Question about 14 Night Scandinavia & Russia Cruise on Eclipse

[europe10]

I have some questions about the 14 Night Scandinavia & Russia Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse (16-Jul-2011 to 30-Jul-2011). I know this cruise leaves from Southhampton, England. I believe there are three main cruise terminals in Southhampton. Does anyone know which terminal the Eclipse leaves from or could it be any of the main terminals? I will be flying in from Canada. I like to make my own flight/travel arrangements. Is it better to fly into Heathrow (LHR) or Gatwick (GWK) to get into Southhampton? What is the most efficient way to get from the airport to the cruise ship terminal (without going broke)?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

We have flown into Heathrow, then taken the bus to Southampton. Stayed overnight in a motel, and cabbed to the port the next day. Motel we booked had kitchen closed, so we had to walk the three blocks into town and find a pub-- and it was delightful.

 

Bus is quite inexpensive. Check National Express. We are taking the bus from Southampton to Heathrow in April, and I think it is something like $38 for the two of us. The taxi from the motel to the port was not awful. In our younger days we could have walked--I still could, but not hauling 2 suitcases and two carryons--

[sddsddean]

We did the Eclipse this year out of Soton (short for Southampton).

 

She uses the City Cruise Terminal (berth 101) along with the RCI and NCL ships.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Harbour+Parade&daddr=Herbert+Walker+Ave&geocode=FUfCCAMdqH7q_w%3BFSSuCAMdbmzq_w&hl=en&mra=ltm&dirflg=w&sll=50.903141,-1.412945&sspn=0.015589,0.036306&ie=UTF8&ll=50.903114,-1.413417&spn=0.015589,0.036306&t=h&z=15 gives you the layout. 'B' is the City Cruise Terminal, 'A' is the National Express Bus Station and the red double arrow symbol to the left of that is Southampton Central rail station.

There is loads of travel info on the 'Britain' board, but heres a quick prece.

 

From LHR. Easiest is National Express coach. It picks up from the Heathrow Central bus station (by T1,2&3) and usually picks up at T4 and T5 too, but there are free transfers available to the bus station from all terminals. Takes about 2hrs and usual cost is around £15, but you may get a cheaper 'fun fare'. http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm

 

From LGW, the train goes direct from the station (in the South Terminal) to Soton Central, except on Sundays. It takes just under 2 hrs and again is about £15, but can be as low as £5 if you pick the 'right' service...just depends on timings. http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/s/planjourney/query

 

Now I would fly in 'day before' as everyone recommends, just to be on the safe side. In this case, go for the Holiday Inn on Herbert Walker Avenue. Its a HI (so you know what to expect), but it is only a 300 yd walk to the terminal in the morning!

 

You could walk to the HI from either bus or train station, but a cab will only be about £5.

 

Anything else, you will do better on the 'Britain' board where you will find loads of info and ideas of what to do with your 'arrival' day.

 

Simon

[europe10]

Thank you for the help.

[hillbil]

-we have reserved the Holiday Inn in Southampton one night prior to Eclipse Baltic cruise in July - the National Express seems like the best alternative - is it closer to take the bus to the National Express bus station or to the Cruise terminals and walk or cab to the hotel?

-suggestions about a taxi to Southampton???

thanks,

Hillbil

[sddsddean]

-we have reserved the Holiday Inn in Southampton one night prior to Eclipse Baltic cruise in July - the National Express seems like the best alternative - is it closer to take the bus to the National Express bus station or to the Cruise terminals and walk or cab to the hotel?

-suggestions about a taxi to Southampton???

thanks,

Hillbil

 

I asume you have looked at the NE website. Although the cruise terminal is listed as a destination, you can (unfortunately) only go to the bus station. From the map in my first post, you should be able to trace the walking route down Harbour Parade to the HI. You can cross West Quay Road (the dual carriageway) using pedestrian lights, so its quite safe. It should only take about 10 mins to walk from the bus station to the HI.

 

Simon

[2ndsailing]

I have some questions about the 14 Night Scandinavia & Russia Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse (16-Jul-2011 to 30-Jul-2011). I know this cruise leaves from Southhampton, England. I believe there are three main cruise terminals in Southhampton. Does anyone know which terminal the Eclipse leaves from or could it be any of the main terminals? I will be flying in from Canada. I like to make my own flight/travel arrangements. Is it better to fly into Heathrow (LHR) or Gatwick (GWK) to get into Southhampton? What is the most efficient way to get from the airport to the cruise ship terminal (without going broke)?

Thanks for your help.

 

 

 

We did this cruise last year. We flew from Toronto to Gatwick and then took the train to Southampton. We bought our train tickets on line for 5 pounds each....yes I said 5 pounds. Here is the link

 

http://www.southernrailway.com/offers/offers/

 

Looks like its 8 pounds each this year. The train station is easy to find in the airport. We also purchased our return train ticket for the end of the cruise. We were staying in London a few days post cruise so we took the train to London.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Southampton and we walked to the ship in the morning. A very easy walk. (we took a cab from the Southampton train station to the Holidlay Inn)

 

If I can answer any other questions, let me know. You'll love this cruise...

[rallycaps]

We did this cruise last year. We flew from Toronto to Gatwick and then took the train to Southampton. We bought our train tickets on line for 5 pounds each....yes I said 5 pounds. Here is the link

 

http://www.southernrailway.com/offers/offers/

 

Looks like its 8 pounds each this year. The train station is easy to find in the airport. We also purchased our return train ticket for the end of the cruise. We were staying in London a few days post cruise so we took the train to London.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Southampton and we walked to the ship in the morning. A very easy walk. (we took a cab from the Southampton train station to the Holidlay Inn)

 

If I can answer any other questions, let me know. You'll love this cruise...

 

We are booked on this cruise for July and would like to spend a few days in London post cruise. Can you recommend a hotel.

 

Thanks for the info.

[2ndsailing]

We are booked on this cruise for July and would like to spend a few days in London post cruise. Can you recommend a hotel.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

We stayed at the Reubens at the Palace. Rooms were nice, but small but it was a great location. We got a promotion which included one dinner for two (you got a choice of dinner, champagne or something else...we choose the dinner). It easy walk to Buckingham Palace and Victoria Station is within walking distance. If you're interested in a tour of Buckingham Palace - state rooms check out their web site. We were lucky last year the first day the state rooms were open was our last full day in London. We purchased our tickets online and it was great. Also if you're travelliing by the Underground, purchase an "oyster card". Made it very easy for travelling. You can get one at the Victoria Station (the booth is located outside the station)

 

We stayed at the Reubens on the recommendation from a member of our roll call last year. I would stay there again. Hope this helps.

 

 

http://www.rubenshotel.com/promotions

[Albert Ross]

We are booked on this cruise for July and would like to spend a few days in London post cruise. Can you recommend a hotel.

 

Thanks for the info.

What is your budget?

Best hotel deals in London currently are Waldorf, Swissotel the Howard, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, Marriott County Hall or the new Rennaissance St Pancras (if it is open by then as it is meant to be spectacular)

[rallycaps]

We stayed at the Reubens at the Palace. Rooms were nice, but small but it was a great location. We got a promotion which included one dinner for two (you got a choice of dinner, champagne or something else...we choose the dinner). It easy walk to Buckingham Palace and Victoria Station is within walking distance. If you're interested in a tour of Buckingham Palace - state rooms check out their web site. We were lucky last year the first day the state rooms were open was our last full day in London. We purchased our tickets online and it was great. Also if you're travelliing by the Underground, purchase an "oyster card". Made it very easy for travelling. You can get one at the Victoria Station (the booth is located outside the station)

 

We stayed at the Reubens on the recommendation from a member of our roll call last year. I would stay there again. Hope this helps.

 

 

http://www.rubenshotel.com/promotions

Thanks for the useful information! It is very much appreciated.

[rallycaps]

What is your budget?

Best hotel deals in London currently are Waldorf, Swissotel the Howard, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, Marriott County Hall or the new Rennaissance St Pancras (if it is open by then as it is meant to be spectacular)

 

Thank you for the information. The Park Plaza looks nice on the website and reasonably priced. We plan to stay in London post cruise for 4 days and would spend approximately 150GPB per night. Maybe we'll get lucky and the currency exchange rates from CAD to GBP will be more favourable later this year.

[hillbil]

-much obliged for taking the time Simon!

Hillbil

[sddsddean]

You're welcome hillbil

 

Simon

[ajaxup]

I have a question I hope someone who has taken the Baltics cruise on Eclipse can answer. We are arriving at Heathrow on Thursday morning and I really don't want to go directly to Southampton and stay there for a day and a half. My TA says we should go into London from Heathrow, spend Thursday afternoon & night, Friday and Friday night seeing the city. Then on Saturday morning she said we could have a car service pick us up at our hotel and have us at the dock well before noon. Anybody do something like this or have any comments?

[Texed]

Anybody do something like this or have any comments?

 

We did almost exactly what has been suggested. We enjoyed London, all three times. :)

[sddsddean]

All your options are above. You will have plenty of time to use the train or coach to Southampton on the Saturday morning if you didn't want to go to the expense of a car service, but you can if you want. You pays your money and makes your choice!!:D

 

Simon

[cruise love]

I have a question I hope someone who has taken the Baltics cruise on Eclipse can answer. We are arriving at Heathrow on Thursday morning and I really don't want to go directly to Southampton and stay there for a day and a half. My TA says we should go into London from Heathrow, spend Thursday afternoon & night, Friday and Friday night seeing the city. Then on Saturday morning she said we could have a car service pick us up at our hotel and have us at the dock well before noon. Anybody do something like this or have any comments?

 

I did this cruise last May

 

I stayed in London for a couple of days the took the bus to Southampton. I stayed overnight in Southampton in the Holiday Inn (just OK) but I met friends there. I found Southampton uninteresting but the New Forest was nice. The bus was cheap about 8 pounds but I think that you would then have to catch a taxi from a central location. I arrived at the terminal at about 10.30am and was on board by 11.30am.

 

Cruise Love

new cruise around Australia 2012

[TMLAalum]

I have a question I hope someone who has taken the Baltics cruise on Eclipse can answer. We are arriving at Heathrow on Thursday morning and I really don't want to go directly to Southampton and stay there for a day and a half. My TA says we should go into London from Heathrow, spend Thursday afternoon & night, Friday and Friday night seeing the city. Then on Saturday morning she said we could have a car service pick us up at our hotel and have us at the dock well before noon. Anybody do something like this or have any comments?

 

We arrived at LHR on Thurs., spent 2 nites at the Luna-Simone, schlepping our luggage on the Tube to Victoria Station (DO NOT DO THIS). Saturday we departed for Southampton using Adelphi Executive Car hire for 150 GBP for the vehicle. There were 8 in my group so our hotel-to-ship service was a little over 20 GBP @ with a tip for our driver, Paul. He also picked us up on our return and took some of us to Heathrow and the rest to the Heathrow Marriott for the same price. This was a very painless and convenient way to reach the Eclipse, and I would recommend it for the ease and convenience. We had a great couple days in London taking in a West End musical (ALW's "Love Never Dies" which I think did die before it reached Broadway), walking along the Thames and taking Fri to visit Hampton Court Palace which Henry 8 coopted from Cardinal Wolsey.

 

Great pre-cruise time in London, FABULOUS voyage on the Eclipse, and amazing Ports-of-Call. You will love it!

[ajaxup]

I appreciate the input from those who have gone before. I'll definitely plan on going into London and going to Southampton on Saturday. I'll contact Adelphi and see what they say. Thanks again to everyone!