| Southampton
Cruise terminals are about 80 miles from Central London. Heathrow
Airport is the nearest London airport to Southampton, about 65 miles
distant. |
There
are currently four separate cruise terminals strung along the waterfront,
from west to east these are the Mayflower, City, Ocean and Queen Elizabeth
terminals.
Southampton is one of three ports used by cruise ships visiting the
London area. The others are Dover and Harwich, both similar distances
from London than Southampton.
Its quite straight forward to independently transfer from Southampton
to Heathrow, Gatwick or Central London by public transport. |
Southampton
QEII Terminal |
Disembarkation
and Embarkation At Southampton
By far the majority of cruise ships 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.
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
If any of the above impinges on your plans, do check direct with your
individual cruise, the above is what happens on the majority of cruises
using Southampton.
Marshalling is well organised and you will not be pestered by touts
for hotels and taxis.
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 prebooked a taxi or charter bus the driver will normally
be outside the customs/baggage hall with your name on a board. |
Transfers
By Public Transport
If you
are not using the cruise line buses or private transfers the cruise
terminals are each a 5 minute taxi ride from the bus and coach stations
in Southampton.
A taxi from the Mayflower or City Cruise Terminals should be around
6 - 8 GBP. The other two cruise terminals, a couple more pounds expensive
|
Typical
Southampton Taxi |
|
