Where can I park my car during my cruise

You are all set for your cruise - checked-in online, tagged up the luggage, packed the cruise essentials but feel like you have forgotten to book something, the car parking! With more and more people choosing to embark their cruise holidays from UK ports & deciding to get there by car - where do I actually park my car during my cruise holiday?

Every UK port that you embark your cruise holiday from will offer some form of car parking, which is normally operated by the port operators such as ABP (Association of British Ports) or via a thrid party that works with terminal operators such as CPS (Cruise and Passenger Services).

Cruise terminal car parking is by far the easiest & most convenient available to guests, with options including  'semi-valet' service, off-site terminal parking or self-parking as explained below:

Semi-Valet Service is when guests arrive at the cruise terminal & use designated lanes for unloading your luggage outside the terminal. Once you have unloaded your luggage, your car is then parked by a member of the parking company. You will then be provided with a ticket to show upon your return when collecting your car.

At the end of the cruise, you collect your luggage from the cruise terminal baggage hall, walk outside & across to the adjacent car park to the collection office - you will need to provide them with the ticket given to you by a member of the parking company when they parked your car. Upon providing them with the ticket, they will then direct you to where your car is parked.

Off-site Terminal Parking is normally provided when a port or terminal doesn't have onsite car parking facilities such as when departing from Liverpool. Guests will arrive at the designated offsite parking location, where you will be met by a member of the port parking companies who will check your car in.

Once your vehicle has been checked in, you will be directed to the baggage drop off location, where your baggage will be taken from you and will be taken to your room by Porters. You will be transported from the car park to the cruise terminal for check-in - this happens in reverse when you return at the end of your cruise.

Self-Parking is where guests park their own car in a dedicated facility, located directly adjacent to your cruise terminal and in full view of your cruise ship. You will be directed to park in any available space by one of the staff members when arriving at the terminal - should you struggle with walking or travelling as a family with little ones, we do recommend speaking to the terminal staff on arrival & they may allow you to unload your luggage at the terminal entrance before parking your car. 

Unlike semi-valet, you retain your car keys throughout your holiday & return to where you parked after collecting your luggage at the end of the cruise.

As with all car parking options for your cruise these aren't free and do require to be booked at a charge either via the port operator, third party parking company or the cruise line directly. Some cruise lines do offer terminal car parking options as one of your booking benefits such as P&O Cruises & Cunard or occassionally cruise lines run promotional offers with parking included such as Celebrity Cruises, Fred. Olsen Cruise Line & Ambassador Cruise Line. Should you decide to choose terminal car parking, details are provided on your cruise lines booking confirmation as to how you can secure your space.

We always recommend that you book any terminal car parking as soon as you have confirmed your cruise holiday booking as there are limited spaces available and this will ensure that you are not left trying to arrange parking at the last minute.

Outside of terminal parking there are other options available should you find that there is no space left or the cost being too expensive. As these are not operated by the port or affliated third parties, we would alway recommend doing your research throughly and either booking direct with the parking operator such as Penguin Parking or an approved provider such as Holidays Extras. 

As there are more & more UK ports you are able to embark your cruise holiday from, it can be overwhelming trying to find out all the information you need, below is a handy overview of what port, terminal & other offsite parking options are available from these UK embarkation points.

*Please be advised that the below is only a guide and we have no affliation to any of the providers listed. It is your responsibility to ensure you do your research throughly before booking your parking with any provider or operator.

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