Southampton an A-Z Guide

I’ve done a lot of blogs over the last few months about all the different destinations we here at cruise.co.uk send you all today, butt it occurred to me yesterday that there was a gaping hole in the different guides I had written. I’d never covered Southampton.

Not exactly the most exotic of destinations I’ll admit but as most of the cruises I book start and finish there it seemed appropriate that it got covered, especially when you consider that a lot of people, worried about missing their ship arrive the day before. So then what needs covering? The three big issues it seemed to me were carparking, hotels and entertainment, which I will be covering here. If anyone else has any other items that they’d like to know about Southampton then add them here and I’ll cover them for you.
Starting with the carparking; the company we normally use is called C. and P. Services and can be reached at http://www.canps.co.uk/ or by calling 0845 071 3939. The reason we tend to use this company is convenience. Their carparks are right at the docks, so you can just park up your car and stroll over to your ship. For your convenience however I have included a table of their current prices for stays in Southampton.

Nice and simple yes? Obviously if you have any questions just ask them below or give me a call, but in the meantime on to hotels.

But why look at hotels? I’ve already got my carparking sorted now. Surely I can just get on the ship?

Well yes you can, but for a lot of people Southampton can take a long time to reach, (I’m thinking now of those of us in the North of England or even Scotland. It’s a long drive down and with the average cruise check in now starting at about 12:00, lunchtime, a lot of people are scared of getting stuck in traffic and missing their sailing. With this in mind a lot of people choose to drive down the day before, check out the Southampton nightlife and then just have a nice leisurely stroll over to the docks in the morning.

Now by far my favourite hotel in Southampton has to be the DeVere Grand Harbour Hotel. It’s an absolutely beautiful building displaying some great modern architecture with views of Southampton docks, (these rooms will cost extra), with prices starting around £89 per person per night.
Or, if that’s too pricey there is a Premier inn in the city centre and another at the airport with prices starting at £64 per person per night.

So lots of different places to stop then, but once you’re down there what can you do? If you’re just their for the one night then you may well miss a lot of the tourist attractions, which would be a pity because there is quite a bit to see in Southampton but for just the one night all the night life is concentrated in quite a small area so that you can have a walk around and choose between American diners, Greek tavernas, Thai restaurants and some exceptional Italian and Indian eateries.
There are also plenty of places to grab quick snacks if you're in a hurry, including the internet cafe in the Bargate Shopping Centre. Close to the marinas is the historic Oxford Street where you'll find elegant cafe bars and restaurants serving the very best of contemporary British and Continental cuisine.
For anyone with a bit more time in Southampton then somewhere you definitely need to see is the QE2 mile. The QE2 Mile is the pedestrian route that runs through the heart of the city from the Cenotaph down to the waterfront at Town Quay. It links the city’s parks, new cultural quarter, shopping high street, old town and the waterfront. It is the most visited part of the city and has many historical features, the Cenotaph, Titanic memorial, Holy Rood church that was bombed in the war and the famous Bargate stands at its centre. The QE2 mile is the economic heart of the city with more businesses along its route than anywhere else in Southampton. A must see for anyone with a few hours to kill before their cruise.

So, does that help? Was there anything you feel I’ve missed or that you’d like to see included? Please feel free to add your suggestions here to help others.

Happy Cruising