No Green lane in Australia

[Wanderers2]

14 hours ago, gbenjo said:

The rest of the world all you need is proof of vaccination…. but we are talking about Australia I guess.🤔

We cruised out of Southampton in June & they didn’t even want to see proof of vaccination. No boarding times & even with collecting our medallions we were onboard in 10mins 😱

[gbenjo]

3 hours ago, Wanderers2 said:

We cruised out of Southampton in June & they didn’t even want to see proof of vaccination. No boarding times & even with collecting our medallions we were onboard in 10mins 😱

Same for us in Japan last month.

[gbenjo]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Unfortunately even a trip to Sydney is pretty much beyond me now.

 

A few years ago I said no more Sydney and back in one day, now just getting to Sydney means a few days there to recover before I can do anything.

 

So checking me in looks to be one of life’s little pleasures denied to you.

Sorry to hear that mate, take care and hope you are OK..all the best to you are Mrs Gut.

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, Wanderers2 said:

We cruised out of Southampton in June & they didn’t even want to see proof of vaccination. No boarding times & even with collecting our medallions we were onboard in 10mins 😱

Timing was the same for 3 out of 4 Princess boardings for us last season. Even with the 20 seconds it took to show vaccination certificates on our phones, we were straight through check-in.

 

The one exception was for Majestic in October, following her first arrival for the season. Border Force held-up disembarkation for approx 90 minutes while all their boxes were ticked. That delay pushed embarkation back by as much. That day was painful for pretty much everyone, and similar to above, the queues snaked back halfway to the ferry wharves. My main point is, it was nothing to do with green lane or a bad check-in setup, but purely about officials adhering to the protocols that were faulty in March 2020. Any ship that arrived with tier 2 covid was met with a delay before the ship could be cleared by authorities.

[Wanderers2]

Princess has just announced that they will be posting medallions to Canada as of September 25th. Maybe there is hope for us yet 🤞

[2022cruisey]

I would prefer we all pick up at the port.  It takes hardly any time and the post is so unreliable that it will cause lots of problems with missing medallions.

[LittleFish1976]

12 minutes ago, 2022cruisey said:

I would prefer we all pick up at the port.  It takes hardly any time and the post is so unreliable that it will cause lots of problems with missing medallions.

I agree.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, 2022cruisey said:

I would prefer we all pick up at the port.  It takes hardly any time and the post is so unreliable that it will cause lots of problems with missing medallions.

If they have any missing medallions, which also includes leaving them on top of the fridge, they can program a replacement in the terminal in a couple of minutes. But I agree, postage is wasteful anyway.

[NSWP]

Last Sept I was not in green lane, but was first in Elite lane, first to check in and first on  ship at 1030am.

[arxcards]

Current for Majestic at OPT on Saturday 4th November. It could vary by ship, date, terminal, but this is what we had last Saturday.

 

There was no dedicated blue lane/green lane. All passengers headed straight to the check-in counter. Check-in was done and then they collected your medallions from the table behind, much like they used to do for cruise cards. Those from North America that already had their medallions followed the same path to check-in.

 

We had three different versions last year, and one of those was via a blue lane to collect medallions prior to check-in.

[boeckli]

On 11/8/2023 at 3:05 PM, arxcards said:

Current for Majestic at OPT on Saturday 4th November. It could vary by ship, date, terminal, but this is what we had last Saturday.

 

There was no dedicated blue lane/green lane. All passengers headed straight to the check-in counter. Check-in was done and then they collected your medallions from the table behind, much like they used to do for cruise cards. Those from North America that already had their medallions followed the same path to check-in.

 

We had three different versions last year, and one of those was via a blue lane to collect medallions prior to check-in.

 

@arxcards Was there a priority line for Elites? 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, boeckli said:

 

@arxcards Was there a priority line for Elites? 

Downstairs - not really. Once at the top of the escalator - yes. Priority is all in one which is elite, as well as platinum, suites, current premier packages.

Downstairs, prior to check-in opening, they try to ask passengers that have priority into a separate lane. That lane however, just ends up with anyone who wants to join in with minimal checking, but it is the first line to move when check-in opens. I am not sure what happens to this line after that, as we have always tried to be near front of queue.

 

If you are there when check-in opens, it is likely you will have a short 10-15 minute wait in a seating area between check-in and security. From here, they will call transit passengers first, then elites & suites.

[arxcards]

One thing to add - I like Brisbane. They have dedicated check-in staff for the priority lane, and it is rare to get an inexperienced person to check you in.

 

In OPT, you do get the fast lane, but are directed to the next available paddle. So first check-in for the day for this person and they don't know how to open the check-in menu on their iPad. Solved in a couple of minutes, so no big deal, but it wouldn't happen in Brisbane.

[boeckli]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Downstairs - not really. Once at the top of the escalator - yes. Priority is all in one which is elite, as well as platinum, suites, current premier packages.

Downstairs, prior to check-in opening, they try to ask passengers that have priority into a separate lane. That lane however, just ends up with anyone who wants to join in with minimal checking, but it is the first line to move when check-in opens. I am not sure what happens to this line after that, as we have always tried to be near front of queue.

 

If you are there when check-in opens, it is likely you will have a short 10-15 minute wait in a seating area between check-in and security. From here, they will call transit passengers first, then elites & suites.

 

Thanks Geoff,  very comprehensive response.

Arrived at OPT 11.45, walked on to ship at 12.10 (15 mins of that was taken up going through the security snake)

Currently in MDR for lunch 😀