Cruise travel · Luggage
Cruise luggage: which transfer vehicle do you actually need?
Cruise luggage is a different species from airline carry-on. A week of formal nights, a fortnight of shore-excursion kit, and the souvenirs coming home — it adds up fast, and the transfer only works if the boot was chosen for it. Book too small and you're playing luggage Tetris at the kerb, or worse, splitting the group across two cars. Here's how to get the vehicle right the first time.
The honest sizing table
Every group differs, but these pairings work for typical large cruise cases:
When in doubt, size up. An MPV with spare room costs far less than a second car, and nobody has ever complained about too much boot. The full breakdown lives in our cruise luggage & vehicle guide.
What to tell us at booking
Three things make the sizing exact: your passenger count including children (child seats can be requested), your case count and size — "four large cases and two cabin bags" is precisely the sentence we need — and anything awkward, like golf clubs, a wheelchair, mobility equipment or a pram. Named in advance, all of it travels easily.
Why one vehicle beats a convoy
A group split across two ride-hail cars gets two arrival times, two prices that may surge differently, and one inevitable "where are you?" call at the terminal. One correctly-sized vehicle is one pickup, one fixed price, one bill — and everyone's luggage in the same boot as its owner. This matters even more on a fly-cruise transfer, where you've already got flight bags on top of the cruise cases and the last thing you want is to divide the party the moment you land.
Porters take it from the kerb
Good news for your back: at the major terminals, porters collect large cases at the drop-off point and your luggage next appears at your cabin — you only handle it from door to kerb. A good driver drops you at the correct terminal for your ship, which matters more than it sounds — Southampton alone has five cruise terminals, so being dropped at the right one keeps the cases in your hands for the shortest possible distance.
Tell us heads, cases and ship
That's all we need to send the right vehicle at a fixed fare — with a boot that shuts first time.
Get a fixed quote