Staggered Boarding in Seattle

[1025cruise]

Has anyone gone through staggered boarding in Seattle? Apparently, Princess is requesting that do staggered boarding in May to get on board the Star. Though, the fact that you have to click through 5 things to get to the announcement, makes me wonder.

 

I figure I need to check out of my pre-cruise hotel by X time, and the only logical place for me to go is the port.

[RickEk]

Has anyone gone through staggered boarding in Seattle? Apparently, Princess is requesting that do staggered boarding in May to get on board the Star. Though, the fact that you have to click through 5 things to get to the announcement, makes me wonder.

 

I figure I need to check out of my pre-cruise hotel by X time, and the only logical place for me to go is the port.

 

We are boarding the Golden in June in Seattle for our cruise and, since we're Elite and Platinum, we are going to arrive when we arrive and expect to be boarded promptly. :)

[gdisney]

Has anyone gone through staggered boarding in Seattle? Apparently, Princess is requesting that do staggered boarding in May to get on board the Star. Though, the fact that you have to click through 5 things to get to the announcement, makes me wonder.

 

I figure I need to check out of my pre-cruise hotel by X time, and the only logical place for me to go is the port.

 

I'm in the exact same situation here; hotel checkout is 11am. So I'll find a cab and get to the pier likely well before noon. Whether they're doing staggering or not, that's when I'll be there. Guess we'll see what happens...at least we should be able to check our luggage in, even if they won't let us check in...

[bdjam]

Has anyone gone through staggered boarding in Seattle? Apparently, Princess is requesting that do staggered boarding in May to get on board the Star. Though, the fact that you have to click through 5 things to get to the announcement, makes me wonder.

 

I figure I need to check out of my pre-cruise hotel by X time, and the only logical place for me to go is the port.

 

Sailing Star Princess on May 20 and haven't heard a word about staggered boarding - only to get to the pier after 1:00. What five things did you have to click through to get the announcement?

 

---------------------

 

Ooops - I found it - I only clicked once from the Cruise Personalizer...it's listed under Important Notices:

 

10:30 am - Caribe & Lido Decks / Cabins C101-C753, L201-L312

12:30 pm - Baja & Plaza Decks / Cabins B201-B751, P201-P337

1:30 pm - Aloha & Emerald Decks / Cabins A201-A749, E101-E733

2:30 pm - Dolphin Deck / Cabins D103-D737

 

Interesting - I'm traveling with a party of 8 - six of us are on Caribe Deck and the one couple who is embarking on their first cruise is on Dolphin Deck...I'm Elite so we'll see if the Black Card gets me any leverage to get them on with the rest of us. I will certainly note my comment card if this staggered boarding becomes an issue.

Edited April 13, 2012 by bdjam
addendum

[rkmw]

We are boarding the Golden in June in Seattle for our cruise and, since we're Elite and Platinum, we are going to arrive when we arrive and expect to be boarded promptly. :)

 

you will have to let us know what time you do board.....has any Elite or Platinum been told to go away and come back when you are supposed to board

[I object 2]

Sailing Star Princess on May 20 and haven't heard a word about staggered boarding - only to get to the pier after 1:00. What five things did you have to click through to get the announcement?

 

---------------------

 

Ooops - I found it - I only clicked once from the Cruise Personalizer...it's listed under Important Notices:

 

10:30 am - Caribe & Lido Decks / Cabins C101-C753, L201-L312

12:30 pm - Baja & Plaza Decks / Cabins B201-B751, P201-P337

1:30 pm - Aloha & Emerald Decks / Cabins A201-A749, E101-E733

2:30 pm - Dolphin Deck / Cabins D103-D737

 

 

It appears Princess doesn't stagger boarding in alpha order, i.e., Aloha, Baja, Caribe, Dolphin, Emerald, then Plaza, does it?

[Jasperdo]

 

10:30 am - Caribe & Lido Decks / Cabins C101-C753, L201-L312

12:30 pm - Baja & Plaza Decks / Cabins B201-B751, P201-P337

1:30 pm - Aloha & Emerald Decks / Cabins A201-A749, E101-E733

2:30 pm - Dolphin Deck / Cabins D103-D737

10:30am boarding for Caribe and Lido Decks!? That's awful early. I've never gotten onboard before 11:30am. Which begs the question: if they're able to start boarding the ship that early, why in the world are they doing staggered boarding?

[mr green]

10:30am boarding for Caribe and Lido Decks!? That's awful early. I've never gotten onboard before 11:30am. Which begs the question: if they're able to start boarding the ship that early, why in the world are they doing staggered boarding?

 

We gave up flying because of hassles at the airports, now if the same goes with boarding a ship, well maybe we will give cruising up as well.

On the next cruise on Coral I will let the sales rep. know exactly what I think of this stupidity, as to telling me what time I should, or should not board.

We are doing a B2B, so at Whittier Princess informed me that boarding on our second leg would be best at 1.30pm. I did not feel that I should inform Princess that we will be doing a private tour that starts at 12.30pm.:rolleyes:

 

john

[esmo]

We have always sailed where we have either had a cruse line arranged transfer or taken a taxi to the ship. On our next cruise we are driving from home to the pier in Seattle. I am assuming my husband will pull up to the curn, we'll off-load the luggage, he'll go park and then we will get in line together. Right? Also, we are cruising in a full suite this time, does this impact our boarding?

[Murphey]

The note is indeed in your cruise personalizer under important notices on your itinerary page....at the bottom. Please note that is also says this:

 

Priority check-in

will be available for Preferred passengers within your allocated check-in time

once inside the terminal.

 

Which means to me, priority check in doesn't mean anything anymore.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Murphey

[Level six]

What if you have not been assigned a cabin by check in? Also, we are traveling with 2 other couples, both of who have never cruised, and we are "helping" them, what if we are on different decks. We are all staying at the same hotel and were going to share a cab to the pier, what now? I hate it. Like someone said above, air travel is bad and now cruising? I talked up cruising so much, how fun it is, the lunch when boarding and now, ugh! I mean, I am a total rule follower, and I will arrive when they say to arrive, but I may be less likely to tell friends to go with us on future cruises because we are basically not really going together if we can't even take a cab to pier together..........well, we have not made final payment yet, so maybe I will talk to my friends and see how they feel about this stupid rule. I know, it is not worth canceling a cruise, but, it is part of the experience that I liked the best, no hassale boarding.......Anyway, was there such a big problem before?, if so, I have never had a problem with waiting or whatever on my previous 5 cruises. Oh well, I never really been on the forum before, but this just made me mad. Please to those who want to respond in a negative manner to my post, don't, I am just venting!!:mad:

[Jasperdo]

What if you have not been assigned a cabin by check in? Also, we are traveling with 2 other couples, both of who have never cruised, and we are "helping" them, what if we are on different decks. We are all staying at the same hotel and were going to share a cab to the pier, what now? I hate it. Like someone said above, air travel is bad and now cruising? I talked up cruising so much, how fun it is, the lunch when boarding and now, ugh! I mean, I am a total rule follower, and I will arrive when they say to arrive, but I may be less likely to tell friends to go with us on future cruises because we are basically not really going together if we can't even take a cab to pier together..........well, we have not made final payment yet, so maybe I will talk to my friends and see how they feel about this stupid rule. I know, it is not worth canceling a cruise, but, it is part of the experience that I liked the best, no hassale boarding.......Anyway, was there such a big problem before?, if so, I have never had a problem with waiting or whatever on my previous 5 cruises. Oh well, I never really been on the forum before, but this just made me mad. Please to those who want to respond in a negative manner to my post, don't, I am just venting!!:mad:

Well said! I'm starting to see these staggered boardings pop up more and more. I'm not at all happy about them. I always get to the terminal early, around 10:30am. I enjoy being one of the first people on the ship, having lunch in the buffet before it gets crowded, then spending the early afternoon wandering around the ship. It really gets the cruise started right.

 

I really don't see a reason for this in most cases anyway. The general flow of passengers on embarkation day seems to even out naturally. There are always people like me who get there early. And there are always people who wait to the last minute. Telling me I have to board late, and telling the guy who wants to be late that he has to be early makes absolutely no sense.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Jasperdo

[bdjam]

10:30am boarding for Caribe and Lido Decks!? That's awful early. I've never gotten onboard before 11:30am. Which begs the question: if they're able to start boarding the ship that early, why in the world are they doing staggered boarding?

There's been a lot of complaints about having to wait in line and not being able to get on board quickly when arriving at the terminal. Personally I go with the flow when I get to the terminal but others have fits if they can't be the first on board...so it all goes back to be careful what you ask for - or in this case, complain about.

 

The note is indeed in your cruise personalizer under important notices on your itinerary page....at the bottom. Please note that is also says this:

 

Priority check-in

will be available for Preferred passengers within your allocated check-in time

once inside the terminal.

 

Which means to me, priority check in doesn't mean anything anymore.

Well it does - it means that you'll be in front of all the people in your time window that don't have priority boarding.

 

I really don't see a reason for this in most cases anyway. The general flow of passengers on embarkation day seems to even out naturally. There are always people like me who get there early. And there are always people who wait to the last minute. Telling me I have to board late, and telling the guy who wants to be late that he has to be early makes absolutely no sense.

I wonder if it has something to do with cabin readiness - or if there's some attempt by Princess to stop the over crowding that comes with embarkation. Either way, I don't think they'd mind someone got in line after their boarding time...just not before.

[caribill]

And when your flight arrives at the airport, will you be able to take your Princess xfer to the port then or have to wait for hours until a xfer will get you there when it is time to check in?

 

And when members of a family are on different decks with different boarding times, what does Princess want the family to do?

[satxdiver]

From what I am reading, they let the cheap decks go first and the more expensive decks go last. Now that really is an intelligent solution. Hopefully enough pax will complain such that they will abandon this idiotic move. If not I imagine the line at the captain cicle's desk will be long with a lot of angry frequent travelers. I could also imagine the captain and guest relations desk will share in the outrage.

[bdjam]

It appears Princess doesn't stagger boarding in alpha order, i.e., Aloha, Baja, Caribe, Dolphin, Emerald, then Plaza, does it?

That appears to be true...but I'm not sure of your point?

 

From what I am reading, they let the cheap decks go first and the more expensive decks go last. Now that really is an intelligent solution. Hopefully enough pax will complain such that they will abandon this idiotic move. If not I imagine the line at the captain cicle's desk will be long with a lot of angry frequent travelers. I could also imagine the captain and guest relations desk will share in the outrage.

Caribe deck cabins are less "cheap" than Baja or Aloha cabins - so I think your theory incorrect.

Edited April 14, 2012 by bdjam

[flwinejunkie]

Our first cruise with Princess is on the Golden out of Seattle in May. Even though we're arriving late the night before, I was planning to get up and go to the terminal early in order to board early.

 

Based on other threads, it sounds like there are some advantages to boarding early. But, now I'll miss out on all of those because of the new staggered boarding policy. I booked my room months ago but I might have chosen differently if I'd known which decks board earliest. Needless to say, I'm disappointed.

 

These CC boards advise talking to the Maitre D as soon as you board to get on the waiting list for Chef's table because part of the criteria is first come first serve. At least I felt like I could influence my chance to get selected based on arriving early, but now it doesn't seem fair that donkeys will probably fly before I can attend Chef's table due to late boarding.

 

My fellow cruisers also rave about having lunch in the MDR on embarkation day. But again, I don't have that opportunity thanks to late boarding because the MDR will be closed before I board. I truly dislike buffet cattle calls, but at least the International Cafe will be open.

 

Ok, thanks for letting me vent.

 

So, now I need help determining what to do during the 2+ hours between the hotel kicking me out and boarding. I don't necessarily want to hang out at the hotel because it's at the airport due to late arrival. If we drop off our luggage, is there anything to see or do within walking distance of the pier? We're already spending a few days in Seattle post cruise, so I don't necessarily want to incur 2 more taxi charges to run downtown and back.

 

Any suggestions? I really appreciate all the advise that people offer on these boards.

[ldubs]

The note is indeed in your cruise personalizer under important notices on your itinerary page....at the bottom. Please note that is also says this:

 

Priority check-in

will be available for Preferred passengers within your allocated check-in time

once inside the terminal.

 

Which means to me, priority check in doesn't mean anything anymore.

 

For whatever it is worth our SE Asia cruise had staggered boarding and the priority check-in was honored. Didn't ask. Just showed up and walked on.

[Adventures ahead]

What if you have not been assigned a cabin by check in? Also, we are traveling with 2 other couples, both of who have never cruised, and we are "helping" them, what if we are on different decks. We are all staying at the same hotel and were going to share a cab to the pier, what now? I hate it. Like someone said above, air travel is bad and now cruising? I talked up cruising so much, how fun it is, the lunch when boarding and now, ugh! I mean, I am a total rule follower, and I will arrive when they say to arrive, but I may be less likely to tell friends to go with us on future cruises because we are basically not really going together if we can't even take a cab to pier together..........well, we have not made final payment yet, so maybe I will talk to my friends and see how they feel about this stupid rule. I know, it is not worth canceling a cruise, but, it is part of the experience that I liked the best, no hassale boarding.......Anyway, was there such a big problem before?, if so, I have never had a problem with waiting or whatever on my previous 5 cruises. Oh well, I never really been on the forum before, but this just made me mad. Please to those who want to respond in a negative manner to my post, don't, I am just venting!!:mad:

 

Has your travel agent or Princess linked your reservations? Maybe, 'there's safety in numbers'.

 

At least, up until now and it's probably still true, if anyone in your group is Platinum, whoever is cruising with you can tag along and you can board together.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Adventures ahead

[Stevesan]

Personalizer for May 27 on Star:

 

CRUISE CHECK-IN

To ensure a smooth start to your voyage, we operate a staggered check-in

schedule. Please arrive at your scheduled check-in time as noted below,

determined by your deck and cabin number. Due to security regulations and very

limited space inside the terminal, passengers arriving prior to their check-in

will not be permitted to enter the terminal. Passengers may drop off their

luggage and will be asked to return at their scheduled time. Priority check-in

will be available for Preferred passengers within your allocated check-in time

once inside the terminal.

 

10:30 am - Caribe & Lido Decks / Cabins C101-C753, L201-L312

12:30 pm - Baja & Plaza Decks / Cabins B201-B751, P201-P337

1:30 pm - Aloha & Emerald Decks / Cabins A201-A749, E101-E733

2:30 pm - Dolphin Deck / Cabins D103-D737

All passengers must be onboard by 3:30 pm

 

I purchased the Westin Hotel transfer arriving the day before. Interested to see how the Princess representative handles this. I'm in the 1:30PM group.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Stevesan

[grandmaa]

Here in Los Angeles on our cruise on the Sapphire we were assigned a boarding time of

2:30, all aboard by 3 and sailing at 4. We got to the pier at 1..no problem. Walked right in signed the medical info form went up the escalator and to the sign in desk where there were no long lines. Do not understand this policy. The cabins are ready early as when you disembark the ship. You are out of your cabin by 8 and are either having breakfast or waiting in your special location assigned by color of luggage tags. We will all need to be vocal on the comment sheets as to the displeasure of these new rules! Coming on board late you are at a disadvantage for the Sanctuary, Chef's Table, and other dining venues.

Not fair unless they implement other rules which will make cruising a similar hassle as flying!

JMHO

[snowman]

We are Elite and in a Suite, I don't know how this will work? Anyone know?

[Stevesan]

Pikes Market could be an excellent time killer for early arrivals. Star docks at Pier 91 about 2 1/4 miles away. Maybe there's a trolley or bus?

[Level six]

Thanks for the tip adventures ahead, I will try to link all our reservations. I haven't talked to my fellow travellers and I hate to give them a bad impression or to feel like they made a mistake booking the cruise.:mad: I want them to have a good time and I feel responsible for making it sound so good, like, I hate that I even asked them to come because they are spending $$$$ that they have worked so hard to earn and I just want it to be perfect, like my other cruises have been. It would just feel too weird to not help them through the check in process(they do not travel much and I told them I would take care of everything......ugh....famous last words) Oh well, maybe I am just over reacting.

I did travel with family before(my adult son and daughter) and we were on different decks, would I have just boarded and left them at the terminal? Or if you were assisting your elderly parents? I just think they should let people show up when they want(there will always be the early birds and the late comers), it always has worked out fine. I seriously have never had a problem AT ALL. So what if I wait for 1 hour in the terminal, I'm going on a CRUISE!!! I hate it if people complaining has caused this, because I am not one of them.

Oh well, we will see how it goes and then decide if it is worth it.

Thanks everyone for all the great info all the time!

[caribill]

These CC boards advise talking to the Maitre D as soon as you board to get on the waiting list for Chef's table because part of the criteria is first come first serve. At least I felt like I could influence my chance to get selected based on arriving early, but now it doesn't seem fair that donkeys will probably fly before I can attend Chef's table due to late boarding.

 

My fellow cruisers also rave about having lunch in the MDR on embarkation day. But again, I don't have that opportunity thanks to late boarding because the MDR will be closed before I board. I truly dislike buffet cattle calls, but at least the International Cafe will be open.

 

Aso, if you need to change your dining assignment, the Matre d' is available for this for a limited time which might be over before you board.