Princess now telling us when we can arrive at port to board??

[kruisey]

[quote name='nanwel']RC dose the same. was in Sydney and took a taxi to port for 12, told I could not check in until 3 - checked my luggage. Then went for a nice walk. cane back at 2, and had to wait a few minutes until they called my luggage colour and boarded. Seems to happen a lot. Perhaps due to Noro, they take longer to clean the ships better, that is ok by me - at least they are not last minute or sailing without me!
I remember the days when we all sat in an enclosed room on the dock, and it was a cattle rush when they opened the gates.
Last cruise out of Florida we had a late leasurely breakfast left our luggage at the hotel went for a walk, then took taxi at 2 no lines, plenty of food![/QUOTE]

You have brought out a very important point.
The cleaning of the ship.I know what its like to be confined to ones cabin.
So I don't mind waiting to board.....:D

[geoherb]

There may be plenty of food, but not the food or atmosphere I want. One of the perks of cruising with Princess is being able to eat a leisurely lunch in the dining room, as long as we can be onboard in time. Fortunately, most of the time we are. Only twice out of the past couple of years did we not make it. Once was when we were on the cruise tour in Alaska and did not make it onboard until 2. The other time was when they had a norovirus outbreak on the cruise before ours. They delayed all boarding until around 2. They had people wait in the convention center near the pier. We checked our bags and headed for lunch near Total Wine.

[helenb]

[quote name='Potstech']If you do not know the difference then we can see why you made your statement. Main differences is does a hotel move to different ports? Does a hotel gve you food you do not pay for seperatetly in more than 7 location on the premises? Does a hotel provide multiple entertainment venues and activities for no additional cost. Just to name a few. But I guess you do not see the difference.[/QUOTE]

Additionally, even if you cannot check in, a hotel will hold your luggage and allow you to use all of their facilities, no matter when you arrive.

Since the original comment mentioned Disney, I should point out that we have arrived at Disney hotels (in California and Florida) and hotels at Universal Orlando very early in the morning (6-7 am) and were allowed to take advantage of hotel guest early entry perks into the parks, while the hotels held our luggage and texted us when our rooms were ready.

I am NOT saying that Princess should let us board that early (obviously the previous passengers need to have disembarked) but to say that hotels do not let you check in until 3pm and imply that there is no point in arriving early at a hotel is false.

[kruisey]

[quote name='helenb']Additionally, even if you cannot check in, a hotel will hold your luggage and allow you to use all of their facilities, no matter when you arrive.

Since the original comment mentioned Disney, I should point out that we have arrived at Disney hotels (in California and Florida) and hotels at Universal Orlando very early in the morning (6-7 am) and were allowed to take advantage of hotel guest early entry perks into the parks, while the hotels held our luggage and texted us when our rooms were ready.

I am NOT saying that Princess should let us board that early (obviously the previous passengers need to have disembarked) but to say that hotels do not let you check in until 3pm and imply that there is no point in arriving early at a hotel is false.[/QUOTE]
Is not a hotel.It is more of a confined space so I think we have to give Princess some credit for making certain the ship is clean.That is the top priority for me.Most hotels state check in time is 2.30 PM.I remember one year arriving early at a large hotel in London Holiday Inn Forum in Kensington after a 9.5 from Vancouver BC.I had to wait in the lobby till 3.30 PM to get access to my room.Yes those that get on ship at 12 noon onwards are lucky.
May be those that like lunch in the dining room on embarkation day could write and ask if it could be extended to 2.00PM on that day ? Heather:)

[Cruisin' Chick]

[quote name='rdsqrl'][COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Comic Sans MS]If you knew everything about Princess as you claim to, you'd know that cabins are always ready upon boarding. Busted.

And what's so entitled about wanting to board and begin one's vacation as soon as possible? It's not about being "first"; that's a total misrepresentation of what people are saying. I don't care how many get on before me. All I care about is that I go when I'm ready, not when Princess thinks I should be ready. Then, once aboard, I can lose the hand luggage, grab a drink, relax on the promenade, and watch my favourite reality show: "Longshoremen at Work." Dragging a carry-on to a land restaurant or doing sightseeing, all the while constantly checking one's watch to see if it's too early or worse, too late, to head over to the pier is hardly relaxing.
[/FONT][/COLOR][/quote]

[COLOR=Red]I feel the same. My family doesn't care if several other people get on the ship before us. But we do want to get on board as soon as possible, check out our cabin, and then explore the ship. We don't even go to the MDR that might still be open. So I don't get this lecture about feeling "entitled" because we want to start our cruise ASAP.[/COLOR]

[quote name='Lovetocruiseprincess'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]It's actually quite easy. I get up early, stakes out a seat that I know will be in the shade later in the day with my towel, book & carry bag & then go for something at the IC with coffee. Then back to my seat for a while to make sure I don't lose it & by that time my wife is about ready to arrive & we simply take turns for breakfast in the buffet. There's no need to rush since the other person is on guard while the other gets to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. [/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]We really don't like don't like the promenade for seating. [/FONT][/quote]

Hmmm, sounds like someone is admitting to be a chair hog. If you are putting items on a deck chair with the idea of returning later on, then yes, that's what you are. If you "simply" waited for wifey to be ready first, and one of you went to the IC for breakfast while the other planted your butt in a chair, and the first person showed up with said breakfast within 30 minutes, then neither one of you are hogging chairs.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

 

 

 

Hmmm' date=' sounds like someone is admitting to be a chair hog. If you are putting items on a deck chair with the idea of returning later on, then yes, that's what you are. If you "simply" waited for wifey to be ready first, and one of you went to the IC for breakfast while the other planted your butt in a chair, and the first person showed up with said breakfast within 30 minutes, then neither one of you are hogging chairs.[/quote']

 

It's not really being a chair hog if you leave & return within an allotted time and most times it's only 1 chair that we share on & off. We've learned that you've got to get there early to get a shaded spot.

[M4dC0w]

funny thing is about this topic is the comparison to a hotel. Which similar, it is still quite a bit different.

 

You need to compare this to boarding a flight on a airline.

 

As most of us know of the crowding at the terminals at the port, waiting for the ship to finish their business before allowing new passengers on. Then you have the suite, elite and platinum, then the rest, they are just asking you to come later so you don't have to deal with the stress of the crowds and such.

 

 

Similarly on an aircraft, they allow business class, and those that need help onboard, then exit rows. Then they board accordingly from high number rows to low.

 

What would it be like if everyone wanted on the plane at the same time? chaos, as people in row 14 would be getting settled while people in row 20 needed to get by.

 

Yes, staggered times may be a bit inconvenient to some, but it would make the boarding process run more smoothly.

 

Find something to amuse yourself for the few minutes or hours, the world would be such a better place if people would find other things to complain about.

 

I can see Princess eventually start selling a "fastpass" like many amusement parks do for earlier boarding.

[Cruise Raider]

They tried this a couple of years ago and it turned into a nightmare. We were all set to board and got kicked out of line and it took us an additional 5 hours to board. Ridiculous!!

It was a turn off enough to start booking with another cruise line -- which is now doing the same thing. argh!

[hawkeyetlse]

They tried this a couple of years ago and it turned into a nightmare. We were all set to board and got kicked out of line and it took us an additional 5 hours to board. Ridiculous!!

Did you get kicked out of the line completely arbitrarily, or because you knowingly showed up before you were asked to and held up check-in for people who were there at the correct time?

[helenb]

What would it be like if everyone wanted on the plane at the same time? chaos, as people in row 14 would be getting settled while people in row 20 needed to get by.

 

Southwest seems to manage it quite well. But then, they have cattle call seating. I can just see everyone jockeying for position because the first person onboard gets the suite! ;)

 

I can see Princess eventually start selling a "fastpass" like many amusement parks do for earlier boarding.

 

I haven't experienced it myself, but I believe Carnival already does this? I heard that you can pay extra to be guaranteed early boarding and have your cabin ready immediately.

[caribill]

Southwest seems to manage it quite well. But then, they have cattle call seating. I can just see everyone jockeying for position because the first person onboard gets the suite! ;)

 

 

 

 

Actually, Southwest has the most civilized boarding process even if you are treated like first graders who have to line up in order.

 

The big rush for Southwest customers is to sign up for that boarding position 24 hours in advance, far away from the airport.

 

For the other airlines that board by rows, everyone seems to get up and crowd the entrance way no matter which rows are actually called to board.

[caribill]

The thread is titled "Princess now telling us when we can arrive at port to board??"

 

Why not?

 

They have been telling us for years when to leave the ship at the end of the cruise.

[geoherb]

Carnival has its "Faster to the Fun" that people can purchase. I think it's limited to a dozen cabins. For $49.95, those passengers can board right after the Platinum and Diamond passengers.

[Cruisin' Chick]

It's not really being a chair hog if you leave & return within an allotted time and most times it's only 1 chair that we share on & off. We've learned that you've got to get there early to get a shaded spot.

 

So why not have wife get up early and have her in the seat if that's so important to you. Imagine if many others do the same...there will be plenty of deck chairs with towels and books sitting on them and someone who intends to use it right away can't.

[helenb]

So why not have wife get up early and have her in the seat if that's so important to you. Imagine if many others do the same...there will be plenty of deck chairs with towels and books sitting on them and someone who intends to use it right away can't.

 

We took a cruise once in the Med (this was on Celebrity) where there was a high percentage of Italians and French onboard, who *loved* sitting in the sun. One sea day we got up early and went to the pool at 8 am, which was before any of these people (apparently they also liked to sleep in) got up. We went to swim and use the hot tub. We soaked and swam for about 90 minutes, during which time we got to watch all of the people coming up, leaving stuff on loungers, and then walking away. It was quite the show!

 

The devil in me wanted to take all of those towels and just throw them into the used towel bin, but I decided to play nice.... ;)

[billco]

So why not have wife get up early and have her in the seat if that's so important to you. Imagine if many others do the same...there will be plenty of deck chairs with towels and books sitting on them and someone who intends to use it right away can't.

Well said.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

So why not have wife get up early and have her in the seat if that's so important to you. Imagine if many others do the same...there will be plenty of deck chairs with towels and books sitting on them and someone who intends to use it right away can't.

 

I've tried the method of waiting till we actually needed the chair & it's a great idea IF all the other passengers would follow suite but as we all know' date=' they don't. [u']They[/u] never will. If and when the day comes that people are considerate enough to not leave the seats vacant I'll join in & comply but I've just come to the conclusion that I have to get up a little early & stretch the time limit (just a little) for saving a seat.

[Cruisin' Chick]

That's the crux of the matter. If passengers could show up and find a deck chair when they're ready to use it, people wouldn't feel the need to dump items at 7am and then disappear. If crew members were willing to enforce the 30 minute rule and move seemingly abandoned items to a table (or even the cubbyholes that many of us keep suggesting)...

 

On my last cruise, I wanted a chair in a shady spot on the non-smoking side to watch a MUTS movie. The one chair I found had a blouse and book. I asked the people sitting around this chair if they knew whose stuff it was. No one did. I asked if any of them were there for more than an half hour and some said yes. So I removed the items and placed on the little table next to it, saying, "You didn't see that." Got some laughter and some nods (along the lines of "You go, girl"). About an hour later, a woman showed up and retrieve the items without a word.

 

It's one thing if someone is in the pool, but at that time, there were just kids in there, and those items didn't look like they belonged to kids that age. And I think many of us wouldn't mind using cubbyholes to hold our stuff if just using the pool.

[ar1950]

The thread is titled "Princess now telling us when we can arrive at port to board??"

 

Why not?

 

They have been telling us for years when to leave the ship at the end of the cruise.

 

LOL. That merits a whole new thread.

 

Oh, wait, now that I think about it that has already been discussed. :cool:

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Post deleted.

Edited September 5, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[Thoth]

Bruce, you said it much better than I could have said. Entitled ... you bet. With all the problems in the world people are bent out of shape by not being the first one on board? Really??? Glad we will not be on their cruise. And Bruce, thanks for the tip. We will do that on our South American Cruise. I never thought of that. Much, much more relaxing.

You two still going on the Crown Princess this week ? If so, see you Saturday at the meet & greet at sailway. Lido deck aft Outrigger bar.

[pablo222]

Easy. You can ignore their advice and arrive as early as you want at the terminal.

Everybody else does it - why not you?

After all, this is the ME, ME, ME, ME, ME Generation you are cruising with.

Then you can have a nice leisurely wait standing in line for a few hours to check in.

 

At this point, can't I just announce that I am from cruise critic, and

the rules only apply to the other 'guy'?

[FawnRiver]

When we sailed out of Southampton, we were told to check in at 12:30pm (staggered time based on the location of our stateroom). So, we dutifully showed up at 12:25pm and had our boarding pass looked at, were handed a number and told to wait. Suffice it to say, we didn't check in at 12:30pm, instead we got the great joy of sitting in uncomfortable chairs in a noisy terminal watching while people around us got to check in and board.

 

We didn't make it onboard until after 2:30pm :mad:, so much for following their instructions. Fortunately, there was a small snack bar selling beer so DH was placated through the wait.

[runnerodb83]

Easy. You can ignore their advice and arrive as early as you want at the terminal.

Everybody else does it - why not you?

After all, this is the ME, ME, ME, ME, ME Generation you are cruising with.

Then you can have a nice leisurely wait standing in line for a few hours to check in.

Then you get shuttled to the buffet, because your cabin is not ready yet.

At the buffet you can fight the mobs trying to eat their money's worth on the first day, then get in some exercise trying to find an empty table where you can eat.

That all sounds very relaxing, don't you think?

 

The civilized passengers arrange for a late check out at the hotel, then go to a nice restaurant for a leisurely lunch, stop back at the hotel to pick up their bags, arrive at the terminal after all the mob scene at check-in has disappeared, check-in takes about 2 minutes, stroll aboard with no lines in front of you, cabin is ready, mob scene at the buffet has been cleared up, have a nice snack and a drink, fully relaxed and already in vacation mode.

 

Well put Bruce. We typically arrive around 2:30 or 3. There is no line to check in or go through security. We have the preferred boarding pass but seldom need to use it because...there is no line. If you are concerned about getting your vacation money's worth, the way I see it, on an hour by hour basis, I'd rather "pay" to sit at home/hotel for an extra hour or two rather than "pay" to stand in line for that hour or two.

 

Also, Norovirus tends to find its way through the sick hoardes boarding at the same time in close quarters (lines).

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Well put Bruce. We typically arrive around 2:30 or 3. There is no line to check in or go through security. We have the preferred boarding pass but seldom need to use it because...there is no line. If you are concerned about getting your vacation money's worth, the way I see it, on an hour by hour basis, I'd rather "pay" to sit at home/hotel for an extra hour or two rather than "pay" to stand in line for that hour or two.

 

Also, Norovirus tends to find its way through the sick hoardes boarding at the same time in close quarters (lines).

 

That's OK but you'll still miss out on a lunch in the DR & have to rush to the muster drill after dumping your luggage in the cabin.

If you live close enough to drive in the last minute don't get a flat, break down or hit heavy traffic or you'll be flying to catch the ship since they'll be denying you boarding that close to sailing time. We'll be aboard with all the sickies. :D:rolleyes: