Priority Boarding question

[nini]

3 hours ago, Yowman said:

So where do those in Club Class (Reserve Collection) fit into the hierarchy of priority boarding?

 

As stated:

Handicapped, Elite, Platinum, Suites.

Club Class would be a suite; are you Elite or Platinum?

[Steelers36]

15 minutes ago, nini said:

 

As stated:

Handicapped, Elite, Platinum, Suites.

Club Class would be a suite; are you Elite or Platinum?

Nope. Club/Reserve can be a mini-suite.  They used to be grouped with the Platinums.

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, lexyplexy said:

Yes, I agree. The cruise ports we have sailed out of do share.

 

45 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

Guess Fort Lauderdale is one of a few ports that have separate areas. Will find out about Southampton in June and San Francisco in September if we get there before boarding starts

 

I have seen both, but most used to T2 in Port Everglades.  At T2, there is a room designated as lounge and it is larger than the one I recall several years back.  The room is upstairs.  Also upstairs are quite a few rows of seating between the two bridges that go to the ship.  That seating area was used for Platinum members and I recall being there many times looking wistfully over at the Elite/Suite lounge and wondering how many of those folks would be heading on board before us and the sprint to Sanctuary could begin.  (Seems like a long time ago now).

 

Anyway, I am not sure if they always use that seating now.

 

But, whether T2 or Civitavecchia (as an example from our most recent departures), the staff hand our different letter or number group cards to Elite/Suite versus others.  We were sitting in a different section of open area seating in the terminal in Civi, for example.  It doesn't really matter too much as they call the groups by calling Suites/Elites first.  So, even if sharing a space, the Platinum groups (and it used to include Club Class when that first came along) should be coming right after when their group is called.  IOW, a Platinum guest would not be handed a Group A card at check-in - at least not normally.

 

All I can say is this has been our experience, so they do try, but not every cruise terminal is setup to have a dedicated space or "lounge" for Elite and Suite.  I might add that where we did sit in Civi was closest seating to heading on board and they had a table of refreshments like you would find at T2 in Florida.

[Yowman]

20 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Nope. Club/Reserve can be a mini-suite.  They used to be grouped with the Platinums.

 

 

 

Yep, mini suite.

 

According to Princess Club/Reserve get

 

• Priority embarkation and disembarkation at the beginning and end of your cruise

 

So I assume the same embarkation/disembarkation perks as a suite apply, but it's unclear if there's a different pecking order or not.

[Steelers36]

33 minutes ago, Yowman said:

 

 

Yep, mini suite.

 

According to Princess Club/Reserve get

 

• Priority embarkation and disembarkation at the beginning and end of your cruise

 

So I assume the same embarkation/disembarkation perks as a suite apply, but it's unclear if there's a different pecking order or not.

Yes, there has typically always been a "pecking" order:

 

 

Wedding parties - presumably with ceremony that day (have not seen one of these in many years)

• GENERAL BOARDING

1. Disabled guests with wheelchair escort.
2. Suite guests (regardless of Captain's Circle Member Level) and CC Elite Members.
3. Club/Reserve guests (regardless of Member Level) and CC Platinum Members.
4. Remaining guests.

 

Note the following:

• These groups are only meaningful for guests who arrive and are checked in prior to general boarding of the ship.  Once that begins and the holding areas clear out, everyone else simply walks onto the ship right after check-in procedure.  During this second phase, there should still be a priority check-in line for the groups 1/2/3 listed above.  There is most often not any priority line for the security screening which normally occurs prior to check-in and is the first thing that happens after dropping off any large bags.
• Also, within each group, staff generally hands out boarding cards in letter groups.  So, within Elite/Suite, for example, there will be so many Group A's, Group B's.  They call guests to board by group so the earliest arriving Elites/Suites head on board ahead of those arriving after them.  Generally speaking as things have been reported to go off track at times and in certain ports.

 

 

Normally, the staff are asking or looking to see if arriving guests have priority handling.  Just ask if not sure where you should be.

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Steelers36

[nini]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Nope. Club/Reserve can be a mini-suite.  They used to be grouped with the Platinums.

 

 

My point was that Club Class means a suite... so the Suites are part of priority boarding.

[Yowman]

13 minutes ago, nini said:

 

My point was that Club Class means a suite... so the Suites are part of priority boarding.

 

Not sure what you mean by "Club Class means a suite".  Club Class has a few of the perks of a suite (priority embark/disembark and no wait dining in MDR, for example).  Other than that it's not a suite at all ...

Edited March 22, 2023 by Yowman

[PrincessLuver]

Always interesting how the suggested dress codes for MDR on formal nights, pool chair time, theater seat saving  and other "rules" on Princess must be followed to the letter but boarding times that Princess assigns passengers too are to be ignored.  

 

No wonder Princess often has such a mob like and chaotic boarding process in their passenger terminals.  

[lx200gps]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, there has typically always been a "pecking" order:

 

 

Wedding parties - presumably with ceremony that day (have not seen one of these in many years)

• GENERAL BOARDING

1. Disabled guests with wheelchair escort.
2. Suite guests (regardless of Captain's Circle Member Level) and CC Elite Members.
3. Club/Reserve guests (regardless of Member Level) and CC Platinum Members.
4. Remaining guests.

 

Note the following:

• These groups are only meaningful for guests who arrive and are checked in prior to general boarding of the ship.  Once that begins and the holding areas clear out, everyone else simply walks onto the ship right after check-in procedure.  During this second phase, there should still be a priority check-in line for the groups 1/2/3 listed above.  There is most often not any priority line for the security screening which normally occurs prior to check-in and is the first thing that happens after dropping off any large bags.
• Also, within each group, staff generally hands out boarding cards in letter groups.  So, within Elite/Suite, for example, there will be so many Group A's, Group B's.  They call guests to board by group so the earliest arriving Elites/Suites head on board ahead of those arriving after them.  Generally speaking as things have been reported to go off track at times and in certain ports.

 

 

Normally, the staff are asking or looking to see if arriving guests have priority handling.  Just ask if not sure where you should be.

 

Excellent summary, but aren't you forgetting the B2Bers, who get to (re)board before all of us (and who get a head start in the race upstairs to grab the Sanctuary ;o)

[EDDY0827]

2 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Excellent summary, but aren't you forgetting the B2Bers, who get to (re)board before all of us (and who get a head start in the race upstairs to grab the Sanctuary ;o)

B2Bers have probably made their choices before the last day of their previous cruise.

[Steelers36]

32 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Excellent summary, but aren't you forgetting the B2Bers, who get to (re)board before all of us (and who get a head start in the race upstairs to grab the Sanctuary ;o)

 

28 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

B2Bers have probably made their choices before the last day of their previous cruise.

EDDY is correct.

[Steelers36]

42 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

Always interesting how the suggested dress codes for MDR on formal nights, pool chair time, theater seat saving  and other "rules" on Princess must be followed to the letter but boarding times that Princess assigns passengers too are to be ignored.  

 

No wonder Princess often has such a mob like and chaotic boarding process in their passenger terminals.  

Well, the boarding times are not a rule as you indicate, but a humorous observation.  Thing is, these days I think they have opened up the quantity of guests for the early boarding time slots that there is going to be a large number of people no matter.  It also seems that other lines have lots of early check ins as well.

[trbarton]

45 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

B2Bers have probably made their choices before the last day of their previous cruise.

I agree. 
 

Tom😀

[lx200gps]

3 hours ago, EDDY0827 said:

B2Bers have probably made their choices before the last day of their previous cruise.

Sorry, not following. What choice are you referring to? Boarding time? They have to disembark then re-board the next sailing, which they get to do before the rest of us.

[EDDY0827]

40 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Sorry, not following. What choice are you referring to? Boarding time? They have to disembark then re-board the next sailing, which they get to do before the rest of us.

Sanctuary choices were made by B2B guests before the ship docked the day you board.

[Princessfan20]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Well, the boarding times are not a rule as you indicate, but a humorous observation.  Thing is, these days I think they have opened up the quantity of guests for the early boarding time slots that there is going to be a large number of people no matter.  It also seems that other lines have lots of early check ins as well.

 

It seems there are really no rules on Princess, only the ones passengers make up by taking part of Princess recommendations out of context and making it their own Maritime Law. ie, suggested dress code in MDR on Formal Nights, etc. 😁

[SiliconCruiser]

4 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

It seems there are really no rules on Princess, only the ones passengers make up by taking part of Princess recommendations out of context and making it their own Maritime Law. ie, suggested dress code in MDR on Formal Nights, etc. 😁

Using powers of observation and taking a few Princess cruises led me to the decision to leave my tuxedo at home.  Took a suit on one cruise and realized that I was still overdressed.  So now I'll take polo shirts and maybe a dress shirt or two for formal nights.  I'll throw in a tie since it doesn't weigh much, and may actually use it once or twice.  For long cruises, I might throw in a blazer or just a vest.  Oh yeah, dress jeans too! 😂

[nini]

10 hours ago, Yowman said:

 

Not sure what you mean by "Club Class means a suite".  Club Class has a few of the perks of a suite (priority embark/disembark and no wait dining in MDR, for example).  Other than that it's not a suite at all ...

 Club Class is only available for those with Suites or Mini-Suites, therefore those passengers can board when suite customers board, regardless of status.

[caribill]

As far as assigned or selected boarding times:

 

Pre-pandemic it was basically suggestions to evenly spread out the number of people checking in.

 

When cruising resumed after the pandemic, the purpose was to minimize the number of people in the terminal at one time to reduce the chance of spreading Covid.

 

Pre-pandemic, when it was assigned it was by deck your cabin was on. Several flaws with this method:

People with late assigned check-in times might have had early flight arrival times. People with early assigned times might arrive after their assigned times. Also, a traveling party might have cabins on different decks with assigned boarding times being hours apart.

 

Post shutdown, at least people could choose when to check-in based on when they expected to reach the port (subject to time slots being available).

 

Both pre-pandemic and after the restart the boarding times have not been enforced except in very limited circumstances.

[caribill]

And as far as priority disembarkation at the end of the cruise.

 

In effect, 100% of the passengers can select what group time to disembark.

 

Yes, Princess will send luggage tags with associated disembarkation times to everyone. But anyone can go to the passenger services desk and exchange for a time they prefer. Even a first time cruiser in the lest expensive inside cabin.

 

(Of course those with booked tours or flights will have had an appropriate time assigned in the first place.)

 

And as far as the disembarkation lounge for Platinum, Elite and Suite passengers, it has little meaning on the many voyages where over half the passengers have that status. It is often a much better experience to wait elsewhere where it is not crowded.

[wowzz]

9 hours ago, lx200gps said:

They have to disembark then re-board the next sailing,

That is not always the case. Certainly in Europe there is no need for b2b passengers to get off the ship.

[SiliconCruiser]

On 3/22/2023 at 7:33 AM, coo359a2 said:

Guess Fort Lauderdale is one of a few ports that have separate areas. Will find out about Southampton in June and San Francisco in September if we get there before boarding starts

San Francisco has a combined Platinum/Elite waiting area and they start boarding as a group after the ADA passengers.

 

[rbtan]

On 3/21/2023 at 12:13 PM, CruiseCritic911 said:

Hi all,  quick question on boarding.  We booked a cruise on the Ruby very short notice and could only get a very late boarding time, so I know my chances of getting Sanctuary chairs is not good, but I am platinum , I have never used priority boarding because we are normally group A.  When I read the benefits it says "priority" boarding, but what does that really mean?  Can we come earlier and board before our scheduled time?  I now that is not cool and we never do that in order to respect the process, but if that is really a benefit of loyalty I am willing to try and grab those soft chairs all week.  I also remember people saying that some of the boarding had changed so I wanted to check with the experts here.  🙂

Thanks

Amy

 

If you are Elite(not sure about Platinum) If it says Platinum USE IT!! There is NO real reason to the times.

[wannagonow123]

Last time we were in Ft Lauderdale, the Elite/Suite/Platinum line was really long. We brought along 2 new Princess folks with us. No line for them. They were on the ship before we finished security check. We tried to go in with them and were told no. 

 

Go figure.

[jagoffee]

On 3/22/2023 at 8:04 PM, nini said:

 Club Class is only available for those with Suites or Mini-Suites, therefore those passengers can board when suite customers board, regardless of status.

It is possible that you have this backwards?  Club Dining ( Reserve) is Club Class Dining  and those staying in a suite are allowed to dine in the Club Class Dining,  the area was not created for Suites.  It was created to value to some mini suites, so Princess can charge a premium. (Premium locations as well)
 

I only have one recent experience  with a January boarding in San Pedro.  There was a special check in for Elites and Full Suite guests and a special waiting area with refreshments.  We were given a Boarding card with a letter on it.  We waited until boarding started and then we immediately boarded.  
Our friends were in a Club Class mini suite and they boarded from a different area.  I am not really sure where the Platinum level people waited and boarded.  
 

I am far from an expert, but just because something say priority that does not necessarily mean  everyone has the number one priority.  I believe that statement relates to priority over general boarding.

 

For disembarkation the full suites waiting in Crooners.

 

We were on the Emerald.  What ship were you on with the Club Class mini suite?