How Fast Cn Club Orange Board the Ship

[mcrcruiser]

Because this Club Orange gives priority boarding  as a perk  ,how fast will that realistically get us on board & what time should we be at the pier ,to get that priority boarding  .We like to have lunch in the MDR  or be in the Mariner lunch if they have one

 TIA

[CruiserBruce]

CO is treated the same as 4 and 5 Star Mariners and Neptune and Pinnacle Suite guests. They get priority, and are the first groups called to board. They can board thereafter anytime they choose. 

 

As always on HAL (post and pre Covid), the target is for boarding to start around 11:30. So, to complete check in and be in the first group to actually board, you probably need to be there by 11am doing the check in process.

[friendswithdave]

In December everything seemed to be going on time and we boarded right at 11:00 AM in Fort Lauderdale. I expect that is the standard if everything is going as planned. Loved the Lido lunch with no crowds.

[SilvertoGold]

This depends on the port.  You, with Club O, should have an early "check-in time" assigned for starting the check-in process.  Some ports do these priority groups first, after Handicapped.  Some reps are not too well trained for anything "special" and you can get directed to the "regular" seating area if you arrive before boarding starts. Watch for signs for the priority groups. Be aware that there are often a lot of "priority" pax.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

This depends on the port.  You, with Club O, should have an early "check-in time" assigned for starting the check-in process.  Some ports do these priority groups first, after Handicapped.  Some reps are not too well trained for anything "special" and you can get directed to the "regular" seating area if you arrive before boarding starts. Watch for signs for the priority groups. Be aware that there are often a lot of "priority" pax.

 

Boarding in FLL last winter, as A 4*, I had priority boarding. After check-in, I went to the waiting area and the woman started to hand me a regular boarding number. I had to point out "priority" on the little stop of paper from check-in, and they she gave me a priority pass number 2. So if you aren't offered priority boarding, ask.

 

They had just started boarding, so when I got to the top of the escalator, Group 1 had boarded, and I was waved right on board. I got to the terminal a little after 11:00 and I was onboard before noon. I remember that they said cabins weren't ready, so they herded everyone to the Lido. I had a drink at the Seaview Pool, then despite no announcement that cabins were ready, I went to mine and it was ready. I dropped my carryons and went to MDR lunch (they never announce that, either).

[mcrcruiser]

Thanks for your answers , We board in San Diego for a late Han 2024  Hawaii cruise .

3 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Boarding in FLL last winter, as A 4*, I had priority boarding. After check-in, I went to the waiting area and the woman started to hand me a regular boarding number. I had to point out "priority" on the little stop of paper from check-in, and they she gave me a priority pass number 2. So if you aren't offered priority boarding, ask.

 

They had just started boarding, so when I got to the top of the escalator, Group 1 had boarded, and I was waved right on board. I got to the terminal a little after 11:00 and I was onboard before noon. I remember that they said cabins weren't ready, so they herded everyone to the Lido. I had a drink at the Seaview Pool, then despite no announcement that cabins were ready, I went to mine and it was ready. I dropped my carryons and went to MDR lunch (they never announce that, either).

Thanks ,Yes we have read that the boarding tries to have all the pas go to the lido buffet lbut ,the MDR was open as well ;which makes sense 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

Thanks for your answers , We board in San Diego for a late Han 2024  Hawaii cruise .

Thanks ,Yes we have read that the boarding tries to have all the pas go to the lido buffet lbut ,the MDR was open as well ;which makes sense 

 

I rarely have lunch in the MDR. I usually do a salad in the Lido. But the MDR lunch on embarkation day is a nice bit of calm after the bustle of security, check-in, boarding, etc.

[mcrcruiser]

Thanks every one for your answers .We are boarding late Han 2024 in San Diego for Hawaii with Club Orange .Seems then arriving by 11 AM we should be aboard not later than Noon & perhaps the cabins will be ready by then & we can drop off the carry ons & go to the MDR .

 

BTW ,my wife may need a wheel chair  because she has one bad leg  & I use a electric scooter ,so will that even get us on sooner  being handicapped ,We always book a full handicap stateroom 

[mcrcruiser]

We had for got that handicap people board first  . We do have club Orange as well & that is food information  that you all posted 

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Thanks every one for your answers .We are boarding late Han 2024 in San Diego for Hawaii with Club Orange .Seems then arriving by 11 AM we should be aboard not later than Noon & perhaps the cabins will be ready by then & we can drop off the carry ons & go to the MDR .

 

BTW ,my wife may need a wheel chair  because she has one bad leg  & I use a electric scooter ,so will that even get us on sooner  being handicapped ,We always book a full handicap stateroom 

 

Request assistance in advance. I haven't boarded in SD, but in FLL, it worked very smoothly.

[Haljo1935]

Hey @mcrcruiser even if your cabin is not ready, you will be able to drop your stuff in your cabin then head out to eat. We very much enjoy MDR lunch on embarkation day - never crowded, so, as others said, it's a nice calm in a frenzied morning. We've never been kicked out of MDR and just enjoy the view (ask to be at window if they don't put you there) until we're ready to head to the cabin.

Last we sailed from San Diego was Dec 2022 - no issues.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Edited August 4, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Hey @mcrcruiser even if your cabin is not ready, you will be able to drop your stuff in your cabin then head out to eat. We very much enjoy MDR lunch on embarkation day - never crowded, so, as others said, it's a nice calm in a frenzied morning. We've never been kicked out of MDR and just enjoy the view (ask to be at window if they don't put you there) until we're ready to head to the cabin.

Last we sailed from San Diego was Dec 2022 - no issues.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Thanks

[sciencewonk]

We sailed from San Diego in Oct 2022.  We had priority boarding (Neptune Suite).  We got there early and they made us stand in the hot sun (it was a Santa Ana) for over an hour until our scheduled boarding time.  No priority boarding for us!  I have read a couple of posts saying that others in San Diego after that date didn't have issues with priority boarding and I've seen others that had similar experiences to ours, so I don't know if the problem has been fixed or not.

[Coolcruise02]

San Diego embarkation was not good in February 2023! Staff had no clue.

[mcrcruiser]

20 hours ago, Coolcruise02 said:

San Diego embarkation was not good in February 2023! Staff had no clue.

Wonder if any one went to a supervisor & told them about the priority boarding procedures ?  

 Yes ,the last tome  cruise on Koningsdam Dec 2022 .I was in my electric scoter  going to a fully accessable balcony & there was no priority for the handicapped wither ,at that voarding .

[kazu]

My experience in San Diego.  The people had no clue on Club Orange and no clue on turnaround day - I had to go to 3 people to avoid the cattle crawl and do the turnaround day line up.  Two embarkations from that port  (not counting my turn around days) and it is still the worst port for me.

this time was better than before but… that’s not saying much when it take you 3 hours to board last time.

 

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

My experience in San Diego.  The people had no clue on Club Orange a no clue on turnaround day - I had to go to 3 people to spice the cattle crawl and do the turnaround day line up.  Two embarkations from that port  (not counting my turn around days) and it is still the worst port for me.

this time was better than before but… that’s not saying much when it take you 3 hours to board last time.

 

3 hours is a very long time ,when we boarded the handicap people did not board first either.

[mcrcruiser]

Should we run into this again at the San Diego cruise pier  ,we will seek a supervisor .It was less than comfortable pulling a carry on behind my scooter onto the ship with so many boarding at one ttime

[lf4UA]

We were CO on Rotterdam cruising from Ft Lauderdale last year with a 1:00 assigned boarding time.  I don't recall exactly what time we arrived (it was earlier than assigned time), but we zipped right through the priority line and were some of the first passengers in the MDR for lunch.  We were stopped by someone as we headed up the escalator for priority boarding, but we mentioned CO and they waived us on.  We spent much more time in our Uber sitting in the long line of traffic making our way to the ship.  It sounds like the experience varies from port to port.

[sciencewonk]

On 8/6/2023 at 10:21 AM, mcrcruiser said:

Should we run into this again at the San Diego cruise pier  ,we will seek a supervisor .It was less than comfortable pulling a carry on behind my scooter onto the ship with so many boarding at one ttime

Unfortunately, we talked to a supervisor about our priority boarding and it didn't get us anywhere.  We still had to wait.  I hope your experience is better.  Good luck and have a safe cruise.

[visagrunt]

Considerable variation from port to port.  After a very rocky start at Canada Place this year, our Koningsdam cruise in June saw us on board less than an hour after arriving at the pier, almost all of which was spent waiting in a separate waiting area for priority embarkation after check-in, security as US pre-clearance.  Priority was real and meaningful, that time.

 

[mcrcruiser]

56 minutes ago, sciencewonk said:

Unfortunately, we talked to a supervisor about our priority boarding and it didn't get us anywhere.  We still had to wait.  I hope your experience is better.  Good luck and have a safe cruise.

Seems to us that in these cases holland America is not consistent in their protocols .We understood that handicap go first then Neptune suites & other suites & Club Orange all have priority boarding . If they do not adhere to these protocols then it is the wild west . not good imo 

[SDARCH]

We departed on a TA in May from FL and were in our room before they had a chance to deliver the key cards. Started at 11:30 and walked right on. I don’t think it even took 10 minutes. Much better experience than our home port. No fault of the staff in SD - the facilities and layout are awful. 

[mcrcruiser]

12 minutes ago, SDARCH said:

We departed on a TA in May from FL and were in our room before they had a chance to deliver the key cards. Started at 11:30 and walked right on. I don’t think it even took 10 minutes. Much better experience than our home port. No fault of the staff in SD - the facilities and layout are awful. 

all they need do is have Big signage & roped off line for   the priority pax   . Then there wouldn't  be that confusion  .We will have to notify them  via phone that we need help being handicapped 

[sciencewonk]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Seems to us that in these cases holland America is not consistent in their protocols .We understood that handicap go first then Neptune suites & other suites & Club Orange all have priority boarding . If they do not adhere to these protocols then it is the wild west . not good imo 

To be clear, I believe it was the port staff causing the problem, and not the HAL staff.  But even if that's the case, HAL should clearly communicate their boarding priorities to the port staff before embarkation.