Parking a hire car for a Southampton cruise: what to know

Some Southampton cruise customers arrive at Southampton in a hire car, particularly customers who flew into the UK and rented a car for the drive to the cruise terminal. The parking process is similar to parking your own car, with a few specifics worth knowing. This page covers them.

The basics

Yes, you can park a hire car with us for a Southampton cruise.

The booking is in your name; the vehicle is the hire car. The booking flow asks for the vehicle registration, which you confirm at the hire car desk (or from the rental paperwork).

The standard rate applies. There is no surcharge for parking a hire car.

What to flag at booking

A few things specific to hire cars:

Vehicle registration. The booking is tied to the registration plate. If you book before picking up the hire car, you may not know the exact registration; let us know once you have the car.

Vehicle category. Most hire cars are standard cars and fit within our normal handover process. If the hire car is a larger vehicle (van, oversize SUV), flag it at booking and we will check.

Rental terms. Some hire car rental terms restrict where the car can be parked or driven. Check your rental agreement; most allow standard cruise parking, but it is worth knowing the specific terms.

On the day

The handover process is the same as for any vehicle:

• Drive to the cruise terminal short-stay car park for your 30-minute slot.
• Body-cammed walk-around with the driver.
• Signed body-cam record of the walk-around.
• Keys to the driver.
• Walk to check-in.

The hire car spends the cruise in our compound, like any other vehicle.

Insurance specifics

A few honest things to think about with hire cars:

The hire car's own insurance. The hire company's insurance covers the car during your rental period. The terms vary by company; check whether the policy covers the car during a period of off-road storage (most do, but the cover may be limited).

Our public liability insurance. Our £2 million policy covers our responsibility for the car while it is in our care. This applies the same to hire cars as to owned vehicles.

The Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) you may have purchased. If you bought CDW from the hire company, the cover continues during the cruise.

Optional damage waivers from third parties. Some travel insurance policies include hire car coverage. Check the terms.

If there is any uncertainty, the hire car company is the right party to confirm with. We carry our standard cover for any vehicle.

What does not work

A few things specific to hire cars:

Cars rented in another country. Some hire car companies do not allow their cars to leave the country of rental. If you flew into the UK and rented at the airport, the car can be parked for a cruise. If you drove the car from another country, check the rental terms.

Cars rented for a specific period not covering the cruise. If your hire car rental ends mid-cruise, you cannot leave the car at our compound past the end of the rental period. The rental agreement determines the latest date for returning the car.

Cars rented under someone else's name. The cruise parking booking is in your name; the hire car may be under another driver. We do not check the driving authorisation on the hire agreement; you handle that with the hire company.

On return

Same handover process in reverse. The driver brings the car back to the terminal short-stay car park, you do the return walk-around, you confirm on camera, you take the keys.

You then drive the hire car to wherever you are returning it. For customers flying out of a UK airport, that means driving to the airport hire car return point. For customers staying in the UK, that means the hire company's local return location.

Booking

The quote returns the standard price. The vehicle registration and make/model are added at booking or updated after if needed.

For specific questions about hire car parking situations, the contact page has the office number.