Most UK cruises start in Southampton, and most of the London passengers on them face the same morning. A fortnight's luggage, a boarding slot that can't move, and two hours of motorway between the front door and the ship. Southampton cruise transfers from London are the trip we plan most carefully, because the port is big, the terminals are spread out, and a Saturday in July can turn a two-hour run into three.
The cruise terminals at Southampton
Southampton has several cruise terminals, spread across the Eastern and Western Docks. Each has its own entrance, its own drop-off lanes and its own walk from the kerb to check-in. They aren't close to each other, so going to the wrong one costs real time.
The terminal is set by the ship, and it's printed on your cruise documents. Give us the terminal name and the ship when you book, and the driver will plan the route to that gate, rather than following signs for the port in general.
At the terminal, porters take checked luggage at the kerb. The driver unloads, you hand the cases over with their luggage tags on, and you go in with hand luggage only. It's quick when the group is ready, so have the tags attached before you leave home. If anyone finds walking difficult, tell the cruise line in advance. Most terminals can arrange help from the kerb to the ship.
Southampton cruise transfers from London and the M3
The M3 is the road to Southampton. It starts at Sunbury, just outside the edge of London, and runs south-west past Basingstoke and Winchester to the M27 and the roads into the docks.
From south-west London, it's a straight run. Kingston and Richmond are usually around an hour and a half outside the rush hour, sometimes less. From SE1 and central London, the A316 or the M25 to the M3 puts it at about two hours. From east and north London, you're crossing the city or going round the M25 first, so allow two and a quarter to two and a half hours.
Those are quiet-day times. On a summer weekend, with several ships changing passengers, they're not.
Turnaround days
A turnaround day is when a ship lands one set of passengers and takes on the next. On the busiest summer weekends, several big ships can be turning round at once, and every coach, taxi and private car is heading for the same port.
The roads into the docks get slow, and the port's traffic staff direct vehicles into lanes for each terminal. Drop-offs are managed and quick once you're in the right queue. Getting to the queue is the slow part. Sundays can be just as busy as Saturdays in the peak season, and bank holiday weekends are worse than either.
So we build a buffer in. For a noon boarding slot on a Saturday in August, we'd want to leave central London by around 9am rather than 10. It means an earlier start, but it keeps you within your slot even if the M3 has a lane closed near Winchester, which happens more often than anyone would like.
Arriving from an airport
Plenty of Southampton passengers fly in from abroad. From Heathrow, the run is usually around an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half via the M25 and M3. From Gatwick, it's a little longer across Surrey and Hampshire.
The safe plan is to land the day before. If you're landing on sailing day, look at the gap between the landing time and the end of your boarding window. A morning landing with an early afternoon slot can work. A lunchtime landing with a 2pm slot usually doesn't, once passport control and baggage reclaim are counted. We'll tell you plainly which side of the line you're on.
For pre-cruise nights in Southampton, we can drop the group at a city hotel the evening before, and the morning run to the terminal is then a few minutes.
Stopping on the way
On a two-hour run, a comfort stop makes sense, especially for older passengers. Fleet services on the M3 is the usual one, about halfway between London and Southampton. The driver will plan it so it doesn't eat into the boarding slot.
On sailing day, keep it short. A stop for the loo and a coffee is fine. A sit-down lunch is better saved for the ship, because the buffet will be open by the time you're on board.
The trip home
Disembarkation is early. Ships usually dock first thing, and passengers leave in groups over the morning, each at a time set by the cruise line. We plan the pickup around your disembarkation group, not the docking time.
Once you're through the terminal and have your cases, ring or text the driver. The run back up the M3 on a weekday morning is usually fine. On a Sunday afternoon in summer, the M3 and M25 into London can be slow as weekend traffic heads home.
Some passengers go straight from the ship to Heathrow or Gatwick for a flight home. That works if the flight is in the afternoon or evening. A morning flight on disembarkation day is too tight to rely on.
If the group is going to several addresses across London, give us the list in advance. A morning off the ship is not when anyone wants a tour of south London before getting home.
For Southampton cruise transfers, call 020 7183 0567.