Where to stay in London before a cruise: the right area for Dover, Tilbury or Greenwich

The right part of London depends on where your ship leaves from. London's three cruise ports are in three different places: Dover is in Kent, Tilbury is in Essex, and Greenwich is in London itself. Each is reached by a different train from a different London station, so check your cruise documents before you book a hotel.

Viking sails from both Greenwich and Tilbury. Our schedule has 37 Viking departures from Greenwich and 21 from Tilbury. Many lines also sell "London" cruises from Southampton, which is not one of the ports this site covers.

Which part of London should you stay in for your cruise port?

Your port	Stay near	Train to the port	Journey time, on the operator's page
Dover, 95 departures in our schedule	St Pancras International and King's Cross	Southeastern high-speed to Dover Priory	About 1 hour 7 minutes, fastest 1 hour 3 minutes
Tilbury, 22 departures	Fenchurch Street, in the City	c2c to Tilbury Town	40 minutes
Greenwich, 40 departures	Greenwich	None if you stay there. From central London, Southeastern from London Bridge	Not shown on the route page we read

Journey times are as Southeastern and c2c published them on November 9, 2026. From each station you still need the last leg to the ship, which the port guides cover.

Staying near St Pancras for a Dover cruise

St Pancras International is where Southeastern's high-speed trains to Dover Priory start. Southeastern puts the trip at about 1 hour 7 minutes, the fastest at 1 hour 3 minutes, and counts around 42 direct trains a day. At the Dover end, the Port of Dover says the cruise terminals are a 30 to 40 minute walk from Dover Priory, with a taxi rank outside the station and a shuttle bus on some days.

Three hotels near the station, with what their own pages say:

• Pullman London St Pancras. At 100-110 Euston Road, NW1 2AJ. The hotel's page lists King's Cross St Pancras station 200 m away, a 1-minute walk, and describes the hotel as a few minutes' walk from King's Cross, Euston and St Pancras International.
• Premier Inn London King's Cross. At 26-30 York Way, N1 9AA. Premier Inn says it is a short walk from St Pancras International, with King's Cross station and the Eurostar terminals less than five minutes away on foot. It has no on-site parking.
• Premier Inn London St Pancras. At 88 Euston Road, NW1 2RA. Premier Inn says King's Cross and Euston stations are on its doorstep.

If you would rather wake up near the ship, see hotels near Dover cruise port. The London to Dover guide covers tickets and the last leg from Dover Priory.

Staying near Fenchurch Street for a Tilbury cruise

Fenchurch Street station is at Fenchurch Place, EC3M 4AJ, in the City of London. c2c names Tilbury Town as the station for cruise services, and its Tilbury guide puts the train from Fenchurch Street at 40 minutes. The terminal's operator, the Port of Tilbury, says on its Capital Cruising site that Tilbury Town is about a mile from the London Cruise Terminal and that a bus runs every 30 minutes from the terminal. c2c says the taxi rank is immediately outside Fenchurch Street's main entrance on Fenchurch Street.

Two hotels within a few minutes' walk:

• Novotel London Tower Bridge. At 10 Pepys Street, EC3N 2NR. The hotel's page lists Fenchurch Street station 100 m away, a 1-minute walk, and Tower Hill on the District line 200 m away.
• Leonardo Royal Hotel London City. At 8-14 Cooper's Row, EC3N 2BQ. It says it is a two-minute walk from Tower Hill tube station and that Fenchurch Street station is four minutes away.

c2c puts the Tower of London two minutes from Fenchurch Street, which makes this a good area for a first afternoon in the city. The getting to Tilbury guide covers the train, the bus and the taxi to the terminal.

Staying in Greenwich for a Greenwich cruise

Stay in Greenwich itself. The Port of London Authority lists the Greenwich Ship Tier among its cruise moorings, and the Port of Tilbury and Thames Clipper run it day to day on the authority's behalf. The Capital Cruising site describes it as central London's deep-water mooring, 5 miles downstream from Tower Bridge, close to the Old Royal Naval College and in sight of the Cutty Sark. Your cruise line tells you where to check in, and the Greenwich embarkation guide covers the details.

Two hotels in the center of Greenwich:

• Novotel London Greenwich. At 173-185 Greenwich High Road, SE10 8JA, next to Greenwich train station and the DLR. The hotel's page lists Greenwich station 100 m away, a 1-minute walk, and on-site secure parking.
• ibis London Greenwich. At 30 Stockwell Street, SE10 9JN. The hotel's page lists the Cutty Sark 100 m away, a 2-minute walk.

If you would rather spend the night in central London, Southeastern runs trains from London Bridge to Greenwich. With luggage on sailing day, we would stay in Greenwich and skip the extra trip.

Coming from the airport

The airport you land at changes how far each of these areas is from your first night. The flying to London guide compares the airports, and Heathrow to Dover covers the trip straight to the Dover side.

Before you book

• Check your port first. Viking uses both Greenwich and Tilbury, so read your booking rather than the cruise's name.
• Your documents. You need a UK ETA before you fly in. See UK cruise documents.
• No room rates. Rates change daily, so we do not print them. Each hotel's own page is in the sources below.

The London cruise ports guide explains how the three ports differ, and the full schedule lists every sailing by date.