Triumph - No early boarding for Priority guests

[pjfnme]

Hello all.  I received an email from Carnival a little while ago announcing that ALL guest, INCLUDING Diamond, Platinum, FTTF and suite guests, are now NOT allowed inside of the terminal prior to their check in time!  They went on to say that all guest will be turned away if they attempt to enter the terminal prior to this time.  What??!  I am Platinum and have never been concerned with securing an early arrival appointment because we can usually get on board whenever we want.  I know a lot of people like to board late, but It's fun to us to get to the terminal around 10:30 and be on board sipping our drinks by 1115 .  Needless to say, learning that we can now not enter the terminal until 12:30 was extremely irritating to say the least!  I just wanted to share this information because I know that a lot of people ask if priority passengers have to adhere to their appointment time.  Apparently, at least now for the Triumph, THEY DO!  I wish now that I had logged in and chosen an earlier time when I could have.     

[Sillyjilly]

15 minutes ago, pjfnme said:

Hello all.  I received an email from Carnival a little while ago announcing that ALL guest, INCLUDING Diamond, Platinum, FTTF and suite guests, are now NOT allowed inside of the terminal prior to their check in time!  They went on to say that all guest will be turned away if they attempt to enter the terminal prior to this time.  What??!  I am Platinum and have never been concerned with securing an early arrival appointment because we can usually get on board whenever we want.  I know a lot of people like to board late, but It's fun to us to get to the terminal around 10:30 and be on board sipping our drinks by 1115 .  Needless to say, learning that we can now not enter the terminal until 12:30 was extremely irritating to say the least!  I just wanted to share this information because I know that a lot of people ask if priority passengers have to adhere to their appointment time.  Apparently, at least now for the Triumph, THEY DO!  I wish now that I had logged in and chosen an earlier time when I could have.     

 

Sounds like some kind of delay, but not something for every cruise.

[coevan]

can you copy and paste the email it makes no sense, unless Silly is on to something

[pjfnme]

5 minutes ago, Sillyjilly said:

 

Sounds like some kind of delay, but not something for every cruise.

Well, you are almost right.  I called Carnival to see what was going on and, after much waiting, I was told that they are using the time when they would normally allow priority guests to begin boarding to "offload" material in preparation for the ship's upcoming drydock.  I have no idea what kind of "material" they will be offloading but hopefully we won't miss it.  At any rate, if anyone is scheduled to go on the Triumph before drydock, be prepared for this to happen to you as well.  I was told that this will be the norm for Triumph while it is still sailing under that name.  So make sure to log in and get your arrival appointments early! 

[pjfnme]

8 minutes ago, coevan said:

can you copy and paste the email it makes no sense, unless Silly is on to something

ARRIVAL APPOINTMENT REMINDER CARNIVAL TRIUMPH NOVEMBER 5, 2018

October 31, 2018     Dear Carnival Triumph Guests, We will be boarding later than usual for your cruise due to loading and offloading of materials that will be taking place.  Due to terminal capacity limitations, guests (including Diamond, Platinum, Faster to the Fun and Suites) who arrive earlier than their Arrival Appointment will not be permitted to enter the terminal. They will be asked to return at their assigned time. In preparation for final boarding and departure, all guests must be on board the ship no later than 60 minutes prior to the published sailing time or they will not be permitted to sail.  Thank you for your understanding. Our entire Carnival Triumph team is looking forward to providing you with a fun and memorable cruise.

Sincerely,   Denese Waiters Sr. Director, Guest Services - Contact Centers

[evandbob]

As long as D&P still have priority boarding before they call zone #'s, an unexpected delay is understandable.

[coevan]

Silly was right, it was not a new policy, there was a specific reason. Might as well have your 11:15 drink at your hotel

[S.S.Oceanlover]

1 minute ago, coevan said:

Silly was right, it was not a new policy, there was a specific reason. Might as well have your 11:15 drink at your hotel

Yep gotta get all the debris from the pre drydock work they did the previous week and load new materials on so they can continue working on the ship during the OPs cruise.

 

Bill

 

 

[Saint Greg]

Am I reading this right that D/P/FTTF that have a late arrival time have to wait until that arrival time? It seems at worst they should be able to get in with the earliest arrival time. FTTF paid for that..the first F is for Faster. I always thought when I hit platinum I would take a late arrival time so I wouldn’t take an early time from someone else..but if there’s potential for them to make a platinum wait until a late arrival time, I’ll always get the earliest time possible.

[Saint Greg]

So glad I booked Dream instead of Triumph for December. I was considering Triumph.

[coevan]

even if they delay boarding doesn't mean Diamond, Platinum and FTTF should still board first. I have never had FTTF, but there might be a caveat on the contract, allowing unforeseen issues

[pjfnme]

41 minutes ago, evandbob said:

As long as D&P still have priority boarding before they call zone #'s, an unexpected delay is understandable.

That’s exactly how I feel but you have to abide by whatever appointment time you have. My MIL is going on the same cruise and their arrival time is an hour earlier than mine. She is not priority.  I don’t mind an unexpected delay but I feel like I was cheated in a way.

[Saint Greg]

1 minute ago, coevan said:

even if they delay boarding doesn't mean Diamond, Platinum and FTTF should still board first. I have never had FTTF, but there might be a caveat on the contract, allowing unforeseen issues

 

But if I had a 2:30 boarding time...and I bought FTTF to jump that...I’d feel like I got screwed if I have to wait until 2:30 to get into the port. And they’re letting everyone with 11am-2pm boarding times who didn’t pay for FTTF in before me. I could’ve done that without fttf. I could’ve had my room ready by 2:30 without FTTF.  You’ve lost most of the benefits you paid for. That’s horrible. 

[pjfnme]

3 minutes ago, coevan said:

even if they delay boarding doesn't mean Diamond, Platinum and FTTF should still board first. I have never had FTTF, but there might be a caveat on the contract, allowing unforeseen issues

That was my thinking as well but that is apparently not how they are handling it.  I called to see if I could get an earlier appointment time since I took a later one on purpose as many D/P do. I was told that there were no earlier times available and that people who had earlier times must have got them as soon as the appointments opened.

[pjfnme]

1 minute ago, Saint Greg said:

 

But if I had a 2:30 boarding time...and I bought FTTF to jump that...I’d feel like I got screwed if I have to wait until 2:30 to get into the port. And they’re letting everyone with 11am-2pm boarding times who didn’t pay for FTTF in before me. I could’ve done that without fttf. I could’ve had my room ready by 2:30 without FTTF.  You’ve lost most of the benefits you paid for. That’s horrible. 

EXACTLY!

[pjfnme]

36 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

So glad I booked Dream instead of Triumph for December. I was considering Triumph.

I loved the Triumph but you’ll be happy on the Dream!  They said the Triumph was done after December.  

[PhillyFan33579]

38 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Am I reading this right that D/P/FTTF that have a late arrival time have to wait until that arrival time? It seems at worst they should be able to get in with the earliest arrival time. FTTF paid for that..the first F is for Faster. I always thought when I hit platinum I would take a late arrival time so I wouldn’t take an early time from someone else..but if there’s potential for them to make a platinum wait until a late arrival time, I’ll always get the earliest time possible.

 

 I always select the earliest arrival time available to make sure I am covered for unforeseen situations like this one. 

[pjfnme]

44 minutes ago, S.S.Oceanlover said:

Yep gotta get all the debris from the pre drydock work they did the previous week and load new materials on so they can continue working on the ship during the OPs cruise.

 

Bill

 

 

Thanks Bill. I wasn’t quite sure what all they do in prep for the dry dock and how that worked with the ship full of guests.  

[pjfnme]

3 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

 I always select the earliest arrival time available to make sure I am covered for unforeseen situations like this one. 

I will too after this!

[Saint Greg]

3 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

 I always select the earliest arrival time available to make sure I am covered for unforeseen situations like this one. 

 

Glad I learned the lesson from someone else’s experience. Always look out for number one! I’ll be grabbing that early slot even when I’m platinum.

[Saint Greg]

8 minutes ago, pjfnme said:

That was my thinking as well but that is apparently not how they are handling it.  I called to see if I could get an earlier appointment time since I took a later one on purpose as many D/P do. I was told that there were no earlier times available and that people who had earlier times must have got them as soon as the appointments opened.

 

I know I do. I have reminders on my phone calendar 90 days before all of my upcoming cruises. I secure my early time then alert people in my roll call.

[Treyatl2006]

1 hour ago, pjfnme said:

Thanks Bill. I wasn’t quite sure what all they do in prep for the dry dock and how that worked with the ship full of guests.  

They been working on the Triumph for the past month or so... they block off entire floor or huge sections of a deck so it wont impact guests. Some of the rooms have been updated and remodeled. Hopefully you guys get an updated room.

[SwordBlazer Cruising]

The most irritating part of embarkation is people thinking they can make the rules as they go. People always have to buck the system

 

[2Shoes2Go]

We are on Triumph now, heading in to dock in the morning. This is the five day that left on the 27th Oct. All guests had to wait outside the terminal until 12 noon last week. Once inside, boarding didn’t begin until 1:30 pm. Cabins were announced to be available at 1:30 for priority guests and 3:00 for all others. It was because of materials being on and offloaded.

[Thorncroft]

It's been going on for over a month. Priority is still priority. Just a couple hours later than usual. It won't kill anyone to not be busting the door down at 10:30.