Southampton Cruise Terminals
A Passengers Guide To Using Southampton Cruise Terminals
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| Southampton QE2 Cruise Terminal |
Southampton Cruise terminals are about 80 miles from Central London. London's Heathrow Airport is the nearest London airport to Southampton, about 65 miles distant. Southampton has a regional airport, the service to Paris may be of interest to a minority of travelers.
There are currently four separate cruise terminals strung along about two miles of the waterfront. From west to east these are the Mayflower, City, Ocean and Queen Elizabeth terminals. (See Southampton map at bottom of page).
Southampton is one of three major ports used by cruise ships visiting the London area. The others are Dover and Harwich, both similar distances from London than Southampton.
All of the cruise terminals are well within the docks themselves. You cannot walk directly out of any of the cruise terminals onto the streets of Southampton itself. On the public side of customs when using the cruise terminals there are few facilities apart from toilets.
Disembarkation and Embarkation At Southampton
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By far the majority of cruise ships arrive around 5.a.m. to 6 a.m. and have assisted disembarkation starting about 07:00 with the last stragglers coming off around 09:00.
Many ships will make unassisted disembarkation available prior to that.
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| Taxi Rank Outside Cruise Arrivals |
All cruise ships depart the same day they arrive, normally around 17:00. Many passengers assume they can disembark much later than 09:00, this is not normally the case. The first passengers for embarkation normally start arriving just as the last disembarkations come off around 09:00.
Embarkation normally closes for departing cruises around 15:00 to 16:00
Do check direct with your individual cruise, the above is what happens on the vast majority of cruises using Southampton, yours may be the exception.
On disembarkation marshalling is very well organised and you will not be pestered by touts for hotels and taxis and such like. If somebody does approach you offering transportation, this practice is illegal and should be avoided at all costs. Only the fully licensed white Southampton taxi cabs can solicit for business.
The taxi ranks outside each terminal are orderly and well regulated. If there are 4 ships in port all disembarking at the same time, queues happen, but you will not have to wait too long.
If you are using a cruise line coach transfer you will be escorted directly to your waiting coach immediately outside the terminal. If you have pre booked a taxi or charter bus the driver will normally be outside the customs/baggage hall with your name on a board 'airport style'.
Transfers Between Cruise Terminals & Bus/Train Stations
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| Typical Southampton Taxi |
No shuttle buses are provided between the cruise and bus/train stations.
You therefore need to get a taxi between the cruise terminals. The fare should be between £6 and £9.
The taxi pictured right is a typical Southampton taxi (they are white). If there are 3 or 4 of you with 2 cases each plus hand luggage you may need more than one taxi.
In the morning if there are 3 or 4 cruise ships unloading simultaneously (quite common) there may be queues for the taxi's. The taxi ranks are very well marshaled though.
Walking to the cruise terminals is for most people not realistic. Every cruise a few people walk between the train/bus stations and the City Cruise Terminal. If you really want to grit your teeth for the sake of a few pounds then you could do the Mayflower Terminal, you will probably need the cruise to recover afterwards.
Traveling To/From London And Its Airports.
We have dedicated pages looking in detail at all the options in depth.
Southampton to/from Heathrow Airport
Southampton to/from Gatwick Airport
Southampton to/from CentralLondon
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Southampton Hotels For Cruises
There are no hotels adjacent to any of the cruise terminals.
If you are using the City Cruise Terminal, then the Ibis, Novotel and ETAP hotels are walkable if you have light luggage.
We have a Southampton Cruise Hotels page detailing all the main hotels within a mile of the cruise terminals at Southampton. Use this detail, together with the map blow depicting relative locations of hotels and cruise terminals to make the right choice for you.
Southampton Hotel & Cruise Terminal Map
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