Boarding Times Southampton

[caravan12]

I don’t know if people are aware of Cunard new boarding policy. Can I say we are Diamond members and have been for many years. I was very surprised when checking in this morning for our 24 November voyage that we had been given a boarding time of 3.30 pm with boarding closing at 4.00.

 

Thinking this must be a mistake I rang Cunard to be told they now boarded deck by deck and ‘priority’ means that you get priority for that particular deck which of course means very little and that genuine priority boarding for diamond members has disappeared. I pointed out that their own website extols the virtues of priority boarding and now does not deliver this. Pointed out that first time cruisers on different decks would have boarded before us. All to no avail. 
 

They did say the website was being updated. Not a happy bunny!

[Winifred 22]

I have been given 2 30  which is also very late and no priority printed on the boarding pass either. I am going to check website to see how this is now phrased. 

[Fishgirl01]

We have got 1.15 was initially disappointed but perhaps it’s not so bad.  Just have to hope our hotel isn’t to busy and they don’t mind us waiting.

[majortom10]

We are on the same cruise in PG and for the first time as a Diamond member. we are on deck 6 and have a boarding time of 1pm and states on boarding pass "priority boarding". Sounds to me as if it is another "perk" of CWC being lost so does make you wonder about loyalty to Cunard.

Edited November 3, 2023 by majortom10

[exlondoner]

47 minutes ago, caravan12 said:

I don’t know if people are aware of Cunard new boarding policy. Can I say we are Diamond members and have been for many years. I was very surprised when checking in this morning for our 24 November voyage that we had been given a boarding time of 3.30 pm with boarding closing at 4.00.

 

Thinking this must be a mistake I rang Cunard to be told they now boarded deck by deck and ‘priority’ means that you get priority for that particular deck which of course means very little and that genuine priority boarding for diamond members has disappeared. I pointed out that their own website extols the virtues of priority boarding and now does not deliver this. Pointed out that first time cruisers on different decks would have boarded before us. All to no avail. 
 

They did say the website was being updated. Not a happy bunny!

Which deck are you on? And if it’s a perk offered in the (paper) brochure, they should stand by it.

[caravan12]

We are on Deck 6 in a balcony cabin. Diamond is shown on pass but no priority. Argued about what it says on website but they wouldn’t budge,  It seems to me that Diamond means less and less as time goes by.

 

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, caravan12 said:

We are on Deck 6 in a balcony cabin. Diamond is shown on pass but no priority. Argued about what it says on website but they wouldn’t budge,  It seems to me that Diamond means less and less as time goes by.

 

If you are 3.30 (very near the end) and on Deck 6, one can only wonder where they are starting from. Have you tried ringing again and talking to a different person?

[Winifred 22]

I have my two daughters and their partners with me . One is deck 10, one deck 6 and myself deck 5. I will check their times later. They are Platinum but won’t  mean anything it seems. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Winifred 22

[matdark]

I am also a platinum member, I have a sheltered balcony cabin on deck 4 (QM2) and I have been assigned 3PM for a final boarding time at 4PM. There's no mention of Platinum, or priority boarding, on my boarding pass, but "loyalty tier: red". I had to reach out to CWC because mycunard.com initially showed "no loyalty tier" (whereas the correct info was on cunard.com). They changed it but the boarding passes may have been issued before that. I haven't had a chance to cruise with Cunard these last years, but I do remember that the last time I did, being a Platinum member allowed to board the ship pretty early. Which was nice.

Edited November 3, 2023 by matdark

[caravan12]

Yes have spoken to 3 different people including senior supervisor and they won’t budge. Have got a month booked on Queen Anne next year which I feel like cancelling if this is the way they treat their loyal customers. It seems loyalty counts for nothing now.

[exlondoner]

12 minutes ago, caravan12 said:

Yes have spoken to 3 different people including senior supervisor and they won’t budge. Have got a month booked on Queen Anne next year which I feel like cancelling if this is the way they treat their loyal customers. It seems loyalty counts for nothing now.

You are going to cancel a whole month’s cruise(s) because of a slight over boarding, which is a pretty small part of the whole experience. Isn’t that a little disproportionate? However, for you, as there is scope for so much more unhappiness over minor episodes, particularly on a new ship, it may well be the right thing to do.

[LadyL1]

We are on this cruise also.

On the Cunard webpage it says (with caveat) where operationally possible. If a huge percentage of the passengers are in the top tiers, which is highly likely, perhaps priority boarding is deemed not operationally possible. Who knows?

 

• A Platinum membership pin.³
• A total of $80 internet credit to redeem against one of our on board Wi-Fi plans.⁹
• 20% saving on Laundry/Specialist Cleaning.⁷
• Priority check-in at New York and Southampton.⁵
• Complimentary on board wine tasting.⁶
• 10% saving on our White Star luggage service.
• An invitation to the senior officers' party*.^4,5,6

⁵ Where operationally possible.

 

[majortom10]

37 minutes ago, caravan12 said:

Yes have spoken to 3 different people including senior supervisor and they won’t budge. Have got a month booked on Queen Anne next year which I feel like cancelling if this is the way they treat their loyal customers. It seems loyalty counts for nothing now.

I will be honest with what seems the decline of loyalty tiers and the fact they have stopped UK cruiser's from purchasing Future Cruise Deposits, but not US/Canadian cruiser's, I am become very disillusioned. Because we cannot purchase FCDs we have cruised less than what we did pre pandemic and can see it getting even less or stopping altogether. There are other cruise lines out there that offer as good an experience as Cunard for less money.

 

[caravan12]

I entirely agree majortom. The ability to purchase FCC on board was good.  I do have Carnival shares and wonder what might happen to shareholder benefits. I might be wrong but I think they have stopped the bottle of fizz.  I’m just hoping the food is as good as it used to be as haven’t cruised with Cunard this year so far.

[Winifred 22]

I don’t think I on my short cruise there will a problem of there being too many higher level tiers. Even on my recent T A in August there were only 135 Diamond. Sailing at capacity. Similarly on a recent 3 night anecdotally by the number of red cards I saw I think W C members would have been in minority. Hey ho very annoying if it’s a perk no longer offered but I will get over it. Interested to know what deck is first for future reference. 

 

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I don’t think I on my short cruise there will a problem of there being too many higher level tiers. Even on my recent T A in August there were only 135 Diamond. Sailing at capacity. Similarly on a recent 3 night anecdotally by the number of red cards I saw I think W C members would have been in minority. Hey ho very annoying if it’s a perk no longer offered but I will get over it. Interested to know what deck is first for future reference. 

 

Yes, the order of decks seems rather baffling. Anyway, they probably change it every time, just to keep everyone on their toes. 🙂

[matdark]

I wouldn't mind if it was a regular cruise TBH, but since this one is a very short 3 nights break (to introduce the QM2 to my 7yo son), every hour on board counts 🙂

This "loyalty tier: red" puzzles me though, I remember that new cruisers used to have a red stripe on their cards

Edited November 3, 2023 by matdark

[exlondoner]

I think if Cunard is wise, they wise they might wish to grant you a special dispensation, so that your son doesn’t succumb to extreme over-excitement. I know I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself had I been lucky enough to go on a Cunard ship at that age.

 

Have you asked them about ‘loyalty tier red’?

[Winifred 22]

33 minutes ago, matdark said:

I wouldn't mind if it was a regular cruise TBH, but since this one is a very short 3 nights break (to introduce the QM2 to my 7yo son), every hour on board counts 🙂

This "loyalty tier: red" puzzles me though, I remember that new cruisers used to have a red stripe on their cards

First time cruisers still get red.  Your son will be a red and have a red  as this his first time. You should have a proper platinum card. I don’t think once the template for the boarding passes is set they amend unless there is a cabin change. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Winifred 22

[matdark]

11 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I think if Cunard is wise, they wise they might wish to grant you a special dispensation, so that your son doesn’t succumb to extreme over-excitement. I know I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself had I been lucky enough to go on a Cunard ship at that age.

 

Have you asked them about ‘loyalty tier red’?

I haven't yet, but I will now!

[NavyPanda]

55 minutes ago, matdark said:

I wouldn't mind if it was a regular cruise TBH, but since this one is a very short 3 nights break (to introduce the QM2 to my 7yo son), every hour on board counts 🙂

This "loyalty tier: red" puzzles me though, I remember that new cruisers used to have a red stripe on their cards

 

If your loyalty tier is Red then Cunard sees you as a first time cruiser. If this is incorrect, it is likely your booking isn't connected to your Cunard World Club number.

[matdark]

That's what I was afraid of, thank you. I had it corrected on cunard.com, then on mycunard.com as the two were strangely not linked, and have just asked them to re-issue our boarding passes (they were probably published before these corrections). I've also taken exlondoner's advice and suggested that for my son's sake, the sooner the better 😉 I'll keep you posted

[exlondoner]

9 minutes ago, matdark said:

That's what I was afraid of, thank you. I had it corrected on cunard.com, then on mycunard.com as the two were strangely not linked, and have just asked them to re-issue our boarding passes (they were probably published before these corrections). I've also taken exlondoner's advice and suggested that for my son's sake, the sooner the better 😉 I'll keep you posted

One caveat: if they do give you an earlier boarding time, say 1.30, the terminal may be much busier and you may have to queue for longer. On the other hand, you will probably breeze through with barely a pause after 3 pm. So, while you will get on board earlier, your son may actually have a more frustrating time queueing with an earlier checkin.

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Yes, the order of decks seems rather baffling. Anyway, they probably change it every time, just to keep everyone on their toes. 🙂

Personally don't think embarkation on deck order is factual and just an excuse given by Customer Services who half the time don't know what they are talking about. We are deck 6 in PG with priority boarding, if I am correct caravan 12 is also on deck 6 in a balcony without priority boarding. If deck by deck and only given priority boarding on your deck cannot believe those with priority like myself at 1pm it then takes 2-5 hrs to embark the rest of deck 6 as caravan 12 is 3-30pm.

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

One caveat: if they do give you an earlier boarding time, say 1.30, the terminal may be much busier and you may have to queue for longer. On the other hand, you will probably breeze through with barely a pause after 3 pm. So, while you will get on board earlier, your son may actually have a more frustrating time queueing with an earlier checkin.

If they resort to P&O method of check in they check your embarkation time at the entrance to terminal. If you are early as stated on boarding pass they don't even let you into the terminal you have to queue outside. We were bang on time of our boarding pass and we bypassed the queue of those that were early and the terminal was empty with every seat vacant.