Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
£
65, compared to about
£
40 round-trip by train from Southampton, or about
£
36 from
Dover), this can be efficient and avoids the potential stress of doing it on your own. Ask
your cruise line for details.
An important English port city for centuries, Southampton is best known for three ships
that set sail from here and gained fame for very different reasons: the
Mayflower
in 1620,
the
Titanic
in 1912, and the
Queen Mary
in 1936. Like many port cities, Southampton was
badly damaged by WWII bombs, obliterating whatever cobbled charm it once had. These
days, if Southampton is known for anything, it's for cruising. About 1.5 million cruise pas-
sengers pass through here every year.
Services:
With 240,000 people, Southampton is a sprawling port town with a relat-
ively compact downtown core. Everything is, to a point, walkable—though most of the
cruise terminals (described later) are a long walk from the train station. The main drag
stretching up from the waterfront, High Street (which becomes Above Bar higher up), is
the easiest place to find ATMs, Wi-Fi hotspots, and a Boots pharmacy.
Transit Within Town:
To reach the train station from your cruise ship, the easiest
solution is to take a
taxi
(figure
£
5-8; around
£
125 one-way into central London). To save
a bit of money, you can walk partway or all the way to the station; to shave some time off
the walk, consider the free
Citylink bus,
which goes from the public ferry dock at Town
Quay (between the two dock areas, where High Street meets the water, in front of the Red
Funnel ticket office) up to the train station about every 15 minutes. As this bus doesn't
stop at the cruise terminals themselves, you must walk to meet it: Figure 10 minutes from
the Ocean Cruise Terminal, 15 minutes from the City Cruise Terminal, and even longer
from the other terminals (from those, I'd take a taxi instead).
Cruise Terminals:
Within Southampton's sprawling port
(
www.cruisesouthampton.com
)
, cruises use two separate dock areas, each with two differ-
ent terminals. All four terminal buildings have WCs, a rack of tourist brochures and maps,
a basic café, a taxi stand out front, and possibly Wi-Fi (ask for the password). Most don't
have ATMs or TIs.
Eastern Docks:
The long piers jabbing straight out from Southampton have two
cruise terminals (accessed through Dock Gate 4):
Ocean Cruise Terminal
at the near end
(Berth 46, about a 5-minute walk to the mainland), and
QEII Cruise Terminal
at the tip
(Berth 38/39, about a 15-minute walk to the mainland). From the QEII Terminal, I'd take a
taxi; from Ocean Cruise Terminal, the walk-plus-bus combo is worth considering, though
it takes longer: Walk down the pier and through Dock Gate 4, turn left, and follow the
