P&O new check in procedures

[qbman1]

Just out of interest, has anyone received their check-in info since the "new" rules were introduced ?

[Stephen]

Just out of interest, has anyone received their check-in info since the "new" rules were introduced ?

Yes. Apparently fancy dress and flogging is the order of the day.

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[Gill W]

I cannot believe that anybody can be that vain or selfish that they just have to have some sort of ' privileged person's ' lunch regardless of the feelings of other passengers ... surely.

It's never been a privileged persons lunch!

The idea was, that Caribbeans and above could have a lounge with refreshments they could wait in until their cabin was ready. In my experience, it's only ever been a proper lunch once, and that was on the Britannia maiden. Apart from that it's been a light buffet or the curled up sandwiches.

The main attraction (for me anyway) was that I could have some food, and then stay where I was, and not have to move on to make room for other people to eat.

I doubt if I'll be bothering with this new Welcome Aboard Reception. As my cabin will be (apparently) ready when I board, I'll just dump my bags in there, go to the buffet for some food, and then unpack. I can't be @rsed with canapés when there's unpacking to be done!

You make me laugh Moby with all this vain and selfish Goldie lark!

[Whynd1]

I have just downloaded my ticket for 3 rd November. Travelling through my ta, we usually get there between 12 and 1 pm it now says 2.30 pm on the ticket.

Will wait and see what my pick up time will be it used to be 7.30 am from Swansea.

Lindsey

[barney]

Yeah, mine says 2.00pm , travelling on the 8th Nov Lindsey

I'll do what I always do.

That is, be totally disorganised and start packing about 9.00 that morning

Then get there when we get there.

If we have to wait to board, whatever

[Quizzical Bob]

I live seven miles from the docks and even I can't time my journey very accurately. If there's a problem on the motorway then it could take an extra hour. The ony time we have exerienced long queues is when several coaches all turn up at the same time.

[Manoverboard]

Edit: just an afterthought. What exactly is the 'good reason' for scrapping the lunch?

You ask for the reason ...

In an ideal World P&O wish to stagger their passengers so that the embarkation process is, for everybody, as smooth as possible but to achieve that ideal the coaches, for example, would obviously need to be ' managed ' by the adherence to phased timeslots and ALL passengers would need to observe their designated boarding times. These timings would be based on Decks, distance travelled or some other sensible logistical criteria but the number of Brownie Points would NOT be a consideration, nor should it be as it simply serves to cause congestion. There are too many and the numbers will increase so something has to change.

Try to see it as a ' re-positioning ' exercise, you can perhaps champion the cause of having the ' special one's ' lunch on the 1st sea day if it is such a problem to you .... I personally don't see it as a problem, we much prefer to pop in and out of the buffet and then, ideally, to sit outside in the sunshine at the start of our cruise. We also prefer to arrive early even though we do not have a great distance to travel.

[Manoverboard]

... You make me laugh Moby with all this vain and selfish Goldie lark!

It's very naughty, I know ... but

[Quizzical Bob]

Edit: just an afterthought. What exactly is the 'good reason' for scrapping the lunch?

You ask for the reason ...

In an ideal World P&O wish to stagger their passengers so that the embarkation process is, for everybody, as smooth as possible but to achieve that ideal the coaches, for example, would obviously need to be ' managed ' by the adherence to phased timeslots and ALL passengers would need to observe their designated boarding times. These timings would be based on Decks, distance travelled or some other sensible logistical criteria but the number of Brownie Points would NOT be a consideration, nor should it be as it simply serves to cause congestion. There are too many and the numbers will increase so something has to change.

Try to see it as a ' re-positioning ' exercise, you can perhaps champion the cause of having the ' special one's ' lunch on the 1st sea day if it is such a problem to you .... I personally don't see it as a problem, we much prefer to pop in and out of the buffet and then, ideally, to sit outside in the sunshine at the start of our cruise. We also prefer to arrive early even though we do not have a great distance to travel.

Thanks for expanding, but I don't see any of this as a 'good reason'. As far as I can see the difference with the new system is canapés instead of a more substantial lunch. This can only mean that more people will be clogging up the buffet and dragging their luggage around the ship.

Their must be some clear advantages to the loyalty system or the most valuable customers will migrate to other cruise lines.

[Raybosailor]

Just out of interest, has anyone received their check-in info since the "new" rules were introduced ?

I thought it was in place back in May when we went on Azura, we were given a dedicated check in time which we adhered to but the que to get rid of the car and bags was half way round the industrial estate leading to the gates of the Mayflower terminal. We arrived in the check in hall later than our dedicated check in time and were given a que card, the wait to check in wasn't too long but the security checks were being held up by people not preparing themselves for the procedure.

Why is it that some people sit in airport departure lounges and and cruise terminals bragging about how many flights or cruises they have been on and still they are sometimes the people who held you up at security ?.

Being a mere Atlantic tier passenger with hardly any loyalty benefits apart from a few pence off a pint on board, I am a long way from the Caribbean+ loyalty benefits but if one day I do reach that status P&O can stuff the fizz and finger food, dedicated lounges, PRIORITY BOARDING etc, just give me a decent discount off my next cruise.

Furthermore I can't understand why people relate to the buffet as a bun fight or somewhere they would not be seen dead in, on the two P&O cruises I have been on I found the buffet to be well presented and staffed by friendly efficient crew, the same goes for fellow passengers who are queing with you in a polite and orderly manner. No flying buns or disorder just a little bit busy due to the extra volume of passengers all arriving together, unlike some of the VIP lounges I have been in where the "I've paid for it I'm gonna have it all" brigade frequent.

We travel the day before and vacate the hotel a 12:00, with a car full of suitcases where do we go if not to the cruise terminal ?, if we get to the terminal and they tell us we have to wait to be checked in that's fine, we are happy to sit there with a cuppa and watch all the PRIORITY boarders queing up to get through security because someone in front has half the British gold reserve hanging from them.

[towny44]

Moby, your views may be worth taking seriously if all cruise lines were having the sort of problems that Edgington's new system is designed to improve.
However Celebrity and RCI have ships equally as large, or larger, than P&O and they manage their operation far better, and they even seem to realise that their customers are paying their wages as well. They do provide a check in time for first time cruisers, but they don't police it they only seem to issue it in the expectation that some passengers will adhere to it and ease the early crush. For all Captain's Club past passengers they are allowed to board anytime from 11:30am-3:30pm, but their check in seems to open almost as soon as the last passenger from the previous cruise has disembarked.
So my response to CE is for him to book a Celebrity cruise under an assumed name and see how the professionals operate, and maybe he could then try to match their efficiency.

[allatc]

I shall do my best to adhere to my boarding time but here is the dilemma :-

On a good run I can get to Southampton in two hours. A "typical" run would be about 2.5 to 3 hours.

The worst case was five hours - hold ups on the M3 (stationary) and M27.

So given a 3pm boarding slot do I :-

a) Leave at 1pm having had lunch at home, hoping for a quick run
b) Leave at 12pm, still hoping for a quick run and stop for lunch en-route, but where ?, Needs to be fairly close to Southampton
c) Leave at 12pm but not stop for lunch in case I get held up, in which case I could arrive early at 2pm but more likely 2.30.
d) Leave at 11am so there is theoretically lots of time to stop for lunch, but where?
e) Leave at 10am, theoretically masses of time for stops en-route
f) Come down the night before (don't really want to do that)

[Meg 50]

I shall do my best to adhere to my boarding time but here is the dilemma :-

On a good run I can get to Southampton in two hours. A "typical" run would be about 2.5 to 3 hours.

The worst case was five hours - hold ups on the M3 (stationary) and M27.

So given a 3pm boarding slot do I :-

a) Leave at 1pm having had lunch at home, hoping for a quick run
b) Leave at 12pm, still hoping for a quick run and stop for lunch en-route, but where ?, Needs to be fairly close to Southampton
c) Leave at 12pm but not stop for lunch in case I get held up, in which case I could arrive early at 2pm but more likely 2.30.
d) Leave at 11am so there is theoretically lots of time to stop for lunch, but where?
e) Leave at 10am, theoretically masses of time for stops en-route
f) Come down the night before (don't really want to do that)

looks like you live a similar distance to us....

we leave at 9.30- quite happy to sit it out in the terminal - far better than panicking in a traffic jam miles away!

[Gill W]

I have just downloaded my ticket for 3 rd November. Travelling through my ta, we usually get there between 12 and 1 pm it now says 2.30 pm on the ticket.

Will wait and see what my pick up time will be it used to be 7.30 am from Swansea.

Lindsey

Yeah, mine says 2.00pm , travelling on the 8th Nov Lindsey

I'll do what I always do.

That is, be totally disorganised and start packing about 9.00 that morning

Then get there when we get there.

If we have to wait to board, whatever

It'd be interesting to know what deck you are on, as they are supposed to be checking people in, in deck order. I think the theory is, the higher the deck, the earlier the time.

[screwy]

Were on Azura tomorrow and have been given a check in time of 15-30. were on C Deck.? Now having to travel down from the NW a trip of approx. 250 miles it normally takes about 5 hrs with a couple of stops. The weather forecast for tomorrow is grim with Fog all the way down till late morning...We will be arriving at lunch time as normal and take our chance.

[Whynd1]

I am on C deck. It will be my first cruise on Caribbean tier, the loyalty benefits are diminishing little by little.

[Silver_Shiney]

Just out of interest, has anyone received their check-in info since the "new" rules were introduced ?

I thought it was in place back in May when we went on Azura, we were given a dedicated check in time which we adhered to but the que to get rid of the car and bags was half way round the industrial estate leading to the gates of the Mayflower terminal. We arrived in the check in hall later than our dedicated check in time and were given a que card, the wait to check in wasn't too long but the security checks were being held up by people not preparing themselves for the procedure.

Why is it that some people sit in airport departure lounges and and cruise terminals bragging about how many flights or cruises they have been on and still they are sometimes the people who held you up at security ?.

Being a mere Atlantic tier passenger with hardly any loyalty benefits apart from a few pence off a pint on board, I am a long way from the Caribbean+ loyalty benefits but if one day I do reach that status P&O can stuff the fizz and finger food, dedicated lounges, PRIORITY BOARDING etc, just give me a decent discount off my next cruise.

Furthermore I can't understand why people relate to the buffet as a bun fight or somewhere they would not be seen dead in, on the two P&O cruises I have been on I found the buffet to be well presented and staffed by friendly efficient crew, the same goes for fellow passengers who are queing with you in a polite and orderly manner. No flying buns or disorder just a little bit busy due to the extra volume of passengers all arriving together, unlike some of the VIP lounges I have been in where the "I've paid for it I'm gonna have it all" brigade frequent.

We travel the day before and vacate the hotel a 12:00, with a car full of suitcases where do we go if not to the cruise terminal ?, if we get to the terminal and they tell us we have to wait to be checked in that's fine, we are happy to sit there with a cuppa and watch all the PRIORITY boarders queing up to get through security because someone in front has half the British gold reserve hanging from them.

[Gill W]

I am on C deck. It will be my first cruise on Caribbean tier, the loyalty benefits are diminishing little by little.

Were on Azura tomorrow and have been given a check in time of 15-30. were on C Deck.? Now having to travel down from the NW a trip of approx. 250 miles it normally takes about 5 hrs with a couple of stops. The weather forecast for tomorrow is grim with Fog all the way down till late morning...We will be arriving at lunch time as normal and take our chance.

It doesn't look as if they're allocating by deck after all, it seems completely random - like a lot of P&O things these days!

[Whynd1]

It will be interesting to see how everything is handled on the day.

[gravy1955]

I think Boris and his rant summed up my thoughts on this matter perfectly.I see no valid reasons for such a change.Why try to fix something that isn't broken? If bottlenecks are occurring then P&O need to employ more staff, more baggage handlers, open more checking in desks and have all security screens in operation.They need to be more efficient in how they operate.Why is embarking by deck order deemed to be so much more efficient anyway? I could understand more if it was by loyalty tier or even cabin grade - you pay more so you embark earlier

[david63]

One reason to have check-in by deck could be that if they are aiming to have cabins ready for a specific time then doing it by deck is easier, and more efficient, than any other system.

You concentrate your resources on one deck at a time then move those resources to the next deck, and so on. Doing it by cabin grade, loyalty level, booking order or any other such criteria would have staff running around all over the ship and, in some cases, revisiting areas that they had already been to.

[gravy1955]

One reason to have check-in by deck could be that if they are aiming to have cabins ready for a specific time then doing it by deck is easier, and more efficient, than any other system.

You concentrate your resources on one deck at a time then move those resources to the next deck, and so on. Doing it by cabin grade, loyalty level, booking order or any other such criteria would have staff running around all over the ship and, in some cases, revisiting areas that they had already been to.

Thanks for the explanation.At least I can see some reasoning now behind the system.

[towny44]

My worry about them filling the ship from the top down is that it might become top heavy and capsize.
David, why do they need the cabins ready as you board? The ship is geared up for looking after all those passengers on a sea day, and they clean them non stop; or at least Celebrity do not too sure about P&O; so everything except the cabins is ready to look after and feed and water everyone who is coming aboard, and despite all cabins needing fresh linen they are generally ready between 1:00 and 2:00pm.
IMO the main issue is that security is done last, if they switched the terminals to do security first then everything else would flow more easily, I just don't understand the blinkered attitude of the P&O management, they just seem to refuse to learn from other lines that do things better.

[rita17]

We are travelling in one car with two friends. My friend asked that the bookings be linked. They have been given 2.00 pm check in and we have 3.00 pm. What time should we aim for? We did think about meeting in the middle at 2.30 pm but have now decided to aim for 2.00 pm. We don't mind waiting to board if they let them on but make us wait until our allocated boarding time.

[david63]

David, why do they need the cabins ready as you board?

I've no idea - I was only offering a possible reason.

Actually I can see a good reason to have the cabins ready for when you board and that is to stop having passengers "milling around" for a couple of hours with all of their possessions in tow. Cabin ready, leave coats and carry-on bags in cabin, start holiday - overall a much more pleasant process.

Perhaps another solution would be for all disembarking passengers to sleep on deck the night before disembarkation and then they could prepare the cabins overnight and they would be ready for passengers to embark at 08:00