Departing from Southampton

[Pie Eater]

Hi all, 

 

As the summer 2022 cruises are hopefully out soon we will be looking at using our FCC for that summer.

We were booked on Iona August and it would have been our first time cruising from Southampton as

we have only done fly cruises also we had booked our travel down with Intercruise.

 

As we still want to cruise on Iona, and we don't know what the Covid situation will be, Hubby suggested

we could travel down by car the day before and stay somewhere over night near Southampton rather than possibly

spend 5 to 6 hours (with stops) on a coach wearing a mask!!   😷

 

What are your recommendations for doing this regarding parking and leaving your car at Southampton.

Hubby is not keen on having to leave car keys with anyone as you don't know where your car may end up.

 

eg. Is there a designated P&O car park if you select the free car park when booking or is this done through a third party

       if so is there a shuttle service?

Are there private car parks near by that can be booked independently rather than take the free parking when booking or

are there any hotels that let you leave your car with them?

 

Thanking you and all best to everyone and you are well.  🍷🍺

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wowzz]

We use a Premier Inn in Southampton.  

If you use the P&O free parking option, the company used is CPS. Your car is collected from you at the terminal, and returned there on your return. CPS have a good reputation, the holding carpark is nearby,  and I,  for one, have no compunction in handing my keys over to them, as do thousands of other people as well. 

I also use valet parking wherever possible at an airport. Who wants to faff around with coaches ? 

 

[grapau27]

39 minutes ago, Pie Eater said:

Hi all, 

 

As the summer 2022 cruises are hopefully out soon we will be looking at using our FCC for that summer.

We were booked on Iona August and it would have been our first time cruising from Southampton as

we have only done fly cruises also we had booked our travel down with Intercruise.

 

As we still want to cruise on Iona, and we don't know what the Covid situation will be, Hubby suggested

we could travel down by car the day before and stay somewhere over night near Southampton rather than possibly

spend 5 to 6 hours (with stops) on a coach wearing a mask!!   😷

 

What are your recommendations for doing this regarding parking and leaving your car at Southampton.

Hubby is not keen on having to leave car keys with anyone as you don't know where your car may end up.

 

eg. Is there a designated P&O car park if you select the free car park when booking or is this done through a third party

       if so is there a shuttle service?

Are there private car parks near by that can be booked independently rather than take the free parking when booking or

are there any hotels that let you leave your car with them?

 

Thanking you and all best to everyone and you are well.  🍷🍺

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We usually fly down to Southampton but last time I drove down and stayed at the Meon Valley hotel.

We had a deal for parking at the hotel for 8 nights,bed And breakfast and a taxi to the cruise terminal and a taxi back to the hotel to pick up our car after the cruise.

A number of hotels offer this option.

Graham.

[Harry Peterson]

CPS, as recommended above by wowzz, is one option we’ve used and would happily use again.

 

We now tend to use Parking4cruises, which is just as good and usually, according to length of stay, somewhat cheaper.

 

Leaving the keys is pretty much inevitable, but with those two companies the site is known and nearby. Both are used by a lot of people here.

 

You could use one of the hotel/parking deals, but frankly I think they can be rather less safe.

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

You could use one of the hotel/parking deals, but frankly I think they can be rather less safe.

And those deals tend to be more expensive than the Premier Inn/CPS (or Parking4cruises) option.

Plus, on leaving the ship at Southampton,  I just want to walk to my car and get going, not muck about with taxis, buses etc. 

[SeaJane]

We have always used CPS and whilst they may not be the cheapest have always found them reliable and trustworthy. OH will not leave his keys lightly with anyone, but has no problem with CPS and as wowzz says it is a definite plus to have the car a short walk away on leaving the ship.

[Saab4444]

2 hours ago, Pie Eater said:

Hi all, 

 

As the summer 2022 cruises are hopefully out soon we will be looking at using our FCC for that summer.

We were booked on Iona August and it would have been our first time cruising from Southampton as

we have only done fly cruises also we had booked our travel down with Intercruise.

 

As we still want to cruise on Iona, and we don't know what the Covid situation will be, Hubby suggested

we could travel down by car the day before and stay somewhere over night near Southampton rather than possibly

spend 5 to 6 hours (with stops) on a coach wearing a mask!!   😷

 

What are your recommendations for doing this regarding parking and leaving your car at Southampton.

Hubby is not keen on having to leave car keys with anyone as you don't know where your car may end up.

 

eg. Is there a designated P&O car park if you select the free car park when booking or is this done through a third party

       if so is there a shuttle service?

Are there private car parks near by that can be booked independently rather than take the free parking when booking or

are there any hotels that let you leave your car with them?

 

Thanking you and all best to everyone and you are well.  🍷🍺

 

 

       

You believe you have to wear a mask in public transportation in summer 2022?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nosapphire]

I'll add my voice to the other recommendations for CPS for parking.

IF I was staying at a hotel the night before, I would use the hotel for the overnight parking and then use CPS for the cruise itself. The parking is secure within the docks, they will check the car over with you for any existing dents or scrapes and the mileage, and you each have a copy of the report, and on return the car will be parked in a compound near the terminal and you simply collect the keys from the terminal office and walk over to the car.

They are the company used by Saga and P&O when your parking is included in the cruise fare, and while we never use meet&greet at the airport, we have no worries at all about handing the keys over to CPS.

[P&O SUE]

Another vote for CPS and we’ve never had a problem with them.

May sound obvious but we take the house keys off and just hand over the car key.

Also if it’s a cruise of 7 nights or more it’s free if you choose that option and book a ‘select fare’

 

Re a hotel, we find Premier Inn more than adequate. Fantastic beds in the West Quay one. We’ve also stayed in the one at Eastleigh which is good but you can’t walk into Southampton from there. It’s just outside Southampton so it ‘wastes’ some time in the morning driving into the port!

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, P&O SUE said:

Another vote for CPS and we’ve never had a problem with them.

May sound obvious but we take the house keys off and just hand over the car key.

Also if it’s a cruise of 7 nights or more it’s free if you choose that option and book a ‘select fare’

 

Re a hotel, we find Premier Inn more than adequate. Fantastic beds in the West Quay one. We’ve also stayed in the one at Eastleigh which is good but you can’t walk into Southampton from there. It’s just outside Southampton so it ‘wastes’ some time in the morning driving into the port!

Strangely enough we nearly always stay in the PI at the airport, we don't feel the need to wander round Southampton the night before, and in the morning it stops us twiddling our thumbs waiting until it's not too early to set off for the port.

[wowzz]

We use the city centre PI, as it's an easy walk to the shops, but, more importantly, you can park right by the hotel, so no issues with dragging luggage from an adjacent car park.

Just an aside - what is the problem that some people have with letting other people drive their cars? I can understand it if you have an E type,  or a Lamborghini,  but as long as you use a reputable  company, what is the issue? 

 

[Eddie99]

9 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

Another vote for CPS and we’ve never had a problem with them.

May sound obvious but we take the house keys off and just hand over the car key.

CPS won’t take your key ring if there’s a house key on it.  Just part of their protocols I guess.
 

Like all previous posters I would concur that they offer an excellent, seamless, service and it adds to the holiday feel to pull up, go through CPS check in, which includes them reminding you to take your passport/mobile etc, have porters take your baggage and Presto! 🧙‍♂️- you’re on holiday.  As others also said - it’s very simple at the other end too.  Collect your keys from the kiosk, locate your car, load in the luggage and go

[Harry Peterson]

Just another word in favour of Parking4cruises.  We’ve used CPS and Parking4cruises, and apart from price it’s very much the same. Worth checking out details and pricing.

 

Same system - drive into the terminal, cases unloaded by port staff and taken away. You then drive a very short distance to the short term parking, where someone will take your car to the storage area not very far away. Short walk from the car park to the terminal.

 

Car brought back again on return.

[Son of Anarchy]

5 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Just another word in favour of Parking4cruises.  We’ve used CPS and Parking4cruises, and apart from price it’s very much the same. Worth checking out details and pricing.

 

Same system - drive into the terminal, cases unloaded by port staff and taken away. You then drive a very short distance to the short term parking, where someone will take your car to the storage area not very far away. Short walk from the car park to the terminal.

 

Car brought back again on return.

It seems that anything over 2 weeks, Parking4Cruises is cheaper than CPS.  We have also used both.  CPS may have a slight edge with dropping off in that once you offload your luggage, you hand your car over.  However, I find that whilst cars are queuing for CPS, P4C (and others) go straight to the drop-off area.  Once you offload your luggage, you just drive over to the short stay car park, find the clearly marked P4C area and complete a similar process to CPS.  Then saunter over to the terminal.  And sometimes you still see the same cars in the CPS queue. On return, the procedures are the same as CPS, just a different car park.

 

On one occasion, Oceana arrived a few hours late and embarkation was delayed.  CPS wouldn't take their customers cars until about 15:00 if memory serves me right.  P4C took our car about midday.  We were on Oceana by 13:00.  I can remember at the Peninsula Club embarkation lunch (which had been delayed), pax who had been delayed by CPS missing out on the free grog as PandO closed the bar at 16:30ish.

 

Never had a problem with P4C, and will continue to use them for anything over two weeks.  Also, I would like to take this opportunity to praise them for their admin in during the current situation.  Several cruises cancelled, amendments to be made, Lucy at P4C has handled everything admirably.

[Harry Peterson]

18 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to praise them for their admin in during the current situation.  Several cruises cancelled, amendments to be made, Lucy at P4C has handled everything admirably.

Likewise - I expected problems, but received refunds within a day or two.

[smokey01]

20 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Likewise - I expected problems, but received refunds within a day or two.

Ditto from me too. I needed to cancel 3 parking bookings with parking 4 cruises this year and had an immediate refund. I have also experienced CPS users having to queue and wait for their car to be taken off them whereas I was able to hand mine over straight away. 

[Harry Peterson]

13 minutes ago, smokey01 said:

Ditto from me too. I needed to cancel 3 parking bookings with parking 4 cruises this year and had an immediate refund. I have also experienced CPS users having to queue and wait for their car to be taken off them whereas I was able to hand mine over straight away. 

I was very wary indeed about switching from CPS to P4C and did a lot of checking, here and elsewhere, before doing so.

 

I was very pleasantly surprised and wouldn’t go back to CPS now.

 

I imagine quite a few people are, as I was, very loyal to CPS because of the efficiency of the system. But the P4C system is every bit as efficient - and considerably more so when things go wrong at the port.

[tring]

I would generally agree with others, but as you are not travelling until summer 2022, which is two years from now, I am not convinced current restrictions will be in place, at least I certainly hope not.  So while you have the other options (which you may well want to look into), may I suggest you could be better hanging on for a while before making any changes to your arrangements.  Getting up in the early hours of a cruise day and travelling down to Southampton by coach is not something that we would consider, but I also know people who are happy to turn up at a departure point in the early hours and let someone else do the driving.  It is all a matter of what is your preference.  Coming from the north west ourselves, we have always found hotels near Southampton to be expensive, especially in summer, so maybe look at prices for next year.

 

Another option we have taken more recently is to take the port parking provided by P&O, (or book another car park), then stay in a hotel within about an hour's drive away from the port.  Holiday Inn Winchester is a good hotel and quietly placed to the East of Winchester, but with your car to hand you can go off into the city or elsewhere for a stroll and a cheaper meal than you would get at the hotel, which adds another day to your holiday IMO.  We used that hotel for our last stay and had a good sleep as it was really quiet, but there are other hotels, including cheaper ones to the north of Southampton and not far off your route down..

Edited August 27, 2020 by tring

[DamianG]

1 hour ago, Son of Anarchy said:

It seems that anything over 2 weeks, Parking4Cruises is cheaper than CPS.  We have also used both.  CPS may have a slight edge with dropping off in that once you offload your luggage, you hand your car over.  However, I find that whilst cars are queuing for CPS, P4C (and others) go straight to the drop-off area.  Once you offload your luggage, you just drive over to the short stay car park, find the clearly marked P4C area and complete a similar process to CPS.  Then saunter over to the terminal.  And sometimes you still see the same cars in the CPS queue. On return, the procedures are the same as CPS, just a different car park.

 

On one occasion, Oceana arrived a few hours late and embarkation was delayed.  CPS wouldn't take their customers cars until about 15:00 if memory serves me right.  P4C took our car about midday.  We were on Oceana by 13:00.  I can remember at the Peninsula Club embarkation lunch (which had been delayed), pax who had been delayed by CPS missing out on the free grog as PandO closed the bar at 16:30ish.

 

Never had a problem with P4C, and will continue to use them for anything over two weeks.  Also, I would like to take this opportunity to praise them for their admin in during the current situation.  Several cruises cancelled, amendments to be made, Lucy at P4C has handled everything admirably.

 

I was going to say exactly the same thing. We used CPS for years but first time with a bigger ship (Britannia) we were in a holding queue for an hour before being finally able to hand over the keys (last thing you want after a long drive). We now use P4C and have found them to be excellent in every way.

 

[DamianG]

My other suggestion is to break your journey South by stopping overnight at a hotel approximately half way. We've had some good stopovers in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, leaving just a couple of hours drive on departure day.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Likewise - I expected problems, but received refunds within a day or two. 

I let my P4C parking fee be converted into a future credit, I just hope the cruising hiatus finishes before the firm goes bust.

But like others we have used both and always find our 14 day cruise price is lower with P4C, and like Son of Anarchy says, there is no queuing to wait for CPS staff to be freed up.

[wowzz]

33 minutes ago, tring said:

we have always found hotels near Southampton to be expensive,

Booking well in advance we have never paid more than£50 for a Premier Inn in Southampton.

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Booking well in advance we have never paid more than£50 for a Premier Inn in Southampton.

High season and Boat Show weeks can be expensive, but we also book early and even if the initial price is high, you can book a flex rate and then keep an eye out for when the price is low on non flex offers.  Although it seems that even the cheapest offers from PI now allow you to cancel, if you find a cheaper price elsewhere. 

[Ardennais]

Another vote here for CPS - stress free and safe. I’d also endorse the Holiday Inn Winchester. 

[nosapphire]

15 hours ago, wowzz said:

.......

Just an aside - what is the problem that some people have with letting other people drive their cars? I can understand it if you have an E type,  or a Lamborghini,  but as long as you use a reputable  company, what is the issue? 

 

 

They key word is "reputable".

The horror stories about people who have used meet&greet airport parking and then discover their car parked in an industrial estate, supermarket car park, field, residential street (or in some cases, can't find it at all) has tarred all companies with the same brush.

It rarely gets reported that the victim booked the cheapest on-line quote without carrying out any checks whatsoever about the company. 

A little bit of due diligence beforehand is always worthwhile.

Although, having said that, we still don't use meet&greet at airports simply because we always use on-airport car parking, rather than having to phone ahead to tell the meet&greet when we will be there.