Priority Tendering for Elites

[datone]

Recently on Sea Princess and there were a couple of tender ports.   We get a card in our stateroom to give to the staff member so we can get our tender tickets in the designated tender waiting area for elites.   When we handed over ours we were given numbered tickets.   A man wanders in and says to the staff member giving out the tickets that he needs 7.   The staff member asks if they are all elites or in a suite and his answer is "no - they are all travelling with me".   Saw 4 blue cards out of the 7 people as they were wearing lanyards - don't know what the rest were.    Short while later they called out a range of ticket numbers and asked the rest of the people to wait.   So we had the situation where genuine elites had to wait for the next tender while a number of people with blue cards went ahead of them.   There's always one who doesn't think the rules apply to them.   

[Schonert]

We were told an elite could bring one person with them.  
Again too afraid to “upset” someone doing wrong, but they don’t care if the “upset” those doing it correctly.

 

 

[Reader0108598]

3 hours ago, datone said:

Recently on Sea Princess and there were a couple of tender ports.   We get a card in our stateroom to give to the staff member so we can get our tender tickets in the designated tender waiting area for elites.   When we handed over ours we were given numbered tickets.   A man wanders in and says to the staff member giving out the tickets that he needs 7.   The staff member asks if they are all elites or in a suite and his answer is "no - they are all travelling with me".   Saw 4 blue cards out of the 7 people as they were wearing lanyards - don't know what the rest were.    Short while later they called out a range of ticket numbers and asked the rest of the people to wait.   So we had the situation where genuine elites had to wait for the next tender while a number of people with blue cards went ahead of them.   There's always one who doesn't think the rules apply to them.   

Not right! Then again any benefit you got from sticking with one company is being devalued. I travel any company that gives me a good price for where I want to go!

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Reader0108598

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, datone said:

Recently on Sea Princess and there were a couple of tender ports.   We get a card in our stateroom to give to the staff member so we can get our tender tickets in the designated tender waiting area for elites.   When we handed over ours we were given numbered tickets.   A man wanders in and says to the staff member giving out the tickets that he needs 7.   The staff member asks if they are all elites or in a suite and his answer is "no - they are all travelling with me".   Saw 4 blue cards out of the 7 people as they were wearing lanyards - don't know what the rest were.    Short while later they called out a range of ticket numbers and asked the rest of the people to wait.   So we had the situation where genuine elites had to wait for the next tender while a number of people with blue cards went ahead of them.   There's always one who doesn't think the rules apply to them.   

We witnessed a similar situation on the August CB cruise to Greenland.  But it was handled differently and was quite amusing.  A man entered the room reserved for Elites and had several friends walking behind.  The lady giving out tickets said that his friends would have to go to the other lounge (for non-elites) and the man insisted that everyone in his party be given the priority tickets.  The young lady, giving out tickets, held her ground and refused.  As those folks turned to leave the lounge (without priority tickets) there was applause within the room (one of the MDRs).

 

Hank

[rocklinmom]

Each elite can bring someone with them. My husband and I are elite and we bring our three kids along with us of course. Doubt they would quibble over the extra kid. I could see if one elite was trying to bring along five or six extras. 

[I Love Cruising 3]

1 minute ago, rocklinmom said:

Each elite can bring someone with them. My husband and I are elite and we bring our three kids along with us of course. Doubt they would quibble over the extra kid. I could see if one elite was trying to bring along five or six extras. 

There's a big difference between bringing all your kids with you or just some random person you've met on the ship. 

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, Schonert said:

We were told an elite could bring one person with them.  
Again too afraid to “upset” someone doing wrong, but they don’t care if the “upset” those doing it correctly.

👍Too true. Seen this countless times. Staff afraid to correct one wrongdoer just makes the rest of us upset/angry.

[Daniel A]

The squeaky wheel gets the grease...  OP should have complained to PSD that it happened.  That crew member should have been reprimanded/disciplined.  If that were to happen, you wouldn't be seeing incidents like this happening.

 

That said, I was under the impression that family members travelling in the same cabin as the elite pax can accompany the elite pax.  Is it possible that was the case in OP's instance?

[Daniel A]

24 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

That said, I was under the impression that family members travelling in the same cabin as the elite pax can accompany the elite pax.  Is it possible that was the case in OP's instance?

Correction:  According to Captain's Circle Benefits page, it is family OR guests travelling in the same stateroom can get the priority boarding of the tenders (water shuttles  )

[EDDY0827]

  "A man wanders in and says to the staff member giving out the tickets that he needs 7."

 

"That said, I was under the impression that family members travelling in the same cabin as the elite pax can accompany the elite pax.  Is it possible that was the case in OP's instance? "

 

 

I don't think that Princess allows 7 people  in a cabin.

[Reader0108598]

Hypothetical so the Elite person behind you who payed for a bunch of cruises has to wait because you brought your friends/family members ....ya that is a No! I could care less never affects me but don't get the will bring my friends stuff ! Went on a cruise with my son and family we met them on board! PS: Never tried to sneak them into the P/E lounge! Not talking about your minor children that goes without saying! 

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Reader0108598

[pompeii]

On 11/25/2019 at 9:31 AM, Hlitner said:

We witnessed a similar situation on the August CB cruise to Greenland.  But it was handled differently and was quite amusing.  A man entered the room reserved for Elites and had several friends walking behind.  The lady giving out tickets said that his friends would have to go to the other lounge (for non-elites) and the man insisted that everyone in his party be given the priority tickets.  The young lady, giving out tickets, held her ground and refused.  As those folks turned to leave the lounge (without priority tickets) there was applause within the room (one of the MDRs).

 

Hank

Funny you should mention that...we were on the same CB cruise to Greenland.  My husband is elite and I am platinum.  The lady giving out tickets refused me one, saying sorry, elites only.  I told her I was the elite's spouse and in the same stateroom, and she still tried to send me away saying there were too many elites on board to give tickets to non-elites.  I waved my arm at the otherwise empty dining room (literally, there was absolutely no one else in there) and she finally relented.  We didn't even have time to sit down before they called us down to the tender.  I realize that tendering was a bit of a mess on that cruise, but really.

[Hlitner]

22 minutes ago, pompeii said:

Funny you should mention that...we were on the same CB cruise to Greenland.  My husband is elite and I am platinum.  The lady giving out tickets refused me one, saying sorry, elites only.  I told her I was the elite's spouse and in the same stateroom, and she still tried to send me away saying there were too many elites on board to give tickets to non-elites.  I waved my arm at the otherwise empty dining room (literally, there was absolutely no one else in there) and she finally relented.  We didn't even have time to sit down before they called us down to the tender.  I realize that tendering was a bit of a mess on that cruise, but really.

I think I can shed some light on what happened to you.  We were actually waiting in the dining room when the issue came to a head.  The young lady giving out the tickets was very liberal on who got tickets.  Some folks actually brought groups of friends (not Elite) into the dining room and insisted on getting priority tickets for their entire group.  The young lady relented until a Senior Officer happened to come into the room and witness the scene.  There were some quiet words (we did not overhear the discussion) and suddenly that young lady became very strict with the allocation of tickets.  We also noted that one or more senior staff (including the original officer) would come back into the room and quietly watch the process.

 

Of course you were entitled to priority...so it sounds like the poor staffer (giving out the tickets) had the fear of God (or her job) on her own mind.

 

What is really sad is that we later met several cruisers (who had no priority) that never got ashore...even after waiting hours.  If that had been me, I would have been furious!  But the folks we met were simply depressed.  And this happened at two of the 3 Greenland ports (we docked at Nuuk).  Although we had little problem getting ashore (because of our status) I was shocked at the situation.  I made it clear to Princess (in my post cruise comments) that they had no business taking such a large ship to those two tender ports.  But sadly, they are repeating the same voyage in 2020 and you can be certain they will have the same result.

 

Hank

[Reader0108598]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think I can shed some light on what happened to you.  We were actually waiting in the dining room when the issue came to a head.  The young lady giving out the tickets was very liberal on who got tickets.  Some folks actually brought groups of friends (not Elite) into the dining room and insisted on getting priority tickets for their entire group.  The young lady relented until a Senior Officer happened to come into the room and witness the scene.  There were some quiet words (we did not overhear the discussion) and suddenly that young lady became very strict with the allocation of tickets.  We also noted that one or more senior staff (including the original officer) would come back into the room and quietly watch the process.

 

Of course you were entitled to priority...so it sounds like the poor staffer (giving out the tickets) had the fear of God (or her job) on her own mind.

 

What is really sad is that we later met several cruisers (who had no priority) that never got ashore...even after waiting hours.  If that had been me, I would have been furious!  But the folks we met were simply depressed.  And this happened at two of the 3 Greenland ports (we docked at Nuuk).  Although we had little problem getting ashore (because of our status) I was shocked at the situation.  I made it clear to Princess (in my post cruise comments) that they had no business taking such a large ship to those two tender ports.  But sadly, they are repeating the same voyage in 2020 and you can be certain they will have the same result.

 

Hank

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Reader0108598
Wrong thread! :)

[john watson]

11 hours ago, Hlitner said:

  I made it clear to Princess (in my post cruise comments) that they had no business taking such a large ship to those two tender ports.  But sadly, they are repeating the same voyage in 2020 and you can be certain they will have the same result.

 

Hank

 

I should have thought it possible to run a greater number of tenders?  Obviously there is a limit but the ships generally have two stations and they could use both and additional to normal numbers of tenders running particularly if it were a long transition.

 

Regards John

[pompeii]

11 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think I can shed some light on what happened to you.  We were actually waiting in the dining room when the issue came to a head.  The young lady giving out the tickets was very liberal on who got tickets.  Some folks actually brought groups of friends (not Elite) into the dining room and insisted on getting priority tickets for their entire group.  The young lady relented until a Senior Officer happened to come into the room and witness the scene.  There were some quiet words (we did not overhear the discussion) and suddenly that young lady became very strict with the allocation of tickets.  We also noted that one or more senior staff (including the original officer) would come back into the room and quietly watch the process.

 

Of course you were entitled to priority...so it sounds like the poor staffer (giving out the tickets) had the fear of God (or her job) on her own mind.

 

Hank

Hi Hank, 

I would agree with you except the lady giving out the tickets at that time was the future cruise consultant, who should be senior enough with Princess to not be confused on the policy.  I had been to the future cruise office a couple of times so I recognized her.  When she relented, she kind of scoffed and said "let's just make this an easy day", indicating that she felt I was gaming the system and not that she realized her error.  At the time it puzzled me more than anything because this was my husband's first cruise as elite so I thought maybe I had misunderstood the tender policy.  I'm glad to be clear on it now because we are leaving for South America and want to tender off as early as possible in the Falklands.

[pompeii]

16 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

I should have thought it possible to run a greater number of tenders?  Obviously there is a limit but the ships generally have two stations and they could use both and additional to normal numbers of tenders running particularly if it were a long transition.

 

Regards John

In one of the ports, Nanortalik, there was only a small pier and room for one tender to unload at a time.  Our dinner mates said they sat in the tender at the pier for an hour waiting for their turn to unload.  If Nanortalik wants cruise traffic, they need to build a pier that can accommodate more than one tender.

[Hlitner]

36 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

I should have thought it possible to run a greater number of tenders?  Obviously there is a limit but the ships generally have two stations and they could use both and additional to normal numbers of tenders running particularly if it were a long transition.

 

Regards John

36 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

I should have thought it possible to run a greater number of tenders?  Obviously there is a limit but the ships generally have two stations and they could use both and additional to normal numbers of tenders running particularly if it were a long transition.

 

Regards John

John,  There were two tender ports.  The first, Qaqortoq is a small village that could handle two tenders at a time, but it was a relatively long tender ride which added to delays.  But the really awful situation occurred at our 2nd port, Nanortalik and should have been obvious to the planners at Princess.  The port only has one very small pier that can handle a single tender.  To make matters worse, that same pier is also used for a few cruise excursions.  We were on the second tender and quickly realized there was going to be real problems.  When our tender arrived we had to sit about 200 yards off the pier while the first tender was slowly unloading.  There were many older folks (including me) on the cruise and these folks did not move real fast.  It took 10-15 minutes to simply unload on that small pier.  Then we had to wait another 15 min while a small excursion boat docked, picked up their tour group, and then departed.  By the time we docked there were two more ship tender waiting (further out).  Within an hour the tenders were backed-up and there was no solution.  It takes over 30 tender runs to get everyone off the ship but, at best., that pier can handle about 4 -5 tenders an hour.  Simple math says it would take over 6 hours to get everyone ashore, assuming no other delays such as would routinely happen with the tour boats.  But then there was the related problem of how to get all those folks back to the ship so we could depart close to our scheduled time.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ship, folks were getting their tender tickets and waiting hour after hour.  One couple we met got their tender tickets before 9:30 and did not get ashore until nearly 3pm.  Many had given up by that point and they were not happy cruisers.  They had to stop bringing folks ashore around 3pm out of concern how long it would take to get everyone back onboard.

 

In August 2020, Princess will again repeat this itinerary with the came ship (Caribbean Princess).   The same tendering problems will be repeated.  And consider that the day we were in Nanortalik the weather and sea conditions were absolutely perfect.  It was a gorgeous day with very little wind.  Greenland does not often get that kind of weather and any kind of swells or wind would certainly add to the tender delays.

 

Hank

 

 

[worldtraveller]

How long was the tender ride in Qaqortoq  and  Nanortalik ?

[dog]

If my cabin mate wanted to go on tender without me(elite) will they let them get an elite tender ticket?  Want to follow the rules. 

[Potstech]

On 11/25/2019 at 9:35 AM, I Love Cruising 3 said:

There's a big difference between bringing all your kids with you or just some random person you've met on the ship. 

Why do you make this statement?  Are you assuming that all the others are "random people" and not family or members of their party?  We travel with several people who are not elite.  Would not try to get them priority boarding but some may.

[Potstech]

59 minutes ago, dog said:

If my cabin mate wanted to go on tender without me(elite) will they let them get an elite tender ticket?  Want to follow the rules. 

Probably not.  Your cabin mate would not be elite therefor has not earned that benefit.

[dog]

58 minutes ago, Potstech said:

Probably not.  Your cabin mate would not be elite therefor has not earned that benefit.

So if I am with them they could since we are sharing a cabin and I am elite 

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, dog said:

If my cabin mate wanted to go on tender without me(elite) will they let them get an elite tender ticket?  Want to follow the rules. 

You would have to go on the tender with him/her. When you go for a ticket, you have to show your card. The gatekeeper would turn him/her away.

"But, but, but...my cabin mate is Elite". Wouldn't fly.

[Potstech]

2 hours ago, dog said:

So if I am with them they could since we are sharing a cabin and I am elite 

Yes