Staggered Check In - HELP

[First and Ten]

It works for you because you have priority boarding and so will never be forced into a late slot no matter when you book your trip. I'm fine with it working for YOU. But when you say "it works" you should be up front and tell people why, in your situation, it does.

 

 

It doesn't work for the "entitled mindset". The people who feel that "I want to board when I want to board"....it doesn't work that way. Carnival is telling you "You will board our ship when we tell you what time to board"

 

 

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Edited October 24, 2016 by First and Ten

[First and Ten]

 

 

 

Would you feel stressed out if you thought you might miss dinner with small kids in tow? I might feel stressed. I have some empathy for OP. I won't blame them for Carnivals less than stellar system. Those saying the system is great are those not subjected to being forced with late times. No wonder they see no issue.

 

 

You won't miss dinner....if you get on the ship late, you have RS and the buffet at your disposal

 

 

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Edited October 24, 2016 by First and Ten

[KatieCharlotte]

It doesn't work for the "entitled mindset". The people who feel that "I want to board when I want to board"....it doesn't work that way. Carnival is telling you "You will board our ship when we tell you what time to board"

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

When you are paying money for something, and the product or service has changed in a way you don't like or the company has a new policy that you don't like, expressing that opinion is NOT an "entitled mindset."

 

Some people want to be able to check-in when they arrive at the terminal, if check-in has already begun. Carnival has decided that this is not the way they want to do things. It is not an entitled mindset to say that you don't want Carnival to do things that way. Imagine that you booked a cruise, and then Carnival decided that it would randomly assign check-in times to all guests, regardless their priority status/FTTF, and you received the latest time. If you said, hey, I liked it better the way they did things before, do you have an entitled mindset?

[Elaine5715]

Good grief! If a simple request like OP's cannot be handled with a polite "no ma'am, i'm sorry, we cannot make an exception", that rep is in the wrong job! What is next, "safe spaces"?

With the venom directed at posters here, do you really think the OP is going to respond politely to such a response? No, the OP is gonna scream, yell, demand to speak to someone else and keep posting about the horrible customer service ...

[Elaine5715]

When you are paying money for something, and the product or service has changed in a way you don't like or the company has a new policy that you don't like, expressing that opinion is NOT an "entitled mindset."

 

Some people want to be able to check-in when they arrive at the terminal, if check-in has already begun. Carnival has decided that this is not the way they want to do things. It is not an entitled mindset to say that you don't want Carnival to do things that way. Imagine that you booked a cruise, and then Carnival decided that it would randomly assign check-in times to all guests, regardless their priority status/FTTF, and you received the latest time. If you said, hey, I liked it better the way they did things before, do you have an entitled mindset?

 

And we are entitled to respond aw we wish since you posted and continue to post on a public site. What you are saying is you want it your way and think you have a reason for exceptions. Your failure to read the material available, including your ticket contract is on you.

[jsglow]

We just experienced staggered check-in for the first time and LOVED it. Not all 3000 folks can get on the ship at the same time. It's a process. We did not purchase FTTF but probably boarded within 30 minutes of that group being called. Compared to the madhouse we have experienced at prior ports, this was a total breeze and should be instituted for all sailings of all ships.

 

In case you were wondering, we booked our cruise roughly 60 days before sail date and were able to get the 2nd (I believe) staggered boarding slot (11a slot). At the port they actually motioned us in about 10 minutes early as all the 10:30a folks had already been accommodated. We ended up being Zone 7. Serenity Deck by noonish. Room access and unpacking by 1:30p. Perfect. Best process ever in 6 cruises.

[asalligo]

 

 

 

All the person did was point out that you were to blame, and you were, for not understanding you needed to select a check-in time and choosing a late cruise that doesn't suit you. If you ask me, you are the one being rude, and you came in with an angry bluster. If you'd came in understanding that the situation was of your own making, you would receive a lot of more sympathetic responses (I know that's what keeps me from feeling much sympathy for you, since you don't seem to understand you caused your own problem by selecting a late cruise and then not checking in until very late, thus getting the undesirable spots).

 

I think we sometimes forget how rabid we are about cruising. Many people just book a cruise and that is it. Only we cruise fanatics read every document and scour every review.

 

Good friends of mine booked a cruise and did not realize that there would be a tip applied to their bill. At first, I was like what, how could you have missed that, but they just booked and went. They did not read much.

 

My point is we should try to be more accepting of people coming to us as the experts to try to get info. They do not live here as we do and have not discussed this topic 100 times.

 

As far as check in time goes. I have a cruise booked for November 25th 2017 on the Dream. When I booked the cruise, there was no mention of staggered check in and still there is no option to choose a check in time. I know that there will be a staggered check in for this cruise and if I just booked it and did not spend time checking for it, I bet that I would not get notified until just before the cruise and be stuck with a late check in time.

 

Carnival could do a much better job handling this.

[asalligo]

And we are entitled to respond aw we wish since you posted and continue to post on a public site. What you are saying is you want it your way and think you have a reason for exceptions. Your failure to read the material available, including your ticket contract is on you.

 

Really? This is what I mean, I think it unreasonable to expect the average Joe to read their ticket contract. Should they? Yes. Will they? No. We should just be a little more forgiving in this matter.

 

Think of it as speaking to a friend in person. Would you say in this matter, you are stupid, you should have read the contract? No, you would say something like, Oh man, I am really sorry you did not realize that staggered check in had started, they will not make exceptions. That really sucks. I wonder if there might be something local close to the port you might do with the kids on the cheap.

 

I doubt that anyone is looking their friend in the eye and saying, Dude, you are so stupid, you should have read everything carnival has posted on their site like I do.

[firemanbobswife]

Really? This is what I mean, I think it unreasonable to expect the average Joe to read their ticket contract. Should they? Yes. Will they? No. We should just be a little more forgiving in this matter.

 

 

 

Think of it as speaking to a friend in person. Would you say in this matter, you are stupid, you should have read the contract? No, you would say something like, Oh man, I am really sorry you did not realize that staggered check in had started, they will not make exceptions. That really sucks. I wonder if there might be something local close to the port you might do with the kids on the cheap.

 

 

 

I doubt that anyone is looking their friend in the eye and saying, Dude, you are so stupid, you should have read everything carnival has posted on their site like I do.

 

 

Well I would be more inclined to say exactly that to a friend because if they are my friend, they know I am the travel expert and should have come to me before they book as I always give them accurate advice as far as what to do. If they don't, then any mistakes they make are on them and I don't feel sorry for them. I don't sugar coat things and tell it like it is. The only time it should bother someone is when it's the truth and not what they want to hear. That's just the way I am.

Edited October 24, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[BNBR]

Well I would be more inclined to say exactly that to a friend because if they are my friend, they know I am the travel expert and should have come to me before they book as I always give them accurate advice as far as what to do. If they don't, then any mistakes they make are on them and I don't feel sorry for them. I don't sugar coat things and tell it like it is. The only time it should offend someone is when it's the truth and not what they want to hear. That's just the way I am.

 

When we arrived on the Glory - I am almost certain you or someone said they were just letting everyone in, regardless of staggered check in.

 

But it seems FTTF is worth it for the OP here.

[firemanbobswife]

When we arrived on the Glory - I am almost certain you or someone said they were just letting everyone in, regardless of staggered check in.

 

But it seems FTTF is worth it for the OP here.

 

 

They were letting both the first time slots as well as the 11AM slots in. Not everyone. It was like 10:45-10:50.

[sandkps]

I understand your frustration. I've not experienced staggered check in yet, but on our last cruise out of Charleston in May, check in was delayed by 3 hours due to weather issues and the ship arriving to port later than usual. It was very frustrating to me, even though I understood that it was beyond their control.

 

That being said, there are lots of great things to do in Charleston with little ones. I agree with PP about either the Children's museum (not far from port - located right behind the visitors center) or the aquarium (very close to port). Both would be a great way to kill a few hours with littles.

 

As far as the MDR is concerned, I'm not sure how it will work with staggered check in, but if they have check in as late at 6 or 6:30, there have got to be allowances made on their end for dining that first night. In our case with our delayed boarding, the muster drill was not until right before 6pm, which pushed dinner back. They had everyone go to their assigned dining rooms, but it was treated like anytime dining that first night only, meaning we sat at random tables as we arrived for dinner. I'm sure they have a plan in place for you!

[jsglow]

They were letting both the first time slots as well as the 11AM slots in. Not everyone. It was like 10:45-10:50.

 

That's exactly what we just experienced too. We were an 11a slot. After arriving at the port via our shuttle about 10:40, we were motioned inside about 10:50 in an effort to keep the process moving as all 10:30 folks had already been accommodated.

 

Almost zero line upstairs and we were fully checked in and seated in the big waiting area by 11:15, just about the moment they called Platinum/Diamond after the ship had been cleared.

 

One other thing I appreciated. Our agent noted that we were Gold and happily stated 'I don't need to give you guys the whole speech. You've done this before. Have fun!'

[cruzeluver]

I am booked on the same cruise as the OP. Its an unusual sailing in that check in does not start until 3:30 PM and we depart at 10:00 PM. We received an email from Carnival months ago when Charleston made the switch to staggered check-in advising us accordingly. I immediately logged into our booking and was able to select the first check-in window (3:30-4:00) so we are good to go.

 

I confirmed with Carnival awhile back that the first night the main dining room will be all opening seating since people will still be checking in even after late dining would normally have begun.

[Hawaii697]

Good grief people, have you ever in your entire lifetime wanted to be accommodated for something? For some of you to come down so hard on her is ridiculous. And we wonder why the world is the way it is.

 

Anyhoo, OP, as a suggestion of what to do with your kids while in Charleston, check out the Tom’s Toys Kapla Block Store which I believe is on Market Street, not to far from the pier. It's building block store where kids can play for free.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited October 24, 2016 by Hawaii697

[Nic6318]

So...People who defend strictly enforced staggered check-in say that it works great and the response is overwhelmingly positive...But when someone says that it didn't work great for them and is actually causing a big hassle, they get a bunch of responses criticizing them for their lack of personal responsibility and telling them they need to stop complaining? :confused:

 

Can we just acknowledge that Carnival's unique enforced check-in time is a negative for some guests who are forced into later times than they want? Telling OP they should have selected their time sooner would not actually eliminate this reality, because there are a limited number of early slots available -- if OP had gotten the early time, someone else would have been shut out. Unfortunately for the OP, the problem is magnified because of the late start to check-in on that cruise.

 

Hi there

 

You are suggesting that the staggered check in "didn't work well for them"...actually, that is not the case. They haven't actually participated yet.

 

The OP's issue arises not in the changes to the check in but in that she wasn't aware of changes since her last cruise, in fact didn't make any effort to become aware until it was too late, for whatever reason, and now feels that it is Carnival's responsibility to help her out due to her circumstance. If she had booked anything else (hotel, restaurant, flight, you name it) and she found out at the last minute that something about the booking wasn't going to be convenient for her, would she be thinking that they should accommodate her due to her particular needs? Would you be siding with her?

 

You go on to say that even if she were able to get an early check in time it would inconvenience someone else. You are just ignoring the fact that this is the situation of any cruise that would have an embarkation later in the day. Even the OP said that if she had realized this situation in advance she would have looked at a cruise with a morning embarkation. That is what people always have to do, make informed decisions. If you don't inform yourself, do you always have to look for someone else to blame?

 

There have been many options suggested as to what the that OP can do and I am sure that she will choose one. To try and continue to blame Carnival for something that was clearly the OP's responsibility is just silly. If the OP chooses to never sail with Carnival again because of something that she was responsible for, that is her right.

[KatieCharlotte]

Hi there

 

You are suggesting that the staggered check in "didn't work well for them"...actually, that is not the case. They haven't actually participated yet.

 

The OP's issue arises not in the changes to the check in but in that she wasn't aware of changes since her last cruise, in fact didn't make any effort to become aware until it was too late, for whatever reason, and now feels that it is Carnival's responsibility to help her out due to her circumstance. If she had booked anything else (hotel, restaurant, flight, you name it) and she found out at the last minute that something about the booking wasn't going to be convenient for her, would she be thinking that they should accommodate her due to her particular needs? Would you be siding with her?

 

You go on to say that even if she were able to get an early check in time it would inconvenience someone else. You are just ignoring the fact that this is the situation of any cruise that would have an embarkation later in the day.

 

I might be siding with her. It depends on what the policy was that was inconvenient for her. I think it's ridiculous when airlines follow policies that seemed to intentionally inconvenience families who don't pay extra to select their seats, for example. (We had an airline place children ages 2 and 5 far away from all four adults in the party. :rolleyes: ) Or, if she planned to arrive at a busy hotel at check-in so her child could nap and then learned that she needed to choose a check-in time and the early slots had all been filled by people who might or might not arrive that early but were advised to grab the earliest slots just in case.

 

I am not ignoring the fact that it's a cruise with a later embarkation. She would not have a problem if she was allowed to check-in when check-in starts, on a first-arrive, first-check-in basis. People keep saying that all this could be avoided if she'd selected her time sooner; however, this ignores that there are a limited number of spots for each time, so there are always going to be people forced to select later check-in times than they want, and later than they would naturally arrive at the port. That's especially going to be an issue on a cruise with a later embarkation. I will give Carnival the benefit of the doubt and assume that they will have as much check-in staff as possible available so they could let as many people as possible have the earliest time.

[poobears]

Why is everyone so hung up on the LATE time of this check in. They are all comparing it to the typical 10-10:30 check in. That is not what this cruise is. This is a late boarding cruise. No one is getting on this ship in the morning. The OP booked a LATE boarding cruise. That is what she picked from the start. Even with FTTF she wouldn't get on in the morning because it's not a morning boarding cruise. It's a afternoon/evening boarding.

 

Her 6-6:30 check in is the same as an afternoon check in on a day cruise, you get on after most are already eating or have eaten lunch. If she didn't want night time check in, she should have booked a cruise that ported out in the morning instead of the evening. No one including carnival can change that.

 

I personally wouldn't want to board late afternoon so I wouldn't book a cruise that boards in the afternoon even with FTTF. Simple

[Sparky2]

It's kind of like finding a hotel in New Orleans for a Halloween cruise. My favorite hotel could have been booked earlier in the year for $79 on Hotwire for next weekend according to some others that will be cruising then, by the time I checked hotels that same one was running around $200-250 a night. I didn't really want to pay that much knowing we never paid that much before. Then the price went to $400-500 per night :eek: Obviously I wasn't paying that but all other hotels in the area that were safe and decent were high or sold out too. My fault for not paying attention when I should have early on. I had no idea Halloween was such a big weekend in NO, plus they have a big football game going on that weekend.

 

Calling hotels and pleading my case sure wouldn't have gotten me anywhere. Nor should it have, it was on me for not doing my part, not on them. I guess I could say I'm never cruising out of NO again or never staying at that hotel again but why? I'm the one that didn't look when I should have.

 

Excellent post, poobears.

[Sparky2]

We booked our January 2017 B2B on Conquest almost a year ago. When they introduced Staggered Check-in in Conquest, we received an email from Carnival with "IMPORTANT NOTICE" in the title. Once I opened the email, clicked on the pdf file, the letter explained what to do to get your choice.

 

OP, did you receive this letter from Carnival?

[Elaine5715]

I might be siding with her. It depends on what the policy was that was inconvenient for her. I think it's ridiculous when airlines follow policies that seemed to intentionally inconvenience families who don't pay extra to select their seats, for example. (We had an airline place children ages 2 and 5 far away from all four adults in the party. :rolleyes: ) Or, if she planned to arrive at a busy hotel at check-in so her child could nap and then learned that she needed to choose a check-in time and the early slots had all been filled by people who might or might not arrive that early but were advised to grab the earliest slots just in case.

 

I am not ignoring the fact that it's a cruise with a later embarkation. She would not have a problem if she was allowed to check-in when check-in starts, on a first-arrive, first-check-in basis. People keep saying that all this could be avoided if she'd selected her time sooner; however, this ignores that there are a limited number of spots for each time, so there are always going to be people forced to select later check-in times than they want, and later than they would naturally arrive at the port. That's especially going to be an issue on a cruise with a later embarkation. I will give Carnival the benefit of the doubt and assume that they will have as much check-in staff as possible available so they could let as many people as possible have the earliest time.

 

And I think if parents fail to plan for their families, it should not inconvenience me. Just another example of people who think being a parent endows them with privileges but no responsibility. If you expect the village to raise your children, don't be surprised when the villagers impose their standards, not yours.

[ScottsSweetie]

When you are paying money for something, and the product or service has changed in a way you don't like or the company has a new policy that you don't like, expressing that opinion is NOT an "entitled mindset."

 

Some people want to be able to check-in when they arrive at the terminal, if check-in has already begun. Carnival has decided that this is not the way they want to do things. It is not an entitled mindset to say that you don't want Carnival to do things that way. Imagine that you booked a cruise, and then Carnival decided that it would randomly assign check-in times to all guests, regardless their priority status/FTTF, and you received the latest time. If you said, hey, I liked it better the way they did things before, do you have an entitled mindset?

 

It is not an entitled mindset to say that you don't want things done that way. It is entitled to call someone and expect them to make an exception for you, ignoring all others following the correct procedure on that sailing.

 

Really? This is what I mean, I think it unreasonable to expect the average Joe to read their ticket contract. Should they? Yes. Will they? No. We should just be a little more forgiving in this matter.

 

Think of it as speaking to a friend in person. Would you say in this matter, you are stupid, you should have read the contract? No, you would say something like, Oh man, I am really sorry you did not realize that staggered check in had started, they will not make exceptions. That really sucks. I wonder if there might be something local close to the port you might do with the kids on the cheap.

 

I doubt that anyone is looking their friend in the eye and saying, Dude, you are so stupid, you should have read everything carnival has posted on their site like I do.

 

That is absolutely what I would say to a friend. But I would not expect my friend to say that, since they screwed up, they were angry that no exception was to be made for them and they would never ever do business with that company again. If my friend said that, I would call them on it and remind them that it was their own mistake.

[amydresh]

And I think if parents fail to plan for their families, it should not inconvenience me. Just another example of people who think being a parent endows them with privileges but no responsibility. If you expect the village to raise your children, don't be surprised when the villagers impose their standards, not yours.

 

As a parent of a 16, 13, and 11 year old, I was always afraid of my kids imposing on others. For that very reason we were very lax with the schedules for sleeping and eating so that if things were different/thrown off that they could easily go with the flow. It has worked and they are the most easy going kids ever. I would be one of those moms with kids in Walmart at 11 p.m. and they weren't overtired, cranky, etc because they weren't out of their routine. I have never regretted raising them in this way and I have even told my daughter that the best thing she can do when she has kids is to not have a strict/rigid schedule.

 

I don't understand why OP would have booked a cruise at such a late embarkation even without the staggered check in as her kids would not be going to bed at their usual time no matter what. :confused: