Car Parking at Southampton Cruise terminal

Omega_1

Can anyone advise the most economical and safe car parking at the Southampton Cruise terminal around 21st december please ? Thanks.

catsmum

Are you going on a cruise by chance? The reason i ask is they usually give free parking or the ones i have gone with have, and am actually going again on the 21 dec myself.
Sorry i cant help with prices though.

iwtrucker

There is no other parking at the "cruise terminal" other than that provided by your cruise company. The terminal is smack in the middle of southampton container terminal which is where I work.If you can not get parking through the cruise company then you will be best off looking up NCP sites or similar in southampton area and getting a taxi from there.When you get back from your cruise there is a taxi rank right where you disembark.

Omega_1

As you have correctly assumed I am going on a cruise (17 days) but the Travel Agent told me, rightly or wrongly, that we had to negotiate direct with Cunardand quote 'but they are expensive' - hence the reason for looking at all options before I get in touch with Cunard. Many thanks for all the info - appreciated.

lisyloo

Many of the real discount on-line deals for cruises do not include car parking.
This is probably because they all want to advertise the lowest price.

I've been looking into this yesterday and found 2 main options.

These are the people that Cunard will send you to.
They are more expensive but the advantage is that you will drive driect to the cruise port. They will either take your car from that point or you drive it yourself and walk a very short distance. Either way you are directly next to the cruise terminal and there is no transfer.

http://www.cruiseparking.co.uk/site/booking/book_01.asp

I found one cheaper at

www.holidayextras.co.uk

which was off-site.
If you use quidco you can get 7% cashback.
For us (12 nights) it was £20 cheaper but it's a 15 minute transfer (plus waiting time for a coach to arrive and fill up).

We will probably pay the extra (relatively small) amount (compared with tips etc.) to have the convenience of going straight there rather than waiting around. The 15 minute transfer will be anything between 20 and 45 depending on luck of the draw with the buses and traffic.

Another alternative is to stay at a hotel the night before.
If you search this site you will find someone provided a pdf with all the hotels that will let you park there (for a fee of course). The night you stay is often free. Although you would need to include taxis both ways to the port.

A 4th alternative is to park in a nice residential area.
You would of course need taxis and there is the security issue.

The cost of keeping you car secure is approximate equal to one persons tips per day, so I guess it depends how much value you place on the security for your car.

Our car was damaged in a Heathrow car park and the damage was about £230 so you need to bear that in mind as well.
If you leave it on the street is it a false economy.

Public transport may be another option or paying a friend to give you a lift (depends on where you live I guess).

lisyloo

Just thought I'd mention that Holiday Inn Express do a "Park & Fly" package at £99 including 14 days parking.
It's close to the cruise terminal (but almost certainly a bus or taxi ride with suitcases).

The advantages are that if you get there the night before it reduced the risk of breakdown/traffic problems.

Disadvanatage is that it's jsut an unguarded hotel car park and not a secure compound. If you have a really nice car and something happens then this can be a false economy, but it's an option to consider.

We are considering this one but we would have to cancel our existing B&B.

Omega_1

Many thanks all of you for the above. Am waiting to hear from Cunard but at £127 just to park the car perhaps a First Class return by Train will work out substantially cheaper and less stressful perhaps ?

lisyloo

It depends on a number of factors but you can certainly get cheap train or coach fares in advance.

Are there any realtives or friends who could give you a lift?
Anyone who might benefit from having the use of your car? (you may need to add them onto your insurance). That way you car get's driven and looked after.

I must agree though that I am shocked at how expensive it is at Southampton.
We are looking at paying £100 and my car's only worth about £300 :-)

chipper

Hello

Have you considered travelling to Southampton by train or coach?

Southampton Central station is close to the Cruise Terminals and I think there is a local bus service which serves the area.

Also. the National Express interchange is just across the road.

Good luck.

getmore4less

One advantage of the cruise parking is that it is "valet" so drive up your bags get taken out of the car and you hand over the keys and check in.

Car waiting on return so you getaway really quick. PArk offsite and you will be in a BIG queue for a taxi/coach

Time and convenience make it worth it.

Last time I looked it was around £6.50pd + £20.
I have looked at every other option and parking at the port is still the most convenient if you live to far to get a lift and close enough to get there in 2-3 hours.

If traveling further than 3hours then Travelodges often do £15 rooms so this can be convenient leave the day before and do an overnoghter and still be on the ship for lunch.