Staggered boarding on Caribbean Princess

[guerchino]

Can anyone who has traveled recently tell me if Princess adheres to the staggered boarding schedule on Caribbean Princess in Ft Lauderdale? I need to figure out when to get to the terminal.

 

Thanks very much

[long cruiser]

It depends on what status you have with princess.Platinum and elite passengers can usually board around 11:30.

long cruiser

[Colo Cruiser]

Can anyone who has traveled recently tell me if Princess adheres to the staggered boarding schedule on Caribbean Princess in Ft Lauderdale? I need to figure out when to get to the terminal.

 

Thanks very much

 

 

No its just a suggestion.

We arrive around 10:30 and boarding starts around Noon.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Yea, don't pay any attention to suggestions. Arrive early, board early is my motto.:D

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Does anyone have an idea of how long the queue to enter terminal 2 will be if I arrive around 1130-1145? I really hate standing outdoors in that hot muggy shed of an arrivals area waiting to go inside to clear security and then wait in line to check in. My flight lands at 1040, so if the boarding queue is going to be long then I can always relax with a coffee at the airport for awhile before heading over.

[Colo Cruiser]

Does anyone have an idea of how long the queue to enter terminal 2 will be if I arrive around 1130-1145? I really hate standing outdoors in that hot muggy shed of an arrivals area waiting to go inside to clear security and then wait in line to check in. My flight lands at 1040, so if the boarding queue is going to be long then I can always relax with a coffee at the airport for awhile before heading over.

 

By 11:30 it will be long, by 2:00 it should be less but who knows. :cool:

[AtlantaCruiser72]

By 11:30 it will be long, by 2:00 it should be less but who knows. :cool:

 

Princess really needs to do something to terminal 2. It is the ONLY cruise terminal where I've ever had to wait outside in the heat and humidity in a line like this. It's a real negative first impression. They just need to look across the harbor to what RCCL has done for the Oasis/Allure, or at any of the terminals that parent corporation CCL operate in Miami. Heck, even the older more common use facilities in FLL are better.

 

Thankfully I know that once I get onboard I will have an excellent experience with Princess, regardless of the bad arrivals/check-in procedures/facilities in FLL at terminal 2.

[pablo222]

Princess really needs to do something to terminal 2.

 

Just arrive after 2:00PM. I believe princess even suggests

this for a faster experience.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Just arrive after 2:00PM. I believe princess even suggests

this for a faster experience.

 

The only thing I don't like about arriving that late is that I eat lunch so late dinner hardly seems appetizing + you hardly make it back to your room & it's muster time.

I might consider arriving a little later to avoid the rush but then again it's not like I could seep later that morning. We just accept the fact that waiting a little to board the ship is something we can't avoid & I'd rather be on the ship than worrying about being late.

[happiness is cruising]

Arrive early so you can go to the dining room for lunch... Open noon to 1:30... Big secret ..as they point you to eat lunch in the Horizon Court

 

 

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[AtlantaCruiser72]

Arrive early so you can go to the dining room for lunch... Open noon to 1:30... Big secret ..as they point you to eat lunch in the Horizon Court

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

I know about the MDR lunch. A much more civilized start to ones holiday!

 

My issue is not so much waiting to board, its standing in that herd outside of terminal 2. It is always so hot and uncomfortable out there.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

I guess we've always been lucky since we arrive early for last 10 or so cruises & never had to wait outside terminal 2 more than a few minutes or so. It depends a lot on how fast the other passengers disembark before the staff can shift attention to the new arrivals.

[LovetheSea]

happiness is cruising ... "Arrive early so you can go to the dining room for lunch... Open noon to 1:30... Big secret ..as they point you to eat lunch in the Horizon Court"

 

 

This is what we do. The Horizon Buffet is a zoo the first day! So much nicer in the dining room. Great food too.

Edited September 1, 2014 by LovetheSea

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Boarding update for the 9/1 cruise. Arrived at pier at 1115 and no lines. I'm checked in and sitting down waiting for boarding to start. The volume of arrivals will most likely peak in the next hour or so I'd guess but hopefully by then boarding will have commenced.

[ggprincess2004]

We've done some recent b2b cruising out of FLL, and tried a few strategies to avoid frustration. They haven't worked - and there is a point to this.

 

First, we decided to stay on board in FLL on turn around day, and do the disembark, clear ICE, get right back on the ship thing. What a mess - some passengers either did not read the information provided to them concerning what is required or figured the rules didn't apply to them. We waited over 45 minutes while they were tracked down on the ship and made to clear ICE so the ship could be "zeroed", and then we could finally get back on ahead of all the "new" passengers. It was almost 11:30 before we were back on board.

 

Having had enough of that mess, we decided to disembark early and take a tour of FLL. That was fine and quite a nice tour, but we did want to have lunch in the MDR, as is our tradition......so were back at the pier by 1 o'clock. The line for boarding (after security and check in) was incredibly long. We were not onboard at 1:30, dining room closed. And I was still fresh off knee surgery - we kind of cut the line waiting for the escalator and used the elevator to get up to the second floor, and even then it took over half an hour to get on board as an in transit passenger. I imagine if one was stuck in the line for the escalator they were looking at the better part of an hour in line just to get on board after checking in.

 

Moral of these stories - arrive well before 11:15 or wait, just plain wait until after 1:30, unless you want to spend a whole lot of time standing in line. At least the line was inside, but still - yikes!!! This gave me a fresh appreciation of the elite lounge and preferred boarding we have been enjoying for a while. Our enjoyment of it is only enhanced by this recent experience.

Edited September 1, 2014 by ggprincess2004

[jelenedra]

Are most of you that are posting platinum or elite? Do the recommended port arrival times still apply if you are just gold status? I know we can get to the port by 11, does that just mean we can check in without a long line but will have to wait somewhere for an hour+ waiting to be called to board? What is it like after you check in, are you waiting inside with somewhere to sit? We'll be at a hotel the night before and can arrive anytime, but if I can check in and get on ASAP, that would be lovely :D Thanks in advance for any replies!

[ggprincess2004]

Are most of you that are posting platinum or elite? Do the recommended port arrival times still apply if you are just gold status? I know we can get to the port by 11, does that just mean we can check in without a long line but will have to wait somewhere for an hour+ waiting to be called to board? What is it like after you check in, are you waiting inside with somewhere to sit? We'll be at a hotel the night before and can arrive anytime, but if I can check in and get on ASAP, that would be lovely :D Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

There is a place to sit inside, but at Pier 2 before you can sit down you go through the security checkpoint. If there is no long line for that, you can be comfortable while you wait.

 

There are a number of factors which enter in to when boarding will start - first they have to get the ship "zeroed". That could very well or take a while depending upon whether or not there are enough ICE personnel available for disembarking passengers and how well the in transit passengers follow their instructions. Also, if there is a coast guard inspection things could get delayed a bit. Things like a wedding party and BVE guests don't really impact things much at all.

 

Then, it's how many elite and platinum passengers are on the voyage. The more, the longer you will have to wait. You could be on board by noon, or it might be 12:30 or a little later - so hard to really predict.

[jelenedra]

Thanks ggprincess! I guess it sounds like its best to get there as early as possible, or else wait till after 2. It seems like we'll be waiting anyway at some point, but I'd rather wait AFTER check-in than wait in a line TO check in!

And I suppose time of year makes a difference, too! We'll be cruising in 3 weeks as opposed to holidays or spring break, so it may be quieter now.