Southampton UK Pre-cruise (Premier Inn)

Pre-Cruise - Southampton UK.

We stayed for 1 night at the Premier Inn West Quay.  This was taken in the vehicle, on the way into Southampton.  As it was peak travel time, the traffic was rather heavy.  It took 1.5 hours to get from LHR to our hotel.

Short Video - Premier Inn West Quay, Southampton experience.

Finally, we have arrived!  We got a Family Room for the four of us.  Adequate space.

Picture of the room.

The bathroom.

This was one of the two single beds for the kids.

We had purchased the Premier Inn 22.95 GBP meal deal, so we headed to the Thyme Restaurant for dinner.  The restaurant was very crowded!

Pictures of the menu, prices are in Pound Sterling.

The Meal Deal came with a drink too.

Make that two drinks, ha.

Beers are definitely cheaper at the bars in UK, compared to Singapore!

The bar counter.  Very busy evening.

The restaurant was full and we had to sit at the bar counter for our dinner.  Oh well.

Our starters.  These were some prawn fritters.

Mushrooms.

Some soup.

Chicken burger.

For the kids, we ordered from the kids' menu.  Meal deal only for the adults.

Salmon.

Closer look at the burger.

This was the Mixed Grill.  You could get this with the meal deal too.  A very hearty serving.

This was some chicken.

Desserts.

There was a lot to eat, way too much from our perspective.  But we were on holiday!

The Next Morning

Due to jet lag, we woke up very, very early.  In fact, I woke up at 3am and couldn't sleep anymore.

This is the view from our hotel room, which was on the 5th floor.  Note that Premier Inn West Quay does not have parking.  Guests are told to park at the West Quay carpark next door, which costs 5 pounds a day (maximum charge for a day).

We were way too early for breakfast. Anyway, here were their operating hours.  The whole family was up by 5am.

That is the Premier Inn from the roundabout.  It was so early and we were all awake. So we decided to go for a walk.

There she was - the Adventure of the Seas!  The building to the right is Carnival UK head office.

She didn't look to be too far away.

We decided to walk to the nearest Port Gate to take a look.

Passed several car dealers on the way.  Cars are much cheaper in the UK, compared to Singapore.

Crossed this road.

Cut through the carpark of the Holiday Inn.  This hotel looked significantly older than the Premier Inn.

Here we are at Dock Gate 8.  The Adventure of the Seas was in town.

City Cruise Terminal Dock Gate 8.  The gate would be opened later.  We would have no problems entering and exiting the port using Dock Gate 8.

Now we are back to the hotel, and it was time for breakfast. Needless to say, we were the earliest.  I recall it was about 0615hrs.  Official opening time was 0630 but the service staff seated us and let us get started with the coffee, cereals and stuff.  Hot food would not be ready till 0630.

Costa Coffee.

After breakfast, we decided to explore Southampton town centre a bit.  You can see the forward of the ship from here.

Cool.

Must be part of old Southampton city walls.

Yes, this is the place of Jane Austen.  Southampton was previously a spa resort? wow.

Took this underpass from the hotel.

Brought us to the city centre.  An easy 5 minute walk, max.

We loved the Poundland shop.  Many interesting things to look at.

Their opening hours.

Still early, everything was shut.

Though there would be street market later that day.

Useful maps.

Generally, the stores opened at 8am.

Wild Boar stuff?

That marlands shopping center.  We didn't have time to visit this one.

We also walked a bit of the gardens.  Very beautiful and refreshing air.

The QE2 Mile, Above Bar Street.

Inside Westquay shopping Centre

There is the Premier Inn, from the West Quay Shopping Center.  Bear in mind that Premier Inn is a huge chain in the UK.  Within Southampton, they have more than one property.

Other large superstores like IKEA etc.

Go on to Day 1 Boarding!