Embarkation time rather late?

Hello

We are relatively new cruisers (having only cruised twice before- on Celebrity and Holland America) and are booked on the Queen Victoria sailing on the 3rd January.

We have just received our E-tickets and notice that our embarkation time is 3pm.

 

I believe the ship departs at 4.30, and on our previous cruises we were told that all guests had to be on board 90 minutes prior to departure or they could be denied boarding. Given that 3pm is only 90 minutes before departure I am concerned that any delays checking in could lead us to missing the boat!

 

Would be grateful for any reassurance!

 

(We are really looking forward to this cruise - just not the 27 hours it will take to fly from Australia!!)

Hi, we have sailed with Cunard many times and I couldn't tell you what embarkation time they gave us for any of those voyages. We arrive when it's convenient for us.

 

If you arrive really early (like before noon) you will have to wait for general embarkation to be called but it has nothing to do with the time on your e-ticket. Unlike other cruise lines, you can go directly to your cabin with Cunard, no waiting around for the rooms to be ready.

 

They 'assign' arrival times to spread out the arriving passengers, that's all. We have never been denied boarding because it wasn't 'our time', nor have I ever seen anyone denied boarding for that reason.

 

If you feel more comfortable coming earlier in the day, then do it. Have a great trip!

Agree with everything that CruiseNH wrote. We always arrive shortly before noon and have a short wait to check in and board. Never have had a problem with that. We put our carry-on bags in the cabin, a few things in the safe and then head off for lunch. The bags are usually there after we have eaten.

Agree with everything that CruiseNH wrote. We always arrive shortly before noon and have a short wait to check in and board. Never have had a problem with that. We put our carry-on bags in the cabin, a few things in the safe and then head off for lunch. The bags are usually there after we have eaten.

 

agreed....i will only add we get a cup of coffee and walk around.......:rolleyes:makes us look like old cunard salts:D

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2268327

 

If you read this recently run thread, I think you will find that embarkation procedures are changing.

Do not be disappointed if you arrive very early and have some time to wait. It seems that Cunard are trying to stop the noon rush, and let those entitled to do so, board at the correct time.

The nearer you arrive to your allocated time, the less likely you are to be delayed boarding.

There will be some how say I am wrong BUT I know from experience that if you are not in grills or a diamond platinum card you are assigned time by deck the lower the deck the later your time.

This time Neighbour on same cruise as me is diamond card deck 4 noon arrival me gold 2.15 deck 4 also

There is no coffe place might be a machine if you are lucky and depending terminal might not be many seats! As in one terminal at Southampton and there were not even seats for those that really needed them

Edited November 25, 2015 by electra2008

Hello,i have been reading the various threads relevant to embarkation and have to admit to being a trifle confused and indeed bemused.Surely if you are given a time good manners mean you try to arrive at or just a little earlier than that slot.Not 3 hours before and then complain bitterly about having to wait.We have sailed 12 times from Southampton,I have to say mainly Ocean,and there certainly is a Coffee shop there.Whilst we are waiting we always use the time to people watch.If we are there before embarkation starts I like to watch the priority borders,often wondering why and how they got there.Always I have to say,please don't take offence,wondering why wheelchair users are priority.

 

Rodger.

What is the point in allocating embarcation times if everyone ignores them and arrives at noon? I accept some people may have a long journey and need to add some allowance for delay (I live about 5 hours drive from Southampton) but people who admit to living an hour away are just selfish if they turn up 3 hours early. Should make them wait until after their boarding time to discourage this.

Whilst I totally appreciate the need to spread embarkation times, in order to avoid long queues, I can't help feeling just a little "cheated" by being given an embarkation time of 3.30 pm. It means that we probably won't be in our cabin until at least 5 pm, really losing nearly all of the first day of our cruise. Those who board at say 12 or 1 will be able to have lunch, spend the afternoon unpacking, exploring, etc., whereas we will just about have time to unpack, shower and change for the evening! It just seems a little unfair.

If you have an embarkation time of 3.30pm, you will probably be in your cabin not much later I would have thought. Muster drill is around 4.15pm and you will need to get your life jackets from your cabin.

 

To be fair, you're not being cheated because early boarders are people who have either paid a dearer fare - i.e. Grills or Britannia Club or are diamond or platinum grade.

 

Our first cruise was deck 12 (Britannia Club) and we had 12.30pm boarding. Our second cruise was on deck 5 and I think our boarding time was 2.30pm. Even though we stayed overnight in Southampton, we spent the morning driving round, bought sandwiches for lunch and arrived at the terminal at the correct time.

Just to give another perspective, I like boarding later. I can have a relaxed lunch in a nice restaurant rather than a buffet meal from the King's Court or Lido (since the Britannia dining room is closed for lunch embarkation day); there are few lines, so I'm on board minutes after arrival, and my bags arrive in my cabin shortly after I do, so I'm not waiting for an hour or more for them to appear. I can arrive on board wearing dress slacks, blazer and dress shirt, so I don't have to change for the first night's dinner (always informal), so my day is already more relaxed. I'm not saying I wouldn't avail myself of a noon arrival time if offered, but I don't object to the later time.

We had a 2.30 check in at Brooklyn in August and the terminal was empty when we arrived at 2.15. We were easily in our cabin by 2.45 (maybe earlier) as Ray66 says people who get early boarding have paid more so should get more (we do insides and next month are on deck 6 again) so I'm not saying this from a "I've paid more so expect more" perspective).

 

We will be travelling with our children who are also on deck 6 and my parents who are in a deck 4 balcony. I assume as we are travelling together we can check in together as we will have one taxi from our hotel. (This will be my parents last time as gold as they hit the level which gives early check in after this trip).

We are travelling with friends who are first timers next month, we will check in together. I don't know what time they have on their ticket but I would expect it to be later than our 12.30. It's no problem we will probably have lunch somewhere on the way.

We sail on the Oriana shortly and have been given a time of 3.30, much later than usual.

 

By the way has anyone stayed in cabin F110 on Oriana before.??

We sail on the Oriana shortly and have been given a time of 3.30, much later than usual.

 

By the way has anyone stayed in cabin F110 on Oriana before.??

 

This is the Cunard board, you are more likely to get an answer to your question on the P&O (UK ) board.

Hi Bluesky014 our boarding time is 2.30 for the same cruise. We will probably arrive about 12.30 to 13.00. Hope we don't have to wait around. I asked on Facebook whether they had starting sticking to boarding times and didn't really get an answer.

 

Have you joined the rollcall?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2229684

Many thanks everyone for your replies.

I have no problem with waiting until 3pm to board (although cannot wait to get on board and start our cruise!) I was just a little concerned that it was so close to the departure time, and didn't leave a lot of time for any delays with paperwork etc if they arose.

Only 5 weeks to go :)

Many thanks everyone for your replies.

I have no problem with waiting until 3pm to board (although cannot wait to get on board and start our cruise!) I was just a little concerned that it was so close to the departure time, and didn't leave a lot of time for any delays with paperwork etc if they arose.

Only 5 weeks to go :)

 

Not sure what delays with paperwork you might have? You have an eticket, have registered your passport etc in advance. So long as you have a valid credit card and no recent health problems there's not much else to do. And if you don't have a passport or any of the other paperwork then a few extra hours isn't going to help!

I wouldn't worry about delays in the terminal but I would certainly worry about delays on the road.

 

Even if you do only live an hour away, these days an accident could lead to a total road closure then you are seriously at risk of "missing the boat".

Does anyone know if it will be chaos embarking in Rio?

We have a time on our e-ticket of 1530, but feel that is too late. Our transfer from our hotel has already been booked as part of our package, so I guess we will arrive at the pier early?

You will be fine embarking early we did this recently with no problem enjoy

All thsee people turning up early is a real problem for disembarking passengers. We just got off QM2 in New York and had a passenger in a wheelchair. We could not stop at the disabled pick up at 10.30 am because people were arriving for the departure. No one can board at 10.30 so people shouldn't be allowed into the port that early.

Does anyone know if it will be chaos embarking in Rio?

We have a time on our e-ticket of 1530, but feel that is too late. Our transfer from our hotel has already been booked as part of our package, so I guess we will arrive at the pier early?

I don't know if it will be "chaos", but there may some inconvenience due to construction in the area immediately surrounding the terminal. Our Rio guide has written and sent photos of the immediate area and said that (as of now) it is virtually impossible to reach the pier terminal by car. He has suggested that we meet at the Rio Art Museum which is about 2 blocks from the pier. A Cunard transfer vehicle will most likely be able to deliver you directly to the terminal, but I wouldn't expect things to run as smoothly as in Southampton or Brooklyn.

 

Bob

Bob, would you be willing to post the photos you mentioned? I am trying to find out if there will be problems getting a taxi at the terminal in Rio as I am disembarking there on Feb. 2nd and have a mad dash planned to the bus terminal for a tightly scheduled onward trip. Fingers crossed!