Life on board

Excursions will be available to book via our website approximately 12 weeks before your departure date. You can find full details and book excursions online. An approximate date your excursions will be available to book can be found on our excursions page. While these dates may change slightly, we encourage you to add this guide date to your diary or calendar as a reminder. On the day excursions open for sale, you will receive an email. You will need to book the excursions you wish to join, even the included ones, to secure your place.

Pre-cruise excursion sales will close approximately 1 week before your cruise. Any further bookings and alterations can then be made on board. We recommend that you pre-book your places as early as possible as some optional tours have limited availability and to secure your preferred included tour timing.

Please ensure that you read the excursion description to ensure that it is suitable for you as we are unable to provide assistance on any of our tours.

For those guests who require accessible transport, please note that these will be arranged dependant on availability at the port we are visiting. This is free of charge for included tours, for optional tours there will be an additional charge. Please contact our Guest Services team on 0800 504 505 at the time of booking your excursions if you wish to discuss your requirements further.

You won’t need a ticket to board but please check your final travel details, which will be sent to you approximately 7 to 10 days before you depart along with your luggage labels. This will include your chauffeur service pick up time, car parking permit or domestic flight information, depending on which option you have advised us to include on your booking.

We will tell you at the time of booking if there are specific entry requirements or vaccinations for any of the destinations you are visiting. If we have advised you that you require an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) for your cruise then you will need to obtain this yourself, before you travel, and this must be shown at check-in.

GHIC allows guests to get healthcare in the EU, and some other countries, on the same basis as a resident of that country. This maybe free or require payment equivalent to what a local resident would pay. You can find more information and

GHIC allows guests to get healthcare in the EU, and some other countries, on the same basis as a resident of that country. This maybe free or require payment equivalent to what a local resident would pay. You can find more information and apply for this online.

A valid passport with at least six months validity is a requirement for British citizens. Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the date you enter each country and will also be required for UK cruises.

IMPORTANT: Your passport number, issue date, expiry date and issuing country must be provided to us at least 30 days before travel in order for us to comply with border security check requirements. These can be added to your added to your booking online.

If you have chosen to take a domestic flight and our chauffeur service to the port, you can choose to include the chauffeur service to take you to an airport closer to your home and take a domestic flight to London or Southampton.

Upon arrival at your destination airport you will be collected by a chauffeur and taken to your departure port. From experience and with your comfort in mind, we would suggest this is a consideration if your road journey exceeds four hours on Google Maps.

If you would prefer to drive yourself to the departure port, let us know and we can arrange your car parking at no additional cost.

If you have a shared chauffeur service, and you live less than 100 miles from the port, we will not deviate more than 30 minutes outside of your planned journey time to collect the remaining passengers you will be travelling with. If you live more than 100 miles from the port, we may deviate by up to one hour.

We stagger arrivals to the ship from 1230-1530 to minimise congestion at the port and while boarding. We do not guarantee an executive vehicle and often use MPV (multi-person vehicles) to cater for you and your luggage, sometimes with seats facing each other. This is industry standard.

Once you enter the terminal you will need to go to the signposted check-in desk. If you are unsure of where to go, there will be directional staff on hand to help. At check-in you will need to provide your passport and any documentation regarding visas, ESTAs or electronic travel authorisations that you have obtained before you travel, so that these can be checked before you board. You will also be taken through a health questionnaire by the check-in staff.

Depending on which port you are travelling from there will be some walking required between the lobby and the ship.

Portsmouth: There will be a short walk into the lobby to the stairs or lift. It will then be approximately 50 metres to the check-in desk and security. You will need to take the lift or stairs down to the transfer shuttle to the ship.

Dover: There will be a short walk into the lobby to the stairs, lift or escalator. There will then be a short walk to security and on to check-in. The walk to the ship is approximately 50 metres up the gangway.

Once on board you will be welcomed by our dedicated crew, who will direct you to your cabin so you can settle in. On arrival, your luggage is all taken care of and will be delivered to your cabin by the crew. Usually this will be done within a couple of hours of arrival but could take up to four hours.

There will be a muster drill at the beginning of the cruise, before departure, which must be attended by all guests and crew. There will be a safety video to watch on the tv within your cabin. You must fully watch the video to the end or else you will not be able to proceed to your normal television programming. A tannoy announcement will be made to advise when the muster drill will take place. If you have booked emergency assistance, you will receive this during the drill.

On the evening before disembarkation your luggage will be collected from your cabin. You may wish to bring a small overnight bag with you for your nightwear and toiletries for your final night onboard. You will be asked to vacate your cabin at 0800 on the day of disembarkation. Disembarkation will be between 0800-1030 and you will receive a letter within your cabin approximately three to five days before disembarkation.

Once you leave the ship, you will collect your luggage from the luggage hall. If you have booked the chauffeur service, your driver will be waiting in the arrivals area, holding a card with your name on it. Our Port Operations team will be on hand to help you connect with your driver.