Check in on Arvia

[Windsurfboy]

If you see you will arrive too early,  why not stop at services just outside Southampton and have a cup of tea and a sit down. Then leave so you arrive on time

[duncrieviedude]

We are one of 3 linked cabins on K407 all booked on one transaction and all in the same cabin grade. Our boarding is 12:15, the 2nd  is 13:15 and the 3rd is 13:45. It makes no sense, especially as ours and the 2nd booking are on the same deck. P & O has some very weird policies

[AchileLauro]

We had the same on Iona, four cabins all linked and four different check in times. Five of the seven (in three cabins) were travelling together.

We would have thought that as the bookings were linked the check in times would all be the same.

Edited March 11 by AchileLauro

[purplesea]

When on Brtiannia there were seven of us in three cabins all linked, next door to each other and we too also had different boarding times.

[zap99]

On 3/7/2024 at 2:53 PM, glf2710 said:

Noted - but we live a 6 hour drive away and have to leave early - a couple of years ago you could just wait in the terminal all warm and dry until you were called - not an issue waiting if you were too early!  i don't think it's appropriate to say if you are able to cruise you can avail yourself of the opportunities available near the terminal!!!  I have back issues - I am mobile but standing for a long time can be an issue.  

Stop down the road for a coffee.

[zap99]

3 hours ago, duncrieviedude said:

We are one of 3 linked cabins on K407 all booked on one transaction and all in the same cabin grade. Our boarding is 12:15, the 2nd  is 13:15 and the 3rd is 13:45. It makes no sense, especially as ours and the 2nd booking are on the same deck. P & O has some very weird policies

Is that a problem. Do you need to do everything at the same time ?. If so all arrive at 13.30. Sorted.

[duncrieviedude]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

Is that a problem. Do you need to do everything at the same time ?. If so all arrive at 13.30. Sorted.

It’s not a problem for us though it could be for many. I was making the point that they seem to have very bizarre systems compared to other cruise companies and very few which would entice me want to go with P and O again.

[Ardennais]

We had linked bookings several times when my parents cruised with us, but often had different boarding times. We always went with the later time. No rush, less hassle. 

[Harryjacobs]

We also have linked bookings with different boarding times.  Its not really an issue as you just go with the latest time given to your group.  You can all board together then.

Also to the poster regarding back issues and unable to stand for a time, the obvious answer is to avoid having to stand by arriving at the correct time.  We live 4 hours away and either stay in a hotel the night before or if we travel on the day we leave nice and early and stop at Rownhams Services for a long coffee.  There are ways around problems.

[Wonky]

Even more bonkers MIL and SIL have times an hour apart and they are in the SAME cabin?!?!?!!

[July morning]

I've been on two cruises with my daughter. We share a cabin I make the booking (and pay) we were given times two hours apart.  That was because I'm Caribbean level and she was a beginner 😂 

I phoned and was told as we were sharing a cabin she could board with me and go to the welcome lunch which we both enjoyed😁 

We were on Britannia and Ventura

Edited March 19 by July morning
Ship names

[zap99]

On 3/11/2024 at 1:06 PM, duncrieviedude said:

It’s not a problem for us though it could be for many. I was making the point that they seem to have very bizarre systems compared to other cruise companies and very few which would entice me want to go with P and O again.

Sorry, but what time we get onboard isn't particularly deal breaking for us.

[zap99]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:27 PM, Harryjacobs said:

We also have linked bookings with different boarding times.  Its not really an issue as you just go with the latest time given to your group.  You can all board together then.

Also to the poster regarding back issues and unable to stand for a time, the obvious answer is to avoid having to stand by arriving at the correct time.  We live 4 hours away and either stay in a hotel the night before or if we travel on the day we leave nice and early and stop at Rownhams Services for a long coffee.  There are ways around problems.

Not even an issue for us, but I guess it is for some.

[zap99]

9 minutes ago, July morning said:

I've been on two cruises with my daughter. We share a cabin I make the booking (and pay) we were given times two hours apart.  That was because I'm Caribbean level and she was a beginner 😂 

I phoned and was told as we were sharing a cabin she could board with me and go to the welcome lunch which we both enjoyed😁 

We were on Britannia and Ventura

So they even put you on different ships. Amazing.🤣

[July morning]

Very funny,  you know what I meant I said we'd been on two cruises😉

[terrierjohn]

On 3/19/2024 at 9:47 AM, zap99 said:

Sorry, but what time we get onboard isn't particularly deal breaking for us.

But it is for many people who like to start their holiday ASAP.

[Windsurfboy]

10 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But it is for many people who like to start their holiday ASAP.

 

Going round in circles again.

 

Nearly everyone would like to get on first, but 6000 people at 12pm won't work. It would be overcrowded chaos.

 

Hence they give you a time. If getting on first means so much, then wait till you are Liguirian or book a suite.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Going round in circles again.

 

Nearly everyone would like to get on first, but 6000 people at 12pm won't work. It would be overcrowded chaos.

 

Hence they give you a time. If getting on first means so much, then wait till you are Liguirian or book a suite.

But RCI, Celebrity, MSC, Princess, in fact every cruise line at Southampton manages to give passengers some choice on  embarkation time except P&O.

So why do so many P&O cheerleaders seem willing to accept such inferior service.

[cruising.mark.uk]

10 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But RCI, Celebrity, MSC, Princess, in fact every cruise line at Southampton manages to give passengers some choice on  embarkation time except P&O.

So why do so many P&O cheerleaders seem willing to accept such inferior service.

If you believe that giving passengers an allocated check-in time and then ensuring on most occasions that, if they turn up on or around that time, they are processed and onboard within about 15 or 20 minutes of arriving at the Terminal is inferior service, and if being able to turn up as early as you like is the most important aspect of your cruise, perhaps you should stick with those other cruise lines whose boarding arrangements seem to make you happier than P&Os?

 

All I can say out of personal experience having cruised out of Southampton over a 20+ yr period with P&O, Cunard, Princess, RCI and Celebrity is that my last 3 boarding experiences at Southampton (2 x Iona and 1 x Arvia) have probably been the quickest and smoothest boarding processes I've encountered in all my cruising history.  So, for me allocating times and ensuring that people who arrive on time are boarded swiftly and efficiently is a far superior service than that which I've experienced on other cruise lines.

[Dorset cruise fan]

41 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But RCI, Celebrity, MSC, Princess, in fact every cruise line at Southampton manages to give passengers some choice on  embarkation time except P&O.

So why do so many P&O cheerleaders seem willing to accept such inferior service.

Cunard don't 

[Windsurfboy]

The idea of choose your own boarding time sounds nice BUT

 

The majority of people would like to get on early. 

 

It is impossible to board 5000 people at once at 12pm without chaos so everyone can't get the times they want.

 

Therefore times must be allocated . Every cruise line has a pecking order. MSC Yacht club get on first...

[zap99]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

But it is for many people who like to start their holiday ASAP.

The poster suggested it would discourage them from booking with P&O. If that happens they won't go at all.

[bbtablet]

On 3/19/2024 at 9:41 AM, July morning said:

I've been on two cruises with my daughter. We share a cabin I make the booking (and pay) we were given times two hours apart.  That was because I'm Caribbean level and she was a beginner 😂 

I phoned and was told as we were sharing a cabin she could board with me and go to the welcome lunch which we both enjoyed😁 

We were on Britannia and Ventura

Glad you were dealt with sensibly - but here is a cautionary tale though from October last year: 

My wife is Caribbean level but I am not, and when we turned up for the earlier time, having checked by email with P&O customer services that this is what we should do, we were refused entry by a pathetic jobsworth who didn't have the intelligence to see how ridiculous her position was!

 

It took 20 minutes and a supervisor before we were let through, thoroughly ruffled.

Our time differential was even longer than two hours!

 

The Welcome lunch was an overcrowded buffet instead, and of poor quality with huge queues, so we ended up in the "workers playtime" canteen upstairs anyway!

[terrierjohn]

5 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

If you believe that giving passengers an allocated check-in time and then ensuring on most occasions that, if they turn up on or around that time, they are processed and onboard within about 15 or 20 minutes of arriving at the Terminal is inferior service, and if being able to turn up as early as you like is the most important aspect of your cruise, perhaps you should stick with those other cruise lines whose boarding arrangements seem to make you happier than P&Os?

 

All I can say out of personal experience having cruised out of Southampton over a 20+ yr period with P&O, Cunard, Princess, RCI and Celebrity is that my last 3 boarding experiences at Southampton (2 x Iona and 1 x Arvia) have probably been the quickest and smoothest boarding processes I've encountered in all my cruising history.  So, for me allocating times and ensuring that people who arrive on time are boarded swiftly and efficiently is a far superior service than that which I've experienced on other cruise lines.

Could that be because you are now in the higher loyalty tier and receiving an earlier boarding time I wonder? Those having to suffer the random allocation up to as late as 4:00pm might not agree with you, and I also get an early time but remember how frustrating it was when I didn't.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Could that be because you are now in the higher loyalty tier and receiving an earlier boarding time I wonder? Those having to suffer the random allocation up to as late as 4:00pm might not agree with you, and I also get an early time but remember how frustrating it was when I didn't.

We often cruise on a Sunday and it is often a Gran Prix. 4.00 is fine.