Cruise

Portland Port lies at the heart of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO world heritage site, renowned for its breath-taking beauty and its incredible historical heritage. With such a unique destination, the activities, places to visit and attractions are plentiful, ranging from the ruins of Corfe Castle to the bucket list destination of Stonehenge; with towns such as Bath, Salisbury, Dorchester, and Weymouth in between.

Dorset is a stunning place to explore, offering the best of countryside, coastline, events, and attractions which are perfect for families and couples alike. Passengers can hear all about the amazing history and family adventures of Minterne House or visit the unique and fascinating Abbotsbury Swannery. Or if you simply fancy tasting the national dish, fish and chips, and enjoying some relaxed sunbathing on an award-winning beach, a shuttle bus trip from Portland Port can provide that too.

The Dorset landscape also provides the perfect setting for all manner of outdoor pursuits, with woodland trails, mile upon mile of rolling green countryside and some of the most dramatic coastline to be found anywhere.  From gentle walks and relaxing rounds of golf to high-speed RIB rides and paddle boarding in Portland harbour, host to the 2012 Olympic sailing events.

And when the time comes to depart our beautiful shores be sure to keep your eyes on the quayside. Portland Port prides itself on providing a memorable send off with a musical “Bon Voyage” and a 3 shot salute from the Nothe Fort Victorian Artillery Brigade.


Important notice:

Due to remodelling works at the port entrance there have been changes to our protocols.

Please read the sections below for updated information on private excursion guidelines, meeting friends & family for day trips and visiting friends & family on board a cruise ship.


Private Excursion Guidelines

We understand and appreciate that some cruise passengers wish to make their own excursion arrangements and we try to accommodate these wherever possible.

To help ensure these trips leave on time, we request that the excursion company sends an email to cruise@portland-port.co.uk, with the following information:

If we are given the information above at least 48 hours before the cruise call, we can add it to our security list and the passengers can be collected from the quayside.

Any vehicle going on to the quay must undergo a security inspection.  We understand that any tour vehicles will want to be quayside before their departure time, so please ensure that adequate time is allowed for the security checks.  We would advise arriving a minimum of 1 hour prior to tour departure time.

PLEASE NOTE:

If we do not receive prior notice of a private excursion, when the vehicle arrives at the port, it will be directed to the security inspection area on New Quay. 

It will be held there until the inspection team are available to take all the relevant details and undertake the vehicle and driver security checks. 

Advice will be given to the driver on the notification required if booked to collect from a cruise ship at Portland Port in the future. 

Finally, if cleared, permission will be given for it to proceed to the quayside to collect the guests.


IMPORTANT NOTICE:

 Due to the new road layout at the port gates, there is no pick-up and drop off option directly at the port entrance.


There have been some important change to previous years, please see below:

Meeting friends & family for day trips

We are aware that some passengers and crew arrange to meet with friends and family outside the port. Due to changes to the layout of the port entrance, for anyone who is arranging to meet with friends or family from a cruise ship at Portland Port, we would advise the following:

Portland Port is a commercial port, therefore for health and safety, passengers and visitors are not permitted to walk freely within the port estate.

Please ask your friends or family who are getting off the cruise ship, to board the shuttle bus from the quayside.

The shuttle bus drops off and picks up at the following two locations:
Outside Portland Castle and in Weymouth (at the bottom of Spring Road), where you could arrange to meet up in nearby public car parks.

Please note, that due to the road layout at the port gates, there is no pick-up and drop off option directly at the port entrance.

For those collecting passengers who are disembarking at Portland Port or collecting passengers with mobility issues, please email us (cruise@portland-port.co.uk) so that we can provide more specific and relevant advice.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Visiting friends & family on board a cruise ship

For anyone who is planning on visiting friends and family onboard a cruise ship at Portland Port, we would advise the following:

Visitors must be approved by the ship before it arrives in port.
To ensure that your visit goes as smoothly as possible and to avoid unnecessary delays please provide us with the following information ahead of time:

This will allow us to check with the shipping agent, that approval has been given and your name(s) are on the visitor list.
Please email these details to cruise@portland-port.co.uk.


Directions:
Please use the righthand lane at the port entrance. Security staff in the gatehouse will issue a parking permit and direct you to the port’s visitor car park.

Portland Port is a commercial port, therefore for health and safety, passengers and visitors are not permitted to walk freely within the port estate.

All visitors are required to park in the visitor car park and use the port's complimentary shuttle bus service to the Cruise Terminal for check-in.
The shuttle bus stop is located opposite the visitor car park. Please use the pedestrian crossing and wait inside the bus shelter, where returning shuttle buses will stop to collect any waiting visitors.

At the entrance to the cruise berth, a security officer will board the bus to check everyone’s passes, at this point please get off the bus and enter the cruise terminal. At the reception desk in the cruise terminal, photographic identification will be checked against the security list. A picture will be taken and will be used to issue a restricted area pass.

Please click HERE for further information for people visiting friends & family on board a cruise ship. 


For anyone with mobility issues or any other questions, please email us (cruise@portland-port.co.uk), so that we can help to the best of our ability.


Portland Port is a member of the following cruise associations:

 


Awards:

On 8th November 2018 Portland Port were delighted to be awarded Gold at the Dorset Tourism Awards for the International Visitor Experience of the Year category.

In June 2018, Portland Port had a successful evening at the Dorset Echo Industry Awards where they received an award for Best Contribution to Local Tourism

Contact:

Ian McQuade


I.McQuade@portland-port.co.uk

Amy Sandford Smith


cruise@portland-port.co.uk