The cruise ships are returning to London in 2022, disgorging tourists for a few days of sightseeing, and for us Londoners, a chance to see big boats up close.
Cruise ships vary from the smaller posher sleeker ships of Edwardian times through to the massive white leviathans of modern-day cruising. In London, the mega-boats usually moor up at Tilbury, although some can get to Greenwich. Then there’s the mix of smaller modern cruise ships and the more elegant older boats that can just about fit through Tower Bridge and spend a few days next to HMS Belfast.
The ships arriving closer to town also give bystanders the excitement of seeing Tower Bridge open and a larger than usual boat passing through.
The arrival dates are below – times of arrival and departure date are usually confirmed a few days beforehand, so keep an eye on the events calendar for details. Data from the Port of London Authority, and naturally details can be amended by the cruise ship operator or a virus.
Tower Bridge Upper
| Sat 9th April | Hanseatic Spirit |
| Thur 14th April | SH Vega |
| Sat 23rd April (arrives 5:45am – leaves 24th Apr 7:30pm) |
Le Champlain |
| Wed 27th April (arrives 00:15am – leaves 28th Apr 00:45am) |
MS Hamburg |
| Wed 11th May (arrives 11th May 7:45am – leaves 12th May 11:15pm) |
World Voyager |
| Thur 19th May (arrives 19th May 5pm – leaves 20th May 5pm) |
Le Bellot |
| Thur 16th June (arrives 16th June 12:45pm – leaves 18th June 4:45am) |
World Navigator |
| Sat 18th June (arrives 18th June 6:15am – leaves 5:45pm) |
Silver Wind |
| Sun 7th July | MS Hamburg |
| Tue 4th October | Hanseatic Inspiration |
Greenwich
| Fri 8th April | Seabourn Venture |
| Sun 24th April (arrives 1am – leaves 25th April 8:30am) |
MS Deutschland |
| Tue 10th May | Le Dumont D’Urville |
| 24th May | Crystal Endeavour |
| Tue 7th June (arrives 8th June 1pm, leaves 9th June 8pm) |
Amadea |
| Wed 15th June | Silver Whisper |
| Thur 16th June | Viking Venus |
| Thur 14th July | Viking Venus |
| Fri 22nd July | Viking Mars |
| Wed 27th July | Silver Whisper |
| Sat 29th July | Hebridean Princess |
| Thur 11th Aug | Viking Venus |
| Mon 5th September | Viking Star |
| Mon 12th September | Viking Mars |
London Cruise Terminal – Tilbury
| Tue 5th April | Ambience |
| Sun 10th April | Ambience |
| Sat16th April | Ambience |
| Thu 21st April | Viking Venus |
| Sun 24th April | Ambience |
| Sun 1st May | Ambience |
| Mon 2nd May | Aidaaura |
| Sun 8th May | Viking Venus |
| Tue 10th May | Hebridean Sky |
| Thu12th May | Ambience |
| Thu 26 May | Ambience |
| Tue 7th June | Ambience |
| Thu16th June | NG Explorer |
| Sat18th June | World Navigator |
| Sun19th June | MS Insignia |
| Tue 21st June | Ambience |
| Thu 7th July | Aegean Odyssey |
| Tue 12th July | Ambience |
| Sat 23rd July | Ambience |
| Wed 27th July | Aegean Odyssey |
| Sat 30th July | Ambience |
| Sat 6th August | Ambience |
| Sat 13th August | Ambience |
| Tue 16th August | Aegean Odyssey |
| Tue 16th August | Ambience |
| Thu 1st September | Ambience |
| Sat 3rd September | Seven Seas Voyager |
| Mon 12th September | Ambience |
| Sun 18th September | Aidaaura |
| Wed 28th September | Marina |
| Fri 30th September | Aidaaura |
| Sat 15th October | Vasco Da Gama |
| Sun 16th October | Ambience |
| Fri 21st October | Bolette |
| Sun 23rd October | Ambience |
| Wed 26th October | Bolette |
| Fri 4th November | Ambience |
| Wed 9th November | Bolette |
| Thu 17th November | Bolette |
| Thu 24th November | Bolette |
| Thu 24th November | Ambience |
| Fri 2nd December | Bolette |
| Wed 7th December | Bolette |
| Fri 9th December | Ambience |
| Sat 10th December | Ambience |
| Sun 11st December | Ambience |
| Fri 16th December | Ambience |
| Sat 17th December | Ambience |
| Sun 18th December | Ambience |
| Wed 21st December | Bolette |
| Wed 21st December | Ambience |
That moment when you pay your congestion charge then look to your left and see an actual Cruise Ship next to you that didn’t have to pay.
Should just permanently keep the bridge down and get rid of the long outdated law that boats must be able to get to London Bridge unimpeded. Was put in place for old sail trade boats, not cruise ships and party boats which is all that causes Tower Bridge to raise these days. Thats why we have no bridges out East, to comply with the rule the bridges would need to open or be super high or be a tunnel which leads to things like £500m estimated costs for a pedestrian bridge at Rotherithe/Canary wharf. Get rid of the rule and allow cheap normal low down pedestrian bridges to be built East of central London. Its messed up that millions of people dont have a good river crossing just so it doesn’t block a few party boats or cruise ships.
Just a mini rant. I think Jay Foreman is currently making a video about this issue and should be out this month.
Sail trade boats? Powered vessels were using the Pool of London well into the 1960s. And Tower Bridge opening is an icon of London. I’m all for better river crossings in East London, but I don’t think keeping Tower Bridge down permanently is going to make a lot of difference. You also seem to ignore the huge difference that the DLR and Overground have made to journeys between the East End and South-East London – these used to be time-consuming and arduous, not they are a doddle.
not (final line of comment) – I meant to say “now they are a doddle”.
There is definitely a discussion to be had about the role of a anti-pollution tax for large ships in various parts of the river, analogous to the LEZ and the ULEZ. And maybe a reduction of maximum height/tonnage permitted to reduce costs of future river crossings.
I also think that we should consider not building any more vehicle crossings, even for freight, and rail crossings are better built as tunnels which can support large gauge trains for multi-modal use (e.g. double stack containers).
An outright restriction of larger ships could prevent some green uses of the river for construction and short distance freight
Ian, what time will SH Vega (Thur 14th April) sail through Tower Bridge? Cannot find information on Tower Bridge website. Thanks.
You and I will both need to see when/if it appears on their website.