boarding ship

[vbecky]

Hi I am new to Holland so sorry if has been asked before I did try to search? When can we board ship? Do the have a reservation system like Carnival or? 

[RuthC]

You will receive a check-in time on your boarding pass. That time may change several times until you get the final, official, boarding pass with the bar code on it. 
Remember: that is a check-in time, not a boarding time. 

Boarding generally begins about 11:30, or so. Once the initial crowd is boarded, starting in groups that include those needing wheelchair assistance, the crowds thin and boarding proceeds smoothly. 
Normally. Sometimes something happens to screw up the works, but this is the usual & customary. 

[Haljo1935]

Welcome to HAL!

You don't select or sign up for a boarding group. Be sure you complete the online check in. Then a few days before departure, you will receive notice of your boarding time and group. It will then be visible on the boarding pass  - both printed and online versions. Log into the Navigator App and you'll see it at the top; your cabin assignmentwill be at the bottom. 

Enjoy your trip!

[Lakesregion]

What do you do if you are away from your home computer and do not have an app capable phone, if you do not receive the boarding pass before leaving home?

[Haljo1935]

Not sure when the boarding group was received, but we did the screenshot on April 17. The departure date was April 29, so we had it at least 12 days before departure. 

You can also print a hard copy so long as it has the barcode on it. You don't need all 14 (ugh) pages - everything you need is on page 2, so you can print just that one page.

[Eaglecw]

Lets say I have a boarding time of 1:30 and my plane lands at 8am and we show up at say 11:30am what are they going to do?

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Eaglecw said:

Lets say I have a boarding time of 1:30 and my plane lands at 8am and we show up at say 11:30am what are they going to do?

Depends on how they're handling boarding that day and which port. Lately, they just let you go through and board without waiting, but sometimes they want you to wait until your group. You will go through check in first, the waiting will be in the boarding area after check-in and security. 

We have recently boarded in Seattle, Ft Lauderdale and San Diego, so my experience involves those ports.

[Eaglecw]

9 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Depends on how they're handling boarding that day and which port. Lately, they just let you go through and board without waiting, but sometimes they want you to wait until your group. You will go through check in first, the waiting will be in the boarding area after check-in and security. 

We have recently boarded in Seattle, Ft Lauderdale and San Diego, so my experience involves those ports.

Thanks Haljo1935 we only cruise out of Seattle.we normally cruise with Princess but this year we decided to try Holland America.

[Haljo1935]

2 minutes ago, Eaglecw said:

Thanks Haljo1935 we only cruise out of Seattle.we normally cruise with Princess but this year we decided to try Holland America.

Hey @Eaglecw if you show up at the pier at 11:30, they will let you check in so long as they've cleared disembarking passengers (which they should have by that time). The question will be if they will make you wait until your group or let you get on. So, regardless, you will be allowed in the terminal.

Our flight was early, so early the transfer shuttles were not running yet. We were on the 1st one, waited outside the terminal while returning passengers finished disembarking, checked in, waited just a bit until they started calling for people to board, and went on. We had dropped our bags at our cabin (which was not yet ready), finished Mariners lunch and were enjoying wine on our balcony before our scheduled boarding time 🤗

My boarding pass showed 1:20, group B but my husband's didn't show one at all. We received no pushback when we joined the line after the Mariners.

This was Seattle April 29.

Welcome to HAL - enjoy your cruise!

Please update as to the outcome - I'm sure many of us are curious to know what happened. 

[JohnCoffield]

7 hours ago, Eaglecw said:

Lets say I have a boarding time of 1:30 and my plane lands at 8am and we show up at say 11:30am what are they going to do?

Our first HAL cruise was out of Sydney in March this year & our allocated boarding time was 15:40. We turned up at the terminal at about 13:15 & were onboard within 20 minutes. No one questioned our allocated time.

[POA1]

On 5/31/2023 at 6:07 PM, Lakesregion said:

What do you do if you are away from your home computer and do not have an app capable phone, if you do not receive the boarding pass before leaving home?

They'll have them at check in. Hopefully you can at least check your email while you are away. However, they're pretty good at dealing with these types of things.

 

If you don't have printed luggage tags, you can get them from the porters. Just tell them your stateroom number.

 

If you have no paperwork whatsoever when you are checking in, please turn around and say, "Hi!" This is because I am inevitably behind that person. 😉

[bookitdanno]

What do the boarding time and group mean if you have priority check-in (Club Orange)?

[POA1]

8 minutes ago, bookitdanno said:

What do the boarding time and group mean if you have priority check-in (Club Orange)?

You will typically be in an early group. Wheelchair assistance is first. That's followed by Suites, 5* & 4* Mariners, and Club Orange. It also depends on how many others are in a high priority boarding group, party sizes, etc.

 

Of course you have to be checked in for the cruise in order to get a low boarding card number.

 

The priorities are not combinable. So, a 5 star Mariner, needing wheelchair assistance, booked into a Neptune Suite is not rocketed onto the ship via catapult. All in all, HAL boarding tends to be very orderly.

[ExArkie]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

You will typically be in an early group. Wheelchair assistance is first. That's followed by Neptune and Pinnacle Suites, 5* & 4* Mariners, and Club Orange. It also depends on how many others are in a high priority boarding group, party sizes, etc.

 

Of course you have to be checked in for the cruise in order to get a low boarding card number.

 

The priorities are not combinable. So, a 5 star Mariner, needing wheelchair assistance, booked into a Neptune Suite is not rocketed onto the ship via catapult. All in all, HAL boarding tends to be very orderly.

My understanding is that the priority check-in/boarding for suites does not apply to Signature Suite (our booked category) or Vista Suites, so a slight correction above. If I am incorrect, someone should let me know…I would really like to be incorrect on this one.

[POA1]

1 hour ago, ExArkie said:

My understanding is that the priority check-in/boarding for suites does not apply to Signature Suite (our booked category) or Vista Suites, so a slight correction above. If I am incorrect, someone should let me know…I would really like to be incorrect on this one.

I think that the sign says "Suites" but I could be wrong.

[PACD_JG]

4 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I think that the sign says "Suites" but I could be wrong.

As somebody who has sailed in two Vista Suites, I can assure you that you're wrong.

Edited June 3, 2023 by PACD_JG

[POA1]

41 minutes ago, PACD_JG said:

As somebody who has sailed in two Vista Suites, I can assure you that you're wrong.

Thank you. We're 4 star, so I hadn't really paid attention. Thank you for setting me straight.

[Haljo1935]

I've been reminded by Guest Services, that Visa and Signature Suites are not really Suites, they're "just" a cabin name, not type. As such, they don't come with full Suite perks/amenities such as priority embarkation. 

The screenshot provided by PACD_JG really says it all.

When HAL says Suites, they mean Neptune and Pinnacle.

But we all will eventually get to board and enjoy our cruises!

[crystalspin]

Vista and Signature suites DO get double Mariner points (if purchased at rack-rate, which can be a promotional price, just not an upsell or probably an industry-special). That was the only benefit that mattered to me to get us to 4*!

[RuthC]

12 hours ago, POA1 said:

The priorities are not combinable. So, a 5 star Mariner, needing wheelchair assistance, booked into a Neptune Suite is not rocketed onto the ship via catapult. All in all, HAL boarding tends to be very orderly.

Any priority you have as a 4* or 5* Mariner goes out the window if you need wheelchair assistance to board. Those needing assistance are all 'first come, first served'. 
People waiting for wheelchair assistance to begin are taken first, but again, it is not based on any individual priority. As the number of people waiting grows, the amount of time to wait also grows. There are only so many wheelchairs and pushers, donchaknow. 

I've been using wheelchair assistance for sufficient years, in any number of embarkation ports, to know that is the way it works. Last year I waited 3 hours to be wheeled aboard, which was shortly after all the signage was removed from the embarkation hall. I was getting more than a little nervous as there were only two of us left!