Best time to board Caribbean princess

[Casachic]

What time is the best time to get there to board? Is there a long wait?

[Baxter]

I think the general rule of thumb is that some people are always anxious to get on board. And it seems that people are arriving earlier and earlier. If you arrive early, you probably will have a bit of a wait. Some have suggested that 2:00ish is a more quiet time to board.

[MWChance]

We were just on the 5/28 Eastern cruise. We flew in from Atlanta at 9:00 a.m. and went straight to the port. In past cruises, we were able to get on around 11:30 a.m. I guess since the ship is so full this time of year, we didn't start boarding until noon. Within 5 minutes, we were on board. Once we got on board, I looked out of our balcony and saw the long lines wrapped around the port. They were moving pretty quickly. So, you can be an early bird and be there for the noon boarding, or if you're coming later, avoid the lines and get there sometime after 2:00.

 

Mike

[mdmomof7]

We are first time cruisers and realize that it is very wise to be there the night before departure. But...we just can't fly out the night before because of a college orientation/reception for our daughter's freshman year. We will fly out of BWI at 7:30AM the day OF the cruise, arriving at FLL at 9:30AM. I understand the airport is just a few miles from the cruise port. Hope so! There are other flights by Southwest later that day in case we get bumped. But I'm a bit nervous flying this cheap airline. I know they offer no compensation for missed flights and such. Or so I've heard, don't know because I've not flown w/ them before.

 

So, do you think it will work to fly in to FLL the day of departure with such an early flight time? Are we foolish to do this?

 

Thanks for the input!

[HMcruiser]

mdmom, you'll be fine. Southwest has a pretty good reputation, so as long as there isn't a major weather problem, your early flight is a good idea and should be fine...just make sure you get to the airport with plenty of time.

 

Also, the airport is indeed very close to the port, you'll be one of the early birds in line.

[Dreamer333]

Last October, I arrived at the port around 11am, and my heart SANK when I saw that the line was wrapped around the building!!! I thought I was going to be in line all afternoon!

 

However, the doors hadn't opened yet... They opened up within 15 minutes and the lines went REALLY fast!!! The total process was probably an hour at the most, which was amazing considering how many people were in line ahead of us!

[Baxter]

I should have mentioned...a lot of this is port dependent. Our biggest line-up was seen in Vancouver in May -- it probably took us an hour and a half to move through the different lines. In San Francisco, we whizzed through the initial line, and were then sent to a "holding" room to wait with a whack of other people. Once they opened the doors, it went pretty quick.

 

I'm always anxious -- what can I say, I'm always excited to get on the ship. But then my husband reminds me that we're on vacation. Expect a bit of a wait, and if there is no wait you'll be pleasantly surprised!

[mdmomof7]

:) :) Thank you for such quick responses. I'm relieved to know we will be okay. I suspected so when I started reading about early embarkation and those that boarded at 2PM. I like the idea of no line when boarding later. Is there anything near the sea port that we could/should visit before boarding? I figure we'll be there no later than 11AM if all goes well w/ the flight arriving at 9:30.

 

Or, should we just get on that ship, settle in and open the wine? :rolleyes:

[HMcruiser]

Just get on the ship and settle in!! :D

[Dreamer333]

Or, should we just get on that ship, settle in and open the wine? :rolleyes:

 

Yep, just get on as soon as you can... relax... get some lunch... and of course open that bottle of wine!

Have a wonderful cruise!!

[spongerob]

It depends when you cruise. Some of the airport shuttles and local Florida shuttle buses arrive quite early, so there could be quite a line by 10:30 AM. No one gets on board until Princess staff is darned good and ready to let you on. That means everyone getting off has to have collected their bags and left. You will get on earlier if get to the terminal earlier, but you will still have to wait outside until embarkation commences. Make sure you have some water, and a big umbrella in case it rains!

 

Also, if you get there too early, the longshoremen won't be ready to start collecting bags and you will have to keep them with you until they are set up to start loading.

[TheParrotHeads]

You will get on earlier if get to the terminal earlier, but you will still have to wait outside until embarkation commences. Make sure you have some water, and a big umbrella in case it rains!

 

Regarding weather, is there no waiting area inside like RCI has in MIami?

[mdmomof7]

We had to change our cruise date and now the airfare is gone for the time we wanted to fly to FLL. There is a flight arriving FLL at 11:55AM the day of departure. Is that too late? We had wanted the earlier flight that day, but it is sold out for the reasonable fares. It also has one connection and that adds 1 hr. to our flight, thus the 11:55AM arrival.

 

Help!

 

Do I have enough time? Do I have to take the late evening flight the night before and spend the night and go the next AM?

 

Thanks for your responses. I really do appreciate it!

[mphouston]

All,

 

I agree that the line moves well once it opens. I have always been in line at 11:30 or so and it was not too bad (never on the CB, buton the Grand).

 

I was just wondering what are reasons to wait in line and get on as early as possible? What are the drawbacks of waiting until 2:00pm or so?

 

The two reasons for early that I can think of are:

 

1) Get on sooner and start relaxing/eating :).

2) Get first shot at reservations.

 

On #2, I wonder if there is any hurry to get an Anytime dining reservation for a large group (16 people)? We are traveling with a group in July and want to get a standing reservation at around 6:00pm and want to make sure we get two tables next to each other (near a window). If we wait to get in line for the reservation at around 2:00pm, will this be a problem?

 

Or, when can you get in line at Sabatinis to make this reservation? Do people line before they start taking reservations? If it doesn't open until 1:00pm, then there is no point in arriving at 11:30 :).

 

Thanks.

[JerseyShore64]

What time is the best time to get there to board? Is there a long wait?

 

 

I have to say the best time in my experience has been 2:15 p.m. I realize how excited everyone is, but to me the 8-10 minute embarkation from curb to lobby is something I look forward to.

 

As for getting on board for reservations, I haven't seen a huge line the first night, I have seen it on the second night. I think you have plenty of time to get on, find your cabin, drop your carry on and hit the deck for some fun. I like to make my reservations for the spa but other than that, I am there to enjoy!!

[jerseygirl3]

MDMom, since you had to change your cruise date, I'm guessing being able to arrive a day early won't be a problem anymore. Book a flight for the day before and that way you can relax and not stress about flight delays possibly causing you to miss the ship.

[kayred]

I read somewhere, I think it was in the "Cruise Answer Book" that suites get a priority check in. Does that include the Mini Suite?

[mdmomof7]

Yes, we are arriving the day before to relax by the hotel pool and maybe get some last minute drinks to bring on. That way they won't be in our airline baggage taking up unnecessary room.

 

Unless arriving early for embarkation helps you get an upgrade, I'm not sure when we will board. We couldn't get a balcony on this cruise date so I'm hoping if we get there early to embark, we might get one of the upgrades or upsells. I have tried to read up on this on these boards and there doesn't seem to be any consensus or way to know how the upgrades come about. Well, there is the upgrade fairy...:)