Early drop off of carry ons if Platinum or above

[LeeW]

Lately they seem to be using the non-passenger time for both stateroom cleaning/inspection and luggage delivery.  The really don't want passengers in there while all the cabin doors are open.  Even as a B2B customer told that we COULD access the cabin we try to stay out.  They have even had extra personnel in the cabins and cleaning balconies during this time - in fact the exterior cleaners removed our GPS from the balcony on a B2B.  Steward and his supervisor had to hunt it down.

[SiliconCruiser]

On 11/12/2019 at 2:55 PM, cruise to live said:

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that if you were Platinum status, or above, you could drop off your carry on bags to you room early.  Is this still the case, or is my memory failing me again.  Thank you:  Matt

We are currently Platinum, but we have been boarding at 11AM and dropping off our carry-on, when possible, since our very first cruise with Princess (before we even had Gold status.)  We've also always gone to the MDR for lunch every time, even when the crew lied to us and told us that only the buffet was open.

[turquoisesea]

We were on the Ruby this past August (2019) staying in a Penthouse Suite. All hall doors were locked with signs indicating cabins would be available at 1:00. 
We took our carry-ons to the CC dining room but were surprised that the dining room would not be serving until 12:00. I recall it being 11:30 in May on the CB. 
i, too, believe that the cabin stewards need their space to ready our cabins. 

[rdsqrl]

On 11/13/2019 at 10:56 AM, riffatsea said:

Hmm? I see it is not listed as a suite perk but we would typically go to our cabin and drop luggage.

I would be surprised if someone stopped us from doing that with early embarkation.

Prepare to be surprised . . .

On my last two cruises, the cabins were not available until 1.  The Grand had closed fire doors and cleaning carts blocking the hallway entrances from the aft elevator lobby.  The CB did not, but my cabin steward appeared like a genie and was politely displeased with my presence, apologizing that the cabin wasn't ready like it was her fault.  I got the hint and scrammed.  These people work very hard; is it really asking too much to take yourself to lunch in the DR or up top for an hour or so until you're permitted official access your cabin?  Most hotels don't even let you check in until 4; we could have it a lot worse.  

[capriccio]

2 hours ago, turquoisesea said:

We took our carry-ons to the CC dining room but were surprised that the dining room would not be serving until 12:00. I recall it being 11:30 in May on the CB. 
 

We've had embarkation lunch on over a dozen cruises on almost as many Princess ships and the lunch has always been from noon to 1:30.  I think your experience on the CB was an anomaly.

[I Love Cruising 3]

6 hours ago, capriccio said:

We've had embarkation lunch on over a dozen cruises on almost as many Princess ships and the lunch has always been from noon to 1:30.  I think your experience on the CB was an anomaly.

Same here but we've always seen lunch in the Horizon at 11:30 as usual.

It's no asking a lot to just drop off the bags in the cabin & leave. 

Occupying the cabin until they finish is something totally different. 

[riffatsea]

Agree that dropping bags does not really disturb the routine of the cabin steward.

BTW most hotels allow you to arrive earlier than 4 to leave luggage and even to check in if the room is ready. That 4PM(or 3PM) "check in time" is only when they guarantee the room to be ready.It does not mean you cannot check in earlier! We are often checked into hotels just after 12noon.

[Daniel A]

11 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

Agree that dropping bags does not really disturb the routine of the cabin steward.

BTW most hotels allow you to arrive earlier than 4 to leave luggage and even to check in if the room is ready. That 4PM(or 3PM) "check in time" is only when they guarantee the room to be ready.It does not mean you cannot check in earlier! We are often checked into hotels just after 12noon.

Two things:  When you qualify that dropping the bags does not 'really' disturb the routine, that means to me that it does disturb the routine but in your opinion the disturbance is only minimal.

 

Hotels - You are talking apples and oranges.  Hotels will only give you the room number after the room is ready.  So how could you drop your luggage in your room before it is cleaned when you don't know which room you will be in?  If the hotel permits you to just drop off your luggage before the room is ready it is usually in a closet managed by the doorman.

[riffatsea]

It is still quite early in the AM here so word pickiness is not on my agenda.

The "really" in my quote above should not have been there!

It should have read-Does not disturb the routine. Forgive me for adding an unnecessary word!

[MissP22]

17 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Two things:  When you qualify that dropping the bags does not 'really' disturb the routine, that means to me that it does disturb the routine but in your opinion the disturbance is only minimal.

 

Hotels - You are talking apples and oranges.  Hotels will only give you the room number after the room is ready.  So how could you drop your luggage in your room before it is cleaned when you don't know which room you will be in?  If the hotel permits you to just drop off your luggage before the room is ready it is usually in a closet managed by the doorman.

In that case no one should be allowed to board the ship until all the rooms are completely ready to be occupied. 

End of problem. 

[MissP22]

15 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

It is still quite early in the AM here so word pickiness is not on my agenda.

The "really" in my quote above should not have been there!

It should have read-Does not disturb the routine. Forgive me for adding an unnecessary word!

I've never disturbed any attendant by just dropping off the bags for more than 1 brief moment. 

[Daniel A]

25 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I've never disturbed any attendant by just dropping off the bags for more than 1 brief moment. 

Does this mean that airline passengers should be able to board early so they can drop their carry on luggage?  Do you think they would slow down the cleaning and preparation of the aircraft?  They'd just be there 'for a moment.'

[I Love Cruising 3]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

Does this mean that airline passengers should be able to board early so they can drop their carry on luggage?  Do you think they would slow down the cleaning and preparation of the aircraft?  They'd just be there 'for a moment.'

Sounds about right since they don't hardly clean anyway. 

[Daniel A]

To answer OP's question: As you can see, early access to cabins is a frequently discussed issue here on Cruise Critic.  The simple answer to your question is no, early access to your cabin is not a perk given to any Captain’s Circle level.  Those who state they get early access to their cabins are usually going to the cabins on their own and not as any benefit of their passage contract.  You can certainly try once on board, but be prepared that you may either need to keep your carryon bags with you or check the bags in the baggage check (if there is one.)  I hope this helps.