Check in Times

Just out of interest, just checked Cruise Personaliser for our cruise in October. We have been given 1330. We are D deck, inside cabins. I expected 1530. So it certainly isn't done by cruise price or deck?

Just out of interest, just checked Cruise Personaliser for our cruise in October. We have been given 1330. We are D deck, inside cabins. I expected 1530. So it certainly isn't done by cruise price or deck?

Jean it's done by deck but not in any order, ABCD or even EDCBA. And of course it will be different for each ship.

BTW well done with 13.30. :) :)

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Oh OK! Actually, I think we had 1330 last year too. Perfect! I am now researching our DIY shore trips. Going into a totally new place, so decided it's easier to do one of theirs, but that's it. Corigliano Colabro? (changed from Crotone)

On my October Celebrity cruise I have been given a check in time of 11 am to 3 pm

Happy Days

I'd rather be on the lovely Oriana - thanks!

I'd rather be on the lovely Oriana - thanks!

Haven't been on Oriana so can't compare. I like a balcony cabin for the fresh air and to enjoy the cruise and as she has so few balconies the price has been prohibitive. This will be my 4th holiday on the Eclipse so am happy with the Celebrity offering

This is the first year in my 6 years of cruising that I don't have a P&O cruise booked. After last Christmas on the awful Oceana I am being very careful about what I choose. P&O to me is an average offering and while I may sail again with P&O under certain circumstances I am becoming a lot more discerning and seeking value for money - note I am not seeking the cheapest cruise experience but I am seeking value.

I wouldn't use a balcony if I had one. I like to be out and about on the ship and have better things to spend my money on. That's just me though. We have some great new ports on this cruise, plus it's Music Festival at Sea with a choir. The Celebrity ships are far too big for us. Tried Azura, hated it. Each to their own.

We shall be trying Voyages of Discovery in 2018. Smaller still, in fact very small!

I wouldn't use a balcony if I had one. I like to be out and about on the ship and have better things to spend my money on. That's just me though. We have some great new ports on this cruise, plus it's Music Festival at Sea with a choir. The Celebrity ships are far too big for us. Tried Azura, hated it. Each to their own.

 

We shall be trying Voyages of Discovery in 2018. Smaller still, in fact very small!

Believe it or not I also like small ships and my favourite p&O ship was Adonia

The first time I went on Eclipse I thought I would hate it because of the size but in fact it doesn't feel like a huge ship. It is cleverly designed and it is rare to be in a queue - it is well organised

Yet it has some of the larger ship benefits of decent speciality restaurants so its win win for me

We loved Adonia too. Great shame she has gone.

We loved Adonia too. Great shame she has gone.

Hopefully she will be back one day

I wouldn't use a balcony if I had one. I like to be out and about on the ship and have better things to spend my money on. That's just me though. We have some great new ports on this cruise, plus it's Music Festival at Sea with a choir. The Celebrity ships are far too big for us. Tried Azura, hated it. Each to their own.

 

We shall be trying Voyages of Discovery in 2018. Smaller still, in fact very small!

I'm trying Voyages of Discovery in 2017. We should compare notes. :)

Getting back on topic, on our recent Britannia cruise with my son and family we were given a boarding time of 15:30, we all decided this was too late and took the risk to arrive earlier.

We were in the Ocean terminal car park by 1:15 and with only one small lane of waiting cars we were unloading the luggage a few minutes later, by 1:30 we were in the terminal waiting area with a red alphabetic check in card, given out in sequence as we entered. They were also issuing green ones which I assumed was for on time arrivals, but they were getting through the cards fairly quickly.

Our card was called at 1:55 and we were on board and in the cabin just after 2:15pm, the cases arrived about an hour later.

HOWEVER had we waited for our allocated time, probably arriving about 3:00pm, we would have faced 6 or 7 lanes of waiting cars in the car park with a delay time of at least 30 minutes, the last lane of the cars were only going to the drop off point by 3:55, so I assume it was 4:30 before everyone was boarded and muster was at 5:00pm.

I doubt there were any lulls in the boarding process, so to ensure everyone gets on board in a reasonable time it would seem sensible for P&O to bring forward the embarkation start time to around 11:30 if they really want everyone on board by around 4:00pm.

Just my opinion of course, but they really should be trying to make the boarding procedure less stressful.

Getting back on topic, on our recent Britannia cruise with my son and family we were given a boarding time of 15:30, we all decided this was too late and took the risk to arrive earlier.

 

We were in the Ocean terminal car park by 1:15 and with only one small lane of waiting cars we were unloading the luggage a few minutes later, by 1:30 we were in the terminal waiting area with a red alphabetic check in card, given out in sequence as we entered. They were also issuing green ones which I assumed was for on time arrivals, but they were getting through the cards fairly quickly.

 

Our card was called at 1:55 and we were on board and in the cabin just after 2:15pm, the cases arrived about an hour later.

 

HOWEVER had we waited for our allocated time, probably arriving about 3:00pm, we would have faced 6 or 7 lanes of waiting cars in the car park with a delay time of at least 30 minutes, the last lane of the cars were only going to the drop off point by 3:55, so I assume it was 4:30 before everyone was boarded and muster was at 5:00pm.

 

I doubt there were any lulls in the boarding process, so to ensure everyone gets on board in a reasonable time it would seem sensible for P&O to bring forward the embarkation start time to around 11:30 if they really want everyone on board by around 4:00pm.

 

Just my opinion of course, but they really should be trying to make the boarding procedure less stressful.

The last time this came up on FB the largest number of people said they found the new system much better. That was with 30+ replies and only about 5 did not like it.

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The last time this came up on FB the largest number of people said they found the new system much better. That was with 30+ replies and only about 5 did not like it.

 

 

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You are talking to the wrong people then Dai, maybe they were all Peninsular goldies.;)

You are talking to the wrong people then Dai, maybe they were all Peninsular goldies.;)

No just a cross section of cruisers with different check in times all reporting how well it went.

Most of the problems I have read about have been when something has gone wrong, computers or gangways and all systems fall down then.

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On a Britannia cruise in June we arrived for our allocated time and it was quite obvious a lot of people in the terminal had arrived early and were sitting looking not to happy. You were given a letter of the alphabet relating to the time you were given and the early arrivals were given their appropriate letter which is how it should be. It was a bit unfair of the early arrivals as all the seats were taken so people were having to stand around which isn't much fun when you arrive as you are told to. P&O give out boarding times for a reason to try and streamline the operation and this just doesn't work if passengers continue to take it into their own hands to go at what time suits them. We were delighted with the checkin which worked very well.

On a Britannia cruise in June we arrived for our allocated time and it was quite obvious a lot of people in the terminal had arrived early and were sitting looking not to happy. You were given a letter of the alphabet relating to the time you were given and the early arrivals were given their appropriate letter which is how it should be. It was a bit unfair of the early arrivals as all the seats were taken so people were having to stand around which isn't much fun when you arrive as you are told to. P&O give out boarding times for a reason to try and streamline the operation and this just doesn't work if passengers continue to take it into their own hands to go at what time suits them. We were delighted with the checkin which worked very well.

This clearly was not happening on our cruise, the alpha card we were given was the next in line and from memory it was O and they were already on H or J, I assumed they had a fixed number of each and moved onto the next when each finished.

Dai, I was not complaining about my experience which was pretty slick by P&O standards, but that was only because I completely ignored their instructions, so if I had been answering a poll about whether I was happy with my boarding experience I would probably have had to say yes.

But my reservations about the system still apply, at least until I reach Goldie status after my 2018 Caribbean cruise.;)

P&O try to achieve a solution that will work best for most, but some will always be selfish and ignore their allotted time in the hope of jumping the queue. Some people think rules are to be followed for the greater good; some think they are there to be ignored if that means personal gain.

P&O try to achieve a solution that will work best for most, but some will always be selfish and ignore their allotted time in the hope of jumping the queue. Some people think rules are to be followed for the greater good; some think they are there to be ignored if that means personal gain.

Its hardly selfish

if you have a journey of any length what are you supposed to do?

It takes me about 2 1/2 hours to get to the port - we come by taxi so its not an option to stop for lunch somewhere

If we judge the time to our check in time then bad traffic could make us late

So of course we are sensible and build in contingency and as we don't want to walk about Southampton in all weather with hand luggage we have to sit in the terminal

This is not a personal choice - the terminals are woeful with insignificant seating and poor inadequate catering

I object to being called selfish if I arrive early because I have been prudent enough to build in contingency time to my journey

No-one can answer the questions why other companies do so much better than P&O in this regard

So on my next Celebrity cruise I'll leave home between 10 and 10.30, all being well get to the terminal before one, check straight in, collect glass of bubbly, probably drop hand luggage in cabin as on my last 2 Eclipse cruises the cabins have been ready at this time, go and have a nice lunch and start my holiday

Why can't P&O give us this experience

I think many P&O ers forget they pay a lot of money for their holiday and are entitled to be treated much better

Getting back on topic, on our recent Britannia cruise with my son and family we were given a boarding time of 15:30, we all decided this was too late and took the risk to arrive earlier.

We were in the Ocean terminal car park by 1:15 and with only one small lane of waiting cars we were unloading the luggage a few minutes later, by 1:30 we were in the terminal waiting area with a red alphabetic check in card, given out in sequence as we entered. They were also issuing green ones which I assumed was for on time arrivals, but they were getting through the cards fairly quickly.

Our card was called at 1:55 and we were on board and in the cabin just after 2:15pm, the cases arrived about an hour later.

HOWEVER had we waited for our allocated time, probably arriving about 3:00pm, we would have faced 6 or 7 lanes of waiting cars in the car park with a delay time of at least 30 minutes, the last lane of the cars were only going to the drop off point by 3:55, so I assume it was 4:30 before everyone was boarded and muster was at 5:00pm.

I doubt there were any lulls in the boarding process, so to ensure everyone gets on board in a reasonable time it would seem sensible for P&O to bring forward the embarkation start time to around 11:30 if they really want everyone on board by around 4:00pm.

Just my opinion of course, but they really should be trying to make the boarding procedure less stressful.

We recently had a 3:30pm embark time. Slightly disgruntled at the outset. However, decided to go with it. Travelled down from Cardiff on the morning which we don't usually do; so saved on extra night's stay. Had a lovely lunch on the way. Dropped car off at 3pm. On board by 3:30pm. Luggage waiting for us; unpacked and in the Glass House by 4pm. Job well done!

P&O try to achieve a solution that will work best for most, but some will always be selfish and ignore their allotted time in the hope of jumping the queue. Some people think rules are to be followed for the greater good; some think they are there to be ignored if that means personal gain.

I try really hard not to reply to posts about this subject as it is the one that winds me up the most... but here goes ...

What annoys me intensely is that we booked 18 months in advance, paid a select fare and top money only to be given a 4pm boarding time, with muster at 5pm.

We have to stay in Southampton overnight due to where we live so have already had a look around Southampton and are out of our hotel by noon, looking at the ship from a distance.

Others may have booked just weeks before the cruise, paid a saver fare and get a time of 1.30pm to board. Bad enough on a long cruise, but not good if it is a short cruise !

I just find this really, really annoying ......

Ironically, recently we flew from Manchester at 7am and were on the ship in Genoa, Italy by 11.30am their time. Hand luggage in the theatre, time to walk around the ship, have a cocktail etc before we were in our cabin just after 1pm. Luggage delivered by 3pm. Fabulous efficiency. No one minded waiting for their cabin, they were just so excited to be on the ship...

Rant over ---- I suppose it is one of those subjects that people either, get cross about, or aren't bothered about. We fall in to the former category for this one.

P&O try to achieve a solution that will work best for most, but some will always be selfish and ignore their allotted time in the hope of jumping the queue. Some people think rules are to be followed for the greater good; some think they are there to be ignored if that means personal gain.

All I can do is point you towards the quote in my signature which I have always found to be the most sensible of suggestions.

Its hardly selfish

 

 

 

if you have a journey of any length what are you supposed to do?

 

It takes me about 2 1/2 hours to get to the port - we come by taxi so its not an option to stop for lunch somewhere

 

If we judge the time to our check in time then bad traffic could make us late

 

So of course we are sensible and build in contingency and as we don't want to walk about Southampton in all weather with hand luggage we have to sit in the terminal

 

This is not a personal choice - the terminals are woeful with insignificant seating and poor inadequate catering

 

I object to being called selfish if I arrive early because I have been prudent enough to build in contingency time to my journey

 

 

 

No-one can answer the questions why other companies do so much better than P&O in this regard

 

 

 

So on my next Celebrity cruise I'll leave home between 10 and 10.30, all being well get to the terminal before one, check straight in, collect glass of bubbly, probably drop hand luggage in cabin as on my last 2 Eclipse cruises the cabins have been ready at this time, go and have a nice lunch and start my holiday

 

 

 

Why can't P&O give us this experience

 

I think many P&O ers forget they pay a lot of money for their holiday and are entitled to be treated much better

But you do not like P&O at all and whatever they did would be wrong.

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But you do not like P&O at all and whatever they did would be wrong.

 

 

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Dai

I generally choose to ignore you as you know and after the appalling term you have you used to describe me and others in the past (which thankfully was removed) I have no wish to debate with you

However i do not like you saying something about me which is untrue, It is completely wrong to say I do not like P&O - I have been on 7 cruises with them, however the last two were very poor so I have serious reservations about them and I think they are a company which doesn't know what market it is seeking

I am likely to cruise with them again if they improve and so I like to monitor these boards. i think there embarkation system is awful - despite what some on your beloved facebook page think.

There are companies out there who give better service to their clients - one day hopefully P&O will up their game

However in the meantime Dai please continue to belittle those who criticise - you obviously enjoy doing that

Dai

 

 

 

I generally choose to ignore you as you know and after the appalling term you have you used to describe me and others in the past (which thankfully was removed) I have no wish to debate with you

 

 

 

However i do not like you saying something about me which is untrue, It is completely wrong to say I do not like P&O - I have been on 7 cruises with them, however the last two were very poor so I have serious reservations about them and I think they are a company which doesn't know what market it is seeking

 

I am likely to cruise with them again if they improve and so I like to monitor these boards. i think there embarkation system is awful - despite what some on your beloved facebook page think.

 

 

 

There are companies out there who give better service to their clients - one day hopefully P&O will up their game

 

 

 

However in the meantime Dai please continue to belittle those who criticise - you obviously enjoy doing that

And you enjoy having a go at me as you have done many times.

When you post something positive about P&O I may change my mind.

Remember I have been attacked many times for my opinion.

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