Fred, my boarding time was 3:00 pm according to my final documents. I had no idea of this policy until after I spoke to Susan, who told me I probably shouldn't try to board until 1:30 or so at the earliest.

I arrived at the port around 2:15 and there were no lines at all. I was onboard in less than 10 minutes - but they still actually had not announced that the cabins were ready to be occupied. I think it was around 3:30 when they were finally ready. Not sure if it's always like that or if this was just a special circumstance.

There is no doubt that the Marina is a beautiful ship, the food and service were outstanding; however, it is exactly the "class" system that toward the end of the cruise began to make me feel less than equal to some of my fellow cruisers. I can tell you more privately - I'm just uncomfortable discussing my feelings in an open forum as I'm now working in the travel industry and wouldn't want my comments to be misconstrued.