Family and oversize vehicle cruise parking Southampton

Cruise parking with a family in tow has different practical needs from a couple's booking. So does a booking for an oversize vehicle, or two cars travelling together. This page covers all three honestly.

Family bookings

The defining feature of a family cruise parking booking is luggage volume. Four people on a 14-day Caribbean cruise from Southampton are travelling with roughly twice the suitcase count of a couple on the same trip.

For most family bookings we recommend Meet & Greet. The reasons:

The drop-off is at the cruise terminal short-stay car park, 20 yards from the gangway. No shuttle to manage with three suitcases and a tired child.

The handover is two minutes maximum.

The return is straight to the same short-stay car park. After a long flight or long drive home from the cruise, you are not switching between transport at the terminal.

Park & Ride works for families too, particularly on a budget. The trade-off is a ten-minute shuttle each way.

Multiple cars in the party

For larger family groups travelling in two or more cars, each car is its own booking at the standard published rate. The cars park together in our compound for the duration of the sailing.

If you want both cars returned at the same time on cruise return, add a note at booking so we know to coordinate. The cars are likely to arrive at the terminal short-stay car park together rather than ten minutes apart.

There is no specific multi-car discount, but if both bookings are made together the price is the same flat published rate per car that we offer to any single booking.

Oversize vehicles

Anything significantly over the dimensions of a standard car (most large 7-seaters, larger SUVs, vans) is worth flagging at booking. The booking flow asks for make and model.

For genuinely oversize vehicles (motorhomes, vehicles with trailers, vehicles over 2 metres in height with roof equipment), a call before booking is the right path. Some vehicle profiles do not work for our compound and we would rather know that in advance than at the gate.

The standard handover process applies to oversize vehicles that fit the compound. Body-cammed walk-around, body-cam record of the walk-around, keys to the driver.

What does not work

A few things we cannot accommodate:

Trailers and caravans. We park vehicles, not coupled trailers or caravans.

Motorhomes. The height and the compound dimensions make this unworkable.

Bicycles left on bike racks. We can park the vehicle with a bike rack attached, but if the bikes themselves stay on board for the cruise, that is your call and your risk; the insurance is for the vehicle.

A roof box can stay attached as long as the total vehicle height is within what our compound handles. If you are unsure, call before booking.

Child car seats

The car comes to us with whatever is fitted to it, and goes back with whatever is fitted to it. Car seats stay in place during storage. There is no service for removing or reinstalling them.

Final practical notes

Pack the car the way you want it for the return drive home, not the way you packed it for the trip out. The bits you reach for first at home (chargers, gum, the kid's water bottle) go on top.

If you have a flexible cruise schedule, midweek departures are usually less crowded at the terminal than weekend departures. Whether that changes the choice between Meet & Greet and Park & Ride depends on the family rather than the day.

Booking

The quote tool returns the standard rate for your specific sailing.

For oversize vehicles or anything that needs a conversation first, the contact page has the phone number. A short call beats a surprise at the gate.