On board Golden Princess today boarded I. Melbourne....what a disaster

[Hawka]

i agree that a lot of people rock up early and try to get on asap, maybe they might have to have staggered boarding and enforce it

 

they do have staggering boarding my deck was for 1.30 pm i was early but i was at a cafe for lunch watching till 12.50pm i thought que maybe slow enough to be 1.30 by time i got in but it was not that bad at all and i think i was on the ship by 1.30 by time i filled forms and did the check in stuff etc

[Hawka]

Hi Folks

 

We board Golden Princess on Monday 21st for the Christmas Cruise , the queue shown here would be impossible for me (recovering from a stay in the hospital) does anyone know if alternative arrangements for those not so good on their feet were made??

 

We have a private hire car transport arranged so hopefully will be spared standing in the hot sun or knowing Melbourne in the rain .. something like that shown here is just not acceptable....

 

Shows Melbourne in a very poor way

 

 

regards

John

they will probably let your driver go onto the pier to drop you off closer to lounge as i saw taxis go in there to drop off passengers etc luggage drop off point there too thats where i took mine

[Hawka]

Just off Golden this morning.

 

Embarkation was not an issue for us 2 weeks ago. Taxi took us right down the pier and dropped us off where our baggage was whisked away and we were ushered into the nearby lift to the check-in area, customs etc and on the ship in about 20 mins.

 

Disembarkation was just as easy (albeit a long walk with luggage) where our taxi collected us (he was late due to Melbourne traffic - that's another story...).

 

Sometimes with delays, it can be just a few simple things that create a domino effect. Last year at White Bay it took us over 3 hours to board as lots of people did not complete a PNG visa application as required causing massive back-ups.

 

i will second this

[Hawka]

Cruised out of (and back into) Station Pier twice, with Princess, and both times not a problem. Nor did I see queues. Each time it was straight into check in area (after bagdrop) then off we went. All quite straightforward really. But then again, I was cruising on the Dawn Princess - fewer passengers than the Golden.

 

No idea what happened today ... gosh it was a hot one here too. Those poor people must have almost melted. :confused:

 

was tooo hot i came off had a jumper and jacket on [heavey and decided to wear as i thought would be cold in melb mmmm wrong that meant my choice for clothes for ACDC changed too as it was hot there till the sun went down today way way better , hopefully they wont lose power like it did on the way to melb [no problems they did fix it and we still got back in time as well considering how long we were floating for then half speed for a couple of hours before full speed , we thought we maybe late into melb even the captain thought it was possible but they made time and were not late

[rabbitoh_777]

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Bloody Mexicans, couldn't organise a margarita cocktail in a mosh pit! :rolleyes:

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:cool:

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[Hawka]

Just to clarify... the long queue was for the bag drop-off? If I carry my bags onto the ship by myself, would I be able to skip this queue? Or is this the queue to enter the terminal for check-in?

 

it is for bag drop off but you can drop off further up anyways and when you que to check in thats a quick que anyways [after you fill out a form ] just have to see if you can get around those standing at bag drop off at gate que as i think i remember a temp fence up and space between that and people isn't much

[MicCanberra]

they do have staggering boarding my deck was for 1.30 pm i was early but i was at a cafe for lunch watching till 12.50pm i thought que maybe slow enough to be 1.30 by time i got in but it was not that bad at all and i think i was on the ship by 1.30 by time i filled forms and did the check in stuff etc

 

I think you played it smart.:D

[LC1950]

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Bloody Mexicans, couldn't organise a margarita cocktail in a mosh pit! :rolleyes:

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:cool:

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Aahh perhaps ... but our coffee is far superior!!! :p ;)

[Hawka]

I think you played it smart.:D

left home early as i went by public transport [we all know what that can be like at that ] i got to port melb at 12 and enjoyed lunch and an ice cream from shop near gate i was in no hurry once there i didnt have to worry about trains delayed etc :-)

[rabbitoh_777]

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Aahh perhaps ... but our coffee is far superior!!! :p ;)

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Hmm, I'll have to consult my barista on that one. :p GUT2407 what say you Sir?

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Cheers r :D

 

:cool:

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[MicCanberra]

left home early as i went by public transport [we all know what that can be like at that ] i got to port melb at 12 and enjoyed lunch and an ice cream from shop near gate i was in no hurry once there i didnt have to worry about trains delayed etc :-)

 

Good job, not stressful at all.:D

[MicCanberra]

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Hmm, I'll have to consult my barista on that one. :p GUT2407 what say you Sir?

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Cheers r :D

 

:cool:

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From memory GUT doesn't have much coffee, although I can tell you that the best coffee comes from my house.

[GUT2407]

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Hmm, I'll have to consult my barista on that one. :p GUT2407 what say you Sir?

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Cheers r :D

 

:cool:

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Lol

 

But Hut says Oepsi Max is the best form of caffeine (Diet Coke at sea as no one sells Pepsi).

[GUT2407]

I did get the funny but.

[MicCanberra]

Personally I prefer Coke Zero to Oepsie Max.:p

[GUT2407]

Personally I prefer Coke Zero to Oepsie Max.:p

 

Whereas I don't like Zero.

[The_Big_M]

it is for bag drop off but you can drop off further up anyways and when you que to check in thats a quick que anyways [after you fill out a form ] just have to see if you can get around those standing at bag drop off at gate que as i think i remember a temp fence up and space between that and people isn't much

 

Many don't want to be queue jumpers so will figure this is the queue and I'll join it. Rather than see where it leads and what's ahead (And then come back and be further back!).

 

Though there's another group that don't care at all!

[MicCanberra]

Whereas I don't like Zero.

 

O, I don't mind a bit of naughtiness.:p

[Hawka]

Many don't want to be queue jumpers so will figure this is the queue and I'll join it. Rather than see where it leads and what's ahead (And then come back and be further back!).

 

Though there's another group that don't care at all!

 

yes know what you mean i wont go jumping the que either and only found out when i got to the van for the first drop off and he could not be always telling people cause he had to watch vehicles coming and going and also check you had a boarding pass as well , they did the best they could i will know for next time that when i am near the van to keep going , show my pass to the guy first and i wont clog up the que but i wont jump them from a way back all to do that unless i get told by one of the officials

[MargoK]

Guess Princess have learnt a thing or two as our Dec 21st cruise has been issued staggered check in times - we are 12.45pm, which is OK. Plus we are Platinum and disabled, so should get whisked through! :D:eek:

[MicCanberra]

Guess Princess have learnt a thing or two as our Dec 21st cruise has been issued staggered check in times - we are 12.45pm, which is OK. Plus we are Platinum and disabled, so should get whisked through! :D:eek:

 

Yes, you should have no issues, As for the staggered times, that has been in operation for some time but it only works if people heed the time.:D

[Aus Traveller]

Yes, you should have no issues, As for the staggered times, that has been in operation for some time but it only works if people heed the time.:D

Agreed. The staggered boarding times are not as a result of the recent problem. :)

[Womble99]

it is for bag drop off but you can drop off further up anyways and when you que to check in thats a quick que anyways [after you fill out a form ] just have to see if you can get around those standing at bag drop off at gate que as i think i remember a temp fence up and space between that and people isn't much

Not sure if you could walk past but there was another bag drop at the terminal. We had a VHA van from the airport which dropped us off under the terminal at just after 12. We didn't even have to get the bags out the princess staff did that as there was so many of them there.

 

Not sure if access was limited to hire vehicle's and taxis though? Felt bad about bypassing that huge queue but on the other hand glad not to be caught up in it. Was worth the fare from the airport this time.

[Hawka]

Not sure if you could walk past but there was another bag drop at the terminal. We had a VHA van from the airport which dropped us off under the terminal at just after 12. We didn't even have to get the bags out the princess staff did that as there was so many of them there.

 

Not sure if access was limited to hire vehicle's and taxis though? Felt bad about bypassing that huge queue but on the other hand glad not to be caught up in it. Was worth the fare from the airport this time.

 

when i got to the van i and a few others got asked if we were ok to take our bags to the next drop off which is where you got dropped off at all we had to do is show our boarding paperwork and we could go and do it there i would probably not just go past all in the que till i got a little closer to ask as i would feel others may not realise and think i was jumping the que to the van but yes those at the front i do know can go to next drop off point near terminal which helps the que go faster

[NSWP]

Guess Princess have learnt a thing or two as our Dec 21st cruise has been issued staggered check in times - we are 12.45pm, which is OK. Plus we are Platinum and disabled, so should get whisked through! :D:eek:

Half the pax on your ship are probably Disabled/Elite/Platinum pax so be prepared for some delays in the Priority Embarkation line too.

 

Above all, enjoy your cruise.

 

(A few months ago we were in UK doing a couple of cruises on Aurora/Oriana, P&O UK would not embark disabled people in wheelchairs, scooters etc, until the majority of able bodied pax embarked, you can imagine the dramas at the terminal, but it did speed up embarkation for the majority. We were on board in 20 minutes, but a lot of unfortunates waited 4 hours. Must be new policy.)