what time can we board the Conquest?

[caggfamily]

We're sailing on the Conquest in December and this time we've booked a suite, which I guess gives us VIP boarding. What time should we be at the port to take advantage of this?

[firefly333]

Im there before 11 am... which is usually a good bet. Only once or twice have I seen boarding before 11 am.

 

Usually 9 times out of 10 Im on before Noon and eating lunch by then. Every once in a while there is some delay.. so you cant say for sure, but thats the time I get there.

[firefly333]

We were once held up for over an hour boarding in NOLA because some lady with a late flight decided not to get off the ship... but to get a shower. They couldnt let us board until they cleared the ship and it took them a hour to get her and her party off the ship.

 

You cant plan for idiots.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Now they don't have to wait for all the idiots to disembark - just most of them.

[firefly333]

Now they don't have to wait for all the idiots to disembark - just most of them.

 

Thats true, I was just giving one among many examples of things that might hold up boarding.

 

I ran into full customs getting off Triumph in NOLA, and some were still departing on my roll call after 1 pm.. the folks that boarded I am sure were late.

 

Had to run some check for a hour in Galveston per Host Mach who was on that cruise.. never knew what the check was, but held up a hour.

 

Ran into the dock on Ecstasy, took 2 extra hours to disembark.

 

Fog in Galveston, but winter out of gulf ports, you can run into fog.

 

Plus I have been major late docking because of hurricanes.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Fog is common in Galveston - not sure why it causes such delays. Fog can occur on the Mississippi but doesn't seem to cause any delays.

 

Full inspections are rare.

 

Exceptions do happen in New Orleans, but not too often.

[Fraucruiser]

Just go off the Conquest on Sunday. We left our hotel at 11 and were on the ship by 12:15. We received an email requesting that we not arrive to the cruise port until 1:30. We checked with others to see if they also received the same email...they did too! We still went at our normal time and it was VERY obvious that most folks were adhering to the email request. Even the Carnival folks who checked us in commented about how busy they were going to get at 1:30 because of the email! HAVE A GREAT TIME!