Wait to get in room

[rollingjay]

We were on the Ruby in December and were allowed to board the ship but had to wait in and around the Horizon court until 1:00 to go to our room.  Has anyone been on recently and are they still making people wait till 1:00?

[Colo Cruiser]

4 minutes ago, rollingjay said:

We were on the Ruby in December and were allowed to board the ship but had to wait in and around the Horizon court until 1:00 to go to our room.  Has anyone been on recently and are they still making people wait till 1:00?

Yes that is the policy for Princess now and has been for quite some time.

They counter this with allowing boarding around 11:00am now.

I have a nice lunch and by the time I am done the rooms are ready at 1:00pm.

They also usually set up an attended bag check in one of the public rooms if you don't want to carry your stuff around.

Room Stewards are working their tails off with up to 18 rooms to tend to and to get the rooms turned around from the prior cruise. Cut them some slack by letting them finish.

[cheeseclan]

I have been on 38 Princess Cruises, with the last being the Crown in January, and have never had to wait to go to our cabin.  Wondering if this is something new??

[Colo Cruiser]

20 minutes ago, cheeseclan said:

I have been on 38 Princess Cruises, with the last being the Crown in January, and have never had to wait to go to our cabin.  Wondering if this is something new??

Not new......they have been doing it for about 10 months.

Thats great that you did not have to deal with it.

Maybe they got the rooms done early.

It has been that way for my last 8 cruises.

 

As I said sometimes they get them done early so that would be great.

[cheeseclan]

Has this just been on certain ships?

[Colo Cruiser]

19 minutes ago, cheeseclan said:

Has this just been on certain ships?

Not that I have seen. I have seen it on the ones I have sailed in the last 10 months or so. 

The Royal/Regal/CB/Island/Ruby/Crown/Star so far.

[Cyn874]

I don't believe you are forced to sit in the Horizon court the whole time. The boarding time for my deck is from 1-2pm, but we intend to get to the ship before 11am and board as soon as possible. We'll hopefully have a nice lunch, a drink, and begin exploring the ship, spending time out by the pool, etc. No need to sit around and wait. 🙂 I figure we're paying for that day, we'd like to make the most of it - carry on bags in tow is fine.

[Times Prince]

On Royal Caribbean they actually close the doors leading to the stateroom floors until they are ready (or much later).

 

Every cruise on Princess we've been able to go to the stateroom, and even if it is not ready, we ask the steward if it is  OK to leave our carry-on in the room.  The answer has always been "yes".   We leave our stuff out of sight as the door to the room may still be open while the rooms are being serviced, and we make sure the carry-on suitcase with clothes is out of the way for servicing.  The steward will usually let us use the safe, too.

 

I certainly hope Princess has not gone the way of Royal Caribbean.  That was a miserable way to have to start a cruise, schlepping our carry-on through crowded elevators and buffet areas.

 

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Yes that is the policy for Princess now and has been for quite some time.

They counter this with allowing boarding around 11:00am now.

I have a nice lunch and by the time I am done the rooms are ready at 1:00pm.

 

 

When we boarded the Emerald Princess in San Pedro last December, boarding did not start until about 12:15 and the cabins were ready at that time.

[Papa Yoda]

 

We boarded Star Princess this last November and the cabins were announced as closed until 1PM - but we had gone to lunch in dining room so it was no big deal.

[floridalover5623]

Even on ships that announced the cabins would not be ready until 1 PM, I had no problem going to my cabin to just drop off my luggage & put valuables in the safe before going to lunch.

[capriccio]

Last summer on the Ruby boarding had started before 10:30 but we had to wait until 1 pm and the hallway doors were locked and alarmed (ask my DH how he knows that!). There was no problem bringing our carry-ons (and we were a group of 7) to the MDR for the embarkation lunch.  In December on the Crown boarding started right at 11:00 am and passengers were able to go to cabins immediately.

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, floridalover5623 said:

Even on ships that announced the cabins would not be ready until 1 PM, I had no problem going to my cabin to just drop off my luggage & put valuables in the safe before going to lunch.

Of course you did.

[Colo Cruiser]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

When we boarded the Emerald Princess in San Pedro last December, boarding did not start until about 12:15 and the cabins were ready at that time.

Hence the word "around".

[Doug R.]

We boarded the Regal in January at 11:30 and the rooms were open and ready for us.

[Sea Hag]

My carry on bag is a backpack, which I can walk around in pretty much all day, so I don't care if we can't get into our cabin right away. We board as early as possible and have a nice lunch in the MDR. We can usually go directly to the cabin after that.

[Colo Cruiser]

8 hours ago, Times Prince said:

On Royal Caribbean they actually close the doors leading to the stateroom floors until they are ready (or much later).

 

I certainly hope Princess has not gone the way of Royal Caribbean.  That was a miserable way to have to start a cruise, schlepping our carry-on through crowded elevators and buffet areas.

 

The fire doors have been closed on the cruises we have boarded in the last 10 months or so.

I have no issue with it. I am glad for the most part they now allow us onboard around 11:00am.

Stewart has 18 cabins to take care of in a short period of time. Having passengers continually interrupting is not right.

What is he/she going to say if you ask? Of course he/she is going to say yes. Last thing they need is a PO'd passenger complaining before the cruise even starts. 

 

A miserable way to start a cruise?  Life is so tough.

They provide an attended bag check for those that do not want to carry stuff around.

[tonit964]

22 hours ago, rollingjay said:

We were on the Ruby in December and were allowed to board the ship but had to wait in and around the Horizon court until 1:00 to go to our room.  Has anyone been on recently and are they still making people wait till 1:00?

Just got off the Emerald on Monday, we had to wait until 1:30 but we were on the ship at 11:15, dropped our carry on bags at Explorer's lounge where they were storing them and as Colo said, we went to the dining room (they opened at 11:45) for a very nice, relaxed lunch. Best way to start the cruise.

[pms4104]

I'm waiting for the loud and indignant outcries

should Princess determine that no one (but for crew, staff. contractors and the like) will board the ship til all cabins are ready at "around 1pm".

 

The most immediate impact:  cabin stewards will be able to work more efficiently without interruption from (potentially 18-20 cabin loads of people) those seeking special favors.  Crew and staff are trained to not say "no", so this should take some pressure off these hard-working people.

 

A side effect:  the Princess bean counters will treat it as an opportunity to save money and skip offering an embarkation lunch ... except maybe for some cut-up fruit or cheese and crackers in the buffet area.  Well, perhaps a real meal for the in-transits would be offered..

 

Oh, the horror!  One more cutback, one more way for Princess to mess with us!

 

And the reality will be that such a change will be a reaction to those who could not respect Princess' directive to stay out of the cabins and passenger corridors til Princess gives permission.

 

As to stowing stuff:  if I can keep track of my stuff to and at the airport, on a 4-hr flight, at and from the arriving aitport, to and at the hotel for a couple of days, to and onto the ship ... really what's another hour or two yo schlepp my stuff?

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by pms4104

[JF - retired RRT]

3 hours ago, floridalover5623 said:

Even on ships that announced the cabins would not be ready until 1 PM, I had no problem going to my cabin to just drop off my luggage & put valuables in the safe before going to lunch.

We were on the Ruby in December and the doors were closed AND alarmed. If you opened the door a crew member came and "helped" you go back where you belonged...the other side of the door.

We were sitting on the stairs waiting and saw 2 different people escorted back to the elevator lobby.

The doors were opened at exactly 1 PM.

[floridalover5623]

6 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

We were on the Ruby in December and the doors were closed AND alarmed. If you opened the door a crew member came and "helped" you go back where you belonged...the other side of the door.

We were sitting on the stairs waiting and saw 2 different people escorted back to the elevator lobby.

The doors were opened at exactly 1 PM.

Sounds like they're tough on the Ruby. Not like the other ships. 

I have yet to find the doors closed....just announcements & when reaching the cabin there was no problem dumping the bags. 

 

[Crystal04]

I have been on Royal, Regal, and Crown in the past 3 months and my rooms were ready by 1130 when I boarded, which is perfect because I always am exhausted upon arrival and nap until muster. I don't think i have ever waited with Princess. I will be on Ruby this summer.

[skynight]

24 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

We were on the Ruby in December and the doors were closed AND alarmed. If you opened the door a crew member came and "helped" you go back where you belonged...the other side of the door.

We were sitting on the stairs waiting and saw 2 different people escorted back to the elevator lobby.

The doors were opened at exactly 1 PM.

It was not this way on the Emerald. We just finished three b2b's. No doors were shut and we had access to our cabin the entire morning. When Princess shuts doors it makes it difficult for b2ber's to access their cabins where all their belongings remain. Princess sells b2b's and should not deny access to passenger cabins for those so booked on turn around day.

[skynight]

38 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

 

A side effect:  the Princess bean counters will treat it as an opportunity to save money and skip offering an embarkation lunch ... except maybe for some cut-up fruit or cheese and crackers in the buffet area.  Well, perhaps a real meal for the in-transits would be offered..

 

The DR was open from noon until 1:30 on all cruises we have done in the last year including those of Feb/Mar 2019. All the other dining options were also open, I.C., Pool Side, Buffet. I don't think it's as negative as you make it sound.

[capriccio]

12 minutes ago, skynight said:

The DR was open from noon until 1:30 on all cruises we have done in the last year including those of Feb/Mar 2019. All the other dining options were also open, I.C., Pool Side, Buffet. I don't think it's as negative as you make it sound.

That was also our experience on our two cruises (on the Ruby and the Crown) in 2018.

Edited March 16, 2019 by capriccio