A first timer's London connection questions

[IslandDreamers]

Hi everyone!

We will be sailing out of Southampton for the first time and will be flying (in & out) from LHR.

My questions are:

What is the earliest suggested departure time we should consider for our trip back home? How long does it take to get from the port to LHR?

What is the best means of travel to get back to the port/airport and does anyone know of a tour that might stop at Stonehenge on the way from London to Southampton?

(head spinning?? Join the club!!) :o

THANK YOU!!!!

:)

[John Bull]

Will you be travelling from LHR to Southampton, then Southampton back to LHR, or will be be spending time in London pre/post-cruise?

Cruiseline & dates/days of the week ? (makes a big difference)

Numbers in your party?

 

Then we can give you a few answers (probably conflicting :D) & some contacts/links

 

JB :)

[chaz2010]

It depends what tine your ship arrives. If it is 7 or 8 am, then a flight after 1 would be best. If you want to take a tour, try later in the afternoon for a flight.

 

Calll the cruise line and ask what are the guidelines for departing flights. If you want to use their transfer, they won't take you if your flight leaves before a certain time. You could also take a National Express bus from Sothhampton to Heathrow, if you don't mind lugging your bags around.

 

if you want to take a tour of Stonehenge, I highly reccomemnd Barry or Taranis Tours. This is what we did: Our ship docked at 7 am, Barry was waiting for us after the baggage claim at 8 am. He drove us up to Salisbury. On the way we drove through a beautiful National park. We were left off at the gates to Salisbury Cathedral and arranged a pick up with him in one hour. He then drove us to Stonehenge and again dropped us at the entrance and waited for us to view it. He then drove us to Heathrow for our 4 pm flight. We got to the airport at around 1 pm. He will also take you to just Stonehenge if you are not intersted in Salisbury. His car service company is based in Salisbury. You can go to taranistravel.co.uk and ask for a price quote.

 

If you can't fit a tour in, I would take the ship's transfer for the easiest way to the airport.

[IslandDreamers]

Will you be travelling from LHR to Southampton, then Southampton back to LHR, or will be be spending time in London pre/post-cruise? Yes, flying into LHR spend a night (or two) in London, then heading to Southampton. Leaving again from LHR at the end of the trip.

Cruiseline & dates/days of the week ? (makes a big difference)

Numbers in your party? Royal Caribbean, Oct 2013 (can't do enough research!) and sailing out on Monday. Not sure what day we will be arriving.

 

Then we can give you a few answers (probably conflicting :D) & some contacts/links

Thank you for the help!!!!!!

[IslandDreamers]

Will you be travelling from LHR to Southampton, then Southampton back to LHR, or will be be spending time in London pre/post-cruise? Yes, flying into LHR spend a night (or two) in London, then heading to Southampton. Leaving again from LHR at the end of the trip.

Cruiseline & dates/days of the week ? (makes a big difference)

Numbers in your party? Royal Caribbean, Oct 2013 (can't do enough research!) and sailing out on Monday. Not sure what day we will be arriving.

 

Then we can give you a few answers (probably conflicting :D) & some contacts/links

Thank you for the help!!!!!!

 

 

I think 4 for the airport, but meeting up with locals :D

[IslandDreamers]

It depends what tine your ship arrives. If it is 7 or 8 am, then a flight after 1 would be best. If you want to take a tour, try later in the afternoon for a flight.

 

Calll the cruise line and ask what are the guidelines for departing flights. If you want to use their transfer, they won't take you if your flight leaves before a certain time. You could also take a National Express bus from Sothhampton to Heathrow, if you don't mind lugging your bags around.

 

if you want to take a tour of Stonehenge, I highly reccomemnd Barry or Taranis Tours. This is what we did: Our ship docked at 7 am, Barry was waiting for us after the baggage claim at 8 am. He drove us up to Salisbury. On the way we drove through a beautiful National park. We were left off at the gates to Salisbury Cathedral and arranged a pick up with him in one hour. He then drove us to Stonehenge and again dropped us at the entrance and waited for us to view it. He then drove us to Heathrow for our 4 pm flight. We got to the airport at around 1 pm. He will also take you to just Stonehenge if you are not intersted in Salisbury. His car service company is based in Salisbury. You can go to taranistravel.co.uk and ask for a price quote.

 

If you can't fit a tour in, I would take the ship's transfer for the easiest way to the airport.

 

 

Great information!! Thank you very much!!!

How much is this type of tour? How many people would fit in his car?

[John Bull]

From central London to Southampton on a monday:

 

http://coach.nationalexpress.com/

departs from London's Victoria coach station direct to Southampton coach station (ignore the "cruise terminal" option on Nat Express website, it doesn't apply to your ship), takes about 2hrs 15, standard fare about £17pp but pre-booked "fun" fares can be as little as £1. Pre-booking strongly advised.

http://www.greyhounduk.com/

offer a similar direct coach service from near Victoria coach station, same fares/funfares, journey time, etc. Destination is Southampton Town Quay.

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

About 3 trains per hour from London's Waterloo station direct to Southampton central rail station, takes 1hr 20 to 1hr 40, standard fare around £36

Approx hourly direct service from London's Victoria rail station, but takes a circuitous route, about 2hrs 30 to 2hrs 45, standard fare around £20

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

Megatrain charter carriages on some of those Waterloo to Southampton trains & sell at ridiculously low fares, usually around £4. They operate only on a few of those trains, tickets must be pre-purchased over the 'net, they are non-cancellable and only good for the train/time that you specify.

 

RCI normally use City cruise terminal, about 15 min level walk or £5 - £6 taxi ride from any of the above..

 

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/southampton-cruise-bus-from-150-central-london-hotels-via-stonehenge.html

A new coach service from an established operator, offers pick-up from your central London or Heathrow hotel & transfer to your ship via Stonehenge at £45.

Initial response has been good, by next year there should be plenty of reviews.

 

www.westquaycars.com and www.smithsforairports.com are locally-based, frequently used by CC members, & offer private transfers - either direct or via sights of your choice.

Similar to the Salisbury-based service recommended by Chaz.

There are dozens of other operators, the reputable London-based ones tend to be a little more expensive. Expect to pay about £130 for a direct transfer.

 

RCI usually offer a cruise transfer from Victoria coach station on cruise day - poor value compared to the other options

 

Ship to Heathrow.

 

Heathrow is about 65 miles, from the Southampton boundary its all motorway. Saturdays & sundays are easy, weekdays can involve heavy traffic heading to London, esp on a monday

 

National Express coach takes about 2 hrs, about £17, no fun-fares on this route. On the current timetable, the earliest you can safely book is the 09.45 arrives Heathrow 11.50, so aim for a flight after 2pm.

 

No greyhound coach on this route.

 

No sensible train option on this route - standard fare about £37, there are no cheap fares. It involves a train to Woking or Reading & a shuttlebus (included in the fare) to Heathrow. Total journey time about 2 hrs.

 

Direct private transfer about £95, probably more for 4+luggage. On a weekend journey time about 80 mins, weekdays could be 2 hrs or worse.

With unassisted disembarkation about 07.00 to 07.30, you should be at Heathrow comfortably before 9am on a sat or sun, so a flight at 11.00 isn't unreasonable. Weekdays, to be safe a 12 noon flight.

 

I think RCI quote something like a 12.30 flight for their transfer coach.

 

Useful info on this website (Southampton is under"airports" :rolleyes:)

http://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

JB :)

[chaz2010]

Great information!! Thank you very much!!!

How much is this type of tour? How many people would fit in his car?

 

Ours was a taxi for the two of us. Don't know if he has bigger vehicles. The cost was 150 pounds, and does not include admission to Stonehenge.

 

Your cruiseline may also have a tour of Stonehenge combined with a transfer to Heathrow, but you have to check with their rules to make sure your flight is leaving late enough in the day. In the "small print" at the end of the description of the ship's tour it should say something like "tour is only for those passengers whose flight departs at 4 pm or later".

[IslandDreamers]

WOW!!!!!

Wonderful information!

Thank you so much Chaz & John Bull- I really appreciate all the time you spent answering my questions!

:D

[atlasali]

In May, we flew into Heathrow the day before our British Isles cruise, on Caribbean Princess.

We stayed at a Premier Inn Terminal 5 hotel at the airport- Quiet and very reasonable. We were going to go into London for the day, but London was extrememly crowded due to the Queen's Jubilee. We will see London next May.

We were picked up by motorcoach the next morning at 8:50am at our hotel for the shuttle to Southampton with a stop at Stonehenge. Booked through International Friends. Prepaid bus and prepaid our admissions to Stonehenge online. We had a nice amount of time to see and snap photos. We found our info on a London Toolkit website. Arrived at ship about 1:20pm.

 

For our return to airport -- we were cutting it close. We had a 12:05pm flight. We booked the Princess shuttle to Terminal 4. We disembarked the ship at 6:40am, the bus started rolling at 7:30. (there were 3 color groups ahead of us). We were at Heathrow in plenty of time.

[chime]

From central London to Southampton on a monday:

 

http://coach.nationalexpress.com/

departs from London's Victoria coach station direct to Southampton coach station (ignore the "cruise terminal" option on Nat Express website, it doesn't apply to your ship), takes about 2hrs 15, standard fare about £17pp but pre-booked "fun" fares can be as little as £1. Pre-booking strongly advised.

http://www.greyhounduk.com/

offer a similar direct coach service from near Victoria coach station, same fares/funfares, journey time, etc. Destination is Southampton Town Quay.

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

About 3 trains per hour from London's Waterloo station direct to Southampton central rail station, takes 1hr 20 to 1hr 40, standard fare around £36

Approx hourly direct service from London's Victoria rail station, but takes a circuitous route, about 2hrs 30 to 2hrs 45, standard fare around £20

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

Megatrain charter carriages on some of those Waterloo to Southampton trains & sell at ridiculously low fares, usually around £4. They operate only on a few of those trains, tickets must be pre-purchased over the 'net, they are non-cancellable and only good for the train/time that you specify.

 

RCI normally use City cruise terminal, about 15 min level walk or £5 - £6 taxi ride from any of the above..

 

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/southampton-cruise-bus-from-150-central-london-hotels-via-stonehenge.html

A new coach service from an established operator, offers pick-up from your central London or Heathrow hotel & transfer to your ship via Stonehenge at £45.

Initial response has been good, by next year there should be plenty of reviews.

 

www.westquaycars.com and www.smithsforairports.com are locally-based, frequently used by CC members, & offer private transfers - either direct or via sights of your choice.

Similar to the Salisbury-based service recommended by Chaz.

There are dozens of other operators, the reputable London-based ones tend to be a little more expensive. Expect to pay about £130 for a direct transfer.

 

RCI usually offer a cruise transfer from Victoria coach station on cruise day - poor value compared to the other options

 

Ship to Heathrow.

 

Heathrow is about 65 miles, from the Southampton boundary its all motorway. Saturdays & sundays are easy, weekdays can involve heavy traffic heading to London, esp on a monday

 

National Express coach takes about 2 hrs, about £17, no fun-fares on this route. On the current timetable, the earliest you can safely book is the 09.45 arrives Heathrow 11.50, so aim for a flight after 2pm.

 

No greyhound coach on this route.

 

No sensible train option on this route - standard fare about £37, there are no cheap fares. It involves a train to Woking or Reading & a shuttlebus (included in the fare) to Heathrow. Total journey time about 2 hrs.

 

Direct private transfer about £95, probably more for 4+luggage. On a weekend journey time about 80 mins, weekdays could be 2 hrs or worse.

With unassisted disembarkation about 07.00 to 07.30, you should be at Heathrow comfortably before 9am on a sat or sun, so a flight at 11.00 isn't unreasonable. Weekdays, to be safe a 12 noon flight.

 

I think RCI quote something like a 12.30 flight for their transfer coach.

 

Useful info on this website (Southampton is under"airports" :rolleyes:)

http://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

JB :)

 

 

Thanks for the detailed information. Strangely National Express was showing price of 24 pounds for Nov 28 Victoria to Southampton but much cheaper prices for much closer dates. Greyhound didn't appear to be selling for that far out yet. Any thoughts? Another question, does Greyhound use the Victoria Coach Station in London?

 

I really do appreciate all the information you share.

[sddsddean]

Thanks for the detailed information. Strangely National Express was showing price of 24 pounds for Nov 28 Victoria to Southampton but much cheaper prices for much closer dates. Greyhound didn't appear to be selling for that far out yet. Any thoughts? Another question, does Greyhound use the Victoria Coach Station in London?

 

I really do appreciate all the information you share.

 

 

Funfares or just ordinary cheaper fares can appear at any time...you just have to keep checking (a right pain I know!). Greyhound's pick up point is the other side of Buckingham Palace Road from the Coach station. If you go to their site and click on 'where we go' and pick London, there is a link to the map of their pick up point.

 

Simon

[IslandDreamers]

In May, we flew into Heathrow the day before our British Isles cruise, on Caribbean Princess.

We stayed at a Premier Inn Terminal 5 hotel at the airport- Quiet and very reasonable. We were going to go into London for the day, but London was extrememly crowded due to the Queen's Jubilee. We will see London next May.

We were picked up by motorcoach the next morning at 8:50am at our hotel for the shuttle to Southampton with a stop at Stonehenge. Booked through International Friends. Prepaid bus and prepaid our admissions to Stonehenge online. We had a nice amount of time to see and snap photos. We found our info on a London Toolkit website. Arrived at ship about 1:20pm.

 

For our return to airport -- we were cutting it close. We had a 12:05pm flight. We booked the Princess shuttle to Terminal 4. We disembarked the ship at 6:40am, the bus started rolling at 7:30. (there were 3 color groups ahead of us). We were at Heathrow in plenty of time.

 

 

Wonderful information, thank you!!!!!