Early Boarding

[LaPaloma]

I was just looking in on the SS board and saw that they are no longer charging the $100 for early boarding. You can come on and enjoy lunch and roam about ..but no roooms until 3pm. I think this is a can of worms for them..as...the staff/crew will have to deal with many more EARLY boarders. HOWEVER, SB has anothe obstacle in the marketplace...this is very appealing to those who do not want to wait to board..added to the other enticements that they are offering. My point..we are really entering a dog eat dog market IMHO. Lola :eek:

[Keith1010]

Crystal Cruises used to have 3:00 PM boarding and sometime around 2005 went with the concept that you can board at 12:00 Noon in most locations. The rooms are not guaranteed to be ready until 3:00 PM, but you can enjoy lunch on the ship and also walk around the ship. If you have carry ons you can either keep them with you or you can check them in after you board the ship and they will be held for you. It works very well.

 

I am sure that the SS process will work well. The benefit is that rather than having everyone check in within say a two hour period (except for those who paid the extra $100.00 for early boarding) they are expanding the window.

 

I did take my first SS cruise recently and did the early boarding. I enjoyed it. With that said whether or not early boarding is available, this would not play any role in my decison as to which cruise line to sail with. I don't think this is one that Seabourn needs to worry about. With the new ships they may go in this direction anyway.

 

Keith