Azura - New Improved Embarkation Process

[bee-ess]

Yes that seems to be a 'grey' area, however I seem to think they go on after the suites and Ligurian's. Or if they arrive later than that, on arrival. Not all higher tier passengers turn up early.

 

There has been lost of speculation before cruises but the only Caribbean and Baltic reviews I have seen said they got on quite early.

 

For Britannia, checkin started about 12.15 for suites etc. But then you waited in the priority lounge until boarding started at 12.45, or a little after.

 

The Priority bun fight did not start until 13.30

 

Thanks Dai

[gadabout60]

I still don't know what was wrong with the old system. You turned up when you chose, if you had priority you got straight on, if not you were in a queue - so if you turned up at a busy time you might have to wait awhile.

Simple

[kevinyork]

I still don't know what was wrong with the old system. You turned up when you chose, if you had priority you got straight on, if not you were in a queue - so if you turned up at a busy time you might have to wait awhile.

 

Simple

 

 

OMG a sensible question. The changes had nothing to do with benefits for passengers. It's all about costings a for P&O.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jeanlyon]

I am guessing that under the old system, more and more people were turning up at 11 am or even earlier, so that they had to do something. On another thread, apparently they were arriving at 0830?

[gadabout60]

I am guessing that under the old system, more and more people were turning up at 11 am or even earlier, so that they had to do something. On another thread, apparently they were arriving at 0830?

 

So what if people turn up at 11. They announce when boarding starts. If lots of people there already you had to queue. No big deal at all. They have created a problem to supposedly solve something that was not a problem.

 

Too many people believe everything P&O do is for a very good reason.

All this has done is stress loads of people who travel a distance and who will now be sitting for hours in the terminal or be hanging about Southampton for hours. No sane person is going to time their journey to the minute and risk missing their cruise

[jeanlyon]

I don't time my journey to arrive at the minute. I time it to arrive about half an hour before my ticket time. All this "stress" is just pathetic. If you are arriving for a flight are you in total stress that you will not arrive in time? For goodness sake, it's fairly easy

[the english lady]

I am guessing that under the old system, more and more people were turning up at 11 am or even earlier, so that they had to do something. On another thread, apparently they were arriving at 0830?

 

Basically that was the problem. Go back about a year on here in posts and people asking about boarding and everyone was saying turn up when you like. So they did, earlier and earlier in greater numbers.

It was posted by P and O that in some cases 1/2 a ships cruisers were turning up in the first hour. So you could be looking at 1000 people turning up in just over one hour all wanting to board asap..

Pray tell Kevinyork how was that P and O's doing.

They had an ever increasing problem and this was their way of trying to solve it.

[pete14]

So what if people turn up at 11. They announce when boarding starts. If lots of people there already you had to queue. No big deal at all. They have created a problem to supposedly solve something that was not a problem.

 

Too many people believe everything P&O do is for a very good reason.

All this has done is stress loads of people who travel a distance and who will now be sitting for hours in the terminal or be hanging about Southampton for hours. No sane person is going to time their journey to the minute and risk missing their cruise

 

Can I suggest that if P&O have made these changes, they must have felt there is a problem. To say there was no problem is rather arrogant. Passengers do not know more about the process of boarding a ship than the shipping company do. Treat the boarding time like any other appointment. If you have a hospital appointment at 11:00 am, nobody shows up at 9:00 am in the expectation they will be seen first. People have been abusing the system for years. Now P&O, for what are probably very good reasons, are trying to stamp out the abuse. Good for them.

 

I drive 185 miles from home to Southampton. I try to get close to the port reasonably early but if I am early, I stop at the services on the motorway on the outskirts of Southampton. If I am delayed, the services stop doesn't happen. I don't time my journey to the minute, but I like to think I am sensible and reasonable in not clogging up the system by arriving very early and expecting to be able to cause delays for those who arrive at their allocated time.

 

I know some may not like what I have written, but I suspect the relatively silent majority will be in agreement.

[Scriv]

I am in agreement, pete14.... living near Southampton, I also see clearly that something has to be done, that some system has to be brought in to try to stagger/regulate embarkation especially now there are the much larger ships than before dealing with greater numbers of passengers.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Scriv

[jeanlyon]

Spot on.

[daiB]

So what if people turn up at 11. They announce when boarding starts. If lots of people there already you had to queue. No big deal at all. They have created a problem to supposedly solve something that was not a problem.

 

 

 

Too many people believe everything P&O do is for a very good reason.

 

All this has done is stress loads of people who travel a distance and who will now be sitting for hours in the terminal or be hanging about Southampton for hours. No sane person is going to time their journey to the minute and risk missing their cruise

 

 

The problem with your argument is that if they thought it would upset people then why change if there is no other reason.

 

The reason given is because people in there feed back have said that they would like to board and go directly to their cabin.

 

Personally I am not bothered either way, but as I said before on Britannia there was no discussion at all about boarding that I was aware off. Including the people in my two roll call groups.

[gadabout60]

I think I'll just bow out of this. Do let me know where to buy the blinkers.

[daiB]

I think I'll just bow out of this. Do let me know where to buy the blinkers.

 

 

Why the insults. This is a discussion group people do not have to agree with you.

[gadabout60]

Why the insults. This is a discussion group people do not have to agree with you.

 

Nor do they have to call me arrogant

[CCFC]

Other cruise lines manage fine with far more passengers.

 

I think the point that is being made might be that you only seem to go on P&O and cannot compare embarkation experiences Dai.

Edited October 29, 2015 by CCFC

[daiB]

Other cruise lines manage fine with far more passengers.

 

 

 

I think the point that is being made might be that you only seem to go on P&O Dai.

 

 

Quite irrelevant as this is the P&O site and I only comment on P&O. You will notice that I have not said if I like the new system I have only replied with facts.

 

1 on how the system works

 

2 on the fact that the uproar about this appears only to be on the Internet. When people experience it there is relative silence.

 

As I have said I am happy either way get on sometime after two as happened only 8/9 years ago at 12.00 or soon after or the new system.

 

I make know comment about the rights or wrongs.

 

But clearly you like a number of others fail to read what I actually write.

[tartanexile81]

I don't time my journey to arrive at the minute. I time it to arrive about half an hour before my ticket time. All this "stress" is just pathetic. If you are arriving for a flight are you in total stress that you will not arrive in time? For goodness sake, it's fairly easy

 

You're very lucky that you live close enough to drive. Some of us have very long journeys which take more than a day, particularly those of us who do not fly.

 

For others, the arrival time of flights, trains etc make it impossible to time an arrival to just 30 mins before boarding time. For example there is a flight from Edinburgh to Southampton at 6:45 arriving 8.25 then again at 10:25 arriving 12:00 noon. Any flight after that would result in missing the ship as the next one doesn't arrive till 16:25. Most people I know take the 6:45 in case there's any problem with the 10:25. I'm sure you will understand that these people have been up since 4:00 a.m. and just want to get on the ship ASAP. This is just one example of people who don't find it easy to time their arrival to 30 mins before check-in time.

 

IMO your post actually sounds very stressed. "For goodness sake, it's fairly easy". People are simply expressing a view which is different from yours and about which they feel strongly but that does not mean they are stressed or pathetic. Nor is it pathetic that some people cannot understand why this change has been made without appropriate commmunication. Please try to respect the views of others.

Edited October 29, 2015 by tartanexile81

[cornish pasty]

I really don't see why they had to change the embarkation it worked well for over 30years what is the rush to get to the cabin plenty of places to sit and wind down after your trip down I was never asked if I wanted it changed we have a very long trip,down and have to go the day befor so have to be out of our hotel room so where do PO suggest we all go walk around Southampton with 4 cases get real PO it is our holiday why make the start of it so stressful

 

We should all make a point of how we feel to PO and no I am not ranting I just want to start my holiday with no hassle that is not to much to ask

Edited October 29, 2015 by cornish pasty

[daiB]

I really don't see why they had to change the embarkation it worked well for over 30years what is the rush to get to the cabin plenty of places to sit and wind down after your trip down I was never asked if I wanted it changed we have a very long trip,down and have to go the day befor so have to be out of our hotel room so where do PO suggest we all go walk around Southampton with 4 cases get real PO it is our holiday why make the start of it so stressful

 

We should all make a point of how we feel to PO and no I am not ranting I just want to start my holiday with no hassle that is not to much to ask

 

 

The boarding has only been like it was for 8/9 years up until 2006/7 no one boarded before 14.00.

 

However I am fully in favour of people making their feelings felt to the company. The best place is on the comments sheet at the end of a cruise. This is where P&O picked up on people asking for boarding with the cabins ready.

Edited October 29, 2015 by daiB

[Scriv]

It is actually also very hard to time an arrival so finely whilst living where I do which is just off the M3 only 30 mins away from Ocean Terminal on a 'good' day, 1 hour away on a 'normal-with- the- usual-minor- holdups' day and over 2 hours on a 'bad' day.

 

But the other week when we were delayed embarking Ventura, all our delays were in the very final stretch very close to Ocean Terminal when the traffic was almost at a standstill and going nowhere. It took 40 minutes to move 6 car lengths and we were so near and later the terminal was overflowing. Agreed the problem was exceptional ( due to the delayed disembarkation of The Ventura and the embarkation of another 3000 for the next cruise, many of whom were trying to arrive before they had been asked to and before the other passengers had got off and gone) but it shows what can sometimes happen and Southampton on a busy Friday and Saturday afternoon especially when there are roadworks and events and 3 cruise ships can be very unreliable. And the ships are now bigger and there are more cruisers...

 

I find it hard enough to factor in such local conditions when living nearby, so I do understand the complications of those travelling from much further away and also those relying on public transport.

 

I don't know the solution, but am prepared to give this a go and try and arrive around the right time to see if it helps.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Scriv

[tartanexile81]

2 on the fact that the uproar about this appears only to be on the Internet. When people experience it there is relative silence.

 

 

 

Not quite true Dai. There have been several posts on FB recently from people annoyed with the new arrangements when they got to Southampton. There have also been posts saying the arrangements worked well for them.

[davecttr]

Hows this, you have a 3.30 boarding time. Leave your hotel at noon, drop the cases at the terminal. Get your coloured boarding card, hopefully a letter A, then leave the terminal and come back just before your boarding time. You are then first in the queue.

 

Or is this a bit cheeky :p:p:p

[daiB]

Hows this, you have a 3.30 boarding time. Leave your hotel at noon, drop the cases at the terminal. Get your coloured boarding card, hopefully a letter A, then leave the terminal and come back just before your boarding time. You are then first in the queue.

 

 

 

Or is this a bit cheeky :p:p:p

 

 

No I think that would work if you did not have too much luggage.

[Scriv]

Could this bring us back to an idea of dropping off luggage and having a shuttle bus to West Quay or somewhere - not to the train station as this would upset the taxis? They have used a shuttle bus on occasions.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Scriv

[the english lady]

Not quite true Dai. There have been several posts on FB recently from people annoyed with the new arrangements when they got to Southampton. There have also been posts saying the arrangements worked well for them.

 

There was a lovely picture on there of a full terminal and the poster saying CHAOS AT THE TERMINAL ..That was one post, what followed was quite a lot of comments along the lines of

not chaos, people sat down waiting to board, if those people had timed their arrival slight better it might not have been so full, etc etc..in other words disagreeing with the poster of the pix.

I am starting to see the tide turn very slightly with people saying they stuck as close to their time as they reasonably could , and had no problems boarding.

Me thinks people should be careful what they wish for. They wished for cabins to be ready on arrival...This is pandos way of doing that.

If enough people on their comments questionnaire say what they don't like about this system, I am sure pando will change it....whether people would like that change is anyones guess.

I think unless you have actually done a b2b and watched the last people leave, and see the next lot arriving in the car park at the same time, you do not realise how stupidly early people turn up.

The odd poster on here may state what time THEY arrived, but to actually sit there and see them driving in.