Boarding Times P & O Pacific Encounter Fremantle

[Cybella1]

Good morning all

 

This question is for all past and present P & O Pacific Encounter passengers departing from Fremantle who have done a short 3 or 4 day cruise.

 

We are new to P & O but not new to cruising. Our boarding time is 6.30 pm in the evening and we are curious to see if other people are boarding around lunch time as this seems to be a very late boarding.

 

Can past passengers verify what time boarding times start as we will miss lunch all together and most of the day boarding at such a late time. We also are concerned as we want to book other restaurants on board and are worried these will all be gone by the time we get on board.

 

This would not concern us if the cruise was longer but paying so much for this cruise we feel a little robbed that the boarding time is so late.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Cybella1

[ceeceeDee]

Do you mean Pacific Explorer? I'm willing to stand corrected but I didn't think Encounter sailed from Freemantle.

 

 

[Cybella1]

My bad, yes, you are correct, it's the Explorer, I am unable to change or delete the post.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Cybella1

[ceeceeDee]

No problem. I hope someone can help you with your query. It does seem to be a very late boarding time, but it is obviously a late departure time also so perhaps the earliest boarding time is not that much earlier than yours. If you log into P&O cruise control and 'manage booking' there should be an area where you can choose boarding time. That will give you a list of all boarding times (even if those boarding times are no longer available) so you will be able to see what the earliest boarding time was.

[Zetta83]

There is a difference between boarding and sailaway times. Usually, boarding starts at 12 and ends at 3pm. For the sailaway, it maybe 4pm or later. For my next ride on the Adventure, sailaway is 8.30pm, but board is from 12pm. 

 

Unsure if it is due to tides plus other public transportation peaks. But as long as I get on board, the sailway time does not bother me.

[ceeceeDee]

Yes, I guess sail away does depend on the tides and related factors. Sailing out of Brisbane, the average departure time is 4pm (or it has been on our last three cruises) with the earliest boarding being midday

[Cybella1]

[Cybella1]

As you can see these are the only times I can choose from. The ship sails at 9.00 pm. I just want to know from other travellers who have sailed from Fremantle or are doing this cruise on 5 May what boarding times they have received. In all my 25 years of cruising I have never had such a late boarding and considering this is a 3 night cruise, my first day is almost gone by the time I board.

 

People who have cruised from Fremantle? Have you ever boarded earlier than your assigned time?

[Zetta83]

Did some digging and it seems the last voyage X322N arrives at 12pm after disembarkment plus clean up, boarding can start at 5.30pm? Your cruise X323 departs at 9pm and arrives at 7am on , 8th of May. Yes, it does seems like you lost 5hours onboard on embarkment day.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Zetta83

[Cybella1]

Thanks Zetta83 for the information, that is very helpful. Looks like next time I book something like this, I will make sure I don't get caught out again. For the price I paid, I would have expected better than this but you live and learn and I have certainly learned from this exercise. If the cruise had been cheaper, I would not have thought anything of it, but having paid top dollar, it is very disappointing to find out it is not really a 3 day cruise at all.

 

Thanks to all who commented, much appreciated.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Cybella1

[saraliz]

Hi Cybella1,

 

We recently got off a "5 day" (but really 4 full days) Pacific Explorer cruise that had a 9pm sail time; our boarding time was 6pm.  We decided to try to arrive early - due to hiccups with our taxi, we got to the Passenger Terminal around 5.45pm and boarded straight away.  I think we would've been able to board as soon as boarding started (5.30pm) if we had been there at the time.  I'd definitely suggest arriving earlier than your boarding time in Fremantle.

 

Both the Waterfront restaurant and the Pantry (buffet) were open for dinner when we boarded.  We took advantage and ate at the Waterfront which was fairly quiet.

 

I agree with you around the disappointment when you realise your cruise is actually one day less than you were thinking due to the late boarding!

[Cybella1]

9 hours ago, saraliz said:

Hi Cybella1,

 

We recently got off a "5 day" (but really 4 full days) Pacific Explorer cruise that had a 9pm sail time; our boarding time was 6pm.  We decided to try to arrive early - due to hiccups with our taxi, we got to the Passenger Terminal around 5.45pm and boarded straight away.  I think we would've been able to board as soon as boarding started (5.30pm) if we had been there at the time.  I'd definitely suggest arriving earlier than your boarding time in Fremantle.

 

Both the Waterfront restaurant and the Pantry (buffet) were open for dinner when we boarded.  We took advantage and ate at the Waterfront which was fairly quiet.

 

I agree with you around the disappointment when you realise your cruise is actually one day less than you were thinking due to the late boarding!

 

9 hours ago, saraliz said:

Hi Cybella1,

 

We recently got off a "5 day" (but really 4 full days) Pacific Explorer cruise that had a 9pm sail time; our boarding time was 6pm.  We decided to try to arrive early - due to hiccups with our taxi, we got to the Passenger Terminal around 5.45pm and boarded straight away.  I think we would've been able to board as soon as boarding started (5.30pm) if we had been there at the time.  I'd definitely suggest arriving earlier than your boarding time in Fremantle.

 

Both the Waterfront restaurant and the Pantry (buffet) were open for dinner when we boarded.  We took advantage and ate at the Waterfront which was fairly quiet.

 

I agree with you around the disappointment when you realise your cruise is actually one day less than you were thinking due to the late boarding!

Thanks Saraliz for your account from your recent cruise on the Pacific Explorer.

 

I can see now that my cruise is not the only one experiencing this type of delay in boarding.

 

I only wish the cruiselines would be more transparent when advertising these cruises. Instead of advertising this as a 3 day cruise it should have read 2 day/3 night cruise and then people are aware of this when they book. It is usually too late when we have already paid and then we discover when choosing boarding times closer to sailing that the cruise is shorter than what was advertised. This is of particular concern for shorter cruises eg. 2 to 5 day cruises where it really makes a difference.

 

I know these are first world problems and there are bigger fish to fry, but surely cruiselines need to open and transparent about this at the time of booking. Putting in a departure time of 9.00 pm does not indicate that boarding times will be in the evening.

[Zetta83]

Data point: 

V329 - Arrival 6.30am (usual)

V330 - Boarding 2.00pm (first boarding - 2 hours later then usual)

         - Departure 8.15pm (reasons unknown - 4.25 hours later then usual)

        - Arrival 6.30am (usual)

V331 - Departure 4 pm (usual)

 

I will be on V330, so no sunset views out of the bay and 2 hours lesser onboard (no biggie). My slight issue would be 2 extra hours of waiting since my hotel check out time is 9am.