Waiting to board Grand but not in preferred area

[bhopal21]

We sailed on the Golden on July 5. We had preferred boarding passes. We were traveling with our adult children. We had told them we were going in the preferred area and made plans where to met up once we were on the ship. The "guard" overheard us talking and told them to go in the preferred area. I mentioned that they were not preferred. He said...It's okay. I am letting them in." I would never have tried to sneak them in but what they heck...they told us to do it.

 

 

That is the way it should work and always has in my experience.

 

Mike:)

[notentirelynormal]

Definitely no common sense there. I'm sure the 5 year old was in the same cabin with the parents. RCI and Carnival let kids in the same cabin get whatever priority level the parents have.

 

It was just the 3 of us. I couldn't believe she expected us to leave a small child alone.

[Thrak]

My DH and I were boarding in San Pedro with my then 5 YO DGS. The stupid lady at the pier told us WE could go into the preferred lounge but the 5 YO wasn't Elite/Preferred so he couldn't :rolleyes:. Yes, we are going to go in and leave the 5 YO to sit by himself. She told us we were more than permitted to sit with him in the general boarding area though. It was his 4th cruise.

 

I think you probably pegged it with the part I highlighted above. Common sense just isn't really all that common.

[caribill]

Everytime I've checked in in the last few years, I've received a boarding card along with my cruise card. Those boarding cards state "priority boarding" while general boarding receives cards listed with Boarding Group #1, etc. I've been asked to show my boarding card whenever trying to enter the preferred seating area.

 

[iceleven]

It's possible that they already know approximately how many Elite, Platinum and Suite passengers are boarding that day. If it's a high count, they made need to restrict the family "guests" in order to prevent over-crowding. It could be why it so often appears to be at the discretion of the people working at the pier.

[shepp]

We sailed on the Golden on July 5. We had preferred boarding passes. We were traveling with our adult children. We had told them we were going in the preferred area and made plans where to met up once we were on the ship. The "guard" overheard us talking and told them to go in the preferred area. I mentioned that they were not preferred. He said...It's okay. I am letting them in." I would never have tried to sneak them in but what they heck...they told us to do it.

 

OK, I can see some sense in allowing small children into the Platinum boarding lounge with their parents, but adult children? Really? They couldn't manage being away from you that long?

 

I'm sorry, but at some point, early boarding becomes a kind of zero-sum game. You want to board with people with lower Captain's Circle status? How about you wait a bit longer with them, rather than you forcing those who've earned early boarding to wait for folks who haven't?

 

Early check-in, yes. Early boarding for loved ones/family/friends explicitly is not a Platinum/Elite perk.

[blkspy]

Regardless of whether your CHILDREN are in your cabin or not....if you are Elite, they go with you. Princess says, your guest :), Yes im Elite, and it happens all the time, friends of travelers joining members in the preferred lounge. To deny your children is outrageous. In Seattle, the security guards and check in personal don't work for Princess and probably dont know the full policy. ......I will say this, where I go, so does my 15 year old MINOR daughter.

 

P.S. 15 is cosidered a young adult ? Not where I live.

Edited July 21, 2014 by blkspy

[caribill]

Regardless of whether your CHILDREN are in your cabin or not....if you are Elite, they go with you. Princess says, your guest :),

 

Actually, the benefit says:

 

Preferred Check-In

When you arrive at the port, don’t wait in line. You, along with your family or guests that are traveling with you in the same stateroom will be invited to use the Preferred Check-In desk to help expedite your embarkation.

 

Note: That is for check-in only. No benefit is listed for family or guests for preference in actually boarding.

 

(Although common sense says minor children should be able to board with a qualifying parent or other relative.)

[southwestgal]

Sorry I can't figure out how to quote from a post....but there was an earlier comment that mentioned that if a child has a blue or gold card then the party should be in non-preferred seating. Apologies if I've misstated.

 

My point is that, in my experience, if you're under 18 you get a blue card regardless of how many cruises you've completed. Even though the personalizer will list all the cruises, the card remains blue.

 

That little darling with the blue card may very well have more cruises under their belt than you. So does that mean that the parents, who are platinum or elite, now go back to non-preferred for 18 years? Sounds a bit silly to me.

 

I'm elite and no kids. My feeling is that if you're under 18 you belong with your parents. If that means a few more in the preferred lounge then so be it. If we're traveling with a bunch of adults who aren't preferred, then we either choose to stay in the preferred lounge alone or go to the regular waiting area.

Edited July 21, 2014 by southwestgal

[Colo Cruiser]

I'm elite and no kids. My feeling is that if you're under 18 you belong with your parents. If that means a few more in the preferred lounge then so be it. If we're traveling with a bunch of adults who aren't preferred, then we either choose to stay in the preferred lounge alone or go to the regular waiting area.

 

 

 

Bingo!

 

To quote just press the "quote" tab in the post you want to quote then add your comment under it. ;)

[southwestgal]

Bingo!

 

To quote just press the "quote" tab in the post you want to quote then add your comment under it. ;)

 

Thanks! So simple I completely overlooked it.

[notentirelynormal]

My point is that, in my experience, if you're under 18 you get a blue card regardless of how many cruises you've completed. Even though the personalizer will list all the cruises, the card remains blue.

 

That little darling with the blue card may very well have more cruises under their belt than you. So does that mean that the parents, who are platinum or elite, now go back to non-preferred for 18 years? Sounds a bit silly to me.

 

I forgot about the blue card. That was one of the things she checked. Card color. We had black but he was blue. This is one thing that really bugs me about Princess. My kids were Elite before they turned 18 and still had the blue card. I think that they should get the same recognition that adults get. You know, "welcome back!".

 

My grandson at the time was going on his 5th cruise at 6 (yes, he is a lucky boy and he knows it). The woman in this case was quite nasty about letting him join us and I think that is part of what stuck with me. Considering that we were one of the first to check in and both lounges were still empty added to my irritation. But seriously, what person in their right mind would tell you a 5 YO can't join the parents/grandparents.

[CCFC]

But seriously, what person in their right mind would tell you a 5 YO can't join the parents/grandparents.

 

They are not saying the 5 YO cant join the parents, just that the parents have to join the 5 YO and queue with people of a "lower" status. The choice is theirs.

Edited July 21, 2014 by CCFC

[shepp]

Here's the thing. Preferred boarding is not a right, it's a privilege. (And, except for getting to lunch in the MDR or making early Sanctuary/dining bookings, not a very valuable one.)

 

Sure, minor kids traveling with parents in their cabins (a requirement, anyway) should be allowed priority boarding. But adult children? A 21-year-old, as per the original post? How about adult sisters, brothers, uncles, nieces? Lifelong friends? Why not?

 

What about Elite tendering? Should adult relatives of Elites be given priority boarding privileges at tender ports, just because? If you fly back and have earned priority boarding of the plane, do you get to bring your 21-y.o. kid with you in line #1?

 

There's no excuse for rudeness on the part of employees, but some of the outrage here seems misplaced. ("The stupid lady at the pier?" Really? I guess anyone who enforces existing policy is stupid now? And pax never ever give attitude?)

 

Relax. Everybody is going to get on the ship.

Edited July 21, 2014 by shepp

[bdjam]

When I sailed from Seattle in June, the preferred area was as Mike indicated, a couple of lines of chairs behind a partition. It was empty when I got there and so I was allowed to go directly on board. There was no issue about it being full...

[cruis247g]

Our minor children always receive priority boarding with us. No one has ever questioned it. I would completely understand if we were discussing adult children, but not minors. I'm not only morally responsible for them, but legally. If needed, I would go to general boarding with them. I'm guessing that this was an isolated incident and not common practice. In our experience Princess has always been quite family friendly. I'm sorry that it happened to your family.

[pms4104]

We will be boarding the Grand next Sunday. We are Elite but many of our friends,

who are also with us are not. How has the boarding gone?

Enjoy the cruise.

 

Greg

 

"Many" friends ... why not wait with them in the regular area and board with that group rather than with the Elites? I doubt Princess ever intended large extended groups of friends to board with Elites. Earned privileges can be taken away from everyone when some take adbantage

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[shepp]

Earned privileges can be taken away from everyone when some take adbantage.

 

But the only people who break the rules are those who deserve to. ;)

[Starlaker]

"Many" friends ... why not wait with them in the regular area and board with that group rather than with the Elites? I doubt Princess ever intended large extended groups of friends to board with Elites. Earned privileges can be taken away from everyone when some take adbantage

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Casavaha didn't say that he wanted their many friends to board with them. He was just asking how the boarding went in Seattle. Lighten up.

[Loonbeam]

I checked, the rule is that any passengers with appropriate status and anyone sharing their cabins (which would cover minor children) will be admitted to the preferred boarding area on a space permitting basis. Once full, they will be directed to the general boarding area, and may be permitted to enter later as the space empties if logistics permit.

 

Specific procedures may vary a bit by port as each has a different configuration, sometimes also different at individual terminals.

[bhopal21]

Caribill posted the written policy back in post #33.

 

Mike:)

[caribill]

I checked, the rule is that any passengers with appropriate status and anyone sharing their cabins (which would cover minor children) will be admitted to the preferred boarding area on a space permitting basis.

 

Minor children (usually teens) are often in a separate nearby cabin from the parents.

[pms4104]

Casavaha didn't say that he wanted their many friends to board with them. He was just asking how the boarding went in Seattle. Lighten up.

I read way too much into his post and drew a false conclusion. I apologize to Casavahs for my error.

 

 

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[caribill]

If you fly back and have earned priority boarding of the plane, do you get to bring your 21-y.o. kid with you in line #1?

 

 

Actually, yes.

[paul929207]

I would limit preferred boarding to anyone in the cabin with the suite/elite/platinum passenger. If their minor (grand)child is in another cabin, they can board with the adult in that cabin