Strict arrival times

[david63]

8 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Starting from the proposition that those who arrive within alloted time should be able to sit down whilst waiting to be called.

I thought that the process was that when you arrive on time you went straight to check-in so there is no need for seats (except perhaps for a few with mobility problems)

[Cathygh]

12 hours ago, tring said:

 

As a mere employee during my working years I have always felt if I did not do my job in the way which was expected that repercussions would be encountered, including loosing my job.  As a manager, my husband is completely in agreement with that.  That does not amount to bullying.

 

Are you really suggesting that you would be happy to employ someone who went against your instructions and expectations, continuing to pay them to do that job?

 

If you have questions about the methods used, would it not be better that you spoke to P&O about it, as the staff are working on their behalf, even if via another company?

 

 

Yes of course employees should do their jobs but I have not explained the wider context. In a customer facing role sometimes you have to use your discretion and treat people as individuals. So this lady told me she had let a family through as they had a child with a hidden disability and said ' I hope I don't lose my job over this.' I was right behind so I stopped to chat with her.

She had made a choice to help the family, as they needed time to settle the child on to the ship before it got busy onboard. I can only guess that the child has adhd and/or autism. I would say that was reasonable decision. At the top of the stairs the family was stopped again and a supervisor was called who waved them through. 

 

BTW I have taken this up with P&O, who told me it is not their procedure, it is that of the ground staff.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Cathygh

[Cathygh]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

I thought that the process was that when you arrive on time you went straight to check-in so there is no need for seats (except perhaps for a few with mobility problems)

That is correct, but older people are being brought chairs to sit outside, so why not let them sit inside?

Edited July 13, 2023 by Cathygh

[Cathygh]

10 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Having empty seats is a necessary part of making the system work.

 

Starting from the proposition that those who arrive within alloted time should be able to sit down whilst waiting to be called. They need to keep empty seats for these. How many, one minutes worth , obviously to few. If they keep empty seats for only just 15 minutes worth of people turning up, that for a big ship is 375 seats. So it may look as if there are plenty of empty seats but that's just a sensible buffer

 

If when ever there was empty seats they let early arrivals in , any hiccup and there would be absolutely no space for on time arrivals

To clarify, no one was sitting inside, all the chairs were empty. People go in straight to check in, no waiting at all.

[david63]

32 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

BTW I have taken this up with P&O, who told me it is not their procedure, it is that of the ground staff.

Not sure I 100% believe that as the ground staff will operate the system that the cruise line want. This is evidenced by the way that different cruise lines operate their check-in procedures.

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

I thought that the process was that when you arrive on time you went straight to check-in so there is no need for seats (except perhaps for a few with mobility problems)

 

That is assuming every thing works perfectly. The seats are after check in, as they manage the wait to get through security which is the bottleneck. 

 

Also there must be an allowance for people arriving slightly early. If the allowance is 30 minutes early this could be up to 750 people for a big ship. Which would be enough to almost fill the terminal. 

 

Anyway what is hard about arriving on time, if you are early stop for a tea or coffee, on road , at the station  etc...

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[Cathygh]

53 minutes ago, david63 said:

Not sure I 100% believe that as the ground staff will operate the system that the cruise line want. This is evidenced by the way that different cruise lines operate their check-in procedures.

I'm sceptical as well, but would P&O lie in an email?

[david63]

29 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

but would P&O lie in an email?

No comment

[tring]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

 

Anyway what is hard about arriving on time, if you are early stop for a tea or coffee, on road , at the station  etc...

 

 

 

I quite agree if someone has an arrival time that is a while before last embarkation time.  On our July cruise though our time was only half am hour before that last embarkation time, which imo is totally ridiculous, considering a very small delay could mean you miss the cruise entirely.

 

We are now Caribbean, so should have an early embarkation in late August, unless the system is changed, but I still feel for people with very late embarkation times.

 

The difference I believe is that you do not get a lot of people turning up later in the afternoon, so hopefully half an hour or even more before a late embarkation time would be fine, as was the case for us - we were whisked straight through as the terminal was virtually empty.  There is a big difference between that and turning up an hour or two early though and some still seem to think that is ok.  They may have an easier than expected journey, but at that time it is very easy to stop off somewhere for a drink or just a stroll.

 

I specifically spoke to someone working at the port and he said the new system does seem to be working as people are no longer turning up early, in general.  They do need to stick by the new method, as I had reported earlier, since slackening them will just result in loads of people turning up really early.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by tring

[9265359]

6 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Anyway what is hard about arriving on time, if you are early stop for a tea or coffee, on road , at the station  etc...

With P&O not advising your embarkation time until close to the cruise date, then for those driving that’s fine.

 

However for those travelling by train then it is far more difficult as you need to book tickets before you know the allocated time, and so having to sit around in an unheated station waiting room (assuming there is one) or otherwise stand outside in the rain and cold is a pretty rubbish way to start a holiday.

 

It takes a long time to build a good reputation. It takes moments to destroy it, and punishing your customers is a good way to do that.

[daiB]

17 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

With P&O not advising your embarkation time until close to the cruise date, then for those driving that’s fine.

 

However for those travelling by train then it is far more difficult as you need to book tickets before you know the allocated time, and so having to sit around in an unheated station waiting room (assuming there is one) or otherwise stand outside in the rain and cold is a pretty rubbish way to start a holiday.

 

It takes a long time to build a good reputation. It takes moments to destroy it, and punishing your customers is a good way to do that.

More will be happy if they turn up when asked and get straight on. 

Far too many excuses for people to arrive when they want because they feel it is their entitlement. 

[Windsurfboy]

24 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

and so having to sit around in an unheated station waiting room (assuming there is one) or otherwise stand outside in the rain and cold is a pretty rubbish way to start a holiday.

 

 

Plenty of comfortable  coffee shops , restaurants  , pubs to have something to eat whilst you wait. No need for sackcloth and ashes.

[Splice the mainbrace]

5 minutes ago, daiB said:

More will be happy if they turn up when asked and get straight on. 

Far too many excuses for people to arrive when they want because they feel it is their entitlement. 

It’s never been made an issue until the bigger ships came with P&O. Even in May when we sailed from Mayflower 106 with Cunard we have priority boarding but there weren’t any queues outside for those that don’t. So maybe the cruise companies are instructing/influencing the land side operations.

[daiB]

16 minutes ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

It’s never been made an issue until the bigger ships came with P&O. Even in May when we sailed from Mayflower 106 with Cunard we have priority boarding but there weren’t any queues outside for those that don’t. So maybe the cruise companies are instructing/influencing the land side operations.

Its always been a problem with those who felt the rules did not appertain to them. Not helped by people on here saying ignor the time you are given and turn up when you like.

[JeanieC,Aston]

Celebrity ‘ask you’ what time you are arriving.

Maybe security being before check in at City terminal helps.

 

If you want to go straight in whatever arrival time you get arrive by coach.

[Angel57]

16 minutes ago, daiB said:

Its always been a problem with those who felt the rules did not appertain to them. Not helped by people on here saying ignor the time you are given and turn up when you like.

I do agree, altho it wasn’t so much of an issue when the ships were only the size of Aurora/Arcadia as there was plenty of room in the Mayflower terminal for all to sit and wait……

[9265359]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Plenty of comfortable  coffee shops , restaurants  , pubs to have something to eat whilst you wait. No need for sackcloth and ashes.

So now you are suggesting that someone gets a taxi from the train station to a coffee shop, humping their luggage in and out of the car, then another taxi from the coffee shop to the port, again humping their luggage in and out of the car.

 

And all so P&O can keep the terminal building free from any of those pesky paying customers who want to sit down.

 

As before, it takes a long time to build a good reputation. It takes moments to destroy it, and punishing your customers is a good way to do that.

[Windsurfboy]

47 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

And all so P&O can keep the terminal building free from any of those pesky paying customers who want to sit 

 

It's so P&O can keep terminal free for those who turn up at right time.

 

With up to 6000 on a full bigger ship and may be only a 1000 seats in terminal, people need to stick to times.

[kalos]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

It's so P&O can keep terminal free for those who turn up at right time.

 

With up to 6000 on a full bigger ship and may be only a 1000 seats in terminal, people need to stick to times.

 

There's the problem 6k of people , some turning up when they should and plenty when they

shouldn't. 

I suppose our travel plans are our responsibility and not P&O's . Yes other cruise lines do 

far better embarkation but as we are not travelling with them ,we have to work with what we

have got .I come down by car so if a few hours early I have the option pulling over somewhere nearby ,or as I tend to do now book a park and stay . Ok they want us out the room at 11am but not out of the hotel. So I do have options, the latter costs me more .

If I was travelling by the dreaded train (Will they run ? )  If my train arrives mid day and my boarding time is 2pm .  I would use the train station little cafe /waiting room to kill 1.5 hours (not ideal) and then make my way for boarding .

Should my train be earlier say 9.30 then I would personally book us a hotel day room for a few hours . So  again I do have options, the latter costs me more .

Others may not like my options ,that's fine ,do what you thinks best but for the time being P&O say "Your not coming in early " regardless if we like it or not .

So that's what we will work with hoping they give us half hour lee way .

Edited July 13, 2023 by kalos

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, daiB said:

More will be happy if they turn up when asked and get straight on. 

Far too many excuses for people to arrive when they want because they feel it is their entitlement. 

Dai, since you, like me, get priority embarkation, then we no longer have a right to criticise those who have not yet reached Caribbean level. I remember how frustrated I was that P&O were unable to manage their embarkation in anything like the speedy systems that most other cruise line manage at Southampton. They really do need to catch up with the other lines.

[mrshorsy]

We have a 2.30pm boarding on 29th July. We plan to leave our cases in the hotel and have a wander around Southampton as I hate standing in queues. We're in no rush to get on board as I'm assuming cabins won't be ready and we aren't really planning on booking any restaurants we just need to know what time it departs so we don't miss it!!

[daiB]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Dai, since you, like me, get priority embarkation, then we no longer have a right to criticise those who have not yet reached Caribbean level. I remember how frustrated I was that P&O were unable to manage their embarkation in anything like the speedy systems that most other cruise line manage at Southampton. They really do need to catch up with the other lines.

Dont be silly of course we can criticise those who just do as they please. They cause problems for others.

[Dermotsgirl]

I’m the sort of person who likes to be early, so if I was given a boarding time of 3.30pm it would be way out of my comfort zone, so I totally understand why people would want to turn up early.

 

Fortunately for me, we’ve had priority boarding for P&O for several years, so we’d typically get to Rownhams on the M27, and then wait there until it was time to go to to the terminal, and arrived more or less at our boarding time.

 

When we went to Portsmouth in May to go over to the IoW, we stopped at a garden centre for a ‘2nd breakfast’.  Our ferry was due at 11.20am, and what with sat navs and apps for traffic conditions we were able to time our arrival at the ferry terminal to 10.55, which I thought was perfect, although there were still lots of people who arrived before us.

 

Related to this subject, I’ve now got my pick up time for my Saga cruise next month. We are being picked up at home for the journey to Tilbury at 12.40. Dartford Tunnel permitting, it’s normally about a 45 minute drive, so I’m quite happy with this time. I seriously thought I’d still be still sitting at home twiddling my thumbs at 2.30pm ! 
 

 

[Windsurfboy]

Security is the bottleneck, with 10 scanners in ocean , far less in Mayfair. 

 

P&O operates by far the biggest ships in Southampton. That is why they need strictest rules.  With a full mega ship terminal have to process people through security in under 30 seconds a person continuously .  This is right at the limit. It only works with a steady flow and has no spare capacity for early people.

 

If people want to be able to turn up early and wait in terminal , then choose a cruise line with smaller ships. 

 

P&O problems are all due to size of ships and terminals which we're designed for 3000 not 6000. P&O can speed up check in, which they have. Security is laid down by authorities,  so unless they can find room for more scanners, there is no room for unscheduled arrivals

Edited July 14, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[Splice the mainbrace]

2 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Security is the bottleneck, with 10 scanners in ocean , far less in Mayfair. 

 

P&O operates by far the biggest ships in Southampton. That is why they need strictest rules.  With a full mega ship terminal have to process people through security in under 30 seconds a person continuously .  This is right at the limit. It only works with a steady flow and has no spare capacity for early people.

 

If people want to be able to turn up early and wait in terminal , then choose a cruise line with smaller ships. 

P&O have smaller ships.