jaydh42

What is the best way to get from Southampton dock (Golden princess cruise) to Heathrow airport . Ship docks at around 7 Am and we have a flight leaving Heathrow for Vienna at 3 PM on Friday, July 21, 2006.
Any thoughts or comments appreciated. Is it taxi or bus? We will have about 5 pieces of luggage between the two of us.

Thanks

janisj

jaydh - you have alredy posted this and received several answers. To find your previous threads, click on your name.

jaydh42

Thanks JanisJ,

I really needed you to bring that to my attention! Because I couldn't find the original i posted it again. What do you think? Would you take the National express bus over a private vehicle--about 28GBP vs a minimum of 70GBP!!!!

willit

Jaydh - Were it me, I would probably use the national express. It depends on how large your luggage is. look up timetables et at www.nationalexpress.co.uk

"What luggage can I carry on a National Express coach?

We ask that each passenger only brings a maximum of two medium sized suitcases weighing no more than 20kg each and one piece of hand luggage with them when travelling by coach. If you do carry more than this allowance we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate the excess baggage. Space can often be of a premium and we cannot predict what luggage other passengers on the same journey may bring."

Another question is how much time you have between your expected time for disembarking, and the time you need to be at Heathrow. If you have most of the day,then you might consider stopping off along the way. Winchester is only 15 miles from Southampton on the main railway line and is a beautiful little city. (Your problem here would be where to leave your luggage as all lockers in stations were removed some years ago for security reasons).

janisj

jaydh: As Willit says - a <u>lot</u> depends on the luggage situation. Many cruisers tend to take more stuff/bags than &quot;ground travelers&quot;.

W/ the coach you will be handling your own luggage. W/ a car service, the driver will meet you at the dock and either carry it all or at least &quot;share the load&quot; getting it to the car.

If you can manage the luggage on your own - than the coach is fine. Afterall it uses the same roads as the car so it will take about the same time.

Whether you use a car service or the coach it will take about 2 hours to LHR One idea: Go directly to LHR - you'll be there by about 9:00-9:30 (One advantage of the car is it leaves when he picks you up, whereas you'll probably have to wait for the scheduled coach). If you can check-in for your flight and check your bags that early, do so. Otherwise leave them in Left Luggage. Then you have enough time for a quick jaunt over to Windsor - about 15 mins by cab or 30 by bus. In fact you <i>might</i> even be able to arrange w/ the car service to take you to LHR, wait while you check the bags and then drive you on to Windsor. This extra service will likely cost more though. Whichever mode you choose you'd be in Windsor by 10:00 or 10:30, or a bit later by bus, and wouldn't have to be back at LHR until around 2:00 if you did check in for the flight, or 1:00 if you still have to.

Plenty of time to have a nice meal, walk along the river or even take a tour of the Castle.

Peggyann

anyone able to recommend a good car service?

julia_t

My daughter lived in Southampton for 3 years.

She used the National Express coach every time she went to Heathrow Airport. The driver does load and unload your suitcases.

It really is the easiest way unless you can afford a private transfer.

scdreamer

Is it possible to use this service in reverse? Going from Heathrow to Southampton?

alanRow

Of course - why not try the link and find out

willit

I use it relatively often, and in terms of price vs convenience it is the best compromise. A one way ticket can cost under £20. Depending on which terminal you are arriving, the journey is between around 2 hours. The coaches are comfortable, and they used to have free wifi on board (although there is now no mention of this on their website)

A car service will cost you in the region of £120 - £150, but depends again on amount of luggage, number of peope.

Cathinjoetown

I can't find your other thread so apologies if this suggestion has already been made--did you check with the cruise line to see if they are offering coach transfers to Heathrow? These will doubtless be more that National Express but hopefully less than a private transfer.

Have you tried www.cruisecritic.com to share a transfer with other passengers? (Might be problematic with your amount of luggage.)

Have you factored cost of taxi from the docks to coach station--probably around £8-10?

The debarkation terminal does have free luggage carts which will help you get your luggage out to the curb.

janisj

Cathinjoetown: >>I can't find your other thread so apologies . . .<<

jaydh42, the poster w/ previous threads, asked back 2006. The thread was topped by scdreamer to ask a follow up.

Cathinjoetown

Premature senior moment on my part! Hope jaydh42 made it to Heathrow.