Southampton boarding times.

[MONKEY20]

We have booked our first P&O cruise. We normally use Royal Caribbean but thought we should try some other lines.

We are travelling to Southampton by train which arrives at Southampton central at 12.20. Our boarding time is 15.30. Is it worth arriving early or should we have a walk around Southampton. :confused:

 

Ian

[Brayman]

We have booked our first P&O cruise. We normally use Royal Caribbean but thought we should try some other lines.

We are travelling to Southampton by train which arrives at Southampton central at 12.20. Our boarding time is 15.30. Is it worth arriving early or should we have a walk around Southampton. :confused:

 

Ian

 

I would suggest grabbing a nice lunch in Southampton and then wander down to the docks nearer your boarding time. You could drop your luggage off earlier if you want.

[john watson]

I should drop your luggage off as soon as you get to Southampton. After that I should go and see if you can get an early check in letter, if this is not forthcoming I would then go off to the shops and look around Southampton.

 

Regards John

[tartanexile81]

P&O only introduced these new arrangements in October and there has been an awful lot of debate about it both here and on Facebook. At first, everybody was just saying ignore the time but now the message is - stick to your time and you'll get on quicker.

 

There was a very long thread about it and I wouldn't advise you to read it all but you might like to have a look at some of the posts so you can see how opinions have largely changed.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2260588

 

Hope you enjoy your first cruise with P&O. It's certainly different from RCI but go with a positive frame of mind and you'll have a great time.

[brown848]

Hi we are also on this cruise having cruised on Thomson x2 NCL X1 rci x2 princess X1 the last being in October from Venice, MSC x3 we are staying in Southampton fir two nights before cruise and have just received our e tickets n labels we too have a boarding time of 15.30 which is so near to departure time maybe this is because we have a higher grad balcony cabin I believe they board from the top of the ship first and work there way down, looking forward to seeing the difference to all the other cruiselines we've previously cruised on .this Late time means we only have three days onboard which is a shame as we like embarkation day looking around ship although I believe it is very similar to Caribbean princess regards layout.

Anyone else on board as there

Doesn't seem to be a roll call for this voyage!

Edited January 7, 2016 by brown848
Spelling due to I pad lol

[Cj hanlon]

I would suggest grabbing a nice lunch in Southampton and then wander down to the docks nearer your boarding time. You could drop your luggage off earlier if you want.

 

 

This is definitely the best approach. Why wait in the terminal when you could be in a bar restaurant or shopping. If you stick to your checking in time you should be on the ship within 30min.

[minikiss]

we're on the same cruise.

again it's ours first to.

My understanding of it is, times are based on loyalty levels.

the higher the level the earlier the time for embarkation. Could be wrong but I read something on the P&O website....

 

and yes we to have 3.30. we're on C deck.

M.I.L wants to troll round Ikea if we get there to early.

Which is highly possible based on us driving down and we have to allow extra time in case of Traffic hold up on the motorway.

 

Have to say i'm not a fan of this forced timing and that's before even getting on board. I know i'd rather be on board with a drink than walking around Ikea.

 

Jules

[Vampire Parrot]

If you can dump your luggage and go for a stroll around Southampton then do so; it's a very interesting city; I might move there in a few years.

 

If the weather is nice then a walk around the park and spending time looking at the Titanic Engineer's Memorial is worth doing... whenever I'm in Southampton I find time to pay my respects to those brave men whose tradition of "people and ship before self" helps keeps us safe - and continues to do so.

 

The shopping centres is pretty damn good - too good - ; credit cards are susceptible to meltdown....! There are also a *lot* of great places for a bite to eat and a drink, just make sure you don't miss the ship :)

 

Enjoy P&O

Edited January 7, 2016 by Vampire Parrot

[tartanexile81]

The order of embarkation is not by loyalty level other than the top tiers. The highest level + suites can embark from 12:30 then those who've cruised 200+ nights can embark from 1:00.

 

As I said in my earlier post this is a new initiative only implemented from October 2015. There was great consternation from many people at the time although others were firmly in favour of a set boarding time. I contacted P&O about it and they said the decks would be embarked in a random order e.g. D-C-L-F-E .......etc, although it doesn't seem like that with the times you've been given. I hope you all enjoy your cruise but remember a 2-nighter is really a party cruise and there will be lots of large groups onboard so it will be different to a regular cruise.

 

Unfortunately I cannot agree with Vampire Parrot about Southampton. It really is IMO the most soul-less city. Sorry VP. Try Edinburgh :)

Edited January 7, 2016 by tartanexile81

[Scriv]

we're on the same cruise.

again it's ours first to.

My understanding of it is, times are based on loyalty levels.

the higher the level the earlier the time for embarkation. Could be wrong but I read something on the P&O website....

Jules

 

It is not as straightforward as that, Jules. The 3 high loyalty tiers have early times of embarkation as do the suites, but after that it is apparently sorted out by deck position. Coaches have different and specific times.

[Vampire Parrot]

 

Unfortunately I cannot agree with Vampire Parrot about Southampton. It really is IMO the most soul-less city. Sorry VP. Try Edinburgh :)

 

Given the choice between Southampton and Edinburgh... yes, I agree, I'd much rather spend time in Edinburgh. But getting back to the ship on time then becomes problematical... :p

[brown848]

Hi mini kiss yes we too are on c deck so must be 3.30 for those passengers on this deck.

23 year old daughter will love the two days spent prior to cruise in Southampton judging by the excellent shopping those on here are talking about!

My poor credit card lol .

[tartanexile81]

Given the choice between Southampton and Edinburgh... yes, I agree, I'd much rather spend time in Edinburgh. But getting back to the ship on time then becomes problematical... :p

 

 

Ha, ha! I know we're very lucky to live in such an amazing area but we've travelled extensively around the UK (and various countries) and to be honest I do find Southampton to be low on the list of cities I like to visit. However each to their own and I respect that Southampton floats your boat - if you'll pardon the pun :D