Disembarkation and train questions in Southampton

[pjo]

Our family of 5 will be on the Preziosa in October and it docks in Southampton at 8:00am.  We are then traveling to London to continue our vacation so there is no need to rush off the ship.  What time can we expect to be off the ship if we are in the final group of people that disembark?  We plan on taking the train from Southampton to the Waterloo station in London as our airbnb is less than a mile from the station.  Knowing when I can expect to leave the ship helps me in selecting the right train and time so I can pre-book the tickets. 

 

And the train questions:  I assume luggage is allowed on the train (everyone will have their own suitcase), but can someone confirm that.  And, is it necessay to pre-book tickets or can you simply purchase them the day of travel, or are they more expensive then.  Finally, how early do you need to arrive to check in and go through any secuity before the train departs?  Thank you.

 

Paul 

[Sleepybluegiraffe]

Hello, no security checks for domestic trains in the UK (only if you got the Eurostar to Paris etc). You can bring luggage but luggage space is limited so for a family you may need to split it between 2 luggage racks, which are at both ends of each carriage (car). On our recent celebrity cruise disembarkation at Southampton was very efficient but I wouldn’t want to state a time and mislead you. Trains are cheaper if booked in advance and tickets are available about 12 weeks in advance. Booking in advance includes booking a specific train departure online even just on the morning of the train or the night before but generally the earlier you book the more you save. I’d use Trainline to book, it has a small booking fee but is easy to use. 

[phred119s]

When we went from Southampton to London there were all sorts of train issues. Trains were all delayed at least an hour. I want to say we had a ticket for 11. We were there in plenty of time, especially with the delay.  We did not carry our luggage off on our own. It was £50 for the 3 tickets in advance. With the delay compensation, we ended up getting our £50 refunded. 

[perakcruiser]

10 hours ago, pjo said:

And, is it necessay to pre-book tickets or can you simply purchase them the day of travel, or are they more expensive then. 

Basically everywhere in Europe train tickets are much cheaper if booked in advance. It is not uncommon that a ticket purchased on the day of travel is 10 times (!) more expensive. Yes, we are talking about 20 Euro and 200 Euros. Which for a family of 5 means a fortune. If all the cheap tickets are gone, the bus company National Express is an excellent alternative from Southampton to London. You will not believe how cheap the tickets are (of cause also only when booked in advance). We always take the bus.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

35 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

If all the cheap tickets are gone, the bus company National Express is an excellent alternative from Southampton to London. You will not believe how cheap the tickets are (of cause also only when booked in advance). We always take the bus.

We took a National Express bus from Southampton to London Heathrow last December. Very cheap and reliable. They also have buses from Southampton to central London. Not sure which of those two would be closest to your hotel near Waterloo station. Luggage was easy. You give it to the driver before boarding and it goes on the bottom of the bus. The National Express terminal was a 5 minute ride from the cruise terminal and the taxi cost £10.

[Island2Dweller]

3 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

Basically everywhere in Europe train tickets are much cheaper if booked in advance

To clarify - that is generally true for longer distance routes.  On short distance commuter routes, there is rarely any advantage in buying before you travel.  And in many cities (London being one example), you don't buy physical tickets at all for local travel, just use a card.

[jlkeeling]

We booked a coach transport between Southampton and London with International Friends Tours that included stops at Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, and Windsor Castle.  It was a great way to get those sites checked off our list on what could have otherwise been a mostly lost day of travel.  International Friends doesn't specifically service MSC but if one of the lines they service is also in port then it shouldn't be an issue to join.  Most of the passengers on our coach were MSC cruisers.

Edited August 22 by jlkeeling

[Ottawa_Cruiser]

Disembarkation would happen around 9am at the latest. In Southampton, they are often embarking the next cruise passengers by 10am.