London to Southampton Transfers

[Casperb41]

On 8/11/2022 at 4:13 PM, BobAnne said:

I have been looking at both the LHR to Southampton and the Victoria Cross Station to Southampton transfers for an upcoming cruise. I will be in London for a few days prior to the cruise so returning all the way to Heathrow for the bus seemed a wee bit silly to me.

 

What are the pros and cons of either transfer? Is the Heathrow one more popular for any particular reason?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

2 hours ago, MouseBerry said:

Used National Express both ways. London Victoria Coach Station to Southampton Coach Station and Southampton Coach Station to London Heathrow Terminal 2/3. Both was quite cheap around 17£ per person per ride (incl seat reservation) booked online 4 weeks ahead. 

Worked pretty well and was on scheduled time. Cannot say how reliable they are in general, but they were in our case.

Our friends used a private hire, other wise if you use railroad you have to switch , London to Reading, Reading to Southampton .coach can be unreliable due to traffic conditions on M3

 

2 hours ago, MouseBerry said:

Used National Express both ways. London Victoria Coach Station to Southampton Coach Station and Southampton Coach Station to London Heathrow Terminal 2/3. Both was quite cheap around 17£ per person per ride (incl seat reservation) booked online 4 weeks ahead. 

Worked pretty well and was on scheduled time. Cannot say how reliable they are in general, but they were in our case.

 

[CazualCruzer]

I lived in Southampton for several years, involving a lot of back and forth to both London and Heathrow airport.  Strongly recommend National Express.  It’s never late, and comfortable for the price.  Someone above suggested booking in advance - I highly recommend that, too, as the coaches - as frequent as they are - do fill up.  Don’t take the chance of there being availability if you just show up on the day.

[Thrak]

We hooked up with two other couples via our Roll Call thread and we shared the cost of a van ride from Heathrow to Southampton. Worked out well.

[jimbo1683]

On 8/12/2022 at 5:51 AM, thehowlingroad said:

 

When I told local British passengers about this, though, they all winced at the thought of taking National Express, lol. So I'm thinking that it's a very hit or miss thing.

It's the same look Brits get when they tell an american they are taking Greyhound!

[shirazcruiser]

On 8/11/2022 at 10:08 PM, dog said:

Princess coach transfer from Victoria Coach Station:

I have used this several times.

Taxi from London hotel-10 am

Check in with Princess rep.

Luggage taken & next time we saw it was at our cabin door

Comfortable coach ride —90 minutes approximately to ship

Booked through Princess personalizer from Transfer link

in my booking

 

We've taken a daily tour out of Victoria in the past and the station was large and very busy.  Is it difficult to find the Princess rep?  Thank you!

[dog]

33 minutes ago, shirazcruiser said:

We've taken a daily tour out of Victoria in the past and the station was large and very busy.  Is it difficult to find the Princess rep?  Thank you!

This is the coach station, not train station. It is small. The 3-4 princess reps were right by the door to the buses, where the seating is.  We went into the coffee shop next to it & a rep came to round us up.  Very simple- give your name,, they give you a colour ticket, they load your luggage, sit down, wait to be called and next time you see your luggage is at cabin.

[SteveH2508]

On 8/13/2022 at 8:21 PM, CazualCruzer said:

I lived in Southampton for several years, involving a lot of back and forth to both London and Heathrow airport.  Strongly recommend National Express.  It’s never late, and comfortable for the price.  Someone above suggested booking in advance - I highly recommend that, too, as the coaches - as frequent as they are - do fill up.  Don’t take the chance of there being availability if you just show up on the day.

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but this (my bold in red) is not always true. We took National Express to Southampton recently and nearly missed our cruise. The coach was 45 minutes late leaving Victoria and then got stuck on the A4 for about an hour (two lanes closed due to preparations for the Queen's funeral the next day). We were an hour and a half late into Southampton.

 

Give yourself plenty of wiggle room with your timings.

[shirazcruiser]

47 minutes ago, dog said:

This is the coach station, not train station. It is small. The 3-4 princess reps were right by the door to the buses, where the seating is.  We went into the coffee shop next to it & a rep came to round us up.  Very simple- give your name,, they give you a colour ticket, they load your luggage, sit down, wait to be called and next time you see your luggage is at cabin.

Thank you - 

[nascimda]

On 8/12/2022 at 12:51 AM, thehowlingroad said:

We went the really cheap route with National Express last month from Victoria Coach Station; the ride was smooth and uneventful, 99% of passengers on the 2/3rds full bus were cruise ship passengers going to either our ship or the other one in port that day, and the bus was clean and the AC worked so well, I got cold. I bought tickets about 10 weeks in advance and paid a whopping 21 GBP for 3 tickets. We then got a taxi from the Southampton coach station for the 7-minute ride to our ship. Paid 10 GBP for that, and only because I told the driver to keep the change.

 

When I told local British passengers about this, though, they all winced at the thought of taking National Express, lol. So I'm thinking that it's a very hit or miss thing.

I have used National Express coaches to/from Heathrow and Victoria Coach Terminal to/ from Southampton Coach Station several times without any problem, though it can get quite congested in the Southampton waiting room which is limited in space. On the positive side the fares are quite reasonable when booked in advance.

[Rick&Jeannie]

When departing from London (Southampton) we have *always* taken the Princess transfer from Victoria Coach Station.  We have a couple of places within walking distance (even with luggage) that we stay at very near the Coach Station so it is very convenient for us.  Yes, you can potentially get a better price but there's something to be said for the convenience of handing your luggage over at the Coach Station and it magically appearing at your cabin door on the ship!

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, nascimda said:

I have used National Express coaches to/from Heathrow and Victoria Coach Terminal to/ from Southampton Coach Station several times without any problem, though it can get quite congested in the Southampton waiting room which is limited in space. On the positive side the fares are quite reasonable when booked in advance.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

[PescadoAmarillo]

32 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

When departing from London (Southampton) we have *always* taken the Princess transfer from Victoria Coach Station.  We have a couple of places within walking distance (even with luggage) that we stay at very near the Coach Station so it is very convenient for us.  Yes, you can potentially get a better price but there's something to be said for the convenience of handing your luggage over at the Coach Station and it magically appearing at your cabin door on the ship!

We’ve done this, also, and stayed right off Buckingham Palace Rd. within walking distance of Victoria Coach Station (it’s also a great location for sightseeing in London). However, I think next time I’m going to hire a private transfer directly from the hotel to Southampton. It’s not that much more expensive and Victoria Coach Station gets very crowded on turnaround days. 

[dog]

11 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

We’ve done this, also, and stayed right off Buckingham Palace Rd. within walking distance of Victoria Coach Station (it’s also a great location for sightseeing in London). However, I think next time I’m going to hire a private transfer directly from the hotel to Southampton. It’s not that much more expensive and Victoria Coach Station gets very crowded on turnaround days. 

Let us know the private company.  My transfer ship to Victoria coach station is $86 CAD pp., so I booked that again.  I stayed at Rubens at the Palace 3x. Great 2x, not great last time. Easy walk to coach station and that great fish & chip shop nearby.

Edited Wednesday at 04:46 PM by dog

[PescadoAmarillo]

25 minutes ago, dog said:

Let us know the private company.  My transfer ship to Victoria coach station is $86 CAD pp., so I booked that again.  I stayed at Rubens at the Palace 3x. Great 2x, not great last time. Easy walk to coach station and that great fish & chip shop nearby.

Haven’t settled on one yet, but did note the availability in our timeframe. I’ll post again. 

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, nascimda said:

I have used National Express coaches to/from Heathrow and Victoria Coach Terminal to/ from Southampton Coach Station several times without any problem, though it can get quite congested in the Southampton waiting room which is limited in space. On the positive side the fares are quite reasonable when booked in advance.

 

We used National Express bus from LHR to Southampton.  I would do it again in a second.  

[ColoradoMom!!]

We are staying near the Waterloo station, and are going to try the direct train.  With an advance ticket (you must pick a time) it was only £14 which is about $18 per person.  1 hour 17 minutes

 

I am also aware to check if there is a strike - they must notify 2 weeks ahead of time - and it is unlikely from what I understand.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 05:31 PM by ColoradoMom!!

[gkacky]

We were happy with blackberrycars.com. We used them for Heathrow-London, London-Heathrow and Southampton-Heathrow. 

[stevenr597]

We had our travel agent schedule a private car from Heathrow to Southampton.  Very please with the ease and comfort of the service. 

[nini]

5 hours ago, stevenr597 said:

We had our travel agent schedule a private car from Heathrow to Southampton.  Very please with the ease and comfort of the service. 

What was the company?

[leck57]

16 hours ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

We are staying near the Waterloo station, and are going to try the direct train.  With an advance ticket (you must pick a time) it was only £14 which is about $18 per person.  1 hour 17 minutes

 

I am also aware to check if there is a strike - they must notify 2 weeks ahead of time - and it is unlikely from what I understand.

 

 

 

What we always do and I think the best way to Southampton. Just booked a first class ticket for July about midday and it was only £16.

[Boiler Cruiser]

For an upcoming cruise out of Southampton, my wife and I are flying into Heathrow 2 days before the cruise.  We are staying in the designated Princess Hotel in London, so we have arranged the Princess transfer to the hotel. 

 

On the day of the cruise, we are taking the Princess Transfer from the hotel to port of Southampton.

 

Our flight back to the US leaves Heathrow early in the morning, the day after we get back to Southampton, so we are staying at a hotel at the airport.

[upwarduk]

38 minutes ago, Boiler Cruiser said:

We are staying in the designated Princess Hotel in London,

Which hotel is that?