website.

 

As you found out, if you just ask for Southampton to Gatwick it omits the :50 service. Perhaps because it’s the slowest (albeit only by a minute or two) and the algorithm rejects it for taking too long. Whatever the reason, as with many aspects of British train travel it’s ridiculous and user unfriendly but it is what it is.

 

Anyway, the intricacies of British train timetabling are probably a bit confusing for our overseas friends! The key takeaway for cruisers is that from June 1st there will no longer be a direct train between Southampton and Gatwick Airport, which means a 20 minute longer journey and a (simple, granted, but still a pain with luggage or for the less mobile) change of train en route at Havant.

 

Edited April 2 by gumshoe958

[John Bull]

26 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

I used Chiltern. But you have to specify via Havant to get the full timetable. It’s the same with the National Rail website and Southern’s own website.

 

As you found out, if you just ask for Southampton to Gatwick it omits the :50 service. Perhaps because it’s the slowest (albeit only by a minute or two) and the algorithm rejects it for taking too long. Whatever the reason, as with many aspects of British train travel it’s ridiculous and user unfriendly but it is what it is.

 

Anyway, the intricacies of British train timetabling are probably a bit confusing for our overseas friends! The key takeaway for cruisers is that from June 1st there will no longer be a direct train between Southampton and Gatwick Airport, which means a 20 minute longer journey and a (simple, granted, but still a pain with luggage or for the less mobile) change of train en route at Havant.

 

 

Thanks for that, Gumshoe.

 

A simple search on the Chiltern site show exactly the same as I found on the other sites - the £20.10 fare showing only the trains at  20 mins past the hour.

I'll take your word for it that the 50 mins past the hour trains show if "via Havant" is selected but nowhere on that Chiltern site nor the National Rail site could I find a "via" filter.

 

There is a via filter on Southern's site.

Havant isn't one of the stations listed, but if it's typed in  - bingo - it shows both the 20 mins past & 50 mins past trains.

 

But of course a stranger to UK trains - and even locals like JB - isn't going to know that for half of the Gatwick trains they have to use a via filter to include a change at Havant. (or for trains in the opposite direction a change at Barnham).

 

The unnecessarily complicated fare structure and this "via" nonsense make the train websites a bit of a nightmare.

I get very bored explaining time and again on Cruise Critic how Advance fares work, now this nonsense.

I'm not going to do the same with the need to use the "via Havant" or "via Barnham" facility to get a full timetable of SOU to GTW trains.

 

I might create & save a post which covers these matters.

Or I'm more likely to just ignore train threads.

 

Exasperated 😡

Now I gotta  lie down and go to a happy place 😏

 

JB 🙁

[muchofamuchness]

On 4/1/2024 at 12:52 AM, SkippersCruisersMN said:

Has anyone used uber to get from London to the cruiseport in Southampton? Debating on using Uber vs. taking the train?

 

I wouldn't recommend Uber. 

 

It's 100 miles from London to Southampton, and once you factor in getting out of London we are probably talking about a 5 hour round trip for the driver with no paying fare on the return leg. It's not a given that one will accept the ride and you don't want to be stuck in London waiting for a driver. Too stressful and you can't really predict how much it'd cost.

 

If you want to be driven there I highly recommend pre-booking car service as then you'll have a quoted fare and a guaranteed journey.

 

Do you already have a hotel booked? If so which area are you staying in, how much luggage will you bring and how comfortable are you with walking/stairs? This might change what is the best option for you.

[SkippersCruisersMN]

1 hour ago, muchofamuchness said:

 

I wouldn't recommend Uber. 

 

It's 100 miles from London to Southampton, and once you factor in getting out of London we are probably talking about a 5 hour round trip for the driver with no paying fare on the return leg. It's not a given that one will accept the ride and you don't want to be stuck in London waiting for a driver. Too stressful and you can't really predict how much it'd cost.

 

If you want to be driven there I highly recommend pre-booking car service as then you'll have a quoted fare and a guaranteed journey.

 

Do you already have a hotel booked? If so which area are you staying in, how much luggage will you bring and how comfortable are you with walking/stairs? This might change what is the best option for you.

Thank you for this input. After much research and information found on this site we are planning to take the train. We have started looking at Hotels in the Waterloo area to hopefully eliminate having transfers or long walks with luggage. 

[laynp]

We are using EZ-Air flying into LHR day of the cruise arriving 07:50, we will be using Princess cruise transfer, (please don't tell me to arrive a day before cruise) my questions are:

1. What time(s) do the transfer buses leave LHR going to Southhampton?

2. Do I have any choice of when I leave LHR, because I would like to take advantage of the arrival lounge?

 

[Girlloves2cruise]

I got quotes from Blackberry cars and britishexpresscars and transferfeero and vivator.  Anyone use one of these?  I got suggestions from. FB Group.  Thanks for imput

 

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, laynp said:

We are using EZ-Air flying into LHR day of the cruise arriving 07:50, we will be using Princess cruise transfer, (please don't tell me to arrive a day before cruise) my questions are:

1. What time(s) do the transfer buses leave LHR going to Southhampton?

2. Do I have any choice of when I leave LHR, because I would like to take advantage of the arrival lounge?

 

See post #3 in this thread by @John Bull

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2873595-princess-transfers-from-lhr-airport-to-their-cruise-terminal/

 

If you want to use an arrivals lounge, it’s probably best to speak to the Princess rep in the arrivals hall first and ask them if you can travel on a later bus. The LHR arrivals lounges are all landside after immigration, baggage reclaim and customs.

[Slyfox16]

Is making a 10:00 reservation on the National Express bus realistic in terms of finding your luggage and getting a cab to the bus station? We are docking at 6:00 May 12th on NCL. There are 4/5 ships docking that morning and concerned about getting a taxi. Guess it is too short a distance to pre-book a cab.

[Blue and Green]

3 hours ago, Girlloves2cruise said:

I got quotes from Blackberry cars and britishexpresscars and transferfeero and vivator.  Anyone use one of these?  I got suggestions from. FB Group.  Thanks for imput

 

We used Blackberry cars several times...but the most recent was 2019. We never had an issue with them, and plan to use them again for Heathrow to Covent Garden, and probably from Windsor back to Heathrow this next trip. They've been around for quite awhile. I am not familiar with the others you mentioned. 

Traveling to/from Southampton we will use a Southampton based car service like Gunwharf Executive cars or West Quay Cars (there is a third one who's name I always forget).

We really prefer having a car service reserved. Takes the stress out of travel and moving luggage from place to place.