Disembarking in Southampton - Train tickets

[lastmin]

I'm going on my first TA and we're disembarking in Southampton where I'd like to get a taxi to the train station. Those of you who have disembarked in Southampton: About what time are people usually off the ship? Cunard has stated that although there is a taxi stand at the pier, when there are a lot of ships in port you could have to wait an hour for a taxi. The day we arrive the QE2 and Independence of the Seas will arrive at the same time, so that might be a busy morning.

 

I'm not sure if I should just wait and get train tickets when I get to the train station the morning I disembark, or if I should try to calculate what time we'll be able to get there so that I can buy them in advance and pay 1/3 the normal fare.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

[WillWilk]

If you don't mind carrying your own bags off the ship then there's always the option of doing that and disembarking before the other passengers. Otherwise it depends on your deck & class - we were off before 9 from deck 10, Princess Grill - the Grill passengers disembark first.

[lastmin]

Thanks WillWilk. Carrying our own bags is definitely an option because we're not in the Grills class.

[zil]

I, too, am interested in taking the train from Southampton.

My question is just how far is the train station from Cunard piers?

Fortunately, I will be in no hurry to get to Gatwick

[Bigmike911]

Southampton Central is about a five minute taxi ride from the piers in Southampton. I have never had any trouble getting a taxi and they seem plentiful.

 

For Last Min, you can buy tickets for particular trains. After 10 am the off peak price applies. You can buy in advance and collect the ticket at the train staton (the machines not the rather surley ticket agent) or you can buy directly from the machine.

 

Tell the taxi driver to drop you on the London side if your going to London, That will avoid hauling your bags up and over on the bridge (the lifts don't work 100% of the time.)

 

Enjoy your TA

 

Mike

[zil]

many thanks for the information-just what I needed to know.

[Aubreysshipmate]

You can reserve a taxi while aboard ship which will meet you at the dock no waiting. They can also give you a good idea what time (roughly) to make the reservation for the pick-up. Buying a ticket for a specific time might be risky.

 

Trains to London are frequent. Careful which one you take though as they have different routes and one takes much less time than the other. The Waterloo station train (South West Trains)is quickest at 80-90 min.

 

Mike is correct about the lifts (lug-bump-lug-bump-pantpant-muttermuttergrumble).

 

Bon Voyage and enjoy the ship :)

[William Dean]

I thought that it was impossible to arrange a cab from on board?

 

Anyhow, the only thing I'd say is this. Yes, you can save money by booking ahead, but one can only book at a discount for one specific train - you can choose it, but you can't then move to a different service.

 

So if you're there early, you'll have to watch trains for London leave. But you'll save money.

 

If you're late, you just require a brand new walk up ticket. Not good news.

 

Works if you plan carefully and/or are lucky.

[david,Mississauga]

I thought that it was impossible to arrange a cab from on board?

...

 

 

From my experience, you can pay Cunard $10 to book a taxi for you, but that doesn't mean

they do anything other than give you a receipt. Last year we got off the QM2 at the self-help call and no-one on the pier knew anything about a pre-booked taxi. But there were plenty there so we just took one. This year I didn't bother booking and, as before, there were a lot of taxis waiting for customers.

[William Dean]

I thought that it was impossible to arrange a cab from on board?

 

Anyhow, the only thing I'd say is this. Yes, you can save money by booking ahead, but one can only book at a discount for one specific train - you can choose it, but you can't then move to a different service.

 

So if you're there early, you'll have to watch trains for London leave. But you'll save money.

 

If you're late, you just require a brand new walk up ticket. Not good news.

 

Works if you plan carefully and/or are lucky.

 

You can, of course, get flexible tickets in advance, but these are no cheaper than the walk up fare in a lot of cases.

 

Look very carefully at the terms of the tickets that you buy. Perhaps that is the best thing to say.

[cclarke12]

http://uk.megabus.com/default.aspx

 

If you use link above you can buy advance purchase off peak tickets from Southampton to London and vice versa for a £1 each. We did it last year and it was much cheaper than the standard tickets. The journey time is a little longer than some of the faster trains but only only by a few minutes.