Transfer Southampton to Heathrow

We have a group of four that will be transferring from Southampton to Heathrow airport. Does anyone know what the cost would be to take a cab vs Princess transfer? Can you just pick a cab at the terminal?

You are aware that Heathrow is over 60 miles away from Southampton? Non-prebooked taxis from Southampton are legally permitted to "negotiate" as high a surcharge they can get for destinations outside the city. Hopefully someone will know the current Princess per person charge for their airport coach transfer which you can use to compare to the cost of pre-booking a private car or van ride. There are lots of threads recommending transfer providers on the Ports of Call board for Britain:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

When we arrived back to Southampton after our Baltic cruise (June 2016) we did not see many taxis for hire. Especially large enough vans for more than two people.

We booked a private car..Blackberry Car..for 4 adults with one carry on each and one large suitcase each. It was a van advertised as a 5 passenger. We went to St Pancras Train Station which is a little further then Heathrow. The cost for four was 150 pounds/about $220. I remember Heathrow a little less,about 140 pounds. I think the trip took a little more than 2 hours..that I don't exactly remember.

We never checked the Princess transfer cost, since we went to train station and not airport.

We had a good experience with this car company. You need to have a phone available to communicate with them when you arrive..just in case.

If you have a very late flight, you can find transportation back that also stops at Stonehenge. Pretty interesting..that would make your return drive back about 4 hours (we did it going to the cruise port, not returning)

We have a group of four that will be transferring from Southampton to Heathrow airport. Does anyone know what the cost would be to take a cab vs Princess transfer? Can you just pick a cab at the terminal?

Check for other transportation options here:

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

Check out Cruise Critic - Port of Call - Britain for great information.

Depending your flight time, you could use http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk.

The Princess transfer Southampton to Heathrow was US$54/pp in June 2016. We used this service and it worked out fine. Just make sure you get on the bus that is going to your departure terminal. It is a little complicated to move between some terminals at Heathrow.

We used Smiths for Airports on arrival to transfer from Heathrow to Southampton. The cost was around GBP85 for two. You may wish to contact them or similar car companies to see if they provide Southampton to Heathrow service.

Our trips took about 80/90 mins. But, I would allow some extra time in case of traffic.

We also would highly recommend Smiths. Their service was excellent.

Inquires booking, and questions were promptly answered. The driver was

waiting our arrived early and we got to the airport in 80 minutes. Also check

with the service as sometimes, football games, and holidays, as well as

road repairs can impair service. Again great service.

Just booked cruise on Princess. Transfers are now $59 per person each way. I went ahead and booked through P just because of the convenience.

Best, Annette

We have a group of four that will be transferring from Southampton to Heathrow airport. Does anyone know what the cost would be to take a cab vs Princess transfer? Can you just pick a cab at the terminal?

Check out this company,

http://www.woodfordchauffeurcars.co.uk/

An additional question,

For a Princess transfer to the ship at the beginning of the cruise, where does the Princess shuttle pick you up at?

By what I calculate, the Princess transfer is cheaper if one or two people are going and needing transportation, but if you have more than two people, then maybe a private car company would be cheaper.

However, a private company would pick you up and drop you off where ever you want to go, not just from the ship to the airport.

When there's 4 of you, it's usually cheaper to go with private transfers vs. the cruise line transfers. You should do this now, well ahead of time.

Princess shuttles pick you up at baggage claim at LHR or LGW. They also have a pick up at Victoria Station. It's easiest if you sign up for these in advance too. The transfers really are good to/from LHR. They pick up and drop you off very close to the ship and at your terminal, so dragging your luggage is limited. BUT - if you have 4 people in your group, private transfers are better.

We use: https://www.london-transfers.com/ and also Viator.

An additional question,

 

For a Princess transfer to the ship at the beginning of the cruise, where does the Princess shuttle pick you up at?

One is at Heathrow airport. Meeting place is at baggage claim area.

The other is at Victoria Coach Station in Central London.

The Princess transfer Southampton to Heathrow was US$54/pp in June 2016. We used this service and it worked out fine. Just make sure you get on the bus that is going to your departure terminal. It is a little complicated to move between some terminals at Heathrow.

We used Smiths for Airports on arrival to transfer from Heathrow to Southampton. The cost was around GBP85 for two. You may wish to contact them or similar car companies to see if they provide Southampton to Heathrow service.

Our trips took about 80/90 mins. But, I would allow some extra time in case of traffic.

How long after you arrived in Southampton on Princess were you able to all board the bus and begin the trip to Heathrow. Our flight is at 1:00 PM and we are concerned that we may not make it. Please advise. Thank you!

How long after you arrived in Southampton on Princess were you able to all board the bus and begin the trip to Heathrow. Our flight is at 1:00 PM and we are concerned that we may not make it. Please advise. Thank you!

These are the flight guidelines for Southampton straight from the online FAQs:

Disembarking Passengers

For voyages arriving in Southampton at 5:00 am, the earliest flight departure from Heathrow is 12:00 pm, the earliest flight departure from Gatwick is 12:30 pm, and the earliest train departure from Victora Coach Station is 11:30 am.

For voyages arriving in Southampton at 7:00 am, the earliest flight departure from Heathrow is 2:00 pm, the earliest flight departure from Gatwick is 2:30 pm and the earliest train departure from Victoria Coach Station is 1:00 pm.

Hopefully you ship is arriving at 5 AM not 7 AM. If the latter Princess probably won't sell you their transfer as your flight is before 2 PM. If arriving at 5 AM as long as you have entered your flight information into the Cruise Personalizer you will be assigned a disembark time that will get you on an early enough bus for a 1 PM flight.

We used Smiths for Airports on arrival to transfer from Heathrow to Southampton and for the return from Southampton to Heathrow. Would HIGHLY recommend them. Very professional and friendly.

We had an early morning flight arriving at Heathrow, so we had arranged to be picked up from the airport and for a stop at Salisbury to see the cathedral (and stop to buy wine!) before heading to the port. We were a party of 5 and they had a comfortable vehicle with enough room for our luggage (5 regular cases plus various backpacks and other carry-ons).

Our round trip cost in July 2017 (Heathrow-Salisbury-Port & Port-Heathrow) was around 265 pounds (around $350 I think) for all 5 of us. We felt $70 each was well worth it. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure this was less than round trip cruise line transfers. It was RCL for us last year, but I think round trip was around $90 each ...

Thank you - both of you - we appreciate your quick response. We contacted Smiths and they are already fully booked but we are trying alternatives.

Thank you for this info, I will look into Smith's for our cruise next summer.

Thank you for this info, I will look into Smith's for our cruise next summer.

Airport car every time and Smith’s have a good reputation. If there are four of you it will be cheaper than the cost of four Princess transfers and much much more convenient.

I sort of have the OP’s problem I reverse in that I live a little to the West of Southampton but have to get to and from LHR to get to my flight out to the cruise.

Although there are only two of us, we use an airport car firm EVERY TIME.

Cheaper than train for even for two and much less hassle than National Express which requires us to take a taxi to the bus station and sometimes requires us to route via Victoria Coach station in central London. Even if I drive to the airport, by the time I have allowed for parking costs there is not much in it.

I am doing Dorset (which is 45 mins further than Southampton) to LHR both ways for £235 (roughly $300) this winter.

I would expect you to get a one way car to LHR for around $130 one way and a people carrier with sufficient space for four people and their baggage for around $180. Pick ups from the airport are slightly more expensive.

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we are departing and returning to Southampton. We will be touring in the area for a week after the cruise. does anyone know if i can use the return transfer at some other time ie with the arrival a following princess cruise.

I've done both Smiths (fantastic!) and used the Princess transfer. Both worked very well, but given that Smiths was cheaper, and more personal I lean that direction.

We have a group of four that will be transferring from Southampton to Heathrow airport. Does anyone know what the cost would be to take a cab vs Princess transfer? Can you just pick a cab at the terminal?

Check out Smithstotheairport on line. we have used them twice a few years back, think maybe we paid $150... in was in pounds sterling so don't recall exacty. We ordered on line, paid on day of service. Excellent service.

Thank you - both of you - we appreciate your quick response. We contacted Smiths and they are already fully booked but we are trying alternatives.

Try Blackberry

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we are departing and returning to Southampton. We will be touring in the area for a week after the cruise. does anyone know if i can use the return transfer at some other time ie with the arrival a following princess cruise.

No. if you have a return transfer is must be used the day you disembark the ship.

If you are touring after the cruise, there is no reason for you to purchase the return xfer. If you did purchase it, cancel it.

thanks that is what I did . I appreciate the information on the tread. it made scheduling the car for the return much easier . all your excellent and shared experience is greatly appreciated as it makes life a little easier for those who follow.

We took the Princess transfer last year to Heathrow. In retrospect, I wish we had extended our vacation with a few nights after the cruise. We had four nights in England before it.