One-way flight into one country, transatlantic cruise out of another

I'm sure you'd be fine.

First, because the "proof of onward travel" is only ever asked for if there's a suspicion of potential overstay. Just like all the other 'requirements' that are rarely examined.

Second because while you may not have a ticket out of the country of arrival, or out of Schengen, you can prove intent to return home via the cruise. And if called upon, you'd be able to prove means to support yourself during your stay.

People do itineraries like this all the time, and it really isn't an issue.

Two additional thoughts:

The longer you leave booking the travel from the Continent to the UK the more expensive it will be and/or fewer options you'll have.

If you book your outbound flights via the cruise line's contract air you can get crazy deals. I flew business class to Paris for less than $800 when I sailed home on the QM2.

Note that train tickets from Paris to London are priced like plane tickets - the price of buying several months in advance is *considerably * less than buying last minute, so that might make you think again about how flexible you want to be with your travel plans.

That's good to know, thank you both! I already looked and saw the pricing for the train is higher closer to the current date, but I pretty much expected that.

I am definitely doing business class to Europe. I hate even flying the four hours to the coasts from here (Houston) in economy because I'm large and the seats are small (and close together, my poor knees!). I should give the cruise line a call, worst comes to worst I am still compulsively watching airfares on my own throughout the day :^)

We love to combine cruises with a land trip.
In particular, we have done three transatlantic cruises in conjunction with a land trip ( two cruises west bound and one east bound). Also, we did a lengthy trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2018 and took a transpacific cruise back (Sydney to Seattle).

Transatlantic and trans pacific cruises are cheaper per day than other cruises because they are "repositioning" cruises.

The key is to find reasonable air fare for the one-way trip.
Sometimes the cruise lines can offer a discounted fare. Also, we have used frequent flyer miles for the one way trip as well.

Further, we lived in Germany for four years and have much experience with land travel, via auto rental, rail and bus tours.
Here are a few tips about your land travel.
I suggest that if you plan to do a land trip prior to the cruise home do at least 2 weeks or more.
We did a four week drive tour of S. Wales and England prior to our transatlantic home from Southampton in 2017. It was great.
Here is my detailed review of our trip:
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

It would be wise to plan as little lengthy travel by air on your land trip. You mentioned flying into France, Portugal, Spain, or Switzerland prior to departing from Southampton. I suggest sticking the UK or perhaps France. Yes, you could do the other countries (not all on one trip unless you have a couple of months), but significant travel will be involved. If you have to fly within Europe, that will cancel out much time just dealing with airports, etc. Yes, discounted airfares many be good, but you usually can't take much luggage, etc.

Also, plan your trip ahead of time by what you want to see and transport between places. Don't plan on a rental car where you cross borders and have to pay a huge drop charge. Once you determine where you want to go if you have a lengthy rail trip, book it in advance. Just showing up at the train station, especially in Spain, Portugal and Italy can take a while to buy your tickets.

You can show your cruise booking to explain how you plan to leave the country (UK).

Different rules for different countries in Europe regarding COVID19. Some require either vaccination/booster no more than 270 day after. Others do not, be sure to check the country requirements. For some, if you aren't vaccinated, no problem, or you have to take a COVID test prior to getting on the airplane to get there.

Also, protect your valuables at all time. Especially in places like Rome, Barcelona, Madrid and Paris pickpockets are terrible. Wear a money belt. Also, carry a copy of your passport in case it is stolen.

He didn’t say he was taking a repositioning cruise. It could just be the transatlantic on Cunard which is not a cheap cruise. I agree that repositioning transatlantic ctuises are a good deal and you may visit some places that you otherwise would probably never get to. On our cruise we stopped in Ponta Delgada which I had never heard of, let alone ever planned to visit. I wish more Atlantic islands were visited on these cruises.

I met a couple on the cruise who was meeting another couple in Barcelona to take another cruise back to Miami. It was cheaper for them to get to Barcelona on the cruise than to fly there !

Your ship reservation is your proof. And good for you for trying a land trip!

We're doing something similar but in reverse. I was able to get one-way biz tickets directly from Delta without a one-way markup. Our cruise line wouldn't book business.

hey hey restlessmind
have you been to france? so much to see and do all over the country. we spent 6 nights in annecy on the lake, walked the city center, took a private taxi tour to towns/villages around lake then train back to paris. in paris we did a champagne tour up to reims, enjoyed it so much. take eurostar to london then train or bus to southampton for cruise. we did opposite, eurostar to paris and enjoyed our time in paris, my friend is french basque and favorite place is paris.
what ship are you traveling on to do transatlantic? different scenario for us, we did transatlantic rome to fort lauderdale several years back. one of my favorite cruises. we did a celebration of the first transatlantic of a carnival cruise built in italy which was so much fun. it was 17 days, stops barcelona, palma de mallorca, madeira, malaga then to st maarten. really loved my sea days for swimming, doing nothing, enjoying meals in all restaurants, sitting on balcony watching the world sail by, roaming and talking with others on cruise, playing cards, pulling slots in casino.
we had a fabulous time, register on cruise critic, shared some port activities with cruisers on board, slot pull, cabin crawl to look at different cabins, we stayed in mini suite, our own martini sample at a bar, were on for halloween and had halloween dress up and dancing. we had a blast.
how many days do you have to wander these places you listed
aloha

Go forward with your plans to spend some time in Europe before your cruise. Take advantage of the requirement to fly over and then cruise from the UK. What nearby country appeals to you? How much time to you want to spend before boarding the ship? Your options are many. When we fly to Europe, I want to stay as long as we reasonably can - last trip was almost 2 months. We typically use FF miles and my supply is limited. Go, explore, enjoy!!!!

My husband cruised to Europe prior to meeting me in Paris and then doing a RS tour, and he absolutely loved it. One challenge to start thinking about is the variety of clothes you'll need for cruising vs wandering. He had to bring a bigger suitcase than me to hold the cruise clothes. Doable for sure, just requires planning. Have a great time!

Well, you got lots of answers that had nothing to do with your question and the ones that did got buried.

If you are asked about return travel--probably unlikely--just show your cruise reservations. You'll be fine. Problem solved.

We are planning to do the reverse. Our cruise travels from Miami to the coasts of Portugal and Spain and ends in Barcelona. We are considering traveling on to Rome and flying home from there. This year we are cruising from Copenhagen and flying home from London. We had no trouble arranging our air travel from two cities, so I assume that your issue is that you aren't sure how much time you want to spend in Europe before your cruise. You'll have to decide when you're going to Europe to purchase your airline tickets. Once you enter the Schengen zone your onward travel should be easy, like traveling from Maine to Florida.

We’ve done several such itineraries, cruising either to Europe or homeward, with no problems. From our experiences…I hope you’re dealing with the cruise line for air tickets. As Scudder noted, you may find some really excellent airfare deals working with the cruise folks. Don’t hesitate to negotiate either. Your luck may vary with differing companies and agents but when an agent asked me how I could be persuaded to buy the cruise I’d been looking at for weeks, I replied that she’d need to halve the aIr estimates I’d been given over the course of two weeks…She took up the challenge and we booked. Honestly, I was surprised myself. Also, the insurance we purchased from the cruise line covered us for the entirety of our independent travel while in Europe. This was all preCovid. Great deals used to exist…good luck. And safe travels.

.... requirements for proof of onward travel for the airline ...... Personally, not sure if that is an actual requirement. That is often cited but I believe it borders on an urban legend. Got quoted in a guidebook once and now it is fact. In over 50 years of traveling in and out of Europe we have never been asked that question. Prior to retirement it would have been OK because we always had return tickets and a fixed schedule. Since retirement on 2/3 of our trips or more we don't have a return ticket or an established date when we are leaving. We know the general week or so that we plan to leave but we are not even sure what airport we are coming home from so we would fail that question. BUT -- it has never been asked!! I certainly would not worry about it. You will be fine.