Getting to Your Southampton Cruise Terminal on Sailing Day

The Five Terminals and the Fare to Each

Each terminal serves different cruise lines and sits in a different part of the port, so knowing your terminal matters as much as knowing your ship. Your cruise line confirms it in your sailing documents, usually a week or two before departure. Tell us the ship name when you book and we will match it to the right terminal and the day's schedule.

Set fares for transfers within Southampton, per car, agreed when you book. Journeys from further afield, including the airports, are priced from the published fare table.

Timing on Sailing Day

Cruise lines give you a check-in window, and the ship sails on schedule whether you are aboard or not. Aim to arrive at the terminal in the earlier half of your window. That leaves room for port traffic, a slow sat-nav moment, or the suitcase that gets reopened at the front door. On days when several ships board at once, we will suggest an earlier pickup when you book, because we watch the port schedule the way we watch flight times.

Embarkation is staggered and the terminals handle it well: drop your cases with the porters, keep hand luggage and documents with you, and you are through check-in faster than you expect. The return matters just as much. Ships usually dock early in the morning and disembarkation runs in groups, so book the car home for a realistic time rather than the moment the ship ties up.

• Check your sailing documents for the terminal and check-in window, then tell us both
• Build in extra time on multi-ship days; the dock roads fill from late morning
• Keep passports, boarding passes and medication in hand luggage, never in a checked case
• Book the return pickup when you book the outbound run, with your disembarkation time

Luggage: the Real Reason to Book the Right Car

Cruise luggage is its own category. Two weeks of evenings, formal nights, and the just-in-case layers add up to cases a holiday flight would never see. A saloon takes a couple and their luggage happily. Families and groups of friends usually travel better in an estate or an MPV, with room for the cases to ride in the boot rather than on knees. Tell us how many cases you are bringing when you book and we will send the car that swallows them.

Child seats are available on request for the run to the port, which matters for the family cruises that sail from Southampton all summer. And if your cruise ends with a flight, or starts with one, the fly-cruise service joins the two legs into a single booking, airport to terminal, with the timing worked around your ship.