London cruise ports: Dover, Tilbury or Greenwich

London's three cruise ports are a long way apart. Greenwich is about 10 minutes by train from London Bridge. Tilbury is 40 minutes by c2c train from Fenchurch Street, and then about a mile more. Dover is 76 miles southeast of London, 66 minutes from St Pancras on the high-speed train. Our schedule has 157 sailings from the three, the first on March 31, 2027 and the last on October 27, 2028.

Many lines sell "London" cruises that leave from Southampton. This site lists only Dover, Tilbury and Greenwich, so check the departure port of any "London" cruise before you book flights or a hotel.

Which London cruise port does my cruise leave from?

The cruise line's itinerary names the port, and each line writes it a little differently. Viking lists its departures as "London (Greenwich)" or "London (Tilbury)". Holland America calls its port "Dover (London)", and Seabourn writes "Greenwich (London)". On this site every sailing sits under its port, so the lists for Dover, Tilbury and Greenwich show what leaves from each.

The exact terminal or boarding point comes later, with your cruise documents. Viking's FAQ says the travel documents that give the docking location are emailed about two weeks before departure. At Dover, the port's own cruise schedule names the terminal for each call.

London cruise ports compared

	Dover	Tilbury	Greenwich
Where ships leave from	Cruise Terminal 1 or 2, Port of Dover, Kent	London International Cruise Terminal, Tilbury, Essex	Greenwich Ship Tier, a mooring in the Thames
Distance, by the operator's figure	76 miles southeast of London	22 nautical miles down the Thames from Tower Bridge	5 miles downstream from Tower Bridge
Train from London	St Pancras International to Dover Priory, 66 minutes	Fenchurch Street to Tilbury Town, 40 minutes on average	London Bridge to Greenwich, about 10 minutes
The last leg	30 to 40 minute walk, taxi or shuttle bus	About a mile, no taxi rank at the station	Your cruise documents give the boarding point
Cruise lines on our schedule	Holland America, Seabourn, Carnival, Azamara, Regent Seven Seas	Viking, Azamara	Viking, Seabourn
Sailings on our schedule	95	22	40
Trip lengths	7 to 42 nights	7 to 21 nights	11 to 40 nights
Lowest starting fare on November 9, 2026	$783	$2,599	$5,499

Starting fares are per person in US dollars, for the cheapest cabin Cruisebound listed, with taxes and port fees included. They change often, so check the current price on the sailing before you book.

Dover cruise port

The Port of Dover, run by Dover Harbour Board, puts itself 76 miles southeast of London. Its two cruise terminals are in the Western Docks, postcode CT17 9DQ. Cruise Terminal 1 was built in 1914 as Dover Marine railway station and keeps the old station's architecture. Cruise Terminal 2 was purpose built in 2000. A third berth, WD4, is used for port-of-call visits.

The port's FAQ points you to its cruise schedule to find your terminal. Our Dover listings add the terminal once that schedule includes the sailing.

Dover has the widest choice of the three: 63 Holland America sailings on our schedule, 17 with Seabourn, 12 with Carnival, 2 with Azamara and 1 with Regent Seven Seas. Most are round trips that come back to Dover, which keeps the flights simple. Holland America's 14-night round trips go to Norway, the Baltic, the British Isles or western Europe and the Canary Islands, and it also has longer voyages of up to 42 nights. Carnival's trips run 8 to 12 nights.

The port says high-speed trains from London St Pancras International reach Dover Priory, the nearest station, in 66 minutes. From there the terminals are a 30 to 40 minute walk. There are taxi ranks outside Dover Priory and both terminals, and YMS Travel runs a shuttle bus, though on embarkation days only a limited service runs between the terminal and the station. Neither terminal sells food or drink, and neither has left luggage. For the details, see London to Dover cruise port, Heathrow to Dover cruise port and hotels near Dover cruise port.

Tilbury cruise terminal

London International Cruise Terminal is on the Thames at Tilbury, Essex, 22 nautical miles downriver from Tower Bridge. Forth Ports runs it as part of the Port of Tilbury, under its Capital Cruising name. The listed building opened in 1930 for ocean liners and has 350 meters of floating quayside. The postcode is RM18 7NG.

Our schedule has 21 Viking sailings from Tilbury and 1 with Azamara. Every one is one-way. Viking's trips end in ports such as Bergen, Belfast, Barcelona and Tromso, so you fly home from wherever the ship finishes.

c2c trains run from London Fenchurch Street to Tilbury Town every 30 minutes and take 40 minutes on average. The terminal is about a mile from the station, which c2c puts at a 20-minute walk, and Tilbury Town has no taxi rank. Getting to Tilbury cruise terminal covers the train, taxis, parking and Viking's transfers.

Greenwich cruise port

Ships that sail from Greenwich tie up at the Greenwich Ship Tier, a mooring in the Thames five miles downstream from Tower Bridge, close to the Old Royal Naval College and in sight of the Cutty Sark. It takes ships up to 228 meters long. The Port of London Authority says London Central Cruise Moorings manages the cruise calls there.

Greenwich has 37 Viking sailings on our schedule and 3 with Seabourn. All of them are one-way, and 25 go around the British Isles and Ireland, ending in Bergen or Belfast.

None of the operator pages we read says how passengers get from the shore onto a ship at the tier, so we don't guess. Use the boarding point in your cruise documents. Greenwich itself is easy to reach. Southeastern trains from London Bridge take about 10 minutes, and the Cutty Sark station on the DLR is the closest rail stop to Greenwich Pier, where Uber Boat by Thames Clippers calls. Greenwich cruise embarkation covers each option.

Dover, Tilbury or Greenwich: which suits your trip?

The port usually comes with the cruise you pick, but it changes how you plan the days around it.

If you want to come back to where you started, look at Dover. It is the only one of the three with round trips on our schedule, so you can fly into and out of London.

If you are sailing with Viking, you will leave from Greenwich or Tilbury, and the trip ends at another port. Book your flight home from the city where the ship finishes, not from London. See flying to London for a cruise.

From a central London hotel, Greenwich is the closest of the three and Dover the farthest. For the night before, see where to stay in London before a cruise.

To compare sailings from all three ports at once, browse all cruises from London.