FAB1

To be honest I must confess to never noticing the boarding time until this year when we were told to on Britannia. Hubby and I always arrived just after midday and never had to wait very long. All change now. :eek:

Perhaps I should duck now that I have admitted to arriving early:D

I should be shot at dawn then Trish 😂

I did notice the boarding time but turned up early too as had to check out of hotel.

Sue

No because it was straight first come first served then - so if 500 people got there before you, and you arrived at your time you would have to wait for those 500 to be processed first. I believe there are various colours and letters now, so the nearer it is to your boarding time the less time you have to wait - the idea bring those arriving on time aren't penalised by being behind those arriving early. Also the big difference is that the Caribbean tier are treated the same as everyone else in that they have a set time too, but they go to the front of the queue when their letter and colour are called - so you may get a Caribbean member with a boarding time of 3.30 when they used to get priority as soon as they arrived. Also P&O said they are allocating times by 'deck' but from what I've read it looks like they are doing it in sections, suites and midship balconies seem to have early times - in a way this suggests the more you pay the earlier you get on, but we would need more data to establish what system they are using. The thing is I'm not sure how well they are communicating this which might be why it's not running very smoothly at the moment. Ultimately I'm not sure any of us know exactly what's going on.

I think your last sentence sums it up but I am not sure P&O know what they are doing either at the moment 😉

It was first come first served before but people still had boarding times, I know I did but I was one of those who turned up early cos we had to check out of hotel as they had no facilities for you to wait there.

It was always first come first served:cool:

Yes but you were still given a boarding time. If they say they have changed the process and you must stick to your time, then they let you on early still, then whats the point 😕

Well we boarded Anthem Of The Seas two weeks ago. We selected our preferred check in slot when we did our online check in months prior. We arrived on time, they used ipads to check us in (no check in desks) and we were onboard within 5 mins of arriving at the terminal. That ship has over 1000 more passengers than Britannia and it worked flawlessly. Its a simple process, allows people a choice of check in slots on a first come first served basis (not status or cabin related)and their cabins are ready at 1pm with 6 different eating areas to choose from while you wait. If they can do it, why can't P&O? While other lines move forward, P&O seem to step backwards evermore penalising their passengers (select v saver fare inclusions, restricted check in times).

 

 

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Perfect Kevin 😀

Would you like to let Christopher Edgington know how it should be done ? 😂

Sue

Hi, that statement by CE and some of the posts here detailing the new system, suggest to me they don't make you wait until a specific time. I think they essentially slot early arrivals in between the calls for people adhering to their time - so they aren't delayed by the processing of those who got there earlier than their scheduled slot.

So isn't this pretty much how they used to do it anyway ?

Sue

Have to agree with you there John.

Just seen on Facebook that someone embarking Ventura today was given a Checkin time of 15:00 but was onboard and in cabin at 13:45 !!!

So P&O are you enforcing checkin times or not ? 😟

I think I am going to give up commenting now because it would appear P&O are not sticking to their own rules and are going to create even more confusion.

I can only think of two reasons for changing a procedure that on the face of it seems to work well:-

1) to improve the boarding experience for their passengers - doesn't appear to be working if this is the case

2) to save money for the cruise line in some way, possibly less checkin staff and luggage handlers than other companies pay for - quite possibly

Sue

I think the main problem with this new process is that a lot of people will now have to board much later and do not got any choice of time.

We have to be out of our cabins at 8 like most other cruise lines so should not take till 1pm for cabins to be ready and even if it does most people are not bothered about having access to their cabins earlier than under the previous system.

If Celebrity, Royal Caribbean etc can get their passengers boarded much earlier then P&O should be able to too. If its a case that their IT systems cannot cope with an online checkin process then its high time that Carnival invested in new systems.

P&O are being left behind with things like this and all inclusive drink packages. To an extent I think they are living in the past and need to modernise, particularly their entertainment and the music where they seem to think that anything from the 70s or 80s is current 😦

Still I will be onboard in just over 2 weeks and don't mind if I have a short wait in the terminal. Hopefully it will be working a little better by then but if not I shall still enjoy my cruise 😀

I never expected my original post to have so many replies as it was only intended to inform people of the new process. If P&O cannot get it to work then I hope they listen to their passengers comments. I know they monitor the ones on Facebook if not on here.

Sue

Ok cheers for than info John and yes we would be booking the Friday flight as an extra day in Barbados. Just wayin up all the options. Cheers fab1 but my wife wants to know if the free coach transfer is included on the saver option? Never booked a saver before

Yes you get the free coach transfer whichever fare you book 😊

Yes there is a free transfer back from Southampton. Just mention that you want it when booking.

You will be fine. I have read that coach passengers will get on as soon as they arrive.:)

Thanks Trish, I know we should be boarded as soon as we arrive but other people on coaches have said they were held back, either at services or made to wait on the coach at the terminal 😧

He made a statement (on the P&O page on another social media site which I can't mention here :D) that it would apply with immediate effect.

Yes you are correct ! I have read so many posts on the subject I am starting to get confused 😕

I have read about both unfortunately. Britannia didn't start boarding until 1 pm at the Ocean terminal.:(

Thanks Trish. We are going from Mayflower arriving by coach so should be boarded more or less straight away. Just hoping they don't make us wait on the coach too long as I don't travel too well on a coach 😢 Don't seem to have too much trouble on a ship though 😁

Sue

Are these boarding problems just at Mayflower or is it Ocean as well ?

Yes all ships. Apparently Arcadia embarkation from Mayflower was chaotic today and not because of the tragic event on Ventura.:(

Ok thank you. More time to get it right then before I go on 30th, but I won't hold my breath 😕

It actually started this week.:eek:

Is that on all ships cos he said November ?

Christopher Edgington has stated this new boarding process will apply to ALL ships from November.

I really don't see why they have had to change the procedure. Seemed to work better before.

And as for saying passengers wanted their cabins ready when they embark, I find that hard to believe. Who wants to get on board then go and sit in their cabin ? I would have thought most like to get a bite to eat and sit in the public areas or open deck with a nice drink 😉

Have been reading on facebook that boarding Britannia today has been chaos with check in not opening until 1 pm. Doesn't bode well for my Ventura cruise in 2 weeks:(

Thats not good, not good at all 😕

I thought they had started trialling this in April with Britannia ? They have had over five months to streamline it and get it right !

Very sad that P&O needed to be prompted to advise their customers of these changes. Beggars belief really.

I spoke to their customer services a couple of times almost 2 weeks ago and they said they would advise the appropriate department to let passengers know. Nothing was received so I posted the query on their Facebook page and PM'd them on Saturday. I received a reply to my PM on Monday(impressed it was so quick) however my post on their Facebook page has been deleted(don't they want their passengers to know about the changes ?).

Still no general notification sent out to passengers. It should be easy to do, have received ones when etickets are ready, encouraged to book shore excursions, got notification re new embarkation procedure etc. It can't be that difficult to send a mass notification to all passengers on a particular cruise.

Rant over 😡

Sue

I thought that Cruise Connect/Intercruises were a separate company that P&O engages to do the transfers. Logically it should be up to Cruise Connect to advise passengers of pick up times. We use them and always get an email a couple of weeks before departure with all the necessary details about pick up times and anticipated return times. Methinks this is a lot of fuss about nothing.

 

Brian

For Transatlantic Crossings P&O advise us of the departure times for the coaches via Cruise Personaliser as we do not get a ticket from Cruise Connect/Intercruises. Only those who have a return coach booking get a ticket.

It is not a lot of fuss about nothing if people turn up an hour and a half to two hours too early for their coach. It is likely there won't be any P&O staff around to help at the airport until just before the first coach is due. I for one would be quite worried I had missed my coach.

Sue

Don't think they are starting embarkation now till at least 12pm maybe later 😕

All inclusive saves time for the waiters and us passengers.

On Celebrity the waiters took your cruise card and it was swiped at the till, no chits to sign so didn't end up with hundreds of bits of paper at the end of the cruise. It also meant we were served quicker.

No need for us to keep checking our on board account to see how much we have spent and no adding up to do.

Sue

Also who would really want to keep trekking back to their cabin to fill up glasses. Surely you would miss most of the entertainment. I am usually in a high deck. Quite a long walk from the indoor bars.:eek::eek:

They had a half pint of Vodka each 😱😱😱

Wouldn't have thought they would need to trek back to their cabin for a refill 😂