Check-In Question

[ShipsAhoy425]

I'm a Carnival noob and have sailed on Disney twice, so that's all I know so far. I'm a little confused about the check-in process with Carnival (or really anyone outside of DCL, but let's just go with Carnival for now ;))

 

With DCL, we logged in, and chose a time, say 11:00 (I believe 11 was the earliest, but I can't remember) and only a certain amount of people could choose 11. Then it was 11:30, 12:00, 12:30 and so on. With Carnival, I'm gathering from the numerous posts I've read that apparently that isn't the case?

 

I've read about FTTF and being able to have priority boarding and all that, and I've read some people get there at 10:30 and what not.. so I guess what I want to know is.. do you just show up whenever you want to, or how does that work? Thanks in advance! :)

[pmoniz]

You just show up!

[sparks1093]

I'm a Carnival noob and have sailed on Disney twice, so that's all I know so far. I'm a little confused about the check-in process with Carnival (or really anyone outside of DCL, but let's just go with Carnival for now ;))

 

With DCL, we logged in, and chose a time, say 11:00 (I believe 11 was the earliest, but I can't remember) and only a certain amount of people could choose 11. Then it was 11:30, 12:00, 12:30 and so on. With Carnival, I'm gathering from the numerous posts I've read that apparently that isn't the case?

 

I've read about FTTF and being able to have priority boarding and all that, and I've read some people get there at 10:30 and what not.. so I guess what I want to know is.. do you just show up whenever you want to, or how does that work? Thanks in advance! :)

 

Yep, just show up. I'm traveling hundreds of miles and driving in a strange city the last thing I want to do is pick what time I am going to arrive at the terminal;).

[jaded99]

You just show up before final boarding time, and with the exception of priority guests (wedding party, platinum, FTTF, handicapped) it's first-come, first-serve. When you check in you'll get an embarkation zone # that is based on what time you checked in, and then they'll call the zones in order to actually embark.

 

You'll get an e-mail a few weeks before your cruise giving you a window of time to arrive (usually it's like 1-3pm or something like that) but unless you like waiting in line, you should either go well before that time or close to the end of it, in our experience. If you get there early, you can be one of the first groups let on (we aim for 2 hours after the previous cruise is arriving in port, and are usually in one of the first 5 zones). Or, if you arrive later (let's say an hour before the end of boarding time) nearly everyone else is already on the ship and you can breeze right through. At least that's how it has worked for us! But yes, you can show up pretty much anytime from when the ship arrives up until a half hour before boarding ends.

[ShipsAhoy425]

Thanks for the replies! We like to be early on the ship, so the earlier we can get there, the better! :D

[Sixtytwo]

Yep, just show up. But, around 11:30-12:30 is pretty much prime time for folks to arrive so you may not get on board quite as fast as earlier arrival times. Also, be aware that cabins are normally not available for dropping off your carryon luggage until around 1:00 or 1:30, meaning what you carry on will have to be carried until cabins open.

 

Hope your first Carnival cruise is a great one!