Terrible Check-in So Far for the Edge

[TenneSea]

(Pre-pandemic) I have sailed X & Princess out of FLL many times.  Princess does have their embark/disembark system down pat.  Always took longer on X.

 

Can't comment on current systems.  Will watch to see how much Covid impacts the 2 cruise lines in this area.

[mafig]

Never waited outside in a line in the sun except for .....Coral Princess and Crown Princess.  ^^^

[Iamcruzin]

20 hours ago, jelayne said:

Why did people start showing up at 10?  It was my understanding that everyone had a assigned check-in time, and I thought the earliest was 11:30  or 12. 
I never figured out the rush to be on the ship first and willing to stand in lines to do so.

I never understand that either.  You are waiting in line one way or the other. I would rather wait when things start moving. 

[morpheusofthesea]

31 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Are you sure they were unvaccinated?  According to Celebrity protocols, I believe,  unvaccinated adult passengers are supposed to have a separate dinning area in all venues.

You are probably right. This couple must just like to have worn masks and noticed they prefered to eat alone in the back of the Luminae.

[Iamcruzin]

20 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I agree, but remember that the OP also arrived early and was contributing to the problem.

I don't think arriving a half hour early is unreasonable. It may be difficult to calculate travel time given traffic conditions and line up to get into port to arrive at the exact time.  The people who arrived at 10:00 when boarding didn't start until later on should have been sent away until it was their boarding time.

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, morpheusofthesea said:

You are probably right. This couple must just like to have worn masks and noticed they preferred to eat alone in the back of the Luminae.

I have vaccinated family members who still wear masks everywhere, including while driving their car alone.  My vaccinated BIL wont even eat inside in a restaurant and he thinks we are crazy to get on a cruise ship. or as he calls them "Petri Dishes".

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

I don't think arriving a half hour early is unreasonable. It may be difficult to calculate travel time given traffic conditions and line up to get into port to arrive at the exact time.  The people who arrived at 10:00 when boarding didn't start until later on should have been sent away until it was their boarding time.

We are staying at the Embassy Suites the night before our Aug 27th cruise and when I called yesterday to get on the schedule for a shuttle to the port, I was told to be on the 11:30 one for a 12:30 boarding time. From past experience we will be at the terminal around 12 noon. We are in the retreat so maybe we will be able to check in at noon, we hope. After reading this thread we will have our sun hats and a bottle of water with us  just in case.

[ipeeinthepool]

6 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I don't think arriving a half hour early is unreasonable. It may be difficult to calculate travel time given traffic conditions and line up to get into port to arrive at the exact time.  The people who arrived at 10:00 when boarding didn't start until later on should have been sent away until it was their boarding time.

 

You're probably correct, it's not unreasonable but you should be prepared to wait until your turn.

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

You're probably correct, it's not unreasonable but you should be prepared to wait until your turn.

Honestly if you are brave enough to sail on these early sailings you should be prepared for the worst case scenario. Even during the best of times check in can be hit or miss.

[ipeeinthepool]

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

Honestly if you are brave enough to sail on these early sailings you should be prepared for the worst case scenario. Even during the best of times check in can be hit or miss.

 

Absolutely.  If you are sailing anytime soon, you need to be flexible with every aspect of the cruising experience.

[latserrof]

16 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I never understand that either.  You are waiting in line one way or the other. I would rather wait when things start moving. 

Some people have flights that arrive early, so it may be a choice of either waiting at the airport or waiting at the cruise port.  Getting on early allows at least a little time to enjoy a clean, uncrowded ship, find a place by the pool or in a restaurant before the chaos of the onslaught of wandering hordes  dragging their luggage arrives.

[cruisemom42]

10 hours ago, runningtide said:

Has Celebrity ever heard of a tent and chairs ? Also water available for their waiting guest? Not sure of the details why early passengers cant get into the terminal, but for God's sake, this is not a line to a rock concert. Some people will always try to get on ahead of their scheduled time, but I find the images in the pictures attached to this thread unforgivable. Shelter with shade and seating is not rocket science. Many older passengers could become seriously ill spending long periods in the sun. Put up a damn tent, with chairs and have water available if the port is unable to admit early passengers into the terminal. 

 

If people arrived at their scheduled times there would not be a problem. This is not a problem of Celebrity's making.

Edited July 18, 2021 by cruisemom42

[TommyD3]

14 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

When we arrived everyone was lined up against the wall like in your photo. I dropped DW off at the second concrete pillar on the right curb with luggage to be tagged by awaiting porter. The head of the line stopped just feet before the glass doors to the left, but the non suite passengers from this line in the photo were beckoned to enter through the glass doors to the right. Unvaccinated had a separate entrance for testing at the other end of the building which I passed by while walking from the parking garage to rejoin my DW at that second pillar. Being (entitled) suite  guests DW headed straight for the sliding glass doors to the right, was stopped and redirected to the glass door farthest to the left just feet from the head of that long line of passengers in your photo. Had our passports and vaccination cards photographed, wrist ribbons attached, took an elevator up to lounge, again showed passports and vaccination cards, asked if we wanted to be seated and have refreshment, but opted to get right on board (seeing others ahead of us heading out the door to the gangway).  Yes, there was a carry on screening and metal detector (one) on the second floor. And yes the doors separating suite from non suite entrance were only 10 feet apart.

Are you referring to the cruise that departed yesterday or an earlier one? Sounds strange if the cruise that departed yesterday since other suite guests were told by the port staff to stand in the long line by the wall.

It looks like there is a line on the right side of the entrance snaking around the building. That is probably the line for non suite guests. I wold expect it was significantly longer than the suite line. Did anyone see this when coming from the parking garage?

[PTC DAWG]

Maybe my Georgia neighbor should read this..

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

3 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If people arrived at their scheduled times there would not be a problem. This is not a problem of Celebrity's making.

Agree, show up in your time slot, if you need water bring it…or an umbrella for shade..

[PTC DAWG]

4 minutes ago, latserrof said:

Some people have flights that arrive early, so it may be a choice of either waiting at the airport or waiting at the cruise port.  Getting on early allows at least a little time to enjoy a clean, uncrowded ship, find a place by the pool or in a restaurant before the chaos of the onslaught of wandering hordes  dragging their luggage arrives.

That person obviously needs an early check in time…problem solved..

[latserrof]

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If people arrived at their scheduled times there would not be a problem. This is not a problem of Celebrity's making.

People may be arriving from anywhere in the world so may not be able to predict their arrival time with pinpoint accuracy. People might anticipate first-cruise complications, snafus and delays at check-in and may be allowing extra time to deal with that. Celebrity should have anticipated this and also the likelihood that many of these passenger have been chomping at the bit to get on a ship.

[PTC DAWG]

21 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I have vaccinated family members who still wear masks everywhere, including while driving their car alone.  My vaccinated BIL wont even eat inside in a restaurant and he thinks we are crazy to get on a cruise ship. or as he calls them "Petri Dishes".

Most every Family has a member like that….  😀

[PTC DAWG]

Just now, latserrof said:

People may be arriving from anywhere in the world so may not be able to predict their arrival time with pinpoint accuracy. People might anticipate first-cruise complications, snafus and delays at check-in and may be allowing extra time to deal with that. Celebrity should have anticipated this and also the likelihood that many of these passenger have been chomping at the bit to get on a ship.

Airports have seats, food, restrooms etc…wait there…showing up 2 hours early is just asking for trouble…

[KKB]

10 hours ago, runningtide said:

In all my years of cruising, I have never seen passengers standing outside a terminal in the heat. If you did arrive early, and yes I admit I did many times, at worst, once thru security you found a chair inside and waited. I plan to arrive at 1230 for my September cruise as requested by Celebrity, understanding the restarting process is different. But what is so startling is Celerity allowing passages to stand in the hot sun waiting to get into the terminal. Has Celebrity ever heard of a tent and chairs ? Also water available for their waiting guest? Not sure of the details why early passengers cant get into the terminal, but for God's sake, this is not a line to a rock concert. Some people will always try to get on ahead of their scheduled time, but I find the images in the pictures attached to this thread unforgivable. Shelter with shade and seating is not rocket science. Many older passengers could become seriously ill spending long periods in the sun. Put up a damn tent, with chairs and have water available if the port is unable to admit early passengers into the terminal. 

LOL 14 cruises & we have seen it PLENTY of times. 
Our first cruise was just that--DH was a hesitant cruiser at that point & that WASN'T helping! (he became a fan quickly as we are about to take our 15th cruise w/ 3 more booked...)

We kept calling for a beer cart girl...but she never came...🤷‍♀️

Edited July 18, 2021 by KKB

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

That person obviously needs an early check in time…problem solved..

When you check in online for a cruise you are given a choice of terminal check in times with the earliest being noon. As the earlier times fill up they are no longer available. I do not know it cabin class, like Retreat or Aqua have any preference times. If you have an early morning flight you might not have had an early check in time available. When I checked in online the first day it was available for our Equinox cruise next month the noon slots were already full, so we got the 12:30 one, we are in the Retreat.

Edited July 18, 2021 by terrydtx

[ipeeinthepool]

2 minutes ago, KKB said:

We kept calling for a beer cart girl...but she never came...🤷‍♀️

 

😀

[KKB]

8 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

That person obviously needs an early check in time…problem solved..

If one books late (or checks in sometime after checkin opens...), they may not have that option.

[morpheusofthesea]

22 minutes ago, TommyD3 said:

Are you referring to the cruise that departed yesterday or an earlier one?

July 3, 2021 sailing.

[TommyD3]

26 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Maybe my Georgia neighbor should read this..

 

 

Interesting that the non suite line was flowing faster than the suite line !!!!