Azura - New Improved Embarkation Process

My final thoughts on the subject......maybe.

Some one posted about doing everything on line months before sailing on Anthem of the seas. A thought popped into my head yesterday...not a busy day...

Anthem would have a much younger age demographic than most on P and O .They would be much much more computer literate, and could cope with that.

A lot of people on P and O seem to book through their favourite TA, so would not have an option of doing things online surely.

The very very few (out of all the 1000's that sail on P and O each year) that post on these boards, so may know how to do things online are not representative of the majority of P and O cruisers .

Trust me having dealings with elderly relatives computers/uploading pictures/doing anything online is completely beyond them.

P and O know what age demographic most of their cruisers are (at the moment) so it would not work at all if they suddenly said, right everybody has to do everything online prior to sailing.

As older cruisers disappear and younger cruisers take their place then things probably will move more online. However do not think just because you can do things on line everyone can. If you have grown up with computers it is all plain and simple. If you haven't it is not by a long way.

I agree a sensible option is to ask at time of booking, what time do you want to board....a TA could ask that, if booked through them.

However as I posted years ago in this thread if you could not get the time you wanted ,at time of booking, would you turn up at the time you could get, or the time you wanted?

I have an idea what time our boarding time will be on our next cruise, and will be sticking to it.

Some one posted about doing everything on line months before sailing on Anthem of the seas. A thought popped into my head yesterday...not a busy day...

That was me!

Anthem would have a much younger age demographic than most on P and O .They would be much much more computer literate, and could cope with that.

My experience on the Anthem was the same as P&O, a very similar age group (I'm in my 50s). Even with P&O they expect you to fill out the cruise personaliser.

A lot of people on P and O seem to book through their favourite TA, so would not have an option of doing things online surely.

I booked with a well known cruise travel agent, this doesn't affect the online element. I gave them my C&A account number which filled in my name for me but that was it.

The very very few (out of all the 1000's that sail on P and O each year) that post on these boards, so may know how to do things online are not representative of the majority of P and O cruisers .

Again they make you fill out the personaliser.

Trust me having dealings with elderly relatives computers/uploading pictures/doing anything online is completely beyond them.

P and O know what age demographic most of their cruisers are (at the moment) so it would not work at all if they suddenly said, right everybody has to do everything online prior to sailing.

You do as much as you can, they wont stop you getting on if you haven't taken your own picture, they will still take it for you on their iPad. The only essential thing they ask for that P&O doesn't is a debit/credit card applied to the account on the personaliser. The more people that do things online the quicker it is for all.

As older cruisers disappear and younger cruisers take their place then things probably will move more online. However do not think just because you can do things on line everyone can. If you have grown up with computers it is all plain and simple. If you haven't it is not by a long way.

I agree a sensible option is to ask at time of booking, what time do you want to board....a TA could ask that, if booked through them.

However as I posted years ago in this thread if you could not get the time you wanted ,at time of booking, would you turn up at the time you could get, or the time you wanted?

Its getting difficult now not to do any part of a cruise without going online somewhere.

If you turned up outside of your allotted time you sat in the waiting room after security, the time slots are there and stuck to. You get a choice when you book of a time to get on and off. The earlier you book (and probably therefore paying more) the more choice you get.

Its not just about doing things online. The cruise cards are in your cabin, nobody shuttles off for a few minutes to find yours (that adds up when there are 3,500 cards to allocate). The security is before the waiting area, a big problem in the Ocean terminal in my opinion. The health questionnaire is a verbal one, no messing about finding a pen and something to write against.

I have an idea what time our boarding time will be on our next cruise, and will be sticking to it.

That looks to be the way things are going!

Royal Caribbean got us on a 4,800 capacity ship in a few minutes without even sitting down, I have a very low loyalty level with them, there was no preferential treatment that I saw not that it was needed.

CCFC - Im not going to use the quote button...will fill up too much of the page!

But it seems to me that one aspect of your post hit the nail right on the head.....and which goes a long way to making boarding on Anthem work smoothly

(Quote) If you turned up outside of your allotted time you sat in the waiting room after security, the time slots are there and stuck to. You get a choice when you book of a time to get on and off.

What P & O need to do for the future I guess , is , as many have said, offer a choice, and then make people stick to it. We all know that choice has not yet been offered, but allocated (? randomly) in many cases at fairly short notice and it is that which has upset many. But they have been allocating boarding times for donkeys years but everyone has just ignored them!

As more and more passengers have cottoned on to the fact that you can turn up and board early and get a free lunch, the boarding process has become less manageable as the ships get bigger. It seems the "generosity" of P & O's past practice of not making people stick to their times and allowing pax on early has come back to bite them on the bum now they are changing it!!

Ho hum!

Perhaps choosing embarkation time should be another select booking perk. Saver fares could then be slotted in at the less popular times. If they then stuck to it, it should work.

Perhaps choosing embarkation time should be another select booking perk. Saver fares could then be slotted in at the less popular times. If they then stuck to it, it should work.

Has a customer on their first cruise with a select fare got more reason to be allocated an early slot than an Caribbean+ grade customer on a saver fare ?

Couldn't agree more, I said this a while back in the thread and got a sarcastic response from someone - perhaps they won't book select!

Jackie

Select fares should have first choice of checkin time because they have paid more than savers who by definition have booked last minute. Choosing your boarding time should be a "select benefit" just as choosing your cabin and dining time is. P&O hinted at this last year when they announced other changes they were making.

Caribbean + should then be given priority in the way they were before so they have priority over savers. If you want more choice over checkin time then you can always book a select fare too.

Select fares should have first choice of checkin time because they have paid more than savers who by definition have booked last minute. Choosing your boarding time should be a "select benefit" just as choosing your cabin and dining time is. P&O hinted at this last year when they announced other changes they were making.

 

Caribbean + should then be given priority in the way they were before so they have priority over savers. If you want more choice over checkin time then you can always book a select fare too.

With respect that is just your opinion.

I don't see how type of fare booked should have any affect on boarding. Priority boarding has been earned through loyalty via the conditions of the Peninsular Club with no mention of fare types. I often wonder if the difference in the 3 fare types is an incentive to Select customers or a way to penalise the customers who buy savers.

Seriously - please tell me how getting on board, say one hour before other people really affects your holiday. We always arrive at about 1300 and are usually in the buffet by 1345. So only an hour later than so perk people.

Seriously - please tell me how getting on board, say one hour before other people really affects your holiday. We always arrive at about 1300 and are usually in the buffet by 1345. So only an hour later than so perk people.

I think we have been round this loop more than once :)

So now you are arguing as to whether a boarding time should be asked at the time of booking. This in the sense that the earlier you book you are more likely to get the slot you want. This would then go against a Caribbean saver fare getting priority boarding,as they would be booking much later ,when the early slots had gone.

So if you don't do boarding requests at time of booking, when would you do them?

All the people staying in hotels in Southampton, if they don't make their booking early enough they may not get an early slot...then what do they do??????

If you drive down and don't book early enough, so you don't get and early slot, what do you do?

As a lot of people have already posted they are incapable of turning up later, what are pando to do. They have said they cannot board everyone at once.

If people are given options ,and their preference is gone, what do they do?

I think pando is between a rock and a hard place here. Whichever way they play it people will moan. Maybe that is why they decided not to let people chose and just decided to do it in a way that works best for them.

So now you are arguing as to whether a boarding time should be asked at the time of booking. This in the sense that the earlier you book you are more likely to get the slot you want. This would then go against a Caribbean saver fare getting priority boarding,as they would be booking much later ,when the early slots had gone.

 

So if you don't do boarding requests at time of booking, when would you do them?

 

All the people staying in hotels in Southampton, if they don't make their booking early enough they may not get an early slot...then what do they do??????

 

If you drive down and don't book early enough, so you don't get and early slot, what do you do?

 

As a lot of people have already posted they are incapable of turning up later, what are pando to do. They have said they cannot board everyone at once.

 

If people are given options ,and their preference is gone, what do they do?

 

I think pando is between a rock and a hard place here. Whichever way they play it people will moan. Maybe that is why they decided not to let people chose and just decided to do it in a way that works best for them.

I think that as a Caribbean grade passenger I should not be asked at all what time I want to board as I have already EARNED priority boarding which should work as it always has in the past. I quite frankly don't care beyond that point how it is sorted out.Obviously those who are advocating that Select get first dibs are those who regularly book select fares and that is to be expected, we are all obviously going to support what suits us best.

One final point on this debate is that there still does not seem to be anything set in stone as to what the rules are.The P&O notice seems to have been interpreted in different ways by folks so I don't think that we know for sure what will happen.

With respect that is just your opinion.

I don't see how type of fare booked should have any affect on boarding. Priority boarding has been earned through loyalty via the conditions of the Peninsular Club with no mention of fare types. I often wonder if the difference in the 3 fare types is an incentive to Select customers or a way to penalise the customers who buy savers.

Surely it is reasonable that those who have paid more and presumably added more to P and O's profits should receive an enhanced service. Everybody boards the ship but if there are preferable time slots, I don't see why they aren't offered first to those who pay the higher tariff. That is a deserved incentive that you could argue has been paid for. Buyers of Saver fares are not being penalised, but they don't get to receive the benefits of the enhanced service that Select fare payers pay for and perhaps should receive.

You mention loyalty and you are quite correct that peninsular club levels are reached through more frequent cruising. Don't forget though that nights spent cruising saver fares in the lowest grade of inside cabins are credited in exactly the same way as nights spent in the most expensive suite. I completely agree that the loyalty shown in each instance is the same but I suspect many would prefer Peninsular points to be based on money spent rather than nights aboard.

Yep, guess so! LOL

Select fares should have first choice of checkin time because they have paid more than savers who by definition have booked last minute. Choosing your boarding time should be a "select benefit" just as choosing your cabin and dining time is. P&O hinted at this last year when they announced other changes they were making.

 

Caribbean + should then be given priority in the way they were before so they have priority over savers. If you want more choice over checkin time then you can always book a select fare too.

This is what I think too. Select fare get the first choice and savers what is left. By the way I have done several savers so this isn't because I am a select passenger. I book both at different times when it suits.

Seriously - please tell me how getting on board, say one hour before other people really affects your holiday. We always arrive at about 1300 and are usually in the buffet by 1345. So only an hour later than so perk people.

That is great if you are given a 1 o'clock boarding but there are lots of people getting 3 and 3.30, like myself, who are never going to be on board for 13.45.:confused:

Surely it is reasonable that those who have paid more and presumably added more to P and O's profits should receive an enhanced service. Everybody boards the ship but if there are preferable time slots, I don't see why they aren't offered first to those who pay the higher tariff. That is a deserved incentive that you could argue has been paid for. Buyers of Saver fares are not being penalised, but they don't get to receive the benefits of the enhanced service that Select fare payers pay for and perhaps should receive.

 

You mention loyalty and you are quite correct that peninsular club levels are reached through more frequent cruising. Don't forget though that nights spent cruising saver fares in the lowest grade of inside cabins are credited in exactly the same way as nights spent in the most expensive suite. I completely agree that the loyalty shown in each instance is the same but I suspect many would prefer Peninsular points to be based on money spent rather than nights aboard.

So you think that loyalty is based on the amount of money sent with P&O ?

What about the people who have cruised with P&O for many years and who have amassed the required nights to EARN priority boarding based on the rules of the Portunus Club ? Should they have this perk removed ?

What you say about loyalty being based on spend may well be what current passengers would rather have but that is not the criteria by which this perk has been earned.

So you think that loyalty is based on the amount of money sent with P&O ?

What about the people who have cruised with P&O for many years and who have amassed the required nights to EARN priority boarding based on the rules of the Portunus Club ? Should they have this perk removed ?

What you say about loyalty being based on spend may well be what current passengers would rather have but that is not the criteria by which this perk has been earned.

I can't quite understand this as I thought it was based on how many nights you have sailed that have been turned into points and this is what has earned the priority boarding.:confused:

So you think that loyalty is based on the amount of money sent with P&O ?

What about the people who have cruised with P&O for many years and who have amassed the required nights to EARN priority boarding based on the rules of the Portunus Club ? Should they have this perk removed ?

What you say about loyalty being based on spend may well be what current passengers would rather have but that is not the criteria by which this perk has been earned.

If you read my second paragraph carefully you will discover that I don't think that loyalty should be based on money spent but I suspect there are some that do. However I do agree that those who spend more on their cruise by paying select fare should receive enhancements in addition to the basics that are given to those who pay saver fares. Choice of embarkation times may be an additional enhancement that can be justified.

I think the higher tiers of the Peninsular club (not Portunus any more) receiving priority boarding is a separate topic to getting the new embarkation process right. I think there is a separate thread on that.

Yes it's true, you could do quite a few 21 and 24 day cruises in an inside cabin (which we do) and amass loads of points or two or three 7-14 day cruises in a suite and not have as many points. The latter will have spent far more money than we do. But I can't quite see how that would work. You couldn't do it on spend.

Yes it's true, you could do quite a few 21 and 24 day cruises in an inside cabin (which we do) and amass loads of points or two or three 7-14 day cruises in a suite and not have as many points. The latter will have spent far more money than we do. But I can't quite see how that would work. You couldn't do it on spend.

That makes things clearer to me. I understand now what was meant in the previous post.

You know, as a keen follower of the Royal boards on here Ive not read one single criticism of the pre-selection of boarding times. Not from their highest loyalty members or first time cruisers. The system just works. Its logical and fair and more especially its non elitist. It works for a ship far bigger than P&Os biggest ship yet P&O just keep stepping back in time with their blinkered approach. I would like P&O to compete, not flounder.

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Kevin, how do they work it then?

You know, as a keen follower of the Royal boards on here Ive not read one single criticism of the pre-selection of boarding times. Not from their highest loyalty members or first time cruisers. The system just works. Its logical and fair and more especially its non elitist. It works for a ship far bigger than P&Os biggest ship yet P&O just keep stepping back in time with their blinkered approach. I would like P&O to compete, not flounder.

 

 

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I wish there was a like button for that post Kevin.

Kevin, how do they work it then?

See my post #352 plus lots of others I have put about Royal Caribbean having the best embarkation I have ever experienced with far bigger ships.

I'm not a trumpet blower for any particular cruise line, I'm off on Britannia in a few weeks and was on Anthem in June. P&O are not in the same ballpark as a lot of other lines.

I have posted today on the other thread about embarkation " Carribbean tier" (sorry can't do a link to it - have tried!) which suggests that Caribbean tier people can in fact turn up and embark from when check in opens - at least on Britannia, so assume the same for the other ships too. I think P&O have recently updated their FAQ.