Strict arrival times

[Windsurfboy]

2 minutes ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

P&O have smaller ships.

 

Protocols are designed for bigger ships which is where the problems occur.  Yes they could theoretically have different procedures for each ship. However think of confusion, people arrive early and say we were allowed to come early on Aurora . Better to have one rule , come on time. 

[DamianG]

Interestingly my mum and sister have been advised that the departure time for their coach down to Southampton for our forthcoming Arvia cruise will leave Leeds at 7:45am. We've never known anything other than the coaches always leaving at 6:30am so we're now wondering if this is to assist with staggering boarding times as well.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

Security is the bottleneck, with 10 scanners in ocean , far less in Mayfair. 

 

P&O operates by far the biggest ships in Southampton. That is why they need strictest rules.  With a full mega ship terminal have to process people through security in under 30 seconds a person continuously .  This is right at the limit. It only works with a steady flow and has no spare capacity for early people.

 

If people want to be able to turn up early and wait in terminal , then choose a cruise line with smaller ships. 

 

P&O problems are all due to size of ships and terminals which we're designed for 3000 not 6000. P&O can speed up check in, which they have. Security is laid down by authorities,  so unless they can find room for more scanners, there is no room for unscheduled arrivals

Only since Iona and Arvia have P&O had the biggest ships at Southampton, MSC and RCI both ships of almost 5000 capacity and they manage embarkation far better than P&O. That is my main complaint, holiday companies should be 100% customer focused  and asking people to queue because they cannot manage a simple task is very unsatisfactory IMO.

 

 

[Windsurfboy]

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Only since Iona and Arvia have P&O had the biggest ships at Southampton, MSC and RCI both ships of almost 5000 capacity and they manage embarkation far better than P&O. That is my main complaint, holiday companies should be 100% customer focused  and asking people to queue because they cannot manage a simple task is very unsatisfactory IMO.

 

 

 

How do these companies manage to process more than the 1500 people an hour through security (less than 30 seconds per person) .

 

If they can't do this then , like P&O they will need to ensure a steady flow of arrivals, at no more than 1500 per hour. If the amount of people arriving exceeds ability to process through security instant overcrowding. 

 

It's security not check in that's the bottleneck. 

 

Please let us all know exactly what they do to achieve this.

[terrierjohn]

28 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

How do these companies manage to process more than the 1500 people an hour through security (less than 30 seconds per person) .

 

If they can't do this then , like P&O they will need to ensure a steady flow of arrivals, at no more than 1500 per hour. If the amount of people arriving exceeds ability to process through security instant overcrowding. 

 

It's security not check in that's the bottleneck. 

 

Please let us all know exactly what they do to achieve this.

I have no idea how they do it, but they do, in which case maybe a P&O senior manager should wander over to their terminals and seek some help and advice on how to run a fast and efficient embarkation.

[Windsurfboy]

47 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I have no idea how they do it, but they do, in which case maybe a P&O senior manager should wander over to their terminals and seek some help and advice on how to run a fast and efficient embarkation.

 

What was your experience 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Only since Iona and Arvia have P&O had the biggest ships at Southampton, MSC and RCI both ships of almost 5000 capacity and they manage embarkation far better than P&O. That is my main complaint, holiday companies should be 100% customer focused  and asking people to queue because they cannot manage a simple task is very unsatisfactory IMO.

 

 

If they can't cope ,that is not the customers fault. It seems the security scans are the problem. Perhaps they should build more. RCI seemed much more efficient with Anthem. Sometimes P&O do seem to treat paying customers as an Inconvenience.

 

[david63]

3 minutes ago, zap99 said:

It seems the security scans are the problem. Perhaps they should build more.

And that is where it becomes interesting. Who is responsible for the scanners - is it the cruise line(s) or ABP? As far as I am aware the terminals are owned and operated by ABP (not sure about Ocean Terminal as I believe that when it was originally built there was some arrangement with Carnival).

 

P&O/Carnival have to some extent backed themselves into a corner by "putting all their eggs in one basket" and are reliant on using Southampton, and no doubt ABP know that, so there is no real incentive for ABP to do anything. Also with the current financial situation of the cruise lines I would guess that they would be somewhat reluctant to finance such an expansion (it could involve extending the terminal(s)).

 

As I have said before the infrastructure at Southampton is not fit for modern day cruising and this has been known about for at least five years to my knowledge. You only have to look at the likes of somewhere like Barcelona to see what can be done.

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

How do these companies manage to process more than the 1500 people an hour through security (less than 30 seconds per person) .

 

If they can't do this then , like P&O they will need to ensure a steady flow of arrivals, at no more than 1500 per hour. If the amount of people arriving exceeds ability to process through security instant overcrowding. 

 

It's security not check in that's the bottleneck. 

 

Please let us all know exactly what they do to achieve this.

They start check in much earlier for one thing. MSC start check in from 10am and celebrity from around 10.30am. 

 

Choosing your boarding time will also help with congestion and general customer satisfaction. While most people will choose to be earlier I suppose if someone is coming in on the 1 pm train / coach then they don’t need the 10.30 am slot. P&O give early slots to those who will never be there at that time if on a coach and late slots to those who would which is causing annoyance for no good purpose.

 

There are also more security gates and someone managing the queues to ensure that people don’t dither at the last minute removing jackets belts etc..  That is one of my pet annoyances, people waiting until they are at the security belt before sorting out belts, watches, IT etc and then slowly dithering while they do it. 
 

 

 

[terrierjohn]

21 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

What was your experience 

My experience on RCI and Celebrity was exactly as I have explained, they start boarding earlier than P&O, normally 11:00am or a bit earlier if they have finished disembarkation. Both allow you to choose your time of arrival, and we have never had our early request declined.  What is different is that at City terminal security is done first, there is generally a queue here, but it seems to run quite smoothly and once into the check in lounge the check in process seems much slicker than P&Os. It is some time since we last cruised with RCI, 2019 pre covid, but we usually found that we were on board in 15 to 20 minutes from parking our car.

[Eglesbrech]

6 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

My experience on RCI and Celebrity was exactly as I have explained, they start boarding earlier than P&O, normally 11:00am or a bit earlier if they have finished disembarkation. Both allow you to choose your time of arrival, and we have never had our early request declined.  What is different is that at City terminal security is done first, there is generally a queue here, but it seems to run quite smoothly and once into the check in lounge the check in process seems much slicker than P&Os. It is some time since we last cruised with RCI, 2019 pre covid, but we usually found that we were on board in 15 to 20 minutes from parking our car.

Same here John. I just don’t understand why P&O are so slow by comparison.

[AndyMichelle]

The system seems to be working fine, if you arrive on time... 

I don't recall anybody arriving on time reporting having to queue much? 

It is a worry though if you get a late boarding time like we did, being too aware of how Southampton can come to a standstill without any notice. 

As said before, we planned to drop our bags off and go for lunch, but was luckily waved through as it was really quiet. 

I'm sure many in the queue are now aware of the rules, but are happy to wait outside with no worries of being stuck in traffic and if they do get called early, great. 

Of course for the early arrivers they would like to wait inside, but if they are aware and still turn up early, it's their choice. 

Andy 

 

[Eglesbrech]

5 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

The system seems to be working fine, if you arrive on time... 

I don't recall anybody arriving on time reporting having to queue much? 

It is a worry though if you get a late boarding time like we did, being too aware of how Southampton can come to a standstill without any notice. 

As said before, we planned to drop our bags off and go for lunch, but was luckily waved through as it was really quiet. 

I'm sure many in the queue are now aware of the rules, but are happy to wait outside with no worries of being stuck in traffic and if they do get called early, great. 

Of course for the early arrivers they would like to wait inside, but if they are aware and still turn up early, it's their choice. 

Andy 

 

Andy, I turn up when I am told to as I am a rule follower by nature. As I mentioned before I have spent many a happy hour in the Dancing Man waiting for my check in time.

 

My contention is that it could be better. Customers don’t like 3.30pm and 4 pm check ins so why annoy them when it could be improved with a little effort and planning as others lines manage to do. You only have to read through the comments on here to see that many don’t like the current timings.

 

Improving the customer journey is never a bad thing surely?

 

 

[lindylooellalouise]

We have cruised with MSC about half a dozen times and when we’ve arrived a little early or late or on time we have just entered the terminal and been waved up to check in decks then through security to board the ship never had the  horrendous experience we had in June on Arcadia, we have also cruised many times with Cunard and have not had any problems if arrived a little early or late due to traffic issues.

[AndyMichelle]

27 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Andy, I turn up when I am told to as I am a rule follower by nature. As I mentioned before I have spent many a happy hour in the Dancing Man waiting for my check in time.

 

My contention is that it could be better. Customers don’t like 3.30pm and 4 pm check ins so why annoy them when it could be improved with a little effort and planning as others lines manage to do. You only have to read through the comments on here to see that many don’t like the current timings.

 

Improving the customer journey is never a bad thing surely?

 

 

Not a bad thing at all. 

I didn't like the 3.15 time we were given, but that's what we were given, so adapted it to suit us and fortunately, got lucky. 

It's their call, if we don't like it and it doesn't change, we can all go to these magical places that do it better. 

Andy 

[Eglesbrech]

Just now, AndyMichelle said:

Not a bad thing at all. 

I didn't like the 3.15 time we were given, but that's what we were given, so adapted it to suit us and fortunately, got lucky. 

It's their call, if we don't like it and it doesn't change, we can all go to these magical places that do it better. 

Andy 

And some will indeed do that. And it’s not magic, just good logistics.

[Cathygh]

4 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Security is the bottleneck, with 10 scanners in ocean , far less in Mayfair. 

 

P&O operates by far the biggest ships in Southampton. That is why they need strictest rules.  With a full mega ship terminal have to process people through security in under 30 seconds a person continuously .  This is right at the limit. It only works with a steady flow and has no spare capacity for early people.

 

If people want to be able to turn up early and wait in terminal , then choose a cruise line with smaller ships. 

 

P&O problems are all due to size of ships and terminals which we're designed for 3000 not 6000. P&O can speed up check in, which they have. Security is laid down by authorities,  so unless they can find room for more scanners, there is no room for unscheduled arrivals

I can only state that from my own experience of boarding Iona with 5700 passengers also boarding that security was not a bottleneck. The only thing that slowed me down was my DH taking off his belt and lace up shoes and putting them back on again. I am going to buy him elasticated trousers and slip on shoes🤣🤣 

[Cathygh]

20 minutes ago, lindylooellalouise said:

We have cruised with MSC about half a dozen times and when we’ve arrived a little early or late or on time we have just entered the terminal and been waved up to check in decks then through security to board the ship never had the  horrendous experience we had in June on Arcadia, we have also cruised many times with Cunard and have not had any problems if arrived a little early or late due to traffic issues.

Yes MSC  have boarding from 10 am till 4pm and passengers from the previous cruise can on board till noon. I now see I am repeating myself as I'm sure I've said the same on this thread before. 😪

[Windsurfboy]

So it seems the difference

 

A) have the big bottleneck security first. So if people arrive early and there is no queue at security let them through.  Makes sense.

 

I wonder why some terminals have check in first some security first.

 

For P&O to change will ideally need physical layout.

 

Or might just need an electronic board indicating numbers waiting for security.  If a queue early arrivals wait if no queue at security let them through 

 

B) start earlier,  If ships start boarding earlier  does this mean earlier disembarkation,  whether you like it or not

Edited July 14, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[lindylooellalouise]

2 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

Yes MSC  have boarding from 10 am till 4pm and passengers from the previous cruise can on board till noon. I now see I am repeating myself as I'm sure I've said the same on this thread before. 😪

It makes for one of the easiest boardings  we’ve ever had,totally stress free😁

[Cathygh]

1 minute ago, lindylooellalouise said:

It makes for one of the easiest boardings  we’ve ever had,totally stress free😁

Yes it was and no rush to get off the ship although we had to leave the cabin at 7.30. 

[Windsurfboy]

What happens if everyone turns up a 10am

[Megabear2]

20 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Not a bad thing at all. 

I didn't like the 3.15 time we were given, but that's what we were given, so adapted it to suit us and fortunately, got lucky. 

It's their call, if we don't like it and it doesn't change, we can all go to these magical places that do it better. 

Andy 

I was given 4.00pm last boarding at 4.30.  On arrival at 3.20pm (the only time my lift could drop me off) there were still queues outside and even a coach delivering passengers.  I had special boarding for health reasons but still went to sit downstairs in the terminal until my 4.00pm time was called.  There were still a considerable number outside but once up the escalator it was one of the quickest check ins I've ever had with P&O and we did sail on time.

 

Everyone can't be first on no matter how much I'd like to have been.  A week before my Arvia cruise I'd boarded QM2 as a Diamond priority passenger at noon, I can't say truthfully my experience was any different except one was early and one was late -  the time going through check in and security to being onboard was more or less identical.

 

 

[9265359]

19 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

It's so P&O can keep terminal free for those who turn up at right time.

As there was nobody at all sat in the terminal when I was allowed in and only four people in front of me in the queue for security, then they are certainly keeping the terminal empty. 
 

As for those forced to stand outside - keep up with the beatings until morale improves, or more likely people choose a different way to holiday where the company they have paid thousands doesn’t treat them in that way. 

[Windsurfboy]

I presume the latest P&O check in,  which is  mainly done on-line is similiar or identical to Cunard. Present passports, boarding passes stamped all over in under a minute.  Can't see how it can get faster.  AI and facial recognition ?