Boarding Time: Enforced?

[JPH814]

We will be boarding the Quest in New York next week.  We have been assigned group H - 3 PM for boarding. This is a little disappointing since I always enjoy the first day lunch when we arrive.  We are generally rule followers, but was wondering the experience of other Seabourn Cruisers, especially boarding in  New York, to know how strictly this boarding time is enforced. (Especially since we will be driving 2 1/2 hours before boarding.) 

[nancygp]

6 minutes ago, JPH814 said:

We will be boarding the Quest in New York next week.  We have been assigned group H - 3 PM for boarding. This is a little disappointing since I always enjoy the first day lunch when we arrive.  We are generally rule followers, but was wondering the experience of other Seabourn Cruisers, especially boarding in  New York, to know how strictly this boarding time is enforced. (Especially since we will be driving 2 1/2 hours before boarding.) 

just got the same boarding time for this cruise…disappointing!   On my august ovation cruise, the boarding time changed twice and got the initial info about 6 weeks prior to embarkation.  Not sure if the time on this cruise will be enforced and I don’t think the ship will be full!  I believe this will be the first Manhattan embark since 2019.  We are diamond and hope we can board earlier yet I don’t expect to be able to do so on the early side

 

Nancy

[Emdee]

5 minutes ago, nancygp said:

just got the same boarding time for this cruise…disappointing!   On my august ovation cruise, the boarding time changed twice and got the initial info about 6 weeks prior to embarkation.  Not sure if the time on this cruise will be enforced and I don’t think the ship will be full!  I believe this will be the first Manhattan embark since 2019.  We are diamond and hope we can board earlier yet I don’t expect to be able to do so on the early side

 

Nancy

In case of an expected CDC inspection the time will be delayed. In March we boarded early without a problem. As you said our time was changed to 45 minutes later but we had no problem when we showed up at the original time. 

[nancygp]

1 hour ago, Emdee said:

In case of an expected CDC inspection the time will be delayed. In March we boarded early without a problem. As you said our time was changed to 45 minutes later but we had no problem when we showed up at the original time. 

 Have no idea if there’s a CDC Inspection or any other government inspection as that info hasn’t been conveyed.  On one or two crystal cruises, we had a delayed boarding due to this but that info was communication well in advance of embarkation.

 

thanks for your feedback.

 

Nancy 

[nancygp]

2 hours ago, nancygp said:

I believe this will be the first Manhattan embark since 2019.

I just realized that our sailing will only be the second time the ship has been in Manhattan since the pandemic, last time was the end of august.

 

Nancy

[cruisr]

Cannot answer for NY but last time I boarded Seabourn last year I arrived 2.5 hours before boarding and was onboard in 10 minutes.

[LMB01]

We’ve done 3 cruises since December at 3 different embarkation points.  Not one of them asked to see our boarding pass and therefore you’re boarding time.  The first thing that happened each time was they reprinted all passengers boarding passes.  I recommend boarding when you want.

[Catlover54]

We came almost an hour early in Montreal recently, expecting to be turned away but thinking it wouldn't hurt to ask if things were not busy.  Things  were going smoothly so they did not ask for the boarding time card, and we then had time to get on and for lunch.

 

But that was Montreal, not NYC, which may be different scenario, of course.

[Dunnedg]

I am a rules man also. If you are allocated a time, that is when you should arrive. Why not contact Seabourn and explain why it is not suitable and ask for a change. By not arriving when asked, all you are doing is inconveniencing those arriving at their due time. 
 

[Mr Luxury]

2 hours ago, Dunnedg said:

I am a rules man also. If you are allocated a time, that is when you should arrive. Why not contact Seabourn and explain why it is not suitable and ask for a change. By not arriving when asked, all you are doing is inconveniencing those arriving at their due time. 
 

Is the right answer 🙄

[jsiegel]

We were kicked out of our AirBnB at 11 am so went directly to the pier to drop off our luggage. They weren't boarding yet but they invited us inside while they finished setting up. They started boarding at around 11:30 am and we were on the ship by 11:45.  This was in Montreal on the Quest.

 

Jackie

[Dunnedg]

Just received info from Seabourn about our upcoming cruise.

 

In order to meet health & safety protocols, please arrive at the terminal at your assigned check-in time. Your assigned check-in time is located on page 3 of your cruise documents and at the top of your electronic boarding pass available in Seabourn Source. For the health and safety of all, guests arriving to the terminal prior to their assigned check-in time will be asked to return at their designated time.

[nancygp]

1 hour ago, Dunnedg said:

Just received info from Seabourn about our upcoming cruise.

 

In order to meet health & safety protocols, please arrive at the terminal at your assigned check-in time. Your assigned check-in time is located on page 3 of your cruise documents and at the top of your electronic boarding pass available in Seabourn Source. For the health and safety of all, guests arriving to the terminal prior to their assigned check-in time will be asked to return at their designated time.

Same here but part of a larger email

 

nancy

[Mr Luxury]

Nobody  will pay the slightest bit of attention to this as we see here on the boards.

Some people like to read it all then decide to make up their own set of rules.

Dress code anyone?

[Catlover54]

On 10/4/2022 at 5:39 AM, Dunnedg said:

I am a rules man also. If you are allocated a time, that is when you should arrive. Why not contact Seabourn and explain why it is not suitable and ask for a change. By not arriving when asked, all you are doing is inconveniencing those arriving at their due time. 
 

If you expect "rules" wriiten during early Covid and not changed online to be followed all the time on SB, you will be in for a surprise -- starting  with staff masking rules ( I just got off Quest, and too many are under the nose).

 

There are rules, unwritten customs, unwritten and variable enforcement policies, surprise unwritten priviliges, etc. CC describes many of those.

 

Boarding time rules on bigger ships like Celebrity, with many pax, are critical.

 

SB ships, however, have for so many years had so few pax, that with rare exceptions, regardless of when people show if at least after 12 pm, we have learned that no one is typically realistically inconvenienced when some come early ( at least at most ports -- NYC may be special, as it is for so many things good and bad).  No one waits more than a few minutes, per reports, especially now without pier Covid testing..

 

However, and I cannot emphasize enough, no one with a later boarding time on any ship should expect, as a right, to *demand*  earlier boarding, or to pressure staff to accomodate them, as happened on Crystal ( medium size) last winter when testing had to be done at the pier, and it was a mess with early crowders.

 

In Montreal, staff were happy to see us early ( then they had less people to process coming in later with late flights, late drives, etc).

 

In hindsight, eating lunch in Montreal would have made better sense ( tastier than the  Colonnade turned out to be ), and if I were boarding in NYC, a foodie heaven, I absolutely would lunch there first, then board. The ship will still be there!

 

Either way, our initially very late official boarding time was auto moved up three times by computer ( the last update was the day before sailing).

 

 

 

 

[JPH814]

15 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

If you expect "rules" wriiten during early Covid and not changed online to be followed all the time on SB, you will be in for a surprise -- starting  with staff masking rules ( I just got off Quest, and too many are under the nose).

 

There are rules, unwritten customs, unwritten and variable enforcement policies, surprise unwritten priviliges, etc. CC describes many of those.

 

Boarding time rules on bigger ships like Celebrity, with many pax, are critical.

 

SB ships, however, have for so many years had so few pax, that with rare exceptions, regardless of when people show if at least after 12 pm, we have learned that no one is typically realistically inconvenienced when some come early ( at least at most ports -- NYC may be special, as it is for so many things good and bad).  No one waits more than a few minutes, per reports, especially now without pier Covid testing..

 

However, and I cannot emphasize enough, no one with a later boarding time on any ship should expect, as a right, to *demand*  earlier boarding, or to pressure staff to accomodate them, as happened on Crystal ( medium size) last winter when testing had to be done at the pier, and it was a mess with early crowders.

 

In Montreal, staff were happy to see us early ( then they had less people to process coming in later with late flights, late drives, etc).

 

In hindsight, eating lunch in Montreal would have made better sense ( tastier than the  Colonnade turned out to be ), and if I were boarding in NYC, a foodie heaven, I absolutely would lunch there first, then board. The ship will still be there!

 

Either way, our initially very late official boarding time was auto moved up three times by computer ( the last update was the day before sailing).

 

 

 

 

Eating in New York before boarding is easier said than done. What do you do with 2 weeks worth  of luggage? If you drop it at the ship, will they take it?  If yes, do you then take a cab to a restaurant? Not many are within walking distance of the pier?  
i appreciate all the feedback. We have a 2 1/2 hour car ride to New York.  Traffic? Could make it in 2 or 4.  We will leave home at 11 and arrive when we arrive.it could be 1 pm or 3 pm   If we can board, great.  If not, we will wait. But I am not about to trust traffic and plan on a 3 pm arrival.  

[2SailingNomads]

On 10/8/2022 at 8:52 AM, JPH814 said:

Eating in New York before boarding is easier said than done. What do you do with 2 weeks worth  of luggage? If you drop it at the ship, will they take it?  If yes, do you then take a cab to a restaurant? Not many are within walking distance of the pier?  
i appreciate all the feedback. We have a 2 1/2 hour car ride to New York.  Traffic? Could make it in 2 or 4.  We will leave home at 11 and arrive when we arrive.it could be 1 pm or 3 pm   If we can board, great.  If not, we will wait. But I am not about to trust traffic and plan on a 3 pm arrival.  

Great point especially if the pier is in Manhattan nothing worth considering lunch for at least a 10 or so block walk.  But regardless of boarding time you should be able to drop off your luggage with a porter anytime they are accepting luggage.

[Hipockets]

In Juneau on Sept 24 had a 350pm boarding time for the Odyssey and went to drop our luggage at noon and they told us to come on board and we did. 

 

[mcmarya]

We were assigned a 4:40 pm boarding time out of the port of Miami next week.  It's hard to imagine why boarding would be so late on such a small ship.

 

[JPH814]

FWIW: we arrived at 1:15. Traffic was favorable.  Despite being “assigned” 3 pm we boarded immediately.  No one asked about outer board it time nor seemed to even notice it on our docs.  We would have willingly waited if told to do so.  But there were few people being processed and moved through in about 10 minutes.   
 

of course, this was one person’s experience on one ship on one day.  As the saying goes- Your mileage may vary,   

[nancygp]

26 minutes ago, JPH814 said:

FWIW: we arrived at 1:15. Traffic was favorable.  Despite being “assigned” 3 pm we boarded immediately.  No one asked about outer board it time nor seemed to even notice it on our docs.  We would have willingly waited if told to do so.  But there were few people being processed and moved through in about 10 minutes.   
 

of course, this was one person’s experience on one ship on one day.  As the saying goes- Your mileage may vary,   

Exactly the same experience in new York on October 16th.  

Nancy

[JPH814]

34 minutes ago, nancygp said:

Exactly the same experience in new York on October 16th.  

Nancy

that is the cruise I was on