New Boarding Procedures?

[DOOGIERUNNER]

I heard there are new boarding procedures? It used to be first come... first one on the ship. Has it changed? If so, how does it work? Are castaway club members given any preference, stateroom category, # of past cruises?

Thanks.

 

[ivanova]

it was different in Los Angeles - but I think it's back to "normal" now that they're back in Port Canaveral

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

Can anyone tell me about FL? Still first in line, first on the ship?

 

[WDWLVR]

When we sailied on the Wonder in September that's how it was. Of course first in line is first on the ship AFTER concierge and travelers with disabiliities. They get a separate boarding area and get on first.

 

[msnmom]

I thought I read somewhere that castaway club members were allowed on the ship before people who haven't cruised b/4. Is this still true?

6 days & counting!!!

 

[Regina]

I thought I read somewhere that castaway club members were allowed on the ship before people who haven't cruised b/4. Is this still true?

6 days & counting!!!

That's never been the policy. Castaway Club members have a separate check-in that they can choose to use, but they don't get priority boarding.

 

[STB ON THE BEACH]

I'm wondering the same thing! I read in someone's recent TR that the boarding process had changed!! It was not first come - first serve. If I understand correctly, you are given a random category number - You may receive a 3 while the next party in line may receive a 4 or 5 . When boarding begins they call your number (and also from what I understand - the speaker system is not loud enough, so most can not hear their number called) and those who have that number are allowed to board.

I am sooooo hoping I am not correct in this synopsis. Even though you are there first thing in the morning others, that have arrived later, may still board ahead of you.

 

[STB ON THE BEACH]

I just found the TR where I read about the new procedure.........I copied and pasted it below....... IT DOESN'T SOUND TOO FAIR


Hi, Julia, thanks for reading! Here's how it worked for us...after you clear security in the terminal and you get ready to take the escaltors upstairs to the main terminal there will be a CM standing there with a bunch of little cards and he/ she will hand one to the first member of your party. The card will have a number on it which designates your boarding number - has nothing to do with when you register.

 

[PrincessHaleysMom]

Other cruise lines do it this way and it really is no big deal. Just makes it not such a mad rush to get on first. I don't think it made my wait any longer - just got to sit down and wait for my # to be called. Will have to wait and see if it is that "easy" on the 12th!

 

[suwoogie]

I was on the October 15th cruise and the new policy was in place. I'll tell ya it was nuts. We were in the first group (group 2—group 1 was concierge and handicapped) and it was a mad rush to the gate when people heard the person on the PA system start to announce numbers. We had to force our way through a crowd of people who's numbers were not called yet but they wanted to be first in line when they were called. Our party was split up and I was worried about my 78 yr old mother who kept getting shoved back. I had to grab her and pull her up with us.

IMHO this is a very bad plan. I can't see how they are going to make this work without major complaints. The CMs were as nice as could be but even they were confused by the whole process at times. When I asked what number they were on when giving out the cards at the escalator, a CM said she was on group 8 and they just got word that the busses at the airport have just been released. She said she couldn't imagine what it was going to be like in an hour.

 

[inkkognito]

This sounds awful! One of the things that set Disney apart from other cruise lines was their logical first-come-first-served boarding process. RCCL does the number boarding thing, and it is a nightmare. We sail on 11/5, so I guess I'll get to see it firsthand...ugh!
Barb

 

[jgalecpa]

If you have been on a recent cruise and experienced this problem, PLEASE let DCL know through an email!

It will help all of us future cruisers!


Jim

 

[thegales]

I am guessing here...

Could it be that the people doing the Land / Sea and the people doing air through Disney were never getting an opportunity to get to the front of the line?

Since these folks have spent more for the extra service, Disney may be trying to find a way to give them a better chances to get on board at the beginning.

I am not saying this is a good thing, just trying to figure out why they changed.

 

[Kuffam]

It is my understanding (along with experience) that the Land/Sea people get to check-in when they arrive at the resort.

The down side is they are usually boarding later because the buses don't leave WDW until around noon :-(

 

[SRUAlmn]

When we sailed RCCL it was like this. I didn't notice a huge problem getting on the ship, but getting off was another story. They do color groups. You have to be out of your room by like 7:00am-8:00am, and then you have to go up to the pool deck and wait until they call your color group. I think we were there for about 4 hours! There was nothing to do! Any idea if DCL will be doing the same thing for the departure process??

 

[Denine]

We did it his way in Los Angeles and wasn't a big deal. But, we were the last one's to sail from there and had a lot of time to get it right.

Give these CM's some time and it should get better. It beats standing in a long line when there are so many nice places to sit in the terminal.

I hope they make the PA system louder.

 

[ShannonRT]

Is it this way for both ships?

And can anyone comment on the debarkation process? Has anything changed there, or is it just embarkation?

Thanks.

 

[bailey0308]

what is the point of having the castaway club line if this new rule is in affect?

 

[suwoogie]

As far as nice places to sit, that was one of the comments I made to the CM. If you got there early you had a place to sit. There were still many, many people standing. In fact I said to the CM that it would be a good idea if they had more seating for everyone. She said after today they probably would because it seemed chaotic.

It may work well if they had "staging areas". For instance if you are in group 2, you would go to an area designated for group 2. Then when it's time to board a CM would come and direct the group to the ropes. Sort of like at a wedding when your table is called to the buffet.

Getting off the ship was not smooth either. We waited in line in front of Lumiers for a very long time. I understand the line went as far as Parrot Cay. I dont' remember a time that debarkation took so long. But maybe that was a glitch.

Also, I think I remember from previous cruises that when you check in at the terminal only one person in your party need to check in. This last time they required everyone who is in the same room to be together at check-in. No big deal, just a change from what I remember.

BTW, I am a Castaway Club member and I didn't get any different treatment or shown a different line to check in. Maybe someone else has an opposing experience they could share.

 

[crzy4magic]

It seems that DCL is shifting the Florida boarding process to the one that they used in LA last summer. Remembering the posts during the early West Coast cruises, they were confused to start with, but by the time we sailed in August everyone had gotten the word and knew the drill. Give the Florida CMs a chance to make it work out, but feel free to let DCL know if it is really bad. Most changes like this come from either CM input or customer input.

One of the drivers for this has to be that they have moved the kids club sign in from ship board to in the terminal. This saves people from the dillema - do I lose my place in the boarding line to sign the kids up now, or do I sign the kids up and get on board later?