Zone numbers now being printed on boarding passes?

[beachbum53]

I read that zone numbers are now being printed on boarding passes. Unfortunately, I don't know which home port is doing this. Is this something that's being tested at a specific port, which will probably eventually become a standard procedure at all ports?

[mets07]

Don't know, but it is on one for a Miami departure (May 2019 cruise). 

[cruising2hawaii]

Long Beach is printing them too.

 

[mvaughn11]

We're going on Vista out of Galveston in 2 weeks and our Zone is on the Boarding Pass.

[beachbum53]

In a way, it kind of makes sense. It would be one less thing for the staff at the terminal to be responsible for, and it may help to speed up the boarding process. And for those that are ready for lunch, at least on Embarkation Day, "FTTF" would mean "Faster to the Food".

[Earthworm Jim]

I don't buy the speeding the boarding process take. The assigning boarding number consisted of handing us a numbered take as we walked past on our 2/2 cruise in Ft. Lauderdale. We didn't even have to stop walking to get it.

 

It's probably not a big deal either way, but it will still be annoying if you get there earlier than others in your boarding time group but they are allowed to board first.

[beachbum53]

Update. Yesterday (Feb. 24) was the day everyone booked on our cruise could go on line and do the on line check in. This is for the Fort Lauderdale terminal. Check in times for the cruise terminal for general boarding started with 12:00 - 12:30 p.m., and went in 1/2 hour increments up to 1:30 - 2:00 p.m. We're guessing that those with priority boarding would be allowed to enter the terminal before 12:00, but that's only a guess. I'm guessing they still have to select a check-in time, mostly as a formality. After I completed the on line check in, the check-in time we chose was printed on our boarding pass along with our zone number. Since there has not yet been any mention of this, either on here or John Heald's FB page, we're guessing this is a fairly new process that Carnival has created in an effort to reduce crowding in the cruise terminal and speed up the boarding process. We'll find out how well it works in about 90 days. 

[Lottacruises]

On 2/23/2019 at 9:10 PM, Earthworm Jim said:

I don't buy the speeding the boarding process take. The assigning boarding number consisted of handing us a numbered take as we walked past on our 2/2 cruise in Ft. Lauderdale. We didn't even have to stop walking to get it.

 

It's probably not a big deal either way, but it will still be annoying if you get there earlier than others in your boarding time group but they are allowed to board first.

The last part of what you said is probably a reality. It will encourage people to stick more to their check in time. 

 

Logistically though, it would only be useful from zone 1 until they hit open boarding. I don't see them making people sit in a nearly empty terminal to board in a certain zone.

 

Another reality is that people steal the plastic boarding zone cards and it costs to replace them. The ones printed on cardstock are stolen less but still a pain for the port workers. Carnival encourages them to reuse them and they have to sort them and make sure there is about 25 of each zone, and that the right ship is printed on it... 

Printing it on the boarding pass makes sense economically and saves work in the terminal.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Lottacruises

[Davey Wavey]

*had them on our Tampa cruise along with marked seating areas for boarding zones

*on there for upcoming Galveston cruise

*not there for upcoming New Orleans

 

In Tampa, although we had a boarding zone, when they saw Priority on the boarding pass, they told us to go to a priority boarding area instead of the boarding zone seating.

[MeganGC1983]

Zones are printed on NOLA boarding passes now as well. 

[bowlinmoe]

Does anyone know if this goes in order of when you check in?  Is it first come, first serve?  Meaning that if you check-in as soon as you can, you should get an earlier zone boarding time?

[MeganGC1983]

We have priority boarding and our’s says A1, but I believe your zone time correlates with your check-in and arrival time, yes!

[WIFamily]

Here's  a discussion on it, there hasn't been any correlation that I've seen yet.  Some people are reporting that they are Platinum or Diamond and getting Boarding Zones like B4 and such.

 

[PlanoDebbie]

We sail on Freedom next week out of Galveston.  I just checked our boarding passes and indeed we are in Zone B2.  Anyone know how to decypher this?  They used to give you a card with just a number on it.  I'm gonna guess that they start with A1 through A9, then go to B1 through B9.  Does that sound logical?  Our boarding time is 2:30 for a 6:00 departure.  All aboard is 5:00 pm.

[bowlinmoe]

I printed my docs last night and I can confirm that my Horizon cruise out of the Port of Miami has the zone numbers too.

 

It still gave me the option to choose an arrival time window (I chose 12:30 to 1:00 PM) and it shows me as boarding zone A2.  I don't have the early boarding FTTP or whatever it's called.

[smcgoldr]

This is probably a way to help prevent people from showing up before their boarding time. On my last cruise, we arrived at 10:50 in the parking garage with an 11:00 to 11:30 arrival time. When we got our zone card (about 11am) we were in zone 12. The people sitting on either side of us were zone 1 and zone 2, but both of the boarding passes said arrival times 1:00 or 1:30. They boarded about 30-40 minutes before us but their check in times were still over 1 hour away. One even had the nerve to make a comment about "wow, zone 12, maybe you will be on by dinner, glad I don't have to wait that long."

[cruisinmems]

things like that is why they should enforce the times.  Not fair for those that try to play fair.

[DebJ14]

I printed the boarding passes for our May cruise out of Galveston a while back and there is no zone on them, just the Red Priority badge.  Just went back in and looked and sure enough now it has Boarding Zone A1 next to the Arrival Appointment time.  

Makes sense since you use the Boarding pass to board that it would have the zone on it instead of giving out the plastic boarding cards.

[Lottacruises]

On 2/25/2019 at 8:55 PM, PlanoDebbie said:

We sail on Freedom next week out of Galveston.  I just checked our boarding passes and indeed we are in Zone B2.  Anyone know how to decypher this?  They used to give you a card with just a number on it.  I'm gonna guess that they start with A1 through A9, then go to B1 through B9.  Does that sound logical?  Our boarding time is 2:30 for a 6:00 departure.  All aboard is 5:00 pm.

They won't be using those boarding zones printed on the passes in Galveston this weekend.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Lottacruises

[tandemcruzr]

My thought is the Zone Number is the Zone for your luggage. Look at your luggage tag and see what it says. I may be wrong.

[PlanoDebbie]

2 hours ago, tandemcruzr said:

My thought is the Zone Number is the Zone for your luggage. Look at your luggage tag and see what it says. I may be wrong.

The Zone numbers are only for inside the terminal before boarding the ship.  Galveston has previously handed out boarding numbers 1 through whatever.  This time our boarding pass shows Zone B2.  This doesn't appear on the luggage tags.  The luggage tags don't care when you board the ship.  They simply give the location so that they know which elevator to take it to.  They usually indicate Forward, Mid or Aft, then P for Port side or S for Starboard side.

[hotsauce126]

On 2/25/2019 at 9:55 PM, PlanoDebbie said:

We sail on Freedom next week out of Galveston.  I just checked our boarding passes and indeed we are in Zone B2.  Anyone know how to decypher this?  They used to give you a card with just a number on it.  I'm gonna guess that they start with A1 through A9, then go to B1 through B9.  Does that sound logical?  Our boarding time is 2:30 for a 6:00 departure.  All aboard is 5:00 pm.

 

Mine for my cruise in May is B0, I'm not sure if that's the first B or the last one

[tandemcruzr]

1 hour ago, PlanoDebbie said:

The Zone numbers are only for inside the terminal before boarding the ship.  Galveston has previously handed out boarding numbers 1 through whatever.  This time our boarding pass shows Zone B2.  This doesn't appear on the luggage tags.  The luggage tags don't care when you board the ship.  They simply give the location so that they know which elevator to take it to.  They usually indicate Forward, Mid or Aft, then P for Port side or S for Starboard side.

Thanks. We sailed from Port Canaveral on 2/17/2019 and our Boarding Pass had no entry for Zones.

Edited March 4, 2019 by tandemcruzr

[ray98]

I don't see how these two factors fit together.  I have seen reports of people with late check-in times being assigned to early boarding groups and vice versa.

[maldenmusic]

I'm Platinum and just printed off my boarding pass for the Glory in May. Mine says A3 zone.