Staggered Boarding??

[grandmaa]

Received the following (partial) email from one of our friends that boarded the Star yesterday;

 

"Although we were advised that embarkation on the Star Princess would be staggered, with us boarding at 2:00PM (sailaway 4:00PM), we ignored the rules as we usually do and went to the port at 12:00PM. By 12:10PM we were already in our cabin. By 1:00PM we had booked to go to the Chef’s Table with the Maitre D, signed up and chose our comfy cots in the Sanctuary and reserved our slots in the Thermal Suite (aromatic steam rooms) for the duration of the cruise."

 

These are precisely the reasons why I do not agree with this staggered boarding..those who get on board early make the reservations for the Chef's Table, Sanctuary, Thermal Suite, and dinner reservations in the specialty dining rooms. No offense to the poster of this info...but for those who board late because they followed Princesses instructions they are left out without their own personal choices to participate in these special venues. If Princess really is going to adhere to these rules than reservations should not be open until all are on board..JMHO!

[critterchick]

These are precisely the reasons why I do not agree with this staggered boarding..those who get on board early make the reservations for the Chef's Table, Sanctuary, Thermal Suite, and dinner reservations in the specialty dining rooms. No offense to the poster of this info...but for those who board late because they followed Princesses instructions they are left out without their own personal choices to participate in these special venues. If Princess really is going to adhere to these rules than reservations should not be open until all are on board..JMHO!

 

Or they should be available for online booking. Or they should make the ship only allow xx number of pax from each deck.:p

 

I agree with you that it's unfair to give the advantage to those who booked the lucky "first on" deck. We will be on the first (I think it's the first) cruise out of Seattle on May 20 and I'll report how it goes. We don't normally get to the pier until about 1:00, and our boarding time is 1:30, so it may be a non-event, but I'll let y'all know when I can.:)

[Level six]

Please do let us know about Seattle.......I am dreading the whole thing really. Have fun on your cruise and be sure to post a trip report!:D

[Daniel1313]

How did your embarkation go.

 

It was a fiasco. We won't cruise out of San Fran any time soon. You miss out on lunch and have to buy your own. Our check in time was 3:30. We came back at 1:30 and we were able to sneak in. In you did not have priority boarding you were S.O.L. We were supposed to leave at 4:00 p.m. But did not leave until 9:30 p.m. We choose this cruise because it sailed under the Golden Gate bridge. Yes, it did sail under it, but not until it was 9:30 p.m. And dark. Not real happy with Princess at the moment.

[Working 2 Cruise]

It was a fiasco. We won't cruise out of San Fran any time soon. You miss out on lunch and have to buy your own. Our check in time was 3:30. We came back at 1:30 and we were able to sneak in. In you did not have priority boarding you were S.O.L. We were supposed to leave at 4:00 p.m. But did not leave until 9:30 p.m. We choose this cruise because it sailed under the Golden Gate bridge. Yes, it did sail under it, but not until it was 9:30 p.m. And dark. Not real happy with Princess at the moment.

 

Good luck with any other cruiseline... Who knows what the circumstances were?

[caribill]

It was a fiasco. We won't cruise out of San Fran any time soon. You miss out on lunch and have to buy your own. Our check in time was 3:30. We came back at 1:30 and we were able to sneak in. In you did not have priority boarding you were S.O.L. We were supposed to leave at 4:00 p.m. But did not leave until 9:30 p.m. We choose this cruise because it sailed under the Golden Gate bridge. Yes, it did sail under it, but not until it was 9:30 p.m. And dark. Not real happy with Princess at the moment.

 

Good luck with any other cruiseline... Who knows what the circumstances were?

 

The circumst6ances were beyond Princess' control.

 

a) The disembarkation that morning was slowed to less than a crawl (6 passengers every two minutes) because customs insisted on having dogs sniff everybody's carryoff luggage six people at a time. Disembarkation, which should have completed by 10 AM, was barely started by then because of the customs work.

 

b) Unions on the dock were trying to prove some point which also slowed things down.

[Daniel1313]

We did not see any dogs sniffing bags. Actually this was the easiest disembarkation we have had.

[flamomo]

We did not see any dogs sniffing bags. Actually this was the easiest disembarkation we have had.

 

Disembarkation WAS a real breeze ..... fastest I've seen on any cruise. Not having to stand in the long lines for Immigration made all the diffference. Since Immigration for non-US passengers was handled onboard in one of the dining rooms, US passengers could just walk off with their assigned group and go directly to where the luggage was being held.

 

Dan .... I think those "sniffer dogs" were just for the disembarking passengers that had been on the South America cruise.

 

Mary Lou

[denims]

Disembarkation WAS a real breeze ..... fastest I've seen on any cruise. Not having to stand in the long lines for Immigration made all the diffference. Since Immigration for non-US passengers was handled onboard in one of the dining rooms, US passengers could just walk off with their assigned group and go directly to where the luggage was being held.

 

Dan .... I think those "sniffer dogs" were just for the disembarking passengers that had been on the South America cruise.

 

Mary Lou

 

Mary Lou...I thnk the dogs were looking for Dan!:eek:;):p:D

[flamomo]

Good thinking, Larry!! He is a suspicious looking character. ;)

[Kamloops50]

We got the same email for our Hawaii cruise . Because we were

Platinum and flew in the same days we got preferred boarding .

Those not Platinum , Elite or Suite had to board/register in groups.

We arrived from LAX at 12:30 and where on board and having lunch

lunch by 1:15PM . Some people on our bus didn't get aboard until

after 2PM

[cflutist]

We just got an updated Staggered Boarding notification for our 2-night out of San Francisco (Star Princess) for 5/13.

 

Those with a Preferred eTicket Boarding Pass (green) for Platinum/Elite, can board anytime we want from noon onward. It also said that those with Princess Transfers will board when they arrive at the pier.

 

They did change the order to give the Dolphin Deck (mini suites) the first boarding group for the Blue/Gold passengers.

[only1deejay]

CFLUTIST:

 

 

I will be on the star 5/13 also...I am hoping things go smoothly...what I can't understand is cruise lines do this every day...board people and de-board people...it's not like they are new at this....I blame SF PORT AUTHORITY...they tell the lines what to do and when.why.

 

 

staggered boarding is like cattle call if you ask me....and may 13th is mothers day to make things worse...see you on deck!!:)newbie.

[dog]

just noticed staggered boarding message in my personaliser but there are no times given in travel summary.

I'm platinum, taking princess transfer & expect to board when I arrive.

[kpgibbs]

I will be traveling to Alaska on the Star on June 24th. I will be with my mother who is Platinum. I called princess and inquired about the staggerd boarding. The lady on the phone told me that we will have staggerd boarding. I asked her how that was fair for the Platinum and Elite members. She suddenly was totally silent. I never got an answer.

 

I'm sure Princess is bombarded with questions and complaints. But still, she should have answered me. I have never had a rude customer service person with Princess. However, the lady I talked to about this issue...I knew when she answered the phone she was going to be NO help.

 

I am eager to find out how others faired in Seattle.

[compozer]

I asked her how that was fair for the Platinum and Elite members. She suddenly was totally silent. I never got an answer.

I've been thinking about calling and asking. I don't understand completely. You said she was totally silent. what else did she say? or did she hang up on you?

[SeattleCruiselover]

We are on Aloha deck on the Sapphire and our notice said to board after 2:30

With all aboard by 3 and sailing at 4.

 

Pardon my French, but that sux.. looks like they are boarding from the bottom up. Good thing I'm Elite because I'm on Aloha on Star on 15 May. :(

[dog]

on princess fb they said platinum will get preferred boarding but it will be in their assigned staggered boarding time. still do not see a time in my travel summary.

[Happy ks]

You are driving to the port - for those of us who must check out of our hotels at 11am, it is usually more convenient just to go straight to the port, particularly if the hotel offers a free shuttle. Yes, I know that I could probably store my luggage at the hotel and do something else for an hour or two, but I'd just be killing time so I prefer to go to the port with a good book and kill time there. I can never relax properly until I'm actually on the ship!

 

 

Simple solution, ask for a late check out time at the hotel.

[jollyjones]

Simple solution, ask for a late check out time at the hotel.

 

And when they tell you that it is not available? Or want to charge an extra fee? Or the shuttle bus won't be available later?

[Pam in CA]

Simple solution, ask for a late check out time at the hotel.

Not so simple because it's not always possible so you're left hanging around a lobby with your luggage or leaving it with the Concierge while you explore or go out to lunch. No matter what, it's awkward and an inconvenience that you didn't expect when you booked your cruise.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It is a good idea ....

[Teacher_91]

Please do let us know about Seattle.......I am dreading the whole thing really. Have fun on your cruise and be sure to post a trip report!:D

 

 

Yes, PLEASE! I'm eager to read all about the STAR experience! :D

[Level six]

Not to beat a dead horse, but...........

I made final payment on cruise today and only then do you get the message about staggered boarding. I have a guantee, so heaven only knows when my time will be.

My point..........if princess felt so proud and comfortable with the staggered boarding, why did it not have an alert when I booked and only told me after I paid????

I knew about it because of CC and had to "find" it on the notices after really looking for it. But was never really informed until the final payment email was sent out.

If they think it will continue, it should be right upfront where you can see the policy before you even make the first click. They aren't doing that because they know some people wouldn't book princess because of all the reasons stated above.(on board activities, shuttle to pier, etc)

Yes, we can check out late, yes, we can leave luggage with bell hop, yes to all the suggestions, BUT, why should we when we were not informed of this policy when we booked. WHY should we?

Like I stated before, I will arrive at the time they give me, but for my future cruises I may not be as loyal to princess as I have been in the past, this just rubs me the wrong way!!

[Level six]

Not to beat a dead horse, but...........

I made final payment on cruise today and only then do you get the message about staggered boarding. I have a guantee, so heaven only knows when my time will be.

My point..........if princess felt so proud and comfortable with the staggered boarding, why did it not have an alert when I booked and only told me after I paid????

I knew about it because of CC and had to "find" it on the notices after really looking for it. But was never really informed until the final payment email was sent out.

If they think it will continue, it should be right upfront where you can see the policy before you even make the first click. They aren't doing that because they know some people wouldn't book princess because of all the reasons stated above.(on board activities, shuttle to pier, etc)

Yes, we can check out late, yes, we can leave luggage with bell hop, yes to all the suggestions, BUT, why should we when we were not informed of this policy when we booked. WHY should we?

Like I stated before, I will arrive at the time they give me, but for my future cruises I may not be as loyal to princess as I have been in the past, this just rubs me the wrong way!!