UK ports why so little choice ?

[never_cruised]

Why is their so little choice of ports to sail from the UK ?

 

As someone from Northern England I hate that for any real choice you have to drive all the way down to Southampton.

 

I know there is the odd cruise from other ports but I'm fairness very little choice.

 

Is there any expansion of services planned for any other ports ?

[Ray66]

Copied from the Cruisetimetables website:

 

United Kingdom

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Bristol, England

Cardiff, Wales

Dover, England

Dundee, Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland

Harwich, England

Hull, England

Liverpool, England

London, England

Newcastle, England

Poole, England

Portsmouth, England

Southampton, England

 

It depends which is your priority - depature port or cruise line. For me it's the cruise line so I always have to drive down from northern England to Southampton.

[Thejuggler]

Same reason we only have one international airport hub in the UK.

 

There is currently no demand for another, but Liverpool are slowly trying to become a northern turnround port.

[upwarduk]

Same reason we only have one international airport hub in the UK.

 

 

 

There is currently no demand for another, but Liverpool are slowly trying to become a northern turnround port.

 

 

Just seen this article:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/19171-liverpool-s-turnaround-business-to-grow.html

[Bloodgem]

We make the drive down part of the holiday. We stay overnight in a hotel in Southampton and have a walk around the town before we board the ship.

[jocap]

Always sailed from S'ton, if we're not flying, but however we do it, it takes 8 hours, and we're getting a tad too old to cope with it- especially the journey home, after an early rise.

So, we'll soon be on our 2nd cruise out of Newcastle, which is much easier... but there's not the same choice of ships nor itineraries.

We're quite interested in Saga, because of the transport- I think it's free for 200 miles or so, then a sliding scale after that... and next year's new ship looks good.

If we lived nearer an airport, we might have flown to Dublin and sailed on the Celebrity home ported there.

[MicCanberra]

I have cruised from Southampton and also Dover. I know some of my friends have sailed from Harwich and Newcastle as well and also Tilbury although that didn't make the list above.

[Ray66]

I have cruised from Southampton and also Dover. I know some of my friends have sailed from Harwich and Newcastle as well and also Tilbury although that didn't make the list above.

 

Tilbury comes under London.

[John Bull]

The limiting factors...........

 

Infrastructure.

In Southampton & Dover the infrastructure (docks, experienced operators, workforce & sub-contractors, etc) has been in place for decades, and up-graded in a rolling programme.

Liverpool came late to the party. Over the years it had miserably failed to invest in its docks - I don't know whether that's the fault of the owners Peel Holdings or the council - but it has woken up in recent years with the river dredged and a big new cruise berth. And a proper new terminal due to open in a couple of years time to replace its temporary cruise terminal which is OK for turnarounds by small ships but only suitable for port-of-call visits by larger ships (and, I believe, as a secondary boarding option for a limited number of passengers on the occasional Cunard cruise which starts in Southampton).

Many other ports are simply too small for mainstream cruise lines, hence used only by lines like Thomson, Fred and C&M.

The approaches need to be wide enough & deep enough and suitable for safe passage regardless of winds, currents, tides and sea-state. When such matters make a port unreliable it's no big deal if a planned port-of-call is missed but reliability is paramount for a turnaround port. When Liverpool's cruise berth was in the old Langton Dock, a couple of Fred Olsen's cruises had to switch last-minute to a turnaround in Northern Ireland so Fred abandoned Liverpool as a turnaround port until the new Princes' Quay was opened.

 

History

Dover of course has long associations with cross-channel ferries, and cruising is a natural progression.

Southampton has a long association with passenger liners, the demise of ocean liners meant that when cruising started to become big business it was very easy to switch.

Liverpool of course also has long associations with ferries and with both passenger and cargo ships, but other factors have held it back.

 

 

Geography.

North-eastern ports are fine for Norway, Iceland & Baltic.

Liverpool is fine for Iceland and trans-Atlantic. Dover is fine for Norway & Baltic.

But it makes no sense to head north to a port & then sail south, so Southampton is best-placed for cruises to the Med, Canaries, world cruises & such.

For long-haul passengers from the US, Asia, Aus etc wanting to cruise the Med, even Southampton loses out big-time to Med turnaround ports

 

International travel and passenger demographics.

For those like Jo who live in the north, cruises from northern ports of course are far more convenient.

But more southern folk cruise.

And more importantly US and Italian ships attract an international clientele.

As well as being closer to most of our European neighbours, the south-east ports (Southampton, Dover, Harwich) are close to London. London has waaaay more long-haul air routes than places like Manchester, Glasgow or Dublin. And London is on the average foreigner's bucket-list, so a cruise from the south ties in nicely with London pre-cruise or post-cruise. (Transfers from London to northern ports may not be a great deal more expensive or time-consuming, but that's not the way that Johnny Foreigner sees it).

The comparatively higher number of international visitors in the south is bound to hold back the north.

 

The future?

Bigger ships limits the number of ports. Southampton Water is ideal with its wide sheltered approach and double-tides, and was dredged even deeper a few years back to cater for both the new mega cruise ships and super-size container ships.

But international repeat travellers aren't so drawn to London these days ("been there, done that") and are looking to spread their pre-cruise / post-cruise wings, and hopefully that will increase demand for turnarounds in Ireland, Scotland and the north.

 

All JMHO as always.

 

JB :)

[MicCanberra]

Tilbury comes under London.

Cheers.:D

[MicCanberra]

The limiting factors...........

 

Infrastructure.

In Southampton & Dover the infrastructure (docks, experienced operators, workforce & sub-contractors, etc) has been in place for decades, and up-graded in a rolling programme.

Liverpool came late to the party. Over the years it had miserably failed to invest in its docks - I don't know whether that's the fault of the owners Peel Holdings or the council - but it has woken up in recent years with the river dredged and a big new cruise berth. And a proper new terminal due to open in a couple of years time to replace its temporary cruise terminal which is OK for turnarounds by small ships but only suitable for port-of-call visits by larger ships (and, I believe, as a secondary boarding option for a limited number of passengers on the occasional Cunard cruise which starts in Southampton).

Many other ports are simply too small for mainstream cruise lines, hence used only by lines like Thomson, Fred and C&M.

The approaches need to be wide enough & deep enough and suitable for safe passage regardless of winds, currents, tides and sea-state. When such matters make a port unreliable it's no big deal if a planned port-of-call is missed but reliability is paramount for a turnaround port. When Liverpool's cruise berth was in the old Langton Dock, a couple of Fred Olsen's cruises had to switch last-minute to a turnaround in Northern Ireland so Fred abandoned Liverpool as a turnaround port until the new Princes' Quay was opened.

 

History

Dover of course has long associations with cross-channel ferries, and cruising is a natural progression.

Southampton has a long association with passenger liners, the demise of ocean liners meant that when cruising started to become big business it was very easy to switch.

Liverpool of course also has long associations with ferries and with both passenger and cargo ships, but other factors have held it back.

 

 

Geography.

North-eastern ports are fine for Norway, Iceland & Baltic.

Liverpool is fine for Iceland and trans-Atlantic. Dover is fine for Norway & Baltic.

But it makes no sense to head north to a port & then sail south, so Southampton is best-placed for cruises to the Med, Canaries, world cruises & such.

For long-haul passengers from the US, Asia, Aus etc wanting to cruise the Med, even Southampton loses out big-time to Med turnaround ports

 

International travel and passenger demographics.

For those like Jo who live in the north, cruises from northern ports of course are far more convenient.

But more southern folk cruise.

And more importantly US and Italian ships attract an international clientele.

As well as being closer to most of our European neighbours, the south-east ports (Southampton, Dover, Harwich) are close to London. London has waaaay more long-haul air routes than places like Manchester, Glasgow or Dublin. And London is on the average foreigner's bucket-list, so a cruise from the south ties in nicely with London pre-cruise or post-cruise. (Transfers from London to northern ports may not be a great deal more expensive or time-consuming, but that's not the way that Johnny Foreigner sees it).

The comparatively higher number of international visitors in the south is bound to hold back the north.

 

The future?

Bigger ships limits the number of ports. Southampton Water is ideal with its wide sheltered approach and double-tides, and was dredged even deeper a few years back to cater for both the new mega cruise ships and super-size container ships.

But international repeat travellers aren't so drawn to London these days ("been there, done that") and are looking to spread their pre-cruise / post-cruise wings, and hopefully that will increase demand for turnarounds in Ireland, Scotland and the north.

 

All JMHO as always.

 

JB :)

Thanks JB,

Excellent information, very comprehensive.:D

[Bloodgem]

Thanks JB,

Excellent information, very comprehensive.:D

I agree. I thought the post was very interesting(y).

[jocap]

You're so right, J B... we were hoping that Stobbarts would open Carlisle airport, but there seems to be yet another hold up...if we could fly down, we'd use Southampton again, because we prefer the larger ships. But hey- a cruise is a cruise! :)

[MicCanberra]

You're so right, J B... we were hoping that Stobbarts would open Carlisle airport, but there seems to be yet another hold up...if we could fly down, we'd use Southampton again, because we prefer the larger ships. But hey- a cruise is a cruise! :)

I love it, you truly are addicted (just like me).:D