Make things easy on yourself when arranging a cruise holiday and plan on setting sail from Southampton. There are good reasons that it is called the “Cruise Capital of the UK”. Cruises from Southampton are abundant, easy to book, and convenient when it comes to your travel logistics.
Southampton is the UK’s premier port and provides four cruise terminals. The vast majority of all of the UK’s cruise passengers come and go though the port at Southampton.
Four major cruise lines plus some smaller operators sail from Southampton cruise terminal with a variety of ships that make it their home port.
MAJOR CRUISE LINES OFFERING ITINERARIES FROM SOUTHAMPTON
1. P & O Cruises – Their numerous choices include a variety of Mediterranean cruises of varying lengths; one-way or round-trip transatlantic crossings, Baltic cruises that include Iceland and the fjords and short break cruises to Belgium and France.
2. Cunard – Cunard offers cruises to Northern Europe, Transatlantic crossings, the Baltic countries and the Mediterranean as well as to the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores. They also offer round-trip cruises to the Caribbean.
3. Princess Cruises – Princess is owned by Carnival and has become famous for their American ‘can do’ style with cruises available to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
4. Royal Caribbean – They have a number of different Mediterranean cruises plus cruises to Northern Europe or the Canaries and Spain.
Cruising from Southampton have many benefits. There is the convenience of the location on the South coast of England making it unnecessary to book a flight as well as a cruise. The cruise terminals are only a five-minute taxi ride from the Southampton Central railway station. If you arrive in Southampton the day before your cruise departs, there are plenty of things to do in and around this wonderful port city.
Southampton’s close proximity to London makes a day trip to that city hard to pass up. However if you stay in Southampton the day before your departure you can explore the waterfront outside the city walls and see some history. It is from here that the Mayflower departed on its voyage to America in 1620.
For more history, make a trip to the maritime museum located on the harbour. It is full of artefacts either from or related to the Titanic, which sailed from Southampton in April of 1912. Near Southampton’s Civic Centre and other places around the town, you can find memorials to the musicians and engineers from the Titanic.
To pass the time before your depart on your cruise, take a stroll along Above Bar Street near the waterfront for some of the best shopping in this busy city. Relax at one of the many pubs on High Street.
More and more cruise lines are increasing the number of “no-fly” cruises out of Southampton because there is such a demand by people who want to go on holiday without the hassle of flying.
