Early Check In vs. Late Check In

Most of us on this board are veteran cruisers, mostly with NCL. I know we don't agree on a lot of topics, but one thing we will agree on is that embarkation can sometimes be a bit of a hassle, to put it mildly. I know there are a lot of factors beyond NCL's control, and experiences can vary by port. The question I have for you all is, early or late? Are you at the pier at 10 - 10:30, hoping to squeeze every minute and Rebellious Fish into your vacation, or do you like to arrive around 12:30 - 1 after the masses have crammed onto the pool deck and filled The Great Outdoors ?

we always arrive around 930-10. we like to get on board as soon as possible.

teh flip side, is we are the first off wehn we arrive home. when its over its over, particualrly when you have traveling to do to get home, and its a sunday and you have to work on monday.

We always try to arrive as early as possible the first day and we also try to leave the ship as late as possible on the last day.

When waiting to board we also wait as close to the door as possible so that the concierge take us in the first Group and doesn't have to get back for us.

We're the 10 - 10:30 folks. Once on the ship, the vacation has begun!

I am early. But like that in all aspects of my life. Any waiting is in the Haven and Suites area so that makes it easier. But even back in my pre-Haven days I was an early bird.

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We are probably some of the few that wait until later. We like to arrive and breeze through security and check in. We usually enjoy morning coffee and a light breakfast at our hotel and just relax and enjoy our morning before heading to ship.

Definitely a 12:30 - 1:30 type of person AND I always eat a big breakfast before leaving for the port so I can avoid the chaos of the buffet. I like to relax and avoid as much hassle as possible.

Early early early. Want my vacay started as soon as possible. Want relaxing lunch in the MDR and time for ship exploration and unpacking/settling in. Then it's time for a cocktail!

We try to arrive early for one primary reason -- in case anything goes wrong! One time, we hit bad traffic and instead of arriving at 10 we arrived at 12.

Our last cruise we arrived at the terminal at 10 and it seemed more backed up than usual. Even our Haven security line had like 6 people in it. Well, turns out that was the beginning of an absolute disaster of a day! The computers went down and they stopped processing all passengers through security. By the time they started up again, the place was a zoo with the Haven line hundreds deep. People that arrived when I did really just dealt with the 1 hr delay, but people that arrived between 11-12 didn't get on until about 3.

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I am definitely an early bird. If it is a ship I have not been on before I like to take pictures without a lot of people in them.

We are 10-10:30ish but this time will be in Haven, so i guess it kinda does not matter?

I prefer to have access to my belongings rather than wait for my bag to appear in the hallway in the early evening. So, I prefer to arrive at the port around 12:45 - 1:00 to shorter lines, carry my own bag, and by the time I get through security, get my room card and get on board, my room is ready and I can unpack my bags and get the vacation started. Don't know about you all, but unpacking after a couple of cocktails never seemed to work out well for me. ;)).

Like to go later and miss the crowds. Also, can go directly to my room. We only take carry ons.

Our last and our next cruise left/leaves on a Friday and my husband has to work a half day prior to leaving, so we are arriving on the later side. Sure I'd like to get started sooner, but hopefully the lines and the waiting won't be terribly long when we arrive to board.

I’m in the early camp too. I’ve been waiting for this trip form sometime and want it to start as early as possible. Waiting in the Haven area isn’t all that bad, plus as others said, just never know with traffic or other delays. I hate being late in all aspects of my life. Blame my father for that. Lol

For me - early check in as I would take a train into the city and then a cab to the port. Early check in - not so bad and boarding pass was #7 for the recent cruise I went on. Some wanted to get there early especially for those that wanted to get the vibe pass on newer NCL cruises.

I want to start my trip ASAP

We are usually on the later side. Prefer to avoid some of the crowds thru security and of course check-in, and for some reason it never really feels like we are actually on vacation until after sail away and rooms are ready anyway. Next time we will be in the Haven so will probably plan to arrive a bit earlier.

Put me in the late camp. It just works better for the way I want to travel.

Let those who want to get their vacation started ASAP have a couple hours waiting for it and then a couple more eating, drinking and exploring. Then I come behind them and get the same experience without the bottlenecks. A win-win situation. :D

Early just in case we hit any unplanned delays plus we like to start our vacation as soon as we can. We also get off the ship early.

Only been on one cruise so far. Went early to get the most out of it.

Was going to go later on this next cruise (10 days from today! Woot!) but have another couple traveling with us, and this is the first cruise for both of them, so we’re going early again so they can experience as much time on the ship as possible.

Getting to the terminal early to sit and wait with 2000 people isn't a vacation to me. I'll wait at the hotel, sitting at the hotel pool across town while the masses stand in line at the terminal.

We arrive around 12:30 we breeze right thru and up to the Haven for lunch with no waiting at all. If I liked crowds, I'd be their earlier.

I prefer to have access to my belongings rather than wait for my bag to appear in the hallway in the early evening. So, I prefer to arrive at the port around 12:45 - 1:00 to shorter lines, carry my own bag, and by the time I get through security, get my room card and get on board, my room is ready and I can unpack my bags and get the vacation started. Don't know about you all, but unpacking after a couple of cocktails never seemed to work out well for me. ;)).

We have been trying to decide what time to arrive. We have always been the early to port kind of people, but traveling with our daughter and her family this January on the Getaway out of Miami, she wants to go at 12:00. The problem is that I've heard that 12:00-12:30 is the absolute worse time to go, with horrendous lines. Your comment makes me wonder whether we heard wrong.

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Getting to the terminal early to sit and wait with 2000 people isn't a vacation to me. I'll wait at the hotel, sitting at the hotel pool across town while the masses stand in line at the terminal.

We arrive around 12:30 we breeze right thru and up to the Haven for lunch with no waiting at all. If I liked crowds, I'd be their earlier.

So, I'm reading from this that the 12:00-12:30 time to arrive may be better? I Was told the lines are horrendous at that time, and to get there early. We have always arrived early, but our daughter wants to arrive later (at 12-12:30). I want an honest opinion of lines in POM to board the Getaway at 12-12:30. We are not Haven passengers. Just regular staterooms). Thank you.

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we usually arrive about 10.30 to 11 and get a low boarding number so on ship early and get lunch[main dining room-not buffet] for relaxing start and make use of UBP