Arrive early or late to minimize time on line

[nycshipmate]

Hi, we're travelling with an active kid and a senior. Should we arrive early or late for embarkation to avoid standing on long lines? I'm thinking if we arrive late, most of the passengers will have been checked in. Thoughts?

[shoreguy]

Hi, we're travelling with an active kid and a senior. Should we arrive early or late for embarkation to avoid standing on long lines? I'm thinking if we arrive late, most of the passengers will have been checked in. Thoughts?

 

Late - Let the arriving passengers get out of there and the early birds board. Get there around 2:30 and you should walk onboard if things are ontime. If they are not wait time will be far less then those that came early.

[smeyer418]

absolutely agree- no wait =late. Even if the ship is late or there is a problem with a passenger getting off late is better for getting on. Personally I love getting there early so I have more time on board...but I am willing to fight the lines.

[nycshipmate]

With that in mind, what if we get there at 11? Then we can avoid long lines and enjoy more time on board. Or does this way only work in theory?

[cruisequeen10]

get on early so you can have lunch. you don't want to miss a meal. there are lots of places to sit while waiting to be checked in.

[shoreguy]

With that in mind, what if we get there at 11? Then we can avoid long lines and enjoy more time on board. Or does this way only work in theory?

 

I think 11 might be the longest wait. People may still be getting off the ship. Boarding will not have started and you will be behind all the early birds. This is what it looks like when everyone is there and they have not started boarding yet;

[Tomct]

With that in mind, what if we get there at 11? Then we can avoid long lines and enjoy more time on board. Or does this way only work in theory?

 

That's our style for the Dawn. Arriving early beats the traffic, at least our experience, parking is a breeze on the pier, and by the time I get back from the garage, the bags are gone, and the family is seated in the lounge area. On one occasion it did get a litlle crowded prior to boarding, about noon, but my wife was pre bilateral knee replacement, and she was seated in the handicapped area, and that was a bit more roomy. Boarding early is for us, as we want to get the cruise going early, with lunch at Venetian. It's also a great time to start getting your bearings on the ship, after all, some folks need each minute of those eight calendar days on board to do that!!

 

The one time we boarded late, was on the Star, after a flight from CT to Hawaii, and we waited in line for over 90 minutes. If we had been Latitude members, there was no wait, but once we got on, we felt rushed because the 3:30 lifeboat drill was immediately upon us, then time for dinner, and who knows when your bags will arrive.

 

If you can entertain the little guy, and Dad can handle to waiting room, that's what I'd do. This is what makes this board so interesting, as you get all sides of an issue.

[johnql]

I personally would always arrive early in order to have as much time onboard as possible. But I think arriving late gives you a better chance of a short wait.

[sunshine 229]

My concern with arriving late in NYC is the parking situation. When we went we parked on the pier and there did not seem to be all that many spaces left. Maybe there was other parking available that I did not see but I would be worried about arriving too late if parking is an issue.

 

If you are being dropped off then later arrival may minimize your wait time.

[dyslexic pirate]

I've been late, just barely making the ship and I've flown in the night before and been one of the first on the ship.

 

Nothing beats the feeling of an "extra" day on board. Mosey around, grab a bite, unpack your stuff, take a nap if you need it, do the drill, eat some at the BBQ, gamble, go dancing.........

 

When I've arrived just in the nick of time I'm usually jet lagged and rushing and the first day just doesn't really amount to a whole lot of fun.

 

My next cruise will be depart from Seattle which is only an hour and 20 minute flight from my home. I plan an early morning flight with plans to be at the pier by about 10:30. (the best of both worlds without the added expense of the overnight hotel ahead of time)

[PDX2Cruiser]

We did early with 3 kids and had no problem with the wait. If nothing else they'll interact with other passengers waiting to get on. That's what our kids did. They were too excited to get bored.

 

Also, on the Sun there was a 30 minutes of free Video Game time on the day of embarkment. It was at around 2:30. This was an unexpected payoff for getting on early from my oldest son's perspective right off the bat that we didn't expect. If your child is old enough to be into that kind of thing. I don't know if it's offered on other ships.

[Kladam]

I have no desire to wait online. I'll be going on teh Dawn this Sunday and plan on getting to the pier around 1:45. Hopefully the wait won't be that

long. It will give us time to hit the BBQ, the room and muster.

[shoreguy]

I have no desire to wait online. I'll be going on teh Dawn this Sunday and plan on getting to the pier around 1:45. Hopefully the wait won't be that

long. It will give us time to hit the BBQ, the room and muster.

 

 

The good news - they have BBQ after the muster drill :)

[mshe]

Hi, we're travelling with an active kid and a senior. Should we arrive early or late for embarkation to avoid standing on long lines? I'm thinking if we arrive late, most of the passengers will have been checked in. Thoughts?

 

Arrive late... We arrived around 4:30 (ship departs at 8:00) and there was only a 10 minute wait.

[robsvacation]

There is simply no right answer to this since ships are delayed all the time, people converge at the dock in unexpected clumps, traffic in NYC is unexpected and occurs all the time, so on and so forth... The Dawn in Particular can be delayed due to conditions in the Atlantic. I don't like getting there too early as there's a chance of you may end up sitting on the floor waiting for the ship to be ready. My advice, come well after the posted boarding time (but with enough of a buffer in case you hit NYC traffic) there is a better chance you'll miss some of the lines.

 

Rob

[DaisyL]

Hi, we're travelling with an active kid and a senior. Should we arrive early or late for embarkation to avoid standing on long lines? I'm thinking if we arrive late, most of the passengers will have been checked in. Thoughts?

 

My TA has told us to arrive in NYC pier ~ 2 pm to avoid crowds and lines (and that's what she does- we all live 50 miles N of NY). Having said that, we always arrive between 11 am and 12 noon (6 NYC cruises in last 6 years, w Feb and May this year) because we don't want to miss a thing. :cool:

 

They fill the center section first (has plenty of folding chairs), then the upper area (few seats) then the left side section and then the right side section (we were here in Feb, with very late arrival of ship and did not start boarding until 4 pm and we got there at 2 pm-TA called us the night before). It was all very organized, but noisy and crowded and the PA people were great with dealing with the crowd and kept offering folding chairs to those waiting (were many seniors on this cruise so just ask for one if you need it).

 

The 5 times we drove ourselves to NYC, we never had a problem with parking (even during the busy season) and if one pier fills up I think they'll direct you to another, besides most times we have arrived at a different pier than we departed anyway ... DH drops us off at the curb with luggage, then parks car, the porters collect the luggage at the curb, and DH meets us inside a few minutes later. After arriving back in NY after the cruise, we all bring the luggage to the curb and DH gets the car and knows exactly where we are waiting.

[travelling mom]

Arrive late... We arrived around 4:30 (ship departs at 8:00) and there was only a 10 minute wait.

 

Can you tell me what time does the muster drill start? Thanks