Southampton is the UK’s number one cruise port. Each year around 430 cruise ships depart from one of the four terminals. They are the Mayflower, City, Ocean, and Queen Elizabeth Terminals. This makes cruising from Southampton so simple. Not only is Southampton super close to London, but it’s also well connected to other parts of the UK. And the sheer size of the port makes it easy for multiple ships and cruise lines to depart on a single day.
I recently went on a cruise with Princess Cruises and we departed from Southampton. When I was first invited on the trip, I was just happy that I wouldn’t have to board a plane to get to the cruise port. Instead, it would take me a short train ride to arrive.
Cruising from Southampton is great because it allows you to start your trip earlier so you can enjoy it faster. Instead of embarking on several hours of travel, in just a few short hours you can be on board your ship, sipping on a drink, and enjoying your holiday. So, what are you waiting for? Book a cruise today!
Cruising From Southampton
How To Get To Southampton
cruising from Southampton
From London
If you’re traveling to Southampton from London, it’s really easy to get there. SouthWestern Railway operates several services from London Terminals to Southampton Central. It takes about an hour and a half from central London. I left from Clapham Junction and the journey was around an hour and ten minutes. Ticket Prices vary depending on how far in advance you book!
If you don’t want to take a train, you can also take a bus from Victoria Bus Station. The bust will take you a bit longer at two and a half hours. Ticket Prices vary deepening on how far in advance you book!
From Gatwick
If you’re traveling from London Gatwick Airport, you’re in luck! There is a train that takes about two hours. Make sure you look at the timetable in advance so you can take the most direct route to Southampton Central.
Arriving On Your Own
If you choose to drive there by yourself, that is definitely possible! ABparking provides long term parking in several lots around the port. Parking starts at around 88 pounds for three days and increases from there.
How To Get To The Cruise Terminals
The best way to get to the cruise terminals from Southampton Central station is by taxi or uber. There is a bus that goes there, but it’s a bit of a pain to travel with if you have luggage. A taxi generally costs about 6-11 pounds while an Uber (use code taylorf495 when downloading the app) comes in around 5 pounds.
Where Can I Cruise to From Southampton
Bordeaux
Princess Cruises offers a number of options for cruising from Southampton. My cruise, aboard the Sapphire Princess brought me to La Coruna and Bilbao in Spain, Le Verdon (Bordeaux) in France, and Guernsey.
You can travel on a four day cruise to Guernsey and Rotterdam, or a seven day cruise to Barcelona, Gibraltar, Seville, Lisbon, and Vigo. There is a seven day trip to the Norwegian Fjords as well as a seven day cruise to Scandinavia. There is a Spain and France seven day adventure and even a fifteen day Western Europe Passage that will bring you from Florida to Southampton. You can explore from England to Rome on a ten day cruise that begins in Southampton. And you can enjoy a twelve day adventure around the British Isles. For more information about cruises that travel from or to Southampton, click here!
Information About Cruising From Southampton
On The Way Out:
Most ships depart Southampton around 4-5 PM, so make sure you check ahead to see what time the boarding call for your ship is. With Princess Cruises, we had to be onboard by 3:30 PM.
When you arrive at the terminal, you’ll drop your bags off and then get in line to collect your cruise card. After that, you’ll proceed through security. To make the boarding process easier, make sure you print out your boarding pass and luggage tags with your cabin information ahead of time.
When You Come Back Into Port:
So now that you’ve arrived back into Southampton after a lovely week of adventures aboard your ship, what do you do? Well, you should have filled out a disembarkation form on board so that you know what time you can leave the ship.
We received ours on our Princess Cruise about two days into the trip. You have two options: you can choose to have an assisted exit or self help.
If you opt for assisted, that means the night before you arrive back into Southampton, you’ll need to leave your luggage outside your door for collection. You’ll then be given a time slot during which you can disembark from the ship. When you get into the terminal, you’ll find your luggage waiting for you.
If you opt for self help, you will simply take your luggage to the gangway yourself. You’ll still be assigned a time to leave, so make sure to take note of that!
After arriving back on land, you can hop on a shuttle to your car, grab a taxi, or find your prearranged transportation waiting outside with a sign with your name on it.
This post was sponsored by Princess Cruises. As always, all opinions are my own! There are affiliate links in this blog post which earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting TravelColorfully.
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