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3 hours ago, chismrules said:

Hello I guess I have a question, most are talking about getting from airport to Southampton. But we are going to be staying in London for a day or two first so what is best way and reasonable from a hotel. We will be going out on a P& O cruise in Southampton on a Tues. I do not know the port or anything yet. This will be in JUly. Thanks Debbie

 

the train, direct, fast rail service from London's Waterloo station to Southampton Central.  Tickets purchased about 10 weeks out can be as low as £10/ea

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6 hours ago, chismrules said:

Hello I guess I have a question, most are talking about getting from airport to Southampton. But we are going to be staying in London for a day or two first so what is best way and reasonable from a hotel. We will be going out on a P& O cruise in Southampton on a Tues. I do not know the port or anything yet. This will be in JUly. Thanks Debbie

 

We're also staying in London 2 days before the cruise.

 

Just to give you an idea of rates -- we booked a private transfer (with Smith's) from our hotel near Victoria Station to the pier -- 150 pounds + 11 pounds "congestion tax".

 

Booked NE after the cruise to LHR.

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Have you decided on a hotel in London? We usually stay near Paddington Station, mainly because we use LHR Express from the airport into the city. I buy those tickets online at the 90 day discounted window. There's a  Hilton adjacent to the station, but lots of small boutique hotels within a few blocks of the rail station. This location has lots of restaurants, easy walk to Hyde Park and Kensington Palace, very close to the Ho Ho bus stop route, also provides easy access to the Tube. We try to avoid the big chain hotels, and have stayed numerous times at one of the Shaftsbury hotels in this area. 

 

After spending time in the city, we request a cab and head to Victoria Coach and take National Express to Southampton. Rates are very good if pre-purchased online. We like to spend the night before a cruise in Southampton and stay at the Novotel, a short walk from the coach station. The rail station is very close by, too. Then the morning of the cruise, the hotel will call a local cab for us to go to the dock. 

 

Car service will be considerably more expensive than coach or rail. For an upcoming trip to England, and with 4 adults, we are opting for car service from LHR to Southampton @ 129GBP, and our return will include a custom transfer [330GBP] for 5 adults and lots of luggage]  beginning at 9: am, spending 3 hours at Hampton court and then onto Terminal 3 be 14:30 for our flight home. 

 

Look at JB's posts, he's the expert!

 

Darcy

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10 hours ago, chismrules said:

Hello I guess I have a question, most are talking about getting from airport to Southampton. But we are going to be staying in London for a day or two first so what is best way and reasonable from a hotel. We will be going out on a P& O cruise in Southampton on a Tues. I do not know the port or anything yet. This will be in JUly. Thanks Debbie

 

 

Hi Debbie,

 

This for travel from central London, not from airports. 

 

Bear in mind the location of your hotel when choosing transportation from London to Southampton 

 

Your main choices are

 

1. Direct train from London Waterloo station to Southampton Central station.

About 3 trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes.

Walk-up fare about £45. Advance tickets, available from about 8 weeks out, as cheap as £10 - but those tickets are only good for the train time that you book, miss that train & it'll cost the walk-up fare for the next one. Cheap advance tickets aren't available for all trains, but still plenty of choice fitting a cruiser's schedule.

 https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

2. Direct train from London to Victoria station to Southampton Central station.

Hourly service. Journey time about 2 hrs 30 mins (it takes a roundabout route)

Walk-up fare about £32, advance tickets (available for all direct trains) from about £10 again only good for the train time that you book.

(ignore trains which involve a change of train, fares are much higher and the change a little awkward with luggage)

 https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

3. Direct coach from London Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station.

Approx hourly service, journey time about 2 hrs 15 mins.

The cheapest way to travel, fares from as low as £5

Important to pre-book because they often book-out.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

A taxi from Southampton Central train station or coach station to any cruise terminal costs £6 to £10

 

4. Door-to-door coach tour/transfer from central London (and Heathrow) hotel to ship, via Stonehenge.

Coach transfer to your ship from multiple London hotels (if yours isn't listed it'll be only a short walk to one that is), via a stop of about 90 minutes at Stonehenge. Operates for most ships, only available on sailing day. All passengers on the coach will be on your cruise. Fare includes Stonehenge admission. Operator is "International Friends" but for whatever reason it's a little cheaper through London Toolkit

https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/private_southampton_stonehenge.htm

nb 1. They offer several coach tour/transfers from ship to London hotels, which are better value than London hotels - Stonehenge - ship because they're much longer days (not constricted by ship check-in times).

nb 2. On other pages of that website there's stax of great info about logistics etc in London and a little about Southampton

 

5. Ship-sponsored coach transfers from London to ship.

Book thro cruise line. Not available with all cruise lines, available only on sailing day. Usually depart from London Victoria coach station & sometimes from ship-sponsored London hotels. Getting you to the ship from the coach pick-up location is cruise-line's responsibility.  

Fares vary quite dramatically between cruise lines.

Useful for singletons, not always great value for couples, always poor value for larger groups.

(for comparison, booking a National Express coach from Victoria coach station to Southampton and a short taxi hop to ship can cost under £20 for a couple)

 

6. Private transfer

Often recommended on Cruise Critic are

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

https://westquaycars.com/

http://www.aquacars.co.uk/

(the above all based at the Southampton end)

https://www.blackberrycars.com/

(based in London)

Price for a sedan about £130 upwards.

 

7. Just hailing a taxi in London ....

would cost an arm & both legs. :classic_ohmy:

Hailing a taxi in the street is convenient for a short city hop, but waaaay too expensive for a journey of any length.

 

8. Walking ..........

London to Southampton is  about 77 miles, around a 26-hour walk.

Not practical with luggage :classic_wink:

 

JB :classic_smile:

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40 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

 

Hi Debbie,

 

This for travel from central London, not from airports. 

 

Bear in mind the location of your hotel when choosing transportation from London to Southampton 

 

Your main choices are

 

1. Direct train from London Waterloo station to Southampton Central station.

About 3 trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes.

Walk-up fare about £45. Advance tickets, available from about 8 weeks out, as cheap as £10 - but those tickets are only good for the train time that you book, miss that train & it'll cost the walk-up fare for the next one. Cheap advance tickets aren't available for all trains, but still plenty of choice fitting a cruiser's schedule.

 https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

2. Direct train from London to Victoria station to Southampton Central station.

Hourly service. Journey time about 2 hrs 30 mins (it takes a roundabout route)

Walk-up fare about £32, advance tickets (available for all direct trains) from about £10 again only good for the train time that you book.

(ignore trains which involve a change of train, fares are much higher and the change a little awkward with luggage)

 https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

3. Direct coach from London Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station.

Approx hourly service, journey time about 2 hrs 15 mins.

The cheapest way to travel, fares from as low as £5

Important to pre-book because they often book-out.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

A taxi from Southampton Central train station or coach station to any cruise terminal costs £6 to £10

 

4. Door-to-door coach tour/transfer from central London (and Heathrow) hotel to ship, via Stonehenge.

Coach transfer to your ship from multiple London hotels (if yours isn't listed it'll be only a short walk to one that is), via a stop of about 90 minutes at Stonehenge. Operates for most ships, only available on sailing day. All passengers on the coach will be on your cruise. Fare includes Stonehenge admission. Operator is "International Friends" but for whatever reason it's a little cheaper through London Toolkit

https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/private_southampton_stonehenge.htm

nb 1. They offer several coach tour/transfers from ship to London hotels, which are better value than London hotels - Stonehenge - ship because they're much longer days (not constricted by ship check-in times).

nb 2. On other pages of that website there's stax of great info about logistics etc in London and a little about Southampton

 

5. Ship-sponsored coach transfers from London to ship.

Book thro cruise line. Not available with all cruise lines, available only on sailing day. Usually depart from London Victoria coach station & sometimes from ship-sponsored London hotels. Getting you to the ship from the coach pick-up location is cruise-line's responsibility.  

Fares vary quite dramatically between cruise lines.

Useful for singletons, not always great value for couples, always poor value for larger groups.

(for comparison, booking a National Express coach from Victoria coach station to Southampton and a short taxi hop to ship can cost under £20 for a couple)

 

6. Private transfer

Often recommended on Cruise Critic are

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

https://westquaycars.com/

http://www.aquacars.co.uk/

(the above all based at the Southampton end)

https://www.blackberrycars.com/

(based in London)

Price for a sedan about £130 upwards.

 

7. Just hailing a taxi in London ....

would cost an arm & both legs. :classic_ohmy:

Hailing a taxi in the street is convenient for a short city hop, but waaaay too expensive for a journey of any length.

 

8. Walking ..........

London to Southampton is  about 77 miles, around a 26-hour walk.

Not practical with luggage :classic_wink:

 

JB :classic_smile:

 

9. One change (@ Reading) rail from Paddington Station.  Slower than the direct trains from Waterloo, but still faster than the direct train from Victoria.  Downside is that the cheapest tickets are only available through split ticketing.  (TFL to Reading, and a discount ticket Reading to Southampton).  Reading is a modern station, easy to change trains.

 

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9 minutes ago, scottbee said:

 

9. One change (@ Reading) rail from Paddington Station.  Slower than the direct trains from Waterloo, but still faster than the direct train from Victoria.  Downside is that the cheapest tickets are only available through split ticketing.  (TFL to Reading, and a discount ticket Reading to Southampton).  Reading is a modern station, easy to change trains.

 

 

 

Hi Scottbee,

 

Yep, for specific circumstances there are a few alternatives beyond those that I quoted.

 

Your suggestion worth considering for those lodging near Paddington station. 

But the train ticket costs £46, and there are no cheap advance tickets.

You & I would have no major problem saving a few pounds by split-ticketing (Paddington to Reading and a separate advance ticket Reading to Southampton) but I could understand the average visitor blanching at split-ticketing.

And I reckon a direct tube train from Paddington to  Waterloo for a direct Southampton train would be cheaper and about as simple, though that's just MHO.

 

JB :classic_smile:

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1 minute ago, John Bull said:

Your suggestion worth considering for those lodging near Paddington station. 

But the train ticket costs £46, and there are no cheap advance tickets.

You & I would have no major problem saving a few pounds by split-ticketing (Paddington to Reading and a separate advance ticket Reading to Southampton) but I could understand the average visitor blanching at split-ticketing.

And I reckon a direct tube train from Paddington to  Waterloo for a direct Southampton train would be cheaper and about as simple, though that's just MHO.

 

 

If you're staying in/around Paddington, it's a very good option, and it would be much better than tube from Paddington to Waterloo (there is no direct tube, you'd have to change @ Westminster) 

 

Also, rail Paddington-Reading these days pretty much is a direct tube train; as the franchise as far as Reading is now run by TFL.  This also means you can use the tube to connect onto the Reading train from any zone 1 London tube station, for the fixed £10.60 (zone 1 -> Reading) using contactless; and add about £15 for the Reading-Southampton section on CrossCountry. 

 

IIRC the same £10.60 contactless is also for Thameslink from downtown london (Blackfriars, St Pancras, City Thameslink, London Bridge) to Gatwick

 

Starting next year when the [purple] Elizabeth line fully opens, changing at Reading for Southampton becomes an excellent method from downtown London, as you'll be able to get the #purpletrain to Reading from a number of city centre stations (Paddington, Bond St, Tottenham Court Rd, Farringdon, Liverpool St....), and change at Reading, all step-free access.

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, scottbee said:

 

If you're staying in/around Paddington, it's a very good option, and it would be much better than tube from Paddington to Waterloo (there is no direct tube, you'd have to change @ Westminster) 

 

Also, rail Paddington-Reading these days pretty much is a direct tube train; as the franchise as far as Reading is now run by TFL.  This also means you can use the tube to connect onto the Reading train from any zone 1 London tube station, for the fixed £10.60 (zone 1 -> Reading) using contactless; and add about £15 for the Reading-Southampton section on CrossCountry. 

 

IIRC the same £10.60 contactless is also for Thameslink from downtown london (Blackfriars, St Pancras, City Thameslink, London Bridge) to Gatwick

 

Starting next year when the [purple] Elizabeth line fully opens, changing at Reading for Southampton becomes an excellent method from downtown London, as you'll be able to get the #purpletrain to Reading from a number of city centre stations (Paddington, Bond St, Tottenham Court Rd, Farringdon, Liverpool St....), and change at Reading, all step-free access.

 

 

 

 

 

Direct tube line Paddington to Waterloo.

Bakerloo line (brown line on the map)

https://tfl.gov.uk/tfl/syndication/widgets/tubemap/default-search.html

 

But yes, I was forgetting about Crossrail.

An ambitious scheme for a cross-London route that's waaaay behind schedule and waaaaay over-budget.

As of a few months back the two ends of the route are at last up-and-running, including Paddington to Reading.(the middle bit, digging under central London, is the bit that's been problematic. 

 

I still rate the two options as 50/50, but as per my last post that's just MHO.

 

JB :classic_smile:

 

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40 minutes ago, John Bull said:

Direct tube line Paddington to Waterloo.

Bakerloo line (brown line on the map)

https://tfl.gov.uk/tfl/syndication/widgets/tubemap/default-search.html

 

Duh (my brain wasn't thinking Bakerloo), you're absolutely right.  However Bakerloo is seriously not step-free and a giant pain with luggage. 

 

My overall point was that Paddington -> Reading -> Southampton is somewhat simpler with luggage than Paddington -> Waterloo -> Southampton

 

 

 

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17 hours ago, scottbee said:

If you're staying in/around Paddington, it's a very good option, and it would be much better than tube from Paddington to Waterloo (there is no direct tube, you'd have to change @ Westminster)

 

16 hours ago, scottbee said:

Duh (my brain wasn't thinking Bakerloo), you're absolutely right.  However Bakerloo is seriously not step-free and a giant pain with luggage.

 

Actually, you may have been closer than you thought. I believe that at Paddington, it's now step-free (escalators) to the Bakerloo Line platforms. At Baker Street, cross-platform change to the Jubilee Line. At Waterloo, it's step-free (escalators and lifts) to street level (although at the Waterloo Road end of the station, which is quite a long way from some of the "Waterloo" hotels, like the Park Plazas by the end of Westminster Bridge).

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1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

Actually, you may have been closer than you thought. I believe that at Paddington, it's now step-free (escalators) to the Bakerloo Line platforms. At Baker Street, cross-platform change to the Jubilee Line. At Waterloo, it's step-free (escalators and lifts) to street level (although at the Waterloo Road end of the station, which is quite a long way from some of the "Waterloo" hotels, like the Park Plazas by the end of Westminster Bridge).

 

 

Bakerloo line all the way is direct. 

Bakerloo line then change at Baker Street to Jubilee line sounds like an unnecessary complication.

But, particularly with luggage, with that option being step-free at both ends and with the Baker Street change being a simple cross-platform, it makes complete sense.

 

That's why we need Londoners like G on this forum.

 

JB :classic_smile:

 

 

 

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18 hours ago, scottbee said:

However Bakerloo is seriously not step-free and a giant pain with luggage. 

 

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

Bakerloo line all the way is direct.

 

Sorry, guys, I have done a bit more digging. It looks like the new York Road ticket hall has escalator (and no stairs) access to the Bakerloo Line southbound. So from Paddington to Waterloo, taking the Bakerloo Line direct to Waterloo may well be an option. I haven't been through the new ticket hall yet (it was shut on the one occasion that I wanted to), so I haven't seen this for myself. If it works, it has a distance advantage over the Waterloo Road entrance if you're heading for the Park Plazas etc near Westminster Bridge. But if the TfL website is accurate, the York Road ticket hall doesn't work so well if you're travelling from Waterloo to Paddington and wanting to take the direct Bakerloo Line train.

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4 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

Sorry, guys, I have done a bit more digging. It looks like the new York Road ticket hall has escalator (and no stairs) access to the Bakerloo Line southbound. So from Paddington to Waterloo, taking the Bakerloo Line direct to Waterloo may well be an option. I haven't been through the new ticket hall yet (it was shut on the one occasion that I wanted to), so I haven't seen this for myself. If it works, it has a distance advantage over the Waterloo Road entrance if you're heading for the Park Plazas etc near Westminster Bridge. But if the TfL website is accurate, the York Road ticket hall doesn't work so well if you're travelling from Waterloo to Paddington and wanting to take the direct Bakerloo Line train.

 

Back to my original comment;

Paddington -> Reading (new station, completely step free) -> Southampton;

is easier than

Paddington (via any tube option) -> Waterloo -> Southampton 

 

and given that Paddington -> Reading is now TFL, any [zone 1] tube station to Paddington would also be included in the fare.  

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On 1/27/2020 at 4:48 PM, scottbee said:

If you're staying in/around Paddington, it's a very good option, and it would be much better than tube from Paddington to Waterloo (there is no direct tube, you'd have to change @ Westminster) 

 

Also, rail Paddington-Reading these days pretty much is a direct tube train; as the franchise as far as Reading is now run by TFL.  This also means you can use the tube to connect onto the Reading train from any zone 1 London tube station, for the fixed £10.60 (zone 1 -> Reading) using contactless; and add about £15 for the Reading-Southampton section on CrossCountry. 

 

1 hour ago, scottbee said:

 

Back to my original comment;

Paddington -> Reading (new station, completely step free) -> Southampton;

is easier than

Paddington (via any tube option) -> Waterloo -> Southampton 

 

and given that Paddington -> Reading is now TFL, any [zone 1] tube station to Paddington would also be included in the fare.  

 

I agree that if you're starting at or near Paddington, then Paddington --> Reading --> Southampton is the most convenient route. However, there are some potential pitfalls here.

 

First, the TfL fare you quote (£10.60) is off-peak contactless. The peak fare is £24.40 contactless. So it would be easy to fall foul of this if you're not careful about exactly when you do the trip.

 

Second, as far as I can see, that fare does not include travel from other Zone 1 stations. I'm being quoted £13.00 off-peak, £26.80 peak - and the difference is exactly a Z1-Z1 contactless single fare (peak or off-peak).

 

Third, these fares are only valid on TfL Rail services between Paddington and Reading. TfL run only a small proportion of the available trains between Paddington and Reading. During the day on a weekday, I think that TfL Rail runs once every 30 minutes, and these trains take something like 55-60 minutes to get to Reading. If you want to use a Great Western train (perhaps 10 or so fast trains an hour, 20-30 minutes journey time), then you'd need to buy a Great Western ticket (£21.20 off-peak).

 

Fourth, if you do a split ticket trip using TfL Rail, I expect that you have to exit through the gates at Reading in order to record the touch-out that allows TfL to charge you the correct fare, and then re-enter using the Reading-Southampton ticket. I haven't done this myself, so I can't report for sure that a touch-out is required there, but if it works like the remainder of the TfL/TfL-sponsored contactless system in London itself, that's what I'd expect. If you've got all your cruise luggage in tow, that would be a pain (even if you try something clever to minimise the hassle, with the risk of getting pulled up for suspicious behaviour).

 

You're right that this route will become more viable for more starting points after the Crossrail / Elizabeth Line central London section is open and through trains are running, and frequency out to Reading is increased. But for the moment, I think that the benefits of going via Reading if you're starting anywhere in central London other than Paddington need to be carefully weighed against all of those disadvantages. In contrast, the recommendation that I would make to someone heading to a cruise remains taxi to Waterloo, fast train to Southampton.

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On 1/27/2020 at 9:16 AM, John Bull said:

 

 

Hi Debbie,

 

This for travel from central London, not from airports. 

 

Bear in mind the location of your hotel when choosing transportation from London to Southampton 

 

Your main choices are

 

1. Direct train from London Waterloo station to Southampton Central station.

About 3 trains per hour, journey time about 90 minutes.

Walk-up fare about £45. Advance tickets, available from about 8 weeks out, as cheap as £10 - but those tickets are only good for the train time that you book, miss that train & it'll cost the walk-up fare for the next one. Cheap advance tickets aren't available for all trains, but still plenty of choice fitting a cruiser's schedule.

 https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

2. Direct train from London to Victoria station to Southampton Central station.

Hourly service. Journey time about 2 hrs 30 mins (it takes a roundabout route)

Walk-up fare about £32, advance tickets (available for all direct trains) from about £10 again only good for the train time that you book.

(ignore trains which involve a change of train, fares are much higher and the change a little awkward with luggage)

 https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

3. Direct coach from London Victoria coach station to Southampton coach station.

Approx hourly service, journey time about 2 hrs 15 mins.

The cheapest way to travel, fares from as low as £5

Important to pre-book because they often book-out.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

 

A taxi from Southampton Central train station or coach station to any cruise terminal costs £6 to £10

 

4. Door-to-door coach tour/transfer from central London (and Heathrow) hotel to ship, via Stonehenge.

Coach transfer to your ship from multiple London hotels (if yours isn't listed it'll be only a short walk to one that is), via a stop of about 90 minutes at Stonehenge. Operates for most ships, only available on sailing day. All passengers on the coach will be on your cruise. Fare includes Stonehenge admission. Operator is "International Friends" but for whatever reason it's a little cheaper through London Toolkit

https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/private_southampton_stonehenge.htm

nb 1. They offer several coach tour/transfers from ship to London hotels, which are better value than London hotels - Stonehenge - ship because they're much longer days (not constricted by ship check-in times).

nb 2. On other pages of that website there's stax of great info about logistics etc in London and a little about Southampton

 

5. Ship-sponsored coach transfers from London to ship.

Book thro cruise line. Not available with all cruise lines, available only on sailing day. Usually depart from London Victoria coach station & sometimes from ship-sponsored London hotels. Getting you to the ship from the coach pick-up location is cruise-line's responsibility.  

Fares vary quite dramatically between cruise lines.

Useful for singletons, not always great value for couples, always poor value for larger groups.

(for comparison, booking a National Express coach from Victoria coach station to Southampton and a short taxi hop to ship can cost under £20 for a couple)

 

6. Private transfer

Often recommended on Cruise Critic are

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

https://westquaycars.com/

http://www.aquacars.co.uk/

(the above all based at the Southampton end)

https://www.blackberrycars.com/

(based in London)

Price for a sedan about £130 upwards.

 

7. Just hailing a taxi in London ....

would cost an arm & both legs. :classic_ohmy:

Hailing a taxi in the street is convenient for a short city hop, but waaaay too expensive for a journey of any length.

 

8. Walking ..........

London to Southampton is  about 77 miles, around a 26-hour walk.

Not practical with luggage :classic_wink:

 

JB :classic_smile:

Can you tell me if the National Express Station in Southampton is with walking distance to the Moxy Hotel?

 

also I know this question will be a first for you but since your a local, hopefully you can answer it.  Do you know if any gymnastics gyms close to the Moxy hotel?  I have a gymnast who wants to drop

in well we are in Southampton.    

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1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

You're right that this route will become more viable for more starting points after the Crossrail / Elizabeth Line central London section is open and through trains are running, and frequency out to Reading is increased. But for the moment, I think that the benefits of going via Reading if you're starting anywhere in central London other than Paddington need to be carefully weighed against all of those disadvantages. In contrast, the recommendation that I would make to someone heading to a cruise remains taxi to Waterloo, fast train to Southampton.


Very much agree with this. The pre-Crossrail TfL changes are not yet as transformative as some posters on this board seem to think (other than forcing HEX to go more competitive on price 🙂). I would go via Waterloo over changing at Reading anytime, but keep that as a plan B or C, should things fall apart in town. 
 

Another advantage of Waterloo is that it is a terminus and so getting on the train and settled with luggage is more relaxed than at Reading, a very busy through station. 

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2 hours ago, Mom2kmo said:

Can you tell me if the National Express Station in Southampton is with walking distance to the Moxy Hotel?

 

also I know this question will be a first for you but since your a local, hopefully you can answer it.  Do you know if any gymnastics gyms close to the Moxy hotel?  I have a gymnast who wants to drop

in well we are in Southampton.    

 

 

Southampton Moxy is a brand new hotel, it opened around Christmas.

It's next door to Premier Inn West Quay, a simple & level walk of under 10 minutes from the Nat Express coach station. 

Or about £6 for a taxi hop from the rank at the coach station.

 

Gyms aren't my scene, but there are three just a short walk from the Moxy ............ 

 

Pure Gym

https://www.puregym.com/gyms/southampton-central/?utm_source=local&utm_campaign=local_search-southampton-central&utm_medium=organic

Address is Mountbatten Retail Park, Western Esplanade. Next door to Majestic Wines and opposite Southampton Central train station. A 10 min. walk from the Moxy - you go back past the coach station.

https://goo.gl/maps/X72ba6YBFFzdiycb9

(station on the left, Pure Gym on the right)

 

The Gym Southampton Central

Address is 1st floor (that's 2nd floor in American-speak), Hampshire House, 176-178 High St

https://www.thegymgroup.com/find-a-gym/southampton/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb-listing&utm_content=Southampton Central

Over a Tesco Express grocery shop 100 yards down High St  from the city Bargate. Head for the Bargate & turn right

https://goo.gl/maps/ypsJEyDF2cvd5jD97

 

Spirit Health Club

This one's in the Holiday Inn.

https://www.spirithealthclubs.co.uk/clubs/southampton/

5 minute walk

Past the Moxy, past Carnival's UK HQ, & you'll see the Holiday Inn on the other side of the main road

https://goo.gl/maps/qedNhgxxbagks29Y8

Moxy on the right (not very attractive in this streetview :classic_biggrin:), Carnival HQ is the green glass building, Holiday Inn is the tall white building in the centre of the photo. 

 

There are a various things I can help with in Southampton

But torture chambers isn't one of them  :classic_wacko:

 

JB :classic_smile:

 

 

 

Edited by John Bull
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22 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:


Very much agree with this. The pre-Crossrail TfL changes are not yet as transformative as some posters on this board seem to think (other than forcing HEX to go more competitive on price 🙂). I would go via Waterloo over changing at Reading anytime, but keep that as a plan B or C, should things fall apart in town. 
 

Another advantage of Waterloo is that it is a terminus and so getting on the train and settled with luggage is more relaxed than at Reading, a very busy through station. 

 

As I stated, it really depends on where you start.

 

If you're next to Paddington to start with, GWL to Reading followed by CrossCountry to Southampton is both faster (1h30m) and an easier step-free solution than taking the tube to Waterloo (20m) followed by train to Southampton (1h20m). 

Reading is dead simple to change trains at with lifts to all platforms, a heck of a lot easier than Bakerloo -> Mainline @ Waterloo

 

The **only** real downside is that it's two different train operators, which limits discount tickets. That's solvable by buying two separate tickets using one of the many split ticketing websites. 

Not mentioned yet is that Great Western and Crosscounty trains (the route via Reading on longer-haul trains) are 2+2 in coach in 1+2 in 1st, vs 2+3 in coach and 2+2 in 1st class on the Waterloo -> Southampton run, so I'd argue the trains via Reading are more comfortable too.

 

 

If you're starting near Waterloo, it's a no-brainer, take the train from Waterloo.

 

If you're starting near Victoria, even the slower (2½hr) train from Victoria is probably more convenient than tube+train from Waterloo (15m + 1h20), even though it takes 45m longer overall 

 

Agree that the Crossrail/Elizabeth/TFL Rail/#purpletrain to Reading isn't as clear as it will be, but this journey (via Reading) will get even easier in the next 18 months as the line is fully integrated

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23 minutes ago, scottbee said:

Not mentioned yet is that Great Western and Crosscounty trains (the route via Reading on longer-haul trains) are 2+2 in coach in 1+2 in 1st, vs 2+3 in coach and 2+2 in 1st class on the Waterloo -> Southampton run, so I'd argue the trains via Reading are more comfortable too.

 

...

 

Agree that the Crossrail/Elizabeth/TFL Rail/#purpletrain to Reading isn't as clear as it will be, but this journey (via Reading) will get even easier in the next 18 months as the line is fully integrated

 

I've dug around to see what the TfL service to Reading is expected look like when the Elizabeth Line is fully open. The answer appears to be 4tph peak, 2tph off-peak. The two additional peak services will be semi-fast.

 

In other words, once you're outside peak hours, it will still only be one slow TfL every 30 minutes. If you want a fast train to Reading, it'll still have to be Great Western. Things aren't going to get a huge amount better.

 

As for train comfort, the Reading to Southampton train might be better. But if you're advocating TfL from Paddington to Reading, you're talking about comfort that's little better than a Tube carriage. AIUI, the TfL trains are very similar to those currently in service on the Overground. The rolling stock from Waterloo to Southampton is better than that.

 

So none of these options is a clear-cut winner on any score, now or in the foreseeable future.

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