Expert: Michael - 3/8/2008

Question
Arriving in Southampton by a cruise ship, I like to take the National Express bus from Southampton to Heathrow Terminal 3.  

1. How far is the distance between the dock of the cruise ship and the Southampton City Centre Coach Station?
2. To co-ordinate the departure time to the bus, is there a long wait for a taxi after leaving the ship to the Southampton City Centre Coach Station is there are many people leaving the ship the same time?  How much time should we allow?

2. How far is the distance between the bus stop in Heathrow and Terminal 3?

Thank you for your help.

Answer
Hello William,
Thank you for your questions. I shall attempt to answer as best I can, based on the information given:

1. There are several docking ports at Southampton, so I cannot give an exact figure. However, taking the Mayflower Cruise Terminal as an example, the distance from the dock to the city centre coach station is approximately 2 miles

2. While you are right to note that many people will disembark at the same time, the local taxi companies will be well aware of expected arrival times of large cruise ships, and are likely to attend 'en masse' for disembarkation times. Failing that, you could always book a taxi in advance.

3. The Heathrow Airport website recommends a 5-minute walk time between the central bus station and Terminal 3's departures area.

I hope that this information is useful to you.

Regards
Michael