Where to board a Thames cruise in London

1Westminster Pier

Westminster Pier is on Victoria Embankment (SW1A 2JH), on the north bank beside Westminster Bridge and across the road from the Houses of Parliament. City Cruises places it below the statue of Boudicca and says Westminster Underground station, on the District, Circle and Jubilee lines, connects directly to it. The dinner cruise listing recommends exit 1, then turning left.

Four of the six cruises start here, run by two companies. City Cruises operates the flexible ticket and the dinner cruise. Thames River Sightseeing operates the Tower Bridge and Greenwich cruises; the Tower Bridge listing sends you to Boarding Point B. Find the staff and signs for the company named on your voucher before you queue.

For the dinner cruise, the listing is explicit that you should walk right down to the pier and not wait at the top on the promenade.

2London Eye Pier

Also called London Eye Waterloo Pier (SE1 7PB), this is on the South Bank directly in front of the London Eye, facing Parliament. City Cruises gives Waterloo station as about six minutes away on foot and Westminster station as about seven, over Westminster Bridge.

Of the cruises here, only the City Cruises flexible ticket uses it. Thames River Sightseeing tickets are not valid from this pier.

3Tower Millennium Pier and Butler's Wharf Pier

These two are the easiest to mix up. Tower Millennium Pier, often shortened to Tower Pier, is on Lower Thames Street (EC3N 4DT) next to the Tower of London. City Cruises says Tower Hill Underground station is a two-minute walk. The sunset cruise and the afternoon tea cruise both leave from here, and the flexible ticket stops here.

Butler's Wharf Pier is where the Thames River Sightseeing cruise from Westminster ends. The listing describes it as adjacent to Tower Bridge. If you booked the round trip on that cruise, your return boat leaves from Butler's Wharf, not from Tower Millennium Pier.

4Greenwich Pier

Greenwich Pier is on King William Walk (SE10 9HT), in Cutty Sark Gardens, with the Cutty Sark opposite. Both operators use it. City Cruises puts Cutty Sark DLR station about six minutes away and warns that this is not the same as North Greenwich on the Jubilee line.

When returning to Westminster, look for your own operator's boat again. The Greenwich cruise listing tells you to find the Thames River Sightseeing vessels.

5Timing, bags and access

Every listing asks for 15 minutes' margin, and the dining cruises need the voucher validated before boarding. The afternoon tea cruise boards at 3:15 pm and wants you there 15 minutes before that. Sightseeing boats run every 20 to 40 minutes, so a missed one costs you a wait; a missed dinner or tea cruise costs you the ticket.

The operator pages checked for this guide do not set out a luggage rule, so ask before turning up with suitcases. Bring headphones for the audio guides, because none are supplied.

City Cruises says Westminster, London Eye, Tower and Greenwich piers are accessible, with a maximum of two wheelchair spaces per boat, and asks wheelchair users to contact it before travelling. Thames River Sightseeing says most of its boats are adapted, that you may have to wait for one, and that electric wheelchairs are not allowed. The sunset, tea and dinner cruises are listed as not wheelchair accessible.

Boarding points at a glance