Newbie Southampton QM2 Embarkation and luggage drop off question

[Rodrigo Real]

Hello lovely folks, this is our first time cruising and we are helping out aged parents. So, my first stupid question: We don't yet have an embarkation time (sailing Sunday 9th June to NY) but I have seen elsewhere that it is possible to drop off luggage. How easy is it to get our taxi to pull up close to the luggage drop off and get help from porters? And the same question for our return from New York!
Many thanks.

[Rodrigo Real]

I see elsewhere: "Get a taxi to cruise terminal about 1pm and put your luggage through the hole in the wall" but just wanted to check from those with experience what this means... It sounds very simple!

[david63]

1 minute ago, Rodrigo Real said:

How easy is it to get our taxi to pull up close to the luggage drop off

At Southampton it is very easy - the taxi drop off is opposite the luggage drop off - although that can vary slightly by terminal.

3 minutes ago, Rodrigo Real said:

and get help from porters

That will depend on the time that you intend dropping your luggage off - if it is early 11:00ish they may not have started.

[david63]

1 minute ago, Rodrigo Real said:

I see elsewhere: "Get a taxi to cruise terminal about 1pm and put your luggage through the hole in the wall" but just wanted to check from those with experience what this means... It sounds very simple!

It literally means what it says - there are, depending on the terminal, several holes in the outside wall of the terminal building where all luggage is put through so that it first can be scanned and then loaded onto the ship.

[PORT ROYAL]

42 minutes ago, Rodrigo Real said:

Hello lovely folks, this is our first time cruising and we are helping out aged parents. So, my first stupid question: We don't yet have an embarkation time (sailing Sunday 9th June to NY) but I have seen elsewhere that it is possible to drop off luggage. How easy is it to get our taxi to pull up close to the luggage drop off and get help from porters? And the same question for our return from New York!
Many thanks.

Personal experience.

At the vehicle departure designated lines, one’s driver will park/off load, a porter will magically arrive on the scene, load one’s luggage onto a trolly and take away to security.  All one has to do is walk to departure with any hand luggage.  A gratuity to the porter is appreciated, but not expected.

Edited April 28 by PORT ROYAL
Predictive

[Victoria2]

No porter magically appeared for us last May or July at the Mayflower terminal.

 

I helped the taxi driver offload the bags and she took them over to the repository and yes, she got a great tip.

 

However, on our return to Southampton, there were loads of porters waiting to help. Our grateful thanks was well received by 'our' porter.

[PORT ROYAL]

7 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

No porter magically appeared for us last May or July at the Mayflower terminal.

 

I helped the taxi driver offload the bags and she took them over to the repository and yes, she got a great tip.

 

However, on our return to Southampton, there were loads of porters waiting to help. Our grateful thanks was well received by 'our' porter.

 

Strange… I all the past decades, we have never had a Porter problem at departures. Could be because we deliberately plan to arrive during the last hour or so.

Agree, the arrival Porters are readily available.  With their assistance, one is sped past/through queues and rapidly through Customs.  

As an aside, the Porter method is advised when embarking in New York…. Long queues do not exist with a Porter.

[exlondoner]

I haven’t seen a porter helping unload since Covid.

[ex-koelner]

59 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

As an aside, the Porter method is advised when embarking in New York…. Long queues do not exist with a Porter.

Could you please elaborate on the Porter method? I'll embark in NYC next week (for the first time) and wondering, what a porter would do that I cannot do myself? And how exactly can a porter help to bypass queues? In my simple-mindedness I thought I could arrive at the terminal by taxi or Uber, find the spot for baggage drop and go inside the terminal for check-in and embarkation.

[PORT ROYAL]

9 minutes ago, ex-koelner said:

Could you please elaborate on the Porter method? I'll embark in NYC next week (for the first time) and wondering, what a porter would do that I cannot do myself? And how exactly can a porter help to bypass queues? In my simple-mindedness I thought I could arrive at the terminal by taxi or Uber, find the spot for baggage drop and go inside the terminal for check-in and embarkation.

Apologies….. my bad…. Should have read disembarkation…

Thank you for indirectly raising this issue.

[Winifred 22]

4 hours ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

Strange… I all the past decades, we have never had a Porter problem at departures. Could be because we deliberately plan to arrive during the last hour or so.

Agree, the arrival Porters are readily available.  With their assistance, one is sped past/through queues and rapidly through Customs.  

As an aside, the Porter method is advised when embarking in New York…. Long queues do not exist with a Porter.

I have never had a Porter help me at Southampton either post COVID Just unload suitcases my self and wheel them over to the correct area, then drive my car off to where I park it and get a taxi back. 

[david63]

I don't think that the porters are allowed to take cases out of the boot of your car. many times I have taken cases out and put them at the side and a porter has then taken them to the hole in the wall.

 

A lot though does depend on timing.

[PORT ROYAL]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I haven’t seen a porter helping unload since Covid.

Correct.  One’s driver does.

[exlondoner]

Just now, PORT ROYAL said:

Correct.  One’s driver does.

Or, more pedantically, I have never had a porter help heft the cases to the hole in the wall. Always before Covid, never since.

[Victoria2]

28 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Correct.  One’s driver does.

Even before the non appearance of porters, one's driver had his passenger heft the cases out of the boot for the porters to carry them off to 'the hole' occasionally! 😁

 

Now, one's taxi person helps.

 

 

Edited April 28 by Victoria2

[PORT ROYAL]

3 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Even before the non appearance of porters, one's driver had his passenger heft the cases out of the boot for the porters to carry them off to 'the hole'! 😁

 

Now, one's taxi person helps.

 

 

No boot… because of the amount of luggage, we have a flexible People Carrier with the rear seat down.  Driver slides cases along, out and drops them down.

[Victoria2]

24 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

No boot… because of the amount of luggage, we have a flexible People Carrier with the rear seat down.  Driver slides cases along, out and drops them down.

We obviously travel light.

That or the fact the car was capacious enough for our luggage!

[NE John]

Last year out of S’Hampton, a porter rushed to help immediately and took care of all the suitcases. I never even came near to the “hole in the wall”. I couldn’t believe it…Maybe I just looked a bit frazzled that day after driving a week in Britain for the first time ever. 

[david63]

47 minutes ago, NE John said:

after driving a week in Britain

I know that it can be difficult finding your way in and around Southampton but a week is a bit excessive!😄😇😂