Caribbean Embarkation Lounge/Lunch

[qbman1]

I am just about to take P&O to task on the fact that our embarkation time for the next cruise of 14:00 means that we will miss out on the freebie Caribbean lunch - a stated benefit which we have earned over many years (misplaced?) loyalty to the company.

How do you rate my chances ?!

[Ranchi]

Suggest you'd be better setting your watch to Moscow time, claiming you've just got off your Aeroflot flight & turn up at 14:00 Russian time. Just in time for Caribbean lunch.

[qbman1]

I'm not actually daft enough to pitch up at 2 p.m., probably be on board by 3 and miss all the freebies! I just think P&O need to be told they are creating a ridiculous situation by not cross-referencing and tailoring the embarkation times for their "loyal" Caribbean customers - or do they even care?

I'll let you know what they say.

[Manoverboard]

To resolve that particular problem they will need to re-write a whole raft of expensive software and that in turn will mean less cheapo deals for yours truly ... shame on you, why don't you do what all the other Goldies do and ignore the rules and turn up when it jolly well suits you.

[qbman1]

Exactly what I will do, but I just wanted to put up a pretence of decency !

[The Tinker]

Just noticed we enter the next tier on our forthcoming cruise and we are invited to a 'Cocktail Party'. Is this worth attending or a watered down (drinks included!) event like the Captain's Welcome do?

[qbman1]

It's very much like the Welcome bash Tinks, but usually not as crowded and you do get an entry into a prize draw - usually for a Waterford Crystal piece (very attractive but completely useless)!

[The Tinker]

It's very much like the Welcome bash Tinks, but usually not as crowded and you do get an entry into a prize draw - usually for a Waterford Crystal piece (very attractive but completely useless)!

Ok - will not put myself out to attend then if it falls on a busy day!

[Dark Knight]

Personally I would like to see the boarding times enforced and anyone who turns up and tries to push in ahead of there allotted times should be made to wait till last, to teach the cocky oiks a lesson, regardless of which tier or how special they think they are

[qbman1]

So....if you were given a time to arrive at one of your frequent corporate freebies several hours after it finished, what would you do ?

The truth, please !

[Dark Knight]

As I organise ALL my corporate freebies, it is a moot point
if you have a better example I would be happy to comment

[qbman1]

It was a perfectly valid example - you're just splitting hairs!

OK, hypothetically, let's assume that some other, less competent, being organised said corporate jolly that began at 12 noon, ended at 1:30 and told you not to arrive until 2:30........

[wolfie]

We often have a late embarkation time but when we arrive depends on our transfer service.

Last cruise we had an embarkation time of half an hour before we sailed but we arrived just after midday, checked in with no handing out of coloured/lettered boarding cards, no queues to check in, and we were enjoying our nibbles,(in no way is it a proper lunch!), within 20 minutes.

We are just happy to have an uncrowded place to relax until our cabin is ready and not the scrum that can be the buffet on embarkation day.

regards,"cocky oik."

[Dark Knight]

Then I wouldn't be going would I ?
I fail to understand why you and others get so het up over a couple of cheap free drinks and a stale sandwich, the ship is awash with food , so why bother about this?


Ooops just twigged , it is all about status , isn't it, you want to be seen with all the other top tier folk, so they all know you are impotent important. well in some peoples eyes maybe? but to me, you are just an old furball with aspirations of a free drink and a butty

[Romig1]

Then I wouldn't be going would I ?
I fail to understand why you and others get so het up over a couple of cheap free drinks and a stale sandwich, the ship is awash with food , so why bother about this?


Ooops just twigged , it is all about status , isn't it, you want to be seen with all the other top tier folk, so they all know you are impotent important. well in some peoples eyes maybe? but to me, you arejust an old furball with aspirations of a free drink and a butty :sarcasm:

That told the mangy old moggie

[qbman1]

Then I wouldn't be going would I ?
I fail to understand why you and others get so het up over a couple of cheap free drinks and a stale sandwich, the ship is awash with food , so why bother about this?


Ooops just twigged , it is all about status , isn't it, you want to be seen with all the other top tier folk, so they all know you are impotent important. well in some peoples eyes maybe? but to me, you are just an old furball with aspirations of a free drink and a butty

Absolutely, when one reaches a certain station in life.....

Anyways, I still don't believe that given the chance of a relaxing embarkation, as our Wolfie says, you would pitch up an hour and a half after it all finished just because you were given an arbitrary, later embarkation time. Nothing at all to do with status.

[barney]

I'd love to see DK drive all the way from Hull and time it to perfection.

What would you do if you were early, drive round and round the roundabout at the dock entrance

The simplist way is what happens at the moment.

Get there when you feel like it and if you have to wait, you have to wait.

I can't figure out why the Dark One is so obsessed with with arrivals, oiks (not even sure what that is) and ten bob millionaries

I'm not high enough tier to benefit from that lunch, but if I was, I'm bloomin' sure I'd be there to eat it

[qbman1]

Hope to see you there soon Barney !

As Wolfie said, it's not a full-blown "proper" lunch but it is very acceptable nonetheless and miles better than the buffet-scrum

[Manoverboard]

Not everybody wishes to head off for a free lunch don'tch know.

We genuinely prefer to go to the buffet for a curry with a cooling drink and to then sit outside in the sunshine ... a far better option me thinks than making small talk in a darkened room on the off chance that one may bump into a lesser spotted Captain's lackey.

[qbman1]

There's usually a curry option or similar at the Peninsular do and, as for a cooling drink.....!

No obligation for small talk and certainly no option to dine with the staff !!!

Then you can go out into the sun/wind/rain should the mood take you

[Dark Knight]

Now now Moby, it's the highlight of some people's year to lunch with the 3rd officer in charge of toilet waste over a flat glass of bubbly and a curled up prawn sarnie
I mean what other reason could there be for jumping the line?

[Gill W]

There was a big thing about all this a month or so ago, on Facebook (not that I'm a Facebook regular!).

Basically, the answer from p&o was that, if you are Caribbean or above, you can ignore the time on your ticket, turn up when you want to, and you'll get priority boarding.

To turn DK's question around why would you not do something that p&o have confirmed is ok to do?

And I'm really sorry to spoil DK's little fantasy, you don't get to mingle with the toilet attendants at the welcome aboard lunch.... You have to wait for the loyalty lunch to do that!

[Stephen]

There was a big thing about all this a month or so ago, on Facebook (not that I'm a Facebook regular!).

Basically, the answer from p&o was that, if you are Caribbean or above, you can ignore the time on your ticket, turn up when you want to, and you'll get priority boarding.

Those rules sound familiar Gill and have a ring of the dress code to them.

Personally I like to camp outside the doors the night before, elbows sharpened ready for the rush. At our high level of Atlantic Tier I'm quite happy eating with the crew if it gets me on board first for breakfast

[emjay45]

Not everybody wishes to head off for a free lunch don'tch know.

We genuinely prefer to go to the buffet for a curry with a cooling drink and to then sit outside in the sunshine ... a far better option me thinks than making small talk in a darkened room on the off chance that one may bump into a lesser spotted Captain's lackey.

That's really made me laugh. Now that is the one thing I have heard people boast about on the ship,just who they had on their table at the World lunch or the Peninsular lunch. We prefer a table for the 3 even at those lunches. Although we did have our final World lunch with some very nice people who also don't want to become lesser spotted Captain's lackeys.

[Stephen]

Eating with the staff . Whatever next.