Guides
Getting to the ship in London
The schedule tells you when to sail. These guides cover the rest: which of London's three ports you need, the trains and transfers from Heathrow and central London, where to stay the night before, the documents to bring and where each route goes. Each one lists its sources and the date we last checked them.
London cruise ports: Dover, Tilbury or Greenwich
Every cruise on our schedule leaves from one of three ports: Dover on the Kent coast, the London International Cruise Terminal at Tilbury in Essex, or the Greenwich Ship Tier on the Thames in southeast London. Dover has the most sailings, 95, and the only round trips. Viking's one-way trips leave from Greenwich and Tilbury. Your cruise line's itinerary names the port, so check it before you book a hotel or a train.
Updated 2026-11-09
London to Dover cruise port: train, coach, car or your line's transfer
Take Southeastern's high-speed train from London St Pancras International to Dover Priory, 66 minutes by the port's count, then a taxi from the station rank to your terminal. Searched on November 9, 2026, National Rail's journey planner priced the 10:07 am direct train on November 17 at £17.70 for an Advance single, with Super Off-Peak and Anytime singles at £43.00 and £58.60. Carnival and Holland America also run coaches to the ship from Victoria Coach Station.
Updated 2026-11-09
Heathrow to Dover cruise port: train, transfer or taxi
Dover is a long way from Heathrow. Holland America puts it at 105 miles and about 2.5 hours by road, and Carnival allows 2 to 2.5 hours. The fastest train on National Rail's planner, searched November 9, 2026 for November 17, took 2 hours 11 minutes via Paddington and St Pancras, at £87.60 for an Anytime single. Carnival listed its coach from Heathrow from $109.99 a person on November 9, 2026, and Gatwick is closer to Dover if you can choose.
Updated 2026-11-09
Getting to Tilbury cruise terminal: c2c train, taxi and parking
Take c2c from London Fenchurch Street to Tilbury Town. c2c gives an average of 40 minutes with a train every 30 minutes, and an off-peak day single was £6.70 on its site on November 9, 2026. The London International Cruise Terminal is about a mile from the station, a 20-minute walk by c2c's count, and Tilbury Town has no taxi rank, so book a car ahead if you don't want to walk with bags. If you bought flights from Viking, its airport transfers take you to the ship.
Updated 2026-11-09
Greenwich cruise embarkation: where ships moor and how to get there
Ships that sail from Greenwich tie up at the Greenwich Ship Tier, a mooring in the Thames five miles downstream from Tower Bridge, near the Old Royal Naval College. None of the operator pages we read says how passengers get from the shore onto the ship, so go by the boarding point in your cruise documents, which Viking emails about two weeks before departure. Greenwich itself is about 10 minutes by Southeastern train from London Bridge, and the DLR and Uber Boat by Thames Clippers both stop there.
Updated 2026-11-09
Flying to London for a cruise: which airport, when to land and how to fly home
Land in London at least the day before you sail. Holland America recommends one or two days ahead and Seabourn at least one. US and Canadian citizens usually need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation, which cost £20 on gov.uk on November 9, 2026. Every sailing from Greenwich and Tilbury on our schedule is one-way, so your flight home leaves from the city where the ship ends, such as Bergen, Belfast or Barcelona.
Updated 2026-11-09
Hotels near Dover cruise port: where to stay the night before you sail
Both of Dover's cruise terminals are at the Western Docks, and the nearest hotel in our table, Dover Marina Hotel & Spa on the seafront, is a 1.3 km walk from them by OpenStreetMap routing. The town center hotels and the guest houses near Dover Priory station are 1.6 to 2 km away, and the port puts the walk from the station at 30 to 40 minutes, so most people with luggage take a taxi. The other choice is a London hotel and a morning train, about 1 hour 7 minutes from St Pancras on Southeastern's figures.
Updated 2026-11-09
Where to stay in London before a cruise: the right area for Dover, Tilbury or Greenwich
Choose the area by your departure port. For Dover, stay near St Pancras International, where Southeastern's high-speed trains to Dover Priory leave. For Tilbury, stay near Fenchurch Street in the City, where c2c trains to Tilbury Town take about 40 minutes. For Greenwich, stay in Greenwich itself, near the Old Royal Naval College and the Cutty Sark, where the river's cruise mooring is.
Updated 2026-11-09
UK cruise documents for US and Canadian citizens: passport, UK ETA and Europe
US and Canadian citizens need a passport and a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation, or ETA, to sail from Dover, Tilbury or Greenwich. The ETA cost £20 on gov.uk on November 9, 2026 and lasts two years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Viking, Holland America, Carnival and Seabourn each set six months of passport validity beyond the end of your trip as their rule or recommendation. On the same day, the EU's official ETIAS site said ETIAS is not in operation and is not collecting applications.
Updated 2026-11-09
Northern Europe cruises from London: British Isles, Norway, the Baltic and long voyages
From Dover, Holland America, Carnival and Seabourn sail mostly round trips to the British Isles, Norway and the Baltic, most of them 14 nights or less. From Greenwich and Tilbury, Viking sails one-way, most often 14 nights around Britain and Ireland to Bergen or Belfast, so you fly home from another city. Our schedule has 46 British Isles sailings, 19 to Norway, 21 to the Baltic and 51 long voyages.
Updated 2026-11-09
When to cruise from London: the season month by month
Almost every cruise from London leaves between late March and October. Our schedule starts on March 31, 2027, and most departures fall between June and September. Winter is thin. Holland America has a few December and New Year departures from Dover, and Viking sails northern lights trips from Tilbury in January and February. On November 9, 2026, the schedule had nothing at all in November 2027.
Updated 2026-11-09
First cruise from London? Answers for first-time cruisers
Your booking names your port: Dover, Tilbury or Greenwich. Fly in a day or two early, get a UK ETA, which US and Canadian travelers usually need, and on a one-way cruise book the flight home from the city where it ends. On November 9, 2026, Viking, Holland America and Carnival listed daily gratuities in US dollars, while Seabourn, Azamara and Regent said gratuities were included or not expected.
Updated 2026-11-09
