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Royal Caribbean's Stress Free Boarding Process


twangster

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I've had an opportunity to cruise a few cruise lines during this 2021 cruise restart.  All of them have been with reduced capacity.

Having recently encountered two terrible boarding day procedures I've got give credit to Royal Caribbean for implementing the best boarding day process I've experienced.

On those other lines it took hours for me to board the ship.  Neither of them improved the muster drill routine to a notable extent.  For both the other cruise lines their boarding day process cast a dark cloud on the start of my cruise vacation and in both cases it took a few hours after finally getting on board before it felt like I was on vacation.  Even then I felt exhausted and didn't feel like doing very much on the first night.

Contrast that with Royal where I was car to cabin in 20 minutes.  Upon boarding I was free to grab a bite to eat and a beverage then I could visit my muster station at my convenience for a one-on-one safety briefing that took less than 60 seconds.   

Upon boarding Royal I immediately felt like I was on a cruise vacation.  It was like I got an extra cruise day to enjoy.  I was quickly into vacation mode and it was all stress free.  

I will say people arriving before their appointed time is a problem on all cruise lines.   Don't be that person.  If you arrive before your time you are part of the problem and you deserve the long wait times you will encounter.  However once you are allowed inside the terminal there is no excuse for the other cruise lines to make boarding such a stressful and lengthy process.  

Hat's off to Royal for creating the best boarding day process.

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2 minutes ago, Matt said:

What do you think is the aspect of boarding other lines struggle with the most?

I feel like the other lines haven't put any effort into looking at the process with fresh eyes.  

Instead they put up signs to wear a mask and have put more hand sanitizing stations in the terminal but that's about it.  Even then that's the port doing that, not the cruise lines.

For muster in one case they made it a longer process with more standing in long lines.  For the other they immediately directed me to go to muster upon boarding with my carry on luggage.  Do not pass Go, do not collect a beverage.  Sit and wait for enough guests so they can perform a safety demonstration and only then are you free to start your vacation.  I feel like their "new" restart procedures were developed by an outside agency that has never cruised before.

Royal put a lot of effort into rethinking boarding day when they created Oasis class.  They had to in order to manage the higher passenger count.  All ships benefited from that reimagining the process.  For the cruising restart I feel like Royal once again took a deep dive into the boarding day process and spent some time to look at it from the moment you step out of a car or off a bus including the muster process. 

On those other lines I feel like they haven't invested very much effort into looking at the boarding day process.  It's like they think of the cruise starting once you are on the ship.  "Boarding sucks and it was will always suck and that's just the way it is.  That doesn't matter because the cruise only begins on the ship and not a minute before.  We have no control over what happens in the terminal before the cruise begins".  

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Boarding the Oasis in Port Liberty was a breeze! Just like you...car to ship 20 minutes or less. More than enough port workers who knew what they were doing. Clear, friendly, welcoming and all on the same page. No confusion. I particularly appreciated the emails in the day or two before warning guests to NOT come before their assigned time or they would be turned away. I think they were very effective. And the new muster procedure via the app is absolutely amazing! Kudos to Royal!!!!

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

On those other lines it took hours for me to board the ship.  Neither of them improved the muster drill routine to a notable extent.  For both the other cruise lines their boarding day process cast a dark cloud on the start of my cruise vacation and in both cases it took a few hours after finally getting on board before it felt like I was on vacation.

What is this "other cruise lines" you speak of?

image.png.43cf874e324b64b323bc63928900f8fa.png

 

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1 hour ago, spursfreak21 said:

So are more people carrying their luggage on the ship since you can go straight to the cabin? vs waiting for the luggage to be delivered? Any observations around this?

Not really seeing much change with luggage.  On short 3 & 4 night cruises more people carry on.  It's always been that way.  

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2 hours ago, Aulayan said:

Sadly, due to my strategic error in flying in the morning of, I will be showing up early.  Carrying luggage to restaurants or sightseeing with luggage is...not a fun thing.  I won't expect early entry.  More like hanging out nearby with a phone/tablet.

https://luggagehero.com/?lh_expID=Kv6a4vdUQgWwD6SHo-TNmg&lh_varID=0

Not sure where you are cruising from but this is a cheap option if you have a desire to do some sight seeing.

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13 hours ago, Aulayan said:

Sadly, due to my strategic error in flying in the morning of, I will be showing up early.  Carrying luggage to restaurants or sightseeing with luggage is...not a fun thing.  I won't expect early entry.  More like hanging out nearby with a phone/tablet.

Have to agree with you here. We fly to all sorts of different ports for boarding cruises and arrive at as many different times. 

I try sometimes to book flights that arrive sometime around noon, but it usually does not work out that way. Problem is, if you book a flight for noon to one pm or so, and there is any kind of delay, you risk not making it in time. Ideally I would normally like to arrive at the dock about 2 pm and avoid the rush. That's cutting it close to boarding time if your flight is delayed for any reason.

Sometimes that certain flight that gets you there at that special time is a pile of money MORE. 

Sorry twangster, I will be that guy. I can't see the added chores and expense of finding bag storage for a couple hours in Orlando, FLL, Newark, Tampa, Galveston, etc., etc.  I will try though !😃

Could fly in a day early, lets add another couple hundred for room and meals. Flight could be more or less?

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7 hours ago, 12thman said:

Thanks for the link. Didn't know there was such a thing. Have you used this service?

I have, I used it in Chicago.  Very easy to use, book online and drop off the luggage....usually it is in another business and you would never know they also store luggage, sometimes it is a hotel even.  We were going to do this after our cruise this coming week as our flight is at 8p but I just asked the hotel that we are staying at pre cruise and they will keep for us, so I will just tip generously.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/20/2021 at 3:17 PM, Aulayan said:

Sadly, due to my strategic error in flying in the morning of, I will be showing up early.  Carrying luggage to restaurants or sightseeing with luggage is...not a fun thing.  I won't expect early entry.  More like hanging out nearby with a phone/tablet.

You can drop your luggage with a porter, as long as it has your RCL bag tags.  Then go outside of the terminal and explore until your boarding time!

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So is suite class not allowed to show up an hour early? I was planning to show up an hour early because we are in a suite and we will also have to wait while my daughter is tested and then for the results…I’ve heard it adds about an hour to the boarding process. 

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In regards to all the people showing up early...is it badly impacting the rest of us? Does it clog up the line or are they just causing a lot of people waiting outside? Clear lines for each boarding time or are you in kine with people whose time is well after tours?

Sorry for all the questions! Just trying to manage expectations in Miami in nov!

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6 minutes ago, Marlena said:

In regards to all the people showing up early...is it badly impacting the rest of us? Does it clog up the line or are they just causing a lot of people waiting outside? Clear lines for each boarding time or are you in kine with people whose time is well after tours?

Sorry for all the questions! Just trying to manage expectations in Miami in nov!

We cruised from Miami in August and they had lines of people based on boarding times.  There were people there 3 hours before their time and it did clog up the front of the terminal.  
 

I understand that even with the best planning you may arrive early,but 3 hours means you just didn’t follow then protocol.

 

we actually arrived about 30 minutes before our boarding time. We had a party of 7 staying at a hotel on Hollywood Beach, and scheduled a transfer with Larry’s Limo service. The service arrived a little early and then there was like zero traffic to the port and we were there early.  Not much we could do about that. It’s a hard game to try and schedule your ride so you’re there on time and don’t miss your window.

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45 minutes ago, Reigert2008 said:

We cruised from Miami in August and they had lines of people based on boarding times.  There were people there 3 hours before their time and it did clog up the front of the terminal.  
 

I understand that even with the best planning you may arrive early,but 3 hours means you just didn’t follow then protocol.

 

we actually arrived about 30 minutes before our boarding time. We had a party of 7 staying at a hotel on Hollywood Beach, and scheduled a transfer with Larry’s Limo service. The service arrived a little early and then there was like zero traffic to the port and we were there early.  Not much we could do about that. It’s a hard game to try and schedule your ride so you’re there on time and don’t miss your window.

 

I can't fault the people there. The cruise line check-in process really does need to be cognizant of just how people arrive to sail. Except for locals, there's very little control people have over their arrival time; it'll be based on a flight arrival time or based upon a hotel checkout time. Because when you've got your luggage, and don't have your own transportation, what exactly does a cruise line expect you to do?

Now I'm local to Cape Liberty, NJ, so technically I'm pretty flexible or could be, at least, on my check-in time. But it's also my trip, so I'm gonna pick the earliest time I can to maximize it. Now someone flying in may not have many choices but to arrive well before the first check-in time they could possibly get. And all things considered, shouldn't it be those facing no alternatives who get some level of check-in time priority?

So while Royal Caribbean may think of this methodology as functional; it's not going to scale at full occupancy well, because too many people will have no other place to go to wait for their check-in time. There needs to be some additional work done on the flow of people through check-in and boarding that can better adapt to the real world timetables people follow on their trip.

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1 hour ago, Marlena said:

In regards to all the people showing up early...is it badly impacting the rest of us? Does it clog up the line or are they just causing a lot of people waiting outside? Clear lines for each boarding time or are you in kine with people whose time is well after tours?

Sorry for all the questions! Just trying to manage expectations in Miami in nov!

Depends on the port  In some cases yes early people do contest traffic flow. 

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Doing a back to back on the Oasis from Bayonne NJ.  Like @dswallow, I’m local to the port. I arrived to the terminal at my assigned time (12:00) and found no traffic, no problem parking in the garage, no waiting out front, breezed through the terminal and onto the ship. Car to ship about twenty minutes. Easiest check in I have ever done. 
A week later, on turnaround day, as we were being escorted through customs, I could see lines of people crowding the front of the terminal waiting for it to open. I guess if you have no choice due to flight or other issues, then you’ll be part of the crowd. But I’m sure there are others who just ignore their assigned time and try to jump the line…adding to the mass. As usual. Based upon my experience, when I come back, I’ll go with the easy no-stress twenty minute car to ship process.

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I can see how having a mid-afternoon check in would be a pain if you fly to the port.  
 

I feel fortunate that we have a noon check in for our upcoming cruise and the hotel has a noon checkout.  
 

If our check in was later, we’d have to find a place to wait….and realistically that would most likely be around the port area. 

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9 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

I can't fault the people there. The cruise line check-in process really does need to be cognizant of just how people arrive to sail. Except for locals, there's very little control people have over their arrival time; it'll be based on a flight arrival time or based upon a hotel checkout time. Because when you've got your luggage, and don't have your own transportation, what exactly does a cruise line expect you to do?

Now I'm local to Cape Liberty, NJ, so technically I'm pretty flexible or could be, at least, on my check-in time. But it's also my trip, so I'm gonna pick the earliest time I can to maximize it. Now someone flying in may not have many choices but to arrive well before the first check-in time they could possibly get. And all things considered, shouldn't it be those facing no alternatives who get some level of check-in time priority?

So while Royal Caribbean may think of this methodology as functional; it's not going to scale at full occupancy well, because too many people will have no other place to go to wait for their check-in time. There needs to be some additional work done on the flow of people through check-in and boarding that can better adapt to the real world timetables people follow on their trip.

I can see both sides of this, and see why you say can't fault the people. My only issue with that, though, is when we sailed out of Miami on 9/20, many people tried to get into earlier lines than they had for check-in.

If you want to show up early and wait, so be it, far from me to tell anyone else what to do, but if you have a 3:00 pm check in time, and you stand in the 12:00 line, that's a problem.

We had a 12:00 pm check in time, and when we got there around 11:45, the 12:00 line was huge, probably over 125 to 150 people. The 1:00 line had maybe 15 to 20 people, and the 2:00 line had about the same, maybe a few more. There was no line for after that, that I could see. Thankfully for us, right around the time we got there, a Port employee came over and started giving instructions for times/lines/etc. and checking people's time's on their passes or app, and then our line "miraculously" cleared out to about 25 people, and the other 2 lines grew exponentially. 

I can understand showing up early, getting in your line, and then if the earlier lines clear out, they would take you and check you in. I'm all for it. But those that do show up early just have to respect and understand the process in place and allow it to work. Then it will actually go quicker for all of us, I would think.

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Other lines and ports like Sydney have enforced check in times for years.  People manage.  

In Sydney, even as Pinnacle or Suites there was no getting in before your time on Ovation.  Only Star Class had priority check in.  At least it's an urban area with stuff to do once you drop off luggage.  Same with Port Canaveral - you can walk to a restaurant/bar.  Other ports like Cape Liberty, Miami and Port Everglades not so much.  

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12 hours ago, Cleo76 said:

So is suite class not allowed to show up an hour early? I was planning to show up an hour early because we are in a suite and we will also have to wait while my daughter is tested and then for the results…I’ve heard it adds about an hour to the boarding process. 

Sky class and above can arrive an hour prior to their listed check-in times.

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I guess I don't agree that flights and hotels make such a difference. Most hotel will make you check out between 11/12. But they have lobbies and luggage storage, so you don't have to leave and clog up the lines if your check-in is after 2pm. The same with flights as most people don't fly in the day of the cruise, especially now. 

There have been conflicting reports but I heard PC was the worse. People with 2/3pm check-ins showing up at noon to board and people who have 12/12:30 check-ins waiting an hour+ to board because of them. I think most of the staff is fairly new which is why this happens.

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Two cruises post covid so far, both on Royal so Royal gets both the best and worst experience awards !!

Freedom out of Miami was awesome. Arrived 10 mins early for our appt, made to wait in car in parking garage for 10 mins and then straight through the terminal and straight onto the ship. Showed paperwork (vax cards, passports, boarding passes one time and done).

Mariner out of Canaveral was awful. Arrived 5 mins into our appt window, joined a line of almost the entire ship that was already standing waiting (no question ever asked of what time anyones appt was). Had to show vax card and test results 5 times just to get into the terminal, then again to get onto the ship. 2+ hours from arrival to finally on board.

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Problem is Royal Caribbean is acting like it's possible to get to the terminal doors +/- 5 minutes of a specific time, without providing any means to wait anywhere around them. Some people fly into JFK or LGA, or other airports, too; some may stay in NYC hotels and face a drive of indeterminate time. Even people "local" could be driving from West Virginia, and the further away you are, the more you're gonna need to leave some extra time to account for traffic problems, or getting lost, or other issues along the way. It's like airlines saying to arrive 3 hours before your flight these days. Arrive exactly where?

 

Sure, undoubtedly, some people aren't even trying to match up with their check-in time. But people who try still can reasonably end up much earlier or much later than that check-in time. And frankly it's just a really ignorant attempt at "scheduling" on Royal Caribbean's part, in denial of the real world. Previously it was "unenforced" scheduling, which spread people out, in general, reasonably well. Enforced scheduling leaves people stuck in crazy, impractical ways. Well, actually it leaves them blocking traffic at the terminal in places like Cape Liberty, since all traffic is routed to the same place and there's no separation of traffic until you're right on top of the terminal. 🙂

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Had a 12:00 boarding time for Ovation last Friday. We showed up at 11:40 (it was either that or 1PM due to hotel shuttle schedule) and there was about 50 people already in line. They opened boarding a few minutes later and we were on-board by 12!

Yesterday while watching port activity from my balcony I noticed a couple show up and take their place in line at 8AM 😮😮. 4 hours before the first boarding time! By the time we exited the terminal at around 10 there was already a lineup of around 20 people ready to board.

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4 hours ago, Jill said:

@DanielBhow was your boarding? 

Left hotel at 1130 and at port around 1145 for a 12p boarding time.  3 lines of people 12-1, 1-2 and 2-3 with long lines in each.  Our line started moving promptly at 12p and we walked on the ship at 12:45.  Outside the doors is a cluster and the check in was slow.  Check in agent scanned passports and retook all photos…she was training someone and said she always does that to ensure they are correct.  IMO this really slows the process down.  I heard from many that shortly after the wheels fell off and the check in process was terribly slow with many noon check ins not boarding until we’ll after 1.  All in all for us all it wasn’t horrible and but certainly areas of opportunity.  

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We found a pretty cool solution to the problem of having nowhere to go when you get to your port destination (however you get there).  It's a website that allows you rent hotel rooms just for the day and you get full access to all amenities of that hotel.  You just don't sleep there.  They mark the price WAY down and in most cases you can check in around 9:00am or earlier and out by 4-6pm.  We are doing in this in Miami Beach and are going to enjoy all that the hotel has to offer then mosey on over to the ship much later in the day.  

Here's the site:

https://www.dayuse.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwNWKBhDAARIsAJ8HkhfxZt04G0gy-xQm6FFdqjVCjlOYYetfwduiyU6KaDv1spMc1BCnS5EaAnf9EALw_wcB

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18 hours ago, dswallow said:

Problem is Royal Caribbean is acting like it's possible to get to the terminal doors +/- 5 minutes of a specific time, without providing any means to wait anywhere around them. Some people fly into JFK or LGA, or other airports, too; some may stay in NYC hotels and face a drive of indeterminate time. Even people "local" could be driving from West Virginia, and the further away you are, the more you're gonna need to leave some extra time to account for traffic problems, or getting lost, or other issues along the way. It's like airlines saying to arrive 3 hours before your flight these days. Arrive exactly where?

 

Sure, undoubtedly, some people aren't even trying to match up with their check-in time. But people who try still can reasonably end up much earlier or much later than that check-in time. And frankly it's just a really ignorant attempt at "scheduling" on Royal Caribbean's part, in denial of the real world. Previously it was "unenforced" scheduling, which spread people out, in general, reasonably well. Enforced scheduling leaves people stuck in crazy, impractical ways. Well, actually it leaves them blocking traffic at the terminal in places like Cape Liberty, since all traffic is routed to the same place and there's no separation of traffic until you're right on top of the terminal. 🙂

The system isn't broken, it's just the way it is right now.  Not everything in a pandemic can't be made to function perfectly.  It's not ignorance on Royal's part. 

In the past it was nothing for people to sit in a packed terminal waiting area until boarding commenced.  That may have been a 30 minute, 60 minute or longer wait.  Packing people into a crowded waiting area doesn't work in a pandemic.

Carnival whale tail ships used to out number Royal yet they have long enforced arrival times - for many years.  If you are early you wait outside.  That's on you for arriving early regardless if you flew, drove, walked or crawled to the ship.  Arriving early meant creating an ugly experience for yourself.  If you did, that was on you.

Many of the frequent cruisers I know who live at or very near the port were not the types to try to board early.  More often that not they would show up well after the noon to 1pm peak was long over so would have no lines and cabins were ready.  They've cruised a lot.  Being on the ship first simply isn't important.  Arriving at 2:30pm was the ideal time for them.  The peak was over by then.  They aren't the problem.  There is no fix for stupid.  People arriving before their time is the problem.

Royal cruisers need to adapt to the times and protocols.  If Carnival cruisers can manage to do it Royal cruisers can too.  Perhaps Royal's only mistake was not enforcing arrival times before the pandemic started.  Royal cruisers need to change and change is difficult for people, but that's on the people, not on Royal.

Perhaps expecting people to arrive on time may have been ignorant on Royal's part.  Who knew people couldn't help themselves but would chose to ignore the process?

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

The system isn't broken, it's just the way it is right now.  Not everything in a pandemic can't be made to function perfectly.  It's not ignorance on Royal's part. 

In the past it was nothing for people to sit in a packed terminal waiting area until boarding commenced.  That may have been a 30 minute, 60 minute or longer wait.  Packing people into a crowded waiting area doesn't work in a pandemic.

Carnival whale tail ships used to out number Royal yet they have long enforced arrival times - for many years.  If you are early you wait outside.  That's on you for arriving early regardless if you flew, drove, walked or crawled to the ship.  Arriving early meant creating an ugly experience for yourself.  If you did, that was on you.

Many of the frequent cruisers I know who live at or very near the port were not the types to try to board early.  More often that not they would show up well after the noon to 1pm peak was long over so would have no lines and cabins were ready.  They've cruised a lot.  Being on the ship first simply isn't important.  Arriving at 2:30pm was the ideal time for them.  The peak was over by then.  They aren't the problem.  There is no fix for stupid.  People arriving before their time is the problem.

Royal cruisers need to adapt to the times and protocols.  If Carnival cruisers can manage to do it Royal cruisers can too.  Perhaps Royal's only mistake was not enforcing arrival times before the pandemic started.  Royal cruisers need to change and change is difficult for people, but that's on the people, not on Royal.

Perhaps expecting people to arrive on time may have been ignorant on Royal's part.  Who knew people couldn't help themselves but would chose to ignore the process?

As it is today, it is quite broken. That's evidenced by the continuing mess they face at the pier for some sailings. They're failing to do something well, for sure.

They could find someplace outside for people who need to wait, or even simply try to appear to be accommodating of those who really, truly don't have some place to go sit and wait it out. It's ignorance on Royal Caribbean's part to pretend it's somehow OK to send repeated emails about not arriving at the pier exactly at their scheduled check-in, because what immediately comes up in people's mind is something akin to "OK, so what the f*** do you expect me to do then?".

One way to start would be to actually remind people they can drop their luggage off anytime but after they do that they should go somewhere else until closer to their check-in time.

Or they could provide some ability to register for automatic notifications if/when they could come to the pier earlier. Much like beepers in restaurants, except perhaps acknowledging we all have smartphones and to use them for helpful things instead of aa crappy app that fails to impart timely information well, if at all, onboard.

In other words, they could start by simply communicating more than the classic line from the song "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here".

And let's go another step into this... exactly what's left to do at the pier anyway? Up in NJ for many years, check-in has been a minor step in the process, handled by folks with tablets throughout the area, not just at counters. If the ship is open for boarding, you're barely ever considering more than a few minutes of processing once you are through the security check, unless you've failed to do something in advance that you could've done. The ship is truly the best place to "wait" right? So the entire process should streamline getting onto the ship. Compare that to airlines; you can check in anytime beginning some 5-8 hours beforehand; that restriction being based on not being able to check luggage, mostly. But there's no check-in time except a final "check in before X" time. The only waiting is when the aircraft is finally at the gate ready to be boarded. So everyone who checks in is free to go anywhere they want, as long as they get to the gate by boarding time. Do that. Do something close to that. 

Sure, it'll take some time to reconsider the design of physical spaces to perhaps provide for larger space indoors for waiting pre-boarding. There's plenty of approaches, not all of which require tearing down a big box building and starting new. And they've manage to come up with this mess.

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40 minutes ago, dswallow said:

 

One way to start would be to actually remind people they can drop their luggage off anytime but after they do that they should go somewhere else until closer to their check-in time.

If people are currently ignoring RC instructions regarding not turning up until near their check in time do you honestly believe they will take any notice of another email basically saying the same? 

Twangsters right its people that are the problem! Its people thinking they can do as the want and screw the rest as long as they are ok 

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1 hour ago, dswallow said:

As it is today, it is quite broken. That's evidenced by the continuing mess they face at the pier for some sailings. They're failing to do something well, for sure.

They could find someplace outside for people who need to wait, or even simply try to appear to be accommodating of those who really, truly don't have some place to go sit and wait it out. It's ignorance on Royal Caribbean's part to pretend it's somehow OK to send repeated emails about not arriving at the pier exactly at their scheduled check-in, because what immediately comes up in people's mind is something akin to "OK, so what the f*** do you expect me to do then?".

One way to start would be to actually remind people they can drop their luggage off anytime but after they do that they should go somewhere else until closer to their check-in time.

Or they could provide some ability to register for automatic notifications if/when they could come to the pier earlier. Much like beepers in restaurants, except perhaps acknowledging we all have smartphones and to use them for helpful things instead of aa crappy app that fails to impart timely information well, if at all, onboard.

In other words, they could start by simply communicating more than the classic line from the song "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here".

And let's go another step into this... exactly what's left to do at the pier anyway? Up in NJ for many years, check-in has been a minor step in the process, handled by folks with tablets throughout the area, not just at counters. If the ship is open for boarding, you're barely ever considering more than a few minutes of processing once you are through the security check, unless you've failed to do something in advance that you could've done. The ship is truly the best place to "wait" right? So the entire process should streamline getting onto the ship. Compare that to airlines; you can check in anytime beginning some 5-8 hours beforehand; that restriction being based on not being able to check luggage, mostly. But there's no check-in time except a final "check in before X" time. The only waiting is when the aircraft is finally at the gate ready to be boarded. So everyone who checks in is free to go anywhere they want, as long as they get to the gate by boarding time. Do that. Do something close to that. 

Sure, it'll take some time to reconsider the design of physical spaces to perhaps provide for larger space indoors for waiting pre-boarding. There's plenty of approaches, not all of which require tearing down a big box building and starting new. And they've manage to come up with this mess.

So you want them to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop a system to notify guests who can't be bothered to follow simple instructions?

 Other cruise lines have been doing this for a decade.  It's not the cruise lines that are the problem here.

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So I guess my question is, and it’s an honest one, IF you have no other option but going to the port, what are you supposed to do until it’s your time to board?  At PC, I’d be at Grill’s Bar but I assume that is not an option at all ports.  If you’re at a hotel, I’ve never been refused leaving my luggage with bell services/front desk and using the pool area for a few hours.  Is that not the norm?  How about flying in?  Very difficult to time so what do you do?  My point is that it’s not necessarily that people don’t read, don’t care, feel entitled although clearly that’s part of it.  What do I do when my flight manages to actually arrive on time at 11am and I have a 2:30 check in?

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5 minutes ago, Pooch said:

So I guess my question is, and it’s an honest one, IF you have no other option but going to the port, what are you supposed to do until it’s your time to board?  At PC, I’d be at Grill’s Bar but I assume that is not an option at all ports.  If you’re at a hotel, I’ve never been refused leaving my luggage with bell services/front desk and using the pool area for a few hours.  Is that not the norm?  How about flying in?  Very difficult to time so what do you do?  My point is that it’s not necessarily that people don’t read, don’t care, feel entitled although clearly that’s part of it.  What do I do when my flight manages to actually arrive on time at 11am and I have a 2:30 check in?

It has to become part of your cruise planning but it varies by city.  Some have attractions nearby, some ports are more or less in an area with little to do.  

When a port is close to attractions then it might be worth the cost to drop your luggage at the ship and leave the port area even if that means a few extra dollars with a taxi or Uber. 

When a port is off on it's own far away from anything worthy then you need to consider where you can store your luggage while you do something.  A hotel you stayed at the night before can be great for that while checking out of your room on time.

Where as before the default action action was head to the cruise port and wait it out that can't be the default any more.  Research the city and port then make a plan before you arrive.

Maybe it means renting a car instead of defaulting to Uber or hotel transfers and waiting it out at the terminal hoping for early boarding.  With a rental car you can drop luggage off at the ship then you are free to explore.

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When I sailed Carnival it only took one time of being rejected and sitting on the grass surrounded by a bunch of smokers for me to learn that lesson.  Never again.  Carnival was absolute about it.  At 1:55pm they were still rejecting 2pm people.  

The lesson learned was to not show up early.

It's not the cruise lines job to find you something to do until it's your time.  That's on you.   Make a plan now.

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