Transportation Question

[rcarrosq]

On June 1 we will be sailing on Sapphire Princess out of Southampton London for a 14 day Baltic Cruise. England has always been on my bucket list so we are flying in a few days prior and planning to do some sightseeing in London before our voyage starts.  We've booked a hotel in Kensington and I was looking for any advice on the best ways to get around without using a taxi service.  I read there's a tube really close to our hotel but I also read about the bus service which is also fairly cheap and gets you where you want to go.  I'm also looking for transport from Heathrow to the hotel but since we will have luggage, I'd prefer a taxi service.  I spoke with my  TA who gave me the name of a service he recommends but the quote I received for 4 people with luggage would cost 150 pounds ($192).  That sounds pretty pricey to me as I've read the hotel is about 40 minutes from our hotel.  The quote we received to go from our hotel to the cruise pier is 190 pounds ($245)

 

Does anyone here have any suggestions or tips on cheaper taxi services to from airport to hotel and then hotel to cruise terminal?  Any advice would be  much appreciated.

[Retired_Army]

We used Heathrow Shuttle (https://www.heathrowshuttle.com) from the airport to our hotel near Trafalgar Square. Only about 30 pounds.

 

We used International Friends from London to Southampton via Stonehenge for about 150 pounds.Picked us up at our hotel and had a nice tour enroute. 

 

Granted, those prices were just for the two of us.

[rcarrosq]

Thanks for your response.  I'll check them out. 

[Diver2014]

I always use The Tube to get around in London (get an Oyster card...buy online).  You can get from Heathrow to central London on the Piccadilly line.  To get to Southampton, we're taking National Express bus from Heathrow for our cruise in May.

[Thrak]

We need to get from Heathrow to a hotel in Southampton and are pretty much clueless as to what we should do. It's tough being a total n00b at international travel. Fortunately, we don't need to have this figured out until October but the clock is ticking. If we were flying in the day of the cruise it would be simple to use a Princess transfer even though I'm sure that isn't the "best" option but we are coming in a day early and haven't a clue what we are doing.

[hpeabody]

3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

We need to get from Heathrow to a hotel in Southampton and are pretty much clueless as to what we should do. It's tough being a total n00b at international travel. Fortunately, we don't need to have this figured out until October but the clock is ticking. If we were flying in the day of the cruise it would be simple to use a Princess transfer even though I'm sure that isn't the "best" option but we are coming in a day early and haven't a clue what we are doing.

 

Hi Michael,

In addition to airports, Princess also has scheduled transfers from London Victoria Coach Station.  I used it, but had a very bad traffic experience, not Princess' fault.  It was 1 single light all the way across London letting 1 vehicle pass every minute.  No other way around it. That is not normal, I hope.    I have stayed for convenience at the Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Rd.  It was a very easy walk to Victoria Coach Station.

 

If you want to skip the Princess transfer and go more private, I have heard some very good things about Smiths For Airports. 

Many people use National Express or the train, which I know nothing about.  But, with those you also have to get to the port once in Southampton.

 

If you have not been to London, I do recommend more than just the day before.  There is MUCH to do in London.

 

 

[wheezedr]

For your time in London, you are going to want to use the tube.  It is convenient with stations virtually everywhere you would want to go.  It is much faster than surface transport because of the unwieldy London traffic.  

I highly recommend National Express for your London to Port leg.  Leaves from Victoria coach (not train) station.  Makes a stop on the way and then you just grab a taxi to the dock.  We paid £5 pp for the bus portion.  Hard to beat.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

We just booked a reserve seat ticket from Southampton Central (5 mi. taxi ride to the cruise terminal) to Manchester for $48 via Cross Country rail.  

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, hpeabody said:

If you have not been to London, I do recommend more than just the day before.  There is MUCH to do in London.

 

I agree but my wife says, "Next time..."  You can't fight city hall.

[Renmar]

On 2/13/2019 at 6:11 PM, Thrak said:

 

I agree but my wife says, "Next time..."  You can't fight city hall.

Michael, try to "Fight" city hall anyway, you won't be sorry.

 

Theo

[TERESAh]

We are staying three days after our cruise in London so need transportation from Dover cruise port to our hotel in Trinity Square near Tower of London . Does anyone know of a company that provides this transportation?

[newport dave]

On 2/13/2019 at 9:25 PM, Thrak said:

We need to get from Heathrow to a hotel in Southampton and are pretty much clueless as to what we should do. It's tough being a total n00b at international travel. Fortunately, we don't need to have this figured out until October but the clock is ticking. If we were flying in the day of the cruise it would be simple to use a Princess transfer even though I'm sure that isn't the "best" option but we are coming in a day early and haven't a clue what we are doing.

National Express go direct from Heathrow to Southampton. Tickets are normally available 12 weeks out. The really low prices don't apply from airports, but still aren't that expensive. 

 

www.nationalexpress.com 

[dreaminofcruisin]

When we were leaving from Southampton a few years ago, we used the Hoppa bus to get to our hotel. We came in the day before our cruise and stayed at a hotel near the airport.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/lhr/hotel_hoppa_bus.htm

 

We bought the tickets online ahead of time, padding the time greatly to allow for luggage pick up and customs. We ended up ready to go before the time on the ticket and it didn't seem to matter to the bus driver...just took the next bus.

 

We bought round-trip tickets, so the next morning we went back to the airport and picked up the Princess Transfer to Southampton...

 

Easy.

 

[kb4683]

On 2/13/2019 at 4:25 PM, Thrak said:

We need to get from Heathrow to a hotel in Southampton and are pretty much clueless as to what we should do. It's tough being a total n00b at international travel. Fortunately, we don't need to have this figured out until October but the clock is ticking. If we were flying in the day of the cruise it would be simple to use a Princess transfer even though I'm sure that isn't the "best" option but we are coming in a day early and haven't a clue what we are doing.

 

We have used National Express from Heathrow then a cab from the bus station to hotel in Southampton.  Also have used Smith's for Airports http://www.smithsairportcars.co.uk.

 

I prefer to fly into Gatwick then it is very simple to take a train with no changes from airport to Southampton Central then cab to hotel. 

Edited March 4, 2019 by kb4683

[capriccio]

Another vote for Smith's for Airports between Heathrow and Southampton.  We used them in the past and will again this June.  Lovely drivers (en route to Southampton when our 6:30 am predicted arrival was 45 minutes early and we had cleared customs before 6 am he was waiting for us; on the return trip our driver arrived to pick us up exactly when we asked) and very nice and clean cars.

Edited March 4, 2019 by capriccio

[2theship]

We've used Woodford Chauffeur Cars a few times with great service to get from our London hotel to Southampton. We have shared it with members of our roll call and the price was very reasonable.

 

To get to our hotel from Heathrow, we used the tube. We selected a hotel that was conveniently located to a stop on the Piccadilly line so we didn't have to worry about changing trains with our luggage. We ordered an Oyster card online ahead of time so we could just scan and go.

[Coffeeluvr05]

We flew in 3 days early and it was not enough time. The drive from Heathrow to central London is about an hour. I remember traffic being quite heavy. We had a princess transfer to our hotel because we did our extension through Princess. It was quite nice. Just the two of us in a large Mercedes sedan. Being from a Northern California, I am not public transport savvy so we used Uber a lot in London. We walked too. Our hotel was walking distance to the Tower bridge. 

 

Jet lag lag hit me more than hubs and the first day was lost to that. The 3rd day, we woke up very late unexpectedly and just did what we could to salvage the rest of the day. 

[phabric]

9 hours ago, TERESAh said:

We are staying three days after our cruise in London so need transportation from Dover cruise port to our hotel in Trinity Square near Tower of London . Does anyone know of a company that provides this transportation?

I used www.internationalfriends.co.uk (They are cheaper by using www.londontoolkit.com) from Dover to our London hotel.  They only go on embankment and disembarkment days.  They drop off at certain London hotels and LHR and LHR hotels.

 

I have also also used them from Southampton to our London hotel.

 

Check out Cruise Critic - Port of Call - Britain for great question/answers.

Edited March 4, 2019 by phabric

[phabric]

I have used www.justairports.com from/to LHR/ London hotel.  Use your hotel’s postal code to get a quote.

[TERESAh]

Thanks for your info. I will check them out

[Thrak]

As a reference for folks:

Smiths quoted me £75 plus £8 parking fee for 2 people with 3 bags - 2 carry on size and one checked-luggage size - from Heathrow to South Quay in Southampton.

[LMADAMS91]

Haven't done a cruise from London, but we were there four years ago on a self booked land tour.  We used Green Tomatoes for destinations that were too far for us to walk (airport to hotel plus a few others.)  I think they are along the same lines as Uber.  They were very reliable and we could book everything online, in advance.   

When I was researching London, I found a site through the London tourism site that gave time/cost estimates for traveling between two sites.  I don't remember the site, but had to have found it with a general google search......it led us to decide to walk to most places because taking a cab or the tube would have taken as long or longer.  We did a LOT of walking in London, but thoroughly enjoyed it as we saw much more that way.  The times we used Green Tomatoes were great for the long distances but we spent a lot of time stuck in traffic.

Edited March 6, 2019 by LMADAMS91

[ldubs]

A lot of great tips here.  I second the Oyster card for your London stay, if you are going to be there long enough to use it. 

 

Last year we had a van take 8 of us from Gatwick to our London hotel  and then back to Gatwick for 140 GBP each way.    We arranged the van through our hotel.  You might want to check with your London hotel to see what they can do for you.   

[Southern Cruise]

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 3:24 PM, rcarrosq said:

On June 1 we will be sailing on Sapphire Princess out of Southampton London for a 14 day Baltic Cruise. England has always been on my bucket list so we are flying in a few days prior and planning to do some sightseeing in London before our voyage starts.  We've booked a hotel in Kensington and I was looking for any advice on the best ways to get around without using a taxi service.  I read there's a tube really close to our hotel but I also read about the bus service which is also fairly cheap and gets you where you want to go.  I'm also looking for transport from Heathrow to the hotel but since we will have luggage, I'd prefer a taxi service.  I spoke with my  TA who gave me the name of a service he recommends but the quote I received for 4 people with luggage would cost 150 pounds ($192).  That sounds pretty pricey to me as I've read the hotel is about 40 minutes from our hotel.  The quote we received to go from our hotel to the cruise pier is 190 pounds ($245)

 

Does anyone here have any suggestions or tips on cheaper taxi services to from airport to hotel and then hotel to cruise terminal?  Any advice would be  much appreciated.

 

Our plan is Heathrow Express to Paddington, then a taxi (less than 10 pounds) to our hotel in Kensington/Bayswater area.  We bought 2 tickets for 13 pounds each (90 days out weekday arrival).  Heathrow Express Weekend arrival is much cheaper.  We will have 2 days in London and plan to use the tube, public bus, and maybe uber??  For transfer to Southampton we are using Windsor Day Tours from London hotel to Southampton the day before the cruise and seeing Windsor, Eton, and Winchester Cathedral along the way.  We are using Smiths for Airports to transfer from Southampton back to Heathrow.   Good Luck!

[BarbinMich]

On 2/13/2019 at 4:25 PM, Thrak said:

We need to get from Heathrow to a hotel in Southampton and are pretty much clueless as to what we should do. It's tough being a total n00b at international travel. Fortunately, we don't need to have this figured out until October but the clock is ticking. If we were flying in the day of the cruise it would be simple to use a Princess transfer even though I'm sure that isn't the "best" option but we are coming in a day early and haven't a clue what we are doing.

 

Thrak, 

On 3/5/2019 at 1:41 PM, Thrak said:

As a reference for folks:

Smiths quoted me £75 plus £8 parking fee for 2 people with 3 bags - 2 carry on size and one checked-luggage size - from Heathrow to South Quay in Southampton.

 

Thrak, congrats on your first overseas cruise (doing the British Isles or a TA?).  We've always taken the National Express bus to Southampton the multiple times we've done a cruise out of there.  They stop at two of the terminals at Heathrow as I recall and you can't beat the price.  https://www.nationalexpress.com/en  Buses run frequently down to Southampton with usually a quick stop at historic Winchester.  What hotel are you staying at?  We've usually stayed pretty close to the bus stop so could walk, but there are always taxis there, too.  Look forward to hearing more about your cruise.

Edited March 14, 2019 by BarbinMich