QM2 Transport from London to Southampton?

[thenoflygal]

Hello all,

 

Does anyone know if Cunard offers transportation from London direct to the port at Southampton? I am finding this more confusing than the New York port options on our round-trip transatlantic. Is there a shuttle bus from a set point for passengers?

 

Many thanks

[Essiesmom]

Yes, I believe they do. We took it from Victoria Coach Station. You might ask on the Cunard board here at CC, under Cruise Lines A-O, and on the Ports of Call board for northern Europe. EM

[John Bull]

Central London transfers are from London Victoria coach station.

The service is operated on behalf of Cunard by InterCruises

http://www.intercruises.com/cruiseconnect/index.php/home

Cost is £51 pp.

 

Or book a scheduled Nat Express coach from the same place for about £10 pp then a taxi (under £10) from Southampton coach station to the cruise terminal. NB don't choose Nat Express' "cruise terminal" option, this is only for Fred Olsen ships.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

 

JB :)

Edited April 18, 2015 by John Bull

[thenoflygal]

Both are very helpful, thank you!

[cruiserking]

We used a very reliable car service http://www.smithsforairports.com they picked us up promptly at our hotel in London and delivered us within an hour and half to the cruise port in Southampton.

 

Jonathan

[fishywood]

Central London transfers are from London Victoria coach station.

The service is operated on behalf of Cunard by InterCruises

http://www.intercruises.com/cruiseconnect/index.php/home

Cost is £51 pp.

 

 

JB :)

 

Fifty-one Pounds? The cost of the express train from London Waterloo to Southampton Central rail stations plus the taxi to the pier will be less and take not much more than half the time the coach journey would. (Walk-up fares for this morning 19 April range from 32.40 to 39.40).

 

I know there has been four subsequent years of inflation, but for my first QM2 Crossing in 2011 I booked the coach directly from Cunard and paid roughly US$60 (which at the time was barely worth GBP35)

Edited April 19, 2015 by fishywood

[Velvetwater]

The train option is indeed fast,easy and cheap.

 

Although if paying for convenience is your thing then £51 isn't too shabby.

[loubetti]

Do they still do the Orient Express? We did it twice on QE2 and QM2. A magical experience, but was $225 per person. The food and service was excellent, as well it should be.

[TucsonRick]

We used this service which took us to Stonehenge on the way to the pier. Excellent driver/guide and reasonable cost. We were in a nice small van with only one other couple.

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

 

Rick

[John Bull]

Just a few jottings about some replies:

 

Yes, cruiserking,for a private transfer I doubt there's better value than Smiths. From any central London address to ship for two people it's probably about £30 more than Cunard's coach from Victoria.

 

Cunard's £51 ain't great value, Fishywood, but it's about the average for ships' coach transfers - I think Princess are cheaper (around $60?) and RCI more expensive (over $100?)

 

I think Tucson Rick was probably lucky with the numbers, International Friends aim to fill a coach - but they do guarantee that their transfers will happen regardless of numbers. Hence Rick got near-as-dammit a private transfer via Stonehenge, & International Friends lost money that day. Some you win, some you lose.

They offer better sightseeing options in the Southampton to London direction, because they're not constrained by ships' sailing times.

For whatever reason their tickets are a few pounds cheaper if booked through the London Toolkit website http://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_london_transfers.htm

 

 

Yes, velvetwater the train is a good option, especially if your London hotel is near Waterloo station. Fare is around £40, about 3 trains per hour to Southampton central, journey time of about 90 minutes is quicker than by road. Then a taxi ride (under £10) from station to ship.

.......... But if you pre-book the train through http://uk.megabus.com/megatrain.aspx it can cost only £1 to £10, subject to limitations:

Only about 6 - 8 trains per day qualify, but 2 - 3 of the train times suit cruisers.

You must pre-book & specify a particular train time - no amendments, no cancellation.

Bookable from about 8 weeks out.

No megatrain tickets for sundays & a few specific dates in the year.

And post-cruise there are no megatrain tickets for the Southampton to London direction until 1pm.

 

Orient Express transfers (& tours) are very rare. More likely to be offered by Cunard than by others, and very much for the experience rather than the transfer.

 

JB :)