Southhampton Excursions

[hondo1717]

Greetings Fellow Cruisers,

 

We have been informed that due to updated immigration requirements on our upcoming British Isles Cruise   "Guests who embark in Dublin or Le Havre must complete additional face-to-face immigration formalities upon arrival in Southampton (London), United Kingdom. Immigration inspections will begin at 7:00 AM, so guests should not expect to be ashore until after 8:30 AM".  Because of this, we will not be able to do the excursion we planned on doing, London City Drive which departs at 6:15.  Is anyone aware of excursion companies that can offer an excursion that goes to London and back from Southampton.  We are aware of other excursions to different locations. i.e. Stone hedge. but, we wanted to see London.

 

Much thanks,

[adam7392]

Hi you should easily be able to take a train from Southampton rail station to London Victoria station which is centrally located and allows you to do your own tour around London using the underground and/or use a HOHO bus.  Return tickets are around £20pp and the journey is about 80 mins which is probably going to be much quicker than any tour relying on a coach from Southampton.  Trains are frequent.  Use https://www.thetrainline.com to check the details

[hondo1717]

Thank you very much for the information. Much appreciated.

[Aus Traveller]

On one cruise we were docked in Southampton for two days. On the first day we intended to go to London by bus or train, but on reaching the carpark we found plenty of taxis. With another couple we took a taxi to London and arranged with the driver that he come back to pick us up at 4pm. He did. We were able to walk around the area we wanted to see. The next day we did the driving tour that Princess arranged. It is just that - driving. We got out of the bus twice to look at sights. One was at the Tower of London and the other was at a cathedral (not Westminster). The tour was OK, but I feel you would see more if you got to London either by taxi or train then took a hop-on hop-off bus tour or walked in conjunction with public transport (underground city trains and buses). However to do the DIY you would need to research what you want to see and plan your route.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Aus Traveller

[tillys mom]

Should be easy to find a tour if you prefer that to the train. Check online for recommendations- we’ve used International Friends for getting to London and have been pleased.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, tillys mom said:

Should be easy to find a tour if you prefer that to the train. Check online for recommendations- we’ve used International Friends for getting to London and have been pleased.

OP needs to get back to Southampton (I assume to continue on the cruise). Does International Friends offer that option for a tour of London that starts at the port?

[tillys mom]

Hi Caribill, I’m not sure but it would be easy to check. I have a tour booked with Southampton Chauffeur but won’t know until August how good they are. They have been easy to work with so far. 

[Alaskanb]

I recently looked into a similar journey. Southampton to London Waterloo (not Victoria) trains are quite frequent. I suggest you break down the journey into components and see if it is doable. As we have visited London on many occasions we decided against it. 

If you would like a lovely flexible day I highly recommend a train ride to Winchester and a wander around the town and cathedral. https://www.visitwinchester.co.uk

Edited May 16, 2019 by Alaskanb

[BarbinMich]

 

On 5/14/2019 at 12:54 PM, hondo1717 said:

Greetings Fellow Cruisers,

 

We have been informed that due to updated immigration requirements on our upcoming British Isles Cruise   "Guests who embark in Dublin or Le Havre must complete additional face-to-face immigration formalities upon arrival in Southampton (London), United Kingdom. Immigration inspections will begin at 7:00 AM, so guests should not expect to be ashore until after 8:30 AM".  Because of this, we will not be able to do the excursion we planned on doing, London City Drive which departs at 6:15.  Is anyone aware of excursion companies that can offer an excursion that goes to London and back from Southampton.  We are aware of other excursions to different locations. i.e. Stone hedge. but, we wanted to see London.

 

Much thanks,

What time does your ship depart?  I assume 5 or 6 pm.  If that's the case, I'd recommend staying in Southampton, which has a lot of historical sites to visit within walking distance of the piers, if you want some sightseeing or you could take the ferry over to the Isle of Wight and visit QE I's summer home, Osborne House.  Then you wouldn't have to worry about making it back from London.  Personally, I can't imagine going up to London for just six hours or so.  We spent a whole week there some years ago.  You could use the Hop On Hop Off bus and maybe get off at one stop for awhile and that's about all you'd have time for.

Edited May 16, 2019 by BarbinMich

[Fouremco]

On 5/14/2019 at 12:54 PM, hondo1717 said:

Is anyone aware of excursion companies that can offer an excursion that goes to London and back from Southampton.

The major tour providers such as Viator and Shore Excursion Group offer a variety of one-way transfers to London or excursions to sites other than London, but none seem to offer what you are looking for. As your best possible start time would be  approximately 2.5 hours later than HAL's excursion start, and you would spend as much time on the bus as you would sightseeing, I can understand why there are no excursions offered.

 

These immigration changes sound like they might relate to Brexit. Given the delays in that regard, you might want to check with Princess to determine whether the new procedures are definite or dependant upon what happens politically in the coming weeks. Maybe there's hope yet for you taking the HAL excursion. 

 

[Jeremiah On a Cruise]

We are planning a BI cruise this summer, and are having similar issues (in London August 5).

 

In short, we have all-but given up on trying to get to London.  The ship leaves at 5P, and it's late in our trip, so we will not be up at the crack of dawn.  The odd immigration delay also threw a wrench in the mix.

 

We figured that we would realistically have around four hours in London - enough to see a single site, and likely be stressed about it the entire time.  And while there are some things I'd love to see in London (I've never been), we have all-but pulled the plug on it as an option for the day.

 

Honestly, the Winchester recommendation above has just become our plan A. Seeing a smaller town, and an awesome cathedral are exactly what we are looking to do, and it's way closer than London.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I second the recommendation to go over to the Isle of Wight to Osbourne House.  That way, you're not going all the way up to London and back.  You'd be much closer to the ship and see an area that isn't so crowded.  I've spent over 20 days in London and that is not nearly enough to really see the City.  See something smaller and more manageable.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I agree that you don’t have enough time to do anything other than a drive by of the major sights in London, not worth it.  We did a BI cruise last year and embarked from London, hired private vehicle for transfer from London to Southampton and it is quite a distance, I seem to remember around 2 hours.  Enjoy a more leisurely day somewhere close and save London for when you can stay at least several days! 

[Alaskanb]

2 hours ago, Jeremiah On a Cruise said:

 

 

Honestly, the Winchester recommendation above has just become our plan A. Seeing a smaller town, and an awesome cathedral are exactly what we are looking to do, and it's way closer than London.

We took a fabulous tour of the crypt of the cathedral when we visited; Maybe they list tour times on their website. We spent two days pre-cruise in Winchester a few years ago and totally enjoyed the city. Check out TripAdvisor for restaurants. 

[Aus Traveller]

7 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

 

What time does your ship depart?  I assume 5 or 6 pm.  If that's the case, I'd recommend staying in Southampton, which has a lot of historical sites to visit within walking distance of the piers, if you want some sightseeing or you could take the ferry over to the Isle of Wight and visit QE I's summer home, Osborne House. 

BTW, Osborne House was Queen Victoria's home. It was built around 1850 for Victoria and Albert, not for Queen Elizabeth I who lived in the 1500s.

[Alaskanb]

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

BTW, Osborne House was Queen Victoria's home. It was built around 1850 for Victoria and Albert, not for Queen Elizabeth I who lived in the 1500s.

https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/en/isle-of-wight-guide/places-to-visit/osborne/

 

[BarbinMich]

On 5/16/2019 at 8:16 PM, Aus Traveller said:

BTW, Osborne House was Queen Victoria's home. It was built around 1850 for Victoria and Albert, not for Queen Elizabeth I who lived in the 1500s.

Thanks for the correction--don't know where my mind was when I wrote that--guess old age is catching up with me 😉

[ebs0303]

On 5/14/2019 at 12:54 PM, hondo1717 said:

Greetings Fellow Cruisers,

 

We have been informed that due to updated immigration requirements on our upcoming British Isles Cruise   "Guests who embark in Dublin or Le Havre must complete additional face-to-face immigration formalities upon arrival in Southampton (London), United Kingdom. Immigration inspections will begin at 7:00 AM, so guests should not expect to be ashore until after 8:30 AM".  Because of this, we will not be able to do the excursion we planned on doing, London City Drive which departs at 6:15.  Is anyone aware of excursion companies that can offer an excursion that goes to London and back from Southampton.  We are aware of other excursions to different locations. i.e. Stone hedge. but, we wanted to see London.

 

Much thanks,

 

I am curious if you got a notice from the cruise line actually cancelling your excursion? We are going to be on Crown Princess, and even though I had not booked an excursion yet, we will have the same issue.

 

On the subject of Winchester or Isle of Wight, is the train and ferry stations easy to find once getting off ship at Southampton?

[Corfe Mixture]

On 5/15/2019 at 5:13 PM, adam7392 said:

Hi you should easily be able to take a train from Southampton rail station to London Victoria station which is centrally located and allows you to do your own tour around London using the underground and/or use a HOHO bus.  Return tickets are around £20pp and the journey is about 80 mins which is probably going to be much quicker than any tour relying on a coach from Southampton.  Trains are frequent.  Use https://www.thetrainline.com to check the details

Incorrect.

The only trains which go to Victoria are the very slow trains which go along the south coast and up past Gatwick.

You need a train to Waterloo, but why go all the way to London, unless it is your one chance for a ‘bucket list’ item. 

Much better to stay more local, perhaps taking the train to either Lymington/Brockenhurst, or to Winchester.

Another alternative is to take the ferry (departs from near to the entrance to Ocean Terminal) over to Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

 

Last year we took some friends from Texas on a local tour when they had a day in Southampton on Royal Princess. We went to Corfe Castle, saw Lawrence of Arabia’s grave at Moreton, and went back to Lymington (which they really enjoyed) for a pub  lunch.

 

Interestingly we stopped for coffee inWimborne Minster and visited what is our local church (the Minster which is 900 years old) on the way to Corfe Castle and they really enjoyed that. 

 

Too much to do on on your own even if you rented a car, but I think they would give the thumbs up to visiting Lymington.

 

FWIW, when we got back to the ship our arrival coincided with, what appeared to be, a very tired group of people returning from a ship’s tour to Windsor.

 

As someone has already said. Osborne House was owned by Queen Victoria and not Queen Elizabeth I as someone has reported.

 

It is quite modern and the original building was built around 250 years ago. It was purchased by Queen Victoria around 150 years ago. It is not over 400 years old as would’ve the case if it was built by QE I.

 

Edited June 17, 2019 by Corfe Mixture