Transportation in London

[Cruisensusan123]

We are arriving on November 1, into Heathrow. Does anyone know an affordable way to get to our hotel, and then to the cruise port in Southhampton? We are not youngsters, and don’t want to struggle too much with luggage. Any suggestion?

[Flatbush Flyer]

9 minutes ago, Cruisensusan123 said:

We are arriving on November 1, into Heathrow. Does anyone know an affordable way to get to our hotel, and then to the cruise port in Southhampton? We are not youngsters, and don’t want to struggle too much with luggage. Any suggestion?

For the London hotel to Southampton ship transfer, check out Silver Fleet, which is the private service favored by most upscale London hotels. But, you may find it's a touch late in the game for booking the best transfer services less than a month away from arrival.

[LHT28]

check the British Isles forum  lots of good  info

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

[fishywood]

You can obtain a quote from private car transfer providers such as Smiths for Airports for both legs:

http://www.smithsairportcars.co.uk/Booking/QuoteSingle

...but remember that "London" and "affordable" are rarely found in the same response.

 

From Heathrow to central London I always use the Heathrow Express train, then a taxi from Paddington station to hotel. If arriving at Terminal 2/3 or Terminal 5 the train is closer than the ground transport pickup areas. To get from the train to the taxi rank at Paddington is simple by London standards but probably quite less so for USA retiree tourists.

 

To give you an idea of price: HEX train is 22 or 25 GBP/person (depending on time of day) plus taxi anywhere from 10-12 GBP (to Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Kensington) or 20+ GBP (to Westminster or The City). You may find a private car for the same 60-70 pounds, but as prebooking is essential the short notice is an issue here. London to Southampton runs slightly more; if you do repost this question on the British Isles board be sure to say what neighborhood your hotel is located.

[Cruisin' Along]

1 hour ago, Cruisensusan123 said:

We are arriving on November 1, into Heathrow. Does anyone know an affordable way to get to our hotel, and then to the cruise port in Southhampton? We are not youngsters, and don’t want to struggle too much with luggage. Any suggestion?

 

It’s hard to advise without knowing where your hotel is. Tube is only about $5 from Heathrow into central London. If you don’t want to struggle with luggage that probably isn’t an option. BlackBerry Cars is a private car service that is usually highly recommended and among the more reasonable in cost. 

[Heidi13]

On arrival LHR we drop our cases with Airportr, who ship them to our hotel. We pre-book the service online. Cases are delivered in about 5 hours. Without luggage, we take the Tube into the city.

 

If we had to take our cases, we would most likely book a limo. In London, we use Addison Lee, who provide excellent service and are much cheaper than regular taxis.

 

To get to Southampton, get a train from Waterloo to Southampton Central, then a local taxi to the docks. Trains depart every 20 - 30 mins and journey takes just over an hour.

[Cruisensusan123]

12 minutes ago, Cruisin' Along said:

 

It’s hard to advise without knowing where your hotel is. Tube is only about $5 from Heathrow into central London. If you don’t want to struggle with luggage that probably isn’t an option. BlackBerry Cars is a private car service that is usually highly recommended and among the more reasonable in cost. 

Our hotel is on John Islip street and is the Doubletree by the river.

[Cruisensusan123]

Doubletree on 30 John Islip street near the river.

[Cruisin' Along]

38 minutes ago, Cruisensusan123 said:

Doubletree on 30 John Islip street near the river.

It is probably going to be easiest to book a car service from Heathrow directly to your hotel. 

It looks like your hotel is mid way between the Pimlico and Westminster tube stations. You would have to catch the Tube from Heathrow, change trains in Central London to one that goes to one of these stations then take a cab from the station to your hotel. 

[Markanddonna]

We used a combination of a taxi and National Express. I was very impressed with the easy of using the bus and the driver handles the luggage. We are seniors so don't want to be schlepping luggage around either. We ordered our tickets online.

[Velvetwater]

As a Brit who uses national express all the time I can also wholly recommend them as a budget option with little fuss. They will be times cheaper than many shuttle options and private car companies.

 

They do a direct Heathrow to Southampton bus and are used to cruise passengers. Once you arrive at the Southampton Coach station its a very quick taxi journey to the port and to the centre hotels.

[kctwinmommy]

We used Smith's and they were wonderful! We were arriving pretty early in the morning and just didn't feel like waiting for the Express bus to Southampton. And honestly, we knew we were going to be tired and just wanted to be a little more comfortable in a car. Our driver was great and it was a very nice trip from Heathrow to Southampton. Yes, it's more expensive, but there were 3 of us, so not terribly more. And for us, it was worth it.

[Corby114]

Highly recommend Blackberry Cars. Used them in May 2018 for transportation from Heathrow to Central London. Price was forty pounds for three passengers with four pieces of large luggage. A few days later they provided excellent service for transportation from Central London to a hotel in Southampton for one hundred twenty pounds. The drive from London to Southampton was approximately two hours. Personally I will use Blackberry Cars on my next visit to London.

[John Bull]

19 hours ago, Cruisensusan123 said:

Doubletree on 30 John Islip street near the river.

 

Your hotel is midway between the National Express coach station and Waterloo rail station, for direct transportation to Southampton, both are about a £10(?) taxi ride from your hotel.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

(think "Greyhound")

Fares from as little as about £8, frequency approx. hourly, journey time about 2hrs 20 mins.

Driver loads & unloads your bags.

Coaches can book-out, so you are recommended to pre-book.

Your departure point is London Victoria coach station, your destination is Southampton coach station.

 

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

Two to three trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes. Best to pre-book because advance tickets (available from about 6 weeks out) are massively cheaper than the £40 walk-up fare.

You are responsible for your own luggage, but this isn't Amtrak - no high steps, the train door is level with the platform or one step up.

Your departure point is London Waterloo station, your destination is Southampton Central

 

It's a short taxi ride (up to £10 depending which cruise terminal) from Southampton coach or central rail station.

 

Smithsforairports is Southampton-based, & frequently recommended on Cruise Critic.

I've also seen Blackberry & Silver Fleet recommended on Cruise Critic.

But expect to pay £125+ for a car.

 

JB

 

 

 

 

[taglovestocruise]

On 10/20/2018 at 1:25 PM, Cruisensusan123 said:

We are arriving on November 1, into Heathrow. Does anyone know an affordable way to get to our hotel, and then to the cruise port in Southhampton? We are not youngsters, and don’t want to struggle too much with luggage. Any suggestion?

 

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

Your hotel is midway between the National Express coach station and Waterloo rail station, for direct transportation to Southampton, both are about a £10(?) taxi ride from your hotel.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

(think "Greyhound")

Fares from as little as about £8, frequency approx. hourly, journey time about 2hrs 20 mins.

Driver loads & unloads your bags.

Coaches can book-out, so you are recommended to pre-book.

Your departure point is London Victoria coach station, your destination is Southampton coach station.

 

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

Two to three trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes. Best to pre-book because advance tickets (available from about 6 weeks out) are massively cheaper than the £40 walk-up fare.

You are responsible for your own luggage, but this isn't Amtrak - no high steps, the train door is level with the platform or one step up.

Your departure point is London Waterloo station, your destination is Southampton Central

 

It's a short taxi ride (up to £10 depending which cruise terminal) from Southampton coach or central rail station.

 

Smithsforairports is Southampton-based, & frequently recommended on Cruise Critic.

I've also seen Blackberry & Silver Fleet recommended on Cruise Critic.

But expect to pay £125+ for a car.

 

JB

 

 

 

 

We used Blackberry cars last year. The driver was waiting with our names as we left baggage claim, as we were waiting for our luggage we got a text from the driver telling us exactly where he was standing,  Very friendly and helpful. Cost was $40.00 Heathrow to Kensington hotel. Two days later we used them again for Kensington to Southampton for $155.00. We were in the hotel lobby checking out when we received a text saying he was outside waiting. Driver got our bags from the hotel and at the other end he took them to the Royal Caribbean porters. Great company and will use them in the future. 

[geoherb]

We took the Tube from Heathrow to our hotel near Waterloo Station last month. We took National Express coach from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton. We're able to deal with our luggage even in the Tube stations that had stairs. The cost of the coach from London to Southampton was $16.22 for the two of us (£6.30 per person). 

[Stratheden]

On 10/21/2018 at 7:25 AM, Cruisensusan123 said:

We are arriving on November 1, into Heathrow. Does anyone know an affordable way to get to our hotel, and then to the cruise port in Southhampton? We are not youngsters, and don’t want to struggle too much with luggage. Any suggestion?

How long are you staying in London?  Do you have to go to London?  I would either stay in an airport hotel or Southampton hotel and then go to the ship. 

[Cruisensusan123]

We are arriving in LHR Nov 1, and staying at the Doubletree on John Islip for two nights. We want to get some rest before the cruise, and take a City Tour of london. We Don’t have any of our connections set up yet. Where are you from? We are in New Port Richey, Fl.

[taglovestocruise]

12 hours ago, Cruisensusan123 said:

We are arriving in LHR Nov 1, and staying at the Doubletree on John Islip for two nights. We want to get some rest before the cruise, and take a City Tour of london. We Don’t have any of our connections set up yet. Where are you from? We are in New Port Richey, Fl.

Last year we did the BIG BUS hoho and it was by far the best hoho we have ever done. Made about 18 stops, never showed up full and busses were no more then 5or 6 minutes apart. It also included a small boat trip from Big Ben to Tower of London. Our hotel had a discount if we booked it there. Just a side note..

[Heidi13]

16 hours ago, Cruisensusan123 said:

We are arriving in LHR Nov 1, and staying at the Doubletree on John Islip for two nights. We want to get some rest before the cruise, and take a City Tour of london. We Don’t have any of our connections set up yet. Where are you from? We are in New Port Richey, Fl.

Been in London, both as a tourist and mariner, many times. We did the Ho-Ho bus many years ago, but now find the Tube to be a better option, for only 1 or 2 days. I suggest doing a little research, creating a list of attractions to visit - London has hundreds. Get an Oyster Card and use the Tube to travel between them.

 

The Ho-Ho bus provides some scenery between attractions, but the Tube gets you between attractions quickly, so you can actually visit them.

[SRF]

On 10/20/2018 at 5:52 PM, fishywood said:

You can obtain a quote from private car transfer providers such as Smiths for Airports for both legs:

http://www.smithsairportcars.co.uk/Booking/QuoteSingle

...but remember that "London" and "affordable" are rarely found in the same response.

 

From Heathrow to central London I always use the Heathrow Express train, then a taxi from Paddington station to hotel. If arriving at Terminal 2/3 or Terminal 5 the train is closer than the ground transport pickup areas. To get from the train to the taxi rank at Paddington is simple by London standards but probably quite less so for USA retiree tourists.

 

To give you an idea of price: HEX train is 22 or 25 GBP/person (depending on time of day) plus taxi anywhere from 10-12 GBP (to Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Kensington) or 20+ GBP (to Westminster or The City). You may find a private car for the same 60-70 pounds, but as prebooking is essential the short notice is an issue here. London to Southampton runs slightly more; if you do repost this question on the British Isles board be sure to say what neighborhood your hotel is located.

 

This ^^^^^^^^^^^