First Impression.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Sometimes, life is hard, even on a cruise. I guess this was one of those times. But how nice that the OP can look forward to sharing this experience with everyone on his next Celebrity cruise. That prospect should cheer him up.

[riclop]

First impressions can make or break most anything. I think my cruise on Regal today 4/10/16, is already broken. Princess has a terribly inefficient check in process. Best excuse so far was to blame it on the Coast Guard. Yet the 2 plus hour wait could have been used by clearing the security check point and processing paperwork. Neither of which was done. And 3 security check points seems hardly enough for the thousands of guest coming to check in. Even at this early stage, I will not be sailing with this company again. I'm sure it can only get worse from here. First day of vacation spent waiting in lines, is not my idea of a great time.

 

Totally agree there embarkation is the worst of all the lines, but once you get thru it the cruise will be great.

[mamkmm2]

Why on earth would someone join CC just to complain about their own failure to follow directions? While I have compassion that they had an uncomfortable wait, I hope they learn the lesson about personal responsibility when it comes to being educated about check in times, etc.

 

You know those TSA lines at the airports? You need to accept you are going to have to deal with the same thing at the cruise ports, especially after the recent incidences in Belgium and France, etc. And you need to also realize that trying to jump the line simply doesn't work with the cruise lines because the port authority, immigration, TSA, etc all put strictures that the cruise line has to follow before addressing passenger wants.

[cabinfever60]

Sounds like you just need to go back to celebrity and complain over there!!!!! We don't need a sour-puss like you on princess any way. Or maybe just stay at home and vacation with your self in your back yard that way you can get there when ever you like!!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

I do hope the OP reads some of the posts that explain that the embarkation staff are not employees of Princess,but of the port .

It can be confusing as the staff wears uniforms with Princess colors,/ logos. New cruisers to Princess may not realize this and blame the cruise line for embarkation delays .

If you plan an early arrival to.a port, a seasoned traveler would expect lines to board a ship.

We always arrive at a port between 10:30 and 11:00 and wait on line even though we have Platinum priority boarding.We also find ourselves waiting inside in the Platinum area after going through security and getting our cruise cards.

We realize that we will either wait in the cruise terminal or in the hotel lobby for some

amount of time.

We chose to get to the terminal ,go through processing and wait.

It is a good opportunity for people watching!

I wish the OP a good cruise,at least for the sake of the others in his /her party that is sailing with him/her.

It would be interesting if the OP returns with a post at the end of the cruise to give his/her final impressions of the vacation.

 

.

 

Our first Princess cruise was in San Pedro, which we've sailed out of before with Carnival, and one of the employees working there was a total you-know-what to us. But we didn't ding Princess as we knew she was a port employee (yes, they usually will wear the uniforms for that day's cruise line). The cruise was great.

 

It's one thing to compare to your friends about the tough morning you had, but to sign up for a forum just to complain about a wait to get on board seems to be "stinky thinking" -- you just get yourself in a negative mood. I wouldn't beat up on the OP for not reading up on Cruise Critic before the cruise -- many of us started cruising long before this site started and didn't know about this forum. 10am does seem pretty early to get to port because you're dealing with the departing crowd's mad house. We do go as early as possible on the off chance we luck out (sometimes we have -- twice in the last three cruises we didn't have a line to check in, and we were still "gold" level).

 

I'm glad someone mentioned which port as the OP didn't....and that could possibly explain some of the wait as well as the poster who said there was a need for a ship's cleaning. Sometimes it's customs and immigrations that affects when passengers can board and disembark. It's not always the cruise line's fault if there's a glitch.

[Tripper10]

Yes, I was here early, if you call 1000 such. But not to board the ship until 1230 is unacceptable. Never have had this problem at Celebrity. Wanted to try something new, but I will be returning to my Elite status over there.

 

Showing up at 10am is your fault. Boarding around noon to 1pm is normal.

[Vette Gal]

I would gladly have waited for 2 hours to get on a cruise TODAY. Unfortunately, I have to work tomorrow.

 

I am just happy that we have a cruise booked and we only have another 254 days to wait until we get to board.

 

I always try to see my glass as half full.

[joeyancho]

Yes, I was here early, if you call 1000 such. But not to board the ship until 1230 is unacceptable. Never have had this problem at Celebrity. Wanted to try something new, but I will be returning to my Elite status over there.

 

 

Ooooooo....elite status, I'm so impressed. Obviously you are special. You should have told them about that at embarcation.

[cr8tiv1]

I am finding this thread to be most interesting but am concerned that it will be 15 pages before the OP returns. If this is his first cruise, he will more than likely not have internet minutes to check on the progress of his thread.

 

Further more, I doubt if he will even read the 15 pages.

 

It would be nice if he did check back in after the cruise to let us all know that he learned from others that his arrival time was too early and that someone set him straight that it wasn't Princess' "fault".

 

It would be nice if he checked back in to let us know that he had a marvelous time on his cruise and that Princess far exceeded his expectations over Celebrity.

 

It would be nice.... (add your own).

[caribill]

For another "first impression" view, the OP should read post #16 at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2337389

Edited April 11, 2016 by caribill

[Cruzaholic41]

First impressions can make or break most anything. I think my cruise on Regal today 4/10/16, is already broken. Princess has a terribly inefficient check in process. Best excuse so far was to blame it on the Coast Guard. Yet the 2 plus hour wait could have been used by clearing the security check point and processing paperwork. Neither of which was done. And 3 security check points seems hardly enough for the thousands of guest coming to check in. Even at this early stage, I will not be sailing with this company again. I'm sure it can only get worse from here. First day of vacation spent waiting in lines, is not my idea of a great time.

 

You must be in Fort Lauderdale because Princess' terminal there SUCKS!!! I can understand why you feel the way you do.

[4cats4me]

We arrived to the port around 1:00 pm and were quite surprised by the long lines to get in. The line was enormous. We were on a shuttle and went to various terminals and Princess had the longest line of them all. However, since we had priority boarding it only took us 30 mins from point of drop off until we got into our cabin.

What surprised us most was the $3 charge for certain desserts in the HC

Couldn't believe they're now charging. I asked and they told me this has been going on for a month. These desserts use a "better" chocolate we've been told. [emoji30] other than that, ship is beautiful. Things are great

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[4cats4me]

Because he said something negative?

 

 

 

Others certainly believed and responded to his comments about

 

a long wait and check-in delay.

 

 

 

It would seem to be a huge effort to find cruise critic on a mobile

 

device, after having finally survived an unpleasant check-in -- just

 

to post a trolling message.

 

 

 

Although, I realize that anyone who posts anything negative here

 

is belittled. Calling them a troll is just one example.

 

 

 

This is our 16th Princess cruise and the line was the worst we've ever seen, at it was 1:00 pm. We weren't sure what had happened. It seemed very unusual based on past experience. I would think even those who arrived at 1:00 like us might have experienced a very long wait. We had priority, and this was the one time when it really did make a difference.

[framer]

I've been a retailer for over 40 years and in that time .01% of customers make zero sense and are best to let them walk. I will work to not sell them anything. Sounds like this OP could be in this category. The fun of it all:cool:.

 

framer

[MommaBear55]

Some people are only happy if they are unhappy. OP has decided his cruise will be awful and he will be right. I have never had one cruise that has been 100% perfect, but afterwards I can never remember the bad stuff. Well, there was one cruise that they ran out of pina colada mix... Even that cruise was marvelous.

[PescadoAmarillo]

In doing a series of B2B cruises on the Emerald Princess, we watched from the ship once as, when docked at Pier 4, at the long line of people extending nearly the length of the entrance drive after 1 pm. We spoke with people who had waited outside, standing, for two hours of the three hours it took to board the ship. We also knew of the reasons for the backup: only one gangway could be set up due to fueling and the insufficient number of immigration agents. It happens.

 

There are many things outside of Princess control on turnaround days. I tend to think Princess does not deserve the blame for most delays, just as they don't deserve extra special praise when people are able to board before noon. Sometimes things go perfectly and other times they don't. It's luck of the draw.

 

On the Pacific Princess once in Papeete, a similar thing happened. The difference was that on that small ship, everyone was treated to a glass of wine at dinner that night as compensation. On the larger ships, I suppose that is not viewed as a feasible option.

[TracieABD]

Come to think of it...When I did my solo Emerald cruise last month, boarding was not easy peasy. I on the "lucky sandwich cruise"- you know, that lucky 4 day cruise that was sandwiched between two Spring Break doozies!

 

I got to the port pretty early (around 10:20???), and there was already two lines formed (one for Preferred and one for standard boarding). I was about 10 deep in the Preferred line.

 

I was texting with CRLess (Chris and Brenda) who were in-transit and on board. They had not fully cleared in-transit passengers by 11:30 am. They were also trying to off-load the hoards of college Spring Breakers- who did not look so happy.

 

I began the official boarding process around noon and was on the ship at 12:27.

 

I don't remember feeling any particular way. Actually, I was distracted by some lingering work issues and getting a foothold on my live-from blog.

 

As I am reviewing this, I can't believe it took over two hours to board. Certainly did not feel like it.

[mmckm]

I guess with aprox. 3000 people boarding within 3 to 4 hours he didn't expect a line up.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I guess with aprox. 3000 people boarding within 3 to 4 hours he didn't expect a line up.

 

 

I think more like 4,000 on Regal or Royal

[callmedeb]

I guess the OP should have packed the only things you need for a cruise, a good attitude and a bright outlook.

 

I hope his cruise improves.

[RDC1]

This is our 16th Princess cruise and the line was the worst we've ever seen, at it was 1:00 pm. We weren't sure what had happened. It seemed very unusual based on past experience. I would think even those who arrived at 1:00 like us might have experienced a very long wait. We had priority, and this was the one time when it really did make a difference.

 

Sunday in Fort Lauderdale can be pretty bad with the number of ships turning around. 7 were in port this last Sunday. Immigration personnel spread out over multiple ships/terminals. Delayed ship clearances. Delayed start for boarding. Everything stacks up and lines can get long. Especially when people ignore recommended check in times.

 

Others days during the week with fewer ships, generally not so bad.

[susancruzs]

Looking on the schedule for this Sunday, says Allure and Regal, no other ships, what a plus that would be! :) If 7 left surely there will be more than 2 ships in port???

 

I never plan on getting to the port before noon, so I'm not worried, but my back might be under protest if I had to stand for 2 hours. :D

[capriccio]

Looking on the schedule for this Sunday, says Allure and Regal, no other ships, what a plus that would be! :) If 7 left surely there will be more than 2 ships in port???

 

 

It's that time of year - ships are being transferred to their summer locations including the Niew Amsterdam heading to the west coast, the Celebrity Silhouette to Europe, and the Seabourn Odyssey to Europe. The other two (Carnival Conquest and Navigator of the Seas) are on 6 day cruises and return on Saturday.

[CRLess]

I have a few comments with regard to this whole thread.

 

First, most of the delays in boarding (and disembarking) I have experienced are due to circumstances beyond the control of the cruise line. If Customs and Border Patrol are understaffed (or for that matter being purposely slow), then it takes longer to "zero" out the count on board. Boarding cannot start until that happens. As Tracy mentioned, on our B2B cruise on the Emerald last month, CBP was VERY slow at the end of our first leg. In fact, in transit passengers were told to meet in a dining room at 10:30 to be cleared, and we were not officially cleared by CBP until 11:45. When we got back from the second leg, we were about 30 minutes behind getting off. It was there that I witnessed something that made me seethe...as we approached the CBP desk agent, he cleared the group in front of us, and then spent 3 minutes staring at what we thought was his computer, before he looked up and waived us up to his station. After he cleared us, I looked back at his station. He was TEXT messaging. Unbelievable.

 

On our last cruise on the Grand, it had just arrived in Ft. Lauderdale from its T/A cruise. Boarding on that voyage was significantly delayed due to a USCG inspection of the ship. Again, not the cruise line's fault

 

With that said, I find it hard to believe that an experienced cruiser such as the OP, would suddenly decide to join CC while waiting to embark the ship, so that they could announce to the world that they would never cruise Princess again... before they even stepped foot on the ship or experienced the product. My troll radar was going off when I first read this thread. If I am wrong, I hope the OP comes back after the cruise to tell us how the Princess product was....the part they can control.

[ar1950]

....................................

With that said, I find it hard to believe that an experienced cruiser such as the OP, would suddenly decide to join CC while waiting to embark the ship, so that they could announce to the world that they would never cruise Princess again... before they even stepped foot on the ship or experienced the product. My troll radar was going off when I first read this thread. If I am wrong, I hope the OP comes back after the cruise to tell us how the Princess product was....the part they can control.

 

I was suspicious as well. My thought after reading his 3 first-ever comments with this screen name was that he must have another screen name on CC and didn't want to use it for this rant. The OP's postings just seemed strange. But, that is just my impression, so to speak........YMMV.

Edited April 11, 2016 by ar1950