Cruise Parking - Iona

[cruising.mark.uk]

8 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Firstly, allowing people into the terminal and out of the weather to sit down and wait costs nothing.

 

 

It also costs nothing for passengers to arrive at the time they are told to.  If they choose not to do that, they may have to wait outside so as not to delay / inconvenience passengers who turned up at the correct time.  That sounds fair to me.

[Bin man]

Don't they use the seating at all for passensaygers? Surely they open checkin say 12.00 those people if they wish can enter and wait till they are called then the next checkin enter on a hourly basis before checkin time to allow flow or is that to hard to do .We are lucky and have early checkin  

 

[9265359]

1 minute ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

It also costs nothing for passengers to arrive at the time they are told to. 

 

Yes it does if a passenger is arriving by train as the boarding time is not provided until close to the departure date.

 

Either the passenger waits until they receive details of the boarding time to book their train tickets or they book the cheaper advance tickets and risk being made to stand on the naughty step for arriving too early.

[9265359]

3 minutes ago, Bin man said:

Don't they use the seating at all for passensaygers?

 

No. The seating is being kept completely unused.

 

4 minutes ago, Bin man said:

Surely they open checkin say 12.00 those people if they wish can enter and wait till they are called then the next checkin enter on a hourly basis before checkin time to allow flow or is that to hard to do .

 

No. They are only allowing people in to go straight to the queue for the check-in desks, nobody is sitting down and those who could sit down and wait are being made to stand outside whatever the weather.

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 minute ago, 9265359 said:

 

Yes it does if a passenger is arriving by train as the boarding time is not provided until close to the departure date.

 

Either the passenger waits until they receive details of the boarding time to book their train tickets or they book the cheaper advance tickets and risk being made to stand on the naughty step for arriving too early.

... Or if they find their train arrives hours in advance of their boarding time, they get their luggage to the terminal and hand it in before leaving to experience the many attractions of Southampton before returning to the terminal at the time they were allocated.

[9265359]

Just now, cruising.mark.uk said:

... Or if they find their train arrives hours in advance of their boarding time, they get their luggage to the terminal and hand it in before leaving to experience the many attractions of Southampton before returning to the terminal at the time they were allocated.

 

I didn't know there were free taxis in Southampton to take people away from the terminal and into town and then back again - could you tell me the phone number of the firm so I can book one next time I am there.

[purplesea]

We arrived on time and still had to join the naughty queue😒

[AndyMichelle]

6 minutes ago, purplesea said:

We arrived on time and still had to join the naughty queue😒

That's not fair. 

You do seem to be the exception though. 

Most report that arriving up to about half hour before get called straight in. 

Andy 

[9265359]

19 minutes ago, purplesea said:

We arrived on time and still had to join the naughty queue😒

 

And were there lots and lots and lots of empty seats inside when they did deign to let you in?

[Son of Anarchy]

58 minutes ago, purplesea said:

We arrived on time and still had to join the naughty queue😒

Intriguing and wrong of the marshalling staff to have done that.

 

If you don't mind sharing, what was the reason given?

[david63]

3 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Either cruise lines can educate / train their passengers to turn up at assigned boarding times that are aligned with the capacity of the terminal

That is only valid if arrival times are aligned with how passengers are travelling to the port. There is no point in giving someone a 12:30 arrival time if they are travelling by coach and arriving at 14:30 - all it does is deprive someone else for having that time and being made to stand in the naughty queue.

[cruising.mark.uk]

4 minutes ago, david63 said:

That is only valid if arrival times are aligned with how passengers are travelling to the port. There is no point in giving someone a 12:30 arrival time if they are travelling by coach and arriving at 14:30 - all it does is deprive someone else for having that time and being made to stand in the naughty queue.

Fair point, but I suspect P&O's IT isn't sophisticated enough to revise boarding times allocated by its algorithm for those who are arriving by coach.  And, while the scenario you describe might mean there'll be one less person allocated 1230, it won't result in anyone having to stand in the naughty queue if everyone turns up at the time they were allocated (unless the whole boarding process is delayed for some reason).    What I find most perplexing about this alleged problem is that it is only a problem (other than in exceptional circumstances) where passengers don't follow simple instructions and don't learn from their own experience and that of others.  

 

I sense from earlier threads on the same issue that P&Os procedures for dealing with those who need special assistance to board are pretty good.  So, if other passengers turn up more than 30 minutes or so early, they are doing that through choice.  While they used to be allowed to check in anyway, that clearly isn't the case these days.  And it's not like this hasn't been widely publicised.  And yet some seem wedded to the idea of turning up when they want and then complain when they are made to queue so as not to disadvantage the passengers who are doing as instructed.  It seems to me that this is their problem, not P&Os.

[Sunshine453]

Sorry to jump on the post with a related question! We are travelling on the Iona on Saturday. I’ve not done a cruise for many years so feel a bit clueless! Our embarkation time is 3pm and we have booked CPS car parking. Is it possible to turn up much earlier, drop car and luggage (I’ve seen the “hole in the wall” mentioned!!) and then go off for a while until our embarkation time? Or will we be unable to even drop the luggage until 3pm? Thanks

[Winifred 22]

6 minutes ago, Sunshine453 said:

Sorry to jump on the post with a related question! We are travelling on the Iona on Saturday. I’ve not done a cruise for many years so feel a bit clueless! Our embarkation time is 3pm and we have booked CPS car parking. Is it possible to turn up much earlier, drop car and luggage (I’ve seen the “hole in the wall” mentioned!!) and then go off for a while until our embarkation time? Or will we be unable to even drop the luggage until 3pm? Thanks

You can drop your luggage earlier no issues there. 

[purplesea]

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

That's not fair. 

You do seem to be the exception though. 

Most report that arriving up to about half hour before get called straight in. 

Andy 

We arrived a after 12 noon but it was before our time of 12.15 pm

2 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

And were there lots and lots and lots of empty seats inside when they did deign to let you in?

Yes, there were.

1 hour ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Intriguing and wrong of the marshalling staff to have done that.

 

If you don't mind sharing, what was the reason given?

The reason given was because then hadn't been told to let that time could go in!

[Windsurfboy]

3 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

Yes it does if a passenger is arriving by train as the boarding time is not provided until close to departures 

 

 

Passengers should be able to make an decent educated guess at the boarding time. If in doubt a little bit later rather than earlier

 

Suite , Liguirian  , Baltic  12.00

Carribean , mini suite before 1pm

Others not before 2pm could be later

 

So if you are not in a Suite or do not have peninsula priority then get the train that arrives at 3pm and walk straight in. Don't get the train that arrives at  noon and hope to get in early.

 

[Son of Anarchy]

22 minutes ago, purplesea said:

We arrived a after 12 noon but it was before our time of 12.15 pm

Yes, there were.

The reason given was because then hadn't been told to let that time could go in!

If there was a delay at the checking desks, and they were trying to manage the flow into the terminal, I could get that.  However, to me, 15 minutes early is being punctual.  Nincompoopery by the marshalling staff imho 😡

 

Sorry that you had to wait unnecessarily.

[purplesea]

1 hour ago, Son of Anarchy said:

If there was a delay at the checking desks, and they were trying to manage the flow into the terminal, I could get that.  However, to me, 15 minutes early is being punctual.  Nincompoopery by the marshalling staff imho 😡

 

Sorry that you had to wait unnecessarily.

At half past we were still waiting so went to enquire. Were told again that our time hadn't been 'called', but allowed us and a few others, who had also gone to enquire  in. with "I didn't tell you"!

 

We are due on Britannia in September, so will be interesting to see our boarding times then. I have the highest tier (Mediterrean), my mother (Atlantic) has booked assistance and the rest of our party are first time cruisers with P&O.

[purplesea]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Passengers should be able to make an decent educated guess at the boarding time. If in doubt a little bit later rather than earlier

 

Suite , Liguirian  , Baltic  12.00

Carribean , mini suite before 1pm

Others not before 2pm could be later

 

So if you are not in a Suite or do not have peninsula priority then get the train that arrives at 3pm and walk straight in. Don't get the train that arrives at  noon and hope to get in early.

 

Our train journey is a least six hours, if there are no holdups,missed connections or cancellations, which are common occurances. Therefore, there is no way I would chance travelling up on the day we are due to cruise, or fly from an airport!

[Son of Anarchy]

9 minutes ago, purplesea said:

At half past we were still waiting so went to enquire. Were told again that our time hadn't been 'called', but allowed us and a few others, who had also gone to enquire  in. with "I didn't tell you"!

 

We are due on Britannia in September, so will be interesting to see our boarding times then. I have the highest tier (Mediterrean), my mother (Atlantic) has booked assistance and the rest of our party are first time cruisers with P&O.

Hopefully on this occasion you have a better embarkation experience. 🤞

[Ardennais]

6 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

Yes it does if a passenger is arriving by train as the boarding time is not provided until close to the departure date.

 

Either the passenger waits until they receive details of the boarding time to book their train tickets or they book the cheaper advance tickets and risk being made to stand on the naughty step for arriving too early.

Or even have a cuppa in the station and then go to the terminal at the correct time. 

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, purplesea said:

Our train journey is a least six hours, if there are no holdups,missed connections or cancellations, which are common occurances. Therefore, there is no way I would chance travelling up on the day we are due to cruise, or fly from an airport!

 

Therefore my comments about train times don't apply to anyone like you coming day before.

 

You can wait in the comfort of your hotel till just before boarding time.

Edited August 6, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[purplesea]

31 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Therefore my comments about train times don't apply to anyone like you coming day before.

 

You can wait in the comfort of your hotel till just before boarding time.

See my comments above in post 83!

[9265359]

12 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Passengers should be able to make an decent educated guess at the boarding time. If in doubt a little bit later rather than earlier

 

Suite , Liguirian  , Baltic  12.00

Carribean , mini suite before 1pm

Others not before 2pm could be later

 

So if you are not in a Suite or do not have peninsula priority then get the train that arrives at 3pm and walk straight in. Don't get the train that arrives at  noon and hope to get in early.

 

 

Arriving at 3pm would still mean waiting in the rain for an hour or more if they were then allocated a 4pm or later boarding time.

 

So the only way your clever idea could work is if people aimed to arrive just before the ship sailed - I don't think that is the best idea in the world.

 

10 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Or even have a cuppa in the station and then go to the terminal at the correct time. 

 

You have clearly never sampled the delights of a train station cafe.

[david63]

13 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

but I suspect P&O's IT isn't sophisticated enough to revise boarding times allocated by its algorithm for those who are arriving by coach.

Any 10 year old kid could get that to work. Put it as an option in the Cruise Personaliser and let passengers choose, on a first come basis, their own arrival time. Only need a "coach" option for those using the coaches - everyone else could select their time. The only minor issue would be for anyone moving up a loyalty level between choosing their time and actual sailing date, but that would only be a few (if any) on many cruises.