Elite traveling with non elite

[tourismtessy]

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

[linaka625]

I cruised from Barcelona in March and my sister (Gold) was able to wait in the Platinum/Elite area with me and we boarded together. 

[voljeep]

10 minutes ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

 

1 minute ago, linaka625 said:

I cruised from Barcelona in March and my sister (Gold) was able to wait in the Platinum/Elite area with me and we boarded together. 

 

1 minute ago, linaka625 said:

I cruised from Barcelona in March and my sister (Gold) was able to wait in the Platinum/Elite area with me and we boarded together. 

 

11 minutes ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

 

1 minute ago, linaka625 said:

I cruised from Barcelona in March and my sister (Gold) was able to wait in the Platinum/Elite area with me and we boarded together. 

same cabin?

[linaka625]

No, we had two cabins. 

[arizonaperson]

35 minutes ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

 I think the answer is maybe. Are they traveling in the same cabin as you or a different cabin? If the same cabin not a problem most likely ,but if a different cabin may be . I think try it and let us know on here  how it works for you 

[fpsphil]

Walk together as if you are one party and they likely won't say anything. 

[Reina del Mar]

If everyone took people who are not Elite with them, boarding for Elite passengers would be much slower.

 

If you need to board together, you go in their group !!!!! 

[SCX22]

Most of the time the port agents don't even know what the loyalty status is or even check.  They go by the honor system.  Try having them go through the Elite line and sit with you in the Elite Lounge.  The worst that the person manning the area can say is, "No."  Then you would have to revert to plan B and C which are leaving them behind or waiting with them in the general boarding area. 

 

Realize, that the Elite Boarding Lounge only applies if you arrive super early and the ship hasn't started boarding yet.

[davekathy]

6 hours ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

You can always sit in the general boarding area with your family members. 

[cr8tiv1]

6 hours ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

 

I'm not trying to be controversial here...just asking some questions.

 

When you weren't Elite, did you expect someone to let you sit and board with them because they were elite?

 

"We are taking my..."  Did you pay for their fare?

 

Which port are you leaving from?

 

Are they close to being elite?

 

Will you arrive after embarkation begins (then a mute point)?

 

Will you also share your Elite Laundry Perk with them?  

 

Will you ask them to get tender priority?

 

Will you ask if they can attend the Captain Circle Party with you?  I tried this and were told "no".

 

Will you ask if they can be in the disembarkation lounge for Elites?

 

Yes, they can check in with you.  The policy applies to Suites and Elites, then Platinum, then General Boarding.

 

Yes, they could have had all these perks if they booked a suite.  

 

Not judging...just asking for clarification.  

 

You can ask.  Port agents/workers are NOT Princess personnel so they always know the rules.  

Edited May 10, 2023 by cr8tiv1

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

Honestly, I was going to say you are going receive a lot of judgmental posts in this thread because it happens every time this type of question is asked.  And I see that is already true. 

 

You did not mention the port and so forth, but you can politely ask and see what the answer is.  In my experience reading on this forum, the answer is almost universally YES and not a problem.  Sometimes, the other party may be more elderly parents or family members or good friends who are not yet Elite.  It's not like guests are randomly picking up folks and moving them along with them.  I think, in fairness to the privilege at least, each Elite guest should only be bringing one other along (so one other couple and not a group for example).  I come to this as it makes sense to me and it has always been my understanding that an Elite member can take one other non-Elite guest for priority tendering (water shuttling?) as a matter of policy/practice, so I would apply the same to check-in. 

 

As mentioned above, this whole check-in thing is really only meaningful if you and friends have arrived at the terminal and are checked in prior to commencement of boarding.  This is because the Suites and Elites are called first to board from the waiting area.  Once boarding has begun, the terminal clears fairly quickly and then arriving guests just check-in and head directly onto the ship.

 

There are always Princess employees from the ship in the terminal, but the non-employees are often long-term workers with Princess and they know the ropes (particularly in North America).

Edited May 10, 2023 by Steelers36

[coo359a2]

Never heard that Elites can take one guest on the tender.  That's a new one for me.  

[suekel]

20 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

Never heard that Elites can take one guest on the tender.  That's a new one for me.  

My husband goes with me.  Same cabin though

[MileHighAko]

Sure! Just have them join you. Don't ask, just assume. In the small case someone does question it, just smile and politely tell them that they're with you and continue on. It's not some secret club or super exclusive entitlement. We're always taking our family or guests in whatever priority status line we have. At the hotel, at the airport, at the cruise port. It's no big deal.

[billco]

9 hours ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

IMO, the honorable thing would be for you to either check in by yourself and wait for them on board or not use your elite benefit and check in with them. I see no reason why you all have to check in together.

[SargassoPirate]

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are Elite.  When we travel with other folks who are not, we don't expect to try to be able to extend the Elite benefits to them.  We explain how the loyalty program works, and then we stick with them through the boarding process, any tendering, and with drink packages there's no need to sneak them into the Platinum/Elite lounge.

 

We have, on occasion, encountered a server who would recognize our status and ask why we don't come to the Elite lounge in the evening.  When we explain that we are traveling with other folks who are not eligible, they have invited us to bring them along.  That is a rare occurrence and depends on how many Elites are on a particular cruise.

 

 

[davekathy]

11 hours ago, suekel said:

My husband goes with me.  Same cabin though

Wouldn't your husband be Elite since your married? 

[Bgwest]

19 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I'm not trying to be controversial here...just asking some questions.

 

When you weren't Elite, did you expect someone to let you sit and board with them because they were elite?

 

"We are taking my..."  Did you pay for their fare?

 

Which port are you leaving from?

 

Are they close to being elite?

 

Will you arrive after embarkation begins (then a mute point)?

 

Will you also share your Elite Laundry Perk with them?  

 

Will you ask them to get tender priority?

 

Will you ask if they can attend the Captain Circle Party with you?  I tried this and were told "no".

 

Will you ask if they can be in the disembarkation lounge for Elites?

 

Yes, they can check in with you.  The policy applies to Suites and Elites, then Platinum, then General Boarding.

 

Yes, they could have had all these perks if they booked a suite.  

 

Not judging...just asking for clarification.  

 

You can ask.  Port agents/workers are NOT Princess personnel so they always know the rules.  

This ☝️

[suekel]

11 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Wouldn't your husband be Elite since your married? 

No, he can take advantage of my benefits mostly but he has to earn it like everyone else.  One more cruise and then he'll join me.  

[justafem]

34 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Wouldn't your husband be Elite since your married? 

I'm elite, hubs isn't.  He gets to use my in room benefits like priority tendering, elite lounge, laundry, minibar and munchies.  But if we make a purchase, we use my account.  

 

 

[davekathy]

Just now, justafem said:

I'm elite, hubs isn't.  He gets to use my in room benefits like priority tendering, elite lounge, laundry, minibar and munchies.  But if we make a purchase, we use my account.  

 

 

 

24 minutes ago, suekel said:

No, he can take advantage of my benefits mostly but he has to earn it like everyone else.  One more cruise and then he'll join me.  

That's a bummer. At least with Celebrity and RC if married (or living together) you are given the same tier level of the higher tier level spouse. The cruise points won't match. We always cruise together so our tier levels and cruise points are exactly the same. 

[phabric]

People will be wearing their medallion.  At the lounge door, there will be a Princess representative, they might question the colour of their medallion.

[Coral]

I would check in "with your friends". Honestly - sometimes the non-elite line is shorter than the elite line.

 

[MissP22]

5 minutes ago, phabric said:

People will be wearing their medallion.  At the lounge door, there will be a Princess representative, they might question the colour of their medallion.

You're assuming that the crew actually care about it. 

[Torfamm]

20 hours ago, tourismtessy said:

We are taking my sister and brother in law on a cruise.  We will be elite but they will not.  We will be checking in together.  Will they be able to wait in the elite area with us for boarding?

Definitely maybe. I watched them turn people away in Port Everglades but then relent and let one couple bring their guests in and board early on the same day