Just received email. Boarding Majestic Princess on Thursday delayed by 3 hours

[arxcards]

On 12/6/2022 at 10:05 PM, korky1 said:

I was really looking forward to boarding Majestic at noon this Thursday and had decided for the first time ever to have lunch in the MDR.  Talk about the best-laid plans of mice and men.  Ha! Ha!  Now we can't board until 3pm so bang goes that idea.

 

Ah well, it is what it is.  Hopefully we will get boarding about 3pm.  I will dress a bit smarter than I usually would for getting on board as I doubt we will see our suitcases before dining so may not be able to change for dinner.  Hoping the actual cruise is drama free.

 

 

Is anyone aboard yet?

[arxcards]

21 hours ago, Wombat706 said:

We received an email for our Nov 2022 boarding on Celebrity Eclipse saying it would be delayed by 2 hours because it would be late arriving due to rough seas on the crossing from NZ.  We then received another saying it would be delayed by 3 hours.  The ship actually arrived about 5 hours late and then about 16 passengers refused to get off the ship. So it was a frustrating afternoon.  I think we boarded about 4 hours late.

I wonder if they were b2b and covid positive, and asked to disembark? Some passengers seem to be able to stay aboard in isolation b2b, but if others have to break isolation to go through customs screening, they are being disembarked - they can't re-board as covid positive, but they can remain in iso if they don't need to leave the ship. I would understand that finer point would not go down well with any passenger in that situation, and it would cause quite a stand-off.

[arxcards]

A hat trick of ships. Celebrity Eclipse is arriving on time, but another day of tier 2 protocols to deal with at OPT.

[Wombat706]

17 hours ago, arxcards said:

I wonder if they were b2b and covid positive, and asked to disembark? Some passengers seem to be able to stay aboard in isolation b2b, but if others have to break isolation to go through customs screening, they are being disembarked - they can't re-board as covid positive, but they can remain in iso if they don't need to leave the ship. I would understand that finer point would not go down well with any passenger in that situation, and it would cause quite a stand-off.

They were B2B but not covid positive (if the information conveyed to us was accurate).  The ship was coming from NZ and going onto an Australian domestic cruise, so it was a case that the ship had to be fully disembarked due to customs etc.  We were later told Border Force officers actually had to go on board and 'assist' those passengers to disembark.

[CRUISING ALONG]

Majestic Princess finally departed OPT Sydney Harbour at 7.30pm Thursday 8th December 2022

 

Bon Voyage

 

cheers

CRUISING ALONG

[Minimama]

On 12/6/2022 at 4:05 AM, korky1 said:

I was really looking forward to boarding Majestic at noon this Thursday and had decided for the first time ever to have lunch in the MDR.  Talk about the best-laid plans of mice and men.  Ha! Ha!  Now we can't board until 3pm so bang goes that idea.

 

Ah well, it is what it is.  Hopefully we will get boarding about 3pm.  I will dress a bit smarter than I usually would for getting on board as I doubt we will see our suitcases before dining so may not be able to change for dinner.  Hoping the actual cruise is drama free.

 

 

Do you get to select your embarkation time? If so, how?? I looked on my app and do not see a place to select a boarding time. I leave on the 16th of January. Thanks!!

[korky1]

3 hours ago, Minimama said:

Do you get to select your embarkation time? If so, how?? I looked on my app and do not see a place to select a boarding time. I leave on the 16th of January. Thanks!!

 

[korky1]

24 minutes ago, korky1 said:

 

Go into your profile and select the correct cruise if you have more than one booked,  if not, go straight into Personal Information and Documents.   Scroll down and select Arrival and Departure Groups.  Select Early, Mid or Late arrival time.  If they all respond with Sorry.  There are no available times to choose from, rhis means choosing boarding times is not available yet.  Just check every day and eventually you will be successful. 

[gbenjo]

On 12/7/2022 at 2:30 PM, bretts173 said:

Can understand how this delays boarding but any insight on why it delays departing the ship by 2 hours.

There is a curfew on ships leaving the OPT between four and six pm  due to “ peak hour “ ferry movement which would affect ships scheduled to leave early and then delayed due to covid ( or whatever) 

Edited December 10, 2022 by gbenjo

[Aus Traveller]

4 hours ago, Minimama said:

Do you get to select your embarkation time? If so, how?? I looked on my app and do not see a place to select a boarding time. I leave on the 16th of January. Thanks!!

Boarding time should be available 59 days prior to the cruise. Korky has explained how to do it. When you scroll down in 'Personal Information and Documents' go down to 'Suggested' to find 'arrival time'.

[LittleFish1976]

On 12/7/2022 at 10:52 PM, austromyrtus said:

just a thought... wonder if anyone has looked at whether those princess passengers on drink packages have been more prone to testing positive to getting covid than those who have the occasional drink & spend less time in the bars??

 

I haven't sailed yet on Princess but have a couple of bookings. I'm not keen on drinking in bars if there's a fair bit of covid on board. Would it be feasible to go into a bar and get a drink on your package and take the drink out of the bar to drink it on deck or somewhere less crowded? Or are the distances to walk to a deck from a bar prohibitive to doing that easily?

 

[By The Bay]

1 hour ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I haven't sailed yet on Princess but have a couple of bookings. I'm not keen on drinking in bars if there's a fair bit of covid on board. Would it be feasible to go into a bar and get a drink on your package and take the drink out of the bar to drink it on deck or somewhere less crowded? Or are the distances to walk to a deck from a bar prohibitive to doing that easily?

 

I have often done what you are suggesting. It is not a problem if you are mobile. They will even bring the drink to you if you order using the Medallion app.

[mr walker]

On 12/7/2022 at 7:17 AM, buchhalm said:

Well, a few days ago two large ships that were (according to the schedule from Sydney ports) to leave at 4 pm, didn't leave until after 9pm.

So basically a whole day of cruising gone. And perhaps  wasted day of drinks package 

 

On 12/8/2022 at 4:58 AM, gbenjo said:

How is 5 hours a whole day of cruising? Pax would still have been on board by about 5 pm or earlier.

yes I was thinking I wouldn't want to buy carpet by the metre from buchhalm 🙂 

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I haven't sailed yet on Princess but have a couple of bookings. I'm not keen on drinking in bars if there's a fair bit of covid on board. Would it be feasible to go into a bar and get a drink on your package and take the drink out of the bar to drink it on deck or somewhere less crowded? Or are the distances to walk to a deck from a bar prohibitive to doing that easily?

 

Of course you can do that. Coral and Grand both have Promenade decks - deck 7, and Crooners midships is the best bar to get dri ks from. Unfortunately Majestic doesn't have a Promenade deck nor Crooners. There are bars outdoors on most ships. 

 

Depending on the ship some of the Princess bars are quite spacious and nice outside the busy times.

[LittleFish1976]

29 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

I have often done what you are suggesting. It is not a problem if you are mobile. They will even bring the drink to you if you order using the Medallion app.

 

In that case, fantastic! It seems a bit anti-social to sit out on the deck drinking but if it helps avoid covid, I'm happy to cop it.

[LittleFish1976]

Just now, OzKiwiJJ said:

Of course you can do that. Coral and Grand both have Promenade decks - deck 7, and Crooners midships is the best bar to get dri ks from. Unfortunately Majestic doesn't have a Promenade deck nor Crooners. There are bars outdoors on most ships. 

 

Depending on the ship some of the Princess bars are quite spacious and nice outside the busy times.

 

Thanks for your help

[Minimama]

6 hours ago, korky1 said:

Go into your profile and select the correct cruise if you have more than one booked,  if not, go straight into Personal Information and Documents.   Scroll down and select Arrival and Departure Groups.  Select Early, Mid or Late arrival time.  If they all respond with Sorry.  There are no available times to choose from, rhis means choosing boarding times is not available yet.  Just check every day and eventually you will be successful. 

Oh thank you soooo much!!!! I would have never found that!. Appreciate your assistance!

[korky1]

20 minutes ago, Minimama said:

Oh thank you soooo much!!!! I would have never found that!. Appreciate your assistance!

You are so welcome.  Cruise Critic is a wonderful resource for finding answers to all cruising questions.  I have received the answers to so many of my questions on here that it is a pleasure to be able to help someone else for a change.

[arxcards]

6 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Of course you can do that. Coral and Grand both have Promenade decks - deck 7, and Crooners midships is the best bar to get dri ks from. Unfortunately Majestic doesn't have a Promenade deck nor Crooners. There are bars outdoors on most ships. 

 

Depending on the ship some of the Princess bars are quite spacious and nice outside the busy times.

For Majestic, the pick of the outdoor bars would be Wake View Bar. There is a bit of protection from the elements, plenty of room, and a short walk to the buffet for snacks.

 

There are a couple of spots on the prom deck. Aft is handy to the Crown Grill Bar, port for non-smokers, starboard for smokers. I always wondered why it isn't the other way around, as port goes well with a cigar 😉. There is some seating midship as well, which would be served from Ocean Terrace bar,

 

[LittleFish1976]

13 hours ago, arxcards said:

For Majestic, the pick of the outdoor bars would be Wake View Bar. There is a bit of protection from the elements, plenty of room, and a short walk to the buffet for snacks.

 

There are a couple of spots on the prom deck. Aft is handy to the Crown Grill Bar, port for non-smokers, starboard for smokers. I always wondered why it isn't the other way around, as port goes well with a cigar 😉. There is some seating midship as well, which would be served from Ocean Terrace bar,

 

 

Great tips. Thanks, Geoff.