Southampton

Southampton sits on the central south coast of England, where the Rivers Test and Itchen meet at the head of Southampton Water. It is the busiest cruise port in the United Kingdom and the busiest turnaround port in Northern Europe. It works both ways, usually as a turnaround port where you board at the start of a cruise and step off at the end, and sometimes as a port of call on a longer voyage.

The port has five cruise terminals, and which one you use depends on your line, so it is always worth checking your boarding documents. The Queen Elizabeth II terminal, opened in 1966, is the home of Cunard. Mayflower, dating from 1960, is typically used by P&O Cruises and is the home berth of Queen Mary 2. City Terminal serves as Royal Caribbean's UK home port, Ocean Terminal was rebuilt to handle P&O's largest ships such as Iona, and Horizon, opened in 2021, is the newest of the five and is used mainly by Norwegian and MSC.

Southampton has been a great passenger port for well over a century. Its first dock opened in 1843, and it went on to become the home of the transatlantic liners. It was from the Eastern Docks that RMS Titanic set out on her maiden voyage in 1912, a loss the city felt deeply, as nearly five hundred of those who died were Southampton residents. Cunard's Queen Mary 2 still runs a scheduled transatlantic service to New York from the port.

The setting gives Southampton a natural advantage. Sheltered behind the Isle of Wight, it enjoys an unusual double tide, with the water rising for around seventeen hours a day, so even the largest ships can come and go with few restrictions. The climate is mild, so a layer or two is sensible whatever the season. Each September the port also hosts the Southampton International Boat Show, one of the biggest events of its kind in Europe.