Phone call from Carnival about Nov 1st Glory Cruise

[nicoleds]

I just received an automated call from Carnival with a recording saying that they are performing tests after guests debark on Nov 1st and not to arrive at the terminal until 1:30-3pm.

 

I have FTTF and planned on being there for 11ish. Should I ignore this call? Is this just to spread out boarding?

Edited October 30, 2014 by nicoleds
sp.

[pbmsmile]

Yes! I have gotten many of these..go at 10:30...

 

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[Tampa8]

If it's just to "spread out" boarding whey don't they do it for all or for more cruises? I am even more leaning towards it being real because the poster has FTTF, sounds to me those are the people getting the call because they are the ones allowed to board nearly first. What good would FTTF be if you always got a call saying not to board early?

Edited October 30, 2014 by Tampa8

[Sailor14Girl]

I got an email and a phone call for my Nov 1 Freedom cruise, and I do not have fttf

[sungifts]

I got the same call and email before my Dream cruise on the 19th. We were on board by noon.

 

 

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[amyh13]

We got something similar for our 2013 Dream cruise and we had FTTF. The parking lot attendant told us the same thing. We were on by 11:30.

 

 

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[LUVS2CRUZE]

We were told a check in time on the Freedom a couple of years ago, I did not listen and we were on before noon.

[cruisexlife]

Now, I never listen to these calls.

 

I can see the Port of Baltimore from my house, and the whale tail is even prettier on my departure date. I got a call that they were doing maitenance the night before my 2nd cruise on Pride and was told not to get to POB until 2. I said okay, being the newbie I am (was) :D, until I saw that people were getting on. So i went. It's not too far from my house so I actually wasn't worried if they told me to leave. Left home at 11. Burger in hand at 12:15.

 

Go a little earlier than planned :D

 

Have fun, Glory is one of my favorites!

[travler27]

I think that's the "New guys get on last" call, email, text. :)

[Elaine5715]

There are cruises that do not board until after 12 pm for several reasons. Carnival started notifications in response to people complaining that they should have been told instead of having to sit outside in the heat for hours. With the advancement of technology, they have the ability to notify folks in transit who can simply ignore the warning and show up as they please but at least, they were warned. Folks with FTTF will still board before the other thousands of passengers.

Just know, there are few amenities at port and once the inside terminal is at capacity, all others will be sitting outside.

[cruisexlife]

There are cruises that do not board until after 12 pm for several reasons. Carnival started notifications in response to people complaining that they should have been told instead of having to sit outside in the heat for hours. With the advancement of technology, they have the ability to notify folks in transit who can simply ignore the warning and show up as they please but at least, they were warned. Folks with FTTF will still board before the other thousands of passengers.

 

Just know, there are few amenities at port and once the inside terminal is at capacity, all others will be sitting outside.

 

 

very correct. but OP do what you feel is right. it shouldn't be too hot in the event that you wait outside, but you should be allowed inside the terminal. Maybe shoot for 12-12:30 in case they are serious.

[stargate fan]

I just received an automated call from Carnival with a recording saying that they are performing tests after guests debark on Nov 1st and not to arrive at the terminal until 1:30-3pm.

 

I have FTTF and planned on being there for 11ish. Should I ignore this call? Is this just to spread out boarding?

 

Yes, definitely ignore the phone call.

 

When we sailed Glory out of Boston in 2013, we received "the" email. We laughed, we deleted it, we ignored it, and we arrived at the port at our usual 9:00'ish. Embarkation started at 10:55. There were fewer than 200 people in the port building. We were able to walk all over the ship and take pictures with no people around. As the time went by and we met folks and talked with them, we found out that most heeded the time recommendations. Boy were they upset when they found out that they could have been on the ship by 11:00. We were told that the lines to check in after 1:00 were loooong and took forever.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

If it's just to "spread out" boarding whey don't they do it for all or for more cruises? I am even more leaning towards it being real because the poster has FTTF, sounds to me those are the people getting the call because they are the ones allowed to board nearly first. What good would FTTF be if you always got a call saying not to board early?

 

We are Platinum, so we board before FTTF. We still get the emails and phone calls for every cruise. We ignore them and are always on the ship well before the times recommended for arrival to the port.

[kesdjmarouse]

I can see the Port of Baltimore from my house, and the whale tail is even prettier on my departure date.

[bigdog1958]

I just received an automated call from Carnival with a recording saying that they are performing tests after guests debark on Nov 1st and not to arrive at the terminal until 1:30-3pm.

 

I have FTTF and planned on being there for 11ish. Should I ignore this call? Is this just to spread out boarding?

 

This is not the normal email that says you should arrive at 1:30 pm for boarding. This is a specific reason, so therefore, it is probably true that boarding will be delayed. However, you can go at 11am, worse case is you sit in the terminal for 2 hours or so before boarding. At least you were warned. For all the people that say they always say this, that is not true, most of the time its a generic email not a phone call with a specific reason. Its always possible they will board earlier then they expect, but no one should complain, it they have to wait for two plus hours, as you were warned. I have been on two cruises where this happened and both times we did not start boarding until after 1pm. However, some people with FTTF went to guest services and obtained a refund, as everyone was able to go directly to their cabins when boarding, since it was 1:30 or later.