About Bournemouth & Poole Cruise Port
Where it is
Poole Cruise Port (BH15 1HB, New Harbour Road) is the cruise calling point for the Bournemouth and Dorset coast area. The terminal handles smaller boutique cruise lines whose ships are too small (or too premium) for the Southampton volume terminals. Itineraries focus on Northern Europe, British Isles, Mediterranean and expedition cruises (Hurtigruten Norway, Star Clippers tall-ship).
How to get there
From Southampton: M27 (J1) / A31 / A35 / A338 — around 60 minutes. From Heathrow: M25 / M3 / M27 / A31 — around 2h 15m. From Gatwick: M23 / M27 / A31 — around 2h 30m. From central London: M3 / M27 / A31 — around 2h 30m. Through the New Forest the A31 between Cadnam and Ringwood is the main variable; weekend summer afternoons can add 20 minutes.
Which cruise lines call at Poole
Saga Cruises (Spirit of Adventure, Spirit of Discovery — when not at Dover / Tilbury), Hurtigruten (Norway expedition), Star Clippers (tall-ship sailings), Windstar (luxury yacht-style), plus occasional Fred Olsen and Cruise & Maritime ports of call. Calls are SEASONAL — always confirm your specific sailing's embarkation port (sometimes the same line uses different UK ports depending on itinerary).
Pre-cruise overnight options
For passengers flying in from Heathrow / Gatwick the day before, many prefer to overnight at a Bournemouth seafront hotel (Marriott Highcliff, Royal Bath, Hermitage, Suncliff) — only 15 minutes from Poole Cruise Port. Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is a 20-minute drive too, making a BOH-arrival → hotel → cruise next day a clean itinerary. Multi-leg quoted as a single fixed price.
What is included
Fixed price covers all road tolls, the Poole Cruise Port terminal drop-off fee, meet-and-greet at the airport of origin with a name board, flight tracking (60 minutes free wait time post-landing), luggage handling at both ends. No hidden extras.