Southampton to London

[ebs0303]

Is there a train station near where the cruise ships let off in Southampton? We are going to be there for a day in several weeks and would like to go to London for as much time as we can. We were thinking of the "London on your own" excursion from the ship, but since we are embarking from Le Havre the day before, we've been told that there are some additional immigration things and we will not be able to leave the ship probably til about 8 pm (ship docks at 5 am). So now wondering if it just makes more sense to take the train ourselves. If so, would we need to book tickets in advance? Any other advice on trains from SH to London appreciated!

[sddsddean]

 

This map shows the cruise terminals and railway/coach stations. You can walk from City cruise terminal (usually RCI, Celeb & NCL) in about 10 mins. All the others take about 30 mins or you can grab a cab for £7. You don't need to book in advance, but go to https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/  to get an idea of prices. Bear in mind, if you are there on a weekday there will be commuters on the train. Prices usually drop off peak (after 0930) and rise again after 1630, so try and pick times that work for you. Weekends should be the same price all day. The fastest direct train goes to Waterloo, but you could change at Clapham Junction and go into Victoria if that suits your plans better.

Don't worry too much about immigration...they are much more relaxed than the US Border Force!!

 

Simon

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2019 by sddsddean

[GastroGnome]

Watch out for planned track work or industrial action.  You can find out about both (and indeed any other planned disruption ) at either trainline.com or nationalrail.co.uk

[ebs0303]

4 hours ago, sddsddean said:

 

This map shows the cruise terminals and railway/coach stations. You can walk from City cruise terminal (usually RCI, Celeb & NCL) in about 10 mins. All the others take about 30 mins or you can grab a cab for £7. You don't need to book in advance, but go to https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/  to get an idea of prices. Bear in mind, if you are there on a weekday there will be commuters on the train. Prices usually drop off peak (after 0930) and rise again after 1630, so try and pick times that work for you. Weekends should be the same price all day. The fastest direct train goes to Waterloo, but you could change at Clapham Junction and go into Victoria if that suits your plans better.

Don't worry too much about immigration...they are much more relaxed than the US Border Force!!

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

Thank you! Very helpful... Our Princess Cruise docks @ Ocean terminal so I guess we'll cab it (do they have Uber there?) I will likely just book our return train ticket from Waterloo back to Southampton in advance as to not take any chances we'd be late returning to cruise. Depending on when we can get off the ship, I think we'd have 4-5 hours in London, probably see the sights on the West End as there seems to be many sights in that area and near the Waterloo station. 

[John Bull]

Most cruises start & finish in Southampton, can I presume this is just a port-of-call day?

If this is a back-to-back day the usual back-on-board 30 minutes before sailing probably won't apply due to re-registering and safety drill. You'll need to check with Princess, and mebbe Princess cruisers who've done Southampton B2B's. what time you have to be back at the ship.

 

Forget a 5am arrival time, most ships arrive about that time but aren't cleared for disembarkation til around 7am.

There'll be taxis lined-up at the terminal, that'll be quicker than calling for an Uber (you need the Uber app, you can't just phone & ask for a cab).

As per the map that's been linked, it's only 5 minutes to the station by cab & it'll cost under £10.

 

You should make the 08.00 to London Waterloo. But if you want to play safe you might want to aim for the 08.30 or the 09.00 ..

But herein lies a conundrum..................

Walk-up tickets cost over £44 each-way.

Advance tickets, available from about 6 weeks out, cost under £20 to London Waterloo, and under £15 from London Waterloo to Southampton, a total saving of over £50 per person!!  Sounds like a no-brainer, but those advance tickets are  only valid  for the train times that you book. If you book the 08.00 and miss it, your advance tickets are trash - you have to buy walk-up tickets for the next train at full price.

So you need to weigh up the extra time in London by booking the 08.00 against the greater certainty of making the 09.00.

Or mebbe take the typically-British compromise of booking the 08.30.

 

Same routine for booking the train back to Southampton, but here at least the timing is in your own hands.

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

Check the train times & prices for your date.

If it doesn't show the advance fares it'll be because your date is too far out. So check that website a random date (not a sunday) within the next few weeks. Then hold off buying tickets until advance ticket prices are showing for your date.

 

If your date is a sunday, much of that info is wrong.

---------------------------------------------

 

Altho' we don't take many ships' tours this is one occasion that I'd consider a ship's London tour.

But that's not what's being offered?

Just a "London on your own" transfer?

London by road at that time of day will take mebbe an hour longer than the train, so DIY by train will give you longer in London despite having to get to/from the stations & waiting for trains.

-------------------------------------------------

 

I think Waterloo station is a better bet than Victoria - it's much quicker, no need to change trains, and you're only a 15 minute walk (over Westminster Bridge) from Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Churchill's war rooms and number 10 Downing Street, 

And only a little further up Whitehall to Horse Guards Parade and Trafalgar Square. This whole area has a high sight-count and IMHO is by far the best part of London to visit on foot.

Alternatively there's a ho-ho stop near Waterloo station, the full route takes about 2hrs 30 minutes. Both "The Original" and "Big Bus" follow that same route, they have different sub-routes & feeder-routes but I can't see you having time for more than that one main route. Buses aren't permitted past Buckingham Palace so whichever bus you'd have to get off at the stop round the corner on Buckingham Gate, walk round to the front, then walk back to the stop for the next bus. Other than Buckingham Palace you'll see pretty-well all the sights from a ho-ho. Ho-ho tickets include a river cruise, so you could cruise to or from the Tower Of London. The boats call at the London Eye, just a ten minutes walk from Waterloo station.

 

JB 

Edited June 16, 2019 by John Bull

[Alaskanb]

There was a question a few weeks ago about the same problem. You may want to look back and see what occurred in their case. 

You have lots of variables to deal with! The main one being the time you will finish with immigration in Southampton. As this is unpredictable I would be unwilling to make reservations for a set train time. Please keep in mind the time you need to be back at the ship if there are any railway works going on; also allow for the possibility of having to wait for a taxi on your return to S'ton or having to walk to the ship. 

My recommendation is to visit London when you have lots of time to enjoy it and do a more local adventure by train. Winchester, is a great place to visit as a day trip; as is the Isle of Wight for Osborne House or Portsmouth for the dock yards. 

[John Bull]

50 minutes ago, Alaskanb said:

You have lots of variables to deal with! The main one being the time you will finish with immigration in Southampton. As this is unpredictable I would be unwilling to make reservations for a set train time. . 

 

 

Immigration at Southampton is PDQ.

Especially if this is indeed between B2B's, cos you'll be able to disembark around 7.00 with those who've opted for unassisted disembarkation. Assisted disembarkation (folk who leave their checked bags out the night before & collect them in the terminal) is usually staggered, with the first tranche off at 07.30, so no long line in front of you for immigration, customs is a walk-through, no long line for taxis- and since you won't have luggage you can probably share with others heading to the coach or rail stations.

So the 08.00 train should be do-able. 

(that's "should be", not "will be" so don't send me the bill if it all goes belly-up )

 

But I do agree with AlaskanB that London would be a rushed and worrysome day.

If you've not been to London before & don't expect to have the opportunity in the future you'll understandably want to go for it.

But if you can put London on the back-burner for a "proper" visit,  I'm with AlaskanB - stick to the area around Southampton.

Southampton itself isn't a tourist city but it does have places of interest for a lazy day - for instance the "old town" sights are just a ten-minute walk from your ship.

Or to add to AlaskanB's excellent suggestions.........

- train to the laid-back cathedral city of Salisbury, and ho-ho fro there to Stonehenge.

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

- or the little ferry across Southampton Water & 6-mile taxi ride across a corner of the New Forest to Beaulieu

https://hytheferry.co.uk/

https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/

 

Edited to add - I doubt you'd have time for Portsmouth or for Stonehenge if back-on-board is around 3.30pm - the usual latest time for folk registering to start a cruise.

 

JB 

Edited June 16, 2019 by John Bull

[ebs0303]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Most cruises start & finish in Southampton, can I presume this is just a port-of-call day?

If this is a back-to-back day the usual back-on-board 30 minutes before sailing probably won't apply due to re-registering and safety drill. You'll need to check with Princess, and mebbe Princess cruisers who've done Southampton B2B's. what time you have to be back at the ship.

 

Forget a 5am arrival time, most ships arrive about that time but aren't cleared for disembarkation til around 7am.

There'll be taxis lined-up at the terminal, that'll be quicker than calling for an Uber (you need the Uber app, you can't just phone & ask for a cab).

As per the map that's been linked, it's only 5 minutes to the station by cab & it'll cost under £10.

 

You should make the 08.00 to London Waterloo. But if you want to play safe you might want to aim for the 08.30 or the 09.00 ..

But herein lies a conundrum..................

Walk-up tickets cost over £44 each-way.

Advance tickets, available from about 6 weeks out, cost under £20 to London Waterloo, and under £15 from London Waterloo to Southampton, a total saving of over £50 per person!!  Sounds like a no-brainer, but those advance tickets are  only valid  for the train times that you book. If you book the 08.00 and miss it, your advance tickets are trash - you have to buy walk-up tickets for the next train at full price.

So you need to weigh up the extra time in London by booking the 08.00 against the greater certainty of making the 09.00.

Or mebbe take the typically-British compromise of booking the 08.30.

 

Same routine for booking the train back to Southampton, but here at least the timing is in your own hands.

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

Check the train times & prices for your date.

If it doesn't show the advance fares it'll be because your date is too far out. So check that website a random date (not a sunday) within the next few weeks. Then hold off buying tickets until advance ticket prices are showing for your date.

 

If your date is a sunday, much of that info is wrong.

---------------------------------------------

 

Altho' we don't take many ships' tours this is one occasion that I'd consider a ship's London tour.

But that's not what's being offered?

Just a "London on your own" transfer?

London by road at that time of day will take mebbe an hour longer than the train, so DIY by train will give you longer in London despite having to get to/from the stations & waiting for trains.

-------------------------------------------------

 

I think Waterloo station is a better bet than Victoria - it's much quicker, no need to change trains, and you're only a 15 minute walk (over Westminster Bridge) from Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Churchill's war rooms and number 10 Downing Street, 

And only a little further up Whitehall to Horse Guards Parade and Trafalgar Square. This whole area has a high sight-count and IMHO is by far the best part of London to visit on foot.

Alternatively there's a ho-ho stop near Waterloo station, the full route takes about 2hrs 30 minutes. Both "The Original" and "Big Bus" follow that same route, they have different sub-routes & feeder-routes but I can't see you having time for more than that one main route. Buses aren't permitted past Buckingham Palace so whichever bus you'd have to get off at the stop round the corner on Buckingham Gate, walk round to the front, then walk back to the stop for the next bus. Other than Buckingham Palace you'll see pretty-well all the sights from a ho-ho. Ho-ho tickets include a river cruise, so you could cruise to or from the Tower Of London. The boats call at the London Eye, just a ten minutes walk from Waterloo station.

 

JB 

 

Thanks for all the great info and advice. We both have been to London before - Ive been 3x, my wife 1x - but both of us have not been over there in 20 years. So we were just hoping for a quick trip ... but I did speak with Princess and they apparently are recommending being back on board at 330pm which would definitely put a damper, since we'd probably have to leave the Waterloo station by 130 to be safe. So unless we can get off the ship early like 7 am, it would cut it close. Other option would be to do the Princess excursion, which is really just transport to & from the city, but at least we'd be guaranteed to get back on the ship.... all things to consider.

 

[Alaskanb]

21 hours ago, ebs0303 said:

 since we are embarking from Le Havre the day before, we've been told that there are some additional immigration things and we will not be able to leave the ship probably til about 8 am

I think the big issue is that you are embarking at Le Havre, a Schengen port, and the next day going through immigration at Southampton , a non-Schengen port. 

[Alaskanb]

This is a previous thread on the same topic 

 

 

[ebs0303]

34 minutes ago, Alaskanb said:

I think the big issue is that you are embarking at Le Havre, a Schengen port, and the next day going through immigration at Southampton , a non-Schengen port. 

 

Right, I think thats the issue.... that really messes things up. I checked out the other post... we may very well be giving up on London this time but sounds like there are some other decent options. a bit of a bummer though!

[geoherb]

5 hours ago, ebs0303 said:

 

Thanks for all the great info and advice. We both have been to London before - Ive been 3x, my wife 1x - but both of us have not been over there in 20 years. So we were just hoping for a quick trip ... but I did speak with Princess and they apparently are recommending being back on board at 330pm which would definitely put a damper, since we'd probably have to leave the Waterloo station by 130 to be safe. So unless we can get off the ship early like 7 am, it would cut it close. Other option would be to do the Princess excursion, which is really just transport to & from the city, but at least we'd be guaranteed to get back on the ship.... all things to consider.

 

 

I'd skip the trip to London with this short a timeframe. It's not really worth doing. We arrived in Southampton around noon the day before one cruise. We had time to tour the Tudor House and Garden and the SeaCity Museum, which has a wonderful Titanic exhibit. You'll have time to eat a nice lunch somewhere and pick up any things you need for the rest of your cruise at a shop.

[John Bull]

11 hours ago, ebs0303 said:

 

Thanks for all the great info and advice. We both have been to London before - Ive been 3x, my wife 1x - but both of us have not been over there in 20 years. So we were just hoping for a quick trip ... but I did speak with Princess and they apparently are recommending being back on board at 330pm which would definitely put a damper, since we'd probably have to leave the Waterloo station by 130 to be safe. So unless we can get off the ship early like 7 am, it would cut it close. Other option would be to do the Princess excursion, which is really just transport to & from the city, but at least we'd be guaranteed to get back on the ship.... all things to consider.

 

 

According to the Southampton port schedule, the only Princess sailing this year from Le Havre & berthing next-day at Ocean cruise terminal is Crown Princess, dep. Le Havre 4th August.

That port website says the ship departs Southampton at 5pm, and since it's not your embarkation port I wonder if Princess are being a bit over-cautious by "recommending" a return to the ship by 3.30pm ?

 

But since you've been to London, albeit a couple of decades ago,  I'll stick to my thoughts about going somewhere a whole lot closer to Southampton.

There's a lot more to England than the big bad city. 

 

JB 

[Alaskanb]

https://www.visitwinchester.co.uk

We spent two days in Winchester pre-cruise and had a great time. So much to see and do!

We had an early dinner here but they also do lunches --lovely food https://www.chesilrectory.co.uk

We took a tour of the Cathedral crypt and had a snack  at the refectory https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk