Sunday 7th September
As we live in The Midlands, we always prefer to travel to Southampton the previous day. It's too much rush and panic otherwise. Unlike our previous voyages though, this wasn't a round trip we couldn't really leave the car in Southampton. So we booked a train through Cross Country Trains to take us from our local station to Birmingham New Street and then direct to Southampton. The train journeys were quite painless. Booking direct through Cross Country means no booking or credit card fees either.
Both trains arrived and departed bang on time & the Station in Southampton is close to the docks. One word of warning. However, is that until September 2015 Birmingham's New Street Station is undergoing a major re-building project. At present, escalators and lifts are only available at one end of the platforms, so changing trains while having to take suitcases is quite time consuming. If you are travelling though New Street, please check their website and allow plenty of time to change trains.
First time in a Standard Inside. Perfectly adequate, and the lack of natural light actually proved to be an advantage as it helped us sleep. Still can't beat sleeping with the balcony door open, listening to the Ocean though!