When you arrive from overseas for the first time into one of the UK ports by cruise ship it can be a bit daunting to figure out where to go and what to visit when you are on limited time.

Many of the cruise ship companies including P&O Cruises, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Olsen, MSC and Fred, Celebrity and Cunard sail into and out of Southampton docks, and if you are then transferring to an airport from Southampton it can be an unnecessary task to figure out the best way to get to your destination as some options just seem far too time consuming.   However, when you  hire a chauffeur car or luxury minivan you can cut your transport time by almost half if you are travelling to Heathrow Airport near London which will only take you around 1.5 hours, and if you need to travel to City Airport, London Stansted or Gatwick Airport you can be looking at anywhere between 2-2.5 hours.

Southampton is not the only port that cruise ships port at; they can also port at Harwich Seaport in Essex, Dover Cruise Terminal in Kent and Tilbury Dock in East London.

If you have a bit of time up your sleeve before your flight, instead of going straight to the airport you can get your chauffeur driven vehicle to take you to some of London’s famous sightseeing sights that London and greater London has to offer, some that should not be missed.

When transferring to an airport if Southampton or any other port is your final stop you will have your entire luggage with you too, by having to carry this around with you on public transport can be a hassle to say the least.  By hiring a chauffeur driven vehicle or mini-van you can just put your luggage in the boot space and forget about it, and if you stop off at any sights, you know it is safe and can be left where it is until you get to the airport, so no chance of it going missing or being tampered with.

Private cruise transfers will send the driver straight to your port, with a name board so you can clearly identify your driver, then you can quickly load up and be off, leaving everyone else from your cruise still standing around waiting to board the bus and looking very enviously at you, wondering why they never thought to do the same.

When you are hiring a chauffeur driven vehicle you generally want to make sure you are hiring a vehicle that is cost effective for you.  Here is an example of the types of vehicles to hire depending on how many passengers there are:

• 2 passengers – A Saloon or Sedan is ideal for 2 passengers and their luggage
• 3+ passengers – A minivan or SUV is a good sized vehicle if you all have a good sized luggage bag with you.
• 4-7 passengers – A luxury minivan can carry up to 7 passengers and their luggage comfortably.