From your pre-cruise hotel to the ship at Southampton
Flying in the day before a sailing is the sensible way to cruise from Southampton: a delayed flight can’t cost you the ship, and you start embarkation day rested. What’s left is getting from the hotel to the terminal with a week or two of luggage. We collect from the hotel entrance and drive you to your ship’s terminal for a fixed price per car, cases included. Fares start from £146 from the Heathrow area and £176 from central London.
- ✓ TfL-licensed operator · licence 11588
- ✓ Fixed price per car, luggage included
- ✓ Flights tracked · 60 min free airport waiting
- ✓ Driver details sent before you travel
- ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours
Heathrow airport hotels
The Heathrow hotels are the closest you can stay to the airport and still be about 65 miles and 75 to 90 minutes from the Southampton docks via the M25, M3 and M27. That makes a late-morning pick-up comfortable for most afternoon check-in times.
- Premier Inn London Heathrow, UB7 0JU — fixed fare to the ship
- Sofitel London Heathrow Terminal 5, TW6 2GD — fixed fare to the ship
Central London hotels
From central London the run is about 81 to 85 miles, typically 2 to 2½ hours, out through west London to the M3. Leave after the morning rush if your check-in time allows; we set the pick-up time from your terminal’s check-in window, not the sailing time.
- 1 Hotel Mayfair, W1S 4HA — fixed fare to the ship
- Andaz London Liverpool Street, EC2M 7QN — fixed fare to the ship
- Bankside Hotel, SE1 8PB — fixed fare to the ship
- Brown's Hotel, W1S 4BP — fixed fare to the ship
- Bulgari Hotel London, SW7 1DW — fixed fare to the ship
- COMO The Halkin, SW1X 7DJ — fixed fare to the ship
- Claridge's, W1K 4HR — fixed fare to the ship
- Conrad London St James, SW1H 0BH — fixed fare to the ship
- Dukes London, SW1A 1NY — fixed fare to the ship
- Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, W1J 7DR — fixed fare to the ship
- Ham Yard Hotel, W1D 7DT — fixed fare to the ship
- Hilton London Bankside, SE1 0UG — fixed fare to the ship
- Holiday Inn Kensington, SW7 4ER — fixed fare to the ship
- Hotel Café Royal, W1B 4DY — fixed fare to the ship
- Hub by Premier Inn King's Cross, N1C 4AX — fixed fare to the ship
- InterContinental London Park Lane, W1J 7QY — fixed fare to the ship
- JW Marriott Grosvenor House, W1K 7TN — fixed fare to the ship
- Kimpton Fitzroy London, WC1B 5BE — fixed fare to the ship
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, SW1X 7LA — fixed fare to the ship
- No. 11 Cadogan Gardens, SW3 2RJ — fixed fare to the ship
- Nobu Hotel London Portman Square, W1H 7BG — fixed fare to the ship
- Park Hyatt London River Thames, SE1 7GQ — fixed fare to the ship
- Rosewood London, WC1V 7EN — fixed fare to the ship
- Shangri-La The Shard, SE1 9QU — fixed fare to the ship
- Sofitel London St James, SW1Y 4AN — fixed fare to the ship
- The Ampersand Hotel, SW7 3ER — fixed fare to the ship
- The Beaumont, W1K 6TF — fixed fare to the ship
- The Berkeley, SW1X 7RL — fixed fare to the ship
- The Connaught, W1K 2AL — fixed fare to the ship
- The Dorchester, W1K 1QA — fixed fare to the ship
- The London EDITION, W1T 3NP — fixed fare to the ship
- The Ned London, EC2R 8AJ — fixed fare to the ship
- The Ritz London, W1J 9BR — fixed fare to the ship
- The Rookery, EC1M 6DS — fixed fare to the ship
- The Savoy, WC2R 0EU — fixed fare to the ship
- The Zetter Hotel, EC1M 5RJ — fixed fare to the ship
- The Zetter Townhouse Clerkenwell, EC1V 4JJ — fixed fare to the ship
- W London Leicester Square, W1D 6QF — fixed fare to the ship
- citizenM Tower of London, EC3N 4DJ — fixed fare to the ship
Staying somewhere else? Enter the hotel name or postcode in the booking form and the fare appears straight away.
Which terminal
Your e-ticket names the terminal: Ocean or QEII in the Eastern Docks, or City, Horizon or Mayflower in the Western Docks. Change the drop-off in the booking form to match; the fare is the same to every terminal. All five have a set-down area at check-in where porters take your cases, and there is no drop-off charge. See all terminals and gates or the embarkation-day timeline.
Travelling as a group?
Two couples with cruise luggage rarely fit a saloon. Our group transfers page covers the MPV, 9-seater and 16-seat minibus.
Pre-cruise hotel nights in December and the drive to the ship
A night in a London or Heathrow hotel before a winter sailing makes more sense than it does in summer. Flights into Heathrow are more likely to be held up by fog in December, and arriving the day before turns a delay into an inconvenience rather than a missed ship. Plenty of passengers make a short break of it, with a show or the shops lit up for Christmas, before we collect them from the hotel entrance the next morning. The fare is the same to all five terminals, fixed in advance for the vehicle.
The morning drive needs a slightly earlier start in winter. Central London traffic in the weeks before Christmas is heavier than usual, especially around the West End, and the M3 can slow down in fog or heavy rain on the way south. From a Heathrow hotel the run is shorter and simpler, joining the M25 almost straight away. Either way, your driver loads coats, festive outfits and cases into the boot while you check out, and you go straight to the right dock gate.
- Hotel-door pickup, so nobody drags winter luggage to a station in the dark.
- Earlier start built in for December traffic and morning fog on the M3.
- No festive engineering works or replacement buses to plan around.
- Return to your London hotel timed to the ship's real docking time after the cruise.
If you are making a night of it before sailing, our West End theatre and fine dining chauffeur can take you to dinner and a show, and the Southampton to London chauffeur route covers the trip back at any time of year.
Questions
Can you collect from a London hotel for a festive sailing in the week before Christmas?
Yes. The Saturday-to-Tuesday run of departures from 19 December is when most festive ships leave, and those are busy days for hotel pickups, so book early. We collect from the hotel entrance, allow a little longer for December traffic in the centre, and take you to whichever terminal your ship uses, at the fixed fare agreed when you booked.
How do you time the drive back to a London hotel if our ship docks late in winter weather?
We watch the ship's actual arrival rather than working to the brochure time. A returning ship is normally secured by roughly 06:00, though storms can delay docking or shift the berth time. Your driver adjusts accordingly and meets you outside the terminal, so you arrive at your London hotel later than planned but without standing around in the cold.
How long is the drive from a Heathrow hotel to Southampton cruise terminal?
About 65 miles, typically 75 to 90 minutes via the M25, M3 and M27, longer on summer Saturdays when several ships sail.
How much is a transfer from a London hotel to the cruise terminal?
Fixed fares start from £146 from the Heathrow area and £176 from central London, per car with luggage included. The exact fare for your hotel and vehicle appears in the booking form.
Is it the same price to every terminal?
Yes. Ocean, QEII, City, Horizon and Mayflower terminals are all priced the same from a given pick-up.
Can you collect us from the airport and take us to the hotel the day before?
Yes. Book the airport-to-hotel leg and the hotel-to-ship leg separately in the booking form.