A626 - Have we Made a Mistake

[david63]

Looking around for somewhere to go later in the year and A626 looked interesting as, believe it or not, we have not been to most of the ports on this cruise.

All going well - got a good price, good cabin, free parking.

As an afterthought, obviously after booking, I thought "Is that Southampton Boat Show week?" - oh dear yes it is Not to worry, we have booked so we will just have to make the best of it.

Out of curiosity I thought I would see which terminal we would be going from and then shock, horror - there are six, yes that's right six ships in port that day.

Would I be right in thinking that the traffic may be a tad on the busy side?????

[qbman1]

I think you should set off now !!

[Kenmo1]

I've just looked up our Aurora trip with my sister on 18th September and she will be in the same situation as you. Not so bad for us as we live on the Isle of Wight but not so good for her travelling down from Sheffield. I have just e-mailed her with the information so that they can make a decision about what to do or where to stay the night before.

Thanks for the information otherwise we would have been blissfully unaware.

Maureen

[Peter D]

Not sure what terminal you are going from but;

If Mayflower or City Terminals then think about Gate 20. We come in from the North West and always use this one when going from both of those terminals, misses the whole of the ports road. Be careful though they are strict on the 30mph limit.

Then if going from Ocean, I have used Gate 20 if the traffic is very bad along the port road, in at Gate 20 out at Gate 10 and then onto Gate 4.

[Kenmo1]

Azura showing as 106 Mayflower Terminal and Aurora showing as 38/9 QEII terminal on the Southamptonvts cruise ship schedule although could be subject to change.

Maureen

[barney]

I'd come down the day before David

Wouldn't want that level of stress to start a holday

Better be quick though 'cos many others will have that idea

[david63]

I'd come down the day before David

Will be doing that anyway - but will probably be staying out of Southampton.

If Mayflower or City Terminals then think about Gate 20. We come in from the North West and always use this one when going from both of those terminals, misses the whole of the ports road. Be careful though they are strict on the 30mph limit.

Thanks for that tip.

[towny44]

We have sailed fron City terminal during the boat show each of the last 2 years, the traffic was busier than normal but not impossible, however I don't believe there were 6 ships in port on either occasion.
We found that getting a reasonably priced hotel was the major problem, last year we struck lucky with a good deal at Hoilday Inn express west, but the year before we had to use the Holiday inn at Basingstoke to get a price below £150.

[david63]

We will probably look at staying around the Newbury area - the ones that I have quickly looked at seem reasonably priced and it is only about an hour (on a good day) from Southampton. If we leave the hotel around 10(ish) we should have plenty of time to sit in traffic jams!!

[Manoverboard]

Yes, I suspect that you may have made a mistake.

It would probably have been a far better plan to place a last minute booking for this one ... £999 for a balcony cabin, tops, is my prediction.

ps ... welcome back

[The Tinker]

We have sailed when the boat show is on - only problem going was we had booked the hotel car parking package and this had been taken over by the Boat Show! Found us a space, however, and embarkation was no problem.
We have disembarked when there are 6 ships in and, yes, it was chaos but that was when they were upgrading the entrance to the ports, so, hopefully that problem has been solved. Good luck!

[wolfie]

When we have driven down, that's not for a few years now, we have always stayed in Winchester; just a short hop to Sotton and some very good hotels and restaurants in the city.

[Not so ancient mariner]

It can't be much worse than sailing on a hot August bank holiday Saturday which we did a couple of years back. It took almost 4 hours for an 85mile journey!!!

[johnds]

We now use the (free) bus from Lancashire.

No more overnight stays, no more stops on the M6 car park, hassle free and virtually guaranteed to catch the boat

[Kenmo1]

We now use the (free) bus from Lancashire.

No more overnight stays, no more stops on the M6 car park, hassle free and virtually guaranteed to catch the boat

Hi John - pleased to see you back on the forum. Hope you are keeping well.

David - I've just looked at the cruise ship schedule again for 18/9 and Saga Pearl II is actually booked in twice - once at berth 102 from 1am until 5pm then it is showing as berth 101 from 5.30pm until 8pm on the 18th. That is assuming the Navigator of the Seas moves from 101 at 4.30pm. Not much consolation but there are only 5 actual ships in so one less to worry about. Always a silver lining some where

My sister and her husband have decided to leave Sheffield at 6am so hopefully they will make it down without too much stress. If they don't make it in time, we will be sailing off to celebrate their Golden Wedding and they will be stuck in a traffic jam in Southampton. I shouldn't joke.

Maureen

[Keechy]

I booked this cruise on Monday and had the same shock trying to find a hotel! We normally use the Premier Inn in the city centre but it's full so we've gone for Eastleigh P.I. £140 for one night B and B, almost double the normal price. What a rip-off- it can't cost any more to accommodate guests just because there's an event on. I thought of booking outside but the risk of traffic jams put me off.

I'm going to book the parking now - if there are six ships in, it might be a bit risky putting it off.

[Mervyn and Trish]

The hotel price isn't sbout the cost of accommodation, it's about supply and demand. All businesses are the same. They charge the highest price they can get. And when an event like the boat show pushes up demand they can get a higher price.

[towny44]

I booked this cruise on Monday and had the same shock trying to find a hotel! We normally use the Premier Inn in the city centre but it's full so we've gone for Eastleigh P.I. £140 for one night B and B, almost double the normal price. What a rip-off- it can't cost any more to accommodate guests just because there's an event on. I thought of booking outside but the risk of traffic jams put me off.

I'm going to book the parking now - if there are six ships in, it might be a bit risky putting it off.

Hope you booked a flexible price, if so keep checking their website because prices do sometimes reduce for fixed saver deals nearer the date.

[Peter D]

Except for one occasion we always use Premier Inns when sailing from Southampton or visiting our Son and family in Twickenham. Just as towny44 said, we book the flexi price, you can cancel up to 1pm on day of travel without charge. I then monitor their site looking at the Flexi deals and if it significantly comes down I rebook at the new price and then cancel my original booking. On one occasion in Southampton this resulted in a £40 saving and only once have I managed to save money in Twickenham, mainly because there are two Rugby grounds close to the hotel, supply and demand kicks in here and they are always high prices.

This year I booked our normal Premier Inn, West at £79 and have kept an eye on the price. Up until December 2015 there was no significant difference between the two prices. On looking in January we found the hotel was now full. So, £79 it is.