Where have all the Porters gone?

[AndyMichelle]

13 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

 Totally agree, one of the things worrying me on my first cruise was how easy was it going to be to get all our luggage out the car and how far would we have to walk with it! You can imagine my joy when I discovered it was all done for us!

I don't think anybody has suggested that the porters are being removed from the terminal, just the CPS procedure has changed.

So I still don't see why you cannot drive to the terminal and have your luggage whisked away and then drive to the CPS area?

You may have to walk a bit further than previously, but your luggage and passengers are still taken care of.

An inconvenience, but is it really enough to stop most people cruising?

Andy

 

[P&O SUE]

37 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I don't think anybody has suggested that the porters are being removed from the terminal, just the CPS procedure has changed.

So I still don't see why you cannot drive to the terminal and have your luggage whisked away and then drive to the CPS area?

You may have to walk a bit further than previously, but your luggage and passengers are still taken care of.

An inconvenience, but is it really enough to stop most people cruising?

Andy

 

 

Oh no it won't stop me cruising, one of the very big plus points was how easy it is at the port and it's what I would say to non - cruising friends!

[so,ton saint]

42 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I don't think anybody has suggested that the porters are being removed from the terminal, just the CPS procedure has changed.

So I still don't see why you cannot drive to the terminal and have your luggage whisked away and then drive to the CPS area?

You may have to walk a bit further than previously, but your luggage and passengers are still taken care of.

An inconvenience, but is it really enough to stop most people cruising?

Andy

 

 

Hi i work for Penguin  parking over the river at marchwood we still take passenger,s and cases direct to the drop of points so it doesn't affect our working practice , i under stand how you feel just watching people struggle with there trolleys for 200 mtrs or more, idid ask one of the Supervisors, and he told me this is the way its going to be, we are just short of porters, (say no more) but on Sunday it was back to normal with Ventura but have also been told its a trial period for IONA . next year for several weekends Britannia will be at the Mayflower because as you know  Ocean terminal will be for iona and Ventura will be at 38/39 and Anthem. at city.

 

 

 

[Meka3256]

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

I don't think anybody has suggested that the porters are being removed from the terminal, just the CPS procedure has changed.

So I still don't see why you cannot drive to the terminal and have your luggage whisked away and then drive to the CPS area?

You may have to walk a bit further than previously, but your luggage and passengers are still taken care of.

An inconvenience, but is it really enough to stop most people cruising?

Andy

 

 

First I think you've misunderstood P&O Sue's post - she was just saying that she agreed that it was nice that she didn't have to walk with luggage

 

Second a minor inconvenience is a matter of opinion, and so that's great that the changes suggested are not a big issue for you.  However everyone has their preferences, and I don't think it's helpful (especially in a patronising tone) to suggest someone's preference is not valid.  

 

Third, it may not stop anyone cruising, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't feel the need to state they don't like it.  Whilst I understand cruise companies (or whoever is involved) determining changes can be made that won't affect the number of passengers, and so profit - as a passenger I am still going to expect more in terms of customer service. 

 

Personally I would be sad if this became the new normal; I am valid in this opinion, just as you are valid in feeling it is not a big difference to you.

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

I don't think anybody has suggested that the porters are being removed from the terminal, just the CPS procedure has changed.

So I still don't see why you cannot drive to the terminal and have your luggage whisked away and then drive to the CPS area?

You may have to walk a bit further than previously, but your luggage and passengers are still taken care of.

An inconvenience, but is it really enough to stop most people cruising?

Andy

 

You cannot because when you book parking with CPS you do not self park your car in a car park unless its a 2 nighter. You stop outside terminal unload your baggage and then CPS drive away your car away from the terminal and park it within the area of the port and then return your car to the car park for your disembarkation.

 

It seems that it is being trialled that instead of pulling up right outside the terminal and porters unload your luggage and take it away and then CPS drive away your car and you just proceed to the terminal. They seem to be trialling that instead of this you are directed a distance away from the terminal, how far isnt exactly known, then you have to unload your own car and load it onto luggage trolley and push it to the terminal where it is taken from you. CPS then drive you car away and park it for the duration of your cruise.

[eddie11]

... making CPS less simple and convenient than other, invariably cheaper, Southampton parking companies.  What sort of a business plan is that?  

 

Taxi? Lift? P4C etc? - drive direct to lane 1 and the porters will take the luggage.

CPS? - Not you!  Take your car, plus passengers plus luggage to *somewhere*, unload, CPS will take your car and the driver, passengers and luggage must get themselves back to the ‘hole in the wall’.

Let’s hope it’s not too rainy, cold, icy etc

[Cruising Nomads]

Simple answer ignore hivis jackets drive to hole in wall. Unload cases then follow route to CPS.

[Selbourne]

59 minutes ago, Cruising Nomads said:

Simple answer ignore hivis jackets drive to hole in wall. Unload cases then follow route to CPS.

 

Simple, other than that’s exactly what you do with some other operators, such as Parking4Cruises and they are all considerably cheaper than CPS. So if that’s the new approach, why would anybody in their right mind use CPS anymore? Simply opt for the extra OBC, book with a different parking operator and pocket the difference. I’m struggling to believe that CPS would ditch their one unique selling point, other than perhaps they can rely on the fact that most cruisers will go with them as the default offered by P&O, unaware that there are far cheaper (and in some respects better) operators. 

[berlingo]

5 hours ago, so,ton saint said:

 

Hi i work for Penguin  parking over the river at marchwood we still take passenger,s and cases direct to the drop of points so it doesn't affect our working practice , i under stand how you feel just watching people struggle with there trolleys for 200 mtrs or more, idid ask one of the Supervisors, and he told me this is the way its going to be, we are just short of porters, (say no more) but on Sunday it was back to normal with Ventura but have also been told its a trial period for IONA . next year for several weekends Britannia will be at the Mayflower because as you know  Ocean terminal will be for iona and Ventura will be at 38/39 and Anthem. at city.

 

 

 

 

Hi

Thank you for posting.

I am the original OP so it is great (or maybe not! 🙁) that you have been able to confirm what I understood to be the situation.

When you are sharing new information it can understandably causing a reaction. It is reassuring to know the information was reasonably accurate.

Thanks again

Julia

[Harry Peterson]

Perhaps (hopefully) it's a matter of a temporary shortage only during a peak school holiday period when there are huge numbers of passengers and a smaller than usual number of casual porters for the same reason.

[majortom10]

We recently cruised onboard Britannia from the Ocean Terminal and when we arrived because of the CPS lane outside the terminal was full was directed across the road to where there was a overflow queue of 3 lanes of cars waiting and they were directed across by staff when there was space back by the terminal. My thoughts are that with the introduction of Iona and the number of people then this procedure will not be good enough and the overflow lanes will not be big enough so they are straight away on your arrival directing you to this "new" area where you unload your luggage yourself and load them onto an airport style trolley and push them yourself to the "hole in the wall" at the terminal and CPS drive away your car as normal. This I am afraid is a sign of the times of building bigger ships without the thought of good enough infrastructure at the terminals/ports.

[jeanlyon]

Yes I think you are absolutely right.

[so,ton saint]

54 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

We recently cruised onboard Britannia from the Ocean Terminal and when we arrived because of the CPS lane outside the terminal was full was directed across the road to where there was a overflow queue of 3 lanes of cars waiting and they were directed across by staff when there was space back by the terminal. My thoughts are that with the introduction of Iona and the number of people then this procedure will not be good enough and the overflow lanes will not be big enough so they are straight away on your arrival directing you to this "new" area where you unload your luggage yourself and load them onto an airport style trolley and push them yourself to the "hole in the wall" at the terminal and CPS drive away your car as normal. This I am afraid is a sign of the times of building bigger ships without the thought of good enough infrastructure at the terminals/ports.

 

Your correct , this happened two years ago at 101 city terminal when marella Discovery moved from the port of tyne to So,ton to do four cruises to the Fjords and baltics so its not new.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

We recently cruised onboard Britannia from the Ocean Terminal and when we arrived because of the CPS lane outside the terminal was full was directed across the road to where there was a overflow queue of 3 lanes of cars waiting and they were directed across by staff when there was space back by the terminal. My thoughts are that with the introduction of Iona and the number of people then this procedure will not be good enough and the overflow lanes will not be big enough so they are straight away on your arrival directing you to this "new" area where you unload your luggage yourself and load them onto an airport style trolley and push them yourself to the "hole in the wall" at the terminal and CPS drive away your car as normal. This I am afraid is a sign of the times of building bigger ships without the thought of good enough infrastructure at the terminals/ports.

 

Yes, I’m afraid that it was the ‘holding lanes’ that finally drove us away from CPS having used them for many years. Having arrived at the terminal at 1130 in order to take advantage of early boarding privileges, we lost most of our time advantage waiting in these queues before we could hand the car over to them. Now we just drop off luggage (and my wife in her wheelchair) in the taxi drop off lane and I drive over the road to the short stay car park. I find that we are in the passenger terminal earlier than had we used CPS and have saved a not insignificant amount of money in the process. 

[jeanlyon]

Yes, agree.  We find P4C much faster.  Drive in, drop the bags and husband and friend.  Drive over to short stay, walk back.  Simples.

[Selbourne]

Important update - I have contacted CPS to seek clarity on this and they were extremely evasive, but I have at last (after 3 or 4 attempts) got a definitive answer - and it’s bad news I’m afraid. 

 

CPS has constructed a new covered drop off facility which they tell me is 20 metres from the terminal (perhaps the OP or someone who has used it can confirm?). It has been created for Britannia and Iona. Drivers will check their car in there and will then have to make their way to the terminal with their luggage. THEY ARE UNABLE TO GUARANTEE THAT PORTERS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST. Although it is a relatively short distance, they seem to fail to understand some critical points that I made to them;

 

1) The current ability to drop off the car directly in front of the terminal and have porters take your luggage directly from the car is the sole unique selling point of CPS and this will be lost.

 

2) Many passengers are mobility impaired and will struggle to do this.

 

3) CPS will no longer offer anything that all other operators provide - at much reduced cost. 

 

So, I shall be cancelling my CPS booking, obtaining additional On board credit and booking with another operator at less cost. 

[SarahHben]

Are the alternative car parks much cheaper? Our cruise is next June so although we chose CPS parking when booking we haven't actually booked parking with them yet. We've never cruised before so must admit we just chose CPS as an easy option. We'll have my parents with us who wouldn't want to lug their suitcases very far.

[kenhem]

5 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Are the alternative car parks much cheaper? Our cruise is next June so although we chose CPS parking when booking we haven't actually booked parking with them yet. We've never cruised before so must admit we just chose CPS as an easy option. We'll have my parents with us who wouldn't want to lug their suitcases very far.

We now use Parking4Cruises. For a 7 night cruise their pricing is similar to CPS, for a 14 night cruise they are about £50 cheaper, and for a 28 night cruise we have coming up they are £150 cheaper than CPS. Previously we only used CPS but the price difference made us swap.

[SarahHben]

23 minutes ago, kenhem said:

We now use Parking4Cruises. For a 7 night cruise their pricing is similar to CPS, for a 14 night cruise they are about £50 cheaper, and for a 28 night cruise we have coming up they are £150 cheaper than CPS. Previously we only used CPS but the price difference made us swap.

Ours is only a 7 night cruise so maybe it would be best to stick to CPS if 7 night price is similar. Thank you.

[daiB]

I have not commented on this topic as we stopped using CPS some time ago. We now have “people” to take care of that sort of thing.

 

:).

 

[Angel57]

Thanks for the info Selbourne.

Do you know if this new practice is also going to be at the Mayflower Terminal or is it just at the Ocean Terminal?

[majortom10]

I can see CPS losing a lot of business unless they reduce their prices to match Parking4Cruises. We have generally used P4C these last few years and only used CPS if it was free parking and the alternative wasnt viable.

Edited July 31, 2019 by majortom10

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Angel57 said:

Thanks for the info Selbourne.

Do you know if this new practice is also going to be at the Mayflower Terminal or is it just at the Ocean Terminal?

 

They only mentioned Britannia and Iona, so I believe that this will only affect Ocean Terminal. 

[stocktonmackem]

2 hours ago, daiB said:

I have not commented on this topic as we stopped using CPS some time ago. We now have “people” to take care of that sort of thing.

 

:).

 

Dai do you get an accessible taxi from the hotel you use. I assume its the Harbour Hotel. x

 

[daiB]

5 minutes ago, stocktonmackem said:

Dai do you get an accessible taxi from the hotel you use. I assume its the Harbour Hotel. x

 

Taxi😎 LOL.

 

Correct Hotel.

 

Hotel Mercedes. They have a Mercedes people carrier as well. The Concierge staff lead by Gary are excellent.

Edited July 31, 2019 by daiB