We were picked up at Heathrow by Barry of Taranis Travel--bookings@taranistravelco.uk. He was very efficient and transported us to Southampton via Stonehenge, Salisbury, Avebury, Amesbury. His price was great and we could stay as long as we wished in each place. He also transported us to Bath another day. There is an audio guide to the Baths. Will take you around 2 hours and it could be more if you don’t want to hurry. There are lots of shops, etc. around. Probably 5 hours is what you would need in Bath. We were going to take the train to Bath from Southampton but found that you need to book in advance for the train as the price continues to go up the closer you come to the date you want to go. Just like the airlines. That is why we decided to take private transportation because for the 4 of us, it worked out the same price if not cheaper.

We stayed at the Southampton Park Hotel. It was okay. Very small rooms. No a/c which usually is not a problem but it was warm. The good thing is they had a full made to order breakfast included with our room cost. It was centrally located so walking was not an issue. Staff was friendly. The hotel was inexpensive. Don't know if we would stay here again. We took a cab to the ship which was about 7.8 pounds.

Princess Ship: We signed up for Anytime Dining; however, we could only get reservations at 5:30 or 5:45 and then at 7:30, etc. They would not take reservations for 4 people at 6, 6:30, 7, etc. This has not happened to us before. We always were able to make reservations for 6:30. This time we had to walk in. Read more