HAL Boarding Procedures

[drcpa]

Wondering if this is how HAL does it...

My Father-in-Law just returned from a New England/Canada cruise on Royal Caribbean.

When he checked in with the ship in Boston he was given a number, 1 through 9, in his case number 6, based on his deck, cabin, and status with the cruise line.

When boarding was announced he moved to the entryway, was asked for his number (he did not know it's purpose, relative to boarding), and was told to stand aside until numbers 1 through 5 boarded.

He was not aware of this airline like procedure and said he sat there for an hour, feeling like he was in steerage, until his number was called.

Just curious, is this how HAL does it?

Thanks

[Randyk47]

To the best of my knowledge HAL only gives boarding priority to suite passengers (S and PS categories), 4-star Mariners, and passengers needing assistance. The rest are given group numbers to board but those numbers are not linked to their frequent cruiser status or their cabin assignment. Most of the time boarding seems to go smoothly but then again we don't arrive at the terminal at the crack of dawn, usually arriving around noon so maybe the crush and rush has all passed by then.

[richwmn]

HAL does allow people to check in prior to the ship being ready for boarding. If you arrive before the ship is ready, you will get a boarding number based on your check in time. Suites, 4 star etc will board first, then everyone else.

 

After that backlog is cleared, everyone proceeds to the ship as soon as they complete the check in process.

 

Rich

[CruiserBruce]

Randy is correct. The group numbers are issued as you arrive, then called as the ship boards. Suite passengers and 4 star Mariners can board whenever. Boarding goes pretty smoothly, with some congestation as the start, but otherwise usually very smoothly.

[deserttraveler]

I have boarded in two European, two Canadian, and three American ports and have sailed 5 cruise lines. I believe that most port procedures and personnel are port-specific rather than specific to the cruise line. In Canada, for example, they (nice ladies in red, port employees) are very focused on people taking turns and on serving passengers in order of arrival even if much earlier than departure. In Los Angeles we just milled around and had group numbers. In Ft. Lauderdale we stood in a very, VERY long line outdoors. In Barcelona it seemed that all they did was smile at us and we were aboard. I'm sure it was a bit more than that, but my two embarkations and one disembark there were the best I've ever had, once on RCCL and once on Azamara, with no differences by cruise line.

 

I think most of the employees work for the port rather than the cruise line, while the cruise line will have a few "port coordinators" on hand to deal with anything out of the ordinary. (This is similar to how large airports do check-in for international flights. Even LAX and JFK, like large international cities, have employees who check in passengers for various airlines.)

 

There will be someone out there with way more experience than I who can correct and clarify, but these are my impressions so far.

[navybankerteacher]

Aside from giving preferential boarding to 4-stars and suite passengers, HAL essentially operates on a first-come-first-boarded system - with blocks of people given numbers as they arrive, so everybody gets to wait about the same length of time. It usually works out that the busiest time is about 11:00 AM - if you show up at about 1:30 or later there should be little to no wait.

[Typhoon1]

If you arrive early you may be sitting around waiting until boarding begins. Its a good system, you are given a number in order of arrival, checked in, then wait for boarding to begin. Ships usually board in the 11-11:30 range.