How does 4 star priority disembarkation work?

[JJPacer]

This is our first cruise since becoming 4 star Mariners.  How does the priority disembarkation work?   There is one port we have plans, and have a very short window to make our non ship tour connection. Any other port is not an issue.  We want to be respectful of other passengers.  So how do we use this perk? 

[Vict0riann]

10 minutes ago, JJPacer said:

This is our first cruise since becoming 4 star Mariners.  How does the priority disembarkation work?   There is one port we have plans, and have a very short window to make our non ship tour connection. Any other port is not an issue.  We want to be respectful of other passengers.  So how do we use this perk? 

The only time we have found our "priority" to be of help is if it's a tender port.  Then, if everyone has to get a tender number, it may be that you can either get a "priority" number, or you can disembark whenever you want by just going down and getting in whatever queue there is already there.  But you do need to check that.  

[Ichiban Nekko]

Congrats on 4* status!

 

We just completed a cruise on the Koningsdam as newly-minted 4* Mariners 😁

 

For tender ports, we didn’t have to get tickets. Your key card shows your status.

 

At final disembarkation, the instruction letter gave us a wide timeframe. Luggage tags were among first called.

 

great perk. Enjoy!

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I always thought that perk was for final disembarkation only. Did I miss something?

I don't see how it could be managed at port stops.

[catl331]

45 minutes ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

I always thought that perk was for final disembarkation only. Did I miss something?

I don't see how it could be managed at port stops.

Priority is meaningless when docked at enroute ports.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, JJPacer said:

This is our first cruise since becoming 4 star Mariners.  How does the priority disembarkation work?   There is one port we have plans, and have a very short window to make our non ship tour connection. Any other port is not an issue.  We want to be respectful of other passengers.  So how do we use this perk? 

 

Are you talk about disembarking at the end of the cruise or just getting off the ship for a port stop? If you're docking, catl331 is right. There is no priority when the ship is docked at a port call. All you can do is wait until they announce that the gangway is open and head down. Although HAL asks you not to, people do congregate at approaches to gangways, but even with that it's usually pretty easy to get out quickly. The most common thing that slows down the gangway is people who don't have their key cards out for scanning. If everyone would be ready, it would be much better. 

[bcummin]

Tender port disembarkation can be tricky, even for four and five star mariners.  Hopefully your non ship tour connection won't have to wait too long for you.

Different ships handle this differently.

Ask questions at the front office early in your cruise.

Good luck !

Barbara

 

Edited May 4, 2019 by bcummin

[DAllenTCY]

Typically 4 & 5 Star Mariners can disembark at the end of your cruise any time after Expedited.

 

David

Edited May 5, 2019 by DAllenTCY

[JJPacer]

Thank you everyone.  We'll get in line and wait our turn & hopefully get off quickly.  I was talking about a port, not when leaving the ship on the last day.  Appreciate your answers.     

[Krazy Kruizers]

4 and 5 star Mariners do not have any special perks for leaving the ship on a regular port day.

 

We just wait until the crowd thins a little before we leave the ship on our own.

[Rusty Scupper]

Four and five-star Mariners have priority at tender ports and can leave at will. However, on some cruises, there are so

many ranking Mariners aoard that they dispense with the priority system and make everyone get a ticket. 

[MAVIP]

33 minutes ago, Rusty Scupper said:

on some cruises, there are so many ranking Mariners aboard that they dispense with the priority system and make everyone get a ticket. 

last year in such a case we received tickets for the 1st tender to leave after our arrival in the bar/lounge where the tickets were issued; I concluded that they kept a few tickets apart for the 4 and 5* Mariners.

 

[Tampa Girl]

20 hours ago, catl331 said:

Priority is meaningless when docked at enroute ports.

 

Not exactly.  With priority status at tender ports, one can leave at any time and not wait for a color to be called.  And that is true of non-tender ports where they are calling for disembarkation by number.  I specifically remember this in Beijing where, as suite holders and 4*, we had an earlier number than did the rest of our independent tour group.  The lower number didn't help us in that case because we still had to wait for the rest of the tour group.  

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Not exactly.  With priority status at tender ports, one can leave at any time and not wait for a color to be called.  And that is true of non-tender ports where they are calling for disembarkation by number.  I specifically remember this in Beijing where, as suite holders and 4*, we had an earlier number than did the rest of our independent tour group.  The lower number didn't help us in that case because we still had to wait for the rest of the tour group.  

 

Not necessarily true at all.  If there are too many 4 and 5* mariners then you just can’t walk off.  You have to get a tender ticket.

 

You do get a type of ‘priority’ but it is not the same as just being able to go to the tenders when you please.

[catl331]

5 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

And that is true of non-tender ports where they are calling for disembarkation by number. 

Okay, that's a new one for me. We were never required to depart by number when docked.

[TAD2005]

On mid-cruise ports that require tenders, HAL provides a special seating area where 4 & 5 star mariners congregate.  We did the recent Eurodam 28 day Hawaii, Polynesia cruise in March.  Most ports in French Polynesia were tender ports.   We were told to go to the Ocean Bar where they had lots of chairs setup, coffee, water, tea, juice and some croissants.   There were loads of 4 & 5 star mariners on this cruise, but we never had to wait.  We showed our keycards, and were told to immediately go down to Deck A to catch the next tender.   It all worked out great.

[Tampa Girl]

14 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

On mid-cruise ports that require tenders, HAL provides a special seating area where 4 & 5 star mariners congregate.  We did the recent Eurodam 28 day Hawaii, Polynesia cruise in March.  Most ports in French Polynesia were tender ports.   We were told to go to the Ocean Bar where they had lots of chairs setup, coffee, water, tea, juice and some croissants.   There were loads of 4 & 5 star mariners on this cruise, but we never had to wait.  We showed our keycards, and were told to immediately go down to Deck A to catch the next tender.   It all worked out great.

 

That was our experience on our Grand Asia, as well.  Obviously this procedure might not be used all the time, but it was used on this cruise.  And, yes, the non-suite and non-4 or 5* passengers were given, if I recall correctly, numbers.

[Tampa Girl]

18 hours ago, catl331 said:

Okay, that's a new one for me. We were never required to depart by number when docked.

 

I think that Beijing was a unique situation because of the official Chinese requirements, although this was not the case in Shanghai.

22 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Not necessarily true at all.  If there are too many 4 and 5* mariners then you just can’t walk off.  You have to get a tender ticket.

 

You do get a type of ‘priority’ but it is not the same as just being able to go to the tenders when you please.

 

Procedures vary according to the ship and the port.  But it did occur as described on our Grand Asia and apparently has also occurred on other cruises.  Sorry, I did not mean to imply that the procedure is used on all ships, at all ports.

[3rdGenCunarder]

25 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I think that Beijing was a unique situation because of the official Chinese requirements, although this was not the case in Shanghai.

 

Procedures vary according to the ship and the port.  But it did occur as described on our Grand Asia and apparently has also occurred on other cruises.  Sorry, I did not mean to imply that the procedure is used on all ships, at all ports.

 

Does this happen mostly in  ports where officials check everyone going off the ship? I remember in St Petersburg, every time we went off the ship we had to get in line and go through a passport check. It was on a small ship, so I don't think they did numbers or anything to control the flow off the ship, but we were warned to expect delays. 

[Tampa Girl]

5 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Does this happen mostly in  ports where officials check everyone going off the ship? I remember in St Petersburg, every time we went off the ship we had to get in line and go through a passport check. It was on a small ship, so I don't think they did numbers or anything to control the flow off the ship, but we were warned to expect delays. 

 

They certainly did it in Japan.  I think it may have been the first port in a six-day stay, but I am not sure.  It also occurred in Singapore, which had also had carefully regulated embarkation and disembarkation procedures.  A little friendlier than Beijing, however.