Staggered Boarding??

[Antique1900]

LOL Well said and so true !

[Antique1900]

Now THAT is funny!:D

 

Very funny but so true. I agree entirely ! ;)

[curiouscat]

Greetings from Star Princess! Your intrepid reporter and her DH arrived at 12:30, with a scheduled boarding time of 1:30. There was no evidence of staggered boarding being enforced. We and our 5 bottles of wine were onboard in 30 minutes. Long lines but priority after security and then a side door to queue up to board.

 

Our luggage arrived in our cabin about 15 minutes after we did. our hot water kettle, with automatic shutoff, made it to the cabin. We're ready to go!!:D

 

Great !!! we board in a few wks.... are you going to report live? or when you return...would love to hear about your experiences on the Star

 

CC

[Teacher_91]

Greetings from Star Princess! Your intrepid reporter and her DH arrived at 12:30, with a scheduled boarding time of 1:30. There was no evidence of staggered boarding being enforced. We and our 5 bottles of wine were onboard in 30 minutes. Long lines but priority after security and then a side door to queue up to board.

Our luggage arrived in our cabin about 15 minutes after we did. our hot water kettle, with automatic shutoff, made it to the cabin. We're ready to go!!:D

 

I can't wait to read more about life on the STAR and your experiences in Alaska! :D

[Coolmama_1]

Greetings from Star Princess! Your intrepid reporter and her DH arrived at 12:30, with a scheduled boarding time of 1:30. There was no evidence of staggered boarding being enforced. We and our 5 bottles of wine were onboard in 30 minutes. Long lines but priority after security and then a side door to queue up to board.

 

Our luggage arrived in our cabin about 15 minutes after we did. our hot water kettle, with automatic shutoff, made it to the cabin. We're ready to go!!:D

 

I love it!

[keagle]

It takes longer to read these 24 pages than it does to board.

 

Do people really think that 2 or 3 hours extra on the ship makes that much difference? It must take some people 2 days just to remember they are on holidays. If it creates that much stress, stay at work!

[RaMar]

It takes longer to read these 24 pages than it does to board.

 

Do people really think that 2 or 3 hours extra on the ship makes that much difference? It must take some people 2 days just to remember they are on holidays. If it creates that much stress, stay at work!

 

Not if you're arriving in London @ 7:30 a.m., and it takes over an hour to get to Southampton, AND YOU'RE restricted from boarding until 3:30 P.M. Some people wouldn't be too happy!

[Cuizer2]

It takes longer to read these 24 pages than it does to board.

 

Do people really think that 2 or 3 hours extra on the ship makes that much difference? It must take some people 2 days just to remember they are on holidays. If it creates that much stress, stay at work!

 

Yes, that extra time IS important. This is why I arrive at 11:00am and not at 2:00pm.

[RaMar]

Yes, that extra time IS important. This is why I arrive at 11:00am and not at 2:00pm.

 

Totally right!

[Level six]

It takes longer to read these 24 pages than it does to board.

 

Do people really think that 2 or 3 hours extra on the ship makes that much difference? It must take some people 2 days just to remember they are on holidays. If it creates that much stress, stay at work!

 

 

Good for you, if it doesn't matter...........to me it does. That is the problem, some people don't care and come at 2pm. Some people do care and come at 10am............so, it all works out. Why does princess want to push times on people when it wasn't a problem to begin with?

 

I am not going to let it ruin my vacation, and I will come at the time I am supposed to, but they should have had "the staggered boarding policy" stated clearly when I was booking my cruise, instead of only after final payment was made.

 

So, like I said, good for you if it doesn't matter, but don't judge people who it does matter to. Everyone has different expectations so everyone should be able to express their concern, unhappiness or whatever.......

[caribill]

Do people really think that 2 or 3 hours extra on the ship makes that much difference? It must take some people 2 days just to remember they are on holidays. If it creates that much stress, stay at work!

 

Boarding at noon vs. at 3 PM

 

At noon can eat a relaxed lunch in the dining room. At 3 PM can eat a relaxed lunch from vending machines in the terminal before checking in.

 

At noon, can sign up for the limited spots on the Ultimate Ship's Tour. At 3 PM chances are you would be waitlist only.

 

At noon, can sign up for the Sanctuary for the week. At 3 PM, forget about it.

 

At noon, have time to explore the ship. At 3 PM, rush to drop off carryons in cabin and then go to muster drill.

 

Yes, those extra hours do make a difference.

[CruisinMinnie]

Boarding at noon vs. at 3 PM

 

At noon can eat a relaxed lunch in the dining room. At 3 PM can eat a relaxed lunch from vending machines in the terminal before checking in.

 

At noon, can sign up for the limited spots on the Ultimate Ship's Tour. At 3 PM chances are you would be waitlist only.

 

At noon, can sign up for the Sanctuary for the week. At 3 PM, forget about it.

 

At noon, have time to explore the ship. At 3 PM, rush to drop off carryons in cabin and then go to muster drill.

 

Yes, those extra hours do make a difference.

 

Thanks, you said it perfectly! :)

[1 HappyCruiser]

It takes longer to read these 24 pages than it does to board.

 

Do people really think that 2 or 3 hours extra on the ship makes that much difference? It must take some people 2 days just to remember they are on holidays. If it creates that much stress, stay at work!

 

It does to me, especially when I'm paying the the day. Let Princess call it a six day trip & reduce the price by 1 days amount & then I'll be satisfied but don't charge people for the time they spend boarding their ship when they selectively decide which people will board first.

[4cats4me]

It does to me, especially when I'm paying the the day. Let Princess call it a six day trip & reduce the price by 1 days amount & then I'll be satisfied but don't charge people for the time they spend boarding their ship when they selectively decide which people will board first.

 

Why should they do that? If you check into a hotel at 11 p.m. at night, you still pay for the full day. :rolleyes:

[MustangGT]

Boarding at noon vs. at 3 PM

 

At noon can eat a relaxed lunch in the dining room. At 3 PM can eat a relaxed lunch from vending machines in the terminal before checking in.

 

At noon, can sign up for the limited spots on the Ultimate Ship's Tour. At 3 PM chances are you would be waitlist only.

 

At noon, can sign up for the Sanctuary for the week. At 3 PM, forget about it.

 

At noon, have time to explore the ship. At 3 PM, rush to drop off carryons in cabin and then go to muster drill.

 

Yes, those extra hours do make a difference.

 

Well said! Let those who think it's no big deal wait to board 30 minutes before " all aboard" and there won't be a need for staggered boarding:D

[4cats4me]

I was less than clear. I was trying to suggest that staggered boarding can work quite well, but it probably shouldn't be tethered to deck occupancy. There is no question that categorizing people by deck is the most random of all chosen methods, short of a lottery. Disembarkment is tied to airline departure time, so boarding could be tied to arrival time. At least to some degree. Princess knows which passengers have not submitted any flight plans and thus are in the local area on their own, knows which passengers are arriving by plane a day or more before the cruise, knows which passsengers are arriving between 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. the day of the cruise, which passengers are arriving between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. on the day of the cruise and which passengers are arriving later than that. Seems fairly simple to group boarding times according to various ranges of arrival times. You would never have an equal distribution of people in each boarding slot. But I don't think you need to. And it has to be better than the "every man, woman and child for themselves" approach used without staggered boarding. This still gives people some amount of control over their boarding time as they can manipulate their arrival schedule to a certain degree to line up with the earliest boarding times.

 

But beyond this, I still like the idea of allowing people to pick their boarding time the same way they pick their dining preference. Early bookers get the most options.

 

 

And where would the Elites, Platinums and suite people fit in with this model? Because I've seen cruises where over half the ship are Plats and Elites. Therefore, if you're flying in from, say, Dallas the early morning of the cruise and said cruiser has a Princess transfer which arrives at the pier at, oh, 12:00 or 12:30, yet 1,000 Elites and Platinums are to board the ship, and all 1,000 priority boarders are currently there, yet now the busloads of people arrive from SFO to the pier, all converging with the pre-boarders, how would this system be more efficient? I just don't see it. There are too many variables. They system wasn't broken to begin with. Why try to fix an unbroken system?

[4cats4me]

How about like this..

 

Elites/Suites.. AND PLATINUMS Anytime

Others.. When you book your cruise you state your dining preference correct? How about stating your boarding preference also.. either 11-12, 12-1, 1-2, 2-3? As requesting dining preferences, first come, first served..

 

 

If you add those two words, LARGIN, I'm all for your system.:D LOL

[JimmyVWine]

If you add those two words, LARGIN, I'm all for your system.:D LOL

 

Hey now! that was my idea. See post #417:D

 

And in reply to your previous post, yes, Elite/Platinum/Suites get separate boarding at any time. Yes, there are certain cruises where they are the majority, so things wouldn't change all that much. But it can't make things worse. It just wouldn't change things all that much. I am not certain what Princess perceives as being the problem, but they must see a problem. As cynical as people want to be, I am fairly confident that Princess is not implementing this procedure to give itself no benefit whatsoever, just to tick off its clientele. We may think that there is no problem at these ports, but Princess disagrees. But I suspect that if a staggered boarding procedure can move 10%-15% of the people away from the crush at 11:00, that may be enough to solve what Princess views as a problem at SF and Southampton. I agree that their chosen solution is very poorly thought out. But that does not mean that there is no workable solution to whatever problem Princess has identified.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Why should they do that? If you check into a hotel at 11 p.m. at night, you still pay for the full day. :rolleyes:

 

Sure, but you can still check in at 3 PM if you so desired.

[caribill]

Sure, but you can still check in at 3 PM if you so desired.

 

And sometimes earlier.

[4cats4me]

Sure, but you can still check in at 3 PM if you so desired.

 

You can check in at any time but it doesn't mean a room will be available at that time.

[1 HappyCruiser]

You can check in at any time but it doesn't mean a room will be available at that time.

 

Correct. But at least you wouldn't be sitting in the terminal while a certain few choice decks board before you.

Perhaps they could allow boarding based on the number of days sailed or at least Suites, Elites, Platinum, etc as someone else had suggested? It's only fair that the most traveled passengers shouldn't have to be stuck at the end of the line.

[Pia1913]

You can check in at any time but it doesn't mean a room will be available at that time.

 

Confused. :confused: On Princess, once you check in and get your key, your room is always ready.

[luvseadays]

It does to me, especially when I'm paying the the day. Let Princess call it a six day trip & reduce the price by 1 days amount & then I'll be satisfied but don't charge people for the time they spend boarding their ship when they selectively decide which people will board first.

 

 

I agree. We were on the March 19 sailing, it was chaotic and a total fiasco. Sadly, this cruise will always be remembered as starting out with the worst boarding process of any of our previous ones, and what a horrible way to start a holiday that we had waited a very long time for. We are Platinum, and were given one of the latest boarding times available, 3:30, by any standards, Elite, Platinum or not, that is 1/2 day of our cruise lost. The fun of exploring the ship, having lunch, and just hanging out with friends from different parts of the country was lost, something that we will never get back. I agree also that San Francisco needs to get it's act together, not all of the problems that day came from the previous sailing, or the Coast Guard inspection, etc., etc. But, I refer back to Happy Cruiser's quote, "let Princess call it a six day trip, (in our case, a 14 instead of a 15), & reduce the price by 1 day", I can only hope that they straighten this all out once they start cruises out of San Francisco on a permanent basis.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Confused. :confused: On Princess, once you check in and get your key, your room is always ready.

 

4cats4me was referring to a hotel with the comment.