Boarding Times Southampton

[david63]

As the title of this topic is about Southampton then this is what I am referring to in this post - whether it applies at other ports is another matter.

 

There would appear to currently be a problem at Southampton at the moment and there are, as I see it, three players in the game: Carnival UK, ABP and Southampton City Council. Any one, or combination, may be playing a part. Also adding into the equation that Southampton port is not fit for purpose for modern day cruise ships, unlike the more modern cruise ports of, say, Barcelona or Miami (neither of which are without problems) is another factor. There is also the fact that Southampton is a "turnaround" port and not a cruise destination port.

 

Let's have a look a some history. When I started cruising out of Southampton some 30+ years ago there was one, or at the most two, cruise ships a week sailing in/out of Southampton each with a passenger capacity of around 1,800 meaning that there was around 4k passengers/crew at any one time moving in/out of Southampton.

 

Move forward 30 years and now there can be anything up to five ships a day in port with anything up to a total of 15,000 passengers - meaning that there can be upwards of 25k passengers/crew moving in/out of Southampton in a day - six times the number of 30 years ago.

 

Now for many years the UK passengers sailing out of Southampton have, for many reasons that have discussed to death, ignored any attempt to impose arrival times at the terminal and just turned up when it suited them. With the advent of the larger ships this approach has become unsustainable and has to be controlled.

 

Therefore it is my view that there is currently a policy to try and control the flow of passengers in and out of Southampton, through the port and through the terminals and this is resulting in an education of passengers to arrive at their allotted time. As I have said before loyalty schemes that offer "priority" boarding which has become "early" boarding have become too top heavy and are adding to this problem.

[exlondoner]

18 minutes ago, david63 said:

As the title of this topic is about Southampton then this is what I am referring to in this post - whether it applies at other ports is another matter.

 

There would appear to currently be a problem at Southampton at the moment and there are, as I see it, three players in the game: Carnival UK, ABP and Southampton City Council. Any one, or combination, may be playing a part. Also adding into the equation that Southampton port is not fit for purpose for modern day cruise ships, unlike the more modern cruise ports of, say, Barcelona or Miami (neither of which are without problems) is another factor. There is also the fact that Southampton is a "turnaround" port and not a cruise destination port.

 

Let's have a look a some history. When I started cruising out of Southampton some 30+ years ago there was one, or at the most two, cruise ships a week sailing in/out of Southampton each with a passenger capacity of around 1,800 meaning that there was around 4k passengers/crew at any one time moving in/out of Southampton.

 

Move forward 30 years and now there can be anything up to five ships a day in port with anything up to a total of 15,000 passengers - meaning that there can be upwards of 25k passengers/crew moving in/out of Southampton in a day - six times the number of 30 years ago.

 

Now for many years the UK passengers sailing out of Southampton have, for many reasons that have discussed to death, ignored any attempt to impose arrival times at the terminal and just turned up when it suited them. With the advent of the larger ships this approach has become unsustainable and has to be controlled.

 

Therefore it is my view that there is currently a policy to try and control the flow of passengers in and out of Southampton, through the port and through the terminals and this is resulting in an education of passengers to arrive at their allotted time. As I have said before loyalty schemes that offer "priority" boarding which has become "early" boarding have become too top heavy and are adding to this problem.

As a matter of interest, are people like Intercruises, who actually handle the check in, subcontractors of Carnival or subcontractors of the port?

[david63]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

As a matter of interest, are people like Intercruises, who actually handle the check in, subcontractors of Carnival or subcontractors of the port?

I believe, and I may be wrong here, that they are agents for the cruise lines otherwise the same check-in procedures would operate for all cruise lines and that clearly is not the case.

[matdark]

Hi there, FYI my loyalty tier has been updated from the incorrect "red" to the correct "platinum", but it hasn't changed the boarding time of 3PM

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, matdark said:

Hi there, FYI my loyalty tier has been updated from the incorrect "red" to the correct "platinum", but it hasn't changed the boarding time of 3PM

Well, it is a start. I assume you are going to turn up a bit earlier, if only to avoid being dangerously late, if you see what I mean.

[matdark]

I do 🙂

[david,Mississauga]

On 11/3/2023 at 4:35 PM, NE John said:

Slightly off topic question, do QG/PG pax get priority embarkation for every port? Or only for just S’Hamptom/Brooklyn? For instance priority in Vancouver for Alaska cruise? 
I’ve been on Cunard ships since 2008 but first time Grills experience this summer. 

 

We have boarded three times in Vancouver, as recently as this June. There is priority boarding. The sign said: QG, PG, BC, Diamond, Platinum.  It was very busy and I got the impression no-one was being turned away due to the boarding time issued by Cunard. 

 

We board in Southampton in about 10 months. It is a long way off, but I will be watching closely to read of passengers' experiences.  We are in BC and have requested assistance for my wife who cannot stand or walk for long.  

[Froxfield]

On 11/3/2023 at 10:56 AM, majortom10 said:

We are on the same cruise in PG and for the first time as a Diamond member. we are on deck 6 and have a boarding time of 1pm and states on boarding pass "priority boarding". Sounds to me as if it is another "perk" of CWC being lost so does make you wonder about loyalty to Cunard.

Well, although not Diamond, we are in the same boat so to speak! I was a bit surprised to get a 1PM port arrival time for PG on deck 6. But now it doesn't look so bad and, if boarding is smooth, will be OK. However, it does indicate to me that there should be no presumption of embarkation day lunch in the PG restaurant.  Maybe afternoon tea as it was the year before last? An approach we actually quite enjoyed.

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, Froxfield said:

Well, although not Diamond, we are in the same boat so to speak! I was a bit surprised to get a 1PM port arrival time for PG on deck 6. But now it doesn't look so bad and, if boarding is smooth, will be OK. However, it does indicate to me that there should be no presumption of embarkation day lunch in the PG restaurant.  Maybe afternoon tea as it was the year before last? An approach we actually quite enjoyed.

Remember Grills lunch on boarding day is almost invariably 1.00 to 2.30, so I really don’t think you will have a problem.

[BigMac1953]

Just checked in for 24th November trip.

 

Q3 & Diamond - check in 12:30pm.

[Froxfield]

21 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Remember Grills lunch on boarding day is almost invariably 1.00 to 2.30, so I really don’t think you will have a problem.

Back in 2021, on our Canaries cruise in autumn, there was no PG lunch.  Afternoon tea was offered (early) on embarkation day. Data on photographs taken at the time suggest we were served just before 2pm!  As I remarked we actually quite liked this approach.

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, Froxfield said:

Back in 2021, on our Canaries cruise in autumn, there was no PG lunch.  Afternoon tea was offered (early) on embarkation day. Data on photographs taken at the time suggest we were served just before 2pm!  As I remarked we actually quite liked this approach.

But that soon changed. It was lunch by 2022.

[Bell Boy]

3 hours ago, Froxfield said:

Back in 2021, on our Canaries cruise in autumn, there was no PG lunch.  Afternoon tea was offered (early) on embarkation day. Data on photographs taken at the time suggest we were served just before 2pm!  As I remarked we actually quite liked this approach.

That was during the first several months when Cunard retuned back to regular service during the Pandemic . The same in the Britannia restaurant too. 

[Froxfield]

Thank you both for the update. Clearly we do not cruise with Cunard often enough! In any event it's not really a problem: I even would not be that disappointed to miss lunch altogether.

1 hour ago, Bell Boy said:

That was during the first several months when Cunard retuned back to regular service during the Pandemic . The same in the Britannia restaurant too. 

 

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

But that soon changed. It was lunch by 2022.

 

[exlondoner]

21 minutes ago, Froxfield said:

Thank you both for the update. Clearly we do not cruise with Cunard often enough! In any event it's not really a problem: I even would not be that disappointed to miss lunch altogether.

 

 

It is one of my favourite things, not necessarily for the food itself, but to mark a calm and soothing end to all the stress of embarkation day, with a small glass of rosé to signal the start of a holiday.

[Alt2860]

I have just come back from a Queen Victoria cruise, we were given a 3.30 boarding time and made sure we arrived around this time after sitting in a service station for 2 hours . When we got to our cabin the steward said he didn't think we were coming and on speaking to other passengers were told nobody takes notice of the times and they let you on whenever you turn up.  So I would not worry too much in future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Camgirl]

I have been on five Cunard cruises since the start of 2022. All as diamond, all on different decks, and in several different categories of cabin. Every single one has had an arrival time of either 3pm or 3.30pm. I have just got the time for my next cruise - 3pm. I don't know what we have done to upset them! 

[Queenvee]

FYI... I am Diamond level and boarded QM2 in Southampton last Sunday (Nov 19).  My boarding pass stated "Diamond/Priority Boarding".  My assigned boarding time (Deck 11 stateroom) was 1:45 pm and I arrived at 1:00.  There was a longish line outside the terminal but when I approached the check-in folks outside the main door and asked about a Diamond priority line, she sent me inside immediately.  The first stop was the Security line which moved fairly quickly (about 15 minutes) due to people having to take off their winter coats (despite check-in staff reminding everyone to remove their coats while still in line).  Then the actual check-in process and again the staff directed me to the priority line which had one person in it.  Speedy process and then up the escalator to the waiting room w seats but as I got to the top of the escalator, they were calling PG and QG AND Diamond passengers to board.  They specifically said "only these passengers can board now".  They had a number of check-in staff who questioned people walking toward the embarkation line to confirm that they were PG or QG; when I mentioned that they had just called Diamond, there was a hesitation but then the announcement was made again including Diamond and off I went to the final line.  It also moved quickly.  From arrival to getting into my cabin took 30-35 minutes.  So, that key perk does still exist...at least in Southampton!

[exlondoner]

8 minutes ago, Queenvee said:

FYI... I am Diamond level and boarded QM2 in Southampton last Sunday (Nov 19).  My boarding pass stated "Diamond/Priority Boarding".  My assigned boarding time (Deck 11 stateroom) was 1:45 pm and I arrived at 1:00.  There was a longish line outside the terminal but when I approached the check-in folks outside the main door and asked about a Diamond priority line, she sent me inside immediately.  The first stop was the Security line which moved fairly quickly (about 15 minutes) due to people having to take off their winter coats (despite check-in staff reminding everyone to remove their coats while still in line).  Then the actual check-in process and again the staff directed me to the priority line which had one person in it.  Speedy process and then up the escalator to the waiting room w seats but as I got to the top of the escalator, they were calling PG and QG AND Diamond passengers to board.  They specifically said "only these passengers can board now".  They had a number of check-in staff who questioned people walking toward the embarkation line to confirm that they were PG or QG; when I mentioned that they had just called Diamond, there was a hesitation but then the announcement was made again including Diamond and off I went to the final line.  It also moved quickly.  From arrival to getting into my cabin took 30-35 minutes.  So, that key perk does still exist...at least in Southampton!

Which terminal was this?

[Queenvee]

@exlondoner Sorry, I should have said...it was the Mayflower terminal.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, Queenvee said:

@exlondoner Sorry, I should have said...it was the Mayflower terminal.

Thank you. Interesting. Whenever I’ve embarked there, security has been last. They must have completely reorganised it.

[david63]

12 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Thank you. Interesting. Whenever I’ve embarked there, security has been last. They must have completely reorganised it.

I agree - the only terminal at Southampton that I am aware of where security comes before check in is City Terminal.

[NE John]

Except for the periodic calamities at the Brooklyn terminal, I’ll take embarking/disemabarking on a Cunard ship over checking in or deplaning at an airport anytime. 

[Winifred 22]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

I agree - the only terminal at Southampton that I am aware of where security comes before check in is City Terminal.

I was confused too. I couldn’t visualise the process. Didn’t even fit for QEII Terminal. You have to show your O K to board at security so how could you do that if you have not checked in yet. 

[Bell Boy]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Thank you. Interesting. Whenever I’ve embarked there, security has been last. They must have completely reorganised it.

You are correct,  passing through Security 'AT Mayflower Terminal' takes place after check-in . Probably with all the excitement of embarking QM2 after the major refit the author may have been confused - unless the ship departed from City Terminal  on the day ?