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5 Best Cruises From Southampton 2025
One of the main advantages of a cruise holiday is that it offers a foreign holiday without the boredom and stress of airports.
Southampton is arguably the best place for UK cruisers to start looking for a no-fly cruise with more than a dozen cruise lines using the port. If you're driving, it's about 2 hours 30 minutes from Birmingham to Southampton or about 4 hours 30 minutes from Manchester. By train, you can get to Southampton in about 90 minutes from London or it's about 2 hours 30 minutes from Birmingham.
Southampton also won 'Best UK Port' at the Cruise International Awards 2018.
We’ve picked out the five best cruise lines which operate from Southampton by looking at customer reviews, prices, industry awards and destinations.
For our price comparison, we looked for a cruise of around two weeks in 2025 for two people. We looked at the price of a room with a window (i.e. an 'outside' cabin).
Southampton is arguably the best place for UK cruisers to start looking for a no-fly cruise with more than a dozen cruise lines using the port. If you're driving, it's about 2 hours 30 minutes from Birmingham to Southampton or about 4 hours 30 minutes from Manchester. By train, you can get to Southampton in about 90 minutes from London or it's about 2 hours 30 minutes from Birmingham.
Southampton also won 'Best UK Port' at the Cruise International Awards 2018.
We’ve picked out the five best cruise lines which operate from Southampton by looking at customer reviews, prices, industry awards and destinations.
For our price comparison, we looked for a cruise of around two weeks in 2025 for two people. We looked at the price of a room with a window (i.e. an 'outside' cabin).
1. Princess Cruises - Low to mid-priced, family-friendly, couples, 80% Review Score
Princess Cruises is a family-friendly mid-priced cruise line that is a good choice for a first time cruiser. They've won many awards over the years and are often named Best Cruise Line by Cruise International.
When we checked, Princess Cruises had about 70 cruises departing from Southampton, ranging from a five day trip to Hamburg through to a 31 day trip around Europe and on to the USA. Their main destinations from Southampton are Scandinavia (including Iceland and Norway), the Mediterranean (including Spain, Italy and Portugal) and Russia.
Princess Cruises operates more than 20 ships and they get decent customer reviews, with an overall average of 80% (3.8/5 on CruiseCritic, 4.2/5 on IGLU and 4/5 on Cruiseline.com)
Although Princess Cruises are suitable for families, they do have a fairly wide age range onboard including lots of couples.
Activities onboard vary depending on which Princess cruise ship you choose from Southampton, but typical options include stargazing, outdoor cinema, dance class, cookery demonstrations and swimming pools.
One thing worth noting with Princess Cruises is that in the price comparisons I've done, I have found that upgrading to a balcony is often very reasonably priced compared to some cruise companies.
Typical price: £4509 for two people travelling onboard Sky Princess from Southampton for 14 nights in September 2025. The holiday was a Mediterranean cruise covering Spain and Italy and was staying in a room with a balcony.
When we checked, Princess Cruises had about 70 cruises departing from Southampton, ranging from a five day trip to Hamburg through to a 31 day trip around Europe and on to the USA. Their main destinations from Southampton are Scandinavia (including Iceland and Norway), the Mediterranean (including Spain, Italy and Portugal) and Russia.
Princess Cruises operates more than 20 ships and they get decent customer reviews, with an overall average of 80% (3.8/5 on CruiseCritic, 4.2/5 on IGLU and 4/5 on Cruiseline.com)
Although Princess Cruises are suitable for families, they do have a fairly wide age range onboard including lots of couples.
Activities onboard vary depending on which Princess cruise ship you choose from Southampton, but typical options include stargazing, outdoor cinema, dance class, cookery demonstrations and swimming pools.
One thing worth noting with Princess Cruises is that in the price comparisons I've done, I have found that upgrading to a balcony is often very reasonably priced compared to some cruise companies.
Typical price: £4509 for two people travelling onboard Sky Princess from Southampton for 14 nights in September 2025. The holiday was a Mediterranean cruise covering Spain and Italy and was staying in a room with a balcony.
Princess is one of the best value cruise lines that departs from Southampton
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You can choose from budget rooms through to suites with balconies
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2. Fred Olson Cruises - low to mid-priced, best for 50+, 80% review score
There are a couple of cruise lines from Southampton that are particularly popular with older travellers: Saga and Fred Olsen Cruises.
In recent searches, we've found that Fred Olsen is much cheaper than Saga, but you may want to check prices with both. There isn't much between them on review scores. We calculated that Fred Olsen averages a score of 80% from customers, whilst Saga scores 82%. We calculated that by looking at review scores on Cruise Critic, Cruiseline and IGLU Cruise.
Both cruises lines have won awards for being a good option for solo travellers. Most recently, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines was named as the best for solo travellers at the Cruise Critics Awards 2024.
Cruise ships on both lines tend to be a little smaller than some cruise lines. You can expect about 700 cabins on a typical Fred Olsen cruise ship, compared to figures approaching 3000 on some Royal Caribbean International cruise ships.
Onboard entertainment includes ballroom dancing, painting tutorials, swimming and games.
No-fly destinations from Southampton go all over the world, including visits to see the Northern Lights and global tours that last for more than 100 nights!
Typical price: £4798 for two people for two weeks visiting the Azores and Madeira in September 2025. The price is for a cabin with a window but you pay more for a balcony.
In recent searches, we've found that Fred Olsen is much cheaper than Saga, but you may want to check prices with both. There isn't much between them on review scores. We calculated that Fred Olsen averages a score of 80% from customers, whilst Saga scores 82%. We calculated that by looking at review scores on Cruise Critic, Cruiseline and IGLU Cruise.
Both cruises lines have won awards for being a good option for solo travellers. Most recently, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines was named as the best for solo travellers at the Cruise Critics Awards 2024.
Cruise ships on both lines tend to be a little smaller than some cruise lines. You can expect about 700 cabins on a typical Fred Olsen cruise ship, compared to figures approaching 3000 on some Royal Caribbean International cruise ships.
Onboard entertainment includes ballroom dancing, painting tutorials, swimming and games.
No-fly destinations from Southampton go all over the world, including visits to see the Northern Lights and global tours that last for more than 100 nights!
Typical price: £4798 for two people for two weeks visiting the Azores and Madeira in September 2025. The price is for a cabin with a window but you pay more for a balcony.
Fred Olsen Cruises is popular with older cruisers
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Onboard luxuries with Fred Olsen include spa treatments
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3. Celebrity Cruises - mid priced, young and trendy, 82% review score
Celebrity Cruises is at the other end of the scale compared to Fred Olsen Cruises.
It aims to be a trendy and modern cruise line, with Broadway style shows, cocktails and upgrade options including your own butler.
Reviews for Celebrity Cruises are positive, with an average of 82% overall - or slightly better than Fred Olsen and Princess Cruises. That's an average based on its scores on review sites including CruiseCritic, Cruiseline and IGLU Cruise.
Celebrity cruise ships are on the larger site. The biggest in the fleet has about 1600 cabins.
From Southampton, Celebrity Cruises travels to Norway, Spain, Portugal, Italy and on to the USA (if you can stomach that long at sea).
Typical price: £5730 for two people on a two-week cruise of the Mediterranean from Southampton in September 2025. That price is for a room with a view (i.e. an outside cabin) and is onboard Celebrity Apex.
It aims to be a trendy and modern cruise line, with Broadway style shows, cocktails and upgrade options including your own butler.
Reviews for Celebrity Cruises are positive, with an average of 82% overall - or slightly better than Fred Olsen and Princess Cruises. That's an average based on its scores on review sites including CruiseCritic, Cruiseline and IGLU Cruise.
Celebrity cruise ships are on the larger site. The biggest in the fleet has about 1600 cabins.
From Southampton, Celebrity Cruises travels to Norway, Spain, Portugal, Italy and on to the USA (if you can stomach that long at sea).
Typical price: £5730 for two people on a two-week cruise of the Mediterranean from Southampton in September 2025. That price is for a room with a view (i.e. an outside cabin) and is onboard Celebrity Apex.
Celebrity Cruise liners are modern, slick and trendy
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The décor and style on a Celebrity cruise is like a modern hotel
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4. P&O Cruises - mid-priced, best for families & couples, 79% review score
P&O is quite similar to Princess Cruises - although Princess Cruises just about edges it on review scores. Princess scores 80% compared to P&O's 79% overall, based on reviews from CruiseCritic, Cruiseline and IGLU Cruise.
We've also found Princess to be better value if you want to upgrade to a balcony.
P&O offers dozens of cruises from Southampton and the company regularly wins awards from customers including ‘Favourite Ocean Cruise Company’ at the Globe Travel Awards 2018.
Couples and single travellers usually go for Arcadia and Aurora, which are adults-only ships that sail from Southampton.
Families have dozens of no-fly cruises from Southampton onboard a handful of larger cruise ships with children’s activities in four age groups. There's also a big range of fun and games for grown ups including several dining options and bars, spa facilities, swimming pools, cinema, theatre, libraries, as well as health and fitness classes to burn off the holiday platters.
P&O no-fly cruises from Southampton range from a couple nights at sea through to more than three months travelling around the world. I'd stick with a shorter option if you’re a first time cruiser...
Other destinations from Southampton include Canada, Central America, Scandinavia, Mediterranean, USA and Western Europe.
P&O prices are somewhere around the mid-market, although you can obviously adjust things significantly depending on the type of accommodation you choose. For the benefit of first-timers, cruise lines offer ‘inside cabins’ without windows for a bargain price, with options to upgrade to ‘oceanview’ cabins or suites with balconies if you can stretch the budget.
Typical price: £4796 for two people on a cruise covering various Spanish ports in September 2025, staying in a room with a window but without a balcony.
We've also found Princess to be better value if you want to upgrade to a balcony.
P&O offers dozens of cruises from Southampton and the company regularly wins awards from customers including ‘Favourite Ocean Cruise Company’ at the Globe Travel Awards 2018.
Couples and single travellers usually go for Arcadia and Aurora, which are adults-only ships that sail from Southampton.
Families have dozens of no-fly cruises from Southampton onboard a handful of larger cruise ships with children’s activities in four age groups. There's also a big range of fun and games for grown ups including several dining options and bars, spa facilities, swimming pools, cinema, theatre, libraries, as well as health and fitness classes to burn off the holiday platters.
P&O no-fly cruises from Southampton range from a couple nights at sea through to more than three months travelling around the world. I'd stick with a shorter option if you’re a first time cruiser...
Other destinations from Southampton include Canada, Central America, Scandinavia, Mediterranean, USA and Western Europe.
P&O prices are somewhere around the mid-market, although you can obviously adjust things significantly depending on the type of accommodation you choose. For the benefit of first-timers, cruise lines offer ‘inside cabins’ without windows for a bargain price, with options to upgrade to ‘oceanview’ cabins or suites with balconies if you can stretch the budget.
Typical price: £4796 for two people on a cruise covering various Spanish ports in September 2025, staying in a room with a window but without a balcony.
P&O has several cruise ships that sail from Southampton
5. Royal Caribbean International, low-priced, best for families, Reviews of 81%
Royal Caribbean International is the one to go for if you like things on a big scale. They offer action-packed family-friendly cruises from Southampton onboard some of the world's biggest cruise ships.
Many of the world’s biggest cruise ships are part of Royal Caribbean’s large fleet and they take great pride in offering quirky activities such as bungee trampolining, ice skating, laser tag and one of those games where you have to escape from a room within a certain amount of time. Some ships have about 3000 cabins, which is about three times as many as most cruise lines.
Royal Caribbean often wins family-friendly awards including Best Family Cruise Line at the Wave Awards 2019. They get decent reviews of 81% from customers on average, putting them pretty much on a par with Princess Cruises.
When we searched there were three Royal Caribbean cruise ships which sailed from Southampton and a choice of 33 cruises. The shortest was a two-night trip to France, whilst the longest was a fortnight around the Mediterranean. Other destinations included Scandinavia and Ireland.
Typical price: £2626 for a 14 night cruise for two people with an ocean view cabin in September 2025. That includes stops in Spain and Portugal.
Many of the world’s biggest cruise ships are part of Royal Caribbean’s large fleet and they take great pride in offering quirky activities such as bungee trampolining, ice skating, laser tag and one of those games where you have to escape from a room within a certain amount of time. Some ships have about 3000 cabins, which is about three times as many as most cruise lines.
Royal Caribbean often wins family-friendly awards including Best Family Cruise Line at the Wave Awards 2019. They get decent reviews of 81% from customers on average, putting them pretty much on a par with Princess Cruises.
When we searched there were three Royal Caribbean cruise ships which sailed from Southampton and a choice of 33 cruises. The shortest was a two-night trip to France, whilst the longest was a fortnight around the Mediterranean. Other destinations included Scandinavia and Ireland.
Typical price: £2626 for a 14 night cruise for two people with an ocean view cabin in September 2025. That includes stops in Spain and Portugal.
Royal Caribbean is a popular family choice
The Best Cruises Guide Dont-Blame-Us-Disclaimer: facilities, onboard activities and prices were correct when we checked, but things change all the time so please check details direct with cruise lines, rather than blaming us. Bear in mind that some cruise lines are more 'inclusive' than others, so will add extra charges later. We just looked for the basic price.
