How does luggage work with CPS parking?

[jrphotog]

First time cruisers here, booked on Arvia in August, with the inclusive CPS parking at Southampton.

I’ve read that you drop off the car at the terminal and someone parks it for you. But what happens with the luggage? Do we then have to shlep all of our cases/bags to the terminal for check in, and if so is it far?
And how about arriving back at the end of the cruise?

Particularly with the kids it could be a mare…

Thanks all.

Edited May 24, 2023 by jrphotog

[Waju]

Hi, when you arrive at the terminal follow the CPS parking signs and you will be directed into a lane - there will be porters and trollies so you just have to unload your luggage and hand it over - the next time you see it will be at your cabin door.  Just make sure everything you hand over to them is labelled and don't forget to keep hold of your cruise paperwork/passports etc.  Double check you've not left anything and relax into your holiday 🙂  They will then take your car and park it for you.

 

At the end of your cruise you have a couple of options, if you have kids the first one probably won't be an option - you can simply leave your cabin in the morning (usually about 7am) but you have to be able to get ALL of your luggage off yourself in one go.  The easier option is pack you cases the day before and leave them outside your cabin door, they then get collected and laid out in the arrivals hall in deck order, you find your cases, stack them on a trolley and once outside follow the signs for CPS, they will direct you to your car in the car park!  It's all easier then my instructions might suggest!

 

You can keep a smaller case/bag to put in last minute nightwear/toiletries etc and carry that off with you.

 

Enjoy your cruise and remember it's addictive 😎

 

 

[SarahHben]

1 hour ago, Waju said:

Hi, when you arrive at the terminal follow the CPS parking signs and you will be directed into a lane - there will be porters and trollies so you just have to unload your luggage and hand it over - the next time you see it will be at your cabin door.  Just make sure everything you hand over to them is labelled and don't forget to keep hold of your cruise paperwork/passports etc.  Double check you've not left anything and relax into your holiday 🙂  They will then take your car and park it for you.

 

At the end of your cruise you have a couple of options, if you have kids the first one probably won't be an option - you can simply leave your cabin in the morning (usually about 7am) but you have to be able to get ALL of your luggage off yourself in one go.  The easier option is pack you cases the day before and leave them outside your cabin door, they then get collected and laid out in the arrivals hall in deck order, you find your cases, stack them on a trolley and once outside follow the signs for CPS, they will direct you to your car in the car park!  It's all easier then my instructions might suggest!

 

You can keep a smaller case/bag to put in last minute nightwear/toiletries etc and carry that off with you.

 

Enjoy your cruise and remember it's addictive 😎

 

 

Has this changed recently?
When we sailed on Iona last May, when we used CPS, we left the car but had to take our own cases to the loading point. It wasn’t far though and there were plenty of luggage trolleys available. The only people in our party to have an offer of a porter were my parents and that was because mum was in a wheelchair.
 

[Bill Y]

Are there currently queues to drop off car for CPS at Mayflower?

 

Not used CPS before, used to be able to find cheaper alternatives but not this time. Last year or before heard reports on CC of long queues to drop off cars, so can someone who has used them recently please advise how long should I allow?

 

 

[thornegirl]

1 hour ago, Waju said:

Hi, when you arrive at the terminal follow the CPS parking signs and you will be directed into a lane - there will be porters and trollies so you just have to unload your luggage and hand it over - the next time you see it will be at your cabin door.  Just make sure everything you hand over to them is labelled and don't forget to keep hold of your cruise paperwork/passports etc.  Double check you've not left anything and relax into your holiday 🙂  They will then take your car and park it for you.

 

At the end of your cruise you have a couple of options, if you have kids the first one probably won't be an option - you can simply leave your cabin in the morning (usually about 7am) but you have to be able to get ALL of your luggage off yourself in one go.  The easier option is pack you cases the day before and leave them outside your cabin door, they then get collected and laid out in the arrivals hall in deck order, you find your cases, stack them on a trolley and once outside follow the signs for CPS, they will direct you to your car in the car park!  It's all easier then my instructions might suggest!

 

You can keep a smaller case/bag to put in last minute nightwear/toiletries etc and carry that off with you.

 

Enjoy your cruise and remember it's addictive 😎

 

 

There were no porters there to take your baggage over to the hole in the wall when we were on Arvia at Easter.  Also had to search all over for a trolly to put luggage on.  

 

We are using P4Cruises next time.  

[Waju]

We used P4C when we went a couple of weeks ago - much the same system except slightly further to walk and they take your car away to park it - we had just 6 miles on ours.

 

Last time we used CPS there were porters but they've got too expensive now (CPS not the porters 😁) - usually just a walk across the road though to the hole in the wall.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, thornegirl said:

There were no porters there to take your baggage over to the hole in the wall when we were on Arvia at Easter.  Also had to search all over for a trolly to put luggage on.  

 

We are using P4Cruises next time.  

You will still need to unload your luggage and wheel it to the drop off location, then drive round to P4C in the short stay car park. But we use them because they are usually cheaper than CPS, although if you are select that may no longer apply.

[daiB]

5 hours ago, Waju said:

Hi, when you arrive at the terminal follow the CPS parking signs and you will be directed into a lane - there will be porters and trollies so you just have to unload your luggage and hand it over - the next time you see it will be at your cabin door.  Just make sure everything you hand over to them is labelled and don't forget to keep hold of your cruise paperwork/passports etc.  Double check you've not left anything and relax into your holiday 🙂  They will then take your car and park it for you.

 

At the end of your cruise you have a couple of options, if you have kids the first one probably won't be an option - you can simply leave your cabin in the morning (usually about 7am) but you have to be able to get ALL of your luggage off yourself in one go.  The easier option is pack you cases the day before and leave them outside your cabin door, they then get collected and laid out in the arrivals hall in deck order, you find your cases, stack them on a trolley and once outside follow the signs for CPS, they will direct you to your car in the car park!  It's all easier then my instructions might suggest!

 

You can keep a smaller case/bag to put in last minute nightwear/toiletries etc and carry that off with you.

 

Enjoy your cruise and remember it's addictive 😎

 

 

Sorry but this is now incorrect. The CPS drop off is now away from the termonal and there are few porters. they are there to help people with disabilities. You have to take you luggage to the ‘hole in the wall’ yourself. its about 100 yards to the point of drop off. This changed about 2 years ago. Now this is for Ocean.I think that the Mayflower may be more like you describe above.

[Waju]

4 minutes ago, daiB said:

Sorry but this is now incorrect. The CPS drop off is now away from the termonal and there are few porters. they are there to help people with disabilities. You have to take you luggage to the ‘hole in the wall’ yourself. its about 100 yards to the point of drop off. This changed about 2 years ago. Now this is for Ocean.I think that the Mayflower may be more like you describe above.

Sorry for any confusion then, I've just described how it is when we go 🙂

 

ps - I see you are from Whitly Bay, we went there a few weeks ago - our first ever visit to the area - its a stunning part of the world!

[daiB]

21 minutes ago, Waju said:

Sorry for any confusion then, I've just described how it is when we go 🙂

 

ps - I see you are from Whitly Bay, we went there a few weeks ago - our first ever visit to the area - its a stunning part of the world!

Correct 😃 It has improved over the past few years.

[majortom10]

The system for CPS is exactly the same at Mayflower. You unload your own car and take them to the appropriate loading point for your deck. There were trollies available last week.

[daiB]

2 hours ago, majortom10 said:

The system for CPS is exactly the same at Mayflower. You unload your own car and take them to the appropriate loading point for your deck. There were trollies available last week.

I have not used CPS at Mayflower for some time as we now get a lift to the port so have no car to worry about. We did CPS last cruise at ocean for Iona but we had sent all our luggage with the Baggage Handling Company so that when we handed the car over my wife only had a small overnight case to roll on. and my scooter carried everything else.

 

This is why I was not sure how Mayflower worked at the moment.