Dover is the UK’s best known cruise port and, for passengers in the south east, one of the easiest to reach — but it is also a long haul from the Midlands and the north, and the drive down through Kent is not how you want to start a holiday. Ports Direct collects you from your front door and delivers you to Dover Cruise Terminal, so the cruise begins the moment you close the front door behind you.
Door to door, not park and hope
There is no long stay car park to find, no shuttle bus to queue for and no keys to worry about while you are at sea. Your driver arrives at the agreed time, loads your cases and takes you directly to the terminal, arriving 3-4 hours before sailing so you have plenty of time to check in without rushing.
On the way home the process runs in reverse: your driver meets you at the terminal after disembarkation and takes you back to your door.
Shared or private to Dover
Shared Door-To-Door Service is our most popular option and our best value. You are picked up from home and driven to the ship, collecting other cruise passengers en-route where required, with a maximum of 3 additional pick-ups. Shared services to Dover run for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Fred Olsen sailings.
Private Door-To-Door Service gives you the vehicle to yourself with no additional pick-ups — available for every cruise line sailing from Dover, and the option to choose if you want a mobility vehicle, a super luxury car, or simply the whole car to your party.
Vehicles for the Dover run
Dover is a long journey from much of the country, so the vehicle matters. Depending on your party size we will send a saloon car (up to 3 passengers), a small or large MPV (up to 5 or 8), a super luxury car, or a minibus/minicoach for up to 16 — all modern, comfortable and, as often as possible, Mercedes as standard. See vehicle types for the full range.
Breaking the journey
If you are travelling to Dover from a long way off, many passengers stay in a pre cruise hotel the night before. We are happy to build that into the booking: home to hotel one day, hotel to terminal the next. We can also collect you from an airport or train station if you are flying or taking the train down first, and can add a half day city tour before or after your cruise.
Popular pick-up areas for Dover
We run door to door transfers to Dover from every part of the UK. These are some of the routes we are asked for most often:
- London and the Home Counties — the shortest run to Dover, typically under three hours door to door
- The Midlands — Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester and Coventry, via the M40 or M1
- The North West — Manchester, Liverpool and the Wirral, a long day's drive we run regularly
- The South West — Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, usually as an early morning departure
- Yorkshire and the North East — Leeds, York, Newcastle and Durham