Payments. Always pay for any parking with a credit card (not a DEBIT card). If you do, there is a good chance you can recover your money if anything goes wrong.

Always. check your car for damage, before and especially after leaving it with any company. Accidents can happen and once you have left for home you do not have a leg to stand on.

Travel. If you are travelling a long way, consider travelling the day before and staying in a local hotel. There is nothing worse than panicking that you might not make the ship. Well, there is... not making the ship! At least, allow yourself plenty of time, better to be 4 hours early than stuck on the M3, 45 minutes before the ship sails.

Plan ahead. Southampton can be a nightmare on Cruise days, it can take an hour or more to any one of the Terminals from the outskirts of the City. Again, factor that into your travel plans.

Which Terminal? Make sure you know which Terminal you are leaving from. It sounds obvious, but getting to one Terminal, queuing to get in the dock gate only to discover your ship is at another Terminal 2 miles away creates stress!

Which Terminal? take 2! Ships do occasionally return to different Terminals, check that your car parking company will move your car to the correct Terminal.

Queues. On busy days there will be queues to get into the dock gates and the Terminals. Compare it to an Airport, there are queues due to the high volume of passengers descending on a relatively small area for a restricted time slot. Go with the flow, accept it as part of the experience and not let it frustrate you. Relax, the ship will not leave without you unless you are very late.

Passport & Documents. If there is one thing to remember. Triple check! Everything else can be sorted.

Tesla Drivers. Remember your key card, if you don’t Meet & Greet companies will not take your car.