Denial of Priority Boarding for Club Orange

[*Miss G*]

2 minutes ago, sciencewonk said:

This was my experience in San Diego, also.  We had priority boarding (Neptune Suite) but had to wait in the hot sun for over an hour because they wouldn't let us board until our assigned time.  I suspect this issue is port-specific.

 

I had read where priority passengers bypassed the line and went directly inside.  CC’s search engine is pretty bad so I apologize for not providing a link.  If I recall correctly, there were also instances where priority passengers were kicked back to the end of the line.  It seems to have been hit and miss.  In any event, the above situation is completely unacceptable.  My embarkation at San Diego is pre-covid so I don’t have recent experience.

[YourWorldWithBill]

9 hours ago, FlorenceItaly said:

In regards to Club Orange, I sail on May 12 and my boarding pass still says to be assigned.

Perhaps it is still a bit early?

I sail on May 17, and my boarding pass says that a bar code will be assigned two weeks before embarkation. I guess we'll see if the boarding time is included at that time.

[mcrcruiser]

Should there be a denial for priority boarding why not ask for a partial refund of the club Orange Fee as one of the perks was denied .It is the job of the cruise line to see this does not happen 

[cruising sister]

My boarding time showed up in the middle of the night. It is for 1:00. It says Group A whatever that means and it also has priority on the boarding pass. I am a little leary of showing up before 1:00 if Barcelona port crew does not know what Club orange is. Does anyone know what time boarding starts in Barcelona?

[gigianne]

We have never had CO, but are 5 star.  We will be boring in Amsterdam in the fall and for the cruise we will have CO so it will be interesting to see what happens.  A lot of the problems IMO are the passengers who sometimes ignore the check in times on the boarding passes and want to get on the ship as fast as possible. BTW, the worst boarding for us has been in San Diego and Auckland, even being in a NS did not help us.

[3rdGenCunarder]

19 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

My boarding time showed up in the middle of the night. It is for 1:00. It says Group A whatever that means and it also has priority on the boarding pass. I am a little leary of showing up before 1:00 if Barcelona port crew does not know what Club orange is. Does anyone know what time boarding starts in Barcelona?

 

What time does the ship sail? I would expect Group A to be the first to check in. Have you tried the port of call board to ask how strict Barcelona is about assigned times? 

[kazu]

21 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

My boarding time showed up in the middle of the night. It is for 1:00. It says Group A whatever that means and it also has priority on the boarding pass. I am a little leary of showing up before 1:00 if Barcelona port crew does not know what Club orange is. Does anyone know what time boarding starts in Barcelona?

 

You’re in the first group.  That’s as early as it gets 😉 

 

Boarding used to be earlier but since covid, more time is needed for sanitization, etc.

[cruising sister]

2 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

You’re in the first group.  That’s as early as it gets 😉 

 

Boarding used to be earlier but since covid, more time is needed for sanitization, etc.

Thanks for the info. 

[mcrcruiser]

14 minutes ago, gigianne said:

We have never had CO, but are 5 star.  We will be boring in Amsterdam in the fall and for the cruise we will have CO so it will be interesting to see what happens.  A lot of the problems IMO are the passengers who sometimes ignore the check in times on the boarding passes and want to get on the ship as fast as possible. BTW, the worst boarding for us has been in San Diego and Auckland, even being in a NS did not help us.

What happened in San  Diego ?

 

We live here & never had any problems with HAL's boarding times .However,that does not mean that there can not be a problem 

[Sea42]

OK, I'm confused. I thought that the CO priority boarding meant that when we show up at our assigned time we use the priority line. I did not think it meant that we show up whenever we want. Can someone clarify this for me?

Thanks!

[Ferry_Watcher]

16 hours ago, Coolcruise02 said:

To me if they have a HAL uniform on and a HAL name badge they are representing HAL and should be trained by them. I'm not going to argue about who hires or pays them. 

 

We embarked at San Diego and it was a mess!! HAL loyalist tried to blame port employees. I don't care who pays them, but if they are representing HAL they should be trained properly by HAL. They should know who has priority and who doesn't and how to handle each group. Especially, in a situation where people are standing in the sun for 2+ hours! (based on the time HAL assigned us)

 The two most difficult cruise line passengers groups that pier side employees deal with are:

 

Carnival - and that is really just the 10 - 15% who exhibit lowbrow behavior;  

 

HAL - some passengers are very haughty and vocal about their status, and act entitled;

Upwards of 80% of passengers on any given cruise can be 4 or 5 star Mariners, so basically the concept of priority is moot because everyone is basically has it.  To be fair, there are many warm, easy going 4* & 5* Mariners who are just chill and are a delight.  Thank you to those folks!

[OlsSalt]

Important to distinguish between the two lines embarking passengers face: (1)  security lines and (2) actual ship embarkation/registration line. There is no priority for the security lines, and if one is sharing the port with another ship they can be horrendous.

 

San Diego, from my own experience provided good examples twice for long back ups when several ships were in, just to get through security.  Or forced to use their new and very badly designed second terminal. Again, just to get in the door.   One's priority status is meaningless at this point and of no value for the port personnel directing passengers to the security check ins

 

Then once inside the terminal, only then does one triage into various priority ship embarkation lines.  That is where there does need to be higher awareness by the staff of the day about each cruise line's boarding priorities, if they are not made obvious through signage. 

 

I wonder if there is some confusion in the various reports between these two different "embarkation" lines. I know I was unhappy when I had to face my first non-prioritized security check in line, assuming I would get my earned priority status free ticket. But no, back into the long line and nothing to do but wait it out.

[oaktreerb]

16 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I had read where priority passengers bypassed the line and went directly inside.  CC’s search engine is pretty bad so I apologize for not providing a link.  If I recall correctly, there were also instances where priority passengers were kicked back to the end of the line.  It seems to have been hit and miss.  In any event, the above situation is completely unacceptable.  My embarkation at San Diego is pre-covid so I don’t have recent experience.

We are 4* and I reported that in San Diego we were ushered into the terminal (vs standing outside in the sun.). At the end of the check in line there was a split for priority boarding.  Once through that if you are 4* you should ask if the ship has begun boarding.  If so, go ahead and board.  If you have been assigned a boarding time and you are told to sit in a particular area, don’t argue the point, just go to boarding or find another worker who knows about 4* boarding if you need directions.  

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Sea42 said:

OK, I'm confused. I thought that the CO priority boarding meant that when we show up at our assigned time we use the priority line. I did not think it meant that we show up whenever we want. Can someone clarify this for me?

Thanks!

 

Correct.  Those in CO have assigned times (usually the first or second one) and are supposed to show up at their times they have been given.

[cruising sister]

My experience is limited to two times I had priority boarding on other cruise lines and I could show up when I wanted. I was in suites those two times so that may be different. 

[Sea42]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

Correct.  Those in CO have assigned times (usually the first or second one) and are supposed to show up at their times they have been given.

Thanks, Jacqui, I know I can count on you to give me the correct information.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Important to distinguish between the two lines embarking passengers face: (1)  security lines and (2) actual ship embarkation/registration line. There is no priority for the security lines, and if one is sharing the port with another ship they can be horrendous.

 

San Diego, from my own experience provided good examples twice for long back ups when several ships were in, just to get through security.  Or forced to use their new and very badly designed second terminal. Again, just to get in the door.   One's priority status is meaningless at this point and of no value for the port personnel directing passengers to the security check ins

 

Then once inside the terminal, only then does one triage into various priority ship embarkation lines.  That is where there does need to be higher awareness by the staff of the day about each cruise line's boarding priorities, if they are not made obvious through signage. 

 

I wonder if there is some confusion in the various reports between these two different "embarkation" lines. I know I was unhappy when I had to face my first non-prioritized security check in line, assuming I would get my earned priority status free ticket. But no, back into the long line and nothing to do but wait it out.

 

A long time ago, in NYC security was after check-in and priority mattered from the beginning. But now, security always seems to happen first. And I've never seen priority lines for security when it's the first step. The good thing about FLL is each ship gets its own terminal, so there's no sharing of security lines. Vancouver can be awful if ships are sharing.

 

In FLL this winter, I checked in around 11:20, and the non-priority waiting area was full (despite being 4-star, I was group C with a check-in time of 11:40). After I checked in, I went to the woman who was handing out boarding cards. She held out number 19, and I told her I was priority, and showed her the boarding pass. I got a priority card and was sent upstairs. Even at that early hour, I was priority group 2. It didn't matter because all the priority people ahead of me had just boarded. So if you are supposed to get priority embarkation and don't get it, ask. 

[YourWorldWithBill]

3 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Vancouver can be awful if ships are sharing.

That was certainly our experience in Vancouver! Amazing long lines to get through security, and after that another long wait while they finished getting the ship ready.

[Coolcruise02]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

A long time ago, in NYC security was after check-in and priority mattered from the beginning. But now, security always seems to happen first. And I've never seen priority lines for security when it's the first step. 

Not In San Diego!

[FlorenceItaly]

I received my boarding pass for May 12 cruise from Port Everglades.  It states Group B, 11:20am.  No priority or reference to Club Orange anywhere.  And, no orange stripe on luggage tag.  I am carrying my booking confirmation along that shows Club Orange.  I have a feeling I will be making a trip to Guest Relations upon arrival unless I am pleasantly surprised and my seapass card reflects CO.

[cruising sister]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I received my boarding pass for May 12 cruise from Port Everglades.  It states Group B, 11:20am.  No priority or reference to Club Orange anywhere.  And, no orange stripe on luggage tag.  I am carrying my booking confirmation along that shows Club Orange.  I have a feeling I will be making a trip to Guest Relations upon arrival unless I am pleasantly surprised and my seapass card reflects CO.

Does your invoice say you purchased Club Orange? I would worry that something went wrong. 

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, cruising sister said:

Does your invoice say you purchased Club Orange? I would worry that something went wrong. 

Yes, under Special Services on my Booking Confirmation it says Club Orange Pass.  Since posting, I sent my PCC an email.  I said my boarding pass should say priority and it does not.  I also mentioned I will not be given priority line privileges in Port Everglades if it does not say this.  Like you, I do worry something went wrong.  In fact, a few weeks ago I asked for her to confirm my reservation is marked Club Orange and she says it is.  But, now receiving my boarding pass and no priority it is causing me to wonder again!  Thank you for your input.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I received my boarding pass for May 12 cruise from Port Everglades.  It states Group B, 11:20am.  No priority or reference to Club Orange anywhere.  And, no orange stripe on luggage tag.  I am carrying my booking confirmation along that shows Club Orange.  I have a feeling I will be making a trip to Guest Relations upon arrival unless I am pleasantly surprised and my seapass card reflects CO.

 

Your luggage tag won’t have anything special on it but your boarding pass should show priority on the banner strip at the top.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I received my boarding pass for May 12 cruise from Port Everglades.  It states Group B, 11:20am.  No priority or reference to Club Orange anywhere.  And, no orange stripe on luggage tag.  I am carrying my booking confirmation along that shows Club Orange.  I have a feeling I will be making a trip to Guest Relations upon arrival unless I am pleasantly surprised and my seapass card reflects CO.

I don’t recall seeing any of that either for my cruise in November 2022.  As long as your “invoice” says that I wouldn’t worry.  

[richwmn]

On 4/23/2023 at 6:23 PM, oaktreerb said:

Once through that if you are 4* you should ask if the ship has begun boarding.  If so, go ahead and board.  If you have been assigned a boarding time and you are told to sit in a particular area, don’t argue the point, just go to boarding or find another worker who knows about 4* boarding if you need directions.  

On a similar note, on Dec 27th in FLL I had a turnaround day. I had an errand to run so I left the ship. When I returned and showed my 'In Transit' pass I was directed to go to the escalator to wait for a few minutes until boarding started. When I got to the escalator, the person there said that I had to wait downstairs. That person wouldn't budge until I showed them my cabin card showing 5* priority. Only then was I allowed up stairs.