1pm Departure from Gatwick on Disembarkation day in Southampton?

[corpkid]

We would ideally like to fly back via Virgin Air (direct flights from Gatwick to Orlando), however the latest flight leaves at 1pm from Gatwick. Would that be a good idea on disembarkation day from the Marina? We dock in Southampton at 6am - so probably could be off in the first wave by 7am or so?

 

Looks like it takes about 2 hours to the airport from Southampton via train...after a short cab ride to the central train station and those trains run about 2-3 per hour on a Saturday (as of now at least). I had no idea it was 90 miles from A to B so a cab is probably not reasonable, huh?

 

On another note - Would we be able to purchase (the very expensive) Oceania sponsored transfer even if we arrange our own flights (aka "took the credit")?

 

Many thanks!

[roger b]

We would ideally like to fly back via Virgin Air (direct flights from Gatwick to Orlando), however the latest flight leaves at 1pm from Gatwick. Would that be a good idea on disembarkation day from the Marina? We dock in Southampton at 6am - so probably could be off in the first wave by 7am or so?

 

Looks like it takes about 2 hours to the airport from Southampton via train...after a short cab ride to the central train station and those trains run about 2-3 per hour on a Saturday (as of now at least). I had no idea it was 90 miles from A to B so a cab is probably not reasonable, huh?

 

On another note - Would we be able to purchase (the very expensive) Oceania sponsored transfer even if we arrange our own flights (aka "took the credit")?

 

Many thanks!

 

Personally I would try to hire a car ,I would think not more than $90.00. You might have to stand for the two hours if the train is full,also the there are no trolleys or porters to help with your luggage.

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

Any kind of taxi/car service will cost around the £95-£115 range i.e. $150-$180, I have used http://www.smithsforairports.com/index.html before and found them reliable, but I have also heard that http://www.sotontaxi.com/index.html offer a good service too.

 

I personally wouldn't consider hiring a car and driving yourself, and, if you can find a company that will do a one way car hire, the cost will be high. It looks like an easy drive on the map, but it can be easy to miss the vital left turn north in the Brighton area for the last 25 miles. Had a quick look at Enterprise's website and you are looking at a minimum of £125 for a 4 hour one way hire for a mini size category car, or £165 for an MPV.

 

The train service is fine.....direct trains leave Southampton Central hourly, at 13 past the hour, and start in Southampton, so baggage/standing space is not an issue. A direct train takes just under two hours.....if you must change trains then Brighton is an easier option as it's all on the flat. Options via Clapham Junction, whilst on faster express trains, may look good, but the trains will be busier with not only cruise traffic, but also weekend day traffic to London (Clapham Jct is 2 miles from Central London), it's my local station (Europe's busiest), and it's a pain to change trains with luggage even if you are familiar with it. You can buy tickets online via http://www.southernrailway.com or http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/# , although you will still need to collect them from one of the sales machines at the station, so you can easily leave ticket purchase until the day of travel, and then buy either from a machine or the ticket office. A taxi from the ship will cost around £10 from QE2 or Ocean Terminals, less from City and Mayflower Terminals....ask the driver to drop you on the correct side of the station - Gatwick trains normally depart from either platform 2A or 3A.

 

If you're not feeling adventurous then the shore excursions desk on board will be selling O's airport transfer options once you're on board if you don't do it via your travel agent beforehand, but the ships transfers will be comparable to the private car rates I gave above.....I'd go with the train or a private car......

 

Hope the above helps!

[turnip eater]

We would ideally like to fly back via Virgin Air (direct flights from Gatwick to Orlando),

 

Sorry, have to say this....It's Virgin Atlantic,not Virgin Air,not to be confused with Virgin America or Virgin Australia (formerly Virgin Blue) and any other of Virgin offshoots. :)

 

Have you flown with them before?

 

If you are flying Upper Class (sort of a Business Plus, original Upper Class was upstairs on 747s), the Club House (lounge) at Gatwick is fabulous.

[LipBalmAddict]

Hi guys

 

I think you will be fine. On weekdays, there is a direct train from Southampton to Gatwick that departs 8:10 and arrives 10:08. On Saturdays, the train timing is only slightly different, departs 8:13 and arrives 10:07.

 

If that particular train happens to be delayed or cancelled, you can still hop on the next one and just change at Havant (preferred option) or Clapham Junction (which is a very busy station during peak times).

 

You can do a bit of digging around on this website or feel free to ask anything further.

 

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

[corpkid]

Thanks all! I figured a private car would be in the range of a few hundred $US. And whoops about the Virgin Air (it was late). I've never flown Virgin Atlantic but I've flown Virgin America a few times. I don't think we will be able to swing for the Upper Class - more like Premium Economy. :)

 

I think what we'll do is map out the plan for taking the train, then once we get closer to disembarkation day decide if we still want to go that route or hire a car. Thanks everyone!!!

[PaulMCO]

Thanks all! I figured a private car would be in the range of a few hundred $US. And whoops about the Virgin Air (it was late). I've never flown Virgin Atlantic but I've flown Virgin America a few times. I don't think we will be able to swing for the Upper Class - more like Premium Economy. :)

 

I think what we'll do is map out the plan for taking the train, then once we get closer to disembarkation day decide if we still want to go that route or hire a car. Thanks everyone!!!

 

When are you flying... Also flying Virgin to Orlando. We were able to get premium economy for 1700 per person on Delta (it is code share). Also thinking about a car to get there around 120 pounds

[corpkid]

When are you flying... Also flying Virgin to Orlando. We were able to get premium economy for 1700 per person on Delta (it is code share). Also thinking about a car to get there around 120 pounds

 

July 20 out / Aug 2 back. That's about the price we are seeing. The flight out is only about $600pp for economy plus. Back it's more like $1100 :rolleyes:

 

Hey - for a direct flight, and on a "better than average" line, I'm all aboard at that price!

[PaulMCO]

July 20 out / Aug 2 back. That's about the price we are seeing. The flight out is only about $600pp for economy plus. Back it's more like $1100 :rolleyes:

 

Hey - for a direct flight, and on a "better than average" line, I'm all aboard at that price!

 

July 20 or July 10. The difference on the return is the UK passenger tax.

[Andromeda93]

Just wanted to mention that despite the 6am arrival time at Southampton, you may not be able to disembark at that time.

 

We were on a Marina cruise with a nominal 7am arrival at Southampton in June 2013, but there were delays with docking and unloading/screening baggage. First we were told a Princess ship was late in leaving our assigned berth so we had to wait to enter the port, and then that there was a luggage equipment malfunction delaying baggage take-off.

 

The result was a HUGE queue of people crowded around the public areas of the ship all waiting their turn to get off, as everyone had flights, shuttles, trains or buses to catch. Several people were very nervous about missing (non-O-booked) flights. I imagine if you had an O flight with their transfers, it would have been less stress-inducing.

 

I agree with the others who suggest you arrange a private taxi or shuttle transfer. There are several reliable companies with whom you agree to a price and book this transfer ahead of time. It will be far, far less stress than trying to rent a car OR take a train - especially if the ship is late docking and the train has left without you. A taxi or shuttle will pick you up right outside the Southampton terminal and would be worth the extra $$ to have a stress-free end to your holiday.

 

You may also find a few other pax in your Roll Call with whom to share the transfer and the costs - why not post your time and route and see if there's anyone else who would like to share with you? Good luck!

[journeyfan]

I also suggest you arrange a private taxi and I suggest smithsforairports.com, who are located in Southampton (or actually, I think it's Portsmouth, which is next door.) We used them last month for transport to Heathrow for a cruise that ended in Southampton and were very pleased with their service. Their price is very reasonable.

[Andromeda93]

Forgot to mention in the post above that we actually disembarked around 10am I think; I forget exactly when, despite the scheduled arrival of 7am. I think the first pax started getting off the ship a bit before 9am.

 

Hopefully your cruise does not have any similar delays at its conclusion; we were sad enough to be leaving a wonderful trip without having the end be so hectic! Best wishes.

[marylovestotravel]

Hi,

 

My friend and I used "Smiths for Airports" this August from Southampton to Heathrow. I think it was 67 pounds but I'm not home and can't check the figures. Gatwick may be further and cost more, but we were very pleased with our polite driver in a clean, comfortable car. I like to do things independently but with the variables of getting off the boat, getting a taxi to the train station, getting on the correct train (and train tickets can be expensive), and then from train to airport... too many things that can go wrong when you are in a time squeeze to catch a transatlantic flight (suppose to be at airport 3 hours beforehand!!!) So we did the easy-peezy thing and had a driver meet us at the cruise ship terminal and drive us direct to Heathrow. Then we had time to do our wifi and shopping thing! :D

 

And I feel it was pretty reasonably priced! Smiths has been heavily referred to in other forums.

 

Mia

[corpkid]

Thanks! I think we will go with Smiths... I've reached out to them however it is too soon to book and/or quote (six month window) - we have another 3 1/2 months before they will commit. We were going to just stay another night near LGW and take the train at our leisure, however, that would have us home Sunday evening vs. Saturday evening, and a day in between the trip and back-to-work would be most appreciated. Thank you all for your help. I think we should be good to go!

[orchestrapal]

Thanks! I think we will go with Smiths... I've reached out to them however it is too soon to book and/or quote (six month window) - we have another 3 1/2 months before they will commit. We were going to just stay another night near LGW and take the train at our leisure, however, that would have us home Sunday evening vs. Saturday evening, and a day in between the trip and back-to-work would be most appreciated. Thank you all for your help. I think we should be good to go!

 

If you want to book your car now and also save some money as well try

http://Www.Totallydriven.co.uk

We have been using them for years, in fact we are currently in London and were picked up at Heathrow and will return with them in several weeks time.

Good drivers and cars and always on time.

[corpkid]

Excellent! Thank you! So do you think given a 1:50pm departure from LGW we would be OK? I know we'd need to be there at 10:50 for the 3 hour check in window for a US-bound flight. We have no problems being one of the first off the ship very early and will be traveling with only 2 small roll alongs we will carry off (no need to hunt for our bags) - I just worry that if the ship docks late and/or we run into some snafu, things could go really south in a hurry. I hate cutting it this close, but that (one of 2 per day) non-stop flight to Orlando is hard to pass up.

[turnip eater]

Excellent! Thank you! So do you think given a 1:50pm departure from LGW we would be OK? I know we'd need to be there at 10:50 for the 3 hour check in window for a US-bound flight. We have no problems being one of the first off the ship very early and will be traveling with only 2 small roll alongs we will carry off (no need to hunt for our bags) - I just worry that if the ship docks late and/or we run into some snafu, things could go really south in a hurry. I hate cutting it this close, but that (one of 2 per day) non-stop flight to Orlando is hard to pass up.

 

 

 

BA (British Airways) fly non-stop from LGW to MCO daily. :o

[corpkid]

Thanks! Both VA and BA have 2 flights direct per day it looks like. Only problem is the latest ones leave pretty early (about 1:50pm). BA seems to go out of Heathrow whereas VA seems to leave from Gatwick. The prices are about the same - so if you had to choose which airline?

[journeyfan]

Leave from LHR would be my preference since it's closer to Southampton by about 20 min. travel time..... but, does Gatwick suggest 3 hrs lead time for international flights? Maybe, Gatwick being a smaller airport, you wouldn't have to arrive so earlier? That's a tough call. Good luck making a decision.

[corpkid]

That's a good point. Looking at VA's website, they suggest at least 2 hours for LGW. I don't believe we will have any baggage to check, so that might be a factor. Plus, Heathrow can take quite a while to get around as we found out last flight out of there. I swear, it was as far away as could be from our connecting flight! Took us almost 50 minutes to get to the gate!!! LGW is a breeze.

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

All non stops to MCO leave from Gatwick...be they VS or BA. If you saw an MCO option from LHR it will be a multi leg journey.

MCO is an exception to most BA flights to the US in that the bulk of traffic is UK originating rather than from the US, and as BA use LGW as a base for more leisure focused point to point routes you won't see MCO moving to LHR any time soon. Likewise the VS Gatwick operation is fed by its Virgin Holidays UK based tour operator.