How early can we arrive at pier?

[baggal]

New to Princess, although we have sailed before on HAL, Celebrity and RCI.

 

We are planning to live on the edge (once again - last cruise we boarded in Barcelona with 10 minutes to spare - so I know we shouldn't do it) by flying to Ft. Lauderdale the morning of our cruise in early December. But, we are taking the first non-stop flight out from Newark at 6 a.m. and should arrive in Ft. Lauderdale by 9 a.m.

 

My question: how early can we arrive at the pier? Or, if we do arrive in Ft. Lauderdale as early as planned, should we rent a car and visit some friends or relatives in South Florida? The itinerary says the ship departs at 4 p.m., which means we would have to be back at the pier by 2:30 p.m. at the latest, given our track record. Or should we just stay in the airport (and have the relatives/friends come to us) until about 12 noon.

 

Thanks for your advice.

[WeBeGone]

Hanging around an airport for 3 hours would not be my choice. I'd have my relatives pick me up, take me to a great waterfront place for a late breakfast, tour around, and show up at the pier around 2. There's really no sense getting to the pier earlier than noon.

[caribill]

You should be able to give luggage to porters around 10 AM. Check-in will start between 11 and noon and boarding should start around noon. When you board on Princess, your cabin will be ready and you can go right to it.

 

Lunch will be available in a dining room from noon unril 1:30. Later than 1:30 you will need to eat at the buffet or another area.

 

If these are good friends or close relatives check with Princess or your travel agent to see if the Bon Voyage Experience (BVE) is available for your sailing.

 

For $39/person (no charge to you the passenger), your friends/relatives can be the first to board (you can board with them), have a tour of the public areas of the ship (which you might enjoy since this is your first Princess cruise), have lunch in the dining room including a glass of wine (the wine is included for them, but if you want some there will be a charge), get a picture that was taken upon boarding, and can enjoy the ship's amenities until about an hour or so before the ship sails. If they end up booking a Princess cruise within 90 days (the booking, not the sailing), the $39 will be applied to the cost of the cruise.

[CRUZER2012]

Hey, do what you like. I won't even mention the why questions that come to mind. You say you have cruised before, so you must know timings. Do you like to get onboard as early as possible or do you usually board close to the end of allowable boarding as you mention in your original post?

Sounds like your flight gets into Fort Lauderdale by 9:00am if it is ontime. When do you want to be onboard the ship? Now you have your available time for activities like picking up checked baggage if any, renting a car, driving to and visiting with friends, returning rental car, transportation to pier, time at pier before you can actually get onboard. Then it would be prudent to have some buffer time in case something(s) do not go as planned.

[NeurosurgeryNP]

We have always got in the same time in fLL, around 9am, and by the time we got our luggage and headed to the pier, it was around 10-10:15 or so. We wind up dropping off our luggage and waiting to check in and board. We love being in one of the first groups to board.

[CRUZER2012]

We have always got in the same time in fLL, around 9am, and by the time we got our luggage and headed to the pier, it was around 10-10:15 or so. We wind up dropping off our luggage and waiting to check in and board. We love being in one of the first groups to board.

 

 

I also prefer boarding as soon as possible.

[highheel girl]

We have always got in the same time in fLL, around 9am, and by the time we got our luggage and headed to the pier, it was around 10-10:15 or so. We wind up dropping off our luggage and waiting to check in and board. We love being in one of the first groups to board.

 

We do the same! :D

[Lancer1568]

New to Princess, although we have sailed before on HAL, Celebrity and RCI.

 

We are planning to live on the edge (once again - last cruise we boarded in Barcelona with 10 minutes to spare - so I know we shouldn't do it) by flying to Ft. Lauderdale the morning of our cruise in early December. But, we are taking the first non-stop flight out from Newark at 6 a.m. and should arrive in Ft. Lauderdale by 9 a.m.

 

My question: how early can we arrive at the pier? Or, if we do arrive in Ft. Lauderdale as early as planned, should we rent a car and visit some friends or relatives in South Florida? The itinerary says the ship departs at 4 p.m., which means we would have to be back at the pier by 2:30 p.m. at the latest, given our track record. Or should we just stay in the airport (and have the relatives/friends come to us) until about 12 noon.

 

Thanks for your advice.

If you are new to princess, you may not be aware that your room will be available when you board unlike some other cruise lines that make you wait until later in the afternoon to go to your stateroom. If that has any impact on your decision.

[baggal]

Thanks for all your responses. I didn't know the cabin would be available to us when we board - a very nice surprise. Also didn't know that you can have lunch served in the dining room on embarkation day. Another nice plus.

 

So we'll ditch the plan to see relatives on embarkation day and just make our way to the pier at about ten (ish) and wait there. By the time we board and have some lunch, I'll be ready for a nap before muster drill.

 

Anything else that is different/better about Princess than the other mass cruise lines?

 

And for inquiring minds who were too polite to ask or comment: DH spent a large part of the summer at home recuperating from neck surgery. This cruise is a late replacement for the one we had to cancel this summer because of the surgery. Sometimes you just can't take an extra day off from work.

[rcacace]

Your plane arrives at the ideal time to board the ship early. Don't consider waiting at the airport or wasting time trying to do anything else but since checking aboard the ship is the most important thing to do that morning.

[CFD130]

Leave your luggage at the pier if you can- Fort Lauderdale has a great water taxi system that takes you around and past some unbelievable homes and yachts-Its stops right there near the crsuie ship pier

[missymerv]

Highly recommend Bon Voyage Experience with your friends for $39pp. Great way to start your vacation.