Looking for embarkation advice

[LACruiserGuy]

Sailing on the Celebrity Millennium in August 2012. I realize it probably varies depending on the cruise line, size of ship, etc., but, in general, when do you believe is the best time period to board the ship for embarkation in order to reduce your processing time? If the ship begins embarkation at say 2:00pm and departs at 8:00pm, is it best to be there shortly before 2:00pm, board a couple of hours later, or board closer to the embarkation time? (Boarding the ship as early as possible is not a big issue for us.)

[almostavirgin]

Sailing on the Celebrity Millennium in August 2012. I realize it probably varies depending on the cruise line, size of ship, etc., but, in general, when do you believe is the best time period to board the ship for embarkation in order to reduce your processing time? If the ship begins embarkation at say 2:00pm and departs at 8:00pm, is it best to be there shortly before 2:00pm, board a couple of hours later, or board closer to the embarkation time? (Boarding the ship as early as possible is not a big issue for us.)

 

 

Hi LACruiser!

 

Most cruise lines have perfected the "art" of embarkation, which can put the waiting line at Starbucks to shame. An hour or so after embarkation had started is ideal for me, just so I can avoid the initial rush of cruisers who have been waiting there earlier. Granting that all your necessary documents (passport, credit card, etc.) are in order, processing, in my experience, took about 10 minutes.

 

By the way, I am planning on going to that Alaska cruise by Pied Piper too!!

 

-Ray

[LACruiserGuy]

Ray - thanks for the info. My partner and I are newbies to cruising and Pied Piper and are really looking forward to it. Glad to learn that you will be on this Alaska cruise.

[almostavirgin]

Ray - thanks for the info. My partner and I are newbies to cruising and Pied Piper and are really looking forward to it. Glad to learn that you will be on this Alaska cruise.

 

 

Be warned. It can be addicting!

 

-Ray

[gw2fll]

Yes, you will quickly become addicted. Our first cruise was with PP - after Thanksgiving cruise to Southern Caribbean. Had a wonderful time.

 

Also, as you prepare for your upcoming journey, you might want to start thinking about your next cruise. Granted, PP is going to have some good offers to get you to book on the cruise, so I would go ahead and start thinking about your next cruise. Checkout PP's cruise calendar for upcoming cruises, as well as, RCCL family of cruises (Celebrity, Royal, and Azamara) for possible intineraries of interest.

 

On our last cruise, we booked our next cruise on Navigator, but also acquired an "open ticket" for Celebrity. (You can also book Celebrity and Azamara onboard RCL ships. I assume you can do the same on Celebrity.)

[Schplinky]

I'd arrive 90 minutes after the recommended time to avoid the wait. There are two huge waves to avoid: the early arrivers (who will be there at 11a.m. to ensure they get on first to make reservations for restaurants and spa stuff) and those who arrive at the recommended time. After that, it's all very manageable. In your case, arriving between 4 and six would likely see you encountering zero lines.

[Clay Clayton]

Havent taken the time to see your Alaska iteniary but when we did PP on X's Summit, we left from Seward. We actually got there VERY early - like 10 am well before embarkation was supposed to start, dropped our bags, guickly did the paperwork, got our cards and then went back out sightseeing until much closer to time to embark. It almost gave us an extra hole day to enjoy Alaska. Have a great trip!

[LACruiserGuy]

Clay - thanks for your tip re the possibility of arriving a couple of hours before embarkation is scheduled to begin. I had been wondering if it was possible to check in and not actually board the ship since we may want to visit the nearby Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park to do a hike. Based on what I've read it seems like it's possible to take a fairly short shuttle bus ride from Seward to get to the park, do some hiking, and be back at the ship within 4 hours.

[gskimmel]

We were thinking about doing an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity. We will be on the Eclipse next month and I'm always looking for the next cruise. We've never done anything with Pied Piper. Do they arrange additional activities on board?

[LACruiserGuy]

Pied Piper does arrange onboard activities and shore excurisions for its gay group curises depending on how many people book the cruise. I believe PP requires there be at least 10 people booked on the cruise for there to be a host from Pied Piper sailing on the cruise to lead the activities and shore excursions. People on this CC forum have posted that prior PP Alaska cruises had about 50 people booked with the group.

[Clay Clayton]

Clay - thanks for your tip re the possibility of arriving a couple of hours before embarkation is scheduled to begin. I had been wondering if it was possible to check in and not actually board the ship since we may want to visit the nearby Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park to do a hike. Based on what I've read it seems like it's possible to take a fairly short shuttle bus ride from Seward to get to the park, do some hiking, and be back at the ship within 4 hours.

 

We had a rental car as we had spent a few days in Anchorage pre cruise doing day trips (highly recommend btw) so we drove ourselves to the glacier that is just out of town and did the sealife exhibit in Seward before returning the car and actually going aboard. Seems like we didn't depart until 9 so we had plenty of time.

[Clay Clayton]

Pied Piper does arrange onboard activities and shore excurisions for its gay group curises depending on how many people book the cruise. I believe PP requires there be at least 10 people booked on the cruise for there to be a host from Pied Piper sailing on the cruise to lead the activities and shore excursions. People on this CC forum have posted that prior PP Alaska cruises had about 50 people booked with the group.

 

We had 60 or so as I recall. We had a couple of gatherings aboard and seems like their was an excursion or two but as I has already set up ours we didn't take advantage of those.

[keithm]

Sailing on the Celebrity Millennium in August 2012. I realize it probably varies depending on the cruise line, size of ship, etc., but, in general, when do you believe is the best time period to board the ship for embarkation in order to reduce your processing time? If the ship begins embarkation at say 2:00pm and departs at 8:00pm, is it best to be there shortly before 2:00pm, board a couple of hours later, or board closer to the embarkation time? (Boarding the ship as early as possible is not a big issue for us.)

On our last cruise on Cunard we did the Grills(priority boarding), so time wasn't a problem. We now are "frequent flyers" so to speak, so we get priority boarding. That being said, it is a good idea to get there early. The line can really get long & without some form of priority boarding it can be a real long wait. In '06 we waited over 2 hours to board the QM2. It was hot & humid, so a nasty wait.

[CodyGeorge]

LACruiserGuy,

My partner and I will also be on the Millennium in August 2012. What is your sailing date? We weren't aware of a Pied Piper cruise and I am wondering if it is the same cruise that we are on.

 

Thanks, Larry

[LACruiserGuy]

@Larry - The Pied Piper cruise we are sailing on departs from Seward on August 17.

[RandB_Toronto]

We arrived at an Oceania cruise a little earlier than "allowed" and were immediately taken onboard where we were checked in at the lounge -- no wait at all. On the other hand, we arrived at a HAL cruise at the recommended time and no one had started boarding -- it was a zoo!! Had to almost fight for a luggage attendant to take our bags, then stood around (not enough seats) for over an hour before we got onboard. So it all depends. Two hours or so after the initial time seems like a good idea. I've heard that it can depend on the port since their facilities can vary a lot.

[CodyGeorge]

@Larry - The Pied Piper cruise we are sailing on departs from Seward on August 17.

 

Thanks for the info. We sail on August 3rd, so I guess we will miss the Pied Piper cruise.

[pauleydm]

My advice is based on our first 2 cruises with Carnival.

 

On our first cruise, we arrived at the port 30 minutes before the specified boarding time, so we had to stand outside with the other eager passengers. The line moved fairly quickly and we were on the ship about an hour after embarkation started. However, since we were "early" to board, our room was not quite ready, so we had to wait a bit to get into our room and unpack.

 

On our second cruise, we drove half way to the port, stopped for lunch and then finished our drive. Because we took a more leasurly pace, we arrived 2 hours after the specified boarding time, got through the process in a half hour and was able to get into our room immediately. So my advice is to not be the first to arrive.

[shepp]

My advice is based on our first 2 cruises with Carnival.

 

On our first cruise, we arrived at the port 30 minutes before the specified boarding time, so we had to stand outside with the other eager passengers. The line moved fairly quickly and we were on the ship about an hour after embarkation started. However, since we were "early" to board, our room was not quite ready, so we had to wait a bit to get into our room and unpack.

 

On our second cruise, we drove half way to the port, stopped for lunch and then finished our drive. Because we took a more leasurly pace, we arrived 2 hours after the specified boarding time, got through the process in a half hour and was able to get into our room immediately. So my advice is to not be the first to arrive.

 

Depends on the line. I've heard that CCL (and other lines) sometimes let pax board before their cabins are ready, making them and their carry-ons cool their heels. Princess, AFAIK, never does. And on Princess, one of the main dining rooms is open for embarcation lunch, though usually only until 1:30. So we make it a point to board early, drop carry-on luggage in the cabin, and head down for a leisurely lunch free of the madness of the embarcation-day buffet zoo.

 

It's been a while since our only X sailing, so I don't remember how they do it.

 

YMMV.

[huskerc]

On the Millennium last month, we arrived at around 2PM for a 4:30PM sailing. Cutting a bit closer than I would have preferred, but there was an issue getting there (long story).

 

Anyway, we sailed through check-in (no line), got on the ship, had lunch, and were in our cabin in probably 30 minutes time total.

 

By contrast we were among the first to arrive for our NCL cruise last October. Massive, winding line that took probably close to an hour just to get on the ship. The cabins were not ready for a few hours but the dining room was open for lunch at least, and there was a cookout at the pool.