Our 14-Day TransAtlantic cruise came to an end in
Southampton, England. This is the same port that the MS Titanic departed from on her maiden voyage to New York City and also the same port used as a departure point for the World War II D-Day invasion.
There are several terminals and berths in Southampton so it
will be important for you to know where your ship will be docking. You can check the Port of Southampton cruise ship schedule to determine your terminal and berth. The Norwegian Jade arrival was into the City
Cruise Terminal, berth 101.
Terminals and Berths in Southampton:
38 or 38/9 berth = QEII Cruise Terminal
46 berth = Ocean Cruise Terminal
101 berth = City Cruise Terminal
106 berth = Mayflower Cruise Terminal
46 berth = Ocean Cruise Terminal
101 berth = City Cruise Terminal
106 berth = Mayflower Cruise Terminal
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| Southampton Cruise Terminals |
Southampton is located 75 miles south-west of London. Our accommodations were in a suburb town called Hendon. Next challenge; how to get there from the City Cruise Terminal in
Southampton.
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You have several options available for transportation
between Southampton and the London area.
We opted to use National Express Coaches. Other options will include rail and/or underground but these offered obstacles that we wanted to avoid. Mainly, transfers that required climbing up
and down steps with suitcases in tow. This was avoided by using NationalExpress and the cost was only $20.70USD per person.
Our docking time in Southampton was just before 7:00am. We opted to disembark as independent
travelers, taking our luggage with us, so we were able to walk off of the
Norwegian Jade at 7:30am. Taxis are
numerous and located immediately to your left as you exit the City Cruise Terminal. A very short taxi ride to the bus station had
us arriving at 7:45am. Our pre-purchased
National Express bus tickets were for an 11:00am departure but we encountered no
problems in boarding the 8:00am departure.
We found the option of leaving earlier more appealing than the
alternative of a 3-hour wait in their tiny bus station.
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| National Express Southampton Station |
Our travel time from Southampton to Golder’s Green took just
under 4 hours, including transfer time at Victoria Station. The bus was a newer, modern bus, very clean
inside and out, and included FREE wi-fi onboard with a complete line of
entertainment options including Films, TV, News, Sports, Kids and
Magazines.
Once we arrived into Victoria Station we transferred to the Golder’s Green bus.
The drivers handled our luggage and we simply got off one bus and on
another. To make it even easier, the
buses were located right next to each other so there was minimal walking.
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| National Express Victoria Station |
Our final stop at Golder’s Green left us under 2 miles
to our final destination - The Pillar Hotel. Before departing the
United States I had pre-purchased a taxi via Minicabs of London at a cost of $6.91USD. I also downloaded the “Minicab
For London” app onto my iPhone. The
app is FREE. Arriving 3 hours ahead of
schedule I was uncertain if we could be picked up early. I placed a quick call to Minicabs and within
5-7 minutes our transportation arrived.
We considered the trip very relaxing and enjoyable and would
certainly use National Express again.
Thanks for the good info.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing that you got off the ship so quickly. You were smart getting off so early. It took us about 1 hour to get off the ship as the line was very long and really wrapped around. Do you remember how much the taxi ride was from the ship to National Express? National Express is only a short distance away so we walked. That was a big mistake as it is a hard walk with luggage. We barely caught the 11:00 bus to Victoria Station. The process of getting on the bus went very smoothly and I was so impressed. I was worried about our luggage as when we bought tickets o-line we did not prepay for additional luggage. Our ticket stated 2 medium size luggage and one soft luggage as a carry on. I was not sure exactly what that meant. We each had a suite case weighting 50lbs., a second piece of luggage that was in regulation with airplane carry-on plus a backpack. They did now weight the suite cases and there was no issue nor additional luggage charges. Once I got on the bus, I was so relieved how smooth everything went until we started to drive off. You were so lucky that you went on the earlier bus and not the 11:00 as the bus would only go backward and would not move forward. We had to wait on the bus for about 1 hour until another bus was gotten. I thought they could have at least given us some water. However, I was glad it broke down in the lot and not on the road. Even though the bus broke down, I would use them again as I think it was an isolated situation. We arrived at Victoria Station in London and caught a cab to the hotel which was 20.00 before tip for a very short distance.
ReplyDeleteSharon, I also wanted to say that it was such a pleasure meeting you on the Norwegian cruise from Tampa to Southampton. You are such a wonderful and friendly person, with a great personality, extremely knowledgeable, always trying to help others with a smile on your face, and putting everyone else first. You organizing so many activities out of the kindness of your heart, like LCR, gift exchange, etc. made the cruise so enjoyable. It was an honor meeting you and I hope we cruise together in the future. I will definitely follow your blog as I know you have high integrity, are reliable and care about helping others. Thanks for everything.
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