Southhampton town question.

[mousefan73]

We are still on the bench if we take the DCL transfer from Southampton to LHR or train. Can anyone comment on this.
1. We have large dining and always try to be the last of the boat. Waiting in lines ( standing long) is an issue for my mom so we let the mad crowds go first. Do these transfers have a specific time though? Especially for this port?

2. The other option is we walk into town ( how far) is there a nice high street with cafes and grocery’s/ boots where we can stock on UK stuff we usually do when in the UK? And then walk to train and head to LHR?


The reason for option 2 is we have a late flight evening abd would rather spend. Few hours in town vs LHR. Or are there other stops via train on way ti LHR we can stop ( cafe to sit a must) thanks

 

[Elleinthecity]

I’m on the August 5th sailing and will be taking the transfers. No idea how they run but figured this was a good option. Train wasn’t what we wanted because we want something more relaxing. Trains also go on strike in England periodically. As far as walking into town for a store there are a lot of options for UK snack shopping.

 

[Mommb]

There is a shopping area with a mall, grocers and restaurants not far from the port. Google Maps says to go from Horizons terminal to Boots to the train station would be 36 minutes. Keep in mind you will have luggage with you, which may slow you down.

Another option is to get a private car service that would let you make a stop between Southampton and Heathrow. If you have several people in your group, that could be comparable to the cost of the Disney bus.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

2. The other option is we walk into town ( how far) is there a nice high street with cafes and grocery’s/ boots where we can stock on UK stuff we usually do when in the UK? And then walk to train and head to LHR?

I was in Southampton last year for the cruise and walked everywhere. While the cruise port looks near to the main shopping mall called Westgate, with all your cruise luggage it would be a hard slog.

You could get a taxi to Westgate, they have a large food court area and set up base there for a few hours. Have some of your party stay with the bags while others go around the mall and out to the main shopping street.

Then get a taxi over to the train station. The train station is walkable from the shopping mall, but I was just walking around with a small purse and on my own.

 

[mousefan73]

I was in Southampton last year for the cruise and walked everywhere. While the cruise port looks near to the main shopping mall called Westgate, with all your cruise luggage it would be a hard slog.

You could get a taxi to Westgate, they have a large food court area and set up base there for a few hours. Have some of your party stay with the bags while others go around the mall and out to the main shopping street.

Then get a taxi over to the train station. The train station is walkable from the shopping mall, but I was just walking around with a small purse and on my own.

Thanks I’ll have to loom Westgate up.

 

[anricat]

We embarked out of Southampton last year so I can only speak to that part of the process. Are you only disembarking there or embarking?

The port is pretty close to town, but I'm not sure I'd want to deal with luggage. We used a taxi from our hotel to the port and it was quick and cheap. I don't think I would use DCL transport. (But then, we almost never do except in Port Canaveral where it's just really convenient.) We used National Express bus service from Heathrow so you may want to check out that option. Cheap and easy. Southampton is a fun little town. We really enjoyed the Titanic museum if you're looking for something to do.

 

[Geomom]

Do you know what berth you're disembarking at? We had different embarkation/debarkation berths last year and came back to the QE2 one. We took National Express bus from LHR to Southampton which worked great! We did DCL transfers back to LHR. They had multiple buses that left when full...we had just missed one and sat on a bus for about an hour before ours left. If you could find a private driver to pick you up from the ship and do some touristy stop on the way to LHR that would probably be best with luggage.

 

[tlprice]

We took the DCL transfers both ways to and from Heathrow in September. It was the most convenient for us. There was a reason we didn't do National Express (I don't remember why, but I think the times didn't work or something). Driving through Southampton on the way to and from the port though didn't seem like any shopping was all that close to the port. Maybe it was where we were docked (Queen Elizabeth terminal) and you never seem to exactly know where that will be ahead of time. There was pretty much everything you could want to buy in the Heathrow airport though (and it didn't seem exorbitantly priced like in US airports).

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Actually you do know where the ship will be. Its listed on Southampton port website. Last year people lost their minds over the change from Horizon to Queen Elizabeth BUT it was known in advance. I knew weeks before the cruise as I checked Southampton port website.

 

[princesscinderella]

If you have a late flight look into a private transfer that will make a stop at Stonehenge and or Salisbury cathedral both are not far on the way back to London. We took an NCL cruise out of Southampton and they offered the transfer with the stops at both places and drop off back on London through the ship like a final excursion.

 

[it398]

There is an ongoing pay dispute on the trains and strikes which delay or cancel trains is unfortunately not uncommon at the moment. The strike dates are usually announced about a month in advance, but if you plan on taking the train you may need a back up plan or have to allow extra time if the train staff are striking on the day of your travel.

 

[mousefan73]

There is an ongoing pay dispute on the trains and strikes which delay or cancel trains is unfortunately not uncommon at the moment. The strike dates are usually announced about a month in advance, but if you plan on taking the train you may need a back up plan or have to allow extra time if the train staff are striking on the day of your travel.

I am now looking at national coach... there is an 11:45 coach MUCH cheaper than DCL. Besides having to pay a cab to get fromp port to the station, what are the benefits of paying DCL transfer that is 5x a much??

 

[Flossbolna]

I am now looking at national coach... there is an 11:45 coach MUCH cheaper than DCL. Besides having to pay a cab to get fromp port to the station, what are the benefits of paying DCL transfer that is 5x a much??

Not having to bridge 2.5 hours between getting off the ship and getting on a bus? Not having to research anything and getting all elements of your trip out of one hand. Would I pay for it? Certainly not. But I can see that for some people there is value in that, especially if it’s someone’s first trip to Europe. But I also think that DCL is advantage of those who think that way!

 

[mousefan73]

Not having to bridge 2.5 hours between getting off the ship and getting on a bus? Not having to research anything and getting all elements of your trip out of one hand. Would I pay for it? Certainly not. But I can see that for some people there is value in that, especially if it’s someone’s first trip to Europe. But I also think that DCL is advantage of those who think that way!

Not having to bridge 2.5 hours between getting off the ship and getting on a bus? Not having to research anything and getting all elements of your trip out of one hand. Would I pay for it? Certainly not. But I can see that for some people there is value in that, especially if it’s someone’s first trip to Europe. But I also think that DCL is advantage of those who think that way!

Actually, the ironic thing for us is that I was trying to figure out how do I get some boots/grocery shopping in before we fly back home and this is perfect because right by the bus station there’s a boots and a major grocery store to get some of my UK stuff. Our flight is not until 7 PM. So I was trying to find a way to kill time anyways.

 

[Girl of the South]

There is a Boots and a very small M&S in the Arrivals section of T2 at Heathrow, if all else fails. This is a pre-clearance area so open to anyone.