A little guidance please - disembarkation in Southhampton - time to LHR Airport?

[Bruce61]

Looking to buy our airline tickets and hope someone can provide some information needed for the return flights.  For those who have disembarked in Southhampton, we will be on Spendor from Reykjavik to this summer.  Can anyone else who has disembarked in Southhampton tell me how long to budget for transit from the ship to Heathrow airport?  There are lots of morning flights (to Los Angeles) but not so many direct flights in the afternoon and none in the evening.   

 

Thanks 

[Pcardad]

Ideally, a bit over an hour. I would allow 90 minutes.

[cruisevirgin24]

Your timing will definitely depend on the day of the week. Assuming you will disembark between 8am and 9am, Saturday and Sunday will be quite a straight forward 70mins. However during the working week this journey could easily take more than 2 hours. Your route will be M3 then M25, which can be a car park in busy times. It will also be busy on Saturday and Sunday if your trip coincides with the schools finishing for the Summer (late July). We live in Bath and my husband travels to Heathrow at least once a week (similar route, A303, M3, M25), and he allows 3 hours.

[Bruce61]

Thank you both.  But assuming worst case scenario, if we can disembark by 9:00 and a three hour leeway for traffic or to get off the ship and onto a shuttle, would a 3:00 pm flight be a safe bet?   We disembark on a Monday!

Edited January 27 by Bruce61

[Pcardad]

I would say yes but respectfully defer to the local experts. 🙂

[Jim Avery]

Another option we have used if you have the time is to travel from Southampton to the Sofitel at terminal in LHR.  Comfortable hotel and a car to take you to your terminal for one of the convenient AM flights.  Just another option.

[Mahogany]

1 hour ago, Bruce61 said:

Thank you both.  But assuming worst case scenario, if we can disembark by 9:00 and a three hour leeway for traffic or to get off the ship and onto a shuttle, would a 3:00 pm flight be a safe bet?   We disembark on a Monday!

Not sure we're on the same voyage, but your debark on Monday indicates that we are: Reykjavik-Southampton, 18 days.

I booked my Air with Regent, and they have me on a Virgin flight at 12:45P from Heathrow to Atlanta so assume they feel that is sufficient time to make the flight. We arrive at 7:00AM, always an estimate, so perhaps we will be in the first group to debark.

[flossie009]

A 3pm flight should be OK, but agree that the least stressful way is to defer your flight till the Tuesday ………. or why not extend your holiday, spending a few days exploring the south of England.

 

[Bruce61]

50 minutes ago, Mahogany said:

Not sure we're on the same voyage, but your debark on Monday indicates that we are: Reykjavik-Southampton, 18 days.

I booked my Air with Regent, and they have me on a Virgin flight at 12:45P from Heathrow to Atlanta so assume they feel that is sufficient time to make the flight. We arrive at 7:00AM, always an estimate, so perhaps we will be in the first group to debark.

 

Yes Mahogany, we are on the same voyage but we did not book the air with Regent.  Look forward to meeting you on the cruise.  On our only prior Regent cruise (Alaska on Explorer) we could not disembark until about 9:45 am.  Not sure how long they usually need from docking to disembarkation but we were directed to leave in groups and ours was not called until at least 9:00 if not later.   I also am a bit wary of airport crowds and cancellations as coincidentally the Olympics end in Paris the day before we disembark.

 

Jim and Flossie, we will just be finishing three weeks away from home and really cannot extend it due to very hectic schedules (still about five years from retirement).  Otherwise a stay in London would be nice.  

[SWFLAOK]

38 minutes ago, Bruce61 said:

 

Yes Mahogany, we are on the same voyage but we did not book the air with Regent.  Look forward to meeting you on the cruise.  On our only prior Regent cruise (Alaska on Explorer) we could not disembark until about 9:45 am.  Not sure how long they usually need from docking to disembarkation but we were directed to leave in groups and ours was not called until at least 9:00 if not later.   I also am a bit wary of airport crowds and cancellations as coincidentally the Olympics end in Paris the day before we disembark.

 

Jim and Flossie, we will just be finishing three weeks away from home and really cannot extend it due to very hectic schedules (still about five years from retirement).  Otherwise a stay in London would be nice.  

Since you are booking your own return flight, Regent will not be providing you transportation to LHR from the ship. During your cruise, they will give you a disembarkation questionnaire and include options for paying for transportation Regent. Based on your answers, they will schedule your disembarkation time.

Rather than book your flight before seeing Regent's airport transportation offerings, I would book my own transportation to LHR so choose a time to be picked up. 

As far as needing to disembark only when Regent has scheduled you to, just keep all of your luggage in your cabin rather than putting out anything the night before. When the port clears the ship, independent travelers who have nothing but carry ons are allowed to disembark. If you can carry your carry ons and roll your suitcases, you can just leave the ship. We've seen people do this on Regent and Viking, and will do it ourselves if we have our own transportation when leaving the ship since we've been delayed by hours a few times in the past just to wait for all of the suitcases to be sorted in the port.

[lprp]

It’s been a long time, but there always used to be a couple of circa 5pm  direct flights to LAX. Assuming they still exist would they be an option?
The 3pm should be doable, but I agree about being cautious re traffic, etc……

[cruisevirgin24]

14 hours ago, Bruce61 said:

Thank you both.  But assuming worst case scenario, if we can disembark by 9:00 and a three hour leeway for traffic or to get off the ship and onto a shuttle, would a 3:00 pm flight be a safe bet?   We disembark on a Monday!

A 3pm flight would give you plenty of time. Monday morning was hectic pre covid but no one seems to work Mondays anymore!!

[flossie009]

11 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

we've been delayed by hours a few times in the past just to wait for all of the suitcases to be sorted in the port.

Southampton cruise terminal is usually efficient in clearing the ship and reasonably speedy in offloading luggage.

[Mahogany]

Not sure about Regent, but Silversea offers bus transportation from the port to airport regardless if you purchased Air from them. You might check onboard and yhen could cancel your private car. Destinations desk will set the parameters, e.g., "if your flight is before ---, you can purchase the bus option".

[Bruce61]

Thanks everyone.

[asnaleah]

3:00 pm should not be a problem. We had a 12:15 pm, booked our own private car to LHR. There was a lot of traffic, but we had plenty of time. The duty free shopping is quite good.

[flare3192]

We are on the same cruise and they would not let us take the 12:45 flight to Atlanta as that was what we wanted. They insisted we could not book one before 1:00. So we have a 1:00 fight to NYC and then a connection to Atlanta. They told us w could not have a flight before 1. So I would think that any flight after 1:00 would be ok. I am jealous of you Mahogany!

[Bruce61]

Bought our return tickets today and booked later afternoon to be safe.  Appreciate the tips.  Will probably book the Regent transportation to the airport while online.