Post Cruise Transfer to London from Southampton (Windsor Castle stop)

[Medusa_lives]

I'm doing an add on in London post Iceland cruise on Prima in June and I want to do a transfer to london with a side your to Windsor Castle. I don't need the driver to do the tour but I need that stopover built into the transfer. Does anyone have any experience/recommendations on a tour or coach operation that does this? Thus far all the cruise line has is a transfer to the airport. We will be a party of 4. Thanks 

[Host Kat]

Howdy @Medusa_lives

 

Thank you for your new topic on the Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here! forum! However, your thread was off topic there. That forum is for technical assistance in using these message boards.

 

To help you out I have moved your thread to the British Isles/Western Europe forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have needed transportation there frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

Hope this will be helpful!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[John Bull]

International Friends, a long-established & reputable coach operator offers a choice of two door-to-door coach tour/transfers for most cruises ending in Southampton. Pick-up from the cruise terminal, two or three stops en-route including Windsor, and taking you to your central London hotel (for very small hotels, AirB&Bs etc you'd probably need to be dropped at the nearest listed hotel). Your luggage is secure in the coach belly-lockers and  loaded / unloaded by the driver

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html

 

The tour/transfer is specifically for those on that ship - if you're on a small ship which isn't served (or if you're overniting in a Southampton hotel) you can book as from another ship which is served on that day and you'll have to make your own way to that ship's cruise terminal (maximum £10 / 10-minute  taxi ride).

To find out whether another ship is berthing that day, check the cruise listings on  https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

 

The prices quoted don't include admission charges, but they're listed and can be added.

For Stonehenge in particular you should buy your tickets with your coach tickets - to avoid overcrowding those arriving by car need to pre-book an arrival time - if they miss that entry time or hope to simply pay at the gate they will be delayed if the site is full. But tickets issued by coach tours (and the Stonehenge ho-ho from Salisbury) have an any-time concession.

 

If your port is Dover, International Friends also offer tour/transfers from there, but not to Windsor -  it's the wrong side of London.

I'm not aware of any other cruise tour-transfer operators, but many CC members have used International Friends and their comments have been positive. 

 

A pre-booked estate car or "people-carrier" or small van (we call them minibuses - in the UK a "van" is a panel-van) would of course be more personal and more flexible, skip Salisbury and Stonehenge & spend all your time at Windsor, but likely to cost more.

Try https://westquaycars.com/ or https://www.aquacars.co.uk/ or https://www.hampshireexecchauffeurs.co.uk/

Alternatively, Windsor is very easy by direct train from central London but of course that would cost you most of a day in London. 

 

JB 🙂

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by John Bull

[samandlibby]

On 3/2/2023 at 8:07 PM, Medusa_lives said:

I'm doing an add on in London post Iceland cruise on Prima in June and I want to do a transfer to london with a side your to Windsor Castle. I don't need the driver to do the tour but I need that stopover built into the transfer. Does anyone have any experience/recommendations on a tour or coach operation that does this? Thus far all the cruise line has is a transfer to the airport. We will be a party of 4. Thanks 

I’ve never used this company but we are considering using them PRE-CRUISE for Windsor Castle. 
https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html#tour-tab2

[phabric]

11 hours ago, samandlibby said:

I’ve never used this company but we are considering using them PRE-CRUISE for Windsor Castle. 
https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html#tour-tab2

I have used them from Southampton-Salisbury- Stonehenge-Windsor, then dropped off at the door of my London hotel.

 

Purchase the tickets for Stonehenge and Windsor through them.

 

They only go on embarkment and disembarkment days from certain London hotel, LHR hotels to Southampton dock.

[John Bull]

12 hours ago, samandlibby said:

I’ve never used this company but we are considering using them PRE-CRUISE for Windsor Castle. 
https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html#tour-tab2

 

Not as good value as their post-cruise offerings because they're limited by the need to get you to the cruise terminal by about 1pm. That's versus getting you to your central London hotel around 6pm - 7pm and no big deal if it's later.

So pre-cruise it's Windsor or Stonehenge, versus post-cruise it's Windsor and Stonehenge .....and Salisbury.

 

But those are the logistics & no way round them.😟

I think you've made the right choice

- Windsor Castle is excellent & interesting. 🙂

- But  altho visitors from the USA etc rate Stonehenge as amazing  like many Brit. CC members I rate it as a stack of old rocks 🙄

 

JB 🙂

[samandlibby]

9 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

Not as good value as their post-cruise offerings because they're limited by the need to get you to the cruise terminal by about 1pm. That's versus getting you to your central London hotel around 6pm - 7pm and no big deal if it's later.

So pre-cruise it's Windsor or Stonehenge, versus post-cruise it's Windsor and Stonehenge .....and Salisbury.

 

But those are the logistics & no way round them.😟

I think you've made the right choice

- Windsor Castle is excellent & interesting. 🙂

- But  altho visitors from the USA etc rate Stonehenge as amazing  like many Brit. CC members I rate it as a stack of old rocks 🙄

 

JB 🙂

Thanks!  I would like to see Stonehenge BUT, I’ve heard very mixed reviews. So, not enough time to do everything and have to make tough choices🙂

[CLGcruiser]

We’ve used Twelve Transfers and they were very reliable. Picked up at the cruise port and dropped off at our hotel in Windsor. 

[Medusa_lives]

On 3/4/2023 at 10:05 AM, John Bull said:

 

Not as good value as their post-cruise offerings because they're limited by the need to get you to the cruise terminal by about 1pm. That's versus getting you to your central London hotel around 6pm - 7pm and no big deal if it's later.

So pre-cruise it's Windsor or Stonehenge, versus post-cruise it's Windsor and Stonehenge .....and Salisbury.

 

But those are the logistics & no way round them.😟

I think you've made the right choice

- Windsor Castle is excellent & interesting. 🙂

- But  altho visitors from the USA etc rate Stonehenge as amazing  like many Brit. CC members I rate it as a stack of old rocks 🙄

 

JB 🙂

Thanks much for the feedback. I'm going with a small group and I think three of us have seen Stonehenge, and to be honest the others are not that interested. Windsor however is something I've never done so I'm looking forward to it as they are as well. Appreciate the feedback very much!