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Unfair boarding times.


chunky0
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:*Booked Navigator of the sea trip,and was looking forward to spending a full day at Southampton getting to know the ship.Very upset when told that because I am deck 3 I will not be able to board till 3pm in the afternoon.As the boat leaves at 4.30 I feel cheated out of a days holiday.Always checked in right away with other cruise lines I have been on before.Considering they let the first passengers get on at 11am I feel this is very unfair.:*:*:*

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The Port of Southampton authority have 'asked' cruise lines to stagger boarding to avoid congestion in the city. If there are several cruise ships in and out on the same day it can mean many thousands of vehicles clogging up the roads.

 

Whether your boarding time will be enforced will depend, in part, on which line you are sailing with ( I see you are with RCCL, I'm sure others will tell you whether they enforce this), as well as how congested the terminal is when you arrive.

 

Bearing in mind that those first few hours usually involve dragging your luggage around and fighting for a seat, I don't feel much is missed in the time you are not on board YMMV

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The objective of staggered boarding is to avoid check-in staff being overwhelmed at busy times - and to avoid passengers standing in super-long queues. Most other cruise lines do much the same thing. I don't think the Southampton traffic comes into it, it's much the same in the US.

 

Unfortunately, as is the way of the world, broadly its them that pays more that gets priority.

 

But go over to the RCI forum and ask there. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=83

Whilst they might allocate staggered boarding not all cruise lines adhere strictly to the policy - simply quoting a set time is often enough to spread the load.

 

If your transport gets you to Southampton early you can drop your bags at the terminal bag-drop from about 11am (no priority, no queue) and go check out the city's West Quay Mall, old-town sights, pubs etc. all within a 10-15 minute walk. And mebbe buy a bottle of wine each to take aboard

 

JB :)

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I wonder how it works really giving a boarding time because there are people travelling in on the day who may not be arriving until later than their specified time as well as people who may be coming off early morning flights who won’t want to hang around until 3 in the afternoon before they can board. Last year we were in a hotel overnight and had to checkout by 12 so we made our way to the ship about 12.30 and got to board without any problems. Everyone we spoke to had different boarding times but we all got checked in without any hassle. There was a small queue but it was very efficient.

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The objective of staggered boarding is to avoid check-in staff being overwhelmed at busy times - and to avoid passengers standing in super-long queues. Most other cruise lines do much the same thing. I don't think the Southampton traffic comes into it, it's much the same in the US.

 

 

 

JB :)

 

I stand corrected :o

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Staggered boarding is becoming more common. Generally, it starts as a request, then becomes a dictate, then gets enforced.

 

Fairness is debatable. There is no specific promise that any passenger will get aboard the ship before Sail Away. Sail Away is the only time that the cruise line commits to beginning your voyage (and even that isn't really a hard-and-fast commitment). Beyond that, there are so many advantages and disadvantages bandied about and applied to different passengers in different ways that boarding a few hours later is well within the normal variability between one passenger's experience and another passenger's experience. If a few hours at the beginning of the cruise (even including lunch) are going to make or break the cruise then I fear that many other variabilities and possibilities you are likely to encounter during a cruise would also be problematic for you.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

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Recently sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Independence Of The Seas fourteen day Canary Islands voyage on June 2nd, 2018 out of Southampton. We left our hotel at 9:45AM and were one of the first groups to board at 10:30AM. The rule regarding staggered boarding wasn’t being enforced and I actually spoke to a few other passengers regarding this. Checkin was very fast and there was an adequate amount of shoreside employees processing incoming passengers.

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Checkin was very fast and there was an adequate amount of shoreside employees processing incoming passengers.
Possibly because many did adhere to the times they were told to board and didn't show up early.

 

Best story I read on here about staggered boarding was a person who was complaining that they had to wait in the check-in line for a long time. They then said that they showed up earlier than their boarding time, as did others. Well, maybe that was the reason the line was long.

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Bearing in mind that those first few hours usually involve dragging your luggage around and fighting for a seat,

 

This is not true. Luggage will have been given to the porters on the dock to be delivered to the room. Only a carry on bag, which could be a simple shoulder bag, would be needed for valuables and medications. Boarding early allows a person to explore the ship before many of the passengers are even aboard. The pool will be open for those who want to relax around the pool. There is no need to "fight for a seat" because there will be fewer people on board. When rooms are open to use, usually around 1:30, that carry on can be left there making it even easier to explore the ship.

 

We prefer to board as soon as boarding begins. We can catch lunch in the buffet or any of the other dining venues that are open, such as the pool grill. Some cruise lines even open one of their main dining rooms for table service lunch, which will be quieter and less hectic than the buffet. It's a great time to explore the ship, much like we would be exploring a site at a port stop.

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...

 

.Considering they let the first passengers get on at 11am I feel this is very unfair.:*:*:*

 

“Fair” and “unfair” are subjective terms. Don’t you think someone who paid premium price for top accommodations - which often include special service - would feel it unfair if he/she had to wait in long lines (if there were no priority boarding) or get assigned a late boarding time ( if there were assigned boarding)?

 

Airlines board first and business class passengers first; virtually every service provider “discriminates unfairly” depending upon how much the particular customer is worth (“worth” here means how much they are willing to pay a businesss for the level of service they want).

 

I suppose one could also call it “unfair” for people who pay for a balcony suite to have more space, view, and fresh air, than those who pay for an inside.

 

As a general rule, you get what you pay for.

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“Fair” and “unfair” are subjective terms. Don’t you think someone who paid premium price for top accommodations - which often include special service - would feel it unfair if he/she had to wait in long lines (if there were no priority boarding) or get assigned a late boarding time ( if there were assigned boarding)?

 

Airlines board first and business class passengers first; virtually every service provider “discriminates unfairly” depending upon how much the particular customer is worth (“worth” here means how much they are willing to pay a businesss for the level of service they want).

 

I suppose one could also call it “unfair” for people who pay for a balcony suite to have more space, view, and fresh air, than those who pay for an inside.

 

As a general rule, you get what you pay for.

 

Sorry, but your argument is flawed. When a person pays for a higher category room, they are getting more room, better room amenities, and a better view. That has no correlation to the experience on the rest of the ship.

 

Much like in any town in any country, there will be less expensive houses and more expensive houses. The more you pay for a house, the nicer it will be, and probably in a nicer location. It doesn't mean that everyone else on the highways in your town has to wait for you to go first, or you go to the front of the line in the local stores, or you get free parking while everyone else pays, or you get faster emergency service. The cost only affects the house, not the town it is in.

 

We have heard over and over again how a ship is like a small city. If that is true, then when you pay for a more expensive stateroom, the main thing you are paying for is inside that nicer stateroom, not preferable treatment outside.

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That has no correlation to the experience on the rest of the ship.
That is not true: When you buy an experience, you are buying the service (as it is explicitly described in promotional materials, and beyond that...) as the service provider has designed it, including whatever amenities, accommodations and privileges that they designed to be included. Suite passengers and elites in the loyalty program get priority boarding; that is part of the service that they purchased whether someone else likes it or not. In the OP's case, the service defined by the cruise line provides for staggered boarding by deck number as well. The only promise that the cruise line makes a passenger, in terms of boarding, is that you will be able to board prior to Sail Away.

 

There are many examples of this throughout the hospitality industry. At Walt Disney World, guests staying at their own hotels get to enter the theme park an hour earlier, or stay a few hours later, than guests staying at other hotels. Some people try to claim that staying at a certain hotel has "no correlation" to visiting the theme park. They are mistaken. We see the same thing with regard to elite passengers on airlines, with regard to subscription holders at regional theaters, etc.

 

Much like in any town in any country, ...
Government is subject to rules of equality between citizens that are completely irrelevant with regard to commercial businesses, especially those providing discretionary products or services. The only fairness that commercial businesses need to offer is that which pertains to specific protected classes of citizens, i.e., racial minorities and such. Edited by bUU
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Would it be more unfair if they escorted you to your cabin and told you that they did not have time to clean it, change the linens, etc?

 

How can it be unfair when cruise lines often make the boarding times quite clear. What do expect....to get on at 7AM, have access to your assigned cabin, only to find someone fast asleep in the bed?

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That is not true: When you buy an experience, you are buying the service (as it is explicitly described in promotional materials, and beyond that...) as the service provider has designed it, including whatever amenities, accommodations and privileges that they designed to be included. Suite passengers and elites in the loyalty program get priority boarding; that is part of the service that they purchased whether someone else likes it or not. In the OP's case, the service defined by the cruise line provides for staggered boarding by deck number as well. The only promise that the cruise line makes a passenger, in terms of boarding, is that you will be able to board prior to Sail Away.

 

There are many examples of this throughout the hospitality industry. At Walt Disney World, guests staying at their own hotels get to enter the theme park an hour earlier, or stay a few hours later, than guests staying at other hotels. Some people try to claim that staying at a certain hotel has "no correlation" to visiting the theme park. They are mistaken. We see the same thing with regard to elite passengers on airlines, with regard to subscription holders at regional theaters, etc.

 

I started cruising when paying extra gained a passenger a better room only. Outside your room, everyone was equal. Now, more and more hospitality companies, including cruise lines, are going to the model of offering more and more amenities to just those people who can afford them. With private dining rooms, private lounges, private pools and sundecks, reserved seating in theaters, more and more of the cruise ship is being divided for only those who can pay, and banning those who can't. It is inevitable that the hospitality industry is catering more and more to people with the most money to spend. Profits are higher. And profits are king (I understand that as I own a business). But it is still a shame that everyone is no longer being treated equally outside their staterooms.

 

We are gradually being separated into classes as in the 19th century.

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We got assigned an early time for our high deck although it wasn't checked. The terminal was waaay less full than we expected at 11.00 though which makes me wonder if it was enforced.

 

I do agree with your point a little. I think Royal should do what other lines do and get cruisers to choose their check in online then it's first come first served.

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We are gradually being separated into classes as in the 19th century.
We've always been separated into classes, the most notable division being "those who can afford to cruise" and "those who cannot afford to cruise". The change you are noting is actually that we are gradually being separated into more classes than before. This change has actually made cruising affordable to more people than before: The unbundling of the cruise fare means that the cruise fares have risen slower than the rate of the inflation for so long that the Caribbean cruise I took last November cost less, adjusted for inflation, than a comparable cruise thirty years ago.

 

Whether separation into more classes than before is a "shame" or not, depends. It depends on the amenity and how much you appreciate it.

 

First, it is important to remember that cruise passengers, like the customers of all luxuries, used to be a more homogeneous bunch. The people who could afford cruises back then had much more in common with each other than the much larger and more diverse set of people who can afford to cruise today. That homogeneity meant that there really wasn't all that much subsidizing - practically everyone appreciated practically everything so there wasn't all that much that the cruise line was doing for a small portion of the passengers, which was included in the fare that all passengers paid.

 

That doesn't hold water anymore. Passengers' preferences vary one from another too much for that. Some of the amenities you have to pay extra for these days are remnants of what practically everyone who cruised fifty years ago appreciated, but a much smaller percentage of today's cruise passengers appreciate those things today. If you appreciate those amenities, it would be a "shame" from your standpoint that you have to pay for them, but from the perspective of those other passengers who don't care about those amenities, they are getting relieved of having to subsidize those things.

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This began to happen when there were 3 new, vast ships arriving in Southampton at the same time- Allure OTS, Royal Princess and Britannia, if my memory is right. On one day there was to be about 7 ships in, including these 3 vast one... there are only so many trained check-in people, and they all had to be retrained in checking in people at different times. They also have to keep the hours between 1-2.30 pm for the cruise coaches, which have priority... there can be 12 + coaches to be dealt with... we were once on an Eavesway coach which wasn't arranged by the cruise line, and all 6 Eavesway coaches had to leave Southampton and go to a service station for 30 minutes, until the official cruise coaches (Intercruise) had been dealt with.

Even then, we were not treated with a fast coach check in, but had to wait for our official time, which was 3.30pm.

If there's only smaller ships in port on your day, there should be less fuss about the time.

We've left luggage with the stevadores at 10.30am at City Terminal... the Holiday Inn is next door, and is a good place for coffee/lunch.

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As long as people choose their cruise or airline ticket by the lowest price only, the airlines and cruise lines will continue to delete included features and cause more of them to be a la carte.

 

An inside cabin in 1995 was around $1300 pp for a week on Caribbean. Its less today, not even counting for inflation. I found one for August for a seven day cruise for $559.

 

That's $46 per day today !!! For room and three meals, entertainment, pool etc.

 

Paying for an earlier board time is just another way for the cruise line to make up for the income they're not getting from the cruise fare. I agree that the cruise lines are catering to the market, not an elite one, but one that wants to get a basic fare for the least amount of dollars per day.

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:*Booked Navigator of the sea trip,and was looking forward to spending a full day at Southampton getting to know the ship.Very upset when told that because I am deck 3 I will not be able to board till 3pm in the afternoon.As the boat leaves at 4.30 I feel cheated out of a days holiday.Always checked in right away with other cruise lines I have been on before.Considering they let the first passengers get on at 11am I feel this is very unfair.:*:*:*

I am so sad you are having to deal with something so "unfair" in your life ... sounds like it's something new for you :loudcry:

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