Bon Voyage reality

[aaerobear]

For those booking the Bon Voyage Experience, be aware. It is NOT a ticket to show up and get on the ship anytime you want.

 

You are asked to arrive at the pier at a certain time and then the entire group is escorted onto the ship by one of the Future Cruise staff. This is a planned tour/lunch/freetime experience. (freetime comes AFTER the tour and Lunch)

 

Showing up at other times can cause confusion and delay your boarding.

[jrzebird]

For those booking the Bon Voyage Experience, be aware. It is NOT a ticket to show up and get on the ship anytime you want.

 

You are asked to arrive at the pier at a certain time and then the entire group is escorted onto the ship by one of the Future Cruise staff. This is a planned tour/lunch/freetime experience. (freetime comes AFTER the tour and Lunch)

 

Showing up at other times can cause confusion and delay your boarding.

 

I just brought my daughter onto the CB for the Bon Voyage experience and it was awesome. There were 14 people signed up for it and we waited almost 45 minutes for a couple to show up because, yes, everyone has to get on at the same time. Them not coming cut into our 'free time'. :mad:

 

Anyway, for those who don't know, the tour is not mandatory, and we didn't take it because I've been on the ship before and showed my daughter around on my own. Instead, I stopped at customer services and signed up for the Ultimate Ship Tour (which I found that they do NOT have on cruises with only 1 sea day), got a few things set up, dropped my hand luggage in my cabin, and then we went to lunch in the Coral, I believe.

 

After a wonderful lunch, where I immediately fell in love with the staff, my daughter and I toured, and enjoyed the on deck experience. It really was a great way to start the cruise, and I got to board REALLY early (but not as early as I would have, had the other people showed up).

[Toto2Kansas]

There were 14 people signed up for it and we waited almost 45 minutes for a couple to show up because, yes, everyone has to get on at the same time. Them not coming cut into our 'free time'. :mad:

 

Totally unexceptable IMHO. To hold up the entire group because one couple was late arriving. It sounds like one of the main reasons we stopped taking ships tours, as there was always that one couple that didn't get back when they were supposed to, and held up the entire tour. It would be nice if passengers would take responsibility and arrive on time. It's a shame that the rest of the group had to have less time onboard. Maybe Princess should post in the documents for the Bon Voyage that they MUST arrive no later than such and such a time........otherwise they will forfeit their BV experience. :mad:

[BalconyGal]

I agree with Toto, that is totally unacceptable and I would have been quite upset. Hopefully it was a flight delay or something like that and not just two people being totally self-absorbed.

 

Glad you had a good time anyway!

[Liz54]

We did this with friends at the start of our cruise in February. I do not remember Princess making it clear that we all had to be there before anyone could board. (although it could have been clear in our guest's paperwork) We were keen to get on board so arrived very promptly, but did not know that the timing was so important.

 

Anyone know how it is conveyed to people?

[jrzebird]

I agree with Toto, that is totally unacceptable and I would have been quite upset. Hopefully it was a flight delay or something like that and not just two people being totally self-absorbed.

 

Glad you had a good time anyway!

 

I was not going to let anything, short of cancellation of the cruise, ruin this trip, so I took it in stride. I don't think the people ever showed up. Maybe their guest couldn't make it. Far be it for me to judge. Plus, after Kathy and I took our seats the lady next to me turned and asked if I was Maureen. She recognized me from here and the FB chat room! I think it was the purple streaks in my hair. So, for me, the cruise had started. :D

[azseas]

Perhaps the folks that did not arrive got caught in flight delays or -- stuck in traffic? I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume good intent! My concern would be with the princess folks that made my wait 45 minutes before deciding to go on without them. When you told them you were not going on the tour -- did they give you any grief or was it it "okay"?

[CruisinFinsUp]

For those booking the Bon Voyage Experience, be aware. It is NOT a ticket to show up and get on the ship anytime you want.

 

You are asked to arrive at the pier at a certain time and then the entire group is escorted onto the ship by one of the Future Cruise staff. This is a planned tour/lunch/freetime experience. (freetime comes AFTER the tour and Lunch)

 

Showing up at other times can cause confusion and delay your boarding.

 

We brought my parents on board Emerald Princess Dec 2010 as Bon Voyage guests. For us, the big benefit of having guests on this program was that as Bon Voyage hosts, we and our guests were part of the first group to board the ship! Our 11 year old daughter still talks about the fact that she was FIRST on board our cruise of all passengers! :rolleyes:

Its unfortunate that Princess is requiring all Bon Voyage customers to board together even if some are late. That is not fair to those that come on time.

 

When we got on board, the Future Cruise staff greeted us, and we told them we'd been on many ships and would tour our guests ourselves. There was no problem at all and we left on our own. We even skipped the dining room lunch and ate at the buffet - it was more convenient for us.

 

Perhaps different future cruise staff have different ways of managing their group, and I understand now that you don't have to have "hosts" anymore - anyone can book the tour even if they aren't affiliated with paying passengers, so maybe that has something to do with the way they are managing the tour and lunch? But no matter what, I think that the tour should leave on schedule, and late guests should have to catch up!

[pablo222]

You are asked to arrive at the pier at a certain time and then the entire group is escorted onto the ship by one of the Future Cruise staff. This is a planned tour/lunch/freetime experience. (freetime comes AFTER the tour and Lunch)

I'm done this twice, and neither time did it work as you described.

BVE guests were grouped together in the waiting area, and boarded

before suite/elite/platinum -- but not particularly as a group. For

instance, I checked in for my cabin, and my BVE guest waited with

me, and we boarded together. That way, we were together in the

photo. Once on board, we were invited to join the group tour, but

we declined. We dropped our bags in the cabin, and went to the mdr

for lunch. There was no requirement that we complete the tour,

or follow any schedule.

 

As I'm elite, I wouldn't be waiting around any 45 minutes for some

late arriving bve guest. Not gonna' happen. Wouldn't be prudent.

[Cruzn ELM]

I did the Bon Voyage Experience on the Sea Princess in San Francisco in August. Our documentation said to arrive at 11:00 am with our boarding passes printed out (as though we were lucky enough to actually be going somewhere). At about 11:15 the Princess Future Cruise representative escorted us on board. There was no roll call at that point;

however, we had checked in as though we were passengers so that may have been the check point. Our sailing friends could board with us as long as they had stayed in the Bon Voyage waiting area. Once on board we were free to go on our own or take the guided tour. We went on our own. Lunch in the MDR was very good. I highly recommend taking part in the BVE. The one warning I make is that, due to security issues, reservations must be made at least a week in advance.

[BalconyGal]

Out of curiosity how do you book it anyway? Do you have to call or can you do it on the princess site?

[Host CJSKIDS]

We did it in Fort Lauderdale, the group boarded together. We also did not do the tour as we had been on the ship 4 times prior and our son had been on it prior as well. They allowed us as well as our guests to tour on our own.

[capriccio]

Out of curiosity how do you book it anyway? Do you have to call or can you do it on the princess site?

 

 

When we did it last October we had to call Princess and ask for the "Bon Voyage' desk.

[argenta01]

If you are not sailing on the ship, or going with someone sailing on the ship and attend the BVE, is there any way you can purchase alcholic drinks onboard? You won't have a room card and they don't accept cash. :confused: Is the luncheon a set one in a specific dining room for those on the BVE, or can you eat in the dining room open on embarcation day? thanks :)

[pablo222]

If you are not sailing on the ship, or going with someone sailing on the ship and attend the BVE, is there any way you can purchase alcholic drinks onboard? You won't have a room card and they don't accept cash. :confused: Is the luncheon a set one in a specific dining room for those on the BVE, or can you eat in the dining room open on embarcation day? thanks :)

 

When you BVE, you have to register on line, and print out a boarding pass, much like a cruise. You do have to supply a credit card. When

you check in, you get a cruise card. You use this in the A-Pass system

when boarding and leaving, so Princess can keep track of who is on

board. Just on a lark -- the first time we did it -- we tried charging

a drink to the BVE card. It worked. There was no statement, but

the charge did show up on the registered credit card.

 

Later on embarcation day, I was able to buy a future cruise credit

for my BVE guest, as they had her 'in the system' being on board

that day.

 

I don't think you can do this yourself when you BVE, as typicall

the Future Cruise Desk is closed when you are on board.

[Infi]

Is the luncheon a set one in a specific dining room for those on the BVE, or can you eat in the dining room open on embarcation day? thanks :)

 

The BVE guests eat in the same dining room that's open on embarkation day for the regular passengers. Same menu for both, though I believe the BVE guests get wine with their meal.

[bdjam]

For instance, I checked in for my cabin, and my BVE guest waited with me, and we boarded together. That way, we were together in the photo.

I had some friends along for the Bon Voyage Experience on Sea Princess in San Francisco. Part of their $39 charge included a picture taken when we boarded. Since I was with them as part of the Bon Voyage group, I was in the picture with them. Do they no longer offer this photo as part of the deal?

We too turned down the ship tour (and later found out it only toured Promenade Deck) because we were familiar with the ship and could give our guests our own tour...and it seems like they saw more of the ship than those on the tour.

[Cruzn ELM]

I had some friends along for the Bon Voyage Experience on Sea Princess in San Francisco. Part of their $39 charge included a picture taken when we boarded. Since I was with them as part of the Bon Voyage group, I was in the picture with them. Do they no longer offer this photo as part of the deal?

 

We too turned down the ship tour (and later found out it only toured Promenade Deck) because we were familiar with the ship and could give our guests our own tour...and it seems like they saw more of the ship than those on the tour.

 

Yes, they still include the photo, ready for pick up before the BVE people leave the ship.

[jrzebird]

The BVE guests eat in the same dining room that's open on embarkation day for the regular passengers. Same menu for both, though I believe the BVE guests get wine with their meal.

 

They do get wine (1 glass) with their meal. My daughter said it was awful. I don't drink, so I have to take her at her word.

 

A comment about the 45 minute delay. I assumed that we were delayed because the future cruise rep kept checking her watch, counting people, checking her list and saying people were missing. For all I know we were late boarding for some other reason.

 

As others have said, the tour was optional. As for a future cruise credit, we were told that a guest could book that day, or within a time frame I don't recall. Also, you don't have to see the rep to buy a FCC. There is a short form outside her/his office and you fill it out and drop it in the mail slot outside the office. I did mine the last day and the confirmation was mailed to me.

[j1x2z3]

We did the BVE for my brother, his girlfriend, and her son in OCT on the Emerald in FLL. They were the only 3 BVE people so we got on the ship first. BUT we had to wait for about 20 minutes for the photographer to come dowN and take our boarding picture. We declined the tour dropped the bags and did lunch in the MDR. They did not offer my BVE guests the wine. All in All the BVE was great BUT when we picked up the picture(S) no one noticed (includind us) that they put the wrong sailing date on them. so our Oct cruise has a September date that is completely different for our picture.

 

Didn't complain but I guess for $120.00 BVE maybe should have BUT it is vacation and there are a lot of older people who were driving them crazy with complaints over "nothing" issues. So I figured they gave them enough grief..

[j1x2z3]

YEAH my spelling above sucks. I don' need a reminder from anyone though.

[PescadoAmarillo]

For those who used their BVE to purchase an FCC...did you apply the $39 to the FCC and therefore get it for $61. We want to take a BVE on a turnaround day on B2B cruises, but won't be booking a cruise within 90 days. We will, however, be buying FCCs.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I did a tour onboard a Celebrity ship (through a TA) and we had a definite time to be there and were all escorted together onboard the ship, saw some specific cabins and were given a list of other ones we could look at (including the owner's suite). We had a lunch in a dining room and were able to tour the rest of the ship before meeting at 3:30 to go off the ship together.

 

If there's a problem with people showing up late, there should be a warning in the materials sent (email, letter, whatever) that says if you arrive after a certain time, you can't take part (and possibly lose your $35?). That way, people will know ahead of time not to try to fly in that morning or have a leisurely breakfast, and possibly hold up the others.