Southampton cruises

[MMMCruiser]

I have booked a cruise with X, round trip from Southampton, UK.  I haven't sailed from this port before.  Do any of you have any advice/information that you'd be willing to share here.   Does it make sense to just get a ride down there in the morning and stay in London, or is it better to just book a room right by the port.  I'm not sure when we can get on the ship - what time are Retreat guests usually allowed to board?  We'd like to board as early as we can so we can check out the ship before it is too crowded.  Never sailed with X before, so I'd love more details about any of this. TIA.

[jwlane]

We've taken National Express 3 times on embarkation day---cheap, relaxing, easy.

[Northern Aurora]

Prior to covid we did a B2B2B2B with each turnaround day in Southampton and disembarkation there too.  Our experience was that there is much to do in Southampton.  If we were embarking there we would most likely arrive a day or even two early to embarkation.

 

Retreat guests are invited to board at their leisure, so as soon as the ship is ready for embarkation Retreat guests can board.  Luminae will be open for lunch.  It generally opens at noon.

 

 

[mrgabriel]

We usually take the train to/from London when sailing from Southampton. The train is a couple of hours from Waterloo. After our last cruise we stayed in Southampton for an extra day and we were pleasantly surprised. It’s a lovely city to walk around. There are plenty of parks. 
 

We would always stay in London if we had a couple of days but with only night pre-cruise, I would stay in Southampton again. There is coach service from LHR, or we have taken a private car for about £120 pre-pandemic. 

[Jim_Iain]

First off unless things change we have always sailed on Celebrity out of City Cruise Terminal.

 

The National Express Bus service is very convenient and close to the Cruise Terminal.   The National Rail is also convenient and is about 2 miles from the City Cruise Terminal.

 

To avoid the early morning rush we have stayed at the Ibis Hotel which is about 1/3 of a mile from the terminal.   While we to an Uber I noticed lots of people walking with their roller suitcase from both the hotel as well as the National Express Bus Stop.     Not a great hotel but very convenient and clean.

 

Like most other ports the Check In usually begins around 11:00 for Suites and Zenith and the appointment time for others.    The port has a major clog area at the entrance where all passengers go through Security before entering the big Warehouse size terminal where there are lanes set up for checkin

Edited July 15, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[SPacificbound]

Our preference is to stay at least one night in Southampton. We've also stayed in Bournemouth for a couple nights and then take a cab to Southampton. It's interesting too.

[tigervixxxen]

5 hours ago, MMMCruiser said:

I have booked a cruise with X, round trip from Southampton, UK.  I haven't sailed from this port before.  Do any of you have any advice/information that you'd be willing to share here.   Does it make sense to just get a ride down there in the morning and stay in London, or is it better to just book a room right by the port.  I'm not sure when we can get on the ship - what time are Retreat guests usually allowed to board?  We'd like to board as early as we can so we can check out the ship before it is too crowded.  Never sailed with X before, so I'd love more details about any of this. TIA.

celebrity is known for very quick embarkation. If you never sailed with them you will be surprised. I have not been a retreat guest but we selected 11:30 as our arrival time when we did the check in on the ap and were easily in our room on the ship by noon. The earliest arrival time is 11 am I believe and you could probably try to get on board at that time, they don’t even check what your boarding pass says. simply put, you can pretty much arrive at your convenience. 
 

As far as when to travel to Southampton, that’s up to what you feel comfortable with. We usually prefer staying by the port but if you value a day in London more that certainly has merit. It’s a fairly lengthy (and expensive) ride, about 90 minutes and mostly along highways but we didn’t encounter any traffic. We stayed at the Harbor hotel and it was nice accommodations, just walked around the harbor a little. Not a ton to do there. Other hotels many people stay at are more in the town. All very close to the cruise port, 5-10 minutes away at most.
 

 

[Crumbled]

We flew in from Northern Ireland the night before and stayed at a hotel. Taxi to the port terminal next day. Quick and easy, inexpensive. I liked Southampton more than I expected to from what I saw of it. Seemed nice little shops and cafes near the harbour, and plenty of parks we didnt get a chance to explore. I would happily do the same again in future.

[upwarduk]

I would always stay at least one night before embarkation.

The Ibis hotels are grouped around a car park and are not too far away from the City Terminal 101, that Celebrity use.

Or, you could do the Park and Ride option at Chilworth Manor.

[chemmo]

Be aware that there are ongoing rail strikes in the UK at the moment. Also traffic can make a big difference to road travel time.

 

We live in the UK (about a four hour drive from Southampton) but would never drive up on the day. Just so much more relaxing to be in the port the day before your cruise. Enjoy a nice meal, get up at leisure….

[hawkesbaynz]

Or stay in Winchester the Night before the cruise. Fantastic small medieval city. There are hotels near the trains station and it must be a 20 minute train ride or a 30 minute taxi ride.

 

Have a look at the Port of Call section on CC

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/
 

Although we live on the outskirts of Southampton and can be sipping bubbly in 45 minutes of leaving home, my wife always stays at the Holiday Inn when working on the Carnival ships. Walkable to City Terminal and to some nice restaurants like Kutis, Enios and a nice pub called The Dancing Man

 

[AmberCascades]

We usually take the National Express bus the day (or two) before sailing and stay in Southampton.  It's a nice little place to walk around and there are some very nice restaurants.

 

One time we were on the bus, the day before embarkation, and there was some sort of traffic delay.  The driver told us it would be slow going and gave us a heads up.  A couple of guys who were sailing on Princess that same day were freaking out and worried they were going to miss the ship.  In the end I believe they made it on time, but it was close.  I would definitely recommend getting there the day before.  Much less stressful.  

[Esprit]

We stay at the Premier Inn hotels just outside Southampton near the  M3 and M27. Just a 15 to 20 minute taxi ride away from the dock.

 

[MMMCruiser]

Thanks everyone.  We will aim for 11am no matter where we stay.  It's hard to give up an extra day in London so I'll have to think carefully about where we stay the night before.  

[jwlane]

Last year we took the 10am National Express from Victoria Coach, walked on the ship at 1:41pm.

[marieps]

18 hours ago, jwlane said:

We've taken National Express 3 times on embarkation day---cheap, relaxing, easy.

So happy to hear this as we have NE booked for Sillie's Oct TA.  May I ask how big is the overhead?  Does it handle a typical wheeled carry on?

[jwlane]

46 minutes ago, marieps said:

 Does it handle a typical wheeled carry on?

No---just a back pack.  Plenty of room underneath, though.

Personally, I think it's too far to walk to the City cruise terminal, and taxis can be scarce around the bus station (especially for more than 2 people).  However, the train station is a 5 minute walk down the street, and there are plenty there.

[montythecat]

With rather erratic train services in the UK at the moment and

the possibility of accidents on the roads causing chaos I would

strongly recommend travelling to Southampton (or Winchester 

which has already been suggested because it is such a lovely
city) on the day before you board the ship.

[sbt518]

There is a lot of information on how to get to/from Southampton on the British Isles board. We are cruising out ofSouthampton inAugust and we are taking a bus tour that picks us up at our London hotel the morning of the cruise and stops at Stonehenge on the way to the ship. 

[abbydancer2003]

We did the Silhouette for her transatlantic last year.  We flew into London a few days early, and spent two nights there, at a very nice Marriott that let me use their house phone to call my mom in a rehab facility in California.  We spent a lovely day visiting the Warner Brothers Studio.

 

Next day, we took the train from Waterloo and stayed overnight at the Moxie.  It's a low end Marriott branded hotel, but it's very close to the City Terminal.  We walked.  All in all, very easy. 

[madat]

We travelled by train from Waterloo to Southampton the night before, but like the OP, were a bit conflicted when we were planning this.  When you don't get to visit London often, it can be hard to give up a night in the capital.  We stayed at the Novotel in Southampton and were glad we did, as it made for a very easy and stress-free embarkation day.  Waking up to this view in the morning was a nice consolation!

[Rascal1]

We always stop near the port, for me it’s part of the excitement of waking up and seeing all the ships docked and going for a walk after breakfast knowing we will be getting on them soon. Also if you can get a room overlooking the dock and can’t sleep for excitement you can watch them come in 😂. 

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, sbt518 said:

There is a lot of information on how to get to/from Southampton on the British Isles board. We are cruising out ofSouthampton inAugust and we are taking a bus tour that picks us up at our London hotel the morning of the cruise and stops at Stonehenge on the way to the ship. 

important train strike information: there is no end in sight to the long running train strikes which could well continue at least until the end of of the year.

I would strongly recommend that any planning or bookings should be based on the buses/coaches, private cars or tours that include drop off at the port.