Diamond Princess new policy of staggered embarkation by deck

[scampi]

IMPORTANT NOTICES

 

 

 

To ensure a smooth start to your voyage, we operate a staggered check-in schedule for Diamond Princess. We kindly request that you plan to arrive at or shortly after your scheduled check-in time as noted below, determined by your deck.

 

2:00 PM - Emerald and Plaza Deck 3:00 PM - Aloha and Lido Deck 4:00 PM - Baja Deck 5:00 PM - Caribe & Dolphin Deck

 

Due to limited space, passengers who arrive prior to their check-in time will not be permitted to enter the terminal. Passengers will be asked to drop off their luggage and return at their scheduled check-in time. All passengers must be onboard by 7:00 PM. We look forward to welcoming you onboard Diamond

 

______________________

 

 

We leave in less than 2 weeks for a precruise visit to New Zealand & then on a Sydney to Beijing cruise & 2 days ago received the above "Emergency Notification" from our TA regarding our Diamond Princess Cruise. We have a Caribe deck cabin which means we are not to arrive before 5 p.m. If we had known about this policy beforehand we might have booked an emerald cabin. This is going to be very tiring for all those passengers who must check out of their hotels by 11 a.m. or noon & I think it is a very POOR policy to be sprung on us passengers so close to departing for our cruises. It is my understanding that those who are Elite (like Bob & I) or who have full suites must still arrive at our designated time & we go to another line.

 

Does anyone else have similar concerns if their cruiseship also adopts this policy???

 

Santa "scampi"

[paul929207]

Princess is trying to spread out the checkin process. So that people are not standing in line for a long time

[rkmw]

also at the Sydney terminal there's not much seating arrangements while you're waiting around to embark

[scampi]

Princess is trying to spread out the checkin process. So that people are not standing in line for a long time

 

One of my major concerns is that this policy should have been announced during the booking process and not after final payment and not when there are few available cabins left in the preferred decks (for ex.emerald) under this policy. Also, they are not considering the inconvenience of families & close friends who are on different decks & now must arrive at different times & then what was the point of being a loyal Cruise line member & earning elite status so that one could have preferential boarding?

[A1A]

I agree!

Poor planning for Princess!

Hopefully they will take this into consideration upon boarding!

Ken

[Pam in CA]

One of my major concerns is that this policy should have been announced during the booking process and not after final payment and not when there are few available cabins left in the preferred decks (for ex.emerald) under this policy. Also, they are not considering the inconvenience of families & close friends who are on different decks & now must arrive at different times & then what was the point of being a loyal Cruise line member & earning elite status so that one could have preferential boarding?

Santa, this is not a new policy and is a request, not a requirement. For our family cruise a year ago, we had four cabins on different decks. We shared a limo to the ship and boarded when we got there. I understand Princess wanting to stagger arrivals but in some cases, it's not practical. Particularly if groups traveling together are on separate decks or you need to check out of a hotel by a certain time. No one will hold or delay you if you don't arrive at the requested time.

 

Have a great cruise... and don't worry.

[caribill]

Santa, this is not a new policy and is a request, not a requirement.

 

 

Due to limited space, passengers who arrive prior to their check-in time will not be permitted to enter the terminal.

 

I agree the request is not new, but the statement about not being allowed to enter the terminal is new to me.

 

I aslo thought in the past it said that elite could check in at any time.

[Bimmer09]

This idea would work fine for me...if I could be guaranteed a place in The Sanctuary, Sabatini's, the UST, the Chef's Table and so on. First come first served, by deck location, would penalise people like me. If lower decks get on first then are they planning some cabins below the waterline?...if so I'll have to take one! Balcony cabin, with snorkel and mask instead of the fluffy robes.

 

Norris

[Potstech]

Again Stupid Stupid Stupid policy. To many cruisers will be very inconvienced by this policy. What happens if you do not get there tor your "boarding time"? Do you have to wait for all others to board then you get to board?

[Pam in CA]

I agree the request is not new, but the statement about not being allowed to enter the terminal is new to me.

 

I aslo thought in the past it said that elite could check in at any time.

You're right. I was reading Santa's post on my iPhone via Tapatalk and didn't see that phrase. I can see requesting people to arrive at staggered times but this policy could potentially cost passengers a lot of money and inconvenience. If it was enforced last January, it would have meant that either we booked three different limos (at considerable expense) or forced family members to sit and wait for hours before they were allowed the board. And then you have people like my nephew who planned to arrive later than the time for his deck, which happened to be at 3PM. He's late to everything. When he arrived at about 4PM, they almost didn't let him board and he blamed it on Princess. The policy is well-meaning but I see it as a PR mistake.

[robgvic]

And if I hear they have changed the policy I can hear teh complaints about h9w long they had to wait with no seats in the waiting area. Maybe you can all board with the time for the latest in your group. I wonder about Elite and Suites

[Pam in CA]

And if I hear they have changed the policy I can hear teh complaints about h9w long they had to wait with no seats in the waiting area. Maybe you can all board with the time for the latest in your group. I wonder about Elite and Suites

Some embarkation ports don't have any waiting areas. Unless things have changed, Sydney is one of them and that's where Santa and Bob are embarking. Buenos Aires is another. I totally understand the need to limit the number of passengers arriving at the same time at these ports. It's very, very different from check-in and boarding in FLL or San Pedro which have the facilities to handle a large number of people arriving, and waiting. Sydney doesn't.

[CC Help Michell]

Is it possible this is due to something about the Sydney terminal itself? I simply can't imagine this being a fleetwide policy, when so many of Princess's offerings are "first come, first served." Unless they plan to roll out some kind of pre-reservation system for Sanctuary, Chef's Table, etc. -- that would be nice. :)

 

Thanks for that clarifying, Pam. Simultaneous posting, I see.

[Pam in CA]

Is it possible this is due to something about the Sydney terminal itself? I simply can't imagine this being a fleetwide policy, when so many of Princess's offerings are "first come, first served." Unless they plan to roll out some kind of pre-reservation system for Sanctuary, Chef's Table, etc. -- that would be nice. :)

Yes. Sydney doesn't have any waiting facilities plus it's very small in comparison.

[mr green]

IMPORTANT NOTICES

 

 

 

To ensure a smooth start to your voyage, we operate a staggered check-in schedule for Diamond Princess. We kindly request that you plan to arrive at or shortly after your scheduled check-in time as noted below, determined by your deck.

 

2:00 PM - Emerald and Plaza Deck 3:00 PM - Aloha and Lido Deck 4:00 PM - Baja Deck 5:00 PM - Caribe & Dolphin Deck

 

Due to limited space, passengers who arrive prior to their check-in time will not be permitted to enter the terminal. Passengers will be asked to drop off their luggage and return at their scheduled check-in time. All passengers must be onboard by 7:00 PM. We look forward to welcoming you onboard Diamond

 

______________________

 

 

We leave in less than 2 weeks for a precruise visit to New Zealand & then on a Sydney to Beijing cruise & 2 days ago received the above "Emergency Notification" from our TA regarding our Diamond Princess Cruise. We have a Caribe deck cabin which means we are not to arrive before 5 p.m. If we had known about this policy beforehand we might have booked an emerald cabin. This is going to be very tiring for all those passengers who must check out of their hotels by 11 a.m. or noon & I think it is a very POOR policy to be sprung on us passengers so close to departing for our cruises. It is my understanding that those who are Elite (like Bob & I) or who have full suites must still arrive at our designated time & we go to another line.

 

Does anyone else have similar concerns if their cruiseship also adopts this policy???

 

Santa "scampi"

 

If it was April 1st I would say that Princess was playing a stupid joke, but since it is not I will say that Princess is just stupid.

 

john

[weed1327]

Is it possible this is due to something about the Sydney terminal itself? I simply can't imagine this being a fleetwide policy, when so many of Princess's offerings are "first come, first served." Unless they plan to roll out some kind of pre-reservation system for Sanctuary, Chef's Table, etc. -- that would be nice. :)

 

My husband and l are due to sail on the Sun Princess on the 11th of January out of Brisbane, we have also been sent an email telling us about the boarding times for each deck. We are platinum passengers and have booked our princess to and from the ship, not sure what time we will be actually picked up from the airport by the coach driver. Our flight arrives into Brisbane at 10.15 Am and we are not meant to board until 2Pm.

 

weed1327

[Pam in CA]

If it was April 1st I would say that Princess was playing a stupid joke, but since it is not I will say that Princess is just stupid.

I assume you've cruised out of Sydney. What was your experience at the terminal there?

[Armchair Cruiser]

If I remember correctly, boarding the same ship to the same destination in 2011, it was more like a processing station. Bags were loaded onto trucks parked kerbside, filled in the necessary paperwork on tables temporarily erected for that purpose nearby within the terminal precinct, then upstairs into a line that wound its way to the Princess/Immigration checkpoints, then onto the ship. Can't remember there being any seating areas upstairs

?there may be have been some downstairs, really can't remember.

[Izabelle]

My husband and l are due to sail on the Sun Princess on the 11th of January out of Brisbane, we have also been sent an email telling us about the boarding times for each deck. We are platinum passengers and have booked our princess to and from the ship, not sure what time we will be actually picked up from the airport by the coach driver. Our flight arrives into Brisbane at 10.15 Am and we are not meant to board until 2Pm.

 

weed1327

 

 

We also leave on 11th January but from Sydney on the Diamond Princess, I see you are leaving from Brisbane but in your instance I can't see there being staggered boarding with some boarding at 4pm as that is when you sailaway....when I received the email with details for our cruise from Sydney I assumed it was because we had an 8pm sailaway but now I think it may just be an auto email.

 

When we have cruised from Sydney before its usually drop off luggage and proceed to the platinum line and on board within 20 minutes, we are usually onboard around noon, if this way of staggered boarding does go ahead people boarding at 4 or 5 pm wont be having lunch onboard and will be having lunch around Circular Quay instead.

[Nebr.cruiser]

This policy sounds ridiculous, inconvenient and sometimes downright difficult for many.

 

For instance, we always fly in a day ahead and stay in a hotel. Normal check-out times are around 12--yes, maybe this can be stretched, and the hotel will let you stay longer (maybe at an extra charge), maybe they will store your luggage, but it would still be a pain to try to find something to do all afternoon.

Who wants to sit around a hotel lobby or at the port?

 

People traveling together would have transportation problems if they are on different decks.

 

We have been in some pretty long lines at times (though not too often), but I just don't think this plan is going to work.

 

Plus, we're just ready to get on the ship as soon as we can and started relaxing.

 

Perhaps a strict policy (enforced) of not letting anyone on the ship until whatever time they choose, whether 11, 12, 2'oclock, or what ever would help, though there would still be lines as probably hoards would then try to board at the given time.

[ggo85]

We boarded the Diamond in Sydney on 12/16. Boarded at 1245 prepared to wait. There was NO line. Walked right through -- quickest we'd ever boarded anywhere.

 

It's a suggestion. If you show up during peak hours, you should be prepared to spend some time in line. If you're ok with that, show up whenever you want. But, if you want to walk through, consider following their guidelines.

[Izabelle]

We boarded the Diamond in Sydney on 12/16. Boarded at 1245 prepared to wait. There was NO line. Walked right through -- quickest we'd ever boarded anywhere.

 

It's a suggestion. If you show up during peak hours, you should be prepared to spend some time in line. If you're ok with that, show up whenever you want. But, if you want to walk through, consider following their guidelines.

 

 

But did you receive the email about boarding at different times starting from 2pm.....we have never had a problem either it's usually straight on and the lines aren't that bad so boarding is a breeze, I wonder why Princess feel they need to change it?

[Waimea'sMom]

We are also on the Diamond on the 11th. My inlaws are on Emerald and boarding at 2pm, but my mom and I are Caribe with a 5pm boarding - 30 minutes before our assigned dinner time! We are all at the same hotel and taking the same taxi, I'm hoping as we are Elite we can board with them at 2. So hopefully it is just a suggestion.

 

Frankly, I think it sucks, and likewise would have chosen a lower cabin. I usually board early, in part to enjoy the dining room lunch option. I can live with missing that, but shouldn't have to arrive at the terminal 30 minutes before dinner. Plus, when is our lifeboat drill?

 

My mom is furious. She said, "it shouldn't even apply to pre boarding platinum and elites. It is ridiculous! It should be suggested but not mandatory for those groups." It is her 26th cruise with Princess and she is livid that she will be one of the last people on the ship.

 

Too bad for those of us who wanted the Sanctuary or Chef's Table.

[caribill]

Is it possible this is due to something about the Sydney terminal itself? I simply can't imagine this being a fleetwide policy, when so many of Princess's offerings are "first come, first served."

 

Although this is not a fleetwide policy (at least not yet), the same request has been reported by others at various ports in the USA including (if my memory is correct) at Port Everglades.

 

However, this is the first posting I have seen that said people would not even be allowed into the terminal to wait until the appropriate time.

 

It appears to be a not-well-thought-out plan to alleviate crowding at the time checkin and boarding normally start.

 

What will they think of next? Maybe if you have a Princess transfer from the airport, not letting you take the transport until it is close to your check-in time. Just hang around the airport several hours instead of being on the Lido deck by 1 PM.

[only1deejay]

And how exactly is princess going to handle this when 3 of their ships will be at SF port at the same time on 5/13/12????

 

 

gonna be interesting.... I would start posting notes on their facebook page.