Boarding Time Southampton?

[Yoshikitty]

Wanted to add, that we always enjoy having a walk thru Southampton (if weater allows) and later have a coffee in the food court in West Quai Mall after we have dropped off our luggage.

 

The short taxi ride from there to the pier bears no risks in terms of traffic congestion, so we can schedule our embarkation time to the t. Taxi is around 7GBP to the pier.

[SALAD MUNCHER]

Very interesting but you have forgotten one group, those who arrive late.

 

Perhaps they should also be forced to join the 'failure to arrive on time queue' you propose that slots them in only when ontime arrivals have been dealt with.

 

I suppose unfortunately for these late arrivals they could be stuck in that queue until just before departure, whereas the early arrivals can break out of the queue if they are still there when their scheduled arrival time comes up.

 

This is getting so funny now! We live in Cumbria, right on the south west coast and are one hour away from junction 36 of the M6. We usually travel down using the cruise coach, which picks us up in Lancaster (a one hour drive from here) at around 7am and which should, if on time, arrive around 2.30ish. A few times we have been delayed - one time someone left their handbag containing money and passport at the services and we had to turn back to try and retrieve it, which added a further one hour to our journey and consequently we were the last people on the ship! We usually travel in the Grills, which means we could embark at 12 noon (I think but it could be 12.30pm) so by arriving later via the coach we miss the lunch in the Grills Restaurant, priority boarding, and a few hours longer on the ship. So what! Everything you want to do on the ship you can do and see during the trip, so does it really matter if you have to wait one or two hours later for your boarding time? I really think people should take a moment to think about this - you're surely not in a hurry to jump the queue in order to catch a bargain in the sales, or to bag the best seat or cabin on the ship, as you already have an allocated cabin and restaurant so what's the problem? Cunard are trying to make the embarkation experience a good experience for everyone by allowing a steady flow of passengers, but if people try to change the system it makes it problematic and could leave a bad experience for those who go by the timings and arrive on time for their allocated embarkation, only to find infiltrators have arrived before them and have caused a longer queue/waiting time! Just try to go with the flow and do as you are asked by Cunard and I am sure everyone will have a great experience!

[Phil50]

Well I’ll have your check in slot as you say you’ve been delayed “a few times” previously!!! So some people are late and some are early - so there’s not really any issue here is there, it’s got a bit silly if you ask me. I will be in Southampton that morning and IF Cunard are happy to let me on early I will most certainly accept - I noticed you say you “usually” travel.... so maybe it’s not a big thing for you but I can assure you it is for me. I’ve been waiting for years to get my wife on a cruise and she’s finally agreed as it’s my 50th Birthday treat, we booked it almost 18 months ago, we visited the ship last November, and I can honestly say I cannot wait to get on board! Excited is an understatement. So I’m sorry but I may be one of those “infiltrators” as you call them....

[Host Hattie]

This thread is now open again, apologies for the disruption.

Edited August 24, 2018 by Host Hattie

[fantasy51]

2000 people on a ship and they all have to arrive at different times it seems in order for the poor staff to be able to cope. And yet plenty of planes have several hundred 100 passengers and they are not told to arrive at different times. It makes you wonder how airports manage with 1000s of people arriving constantly ? How do they do it !!??

 

They only manage because people automatically arrive at different times, some early and some late. Three years ago I was on a charter flight back from Rome, after a cruise on QE. That meant the whole flight load arrived at the airport within a 15-minute slot. Unfortunately my bus was the last to arrive. My friend and I stood in a queue for about 90 minutes to check in as the airport had not put enough staff on to expedite this. On the plane, the pilot said that we were almost ready to go, just had to wait for a few more suitcases to be loaded, and he hoped we would not miss our slot.

 

We arrived at Heathrow in good time. My friend and I were among the first off. However, our suitcases did not arrive! We had to wait for another 90 minutes before the airport agreed that they had not arrived and we could go and stand in line at lost baggage. There were quite a few people in that line from our flight - all those who had been at the back of the queue. (Our luggage was delivered to our home a day or two later.)

[PORT ROYAL]

They only manage because people automatically arrive at different times, some early and some late. Three years ago I was on a charter flight back from Rome, after a cruise on QE. That meant the whole flight load arrived at the airport within a 15-minute slot. Unfortunately my bus was the last to arrive. My friend and I stood in a queue for about 90 minutes to check in as the airport had not put enough staff on to expedite this. On the plane, the pilot said that we were almost ready to go, just had to wait for a few more suitcases to be loaded, and he hoped we would not miss our slot.

 

We arrived at Heathrow in good time. My friend and I were among the first off. However, our suitcases did not arrive! We had to wait for another 90 minutes before the airport agreed that they had not arrived and we could go and stand in line at lost baggage. There were quite a few people in that line from our flight - all those who had been at the back of the queue. (Our luggage was delivered to our home a day or two later.)

 

To justify arriving "early", your view appears to be, that those who are allocated "a back of the queue time", albeit 14.30, could suffer delays of up to 90 minutes at check-in, and may not have their luggage delivered to the stateroom.

[SALAD MUNCHER]

Well I’ll have your check in slot as you say you’ve been delayed “a few times” previously!!! So some people are late and some are early - so there’s not really any issue here is there, it’s got a bit silly if you ask me. I will be in Southampton that morning and IF Cunard are happy to let me on early I will most certainly accept - I noticed you say you “usually” travel.... so maybe it’s not a big thing for you but I can assure you it is for me. I’ve been waiting for years to get my wife on a cruise and she’s finally agreed as it’s my 50th Birthday treat, we booked it almost 18 months ago, we visited the ship last November, and I can honestly say I cannot wait to get on board! Excited is an understatement. So I’m sorry but I may be one of those “infiltrators” as you call them....

 

I hope you really enjoy the experience, it is a lovely way to celebrate a big birthday. We first sailed with Cunard for our Honeymoon in 2007 and I was absolutely thrilled with the trip. Hope you enjoy your birthday, I am sure you will.

[Phil50]

I hope you really enjoy the experience, it is a lovely way to celebrate a big birthday. We first sailed with Cunard for our Honeymoon in 2007 and I was absolutely thrilled with the trip. Hope you enjoy your birthday, I am sure you will.

 

Thank you very much. I’m sure I will too! Had another 2 hour work break in Southampton today so went to the Titanic museum. It was quite good and gets me in the mood. (Plus a nice bonus when I’m being paid by work to do stuff like that!)

[fantasy51]

To justify arriving "early", your view appears to be, that those who are allocated "a back of the queue time", albeit 14.30, could suffer delays of up to 90 minutes at check-in, and may not have their luggage delivered to the stateroom.

 

Port Royal, I'm not quite sure of what you are accusing me. I don't need to justify arriving 'early' as I am a Diamond member and have priority boarding at 12.30. I cannot always get there by that time, much as I like making the most of all my time on the ship.

 

My comment was nothing to do with arriving early at Southampton. It was a response to Toad's comment (which I quoted) that airlines manage it with people arriving all at once so why can't Cunard?

1. People don't arrive all at once for airlines. They self-stagger their arrival. I gave the example of the flight where we DID all arrive at the same time, and the airlines could not cope, thus showing that Toad's analogy was incorrect.

2. What I didn't say is that Cunard has 2-3 thousand passengers at a time, and a flight does not have that many. Cunard may have lots of check-in agents but it has fewer hand-luggage screening machines than an airline does, which would make it even more difficult for Cunard to cope if everyone arrived at once.

 

I therefore think there is a need for staggered arrival times. I'm sorry if I did not make that clear.

[ToadOfToadHall]

1. People don't arrive all at once for airlines. They self-stagger their arrival. I gave the example of the flight where we DID all arrive at the same time, and the airlines could not cope, thus showing that Toad's analogy was incorrect.

 

It's not incorrect because all an airline does is give you a departure time and advise you how long to arrive before hand at the airport (in fact, they seem not to do that anymore of recent).

 

So airlines do not stagger passenger arrivals. Obviously the entire plane load of passengers do not all arrive at the airport at exactly the instant in time, but they will all arrive at roughly the same time.

 

So airlines do cope every day with people turning up for their flight at pretty much the same time.

[Bedruthen]

The higher the deck, the earlier you board. So if you want an early arrival time, go for deck 13 and avoid deck 4 cabins. The one situation where boarding time does make a difference is for those people who want to change their allocated dining time. The maitre d is available from 3pm, if I recall correctly, so anyone with a boarding time later than that has almost zero chance of amending their table reservation. An unfair penalty in my view.

[Yoshikitty]

I

 

So airlines do cope every day with people turning up for their flight at pretty much the same time.

 

 

 

 

..... with a maximum of 550 passengers.

 

A Cunarder has 2500 passengers and up, longer checkin procedures and only a handful of security scanners

[ToadOfToadHall]

..... with a maximum of 550 passengers.

 

A Cunarder has 2500 passengers and up, longer checkin procedures and only a handful of security scanners

 

True, and it has 1000 and up staff to handle 2500 passengers as opposed to around 15 to 20 for 550 plane passengers.

 

As I say, it's really not that hard.

[nonnyd]

Ok, so to summarize, people have some constraints such as travel arrangements or hotel check-out times.  We are excited and want to maximize time on the ship or at a lovely hotel lunch, and minimize it in the waiting area.  And yet, there's also a cafe in the climate-controlled waiting area with champagne for sale.  We've all got devices to entertain ourselves with apps.  Some arrive early and wait patiently if they are ahead of their scheduled time.  Some arrive late due to travel snags. 

 

Seems to me that the late people would be glad for the early people to take up the slack in the line, so that they might board promptly.  All we have to do is sip champagne with aplomb if our number is not called yet. 🙂  I'm looking forward to this trip.

 

As Jack Sparrow would say, "The problem is not the problem.  The problem is your attitude toward the problem."

[Elephant1151]

If you are Diamond and on a World cruise you may still be delayed at check in due to the numbers of this level who take the longer voyages.  We allow extra time for traffic problems and if we arrive a little earlier so be it.  Once onboard we go to our cabin and drop off the carry on luggage,  then go to lunch. 

 

Please remember on a longer voyage therre is more luggage and it may take a little longer to arrive. Relax and go the see the Regimental Band then unpack before the drill and firework display.

[frankp01]

On 8/21/2018 at 7:04 AM, capegirl said:

Does time allocated 2.30 MEAN 2.30 and not waiting around any longer?

 

I wish. Granted, this was NYC, but in July we arrived at our appointed time of 3PM. I assumed that virtually everyone would be aboard at that point. Nope! We must have waited at least 45 minutes in the queue. On our prior trip, we arrived at the terminal around 10:30. Our plan was to drop of our luggage with the porters and return at our appointed time. But there was literally not one soul in line, so we went ahead and checked in.

 

I think it's safe to say that if there's no queue the staff will be very happy to get you processed and out of the way. But there's no way to know if there'll be a queue.