Dover (England)

Dover cruise port (part of Port Dover) is ranked UK's second largest passenger seaport (ferry and cruise) - after Southampton. Dover is also homeport of the British shipping company P&O Ferries (23 daily crossings to Calais). Another major passenger shipping company from Dover is the Danish DFDS Seaways with several daily crossings to France (15 to Calais and 12 to Dunkerque).

Calais offers quick road and rail access to Paris City. Dunkerque (Dunkirk) is just 10 km (6 mi) away from the border with Belgium (1-hour drive distance from Bruges). Ferry travel times are 1,5 hours (to Calais) and 2 hours (to Dunkirk). The Dover-Dunkirk route is served with 3 ships - DELFT SEAWAYS, DOVER SEAWAYS and DUNKERQUE SEAWAYS.

Occasionally, Fred Olsen and Saga UK offer "Mystery Cruise" deals on roundtrips from Dover. The itinerary is unique as its ports of call are not officially announced by the company prior the voyage. For 2021, Hurtigruten scheduled roundtrip cruise departures from the UK with homeporting in Dover (embarkation port).

Port Dover UK

The seaport was established in 1606 by a Royal Charter and is currently operated by "Dover Harbor Board". Along with its 2 cruise terminals, Port Dover also has passenger ferry terminals, 2 cargo terminals, 1 boating (yacht) marina, its own police force. Located at English Channel's narrowest point, Dover has world's busiest shipping lanes with ferries constantly crossing between UK and France. Channel's width here is approx 30 km (20 mi).

The port is located on England's southern coast. It is approx 65 mi (105 km) from London and approx 21 mi (34 km) from Calais France. The cruise port schedule shows itineraries mainly during the summer months (April through late October). Passenger ships leave out of Dover on 4-day short breaks, as well as 7-day or 14-day cruises to the Canary Islands, Around Britain (British Isles), also to mainland Europe (Baltic, Norway Fjords, Atlantic Coast), Mediterranean, Iceland and Greenland. Due to the port's strategic position on the English Channel, it was nicknamed “the Lock and Key of England”.

Port Dover handles annually shipping trade valued at around GBP 122 billion, which is roughly 17% of the UK's trade in goods.

Dover is one of the 3 UK cruise ports used for visiting London City - together with London docks and Tilbury.

• On May 11, 2012, the port welcomed the inaugural visit of the Royal Caribbean ship Brilliance of the Seas.
• On July 18, 2012, the port hosted the Olympic Torch Relay event. It consisted of the Torch Relay, followed by a stage show and a fireworks display.
• On September 8, 2014, the port's tugboats performed a farewell salute (with water cannons) for the Holland America ship MS Ryndam. The ship departed Dover for the very last time. In November 2015, the ship joined the P&O Australia's fleet under the name Pacific Aria.
• On June 5, 2016, the Disney Magic ship departed from Dover on its first-ever British Isles cruise. The 12-night itinerary had scheduled ports of call Invergordon, Kirkwall, Greenock-Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Dublin, Le Havre-Paris and Guernsey (Channel Islands). The ship also did two 12-night cruises to Iceland with included overnight stays in Reykjavik plus stopping in Akureyri. The May 29 itinerary from Dover was a 7-day round-trip to the Norwegian Fjords visiting Stavanger, Alesund, Geiranger and Bergen.

In mid-March 2018, the company Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd was awarded a GBP 15 million contract to build a Refrigerated Cargo Terminal.

• The new multi-purpose facility is sized 9630 m2 (103,650 ft2) and is part of the "Dover Western Docks Revival" (port development project).
• The building consists of 8 individually temperature-controlled chambers with 20 dock levellers. It was required to produce quick turnaround for the port's cargo customers, thus increasing the overall volumes of the shipping trade.
• Opened in December 2019, the new cargo terminal has a new infrastructure with 2 dedicated berths and "Gottwald 5" mobile harbour cranes.

Following the COVID crisis, in 2022 the cruise port reported a record year with booked 130 ship calls, including 73 turnarounds/roundtrips and 11 inaugurals/maiden visits. Among the inaugurals was Carnival Pride (June 10th) which was CCL-Carnival Cruise Line’s first port call since 2013.

Cruise itineraries to and from Dover England

Follows a list of destinations visited by cruise ships leaving out of Dover:

• World Cruises - around the world voyages leaving from Dover offer westbound Transatlantic crossings with either Panama Canal transition or around South America routes. Itinerary segments may end up in Canada, USA (Florida, East Coast or West Coast / California ports), Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne) and even in New Zealand (Auckland).
• Iceland and Greenland are often included in "British Isles" themed cruise itineraries around Britain, visiting island ports in England, Scotland, Ireland (Northern Ireland) and Wales.
• Baltic Sea cruises to Norway from Dover are 7- to 9-night round-trips and visit Norwegian Fjords ports. North Pole itineraries additionally visit Haugesund, Leknes-Gravdal, Spitsbergen Island, Tromso, Alta, Molde, Trondheim, Skjolden.
• Baltic Sea cruises to Scandinavia and Russia are usually 2-week long and visit ports in Holland, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia (Sankt Petersburg overnight stay).
• One-ways from Dover to the Mediterranean usually end up in Italy (Civitavecchia-Rome or Venice).
• Iberia (voyages to Portugal and Spain ports located on Europe's Atlantic Coast) are often combined with Gibraltar (UK) and ports in France.
• Western Europe cruise itineraries from Dover go to the Canary Islands (Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera), the Azores islands (Terceira, Faial, Sao Miguel) and Madeira Island.
• Mediterranean Sea - Western Med itineraries (roundtrips from Dover) visit Spain, France (also French Riviera ports) and Italy.

Dover cruise terminal

Dover tours, shore excursions, hotels

City Tours and Shore Excursions

• Dover Castle: walk or take a bus to see the the King’s Hall, the Outer Bailey, the King’s Chamber, the King’s Brewery, the Guest Hall, the Guest Chamber, the castle walls and the medieval tunnels of the castle with central part in the history of England.
• Roman Painted House: the Roman Painted house, dating from AD 200. Open from June to September.
• White Cliffs Of Dover: enjoy adorable English Channel views from 320ft. Enjoy a walk along the Langdon cliffs or see the South Foreland Lighthouse – open for tourists during the summer.
• Dover Museum: visit the famous museum and enjoy original historical exhibitions. The most popular thing to see there is the Bronze Age Boat, 3500-year aged.
• St. Margaret’s Bay: charming, sunny place with delightful beach, benches for sitting, a kiosk for ice cream and plenty of parking area. It is located 4 miles from Dover, direction East.