Christmas and New Year cruises from Southampton 2026: every sailing, and where you’ll be at midnight
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Twelve sailings leave Southampton in December 2026 with Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve or both on board. Here is each one, with the dates to plan your transfer around and where the ship will be when the clock strikes midnight.
- 12 festive departures between 12 and 29 December
- Three ships see in 2027 in Madeira
- Christmas Day is a Friday this year
- Check your e-ticket for the terminal
Updated 30 September 2026 · By the Woodford Chauffeur Cars team · Dates from the cruise lines’ own listings
Christmas and New Year sailings from Southampton at a glance
These are the December 2026 departures from Southampton with Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve or both on board, taken from the cruise lines’ websites and UK agents’ listings on 30 September 2026. Itineraries can change, so check your booking for final times.
| Sails | Ship | Nights | Christmas Day | New Year’s Eve | Back in Southampton |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 12 Dec | Cunard Queen Mary 2 | 30 | At sea | At sea | Mon 11 Jan |
| Tue 15 Dec | P&O Aurora, Christmas Scandinavian Escape | 14 | At sea | Home by then | Tue 29 Dec |
| Wed 16 Dec | Cunard Queen Victoria, Canary Island Celebration | 12 | At sea | Home by then | Mon 28 Dec |
| Fri 18 Dec | Fred. Olsen Borealis, Caribbean Christmas Island-Hopping | 31 | At sea | Antigua | Mon 18 Jan |
| Sat 19 Dec | P&O Iona | 16 | At sea | Lisbon | Mon 4 Jan |
| Sun 20 Dec | Cunard Queen Anne, Canary Islands Celebration | 14 | At sea | Lisbon | Sun 3 Jan |
| Mon 21 Dec | P&O Ventura | 14 | At sea | Madeira | Mon 4 Jan |
| Mon 21 Dec | P&O Arcadia | 16 | At sea | Madeira | Wed 6 Jan |
| Tue 22 Dec | Fred. Olsen Balmoral, Canaries Christmas & Funchal Fireworks | 15 | At sea | Madeira | Wed 6 Jan |
| Thu 24 Dec | MSC Preziosa, Northern Europe | 8 | Le Havre | Le Havre, then at sea | Fri 1 Jan |
| Mon 28 Dec | Cunard Queen Victoria, Zeebrugge and Amsterdam | 6 | Not yet sailed | Amsterdam | Sun 3 Jan |
| Tue 29 Dec | P&O Aurora, New Year’s Eve in Hamburg | 5 | Not yet sailed | Hamburg | Sun 3 Jan |
Queen Mary 2 is also sold as a 21-night one-way voyage ending in New York on 2 January. Cunard shows the full round trip back in Southampton on 11 January 2027, while some agents show the 10th, so check your booking.
Christmas Day: almost everyone is at sea
Only MSC Preziosa, which leaves on Christmas Eve evening, is in port on the 25th, spending the day in Le Havre. Everyone else wakes up at sea, which is how most regulars like it: the day is all about the ship, usually with a festive lunch or dinner, carols and, if there are children on board, a visit from Father Christmas. Families should note that Arcadia is normally for adults only, but P&O has opened its 21 December sailing to all ages.
Where you’ll be on New Year’s Eve
Madeira. Three Southampton ships are timed for the Funchal fireworks. P&O’s Ventura arrives at 8am on 31 December and leaves at 2am, Arcadia arrives at 10pm and stays until 6pm on New Year’s Day, and Fred. Olsen’s Balmoral arrives on the afternoon of 30 December, with Fred. Olsen promising a prime spot for the fireworks. Our guide to New Year’s Eve in Madeira explains how the night works.
Lisbon. Iona and Queen Anne both spend 31 December in Lisbon, leaving late in the evening.
Northern Europe. The two short sailings after Christmas are built around the night itself: Queen Victoria stays overnight in Amsterdam and Aurora overnight in Hamburg, so you can celebrate ashore.
At sea or further afield. Queen Mary 2 sees in the New Year at sea between the Caribbean and New York, Borealis is overnight in Antigua, and MSC Preziosa spends 31 December in Le Havre before sailing that evening.
Shorter Christmas market cruises
If you would rather be home for Christmas, several short sailings from Southampton call at Christmas market cities:
- P&O Ventura, Sunday 29 November, 4 nights: Zeebrugge (for Bruges) and Le Havre.
- Cunard Queen Mary 2, Saturday 5 December, 7 nights: Le Havre, Zeebrugge and an overnight in Rotterdam.
- P&O Aurora, Friday 11 December, 4 nights: an overnight in Rotterdam.
- Cunard Queen Anne, Sunday 13 December, 7 nights: Zeebrugge, an overnight in Rotterdam and Hamburg.
- Fred. Olsen Balmoral, Wednesday 16 December, 6 nights: German Christmas Markets, with an overnight in Hamburg and a call at Honfleur.
- MSC Preziosa, every Friday from 27 November to 18 December: short trips to Hamburg, Rotterdam or Zeebrugge and the French coast.
Which terminal, and when to arrive
Southampton has five cruise terminals and they are allocated sailing by sailing, so the same ship can use a different terminal from one trip to the next. The terminal on your e-ticket is the one that counts. Our guide to the five Southampton cruise terminals has the dock gates and postcodes, and what time to arrive covers the check-in windows for P&O, Cunard and MSC.
Getting to Southampton in Christmas week
Most of these ships leave between 19 and 22 December, in the middle of the Christmas getaway, and come home between 28 December and 6 January. In 2024 and 2025 there were no South Western Railway trains on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, and engineering work between Christmas and New Year has become the norm. Our guide to getting to Southampton over Christmas and New Year covers trains, coaches and roads.
Booking your transfer for a festive sailing
Our tip: book the car when you book the cruise, so it is sorted before the festive rush, and book the return at the same time. If you are flying in, your driver tracks the flight, and your fixed fare is confirmed before you pay. For line-by-line details, see our P&O Cruises, Cunard, Fred. Olsen and MSC transfer pages.
Sailing this Christmas? Book the car when you book the cruise
A fixed-fare Woodford Chauffeur Cars car from Heathrow, Gatwick, London or Essex to any of the five Southampton terminals, and home again when you are back. Luggage included, ship and traffic tracked. From £146 per car.
Planning your transfer for a December 2026 sailing
The bulk of this year's festive cruises depart between Saturday 19 and Tuesday 22 December, so the pre-Christmas weekend is when the docks are busiest and the motorways also carry everyone heading home for the holidays. If your sailing falls in that window, book your car early and send us the terminal named on your boarding documents, because the lines spread across both the Eastern and Western Docks and each uses its own dock gate.
The odd one out is MSC Preziosa, departing on 25 December itself, a Friday this year. Since there will be little or no rail service, a private car is among the few practical ways to reach the port from London or the airports. Coming back, check the calendar too: the Boxing Day bank holiday is Monday 28 December and New Year's Day lands on Friday 1 January 2027, so many festive passengers return during a week of reduced public transport.
- Pickup times worked out from your line's check-in window, not a rule of thumb
- Presents, coats and formalwear all travel in the boot at the agreed fare
- Fog and frost on the M3 or M27 built into the departure time
- Saloon for up to four people, MPV for up to six with four large cases
Family flying in to join you for Christmas? Our airport transfers run through the festive weeks and beyond, not only on sailing days.
Quick answers
Which cruises leave Southampton for Christmas 2026?
Ten sailings leave Southampton between 12 and 24 December 2026 with Christmas Day on board: Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Anne, P&O’s Aurora, Iona, Ventura and Arcadia, Fred. Olsen’s Borealis and Balmoral, and MSC Preziosa.
Which Southampton cruises are in Madeira for New Year’s Eve 2026?
P&O’s Ventura and Arcadia, which both leave Southampton on 21 December, and Fred. Olsen’s Balmoral, which leaves on 22 December.
Is there a short New Year cruise from Southampton?
Yes. Cunard’s Queen Victoria leaves on 28 December for six nights with an overnight in Amsterdam, and P&O’s Aurora leaves on 29 December for five nights with an overnight in Hamburg.
Do trains run to Southampton on Christmas Day?
South Western Railway has not published its Christmas 2026 plans yet, but in 2024 and 2025 there were no SWR trains on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Plan on the same, or book a fixed-fare car.
Do you run transfers on Christmas Day for the MSC Preziosa sailing?
Yes. Christmas Day is one of the few dates when a pre-booked car is close to essential, given that little or no rail service runs. Book as early as you can, tell us your boarding slot and terminal, and we will plan the drive around quiet roads but possible frost. You will have the fare per vehicle agreed well before the day.
If our December cruise comes back late because of a storm, will the car still be there?
It will. Drivers track the ship on the day it returns, so a delayed berth simply means a later collection. A typical homecoming berth is around 06:00, but December weather in the Channel and Bay of Biscay can hold ships back, and we would rather adjust quietly than have you wait in the cold.
Can we book the outbound and return together for a Christmas cruise?
Yes, and it is the simplest way to cover the festive period. Booked together, the return is charged at 1.8 times the single fare, and both journeys are confirmed before you leave home. That removes the worry of finding transport on a bank holiday week when trains and taxis are both harder to come by.
Cruise line rules change. Always check the latest policies with your cruise line before you travel. This guide is general information, not legal or medical advice.