We have been married 54 years but P&O says she is a different class to me!

[david63]

Although there is no excuse for this treatment, on several levels, I suspect that the problem lies with the fact that these "doormen/women" are not P&O employees but are agency staff and with the recent change to enforcing arrival times they have become "jobsworths" and applying the rule rigidly. At the end of the day this is a P&O communication problem - and we all know how good P&O are at communication!

[yorkshirephil]

15 minutes ago, david63 said:

Although there is no excuse for this treatment, on several levels, I suspect that the problem lies with the fact that these "doormen/women" are not P&O employees but are agency staff and with the recent change to enforcing arrival times they have become "jobsworths" and applying the rule rigidly. At the end of the day this is a P&O communication problem - and we all know how good P&O are at communication!

I think you have hit the nail on the head. We had breakfast with a lady who works part time sub contracted to P&O and she says you would not believe some of the excuses people use to get on early ranging between threatening and begging and that they had been told to not let people on early. However a bit of common sense goes a long way and in this case the OP was entitled to board with his wife.

 

I do think there is a lesson to be learned and that is to always have proof in one form or another. When we get our OBC from our shareholding one of our TA's never send an updated invoice showing this unless we request it which I don't but I always ensure I keep the email saying it has been applied.

[FangedRose]

I can not believe op turned up at the port without proof. Either a print out of the said email, or on the phone itself. (Who on earth locks their phone in the suitcase)? I personally would have had both.

 

Surely someone who has travelled on P&O as much as the op has knows that shoreside and on board staff work from different rule books, never mind the part time, casual, zero hour agency staff who work the embarkation stuff.

[Bill Y]

1 hour ago, yorkshirephil said:

I think you have hit the nail on the head. We had breakfast with a lady who works part time sub contracted to P&O and she says you would not believe some of the excuses people use to get on early ranging between threatening and begging and that they had been told to not let people on early. However a bit of common sense goes a long way and in this case the OP was entitled to board with his wife.

Years ago we did not seem to need boarding passes just sauntered up to the check in desk and produced passport like at an airport. But after Mayflower was refurbished and altered, in the days of priority boarders being to told by P&O to ignore boarding time and just turn up, there was a man who asked to see boarding passes. We were all right as we were marked Caribbean and were then given a coloured lettered card and told wait to be called forward to check in. What was amusing was watching men making out that they could not find the boarding passes patting their pockets doing an impression of the late Tommy Cooper when his tricks went wrong.

[kalos]

1 hour ago, FangedRose said:

I can not believe op turned up at the port without proof. Either a print out of the said email, or on the phone itself.

 

It happens ,we had a lorry driver turn up at our place with just his unit and said ...

"I have been told to come and get a trailer off bay 4 and to hurry as I have to catch a ferry 

at Hull ."

What goods are you after and wheres the paper work ?

Driver " Dunno just that in bay 4 ,no paper work "

So how do you know its this one ?

"Cos my boss gave me address (which he shows me ,on his phone)

Sorry you cannot take it 

A few swear words and he tells me he will leave without it .

Seeing there was no paper work and the goods onboard ,valued at well over half a million, no way was he going anywhere with them .

He got them next day when he turned up with said documentation .

 

As for a little infirm old lady ,with her carer /husband I would have let them through as 

she was entitled anyway and as you say he should have had his paperwork ready or proof that he was her carer .

[Son of Bare]

One of the issues is people don't 'saunter' anywhere anymore. Everyone has to be there as early as. Something I've never understood. Fair enough I suppose if you are in a privileged tier that gets you a lunch that you sufficiently prioritise to want to arrive at a time to attend. 

 

I don't understand why gaining the odd hour over a 7/14/35 night cruise is considered so important for so many people that they feel cheated if they are given a later check in time than they prefer. I'd rather leave home at a sensible time and saunter on in my own time in the knowledge there's a fair chance my cabin will be ready and wairing for me.

[Dobbers]

I think how you were treated is awful.

We had the same problem with boarding times but managed to get onboard for 12.15. I hid the timed section of my husbands boarding pass behind mine to get through the entrance and once inside no one questioned the difference. 

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Dobbers said:

I think how you were treated is awful.

We had the same problem with boarding times but managed to get onboard for 12.15. I hid the timed section of my husbands boarding pass behind mine to get through the entrance and once inside no one questioned the difference. 

Thats a good approach, but when we boarded Iona in August I just flashed the first boarding pass (showing Priority Boarding) in my acetate sleeve with my documents and they insisted that I showed them the second boarding pass as well. Perhaps I just look shifty? 😂