National Express, the UK’s largest scheduled coach operator, runs very frequent coach services between London Victoria and Southampton. Furthermore, separate direct coach services also operate from London’s two major airports, Heathrow and Gatwick.
On paper, the National Express scheduled coach services offer the cheapest transfer option between London, its main airports, and Southampton and the cruise port. However, few cruise ship passengers use this bus service, and with good reason.
This page looks in detail at the Southampton National Express coach services and then compares them with the alternative transfers.
Is the National Express coach suitable for cruise ship passengers?
The coaches do not serve the port of Southampton; therefore, for cruise ships, you will need a local cab. Moreover, the National Express coaches only stop at bus stations; consequently, they do not serve hotels in London or Southampton. Furthermore, luggage allowances may well be a lot smaller than your flight allowance.
Many of the alternatives to the coach do pick-up and drop at Southampton’s four cruise terminals, thereby offering door to door transfers from London hotels and airports while also having a luggage allowance tailored to cruise passengers needs.
However, the National Express is the cheapest transfer option for cruise passengers between London and Southampton.
National Express Bus Services Between London & Southampton
The three London to Southampton National Express coach services are:.
London Victoria – Southampton
Travelling direct between Southampton and London, the schedule calls for the coaches to take between 1 hour 55 mins and 2 hours 30 mins, with frequent departures throughout the day.
London Victoria Coach Station is just 300 metres from Victoria Underground and railway station, a major transport hub for London.
Heathrow Airport – Southampton
Coaches take from just 2 hours 5 mins between Heathrow Airport and Southampton with up to 19 services a day. At Heathrow the coach terminates at Heathrow Bus Station, connected by underground walkways to terminals 2 and 3. The coach also visits terminals 4 and 5 separately on the journey.
Gatwick Airport – Southampton
Coaches take from just 2 hours 20 mins between Gatwick Airport and Southampton with up to 8 services a day. At Gatwick the coach picks up and drops at both Gatwick passenger terminals, North and South outside the arrivals halls.
Southampton coach station
Southampton Coach Station is small with just three coach bays and exclusively used by National Express. The coach station is very close to Southampton Central railway station and Southampton city centre.
Facilities are basic with just a ticket office, small waiting area, toilets and a small coffee shop. A taxi rank is outside the coach station.
How to transfer between Southampton train & coach stations and cruise terminals, port & hotels
The railway and coach stations at Southampton are within 400 yards of each other in the city centre. There are no shuttles or public transport to any of Southampton’s four cruise terminals. For the cruise terminal transfers it will be necessary to use a local taxi. The cost will vary depending on cruise terminal, one way budget around £10.
Both railway and coach stations are in the heart of Southampton city centre, with a good choice of hotels close to both, most within a few minutes walk.
Visit our our Southampton map page for more information.
National Express coaches – what to expect
All National Express coaches have toilet and wash-room facilities. Power sockets or USB ports are on all vehicles and free Wi-Fi is available on most services.
One driver is responsible for operating the coaches. On boarding you will present your ticket and hold luggage to the driver by the coach. The driver will load your hold luggage into the luggage bay and you board the coach with hand luggage. Seating is not allocated, seats are taken on a first come, first serve basis although it is possible to pay a supplement for front seats.
National Express luggage policy
Hold luggage
Each person is allowed to take up to two medium sized suitcases or rucksacks (no more than 20kg per item) free of charge, and one small item of hand luggage. Alternatively, you may take 1 large item (no more than 20kg) and one small piece of hand luggage.
The maximum dimensions for hold luggage are as follows: Medium: 70cm x 30cm x 45cm; Large: 75cm x 50cm x 32cm.Hand luggage
An item of soft hand luggage taken into the passenger cabin must be able to be placed under the seat in front of passengers or in an overhead locker. With the exception of briefcases, no hard-shelled cases, wheeled bags or hard-framed rucksacks/backpacks are permitted on board for safety reasons and must be stowed with hold luggage. You will not incur an additional charge for this.
Soft hand luggage maximum size: 45cm x 35cm x 20cm
Excess luggage and outsize items
Excess luggage can be taken for which there is a charge. You can reduce this cost by 20% if your excess luggage is pre booked on-line. If there is a group of you travelling on the same ticket, then its ok to pool the luggage between you all to help prevent a surcharge.
The drivers load and unload the luggage into the hold directly from yourself, immediately prior to boarding, you do not check-in the luggage prior.
Foldable pushchairs and foldable bicycles are all accepted in addition to the allowance however that is providing there is enough space in the hold. Lightweight manual wheelchairs and mobility scooters (under 20kg) are also accepted but prior arrangements are needed (at least 36 hours ahead of travel).
Fare & ticket options
The cheapest fares are on-line direct on the National Express web-site. E-tickets are sent to you by e-mail immediately after payment.
Dynamic Pricing
When you purchase a National Express ticket it is for a specific journey. Prices are dynamic, where different schedules may have different prices and the fares for the same journey are often cheaper the farther you purchase in advance.
National Express fares will vary according to demand and how far you book in advance. Generally, the lower the demand and the earlier the booking takes place, the cheaper the fare will be.
Booking Fee
The National Express website charges a small booking fee per transaction, not ticket. The coach stations and travel agents also charge a much larger booking fee. Just like the airlines the cheapest fares offer no flexibility, flexible fare types are available with a price premium.
Methods of Payment
Payment on-line can be performed using Visa, Visa Debit/Delta, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Mastercard Debit, Maestro and Solo cards. Amazon Pay and PayPal are also supported.
Child fares
Child fares apply to individuals aged 5 to 15 years, while senior fares are designated for those aged 60 and above.
Reservations
Tickets are not allocated a seat number, you select your seat when boarding on a first come first served basis. Subject to availability you can reserve the front seats of the coach for a supplement.
If you have a non-flexible ticket and are boarding at an airport you can pay a supplement that gives you flexibility to board a later coach if your flight is late.
Other Transfer Options Between London & Southampton
Private transfers
Offering the most convenient and flexible option with a meet and greet door to door service, either at the cruise terminal or your Central London or Southampton hotel. There is the flexibility to include sightseeing.
- Fastest most convenient transfer. Only option with immediate departure at a time of your choosing.
- Major sightseeing opportunities along the way. Stonehenge, Windsor Castle.
- Most expensive transfer for couples. For groups and families is price competitive.
Shared shuttle transfers
Exclusive to cruise passengers and provide a convenient door to door service between Central London (and Heathrow Airport) and Southampton cruise terminals with a maximum of 4 pick-ups or drops.
- Small number of passengers (max 8) results in minimal drops or pick-ups.
- Will pick-up or drop passengers at any hotel or Airbnb in Central London.
- Guaranteed to run, no minimum passengers. Will run with only one person.
Shared stopover and tour transfers visiting Stonehenge, Windsor Castle
Tour and stopover transfers are a variation on the shuttle transfers, but sometimes in larger touring coaches and again exclusive for cruise passengers.
- Time efficient and economic world class sightseeing during your Southampton cruise transfer.
- Also serves Heathrow Airport. Full days tours from Southampton, half day stopovers to Southampton.
- Relatively small extra cost over shuttles offering great value.
Public transport – Trains
There is a direct service between Central London and Gatwick Airport to Southampton, but not from Heathrow Airport. The trains are faster but more expensive than the National Express coaches and also do not visit Southampton cruise terminals, just Southampton Central Station in the city centre from where you get a cab to the ships.
- Not door to door, your London hotel may be fare from London Waterloo or Victoria Stations
- Local cabs between Southampton coach station and cruise terminals.
- No secure luggage facility or luggage car, for those travelling light.
Shared Shuttle Transfers – Between London & Cruise Ships
These shared shuttle transfers give you an affordable and simple option of travelling between London and Southampton cruise Port, and go in either direction. You choose your pickup/drop offs from one of the London Zone 1 hotels below.
Central London to Southampton Port
Pick-up: *Please choose between A, B and C (click the hotel for more information and exclusive prices):
A. Meliá White House
B. The Westminster London Curio Collection by Hilton
C. The Holiday Inn Kensington High Street
*Pick-up will take place between 7:30 am and 9:35 am. The exact time will be advised on your voucher, which you’ll receive approx. 7 days prior to your transfer.
*Please arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled departure time for boarding.
Drop-off: You will be transferred to the Southampton Port cruise terminal, arriving approximately at 11:35 am.
Southampton Port to Central London
Pick-up: Following your arrival at Southampton Port via cruise ship, your driver will be waiting to greet you at the cruise terminal exit from 8:00 am. The shared transfer shall depart at 8:30am from Southampton Port and will guide you through to Central London.
Drop-off: *Please choose between A, B and C (click the hotel for more information and exclusive prices):
A. The Holiday Inn Kensington High Street
B. The Westminster London Curio Collection by Hilton
C. Meliá White House
Drop offs in London will start at approximately 10:30 am.
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London to Southampton Trains
The fastest public transport between Southampton and London
Regular, direct trains operate to Southampton from Central London and Gatwick Airport, but not from London’s main airport Heathrow. There are two separate train lines between from London Southampton. The train between Central London that goes direct to Southampton departs from London Waterloo Station, the train that stops at Gatwick Airport leaves from London Victoria Station. .
The train from London Victoria takes a full hour longer to reach Southampton that the train from Waterloo which takes around 80 minutes. You can interchange between the Victoria and Waterloo train at Clapham Junction just outside the centre of London.
Transfers between Southampton train station and the port / cruise ships
Southampton Central Station, is in the heart of the city centre. It’s too far to walk from here to the any of Southampton’s four cruise terminals with luggage.
There are no shuttles or public transport serving the cruise terminals. You must therefore take a local cab to your cruise ship. It’s just a few minutes drive and should cost no more than £10. There are no porters to assist you from the station platform to the taxi rank.
Should I pre book my train ticket?
Train tickets allow travel on any train, although the cheapest tickets may have exclusion periods. It’s often much cheaper and more convenient to pre book your ticket on-line in advance. The cheapest rail fares are often advanced purchase, released around 12 weeks prior to travel.
Pre booking tickets on-line enable you to purchase the best value tickets for your itinerary as well as being convenient. You can buy tickets on-line using a credit card opting either for e-ticket or you can collect them at machines at Waterloo, Victoria, Gatwick or Southampton railway stations.
Nearly all stations have manned ticket offices, unlike the London Underground, and all have ticket machines. Ticket offices at the main stations are open all day from early morning to evening. However, queues for the manned ticket offices can be long and much of the time you will get a cheaper fare by buying well in advance.
E-tickets and mobile tickets
E-tickets and mobile tickets are increasingly becoming available from many train operating companies. These include South Western, Southern, Thameslink, Chiltern, London North Western and London North Eastern operating services into London. The airport trains run by Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express and Thameslink are also supported.
Magnetic card tickets
Magnetic card tickets are the tradional tickets dispensed by ticket machines and ticket offices can be ordered in advance and collected at main railway stations. Stations where you can collect tickets include all of London’s mainline terminus stations, Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Southampton and Dover port railway stations. When you purchase these tickets on-line you are given a unique code which you type into the dedicated ticket machines and they then dispense the tickets. Tickets are ready after 15 minutes of order.
Card payments (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Maestro), PayPal and Apple Pay are payment options on-line.
Luggage on the Gatwick to Southampton trains
There are no luggage cars on the trains. You need to independently carry your luggage into the passenger cabin, seats are taken on a first come first serve basis. Trains start from London and will have stopped at several stations before Gatwick. There are no porter services at Gatwick or Southampton station to assist you. Whatever you bring you must carry on-board yourself.
Luggage storage space is limited. There is headroom space above the seats, but this is for smaller bags not large cases. The allocated area for large luggage may be some distance from your seat making it difficult for you to keep an eye on it. Space permitting you may be able to store luggage around your seating area.
We have a dedicated London -Southampton trains page covering in more detail all aspects of train travel between London and it’s airports and Southampton.
Tickets
Book train tickets in advance, save money
- Full timetables & journey planning
- Identify the best fares, including advance fares
- Purchase e-tickets or collect tickets at station
