When to board?

[vacationman]

What is the earliest time you can board a ship. We are on the 6/12/05 sailing of the Pride of Aloha and have a 10am checkout time at our pre-cruise hotel. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[cliffd64]

Generally, in most ports, if the ship arrives in port prior to 6 or 7 AM, most people will be off before 11 AM.

 

Depending on the turnaround time, you may begin boarding by noon or a little after. Typically, these cruises will advertise on their documents a 1:00 PM time for boarding to begin to be safe.

 

Several things can conspire to change this... so it's not gospel.

[shoreguy]

and you can always ask for a late check out :)

[winterblues]

We arrived at the Star at 10:00, got in line and were on the boat by 11:30. Get there early if you want to avoid the huge line-ups. We sat on our balcony of the ship watching the poor people in the long line up waiting to get on the boat.

[ron46936]

Our experience with NCL suggests that they almost always start boarding earlier than the stated time. In your case I would leave the hotel around 10 and head to the ship. Chances are you will be able to board with only a short wait. We have been in our rooms before noon on several occcasions.

[98Charlie]

With NCL the boarding has always begun before noon, sometimes as early as 11:00. The only exception was the Majesty out of Charleston last November. We were told "additional security measures" were needed.

 

Charlie

[cruisin'couple]

We're on the May 1st Pride of Aloha cruise, and have received our documents. They say check-in begins at 1:00. You may end up having to hang around the hotel lobby until time to leave for the ship. You might ask the hotel if they could "store" your luggage for a couple of hours after you check out, and then you can do a bit of sightseeing near the hotel. Just a suggestion.

[newmexicoNita]

We always get to the pier around 11 or 11:30am and are on our ship by around noon. I would do the 10am check out and head right to the pier. The sooner you get on the ship the longer you have to enjoy the afternoon activities. NMnitatu

[Roselin]

You may be able to board the ship early but not get into your cabin right away if they are still cleaning them. We were on the 3/13 cruise of POA. We boarded around 12:30 and they were directing people to either go to the buffet for lunch or wait in the theater. They made an announcement later when people were free to go to their cabins.