Fly first to Dublin then to Southampton from the US?

[TeeRick]

We are from the US and cruising out of Southampton next year.  In the past we have flown into London, stayed overnight,  then booked transportation (car service) to Southampton.  Kind of inconvenient and expensive.  We are not into trains or public transportation.

 

We are thinking of flying into Dublin, staying overnight, then taking a flight directly to Southampton airport.  Then to the  cruise port.  Has anybody considered this option?  Or actually done this?

 

Southampton also has direct flights from a number of Scotland cities, Amsterdam and Paris.  These are also options from the US.

 

Thanks!

[TMLAalum]

We are hoping to do this from CLE next year crossing our fingers that Aer Lingus will still have direct flights to DUB. However, we will spend several days in Ireland before we head to Southampton.

Depending on pricing, we may do multi-leg booking Aer Lingus to London and then National Express to Southampton. Return from London since we plan on spending several days there after our cruise. The other possibility is fly direct to SOU from DUB. End of September this year will probably be the soonest to begin searching airfare for next year's cruise.

We have flown from ORY to SOU in the past spending the night before the cruise in Southampton. 

 

Edited May 23 by TMLAalum

[TouchstoneFeste]

Like @TMLAalum we're in the Cleveland area with direct flights to Dublin, and we did take a puddle jumper to Southampton after spending a few days in Ireland. The flight is quick and ours arrived very early in the morning. Since Southampton airport is tiny and well served by taxis you shouldn't have any trouble navigating from the airport to the cruise terminals if .... there's always The Big If ... your flight isn't cancelled, or otherwise waylaid. We arrived a day early in Southampton, took a tour to Salisbury, enjoyed the town for the evening.

[TouchstoneFeste]

2 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

We are hoping to do this from CLE next year crossing our fingers that Aer Lingus will still have direct flights to DUB.

 

Our fingers are crossed, too, that the service continues. We've done it twice (have two more planned), and avoiding those ghastly East Coast layovers is very nice. Dublin has reasonably good service to the rest of the Old World, 

[Thejuggler]

Good idea.  I've travelled to the US via Dublin (Newark for NY) and it was straightforwards,

 

Dublin is much smaller than the main London airports so not as busy and easier to navigate. 

 

[CruiserBruce]

Deleted.

[TMLAalum]

3 hours ago, TouchstoneFeste said:

Our fingers are crossed, too, that the service continues. We've done it twice (have two more planned), and avoiding those ghastly East Coast layovers is very nice. Dublin has reasonably good service to the rest of the Old World, 

It's looking good!

Just did a dummy booking and Aer Lingus has posted flights to/from CLE up until mid-April 2025!!

[markeb]

Hey Rick!

 

Never done it, but the reverse does have the advantage that Dublin is a US Pre-Clearance airport. You do customs and immigration in Dublin. You're probably not connecting, but if you were, it's just a walk to your next gate and board...

 

On the other hand...

 

We go by Aer Lingus (if that's what you're looking at) on the Dulles people mover frequently. It's an A321. One center aisle on a very long flight. Looks like it's a 787 Dreamliner from Philadelphia, so that's a plus!

[TeeRick]

9 hours ago, markeb said:

Hey Rick!

 

Never done it, but the reverse does have the advantage that Dublin is a US Pre-Clearance airport. You do customs and immigration in Dublin. You're probably not connecting, but if you were, it's just a walk to your next gate and board...

 

On the other hand...

 

We go by Aer Lingus (if that's what you're looking at) on the Dulles people mover frequently. It's an A321. One center aisle on a very long flight. Looks like it's a 787 Dreamliner from Philadelphia, so that's a plus!

Thanks @markeb for the information.   Nice to hear from you.  I used to do a lot of business travel from Philly before I retired and Dublin was a main destination.  I can even take American there directly.  Honestly considering this with a stay in Ireland for a few days (dw has never been there!) and I will get my fill of fresh Guinness again!  Been to London so many times and not a fan of getting to Southampton from there.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

It's looking good!

Just did a dummy booking and Aer Lingus has posted flights to/from CLE up until mid-April 2025!!

We are going in May 2025 so still not able to search flights.  But soon I am hoping.  We like to do business class on flights to/from Europe.

[TeeRick]

20 hours ago, TouchstoneFeste said:

Our fingers are crossed, too, that the service continues. We've done it twice (have two more planned), and avoiding those ghastly East Coast layovers is very nice. Dublin has reasonably good service to the rest of the Old World, 

Why do you think that the Dublin to Southampton service is questionable?

[TeeRick]

23 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

We are hoping to do this from CLE next year crossing our fingers that Aer Lingus will still have direct flights to DUB. However, we will spend several days in Ireland before we head to Southampton.

Depending on pricing, we may do multi-leg booking Aer Lingus to London and then National Express to Southampton. Return from London since we plan on spending several days there after our cruise. The other possibility is fly direct to SOU from DUB. End of September this year will probably be the soonest to begin searching airfare for next year's cruise.

We have flown from ORY to SOU in the past spending the night before the cruise in Southampton. 

 

We can get directly to CDG in Paris from Philly.  And there is a direct flight to SOU from there.

[TouchstoneFeste]

2 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Why do you think that the Dublin to Southampton service is questionable?

Sorry if that wasn't clear. I don't doubt that Dublin to Southampton service will continue.

 

TMLAalum and I were lamenting the short duration of international flight service out of Cleveland (Ohio, USA). A couple of airlines have set up direct international flights, then dropped the service quickly. Aer Lingus appears to be in it for the long haul, though.

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Why do you think that the Dublin to Southampton service is questionable?

I'm not necessarily replying to this exact comment but more the thread-- the thing to keep in mind is that Southampton is a very small airport with very limited services. These are even more limited when FlyBe, which was the big carrier at the airport, ceased operations a few years ago. If one flight gets cancelled that can impact you for a day or two. 

Aer Lingus only has 2 flights a day from Dublin and the second flight would cause you to miss a cruise departure. The flight from Paris is on Eastern Airways which is a small regional feeder on small aircraft and only 1 flight per day. 

 

I would not attempt flying to Soton without at least an overnight buffer meaning not the same day as your cruise. The benefit of going to London is that you have multiple ways to get to Southampton the day of without having to rely on (unreliable) air connections. 

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

I'm not necessarily replying to this exact comment but more the thread-- the thing to keep in mind is that Southampton is a very small airport with very limited services. These are even more limited when FlyBe, which was the big carrier at the airport, ceased operations a few years ago. If one flight gets cancelled that can impact you for a day or two. 

Aer Lingus only has 2 flights a day from Dublin and the second flight would cause you to miss a cruise departure. The flight from Paris is on Eastern Airways which is a small regional feeder on small aircraft and only 1 flight per day. 

 

I would not attempt flying to Soton without at least an overnight buffer meaning not the same day as your cruise. The benefit of going to London is that you have multiple ways to get to Southampton the day of without having to rely on (unreliable) air connections. 

Thank you.  Good comments!  As a back up plan if something happens we could always go Dublin to London and then get to Southampton I guess.  

Edited May 25 by TeeRick

[Thejuggler]

The principal issue with many Aer Lingus regional flights is they are operated under franchise by Emerald Air, this includes Southampton flights.

 

There is always a risk that small airlines such as Emerald can suffer cash flow problems and close down, as happened with Stobart Air, the previous operator of Aer Lingus regional flights.

[IrishComet]

I would fly to Southampton the day before, as if the weather is bad(Very windy), the flight can be cancelled.