Heathrow and London to Southampton's cruise terminals

Your options at a glance

Times are door to door without traffic. Prices were checked in 6 October 2026 and change, so check before you book.

By coach

National Express route 032 runs direct from Heathrow's Central Bus Station (for Terminals 2 and 3) and Terminal 5 to Southampton Coach Station on Harbour Parade. There are about 12 coaches a day Monday to Thursday and 14 on Fridays to Sundays, in each direction.

It takes about 1 hour 35 to 1 hour 45 minutes from Terminal 5, and 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours from the Central Bus Station. Fares start at £17.40 one way.

The coach station is the closest one to the cruise terminals and has a taxi rank, so it's a short taxi ride on to your ship.

By train

There's no direct train from Heathrow. The quickest routes take about 1 hour 45 minutes:

• Via Woking: the RailAir RA2 coach runs from Terminals 2, 3 and 5 to Woking every half hour, in under 40 minutes. From Woking, South Western Railway has an hourly train to Southampton Central, taking about 50 minutes.
• Via Reading: take the RailAir RA1 coach (up to every 20 minutes, under 45 minutes) or the Elizabeth line to Reading. From Reading, CrossCountry has an hourly train to Southampton Central, taking about 55 minutes.

Going through central London to Waterloo takes longer, about 2½ hours, but trains from Waterloo are more frequent (see From central London).

From Southampton Central to your terminal

Southampton Central has taxi ranks on both its northern and southern sides, and taxis can drop you outside your terminal. The port suggests leaving the station by the southern side. If you'd rather walk, these are the port's walking distances:

Your cruise line's own transfer

Several cruise lines sell their own transfers from the airport to the ship:

• Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Norwegian all offer airport transfers.
• Princess offers transfers to Southampton from Heathrow and Gatwick.
• Cunard includes transfers when you book your flights with Cunard. Otherwise, they're arranged through its partner, Cruise Connect.

None of them publishes a price, so compare their quote with the options on this page.

From Gatwick

We found no direct coach from Gatwick, and no direct trains on the day we checked. The quickest train goes via Clapham Junction (Southern, then South Western Railway). It takes about 1 hour 55 minutes and runs roughly every hour.

If you're a group with luggage, a private transfer is simpler. Princess passengers can book the line's own transfer from Gatwick.

From central London

South Western Railway runs two direct trains an hour from London Waterloo to Southampton Central off-peak, taking about 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes. From the station it's a short taxi ride, or you can walk to Horizon or City Terminal (see the table above).

Private transfers from central London hotels start at about £272 per group on Viator, and a shared van with extra luggage allowance from £70 per person (see Transfers to the port).