Think I have made a decision about London to Southampton

I’m glad you have a plan going. I encourage you just to grab a taxi at the Southampton Coach Station to the ship. Enter the station, walk completely through it to the other side and you will be at the taxi rank.

I’d pick a coach that would arrive in Southampton close to 11 am or 11:30.

I’m glad you’ve reached a decision. And remember if the weather’s bad or you don’t feel like walking, you could always just flag down a black cab to take you to Victoria coach station.

That's a nice idea.

I think I would suggest a mid to late morning coach, say about 10 to 11 am, then you are covered if there is an incident on the motorway.

That should get you to the ship around 1 to 2 pm. Hopefully you'd be able to embark pretty soon after that arrival?

I am not going to the ship isn31c. I am going to the Ibis Budget for overnight.

I hate rushing. I am going to check in, relax, walk around, probably go over to the shopping center close by.

Then there is a shower and hopefully I might get some sleep I will have an early continental breakfast. check out early and mosey over to my ship. My check is time is 12 noon . I think we sail at 4 pm

I have watched a video or videos about Ibis Budget and the continental breakfast looks very nice.

why is anyone suggesting an early coach since check in time at the Ibis Budget is maybe 3 pm. yes, I am staying overnight and sailing the next day.

What kind of problems could there be on the Motorway? Traffic? Breakdowns?

Even if my bus is held up, I do not sail until about 4 pm the next day but we are required to be on board about 2 pm.

I hate rushing. i dot every i and cross every t and then everything goes wrong, anyways.

I thought you were traveling on embarkation day. You are correct. Early departure not needed.

Oh well, if it's a pre cruise hotel stay, then coach time from London is irrelevant. Take as much time as you like crossing London.

PS- I've only done the IBIS budget in Birmingham and that was a very good breakfast. Pretty much the same as at a "Normal" ibis.

Well, the walk is nice thru the park and then thru Belgravia to Elizabeth Street. Elizabeth Street is quite well decorated and if you want a delicious but highly overpriced cupcake for your bus ride, pick one up from Peggy Porschen Cakes on the corner of Elizabeth and Ebury St. There is a small Sainsbury's right before you get to the Coach Departures station if you want to pick up something for lunch or snack. The arrivals station is on the same side of the street as the Sainsburys - while the Departures station is across the street and a bit further on at the corner of Elizabeth and Buckingham Palace Rd.

To be perfectly honest, I think this will be quite a long way for you pulling a suitcase. You should be able to get the folks at the desk of your hotel to call you a taxi. You don't need to make this decision until the day before your departure or even probably the morning of. You can see how you are doing with all the walking in London and how you are holding up.

Sainsbury do very good meal deals for £3.50 - sandwich, snack and bottled drink. Just got one myself tonight in Wolverhampton, which I had actually planned to do.

A good choice.

Yes traffic is what you could encounter on the motorway, especially if there are roadworks. Between Leeds and Birmingham this afternoon I've encountered that 4 times on only a 120 mile journey. Over an hour late, but it was built in to the schedule anyway.

I did it. I bought my ticket. I opted for a 2:30 pm bus which will get me into Southampton just before 5 pm .
This will give me time to have a leisurely breakfast at my B & B and take my time checking out. Then I will leisurely mosey over to Victoria Coach getting food to eat on my way and have a relaxing walk or transit ride over.

Leisurely and relaxing are words that I like.

Taxis are not in the budget but transit is.

After checking in at my hotel, I hope that I will have sone time to walk to the shopping center close by and get something to eat and maybe pick up something for my cruise (if something is needed)

Hopefully I might be able to take a short and leisurely stroll around Southampton before returning to my hotel for the night.

And the next day I sail. My check in time at the port. is 12 noon so again I want to have a leisurely breakfast and take my time checking out before I have a leisurely walk to my ship.

I hate rushing.

It feels good to have made up my mind and decided on the purchase of my ticket.

What kind of problems could there be on the Motorway? Traffic? Breakdowns?

The problem we had (though Portsmouth to London Vitoria) was traffic in the London area, basically stop and go, delayed us 30 minutes or so. Leaving at 2:30, I would think you would beat the worst of evening traffic, but any large city seems to have "rush hour" for most of the daylight hours.

I live in Austin, Texas and traffic like any other city has become a nightmare. And we do not have good public transportation like other cities.

We have no light rail or trains. All we have are buses.

They are beginning to try and put in a. light rail system but they are still only talking about it.

I will be traveling after what is considered the morning rush but before the late afternoon / evening rush.

I will have food, my iPad, a relaxing chair (nap time)

My ship does not sail until the next day so I am not going to be stressed about missing the ship

If you get down there early then there is a much bigger Sainsburys, several other stores which sell food and a food court (upstairs, via elevator or escalator) in the Victoria Place Shopping Centre, above Victoria Railway Station.

Also the restrooms in both Victoria Place (upstairs by the food court) and Victoria Railway Station are free, whereas on the Coach Station they are chargeable. So that's what I always do, "go" in the Railway Station, then stroll over for when the coach arrives on it's stand 30 minutes before departure. They normally start boarding the coaches about 15 to 20 minutes before departure. At the main entrance there are big screens telling you which stand your coach is arriving from.

I hope to get there early enough to go to Victoria Palace. I might leave my B&B earlier just to go to Victoria Palace.

Just in case, how much do they charge to use the public toilets at Victoria Coach. I want to have the right change.

Is there an attendant at or around the toilets where you might be able to get the right coins or can you pay with a cc?

I have no problem with paying to use the public toilets but I am concerned about having the right amount.

30 pence. National Express are not that advanced anywhere on their network to have card payment for toilets. But there are change machines at the entrance, and there are always attendants around.

The ones by Gate 2 (the part of the station a SOU coach would usually leave from) are down stairs, but the ones by Gate 12 (at the far end of the station) are level access.