A few questions re transportation

[MichelleR1963]

We will be arriving from the states at Heathrow airport and are leaning towards taking the bus to our hotel in Southampton.    I don't know what terminal we will arrive in.  Is there a way to know?  We will be flying in on United Airlines.  I apparently need to know what terminal to book the bus tickets.  Also, we arrive at 6 am -  what time would be a safe bet to book the bus?  We will have to get bag and go through customs and find our way.  This is our first overseas trip.

 

Also, we plan to take the train into London the following day and do one of the HOHO's.  Any suggestions on a) Which HOHO to use?  b) which train station in London to get off in?   

 

Is there a savings prebooking the train fare?  Since we will be jet lagged, I'm wondering what time will be up and functional!  LOL..

Thank you.

[JHLH821]

38 minutes ago, MichelleR1963 said:

We will be arriving from the states at Heathrow airport and are leaning towards taking the bus to our hotel in Southampton.    I don't know what terminal we will arrive in.  Is there a way to know?  We will be flying in on United Airlines.  I apparently need to know what terminal to book the bus tickets.  Also, we arrive at 6 am -  what time would be a safe bet to book the bus?  We will have to get bag and go through customs and find our way.  This is our first overseas trip.

 

Also, we plan to take the train into London the following day and do one of the HOHO's.  Any suggestions on a) Which HOHO to use?  b) which train station in London to get off in?   

 

Is there a savings prebooking the train fare?  Since we will be jet lagged, I'm wondering what time will be up and functional!  LOL..

Thank you.

this is the website where you can check future schedules- it appears dates for August are not yet posted. https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/.  The NCL ships mare showing berth 102 which is at Horizon terminal

[gnome12]

57 minutes ago, MichelleR1963 said:

We will be arriving from the states at Heathrow airport and are leaning towards taking the bus to our hotel in Southampton.    I don't know what terminal we will arrive in.  Is there a way to know?  We will be flying in on United Airlines.  I apparently need to know what terminal to book the bus tickets.  Also, we arrive at 6 am -  what time would be a safe bet to book the bus?  We will have to get bag and go through customs and find our way.  This is our first overseas trip.

 

Also, we plan to take the train into London the following day and do one of the HOHO's.  Any suggestions on a) Which HOHO to use?  b) which train station in London to get off in?   

 

Is there a savings prebooking the train fare?  Since we will be jet lagged, I'm wondering what time will be up and functional!  LOL..

Thank you.

Why would you go to Southampton from Heathrow when you intend to come back to London the next day to do a HOHO? I realize that hotels are cheaper in Southampton, but that makes no sense. 

[markeb]

What are you overall plans? One night in the UK before the cruise or two?

 

I tend to agree with gnome12 that you're using up a lot of time going to Southampton and then coming back to London. I'd be much more inclined to go into London on your arrival day, take that day to see what you can, explore more the next day, then take a bus or train to Southampton for your cruise. But I'd need some idea of your overall itinerary to really give any options. You'll be jetlagged the first day, but if you're in Waterloo, for instance, you can wander many of the historic sites of London on your arrival day. You won't have those options in Southampton...

 

United uses Terminal 2 at Heathrow.

[Island2Dweller]

Going to Southampton then returning to London the next day chews a lot of time.  Any saving in hotel cost is likely to be chewed up by the extra you pay in rail tickets.  I really would not arrange the trip like this.

Trains between Southampton and London use the Waterloo terminus.  There are a few services to Victoria but these go a circuitous route and take much longer.

[Globaliser]

9 hours ago, MichelleR1963 said:

Also, we plan to take the train into London the following day and do one of the HOHO's.

 

To give some context to the advice about not doing your trip like this, Southampton is about as far away from London as Philadelphia is from New York City. It wouldn't make much sense to fly to NYC and transfer to a hotel in Philadelphia, only to make a day trip to NYC the next day.

 

And that's before jet lag, which is likely to make it feel really difficult for you to get out of bed the next morning.

[MichelleR1963]

9 hours ago, JHLH821 said:

this is the website where you can check future schedules- it appears dates for August are not yet posted. https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/.  The NCL ships mare showing berth 102 which is at Horizon terminal

Thank you.  I meant to say terminal at the airport. 🙂 We are doing the NCL Getaway out of berth 102. 

[MichelleR1963]

6 hours ago, markeb said:

What are you overall plans? One night in the UK before the cruise or two?

 

I tend to agree with gnome12 that you're using up a lot of time going to Southampton and then coming back to London. I'd be much more inclined to go into London on your arrival day, take that day to see what you can, explore more the next day, then take a bus or train to Southampton for your cruise. But I'd need some idea of your overall itinerary to really give any options. You'll be jetlagged the first day, but if you're in Waterloo, for instance, you can wander many of the historic sites of London on your arrival day. You won't have those options in Southampton...

 

United uses Terminal 2 at Heathrow.

We are arriving Sunday at 6 am, staying 2 nights in Southampton, I found the train station is a 15 minute walk from the hotel and takes a little over an hour to get to London. Plan is to do a HOHO and do a bit of exploring in London. Originally I was planning to stay in London then transfer to Southampton, but DH wants to stay at the port for ease on getting onboard on Tuesday and not switch hotels.

[MichelleR1963]

3 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

Going to Southampton then returning to London the next day chews a lot of time.  Any saving in hotel cost is likely to be chewed up by the extra you pay in rail tickets.  I really would not arrange the trip like this.

Trains between Southampton and London use the Waterloo terminus.  There are a few services to Victoria but these go a circuitous route and take much longer.

Thank you. DH wants to stay at the port.  It'll be an adventure.  Waterloo was what I was looking to find out.  🙂

[MichelleR1963]

9 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Why would you go to Southampton from Heathrow when you intend to come back to London the next day to do a HOHO? I realize that hotels are cheaper in Southampton, but that makes no sense. 

Wasn't a cost thing, we are cruising out of Southampton on a Tuesday, and my DH wants to stay close to the port.  He also retired from public transport so he wants to check out the rails.  

[John Bull]

Well, if you really can't be persuaded to spend one night in London, the way to do it is to pre-book a train  from Southampton to London Waterloo at the "advance" fares.

Advance fares are available from about 12 weeks out, the fares increase (or are sold-out) as the travel date gets closer. Advance tickets are only valid for the train time that you booked - miss that train and your advance tickets are trash, you'll have to buy walk-up tickets for the next train (£52 to £88 !!!! depending on the time) 

Because that route is used by commuters and business travellers, trains which arrive at Waterloo after 10am are cheapest at £14.50 one-way. But since you'll only have one inadequate day in London I'd suggest the 07.30 train at £23.50, which arrives at Waterloo at 08.45 - altho it will be crowded on a monday.

 

Advance tickets for a train back to Southampton are mainly £9.20 to £14.50.

 If you want a "proper" evening meal in Southampton, book a train which gets you back by about 8pm to 8.30pm. If you want an evening meal in London or to eat on-the-hoof, the latest time to be back in Southampton is when/if the hotel locks-up for the night - bear in mind  London's  latest hours for the ho-ho's & inside visits to places, but there's still plenty to see or do in London in the evening. 

 

Waterloo station is a five-minute walk to the nearest ho-ho stop, or a 15-minute walk across Westminster Bridge to the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben etc) & Westminster Abbey. From there it's an interesting walk up Whitehall from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square.

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/ (your stations are Southampton Central and London Waterloo)

 

Useful London info including ho-ho options and links, at 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

JB 🙂

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, MichelleR1963 said:

I meant to say terminal at the airport.

 

United Airlines operates at T2.

[MichelleR1963]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Well, if you really can't be persuaded to spend one night in London, the way to do it is to pre-book a train  from Southampton to London Waterloo at the "advance" fares.

Advance fares are available from about 12 weeks out, the fares increase (or are sold-out) as the travel date gets closer. Advance tickets are only valid for the train time that you booked - miss that train and your advance tickets are trash, you'll have to buy walk-up tickets for the next train (£52 to £88 !!!! depending on the time) 

Because that route is used by commuters and business travellers, trains which arrive at Waterloo after 10am are cheapest at £14.50 one-way. But since you'll only have one inadequate day in London I'd suggest the 07.30 train at £23.50, which arrives at Waterloo at 08.45 - altho it will be crowded on a monday.

 

Advance tickets for a train back to Southampton are mainly £9.20 to £14.50.

 If you want a "proper" evening meal in Southampton, book a train which gets you back by about 8pm to 8.30pm. If you want an evening meal in London or to eat on-the-hoof, the latest time to be back in Southampton is when/if the hotel locks-up for the night - bear in mind  London's  latest hours for the ho-ho's & inside visits to places, but there's still plenty to see or do in London in the evening. 

 

Waterloo station is a five-minute walk to the nearest ho-ho stop, or a 15-minute walk across Westminster Bridge to the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben etc) & Westminster Abbey. From there it's an interesting walk up Whitehall from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square.

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/ (your stations are Southampton Central and London Waterloo)

 

Useful London info including ho-ho options and links, at 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

 

JB 🙂

Thanks John.  I know it'll be brief, you learn as you go along.  I should have booked flight separately from the NCL deal, and added more time.  My great grandmother and grandmother were from York and there's definitely not enough time to get there.   Will make plans for another trip.  Appreciate your feedback.

[getaway101]

On 6/18/2023 at 11:45 PM, markeb said:

What are you overall plans? One night in the UK before the cruise or two?

 

I tend to agree with gnome12 that you're using up a lot of time going to Southampton and then coming back to London. I'd be much more inclined to go into London on your arrival day, take that day to see what you can, explore more the next day, then take a bus or train to Southampton for your cruise. But I'd need some idea of your overall itinerary to really give any options. You'll be jetlagged the first day, but if you're in Waterloo, for instance, you can wander many of the historic sites of London on your arrival day. You won't have those options in Southampton...

 

United uses Terminal 2 at Heathrow.

Oh gee....I was told United uses Terminal 4 😲

[gumshoe958]

3 minutes ago, getaway101 said:

Oh gee....I was told United uses Terminal 4 😲

You were told wrong. No US flights use T4.

[Cotswold Eagle]

19 minutes ago, getaway101 said:

Oh gee....I was told United uses Terminal 4 😲

That information is roughly 10 years out of date!

[Meander Ingwa]

Cotswold is correct.  Most airlines have shuffled around to make those who code share closer to each other. United is T2.  

[markeb]

1 hour ago, getaway101 said:

Oh gee....I was told United uses Terminal 4 😲

 

I don't know the last time I flew United into anything other than T2...

 

If you go to United.com, travel info, Airport and Aircraft info, you'll find info on United at Heathrow. The maps are T2. I'm pretty sure the entire Star Alliance goes out of T2 for connections and lounges.

[MichelleR1963]

2 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

I don't know the last time I flew United into anything other than T2...

 

If you go to United.com, travel info, Airport and Aircraft info, you'll find info on United at Heathrow. The maps are T2. I'm pretty sure the entire Star Alliance goes out of T2 for connections and lounges.

Thank you.  Needed to know so I could book our bus transport to Southampton.  Will be meeting up with a former co-worker in Southampton on Sunday afternoon.  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Meander Ingwa said:

Cotswold is correct.  Most airlines have shuffled around to make those who code share closer to each other. United is T2.  

Yes, we have a code share flight. UA operated by Canada Air. And it is scheduled to land in terminal 2.

[Globaliser]

31 minutes ago, markeb said:

I don't know the last time I flew United into anything other than T2...

 

The present T2 didn't open until June 2014.

 

I have to say that I personally don't remember UA ever being at T4, but that's where Wikipedia says it was immediately before that. I suspect that this is why getaway101 was given that duff information.

[markeb]

3 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

The present T2 didn't open until June 2014.

I guess that answers that! Probably summer of 2012, then. I do recall the terminal being under construction at the time. It was a very different terminal and club in 2015 and since.

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, we have a code share flight. UA operated by Canada Air. And it is scheduled to land in terminal 2.

Note when you are looking for it, it is Air Canada, not Canada Air.