QM2 Earlest Boarding Time

My parents are joining us aboard the QM2 on 30th August for 2 nights, their time aboard is obviously limited so it would be nice to know if anyone could advise me on how early they may be able to board.

Also they need to book a Hotel in Hamburg so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I thought somewhere near the pier/ dock but Cunard could not advise me of this for certain.

I had been looking at the "Reichshof Hamburg Hotel" but was unsure how suitable the location was.

Their boarding time will be on their e-tickets and is usually by deck.

When we were in Hamburg earlier this month - seems longer ago than that - the hotel visible from our cabin was the 25 Hour Hotel.

Depends where you dock.

Hi jrobertthomson,

Often the earliest boarding time is the busiest and most chaotic. You are not the only one thinking about boarding as early as possible. In terms of "ship boarding" early-boarding always seems more popular than late-boarding...

If your parents are elderly, the whole experience would be easier for them if you wait until between two and three o'clock. Missing a couple hours on the ship could be more than balanced by avoiding the crowds and having the first impression be much more on the calm-side than harried.

Just a thought…

The earliest we have ever boarded (in Brooklyn) was 11:30.

Remember, passengers with loyalty status and Grills accommodations will be processed first---and, throngs of priority boarders will arrive at the terminal "early."

Have a wonderful time traveling as a family! Let us know how your parents find the QM2.

Jimmybean

With both Southampton and Brooklyn, the boarding process is usually quite smooth and orderly. As folks arrive early they are given a number card and then when boarding starts you board in order of your number. The waiting area is a large open area with lots of seating.

When do they start boarding?: noon to 1pm is about average.

We had terrible trouble when we docked at Brooklyn because the disabled pickup is the same as the drop off and at 10.15 am people were arriving to board and wee allowed to be in disabled pick up while we had to move wit wheel chair pasender, luggage etc. Stick to the time on your tickets.

Unless they have priority boarding, as someone else has said deck # denotes time so if they are on deck 10 they will be around midday if deck 4 around 2.30

I they are staying in a hotel and are on a low # deck I would suggest you meet them at their hotel have a nice morning in Hamburg get a small lunch then take them to the ship at their assigned time. Lunch time on a boarding day might be a little busy and overwhelming so if they have had a little something before hand they can get a snack later. by then you will have it all sussed out as you will have been on board a few days.

dunno if QM has switched to using the new terminal in Hamburg, but when we boarded in Hamburg back in June, arriving at Hafen City @ our assigned time found us joining a queue that extended outside the building .... we were on deck 8 with a balcony . . . it was a sad beginning to what we expected to be an above average cruise - we were staying on board to NYC . . . we were in a slow moving queue sweating for well over an hour. Had I known I would have just waited to board until later.

We stayed at the Radisson Blu for a few days b4 boarding. Very nice, a short taxi ride away. Right next to the Dammtor train station .. making it about 1.6 miles or 2.5 km from the 'old' terminal. If the 'new terminal' (Steinwerder) is being used it is farther and there is really no option to taking a cab to get there ....

you can watch here for which terminal they will use

http://www.hamburgcruisecenter.eu/en/estimated-ships

TODAY it looks like QM2 will stay at the (old) Hafen City terminal ..... but a lot can change between then and now.

p.s. 1 - our sail away was delayed several hours due to low tide .... insufficient water to clear the tunnel downstream

p.s. 2 - we very much enjoyed exploring Hamburg and especially enjoyed Miniature Wonderland .... we expected to spend an hour and were there for over 4 .... an AMAZING place.

We are a group of 12 which started as a group of 6. Our 3 cabins are all side by side however the other 3 are on other floors and consequently we all have different boarding times. As we are staying at a motel in Brisbane the night prior to boarding and will be checking out of our hotel at 10am and heading to the port in a maxi taxi, what are the chances of us being able to board together?

I don't recommend trying to board early. As another has commented, there are often big crowds at the early hour. I am sorry to say than my experience boarding Cunard has not been good in 3 ports: Brooklyn, Cape Town, and Los Angeles. Hamburg, was OK. You should probably arrive at your assigned time, although we still had a long wait in Cape Town when we did that. We are boarding in Hamburg in June and we are looking at the Reichoff hotel as it was recommended by a Cunard regular. It looks great, a beautiful hotel, will work for us since it is at the train station where we will arrive. Short cab ride to the port to board the QM2.

My parents are joining us aboard the QM2 on 30th August for 2 nights, their time aboard is obviously limited so it would be nice to know if anyone could advise me on how early they may be able to board.

Also they need to book a Hotel in Hamburg so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I thought somewhere near the pier/ dock but Cunard could not advise me of this for certain.

I had been looking at the "Reichshof Hamburg Hotel" but was unsure how suitable the location was.

It is showing (at the moment) that QM2 will be berthed at Hafen City, so as stated by morbihan the closest hotel is the 25Hours Hotel - you can google it for details and a map. It would perhaps be nice for them to see the ship arrive from this hotel, although it may depend on how the construction works are progressing.