Southampton is the UK's primary cruise port — five active passenger terminals serving the largest fleet of ships in the country. This article walks through which line uses which terminal and how the chauffeur drop works at each.
The five terminals at a glance
Berth 101 — City Cruise Terminal Primary line: Princess Cruises. Also Holland America and seasonal Cunard. Location: Western docks.
Berth 102 — Horizon Cruise Terminal Primary lines: MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line. Occasional Royal Caribbean dual-use. Location: Western docks. Newest terminal (opened 2021).
Berth 106 — Mayflower Cruise Terminal Primary line: P&O Cruises. Cunard Queen Mary 2 for some sailings. Location: Eastern docks.
Berths 46/47 — Ocean Cruise Terminal Lines: Disney Cruise Line (UK season), Princess overflow weeks, occasional smaller operators. Location: Eastern docks.
Berths 38/39 — QEII Cruise Terminal Primary line: Royal Caribbean. Cunard for Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. Location: Eastern docks, adjacent to Ocean.
The £165 fixed-fare on our schedule is St Pancras International → any of the five Southampton cruise terminals. Direct Southampton-area pickups bill on per-mile rate.
Sail-day timing
The biggest planning mistake on cruise day is arriving at the terminal before your check-in window opens. Cruise lines publish staggered check-in slots specifically to avoid forecourt queues.
Typical pattern:
- 09:00 — terminal opens
- 10:30-15:30 — staggered check-in (you'll have a specific slot on your boarding pass)
- 17:00 — gangway closes (varies by ship)
We time chauffeur pickups against your specific check-in slot. If your slot is 14:00, the chauffeur isn't dropping you at 09:30 to wait outside. Pre-checking your sail-pass for the timing matters.
Drop-off logistics
All five terminals have a vehicle drop-off forecourt. Mechanics vary slightly:
- City, Horizon, Ocean, QEII — drive-through forecourt; driver pulls up, porters take luggage to porter conveyors, you walk to check-in.
- Mayflower — same shape but the forecourt can get tight on Saturday turnarounds when 4,000-passenger P&O ships are sailing.
The driver waits at the kerbside long enough for luggage handover, no charge. Beyond that, the terminal forecourts time-limit kerbside stays.
What we ask at booking
For a cruise embarkation chauffeur, share:
- The ship and cruise line (so we know the terminal)
- Your specific check-in slot (from your sail-pass)
- Total passengers and luggage count (for vehicle category)
- Onward chauffeur for disembarkation, if known
The terminal is derived from the cruise line + ship, but if your cruise line uses multiple terminals (P&O occasionally swaps between Mayflower and Ocean), the ship name helps us confirm.
Pickups from St Pancras
The fixed-fare route runs the other direction too — disembarkation from any Southampton terminal back to St Pancras for Eurostar connections.
If you're a London-residing cruise passenger arriving by Eurostar:
- Eurostar lands at St Pancras
- Chauffeur picks up at lower-concourse (Pancras Road exit)
- ~1h 45min drive to Southampton terminal
- Drop at your terminal forecourt
For more on this connection see Eurostar to cruise — St Pancras flow.
Vehicle category by passenger count
- 1-2 passengers, 2 large cases: Standard or Executive saloon
- 3-4 passengers with luggage: MPV
- 5-7 passengers with luggage: MPV or Minibus depending on case count
- 8+ passengers: Minibus
Cruise luggage tends to be heavier than airport luggage (cabin essentials + dressy attire + sea-day comforts) — sizing up the vehicle a category helps avoid the boot-doesn't-close-properly problem.
On the disembarkation morning
Cruise lines run staggered disembarkation, similar to embarkation. Your slot will be on your room TV the night before. Chauffeur pickup time is set against your specific disembarkation slot.
A note on delays: cruise lines sometimes run late on disembarkation, especially when ships arrive in port late. The driver waits up to the standard included window without charge. For very long delays (rare), we co-ordinate with you directly.
Booking links
- Per-terminal detail: /cruise-ports/city-cruise-terminal (similar pages for the other four)
- Cruise-ports hub with all five
- Book a transfer
Questions about a specific cruise or sailing date? hello@fare1.co.uk.