Mayfair and Westminster to Southampton cruise terminal
Staying at a Park Lane or Mayfair hotel, or living in Westminster, St James's or Marylebone? A chauffeur car collects you and your luggage from the door and drives you to your ship's terminal in about two hours. It is roughly 80–81 miles, from £194 per car for a saloon or £224 for an executive car, fixed when you book.
Fares from Mayfair and Westminster to each terminal
| Ship terminal | Saloon up to 4, 2 cases | MPV up to 6, 4 cases | Executive up to 3 | 8-seater up to 7 | Road miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Cruise Terminal | £195 | £210 | £225 | £255 | 81 |
| QEII Cruise Terminal | £196 | £211 | £226 | £256 | 81 |
| City Cruise Terminal | £194 | £209 | £224 | £254 | 80 |
| Horizon Cruise Terminal | £194 | £209 | £224 | £254 | 80 |
| Mayflower Cruise Terminal | £195 | £210 | £225 | £255 | 81 |
Guide fares per vehicle, one way, from a Mayfair address for a weekday daytime journey, luggage included. Westminster, St James's, Belgravia, Marylebone and Soho are priced within a pound or two of these. Because these addresses are in central London, the fare includes our central London surcharge. Fridays, weekend mornings and peak hours cost a little more, and you see the exact fixed fare before you pay.
From the hotel door to the ship
Collecting from a West End hotel is straightforward. The driver arrives a few minutes early at the main entrance, the doorman and driver load the cases, and you are on your way. Whether you are at The Dorchester, Claridge's, The Connaught, The Ritz, Brown's, Grosvenor House, The Langham, The Savoy, the Corinthia or a private address in Mayfair, St James's or Belgravia, the routine is the same.
- Send us the hotel and room name. The driver will ask the front desk for you if you are not in the lobby.
- Count the cases. Formal wear and two weeks of luggage fill a saloon boot quickly. Two people with three large cases are more comfortable in an MPV.
- Keep passports and medication with you, not in the cases that go to the porters at the terminal.
When to leave central London
The drive is about 80–81 miles: west through Knightsbridge and along the A4, out to the M3 and down to Southampton. With clear roads it takes a little under two hours. The variable is getting out of London, which can add 30 to 40 minutes on a weekday morning.
| Your check-in slot | Weekday pick-up | Saturday or Sunday pick-up |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00–12:00 | 08:30 | 08:45 |
| 12:00–13:00 | 09:15 | 09:30 |
| 13:00–14:00 | 10:15 | 10:30 |
| 14:00–15:00 | 11:15 | 11:30 |
These times aim to get you to the port early in your slot, which is when check-in is quickest. Ships publish slots per cabin, so check your cruise documents. For the cruise line's own advice, see what time to arrive at the cruise terminal.
Back to the West End after the cruise
On disembarkation morning the driver tracks the ship and waits at your terminal while you clear the ship, with no waiting charge. Depending on how you disembark you are usually in the car between 08:00 and 10:15 and back in Mayfair or Westminster by late morning or lunchtime, often before hotel check-in time, so let the hotel know you will arrive early and want to leave your bags.
Why a car rather than the train from Waterloo?
From the West End the train means a taxi to Waterloo, about 1 hour 20 minutes to Southampton Central, then another taxi to the dock, and you handle the luggage at every step. A car is one door-to-terminal journey. For two people it costs more than the train; for a family or a group sharing an MPV, the difference is small, and the morning is far easier.
From Mayfair and Westminster hotels to festive and winter sailings
December in Mayfair means Park Lane, Piccadilly and Oxford Street running heavier than usual, with shoppers and seasonal events filling the West End through the afternoon and evening. For a cruise check-in, mornings are kinder, but your driver will still plot the quickest way out past Hyde Park Corner towards the M3. The run is about 80–81 miles, and in winter we add a little to the usual estimate for fog on the motorway and slower traffic in the rain.
Most festive cruises leave between Saturday 19 and Tuesday 22 December, which tends to coincide with the busiest days at the big Park Lane and St James's hotels. Cars pull up at the main entrance, the doorman and driver load your luggage, and you are not carrying cases across a crowded lobby to a taxi rank. With little or no rail service on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, guests joining MSC Preziosa on 25 December will want a car booked well ahead.
Arriving back in January can mean a longer morning if the weather has turned. Ships normally berth by around 06:00, but storms can hold a vessel offshore or shift its slot. The driver follows the ship's status, so whether you are going back to the same hotel or straight to a Westminster flat, the timing is based on when you actually leave the terminal, not on the schedule.
- Collection at the hotel entrance, with luggage loaded under cover where the hotel allows
- Route out of the West End chosen around December shopping traffic
- Climate-controlled cabin for the 80-mile drive south
- Ship tracked on return, so the car is there however late the docking
Staying on in London after a winter crossing, guests book our West End theatre and fine dining chauffeur for evenings out, or the wider VIP chauffeur service for a day of appointments.
Questions
How much is a car from Mayfair to Southampton cruise terminal?
From £194 for a saloon (up to 4 people, 2 large cases), £209 for an MPV (up to 6, 4 cases) and £224 for an executive car, per vehicle, one way. The central London surcharge is already included.
What time should we leave a Mayfair hotel for a Southampton cruise?
For a check-in slot between 11:30 and 12:30, a pick-up around 09:00 is comfortable on a weekday. On a Saturday or Sunday morning the roads are quieter and 09:15 to 09:30 is usually enough.
How long is the drive from Westminster to Southampton docks?
About 80–82 miles: allow 2 hours, or up to 2 hours 30 minutes on a weekday morning when traffic leaving London is slow.
Will the driver collect us from the hotel entrance?
Yes. The driver arrives at your hotel's main entrance at the agreed time and works with the doorman to load your cases. If the hotel has a set pick-up point, we follow it.
Can we book the return from the ship to our London hotel?
Yes. The driver tracks the ship and waits at your terminal while you disembark. Book both legs together and the pair costs 1.9 times the single fare.
Do you run Mayfair and Westminster transfers for Christmas, New Year and repositioning cruises?
Yes. We cover the main festive departures from 19 to 22 December, Christmas Day sailings such as MSC Preziosa, and autumn repositioning voyages including Celebrity Apex's crossing to Port Canaveral on 18 October. Many guests on Queen Mary 2's regular transatlantic crossings also stay in Mayfair first. Your hotel pickup is priced per vehicle and confirmed well before the day.
Who checks whether a gale has delayed our ship before the car leaves for Southampton?
The driver monitors the ship's live position and the port's berthing updates from the evening before. If wind or fog means the ship docks after its usual time, the pickup is moved without you needing to call. After passport and baggage formalities, one call to the driver brings the car to the kerb.