Should we stay in London or Southampton before our cruise in May 2023 ?

[Smithville Cruises]

We are flying into London a day before our cruise leaves Southampton and we are uncertain which option would be best - stay in London or Southampton to night before our cruise ? Plus -- any good recommendations of places to stay ?

[Zacharius]

Have you been to either before? London is truly one of the great cities of the world...I have been there at least 60 times and still find things to do and enjoy. A day isn't much in London, but it's better than nothing. On the flip side, Southampton is a bit more relaxing and may get you in the vacation mode a bit more - it has some smaller museums and galleries, a nice little harbour, some decent restaurants/pubs. It really depends what you prefer, as they are very, very different. 

[FionaMG]

Hi @Smithville Cruises

Your time of arrival would be something to take into consideration too.

I'm guessing you may be coming in from across the pond, so that would likely be an overnight flight getting you into London first thing in the morning. If you choose to stay in London, your hotel would surely hold your bags for you so you can go out and explore during the morning and then you'd be able to have a nap early afternoon to refresh you for your evening in the city. As far as a hotel in London is concerned, you might want to choose based on how you are planning to get down to Southampton the next day. For example, if you are thinking of going by train, a hotel near Waterloo Station would be convenient, since this is the station where the Southampton trains leave from. We fairly recently stayed at the Hampton Inn Waterloo and found it to be perfectly fine, a couple of minutes walk from the station and places to eat, and a decent included breakfast. It might be a good choice for you, especially if you use the Hilton brand.

If you decide to go down to Southampton straight away and overnight there, two very popular hotels with cruisers are the Holiday Inn, which is literally a 5-minute walk to the port (they have some rooms with harbour view so you can see your ship out of your window) and the Premier Inn Westquay, which is a slightly longer walk (but still doable, or you can get a cab for under £10) and is also right next to a big mall and to a convenience store with extended opening hours if you realise you've forgotten something. Note that there are two Premier Inns in Southampton; I haven't stayed at the other one but this one is closer to the port. Premier Inn is a well-regarded upper-end budget UK chain that offers decent accommodation at reasonable prices. If you'd prefer something a bit quirkier, you could look at the Pig in the Wall. This is a small property built into the walls of Southampton Castle. It too is very close to the port, eateries and shopping. Some members of my CC roll call for my Anthem cruise last September stayed here and really enjoyed it.

Hope this helps.

[teddy]

@FionaMG Thank you for the information.   We’re cruising out of Southampton in Oct 2024. 

[Temeculaguy]

go 4-5 days early, stay in london 3-4 nghts and southampton the night before. Haven't done that trip but have done others where the airport is in a cool place that cannot be appreciated in a few hours with jet lag and the port is remote. The one night on town relieves the anxiety of something going wrong with transportation and how many times will you be in london while you are alive, the hard part is getting there, see a little of it. We are doing he reverse in 2023 but wev'e been to New York/New Jersey a number of times so we are flying in the day before and spending out time in Europe at the end, leaving Southampton the day of arrival to spend time in London and  then time in Dublin (flights back from Dublin were cheaper so the difference nearly paid for the Dublin days).

[Snowchaser]

We did a few days in London, then spent the day before our cruise in Bath.  Lots of cool things there but more laid back.  Then morning of our cruise took the train into Southampton and was at the cruise terminal by 10am.

[GregD]

@Smithville Cruises we sailed out of Southampton in July with @Lovetocruise2002 on Anthem. You can read our joint blog for some perspectives. They were in London a few days early, and used blackberry cars (car service) to get to the port. We arrived the day before, as you are, and we immediately went to Southampton. We also used blackberry cars as our transport. 

IMHO, I suggest that if you are flying in the day before, just book a car service and head to Southampton. Yes, it does make that travel day a bit longer, but it will eliminate an uncertainty the day of the cruise. Traffic can be bad getting down there which can cause some departure day anxiety. @Lovetocruise2002 originally had a 3 hour drive! Also by continuing to extend your day, it can help fight the jet lag, especially if you are like me, and can't sleep on a plane. 

We stayed at a hotel that was a 3 minute drive to the port (Novotel Southampton). You can see the ship from the hotel. There is also an Ibis hotel in the same parking lot. Both are basic hotels, and are common chains in Europe, but are perfect for an overnight stay. FYI, unless you stay in Luxury accommodations, most hotels in Europe will have much smaller rooms than we are used to here in the States, so just keep that in the back of your head. I have pictures in the blog of our room. From this hotel, it's an easy walk to get out and explore the city. This is what we did to keep us up to fight the jet lag. They allowed us to store our bags as well since we arrived well before checkin. 

Southampton is a neat city, and worth the exploration. London is so big, and you will be tired, that its hard to see enough in the one day you will be there.

 

 

[Smithville Cruises]

Awesome ..... thank you for your responses. We are doing the back to back in May with the first one going to Norway and the second one doing the Paris route. 

[GregD]

1 hour ago, Smithville Cruises said:

Awesome ..... thank you for your responses. We are doing the back to back in May with the first one going to Norway and the second one doing the Paris route. 

Norway is amazing!! Have a great time!!!

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Smithville Cruises said:

Awesome ..... thank you for your responses. We are doing the back to back in May with the first one going to Norway and the second one doing the Paris route. 

Nice. DD and I are doing Norway in July but we both like the look of that France one too.

[togo]

7 hours ago, GregD said:

@Smithville Cruises we sailed out of Southampton in July with @Lovetocruise2002 on Anthem. You can read our joint blog for some perspectives. They were in London a few days early, and used blackberry cars (car service) to get to the port. We arrived the day before, as you are, and we immediately went to Southampton. We also used blackberry cars as our transport. 

IMHO, I suggest that if you are flying in the day before, just book a car service and head to Southampton. Yes, it does make that travel day a bit longer, but it will eliminate an uncertainty the day of the cruise. Traffic can be bad getting down there which can cause some departure day anxiety. @Lovetocruise2002 originally had a 3 hour drive! Also by continuing to extend your day, it can help fight the jet lag, especially if you are like me, and can't sleep on a plane. 

We stayed at a hotel that was a 3 minute drive to the port (Novotel Southampton). You can see the ship from the hotel. There is also an Ibis hotel in the same parking lot. Both are basic hotels, and are common chains in Europe, but are perfect for an overnight stay. FYI, unless you stay in Luxury accommodations, most hotels in Europe will have much smaller rooms than we are used to here in the States, so just keep that in the back of your head. I have pictures in the blog of our room. From this hotel, it's an easy walk to get out and explore the city. This is what we did to keep us up to fight the jet lag. They allowed us to store our bags as well since we arrived well before checkin. 

Southampton is a neat city, and worth the exploration. London is so big, and you will be tired, that its hard to see enough in the one day you will be there.

 

 

Do you recall about what the price is to get from London to the South hampton port?  I think I read over $200 per person, does that sound about right?

[togo]

40 minutes ago, togo said:

Do you recall about what the price is to get from London to the South hampton port?  I think I read over $200 per person, does that sound about right?

Disregard, I was able to get a quote.  Are those cars a little small for two people and four bags?

thx

[JennaRCB]

I would stay in London and take the train directly to Southampton on embarkation morning! It runs frequently and is extremely convenient.

[GregD]

7 hours ago, JennaRCB said:

I would stay in London and take the train directly to Southampton on embarkation morning! It runs frequently and is extremely convenient.

As long as there isn’t one of the frequent rail strikes.

[GregD]

8 hours ago, togo said:

Disregard, I was able to get a quote.  Are those cars a little small for two people and four bags?

thx

They will size the car appropriately. For the 4 of us and our three suitcases, they had a minivan. How big are your bags, and what vehicle did they run the quote you with?

[Ray]

33 minutes ago, GregD said:

As long as there isn’t one of the frequent rail strikes.

Notice of any strike must be given well in advance, staff cannot just walk off the job. This is so people have time to change their plans. 

 

[FionaMG]

Another possible budget-friendly option is National Express. They run a regular coach service between London and Southampton and might be more convenient depending on where you stay in London. The coaches are more than comfortable enough for the length of the ride and there's less hefting of luggage because the driver will put it into the boot (trunk) at the start and take it back out again at the end.

[togo]

4 hours ago, GregD said:

They will size the car appropriately. For the 4 of us and our three suitcases, they had a minivan. How big are your bags, and what vehicle did they run the quote you with?

I was quoted 216 pounds for two people with two large bags.

[GregD]

2 hours ago, togo said:

I was quoted 216 pounds for two people with two large bags.

You should be okay. "saloon cars" are typically 4 door sedans, so if you can fit your two bags in the trunk of a car you are good to go. Their next size up car is only about 18usd more which will get you a station wagon. When you book, you converse through email and can discuss the best size for your situation.

[Brant]

We are cruising to Norway out of Southampton in June 2024.  I like the sound of the National Express coach to get to Southampton.  Any recommendations on a hotel near where we would get this coach/bus?  Is it a main hub?  Also, should we book a hotel near Heathrow?   What hotels offer shuttles from airport?  I think we will stay in London a few days then Southampton the day before the cruise.  Thanks 

[Pattycruise]

7 hours ago, Brant said:

We are cruising to Norway out of Southampton in June 2024.  I like the sound of the National Express coach to get to Southampton.  Any recommendations on a hotel near where we would get this coach/bus?  Is it a main hub?  Also, should we book a hotel near Heathrow?   What hotels offer shuttles from airport?  I think we will stay in London a few days then Southampton the day before the cruise.  Thanks 

 

[CruisingSteve]

On 12/15/2022 at 5:30 PM, JennaRCB said:

I would stay in London and take the train directly to Southampton on embarkation morning! It runs frequently and is extremely convenient.

This is what I did. The train was on strike cruise morning so I caught a bus which worked out. Coming back after the cruise, they were not on strike and the train worked out well and took me directly to the airport