Majestic Princess - British Isles with France

Where this cruise calls, day by day

11 ports and 2 sea days over 12 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Southampton

   United KingdomDepart

   Britain's main cruise homeport, on Southampton Water at the head of the Solent. Almost nobody calls here as a port day - you join or leave your ship at one of five terminals (Mayflower, Ocean, QEII, City and Horizon), which are spread across the working docks and reached by taxi or coach rather than on foot. The city itself was heavily bombed in 1940, so the old core is patchy: surviving medieval walls, the Bargate, and a good maritime museum.

   • SeaCity Museum and its Titanic exhibition - the ship sailed from Berth 44 here
   • Walking the medieval town walls and the Bargate
   • Day trip to Winchester Cathedral, about 20 minutes by train
   • The New Forest for wild ponies, roughly 30 minutes by road

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth alongside; terminals are 2-4 km from the city centre and from Southampton Central station, so use a taxi or the cruise line coach, and allow about 80 minutes by train to London Waterloo.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct (peak turnaround Jun-Aug)

2. Day 2

   Portland

   United KingdomPort

   A former Royal Navy base on the Isle of Portland, a limestone tied island off the Dorset coast - the stone here built St Paul's Cathedral. The port is industrial and there is no town at the gate, so the day starts with a shuttle. It serves as the sea access for the Jurassic Coast and, at a stretch, for Stonehenge.

   • Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove on the Jurassic Coast
   • Corfe Castle and the Swanage steam railway
   • Weymouth's Georgian seafront and Old Harbour
   • Portland Bill lighthouse and the quarries at Tout

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at Portland Port; a complimentary shuttle runs continuously to Weymouth Old Harbour, about a 15-20 minute ride, and Weymouth station is 5 miles away.

   Best months

   May-Sep

3. Day 3

   Falmouth

   United KingdomPort

   A Cornish harbour town on Carrick Roads, one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, with a working ship-repair yard alongside the tourist quays. The town is a single long main street of galleries, pasty shops and chandlers running parallel to the water. Most of Cornwall's famous sights are 30-60 minutes away by road.

   • National Maritime Museum Cornwall on Discovery Quay
   • Pendennis Castle, one of Henry VIII's coastal artillery forts
   • St Michael's Mount at Marazion, tide permitting
   • The Eden Project's biomes, about 45 minutes away

   Getting ashore

   Smaller ships (up to about 240 m) berth at County Wharf in the docks, a 10-15 minute walk to town; larger ships anchor in Carrick Roads and tender to Prince of Wales Pier, a crossing that can be rough and is occasionally cancelled.

   Best months

   May-Sep

4. Day 4

   Cobh

   IrelandPort

   A steep terrace town on Cork Harbour, and the last port Titanic called at before crossing. It was Queenstown then, and 2.5 million emigrants left Ireland from these quays. The cathedral spire dominates everything, and the pastel row known as the Deck of Cards climbs the hill behind the waterfront. Ships tie up in the middle of it all.

   • Titanic Experience Cobh, in the original White Star Line ticket office
   • St Colman's Cathedral and its 49-bell carillon
   • Cobh Heritage Centre on emigration and the Lusitania
   • Blarney Castle or Cork city, both about 30-40 minutes away

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at the deepwater quay in the town centre - the train station to Cork (about 25 minutes) is directly beside the berth.

   Best months

   May-Sep

5. Day 5

   Dublin

   IrelandPort

   A Georgian capital on the Liffey, with the two big draws - the Book of Kells and the Guinness Storehouse - at opposite ends of the centre, so pick one if the day is short. The port is a working container terminal downriver and the walk in is along an unpleasant dual carriageway, so plan on wheels either way.

   • The Book of Kells and the Long Room at Trinity College
   • Guinness Storehouse and its Gravity Bar
   • Kilmainham Gaol, where the 1916 leaders were executed (book ahead)
   • Christ Church and Dublin Castle, or a walk in St Stephen's Green

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at Alexandra Quay or Ocean Pier, 3-5 km from the centre; take the shuttle or a taxi (10-15 minutes) rather than walking out through the port.

   Best months

   May-Sep

6. Day 6

   Belfast

   United KingdomPort

   A shipbuilding city that has turned its own hardest history into its two main visits: the slipways where Titanic was built, and the political murals and peace walls of the Falls and Shankill roads. The Victorian centre around City Hall is handsome and walkable, but the berth is out in the docks, so you will be on a bus one way or another.

   • Titanic Belfast, on the slipway where the ship was laid down
   • A black taxi tour of the Falls Road and Shankill murals
   • The Giant's Causeway, about an hour up the Antrim coast
   • Crumlin Road Gaol and the Victorian Grand Opera House

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at Stormont Wharf or Belfast Harbour, roughly 3 km from the centre with no safe walking route, so take the shuttle or a taxi (about 10 minutes).

   Best months

   May-Sep

7. Day 7

   Glasgow (Greenock)

   United KingdomPort

   Greenock sits on the lower Clyde where the river opens out, and the terminal there got a proper glass visitor building in 2023. Glasgow is the advertised destination but it is a drive inland; plenty of passengers skip it for Loch Lomond, which is closer. Greenock itself was a shipbuilding and sugar town and is fairly quiet now.

   • Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Glasgow's Victorian centre
   • Loch Lomond and the village of Luss, about 30-40 minutes away
   • Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument, roughly an hour
   • The Burrell Collection in Pollok Country Park

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at Greenock Ocean Terminal; Glasgow is about 25 miles away, roughly 40-50 minutes by coach or train from Greenock Central, which is a short walk from the berth.

   Best months

   May-Sep

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Invergordon

   United KingdomPort

   A small Highland town on the Cromarty Firth, a deepwater anchorage used by the Grand Fleet in both wars and now ringed by oil rigs in for repair. The town itself takes twenty minutes to see - there is a series of murals along the main street - and effectively everyone travels out, most of them toward Loch Ness or a distillery.

   • Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, about an hour by road
   • Inverness and Culloden Moor battlefield
   • Dunrobin Castle at Golspie, with its falconry displays
   • Glenmorangie distillery at Tain, 20 minutes north

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at the town quay and you can walk straight into Invergordon; Inverness is 25 miles away, about 40 minutes by coach.

   Best months

   May-Sep

10. Day 10

    Edinburgh (South Queensferry)

    United KingdomPort

    Not Edinburgh - South Queensferry is a small burgh on the Firth of Forth beneath the three Forth bridges, and it is where ships anchor when Edinburgh is on the itinerary. The tender lands you by the Hawes Inn on a single cobbled high street. The city is a coach ride inland, and a short port day makes for a rushed Royal Mile.

    • Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile down to Holyrood
    • The Royal Yacht Britannia, berthed at Leith
    • Walking under the cantilevers of the 1890 Forth Bridge
    • Rosslyn Chapel, about 30 minutes south of the city

    Getting ashore

    This is a tender port - ships anchor in the Forth and tender to Hawes Pier, from where Edinburgh city centre is about 30-40 minutes by coach; weather in the Forth occasionally cancels the tenders.

    Best months

    May-Sep

11. Day 11 · At sea

12. Day 12

    Le Havre (Paris)

    FrancePort

    Northern France's main cruise call, and on most itineraries a transit point rather than a destination - Paris is roughly two hours each way by coach, which eats the day. Le Havre itself was flattened in 1944 and rebuilt in reinforced concrete to Auguste Perret's plan, a design so coherent it earned UNESCO listing. Passengers who skip Paris usually go to Honfleur or the D-Day beaches instead.

    • Paris for the day, about two hours each way by coach or train
    • Honfleur's old harbour and wooden Sainte-Catherine church, 30 minutes away
    • MuMa, with a strong Impressionist collection including Boudin and Dufy
    • The Normandy landing beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry, a long day out

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock at the cruise terminal on the Pointe de Floride; a shuttle runs into the town centre, and excursion coaches load at the pier.

    Best months

    May-Jun and Sep (Normandy weather is unreliable outside summer)

13. Day 13

    Southampton

    United KingdomArrive

    Britain's main cruise homeport, on Southampton Water at the head of the Solent. Almost nobody calls here as a port day - you join or leave your ship at one of five terminals (Mayflower, Ocean, QEII, City and Horizon), which are spread across the working docks and reached by taxi or coach rather than on foot. The city itself was heavily bombed in 1940, so the old core is patchy: surviving medieval walls, the Bargate, and a good maritime museum.

    • SeaCity Museum and its Titanic exhibition - the ship sailed from Berth 44 here
    • Walking the medieval town walls and the Bargate
    • Day trip to Winchester Cathedral, about 20 minutes by train
    • The New Forest for wild ponies, roughly 30 minutes by road

    Getting ashore

    Ships berth alongside; terminals are 2-4 km from the city centre and from Southampton Central station, so use a taxi or the cruise line coach, and allow about 80 minutes by train to London Waterloo.

    Best months

    Apr-Oct (peak turnaround Jun-Aug)