Boarding Britannia at Southampton

Has anyone ever arrived early for Britannia and got on earlier than their boarding times?

I know for the other ships it is possible but when Britannia, being larger, came into service it was the reason they changed the boarding procedures.

We have to leave early just in case of hold ups on the motorways so interested to know if we arrive earlier will we have a chance of boarding earlier?

Has no one got an answer to this?

The terminal we boarded from had plenty of seating so if you arrive early and they don't allow you to board then you can sit and wait. To me it seems that ones with designated boarding time have priority.

P&O seem to apply the boarding policy stricter than other lines.

I think the lack of many comments might be because there was the same question debated to death recently on this forum. Would suggest just scrolling down the page a bit. The bottom line is you are free to turn up when you want and they will try to get you on . Others with earlier allocated times will have priority. Some get on some have to wait.

Well excuse me for not noticing there was a previous thread, I never noticed it and have just looked and can’t find it. Perhaps I just can’t see for looking. I never saw the other thread at the time as we were on a cruise, well actually two cruises a week apart. People are always happy to jump in on a thread about tipping even though they seem to pop up every few days so why not about boarding I wonder?

I was specifically talking about Britannia as I know the other ships you have a chance of getting on earlier as we have done on occasions.

Has anyone ever arrived early for Britannia and got on earlier than their boarding times?

 

I know for the other ships it is possible but when Britannia, being larger, came into service it was the reason they changed the boarding procedures.

 

We have to leave early just in case of hold ups on the motorways so interested to know if we arrive earlier will we have a chance of boarding earlier?

For reasons that we have never quite understood, boarding on Britannia seems to be slicker than some other P&O ships. Perhaps because of her size and capacity they get anxious and start early rather than faff about as much as they sometimes can with other ships?

We have only cruised in Suites on Britannia but have done so 3 times. Boarding for suite passengers is meant to commence at 12.30pm but we have boarded earlier on 2 Cruises (once at 11.45am) and on time on the 3rd. I tend to recall from a previous thread on this subject that one or two people reported delays but most who arrived early boarded early.

Thanks Selbourne, most helpful.

We were 2 hours early and we went straight on to the ship.

Thanks, we haven’t got our e-tickets yet but assuming that the list that people have posted is correct our boarding time will be 3.30 which I think is very late to get onboard and get a quick snack and unpack before muster.

Think we were around that time too and were worried about traffic.

Have a Great time, we loved Britannia.

We always arrive at the terminal earlier than our alloted time. Would rather arrive too early than too late!! With some people having to travel quite a long way, some probably leave home quite early allowing for traffic holdups (I know we always do) and get to the terminal early. I am more than happy to sit and wait for our slot with a book or magazine. There is always a bar/cafe open if you fancy a little something before you get on board. I know some people arrive early, get rid of the luggage and the car and even wander in to Southampton as I believe there is a pub not far away that does good food.

Sam.

Thanks, we haven’t got our e-tickets yet but assuming that the list that people have posted is correct our boarding time will be 3.30 which I think is very late to get onboard and get a quick snack and unpack before muster.

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It isn’t to do with eating, I can do without lunch if need be, it was having time to get sorted before muster and evening meal.

It isn’t to do with eating, I can do without lunch if need be, it was having time to get sorted before muster and evening meal.

It might be a bit of a push if you are in first sitting in the MDR, but lots of pax will be in the same position. Logically there will always be some cruisers that get on later than others Personally, we always avoid the MDR on the first night, as it always seems a little disorganised [or perhaps we have just been unlucky!]

Been on 2 P&O Cruises, one on Britannia, one on Azura. Both times our boarding time was 3.30pm. Both times we arrived at the port around 1.30pm. Being late would be horrendous and we always arrive early. We have no expectations of boarding early and are more than prepared and happy to wait.

However on both occasions we have been in our cabin by 2.10pm

I'm not sure why people get themselves upset over other people arriving early - from what I have seen the terminal is never overcrowded and people boarding a bit early don't seem to be doing so at the expense of others.

The whole process seems smooth and hassle-free.

As long as you get there before the Eavesway coach convoy arrives at 2pm you'll get on early.

We have booked the Blue Keys hotel and travelling down the day before. There have been too many occasions lately when motorways have been closed completely for hours and even leaving home early on the day would still be too much of a risk for me. This will be our first cruise and I expect we will be last to be boarded so from being checked out of the hotel to boarding will seem a long day. Still, be able to explore a bit of Southampton. It's been booked nearly a year and now only 5 months to go.

We have booked the Blue Keys hotel and travelling down the day before. There have been too many occasions lately when motorways have been closed completely for hours and even leaving home early on the day would still be too much of a risk for me. This will be our first cruise and I expect we will be last to be boarded so from being checked out of the hotel to boarding will seem a long day. Still, be able to explore a bit of Southampton. It's been booked nearly a year and now only 5 months to go.

Boarding times are based on which deck you are on, not when you booked or how many Cruises you have done (unless in top loyalty tiers).

I don’t know where you are travelling from but we are a couple of hours from Southampton and always travel on the day with no issues. Ironically, those who travel on a Friday for a Saturday departure will usually have a much more time consuming journey than had they left it to the (weekend) day of the cruise.

Boarding times are based on which deck you are on, not when you booked or how many Cruises you have done (unless in top loyalty tiers).

 

I don’t know where you are travelling from but we are a couple of hours from Southampton and always travel on the day with no issues. Ironically, those who travel on a Friday for a Saturday departure will usually have a much more time consuming journey than had they left it to the (weekend) day of the cruise.

we are on deck D and we are travelling from the East Midlands. We sail on a Sunday. We always like to add the night before if we can. Even when we have flown from Manchester we have a night in an airport hotel. Adds to the excitement. We haven't done it when flying from Midlands airports though.

According to the list D deck is 15.00 we are C deck which is listed as 15.30, hence my concern. We will know soon if these lists are correct as we should get our e-tickets on Sunday or Monday. Driving on the day early about 2 1/2/hours away but got 3 different motorways plus the dreaded A34.

Apparently Princess have recently started a new system where you can pay a fee to have priority boarding, maybe P&O will follow shortly another way to make a bit of money!

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Apparently Princess have recently started a new system where you can pay a fee to have priority boarding, maybe P&O will follow shortly another way to make a bit of money!

 

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Oh no really, we are on our first Princess Cruise in the Autumn.

Apparently Princess have recently started a new system where you can pay a fee to have priority boarding, maybe P&O will follow shortly another way to make a bit of money!

 

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I'm doing a Princess cruise in June and there is no mention that priority boarding can be paid for.

I'm doing a Princess cruise in June and there is no mention that priority boarding can be paid for.

The information I saw was talking of $49 pp. to get on the ship after half the passengers have got on first. I don’t think so.

Perhaps it is only for US sailings.

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