Southampton Staggered boarding

[mollymoo12]

and I'll repeat myself too - it makes Dover look much more appealing!

 

Would love to go from Dover. Easier to get to docks (and also DH knows the back roads). Plus mother in law lives there so free accommodation the night before and free parking :)

[CCFC]

In all my Princess boardings from various places, Southampton was the worst.:(

 

Quebec was the worst for me, might have been a one off though.

[buddymum]

The problem I forsee is that if staged boarding is in place and my time is 2pm, in theory I shouldnot arrive at the terminal much before 1.30, I rearrange my timing so I dont leave home by taxi until 11am, only to hit horrendous traffic problems around Southampton ( as the contributer from Bournmouth did) and at 4 pm I am still trying to get to the cruise terminal. What happens then?? I think I will stick to my plan to arrive at 12 pm and then if I do hit traffic I have plenty of time. Incidently, when did the roadworks start? There definitely wasn't a problem last June

[jessybell]

The roadworks have been in place since Christmas I think.....roadworks are ok if managed properly but in our experience there were not only no workmen there but no temporary lights or any other form of helping the traffic filter through.....guess a man organised it!

[buddymum]

The roadworks have been in place since Christmas I think.....roadworks are ok if managed properly but in our experience there were not only no workmen there but no temporary lights or any other form of helping the traffic filter through.....guess a man organised it!

 

typical british way of working, put the cones down partially dig up a road then walk away for a couple of weeks and leave us to cope with the mayham!

[Josy1953]

We went on Oceana last week leaving on Saturday 19th, there were road works around the docks but we experienced no serious hold ups. There were 3 ships in on that day, one of Fred Olsen's, Azura and Ocean.

[Bogof1]

The road works have been there for a while, we cruised sept 13 and they had begun then but not to the extent they are now. Just keep calm and add xtra time if u driving.

[Lynnwood]

Having researched the roadworks ,it seems that the main area affected is around gate 4. The entrance to the Ocean and the QEII terminals. The roadworks are set to improve the access to gate 4 by creating a dual carriageway and are scheduled to be completed by the end of April 2015. :rolleyes:

[buddymum]

The road works have been there for a while, we cruised sept 13 and they had begun then but not to the extent they are now. Just keep calm and add xtra time if u driving.

 

Just spoke to my friend who left from Southampton on Easter Sunday. They didnt experience any heavy traffic although they did enter Southampton from the Cadenham side, which meant they avoided the centre of the city. They sailed with P&O and were warned of the traffiic problems by email before they left.

Edited April 28, 2014 by buddymum

[Renmar]

Love it!!!! Great sense of humor. I hope all this gets straightened out before our cruise in August of 2015!:eek:

 

We are going in 2014 but if you are buying we are willing to go again in 2015 :D

 

Theo

[Renmar]

Love it!!!! Great sense of humor. I hope all this gets straightened out before our cruise in August of 2015!:eek:

 

We are going in 2014 but if you are buying we are willing to go again in 2015 :D

 

Theo

 

Sorry, I thought your post said "before your cruise"

 

Theo

[bethohio3]

The staggered boarding does seem almost counter productive since a large number of people really have no control at when they arrive at the pier!

 

This was my reaction when I received an email from travel agent today for a May 11 departure. It's not as if, at this late date, I can alter my travel arrangements!

 

To ensure a smooth start to your voyage, we operate a progressive embarkation schedule. Please arrive at your check-in time listed below. If you have booked a Princess Cruise Plus Package/Transfer, your check-in time will be provided at your hotel or the airport. Passengers with a Preferred Boarding Pass may check- in any time during embarkation, although we kindly request you arrive during your recommended time. Please do not arrive at the pier prior to 12:00 PM as there is limited seating inside the terminal. Boarding will commence shortly after check-in. Once aboard, enjoy a meal at the Horizon Court which remains open throughout the day to serve you. Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to welcoming you on board.

 

12:00 PM - Caribe & Dolphin Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "C" & "D"

1:00 PM - Lido & Riviera Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "L" & "R"

2:00 PM - Aloha & Baja Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "A" & "B"

3:00 PM - Emerald & Plaza Decks / Cabins starting with the letters "E" & "P"

 

[buddymum]

This was my reaction when I received an email from travel agent today for a May 11 departure. It's not as if, at this late date, I can alter my travel arrangements!

 

Dont princess realise that people book their taxis/coach shuttles etc in advance and this sort of notice is absoloutley rediculous. What I want to know is if your book-in time is one oclock and you arrive late do you go to the back of the queue or get booked in straight

away pushing the later bookings even further back?

[DragonflyCruiser]

Dont princess realise that people book their taxis/coach shuttles etc in advance and this sort of notice is absoloutley rediculous. What I want to know is if your book-in time is one oclock and you arrive late do you go to the back of the queue or get booked in straight

away pushing the later bookings even further back?

 

We cruised from there in Oct. and seemed the whole ship arrived at the same time. The line was really long and the wait to board equally as long. In hind sight, I think we would have waited to arrive and just walked on without the wait. We got the same notice on the boarding times but seems no one paid attention to it. If you are staying locally the hotels will hold your luggage so you can wander without it. If arriving on a bus, not much you can do about it. It was just a mess.

[blismem62]

and I'll repeat myself too - it makes Dover look much more appealing!

Please could you tell me what time do Princess Cruises begin embarkation at Dover: do we have to wait until 1pm?

[john watson]

On a more positive note I cruised from Southampton last week. The main point about Southampton cruise terminal is that there are more than just one and they are spread out a bit. I am wondering if the authorities are concerned about the vehicle traffic congestion or the congestion within each terminal. What I did notice when being processed through the terminal. On arrival nobody was being checked in everybody just sits and waits. This seems to me to be a wasted opportunity as if it were possible to be checked in and processed through security they could be held in a secure area a bit like at an airport when you have got past their security. You know where the shops are. They would have a captive market of people who could be sold drinks and sandwiches and anything just like at the airport but on a small scale. Then the ship could choose when to accept people boarding just the same as when the airline opens the gate to allow boarding. This would negate arriving early unless you wanted to pay for food/drinks and spread the rush out. I also noticed that the "ground handling staff" for want of a better term seemed to be more prolific and the bit where you go through to have your cases x-rayed has been re-arranged with splitting the crowd on approach not splitting you when you have all snaked round the back. The scanners were very widely spaced apart and I had the distinct impression that the big space in the middle was for extra lanes of scanners and security staff. In conclusion I think that when the ships arrive at Southampton they are at different terminals and the terminals themselves are gearing up for a faster throughput or greater numbers of passengers due to bigger ships. People will arrive when they arrive and as they arrive traffic congestion will occur. Hopefully the road authorities will build in road infrastructure to cope. If the cruise lines insist on only checking people in at the set time then congestion in the terminal will occur as you have nowhere else realistically to go. I think they will eventually be able to process faster and timings will be dropped.

 

Regards John

Edited May 30, 2015 by john watson

[TigerLadyK]

Our assigned boarding time come up on a trip next month is 3pm, and the ship departs at 4pm. Obviously they didn't put a lot of thought into how this would really work. :eek:

[Colo Cruiser]

Our assigned boarding time come up on a trip next month is 3pm, and the ship departs at 4pm. Obviously they didn't put a lot of thought into how this would really work. :eek:

 

This has been done for quite awhile. Seems to work fine.

 

We arrive around 10:30 and boarding starts around Noon. ;)

[Flo71]

My boarding time for Aug - Royal Princess from Southampton - is 12-4pm.

[Cosmic Rays]

Our travel Summary states............

 

Your ship begins boarding at 12:00PM on Jul 20 and sets sail at 05:00PM

 

It then says further down.............

 

PROGRESSIVE CRUISE CHECK-IN INFORMATION

To help facilitate a smooth start to your voyage we have implemented a progressive cruise check-in schedule. Please arrive at the check-in time listed below. If

you have purchased a Princess Cruise Plus Package/Transfer, your check-in time will be provided at your hotel or the airport. Guests travelling on shared

transport or arriving as a group will be checked in together. Priority check-in will be available to guests with a Preferred Boarding Pass within the allocated checkin

times. Boarding will commence shortly after check-in. Please do not arrive prior to the start of cruise check-in as your cabin will not be ready. Once onboard,

enjoy a meal at Horizon Court which remains open throughout the day to serve you.

12:00 PM - Baja & Lido Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with B & L

1:00 PM - Emerald & Dolphin Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with E & D

2:00 PM - Caribe & Aloha Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with C & A

3:00 PM - Marina & Riviera Decks - Cabins on this deck begin with M & R

 

I don't think we will be waiting until after 3pm to check in somehow after a long drive from the North West - we have NEVER had problems in the past. We'll see I guess when we get there and drop the car off.......hope I don't get 'flared' for this comment!!

[Dartmoordan]

We have a time of 2pm to board In July, having never been from the UK before can anyone tell me approximately how long it takes to go through security etc if arriving to board at 2pm. I don't want to end up being late :)

[john watson]

We have a time of 2pm to board In July, having never been from the UK before can anyone tell me approximately how long it takes to go through security etc if arriving to board at 2pm. I don't want to end up being late :)

 

Whenever I have sailed from Southampton boarding has always started at noon and we arrive around 12.30 to 1pm and go through fairly quickly takes about an hour from arrival to embarkation. However I have seen bad reports about the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal being really bad for last Princess cruise - Caribbean Princess. The other terminals seem to run a bit smoother. If you look at http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk and scroll down to Other Useful Information click "Passenger cruise ship schedule and Terminal Information" scroll down a bit information on which berths (terminals) are going to be used up to end of December 2015. This will of course change with amendments and go beyond that date in due course. You can see how many other ships are in that day which may help with calculating traffic congestion. The terminal numbers are described as Ocean Terminal, Queen Elizabeth II terminal etc. Avoiding the official airport coaches arrivals around 1pm to 1.30pm is often a good plan in my opinion.

 

Regards John

Edited May 31, 2015 by john watson

[Cosmic Rays]

Whenever I have sailed from Southampton boarding has always started at noon and we arrive around 12.30 to 1pm and go through fairly quickly takes about an hour from arrival to embarkation. However I have seen bad reports about the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal being really bad for last Princess cruise - Caribbean Princess. The other terminals seem to run a bit smoother. If you look at http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk and scroll down to Other Useful Information click "Passenger cruise ship schedule and Terminal Information" scroll down a bit information on which berths (terminals) are going to be used up to end of December 2015. This will of course change with amendments and go beyond that date in due course. You can see how many other ships are in that day which may help with calculating traffic congestion. The terminal numbers are described as Ocean Terminal, Queen Elizabeth II terminal etc. Avoiding the official airport coaches arrivals around 1pm to 1.30pm is often a good plan in my opinion.

 

Regards John

 

We leave from the 'new' Ocean Terminal and have done before with little real delay. I can't understand all the staggered timings as all passengers arrive at different times anyway, and on the 20th July when we sail, Royal Princess is the only ship in port that day!

[john watson]

We leave from the 'new' Ocean Terminal and have done before with little real delay. I can't understand all the staggered timings as all passengers arrive at different times anyway, and on the 20th July when we sail, Royal Princess is the only ship in port that day!

 

Looks a good departure set up. Ocean Terminal looked like it was due to receive additional security scanner machines soon as they seemed to have spaced the existing ones out and left a space in the middle to add new one/s.

 

Regards John

[Colo Cruiser]

We leave from the 'new' Ocean Terminal and have done before with little real delay. I can't understand all the staggered timings as all passengers arrive at different times anyway, and on the 20th July when we sail, Royal Princess is the only ship in port that day!

 

Its pretty much listed that way on every Princess sailing from anywhere.