Mad Dash to Paris

We had spent a lot of time arranging to get from Southhampton to Paris.  Originally not knowing what was available we used our travel agent for advice and in the end what happened was we had train tickets from the ship to the Southhampton train station to London where we had to get a taxi and change train stations to catch to Eurostar Chunnel train to Paris.  Turned out it was too complicated and we did not get all the information we needed.  For one thing, there were plenty of taxis and Ubers available willing to take you directly to the Eurostar station and the fee was reasonable and close enough to what we had already purchased.  It is what we eventually did because we had no choice as we were warned in advance on the ship there was going to be a train strike which in fact happened forcing us to order an Uber which worked out well and took us straight there, though it took 4 hours instead of the usual 2 as traffic was gridlocked.  Finding our driver was exciting as the crowd getting off the ship was massive and trying to pick someone out of a crowd is not easy but we matched up by phone and it was off to London.  On arrival again the same shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and a line a mile long to get on the train standing in a queue for about 30 minutes.  Then you went through security with all of your luggage, even the large ones, with no one to help even the elderly or disabled.  You had to pick up your own bags onto the conveyer belt while security personnel were screaming at you to hurry up, even the elderly and disabled.  Then it was through British immigration to leave Britain, and French immigration to enter France.  The waiting lounge was ok and did have a small food and drink vendor so you at least could buy some refreshments.  Once they announced the train departure track it was again a mad dash to the exits pushing and shoving to get on the train while carrying your luggage.  Finally, on the train, we could catch our breath.  On arrival in Paris we had ordered a car to take us to the apartment and other than spending 20 minutes searching for the driver in a sea of humanity we arrived safe and sound.  So what did we learn from this experience?  #1 Going to London or Paris order a car, taxi, or Uber to get you where you finally need to be.  There are also multiple private companies online that have availability at fair prices.  We used Blackberry Transfers and were very happy with them.  If you are going to Paris get a car to take you to the Eurostar Station.  Plan a minimum of 4 hours to transfer from Southhampton to London.  #2  Be prepared for lots of shoving, pushing, and lifting of luggage.  A good recommendation is to travel light.  #3  Unless you are young and strong and can manage carrying heavy luggage up and down stairs preorder a car, taxi, or Uber to get from any station to your final destination.  You will be glad you did.  #4  Carry some food and water.  You will be glad you did when you get stranded which is a decent probability of happening.  #5  Do NOT wait to arrange transportation on the ship.  They offer some at high prices but sold out the first day and then it was zero, nada, no help at all.  They actually turn you away from the desk and say go away we cannot help you rudely.  #6  If you insist on taking a train out of Southhampton obey all rules.  After the fiasco of the train strike, I was told I could obtain a refund for the struck train.  Oops, sadly no.  We were denied a refund because we did not go to the train station and throw ourselves at the mercy of the train company.  I was told the train company had a legal obligation to get us to London(but not the specific Chunnel station) and they would have provided a bus, or taxi, or something to get us there.  Of course unsaid here is no time frame was offered so no doubt we would have waited for hours and by the time they figured it out we would have missed the Chunnel train and been rebooked on a later train, possibly the next day.  Trust me, take some kind of car.