Infamous Email

We leave for our cruise on The Valor July 11, we received the email telling us to arrive at the pier between 1 and 2 PM. I find this awful odd because we have FTTF. I will be there around 10:30- 11:00

They do this to try and stagger people getting to the port and their program for doing this ignores FTTF.

I've had friends who are Diamond tell me they have received these letters.

It's sad to think this is the best Carnival will do for crowd control. All the other lines seem to have installed efficient processes, without insulting people that have paid almost $60, as well as earned the priviledge, with a delay letter.

In any case, they're still worthless and not enforced, as there is no process of confirmation at the pier.

Enjoy your cruise!

We leave for our cruise on The Valor July 11, we received the email telling us to arrive at the pier between 1 and 2 PM. I find this awful odd because we have FTTF. I will be there around 10:30- 11:00

We're Platinum and still receive these letters before most cruises. We ignore them and arrive at the port at our usual 9:00 am.

Our boarding pass for our upcoming cruise shows us boarding between 1:00 and 3:00. Yeah, right! :rolleyes:

Aren't we glad that Carnival sends these emails....thousands of passengers who are unfamiliar with the boarding process (newbies) are diligent about getting to the pier when they are asked to do so and in the process it definitely staggers the rush of humanity that are impatiently waiting to board. Without the emails I'd assume that thousands of peeps would show up at 9am, congesting to the point of stall an already unruly scene.

Just board at a "retirement" pier where hundreds of passengers are loyalists and who obviously ignore the email....talk about a zoo.

Since nobody seems to "read" the Carnival site that schedules boarding for 1pm or later Carnival is just trying to ensure that the herds are staggered, at least a bit, by issuing a "blanket" email.

Besides, platinums and diamonds and FTTF holders "are not guaranteed" early boarding they are guaranteed priority boarding once they make it to the pier....big, big difference.

If you have FTTF ignore the email.

I've had friends who are Diamond tell me they have received these letters.

 

It's sad to think this is the best Carnival will do for crowd control. All the other lines seem to have installed efficient processes, without insulting people that have paid almost $60, as well as earned the priviledge, with a delay letter.

 

In any case, they're still worthless and not enforced, as there is no process of confirmation at the pier.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Royal Caribbean sends out these same type emails (as well as text messages and phone calls) to everyone - including the high loyalty and suite guests who have priority embarkation.

Royal Caribbean sends out these same type emails (as well as text messages and phone calls) to everyone - including the high loyalty and suite guests who have priority embarkation.

Haven't gotten one yet. Wonder if it's the port. We always go out of Bayonne. That operation rivals Disney. Except not debarkation.

Haven't gotten one yet. Wonder if it's the port. We always go out of Bayonne. That operation rivals Disney. Except not debarkation.

Yes, it could be port or ship related. Of the three RCI cruises our family has done in the last 18 months, we've gotten the arrival time communications for all three. The RCI board on CC usually has at least one thread every week with folks asking if they can ignore the embarkation time email.

I suspect Carnival is aware that platinum's know enough by now to ignore the email. However, a lot of cruiser's don't know to ignore them so they probably work just exactly as planned.

Haven't gotten one yet. Wonder if it's the port. We always go out of Bayonne. That operation rivals Disney. Except not debarkation.

So, now that you got your jollies in slamming Carnival and their boarding letters, you'll find out other cruise lines send them out too. Maybe you should try another port other than Bayonne;)

So, now that you got your jollies in slamming Carnival and their boarding letters, you'll find out other cruise lines send them out too. Maybe you should try another port other than Bayonne;)

Did I really need to be specific, in responding to THAT posters statement about RCCL.

I have sailed out of many ports over 30 years.

We've rec'd them too... and always ignored it. BUT... two years ago on the Conquest we got one telling us the boarding would be delayed due to some kind of Coast Guard thing... and we ignored that one too and arrived with our FTTF at 10:30 am. We ended up not being able to board until after 1pm. :(That was a bit of a bummer.

Another couple we knew on that cruise without FTTF had to wait much longer - they didn't board until 2:30!:eek:

Soooo... long story short, the majority of the time you can probably ignore the email if you have FTTF or are Platinum/Diamond... but once in a while the delay is real and you'll have to wait along with everyone else.

Celine

Aren't we glad that Carnival sends these emails....thousands of passengers who are unfamiliar with the boarding process (newbies) are diligent about getting to the pier when they are asked to do so and in the process it definitely staggers the rush of humanity that are impatiently waiting to board. Without the emails I'd assume that thousands of peeps would show up at 9am, congesting to the point of stall an already unruly scene.

 

Just board at a "retirement" pier where hundreds of passengers are loyalists and who obviously ignore the email....talk about a zoo.

 

Since nobody seems to "read" the Carnival site that schedules boarding for 1pm or later Carnival is just trying to ensure that the herds are staggered, at least a bit, by issuing a "blanket" email.

 

Besides, platinums and diamonds and FTTF holders "are not guaranteed" early boarding they are guaranteed priority boarding once they make it to the pier....big, big difference.

Why on Earth would we wait to arrive at 1:00 if embarkation usually begins around 11:30? Rarely have we had to wait until after 1:00 for ships to clear and embarkation to begin.

Since we arrive at the port nice and early, we suffer no lines, no crowds, no waiting to check in. We sit comfortably in the VIP waiting room enjoying lemonade and water, and sometimes chocolate chip cookies, while watching lines form after noon.

I suspect Carnival is aware that platinum's know enough by now to ignore the email. However, a lot of cruiser's don't know to ignore them so they probably work just exactly as planned.

A perfect example: when we sailed Glory out of Boston in 2013, we received the infamous letter. We got to the port at 9:00, checked right in, watched people disembark, and made friends with port employees and other Platinum cruisers. Embarkation began at 10:50. There were fewer than 200 people in the port building. We walked around a nearly empty ship for almost two hours.

As we met folks on the ship, many of them told us they received, and heeded, the letter. They arrived at their designated time to find long lines, some people waiting over two hours to check in. They were not pleased to learn that they could have been on the ship long, long before.

Besides, platinums and diamonds and FTTF holders "are not guaranteed" early boarding they are guaranteed priority boarding once they make it to the pier....big, big difference.

Always read the fine print. As in : Difference between early boarding and priority boarding. But best of all is EVERYONE is excited to be there and get on board. AND if your in line to board, the ship will not leave without you. GUARANTEED.

If you have FTTF ignore the email.

And if you don't have FTTF, ignore the email too.

Princess also sends out boarding time emails.

We ignore it even without FTTF and have had no problems boarding around 10:30-11:00am.

I am on the July 11th Valor also and got the email stating I should arrive between 2 and 3. I dont think so.

Always ignore, but always be prepared. You may be one of those lucky ones where the wolf cry is real. Arrive at the time you desire, but have some snacks and liquids with you just in case.

The odds are in your favor.

Aren't we glad that Carnival sends these emails....thousands of passengers who are unfamiliar with the boarding process (newbies) are diligent about getting to the pier when they are asked to do so and in the process it definitely staggers the rush of humanity that are impatiently waiting to board. Without the emails I'd assume that thousands of peeps would show up at 9am, congesting to the point of stall an already unruly scene.

 

Just board at a "retirement" pier where hundreds of passengers are loyalists and who obviously ignore the email....talk about a zoo.

 

Since nobody seems to "read" the Carnival site that schedules boarding for 1pm or later Carnival is just trying to ensure that the herds are staggered, at least a bit, by issuing a "blanket" email.

 

Besides, platinums and diamonds and FTTF holders "are not guaranteed" early boarding they are guaranteed priority boarding once they make it to the pier....big, big difference.

So many people ignore this request. Carnival is doing this to help control an influx. Of course, FTTF & platinum and diamond have priority boarding anyway. These e-mails are probably mass produced. My concern is that if those to whom this applies continue to arrive at 9:00 am or so, what do you think Carnival will eventually do? Probably assign a boarding time space on your boarding pass and have someone check the boarding pass when you get to the terminal. Then they will complain about that when they are the ones who have caused it.

We are cruising in 3 weeks and our boarding passes state the time to board is 1:30-3:00. I am Platinum and my son and daughter-in-law in the next cabin have FTTF.

Sending these notices to Platinum/Diamond and FTTF passengers just makes Carnival look as though the right hands knows not what the left hand is doing. You can be sure we will be at the port much earlier.

My problem with these letters is I can't plan to arrive late. If I have a 4 hour drive, I'm leaving at 5 am so if something goes wrong, I still have a chance of making it. That puts me at port at 9 if things go right.

But if I shoot to get there at 2:00, and a tire goes flat? I have no chance of getting to port before the ship leaves.

I don't care if they make me sit and wait until a boarding time (though with many things have to be booked first come first serve, that seems awfully unfair) but not getting to the port until later isn't really an option.

My problem with these letters is I can't plan to arrive late. If I have a 4 hour drive, I'm leaving at 5 am so if something goes wrong, I still have a chance of making it. That puts me at port at 9 if things go right.

 

But if I shoot to get there at 2:00, and a tire goes flat? I have no chance of getting to port before the ship leaves.

 

I don't care if they make me sit and wait until a boarding time (though with many things have to be booked first come first serve, that seems awfully unfair) but not getting to the port until later isn't really an option.

Completely agree with this! If we have to wait....no big deal. We got the email today about our Sunshine cruise in 6 days. Our 'time' is 2-3pm. We've already got transportation from our hotel to the port booked for a specific time. We plan to go ahead to the port at our already arranged time....and if we have to wait...we have to wait. But this late in the game...I am not going to deal with trying to rearrange our transportation.

I, for one, would be happy to comply with the staggered boarding times.....*IF* Carnival would notify passengers in advance, so that we can plan transportation to the port around the assigned 'staggered' boarding time.

~TurbidBlue

We've rec'd them too... and always ignored it. BUT... two years ago on the Conquest we got one telling us the boarding would be delayed due to some kind of Coast Guard thing... and we ignored that one too and arrived with our FTTF at 10:30 am. We ended up not being able to board until after 1pm. :(That was a bit of a bummer.

 

Another couple we knew on that cruise without FTTF had to wait much longer - they didn't board until 2:30!:eek:

 

Soooo... long story short, the majority of the time you can probably ignore the email if you have FTTF or are Platinum/Diamond... but once in a while the delay is real and you'll have to wait along with everyone else.

 

Celine

The very same thing happened to us in October of `13 at the Long Beach pier.

We were boarding for a 13 day cruise to Hawaii.

We met cruise friends the evening before from all over the country to vacation with.

We all received a text that boarding would be delayed due to some reason that I`ve since forgotten.

However we all ignored the text, went to the port at our usual earlier time. Imagine our surprise when the text was true and we had masses and masses of people show up to board. We waited a long time before we were ever allowed on the ship.:eek: