Ship transfer to airport in London

[techfashion]

We have a ship transfer to Heathrow and our flight is scheduled 5 1/2 hours after ship arrival. When I entered our flight info online, Princess sent a note saying that the flight was too close in time to be sure to make it. They want at least 7 hours. Has anyone else had an issue with this? I have never had an issue before with that amount of time, especially since we have to be off the ship no later than about 8:30 or 9 am.

[Cloudyrain]

These were the meeting times for the various terminals yesterday. Although the ship might be expecting disembarkation from 7.30am, the luggage was not off that early (at 8am there was still lots of luggage being taken to the arrivals hall). I imagine they have to allow quite a bit of time to ensure all the luggage is off and everyone is on the coach.

 

what time is your flight and what airport? You may be better with a private transfer, especially as transport times can be unpredictable due to roadworks etc.

[Rick&Jeannie]

You could always do "self-disembark" (we always do) to get around any potential issues with luggage holdup. We have done the Princess transfer back to London many times,  though we usually are heading to a hotel and leave the next day. The times that Princess builds into that scheduling system is geared towards the absolute "worst case scenario".

[ChattTenn]

39 minutes ago, techfashion said:

We have a ship transfer to Heathrow and our flight is scheduled 5 1/2 hours after ship arrival. When I entered our flight info online, Princess sent a note saying that the flight was too close in time to be sure to make it. They want at least 7 hours. Has anyone else had an issue with this? I have never had an issue before with that amount of time, especially since we have to be off the ship no later than about 8:30 or 9 am.

Transfer to Heathrow airport with Princess, your flight MUST be at 2PM or after.  Princess has this rule of 7 hours or more.  Once we had a flight changed from 2:05 PM to 1:55 PM they deleted our flight.   Princess will not make any exception even with 5 minutes per their customer service.

You can get a private transfer but it would cost you more.

Good luck.

[techfashion]

19 minutes ago, Cloudyrain said:

These were the meeting times for the various terminals yesterday. Although the ship might be expecting disembarkation from 7.30am, the luggage was not off that early (at 8am there was still lots of luggage being taken to the arrivals hall). I imagine they have to allow quite a bit of time to ensure all the luggage is off and everyone is on the coach.

 

what time is your flight and what airport? You may be better with a private transfer, especially as transport times can be unpredictable due to roadworks etc.

Thanks for sending. Our flight is at 12:20 pm United out of Heathrow. It is about an hour to Heathrow I think from the cruise terminal. It does look like independent guests have more options of times so maybe we will do that.

[techfashion]

Thanks Rick and Jeannie, and ChattTenn. Good to know. It sure seems like independent is the way to go!!

[insidecabin]

41 minutes ago, techfashion said:

Thanks for sending. Our flight is at 12:20 pm United out of Heathrow. It is about an hour to Heathrow I think from the cruise terminal. It does look like independent guests have more options of times so maybe we will do that.

Not unknown for it to be 2+hrs in a vehicle.

 

1.5hr is realistic with no delays or stops like national express coaches have.

 

Our last Regal we walked off 10:06 and were not last(we do late)

 

Sometimes the ships get in early and they start disembark before 7:30.

 

We have had late arrivals with 3-4hr delays and it gets crazy as outside the terminal they still arrive on time then Southampton gets gridlocked in and out of the terminals.

 

Edited June 9 by insidecabin

[Cloudyrain]

47 minutes ago, techfashion said:

Thanks for sending. Our flight is at 12:20 pm United out of Heathrow. It is about an hour to Heathrow I think from the cruise terminal. It does look like independent guests have more options of times so maybe we will do that.

I would say more like 1.5 to 2 hours, and if you have to be there 3 hours before then it would be too tight to use a shuttle service. Also bear in mind that it can take an hour to get out of Southampton on a bad day, and I have been on dockings at Ocean Terminal where no-one has been able to disembark until after 8.30 due to Bridge problems etc. There are also sporadic closures of the M25 that are affecting general travel times, even of they aren't in the immediate vacinity.

 

Southampton itself can get very busy if there are football matches, the boat show, or multiple ships in. 
 

I think your safest bet is to get a private taxi booked and self-disembark if you are able: although there is no special assistance for this if that's a factor for you. 

[Crown Vic]

For info on Southampton-Heathrow, check out the ‘Ports of Call- British Isles’ section. Oodles of good info available.
Late last year, for £140, we booked a private car with aquacars.co.uk. Door to door service. Worked well. Check ‘em out. Cheers…

[Rick&Jeannie]

@techfashion...should you decide to go with a private car service, I can personally vouch for Blackberry Cars.  We have never used them for an actual transfer to/from the ship, but any time we are in London we use them for transfer to our hotel from LHR and any place we want to go within London.  They are VERY professional and reliable.  They're not the cheapest...but you'll enjoy the feeling of "special" that they endow!

[DE Solo]

If your flight departs from LHR at 12:20 pm, and you are flying to the US (I assume) then you need to arrive at LHR by 9:20. The trip from Southhampton to LHR takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. If the ship docks on time, and you self disembark handling your own luggage and you arrange for a private transfer you probably will be ok although all it takes is a small delay and the entire schedule falls apart. Good luck!

[laudergayle]

6 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

You could always do "self-disembark" (we always do) to get around any potential issues with luggage holdup. We have done the Princess transfer back to London many times,  though we usually are heading to a hotel and leave the next day. The times that Princess builds into that scheduling system is geared towards the absolute "worst case scenario".

Have been NCL loyal…and know how to work their transfers, but new to Princess.  So, how do you enter your info into the app/website re: airline/flight/time?  Do you just pick a time that works with Princess transfer schedule, get to LHR and shuttle/Uber to a nearby hotel?

Edited June 9 by laudergayle

[Rick&Jeannie]

5 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Have been NCL loyal…and know how to work their transfers, but new to Princess.  So, how do you enter your info into the app/website re: airline/flight/time?  Do you just pick a time that works with Princess transfer schedule, get to LHR and shuttle/Uber to a nearby hotel?

Assuming we are speaking of post-cruise...the shuttles start leaving the port as soon as they fill up. Seeing as how we always self-disembark we usual are able to make the first bus. We take the particular bus that goes to Victoria Coach Station because we always stay at a hotel very close in that area. We generally only stay 1 night post-cruise so we can easily make most any flight we want the next day.

[smwg]

8 hours ago, ChattTenn said:

Transfer to Heathrow airport with Princess, your flight MUST be at 2PM or after.  Princess has this rule of 7 hours or more.  Once we had a flight changed from 2:05 PM to 1:55 PM they deleted our flight.   Princess will not make any exception even with 5 minutes per their customer service.

You can get a private transfer but it would cost you more.

Good luck.

I'm hoping this is not going to be a problem because our flight home has been changed to the 1:55pm from the 2:05.  All my info is in the app and it did give me the warning about the time, but they have not "deleted" my flight.  I will keep an eye on it as we leave on Wednesday to go to our Cruise departing on the 14th.

[ChattTenn]

8 hours ago, smwg said:

I'm hoping this is not going to be a problem because our flight home has been changed to the 1:55pm from the 2:05.  All my info is in the app and it did give me the warning about the time, but they have not "deleted" my flight.  I will keep an eye on it as we leave on Wednesday to go to our Cruise departing on the 14th.

I assume you are using Princess transfer to the airport (?).  On our last cruise with Princess a few years back, we had a 2.05PM flight the bus arrived at Heathrow (Delta) before 11AM, it was on Saturday with no traffic problem.  With a cruise this close just keep an eye on your document/app you might need to make a trip to customer service to make sure you are the first few bus to leave the ship.

Enjoy your cruise and best of luck.

[ChristopherTracy]

Oof the timings of that connection would leave me worrying about it all cruise. I always plan to be at Heathrow 3 hours before an international flight especially is travelling by road as it can be so unpredictable. 

[techfashion]

14 hours ago, DE Solo said:

If your flight departs from LHR at 12:20 pm, and you are flying to the US (I assume) then you need to arrive at LHR by 9:20. The trip from Southhampton to LHR takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. If the ship docks on time, and you self disembark handling your own luggage and you arrange for a private transfer you probably will be ok although all it takes is a small delay and the entire schedule falls apart. Good luck!

I am not sure we have to be there 3 hours before the flight but still it does seem like a tight schedule. Based on everyone’s feedback I am considering going on a later flight but that will mean several hours in the airport instead.

[phabric]

1 hour ago, techfashion said:

I am not sure we have to be there 3 hours before the flight but still it does seem like a tight schedule. Based on everyone’s feedback I am considering going on a later flight but that will mean several hours in the airport instead.

Heathrow is a huge airport with long lines for security.  You do not know the gate #, until a short time before boarding.

Better to take a later flight.

Depending on your later flight, you can take Princess post cruise excursion.  You leave your luggage outside our cabin door the night before, pick up your luggage dockside, walk to your Coach, luggage is put under the Coach, have your post cruise excursion, then dropped off at your Heathrow terminal.

[Cloudyrain]

2 hours ago, techfashion said:

I am not sure we have to be there 3 hours before the flight but still it does seem like a tight schedule. Based on everyone’s feedback I am considering going on a later flight but that will mean several hours in the airport instead.

Honestly, knowing how it can be around there, I would go for a later flight.

[john watson]

4 hours ago, techfashion said:

I am not sure we have to be there 3 hours before the flight but still it does seem like a tight schedule. Based on everyone’s feedback I am considering going on a later flight but that will mean several hours in the airport instead.

I should go for the later flight.  If you are talking about a Sunday it would be a bit easier to achieve the earlier time.  The M25 can be a disaster and LHR security might have a long ueue.

 

Regards John

[techfashion]

Thanks. Based on the advice, I will do a later flight. This community is great.