Boarding arrival times

[gadabout60]

Just because thousands of people don't post on this forum doesn't mean they think the embarkation system is good

Dai - pity you weren't in the terminal on my last P&O cruise when all around people were complaining about the system

You are lucky you have priority boarding so it is not a problem for you but please accept it is a miserable experience for lots of others who now spend several hours on embarkation day hanging about hotel lounges, Southampton (with hand luggage) or the terminal building

 

Remember we are paying P&O thousands of pounds to cruise with them - its time they pulled the finger out. I would be seriously astonished if P&O dd not have some monitoring forums and social media. its time for them to act

[hamrag]

Just because thousands of people don't post on this forum doesn't mean they think the embarkation system is good

Dai - pity you weren't in the terminal on my last P&O cruise when all around people were complaining about the system

You are lucky you have priority boarding so it is not a problem for you but please accept it is a miserable experience for lots of others who now spend several hours on embarkation day hanging about hotel lounges, Southampton (with hand luggage) or the terminal building

 

Remember we are paying P&O thousands of pounds to cruise with them - its time they pulled the finger out. I would be seriously astonished if P&O dd not have some monitoring forums and social media. its time for them to act

 

Very well stated!

 

We have booked a (very) late saver, at excellent pricing, and been allocated a 3pm embarkation. We accept that, given the price paid, but would be extremely unhappy if we had paid full price a year in advance. As far as we can establish, our embarkation time is unrelated to the price we have paid which seems to me unfair to others who booked well in advance and paid accordingly.

 

As many have stated, other lines can expedite 3000+ passengers at Southampton many of whom arrive from 10.30am and are fully boarded by mid-day....it cannot be rocket science to focus on passenger needs rather than P&O wishes. In April we sailed on Ovation of Seas maiden voyage, and then Celebrity Silhouette, and were on board on both occasions by 11.30am. No fuss, and extremely well managed.

[bee-ess]

Read what I said. On other forums there are far more posts than on here and it is not a big issue.

 

Are you saying that people did not have to wait in the last system?

 

Where the people who complained the ones who always thought they should be first and ignore the time they were given? I suspect that those who complain most are the ones who used to come long before their time and get on first.

 

 

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My point Dai is - what can't P&O start boarding earlier when other lines get people boarded much earlier - getting on at 4 and then muster at 5 is not good. Others have said on here that muster is sometime delayed because everyone is not on board in time - something is wrong with their procedures

Edited June 12, 2016 by bee-ess

[gadabout60]

Read what I said. On other forums there are far more posts than on here and it is not a big issue.

 

Are you saying that people did not have to wait in the last system?

 

Where the people who complained the ones who always thought they should be first and ignore the time they were given? I suspect that those who complain most are the ones who used to come long before their time and get on first.

 

 

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Dai

It worked fine before. If you have arrived at a busy time it was longer to get on but most people accept that. Most folk I know aimed to arrive before the coaches - it worked fine

This system is a shambles. We have no choice of time and most of us are far too sensible to cut our journeys fine and potentially miss our holiday

And frankly I don't care about other forums or social media - this is the one I use.

Maybe or your next P&O cruise Dai - ignore your priority boarding and sit in the terminal for a few hours - then you will hear the complaining

[daiB]

Dai

 

It worked fine before. If you have arrived at a busy time it was longer to get on but most people accept that. Most folk I know aimed to arrive before the coaches - it worked fine

 

This system is a shambles. We have no choice of time and most of us are far too sensible to cut our journeys fine and potentially miss our holiday

 

And frankly I don't care about other forums or social media - this is the one I use.

 

Maybe or your next P&O cruise Dai - ignore your priority boarding and sit in the terminal for a few hours - then you will hear the complaining

 

 

He point about the othe forums as I have said is that there are 10 times or more posts who are not complaining.and it did not work fine before. There was just as much chaos if not more than now.

 

 

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[jeanlyon]

Can I just ask why you would be extremely unhappy with a 3pm checkin? You are only talking about an hour or two?

[Harry Peterson]

What's the big change on the way it was a couple of years back? Can't quite see the difference - though I must be missing something.

 

Is 12.30 the earliest boarding time for suite passengers, and is that regardless of P&O 'status'?

[peteukmcr]

Can I just ask why you would be extremely unhappy with a 3pm checkin? You are only talking about an hour or two?

Extremely unhappy because a 3pm check in doesn't mean a 3pm boarding. After check in you then have to line up at security (when allowed to do so, which was our experience in the Mayflower terminal as we could not proceed to security immediately after check in), then pass through security and proceed to board. Therefore, your actually boarding time could be something like 3:30pm after all those formalities have been completed.

 

So you board at 3:30pm, find your cabin, drop off your hand baggage and before you know it, it'll be time for muster. So you grab your life vest and trek off to your muster station. Hang around for muster drill, make your way back to your cabin to drop off your life vest and before you know it, it's sail away.

 

You are not talking about 'an hour or two', you're talking more like 4 hours wasted IMHO.

 

Now, let's look at another example and what can be accomplished with earlier check in and boarding.

 

Enter terminal at 11:30, join short line for security. Pass through security, obtain health questionnaire, complete questionnaire, and join the shortest line for check in (organised by deck, suites and loyalty status). It's now 11:45, check in and then proceed to board by 12 midday.

 

Enjoy a buffet lunch, or just relax with your favourite beverage on the pool deck. At 1 pm, cabins available so proceed to drop off hand baggage, place all valuables in the in room safe. Explore the ship for the next approximately 2.5 hours, including locating your muster station for later, and relax.

 

At appointed muster time, proceed to station (without life vests), get 'checked in', stand in line, listen to emergency drill, get dismissed by the captain, return to cabin around 20 mins after muster started. Relax for sail away which will be 30 mins later.

 

Can you see the difference? I can.

[gadabout60]

Extremely unhappy because a 3pm check in doesn't mean a 3pm boarding. After check in you then have to line up at security (when allowed to do so, which was our experience in the Mayflower terminal as we could not proceed to security immediately after check in), then pass through security and proceed to board. Therefore, your actually boarding time could be something like 3:30pm after all those formalities have been completed.

 

So you board at 3:30pm, find your cabin, drop off your hand baggage and before you know it, it'll be time for muster. So you grab your life vest and trek off to your muster station. Hang around for muster drill, make your way back to your cabin to drop off your life vest and before you know it, it's sail away.

 

You are not talking about 'an hour or two', you're talking more like 4 hours wasted IMHO.

 

Now, let's look at another example and what can be accomplished with earlier check in and boarding.

 

Enter terminal at 11:30, join short line for security. Pass through security, obtain health questionnaire, complete questionnaire, and join the shortest line for check in (organised by deck, suites and loyalty status). It's now 11:45, check in and then proceed to board by 12 midday.

 

Enjoy a buffet lunch, or just relax with your favourite beverage on the pool deck. At 1 pm, cabins available so proceed to drop off hand baggage, place all valuables in the in room safe. Explore the ship for the next approximately 2.5 hours, including locating your muster station for later, and relax.

 

At appointed muster time, proceed to station (without life vests), get 'checked in', stand in line, listen to emergency drill, get dismissed by the captain, return to cabin around 20 mins after muster started. Relax for sail away which will be 30 mins later.

Can you see the difference? I can.

 

Pete - you can see it because you are not wearing P&O tinted glasses

[bee-ess]

Well said agree completely.

 

And me.

[moqui_girl]

Extremely unhappy because a 3pm check in doesn't mean a 3pm boarding. After check in you then have to line up at security (when allowed to do so, which was our experience in the Mayflower terminal as we could not proceed to security immediately after check in), then pass through security and proceed to board. Therefore, your actually boarding time could be something like 3:30pm after all those formalities have been completed.

 

 

 

So you board at 3:30pm, find your cabin, drop off your hand baggage and before you know it, it'll be time for muster. So you grab your life vest and trek off to your muster station. Hang around for muster drill, make your way back to your cabin to drop off your life vest and before you know it, it's sail away.

 

 

 

You are not talking about 'an hour or two', you're talking more like 4 hours wasted IMHO.

 

 

 

Now, let's look at another example and what can be accomplished with earlier check in and boarding.

 

 

 

Enter terminal at 11:30, join short line for security. Pass through security, obtain health questionnaire, complete questionnaire, and join the shortest line for check in (organised by deck, suites and loyalty status). It's now 11:45, check in and then proceed to board by 12 midday.

 

 

 

Enjoy a buffet lunch, or just relax with your favourite beverage on the pool deck. At 1 pm, cabins available so proceed to drop off hand baggage, place all valuables in the in room safe. Explore the ship for the next approximately 2.5 hours, including locating your muster station for later, and relax.

 

 

 

At appointed muster time, proceed to station (without life vests), get 'checked in', stand in line, listen to emergency drill, get dismissed by the captain, return to cabin around 20 mins after muster started. Relax for sail away which will be 30 mins later.

 

 

 

Can you see the difference? I can.

 

 

This is exactly the difference between P&O and other lines I have cruised on. It is a very poor start to a holiday. If the p&o way was the only way we'd just have to accept. However there is another way and (almost) everyone else is doing it!

 

We sail P&O at the moment as it suits our needs (the children's club will take my daughter at 2 years of age). Once my daughter is a bit older and we have more choice, I'm afraid P&O might not make our list. Not just because of the embarkation issues but it represents a general lacking behind other, more forward thinking and customer focused, companies.

 

 

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[PORT ROYAL]

This is exactly the difference between P&O and other lines I have cruised on. It is a very poor start to a holiday. If the p&o way was the only way we'd just have to accept. However there is another way and (almost) everyone else is doing it!

 

We sail P&O at the moment as it suits our needs (the children's club will take my daughter at 2 years of age). Once my daughter is a bit older and we have more choice, I'm afraid P&O might not make our list. Not just because of the embarkation issues but it represents a general lacking behind other, more forward thinking and customer focused, companies.

 

 

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Feel it is time for your family to consider Cunard, their kids clubs are super, involving education through play, in addition to enjoyment. Not walking about the ship singing aimless moronic songs.

 

Link: https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/childrens_club

[Host Sharon]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but do these allocated boarding times for P&O just apply to departures from Southampton.

 

Probably not. We had an allocated boarding time of 1pm in Singapore on Aurora. Arrived about 12.15 and went straight through though as not many people around.

[jeanlyon]

It just seems to me that some things bother some people and not others. I don't mind what time I board. Fred Olsen is the same or worse in some respects as nobody boards before 1400. We weren't on board until 3.50. Didn't seem to matter, we unpacked and were still ready for muster at 4.45. we are 3 hours drive away or just under, so have no need to be at the terminal at 11.30 which is what some here seem to want. Quite happy to arrive around 1400 or a bit later.

[moqui_girl]

Feel it is time for your family to consider Cunard, their kids clubs are super, involving education through play, in addition to enjoyment. Not walking about the ship singing aimless moronic songs.

 

 

 

Link: https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/childrens_club

 

 

I'll take a look. Thanks.

 

 

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[bee-ess]

It just seems to me that some things bother some people and not others. I don't mind what time I board. Fred Olsen is the same or worse in some respects as nobody boards before 1400. We weren't on board until 3.50. Didn't seem to matter, we unpacked and were still ready for muster at 4.45. we are 3 hours drive away or just under, so have no need to be at the terminal at 11.30 which is what some here seem to want. Quite happy to arrive around 1400 or a bit later.

 

I am complaining about the embarkation and we did not arrive until 30 mins before out allocated time of 3:30 but as soon as we entered it was obvious we were not getting on at 3:30. So it is not just a case of people arriving hours before their slot as always seems to cited as the reason for this shambles - it is P&O cannot board as quickly or efficiently as other cruise lines operating from Southampton.

[GolferT]

Just because thousands of people don't post on this forum doesn't mean they think the embarkation system is good

 

Dai - pity you weren't in the terminal on my last P&O cruise when all around people were complaining about the system

 

You are lucky you have priority boarding so it is not a problem for you but please accept it is a miserable experience for lots of others who now spend several hours on embarkation day hanging about hotel lounges, Southampton (with hand luggage) or the terminal building

 

 

 

Remember we are paying P&O thousands of pounds to cruise with them - its time they pulled the finger out. I would be seriously astonished if P&O dd not have some monitoring forums and social media. its time for them to act

 

 

If it was such a issue as what use are all making of it and the majority of p&o customers complained then I'm sure they would change it.

 

REALITY is there not, it's a small percentage that ain't happy with it........simple solution take your business else where

 

 

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[davecttr]

I have done a few P&O cruises from Southampton. In the olden days I used to turn up at the terminal about 11.15. On ventura the check in desks opened shortly after 11.30 and I was aboard the ship at about noon. They once delayed the desk opening until noon but I don't know why, all the desks were manned and the staff were just sitting there.

 

The reason for the new system is saving money, it can't be anything else as it has been demonstrated that starting boarding early is perfectly possible. Maybe they don't want to pay the extra pittance to the boarding and security staff!. Or Carnival are squeezing their margins.

 

not that it matters any more as I only have one more P&O cruise and have the vaunted Caribbean status.

[daiB]

If it was such a issue as what use are all making of it and the majority of p&o customers complained then I'm sure they would change it.

 

REALITY is there not, it's a small percentage that ain't happy with it........simple solution take your business else where

 

 

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So I am not the only one who thinks this.

 

 

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[terrierjohn]

He point about the othe forums as I have said is that there are 10 times or more posts who are not complaining.and it did not work fine before. There was just as much chaos if not more than now.

 

 

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Dai, Could the reason that FB does not have the magnitude of complaints that we see on here be because P&O have the power to shut down any of their forums that start to show dissent?

However back to reality, if P&O want to improve boarding here are some suggestions:-

* Change from valet parking to having fixed car parks where passengers park the car as do ABP, there seems to be plenty of spare ground around each terminal that could easily be converted to car parks.

* Have security done at the start of the check in process, any delays here would quickly be forgotten if the remainder of the process was as smooth as Celebrity, who do not seem to use any more check in staff than do P&O.

* Improve the on line check in to include photo ID and maybe even a last minute health questionnaire form, rather than have passengers fill them in at the desk.

* Finally, train their staff to be polite and friendly to the passengers, and to ensure that any delays are minimised and fully explained over the tannoy to passengers, maybe even adding have a good cruise as they hand over your cruise card.

I am sure other posters can think of other improvements, and perhaps as chief P&O cheerleader you could pass them onto management.:rolleyes:;)

PS I almost forgot, start boarding at 11:00am, as do other lines.

Edited June 12, 2016 by terrierjohn

[Alan Flett]

Feel it is time for your family to consider Cunard, their kids clubs are super, involving education through play, in addition to enjoyment. Not walking about the ship singing aimless moronic songs.

 

Link: https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/childrens_club

 

Don't you mean young children having fun and not singing 'aimless moronic songs'?

 

The kids clubs are excellent on P & O. Don't forget the children are on holiday and often want time off from school where they are already pushed hard from an early age theses days.

[PORT ROYAL]

Don't you mean young children having fun and not singing 'aimless moronic songs'?

 

The kids clubs are excellent on P & O. Don't forget the children are on holiday and often want time off from school where they are already pushed hard from an early age theses days.

 

CC welcomes all legitimate and diverse posts, especially if they are based on actual personal experiences.

[Host Sharon]

OK - enough! Why people cannot agree to disagree I have no idea. This topic is closed.