Island Princess May 16th Delayed Boarding

[hpeabody]

I just received an email stating that boarding for May 16th at LA Harbor/San Pedro will begin at 1:00 PM. Does anyone have a clue what's up? Do you think it is real? Has anyone heard that there is Noro onboard the Island Princess? I have thoughts that it is another attempt by Princess not to have everyone trying to board early and all at once. I am used to arriving in the 11:00 AM hour and usually boarding starts soon after I arrive. 1:00 PM is late, so no lunch in the MDR :( I am concerned that this will become the new norm. (I sure hope not!) Especially because of the fiasco when I did the BVE (Bon Voyage Experience) on the Crown May 3rd.

Edited May 12, 2014 by hpeabody

[Cindy123]

I am on same sailing and have not received an email yet. I will have to check to see if my other 1/2 got one today when he gets home. :rolleyes:

[caribill]

That sounds like the normal time Princess says to show up to board, not just for your cruise, but for every other one that does not have a delay.

[hpeabody]

I just missed the time limit to edit, LOL

It is definitely a delay

 

Below is copied from the email

EMBARKATION NOTIFICATION

Please be advised that embarkation for your cruise will now begin at 1:00 PM. Please plan to arrive between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM.

 

BOOKING ITINERARY

May 16 Los Angeles

Check In 12:00pm-3:00pm Depart 4:00PM

[karatemom2]

We are on this cruise as well and have not received any such notification - and we have received all the other preboarding emails. Sounds like it just relates to the staggered boarding process.

[Colo Cruiser]

Maybe there is another ship or 2 in.

[Loonbeam]

Could be two ships in, possible inspection, a bit of scheduled maintenance....

[ar1950]

I don't believe that this anything all that new. We were told last November that boarding for the Star Princess to Hawaii would be at 1:00pm. We showed up earlier simply because we flew in and arrived at the airport at 10:30am and had nowhere else to go. We caught a shuttle to the port and arrived there at about 11:30am. About 20 minutes later they opened the check in counters and (because we had priority check in, Platinum for the first time) we were done and in the waiting lounge in about 10 minutes. They started actually letting people on the ship at around 12:30pm, priority boarding first then everyone else. :cool:

 

YMMV

[hpeabody]

No other ships in port, port schedule shows only the Island Princess @ Berth 93

 

With folks saying they did not get the same email, I am getting more suspicious

[hpeabody]

I don't believe that this anything all that new. We were told last November that boarding for the Star Princess to Hawaii would be at 1:00pm. We showed up earlier simply because we flew in and arrived at the airport at 10:30am and had nowhere else to go. We caught a shuttle to the port and arrived there at about 11:30am. About 20 minutes later they opened the check in counters and (because we had priority check in, Platinum for the first time) we were done and in the waiting lounge in about 10 minutes. They started actually letting people on the ship at around 12:30pm, priority boarding first then everyone else. :cool:

 

YMMV

Did you get an email or did your itinerary say 1:00 PM?

[tweakes]

I, too, received that email late this afternoon (4pm or so).

 

I've received a similar email before while sailing Carnival out of there, and I didn't notice anything different when arriving at the pier.

 

It did have me a bit worried when I saw the "Emergency Notification" in the subject line, and then my email wouldn't load!!

[DrivesLikeMario]

What itinerary is the ship doing right before your cruise? Sometimes that makes a big difference, as the Golden was late once due to high wind and waves coming from Hawaii, which caused the Ensenada officials to ban it from docking there, then they re-tracted that decision which caused the ship to be late arriving and departing there. This caused it to be late into LA.

[ar1950]

Did you get an email or did your itinerary say 1:00 PM?

 

I think it was an e-mail a week or two before the cruise date. Maybe something to do with the staggered boarding that Princess is doing these days. It is not enforced however, from what I have heard and experienced. As far as the itinerary, I only recall it saying that sailing time was 4:00pm (we actually left after 6:30pm, no explanation for that either).

Edited May 13, 2014 by ar1950

[fishywood]

As this is Island's last call of the season at San Pedro they may be expecting either a Coast Guard safety drill or a Crew Immigration inspection; the latter in particular can significantly delay disembarkation and have a knock-on effect on the start of boarding.

 

Princess has certainly sent this notice to all TAs with bookings on this cruise; they likely expect them to pass it on to their clients, which may explain why some do not receive a direct e-mail. Or not--Princess is very inconsistent when it comes to communication based on method of booking. What they are consistent about is using the subject line 'EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION' so often it is hard to tell how essential the information actually is.

Edited May 13, 2014 by fishywood

[hpeabody]

As this is Island's last call of the season at San Pedro they may be expecting either a Coast Guard saftey drill or a Crew Immigration inspection; the latter in particular can significantly delay disembarkation and have a knock-on effect on the start of boarding.

 

Princess has certainly sent this notice to all TAs with bookings on this cruise; they likely expect them to pass it on to their clients, which may explain why some do not receive a direct e-mail. Or not--Princess is very inconsistent when it comes to communication based on method of booking. What they are consistent about is using the subject line 'EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION' so often it is hard to tell how essential the information actually is.

 

Hmmmmmmm. This scenario seems to have some potential. All good points. I know this will be her last visit to LA Harbor/San Pedro as she moves up to Alaskan waters, but did not put the pieces together. This was booked very last minute and it was done with Princess directly (a rarity). I forgot about all the TA's that may be involved and they would have to notify their clients.

 

Drives LikeMario, She is on a Mexico itinerary this week on her way to Cabo San Lucas right now.

[trbarton]

I have cruise with Princess with staggered boarding listed but I just showed up at noon and got in with no problem. I have never seen it enforced unless there is a big delay like boarding at 4 pm and people were advised to not come earlier.

 

Tom:)

[Colo Cruiser]

I think it will be normal boarding.

[AZ Ocean Lover]

We received our notification as well. Since our flight is booked and we really have no where else to go we will show up at our planned time and just wait.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[tweakes]

I just received a second email that seemingly looks exactly the same as the first one that says boarding begins at 1300. Who knows. As long as I can get on the boat and get a drink, I'll be okay!

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

My parents are on board right now and are continuing on the IP all the way to Anchoarge. I will send them an email and see if they have been told anything onboard.

[hpeabody]

I just received a second email that seemingly looks exactly the same as the first one that says boarding begins at 1300. Who knows. As long as I can get on the boat and get a drink, I'll be okay!

 

I also have the same email again in my email this morning. This is not a typical staggered boarding email. I have received those before.

 

Based on my Crown BVE fiasco, I am leaning toward it has something to do with the ship being repositioned for the Alaska season and checking crew immigration status, as Fishywood suggested. It was also Crown's repositioning cruise on 5/3. Maybe they are trying to avoid a repeat

[karatemom2]

Just received the email from Princess forwarded by our TA. I think we will still plan to arrive at the port at our normal time however just in case things move more quickly than anticipated. I would hate to miss out on lunch in the dining room, but will be happy just to get onboard whenever we can!

Edited May 13, 2014 by karatemom2

[hpeabody]

Thanks to all who have followed this thread.

 

I don't know why I did not think of this earlier. I know the manager of the folks who greet us and take care of us at check-in (They are an outsource company, not Princess) This morning I emailed her to see if she had been notified by Princess. It really looks like we will be somewhat delayed and likely miss lunch in the MDR this time. Although the new very abbreviated embarkation day lunch menu is nothing to be happy about, I just prefer the peace and quiet of the MDR over Horizon Court .. and I can get a seat too!

 

Here is her answer...

 

90 day crew and Coast guard drill.

[notentirelynormal]

This might also be part of the reason (from the west coast section):

 

Major construction began today (5/10) on the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project. This bridge is one of two that connect the Long Beach port area with the San Pedro area. Here's a link http://www.newgdbridge.com/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=22795 to some information about the project.

 

It's recommended that if you're driving to San Pedro, you do not take the 710 all the way to Long Beach and then take the two bridges west to San Pedro. Either take the 110 all the way south, or connect to it from the 105, the 405 or the 91.

 

Conversely, if you're driving to the Long Beach (Carnival) cruise terminal, take the 710 all the way to the port; do not take the 110 to San Pedro and head east on the two bridges.

 

And you might want to allow extra time, especially on weekdays, as everyone will be trying to figure out the detours and closures at first. (This project is going to last for at least two years.)

Edited May 13, 2014 by notentirelynormal