Staggered check in for Port of Miami

[dlomonte]

If you are Platimum and your husband is not and your a in the stateroom his boarding pass will also be Priority and he will be able to enter at anytime

[HectorAchilleus]

I think this will be a great thing. The only downside is for those that do not follow the rules and end up waiting...which will their own fault. I think this will ease the lines tremendously.

 

I think it is a great idea also, unless a lot of FTTF, Plats, etc. pick a late time "to leave early slots for those who want them" and then show up early. That could end up a little chaotic. I think it will work fine if we just follow the rules and show up as close as possible o when we say we will.

 

Also as a FTTF person who showed up earlier than on my boarding pass, it would just be my luck to run across a port authority worker who does not know the rules and won't let me in. That would be typical of the way things often go (Murphy's Law).

[cruizinisthebest]

I guess now only those with this timeslot, FTTF, and VIP status are eligible for the free beer. That is, unless there's someone on board for a B2B.

 

I wish instead of posting the pix of the people drinking the beer, they would post the video of the people running to the bar.

 

This new process doesn't change the odds of that. It is always going to be priority or B2Bers that get to Red Frog Pub first.

[dlomonte]

The first week of staggerd checkin went very well. Congestion at the terminal was minimal and Carnival did a good job in placing additional seating around the terminal for those who arrived prior to there checkin time.

 

Most of the groups were allowed into terminal either at or before the scheduled checkin time. The reaction of the guest was mostly positive. Most guest were let into the terminal checkin and onboard the ship in less the 15 minutes.

 

As always this is based on clearance time to board.. If debarkcation takes longer this will affect the boarding start time.

 

If you like to board the ship early on emparkcation day remember to depart the ship early on debarkcation day.

[tandemcruzr]

This new process doesn't change the odds of that. It is always going to be priority or B2Bers that get to Red Frog Pub first.

 

I recently read that B2Bers will no longer be eligible for the Red Frog Pint. :( Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[LMaxwell]

The first week of staggerd checkin went very well. Congestion at the terminal was minimal and Carnival did a good job in placing additional seating around the terminal for those who arrived prior to there checkin time.

 

Most of the groups were allowed into terminal either at or before the scheduled checkin time. The reaction of the guest was mostly positive. Most guest were let into the terminal checkin and onboard the ship in less the 15 minutes.

 

As always this is based on clearance time to board.. If debarkcation takes longer this will affect the boarding start time.

 

If you like to board the ship early on emparkcation day remember to depart the ship early on debarkcation day.

 

Not going so great in Miami....

[Homosassa]

From a different perspective as someone who does not cruise Carnival, I really appreciated the staggered Carnival check in time in Miami on March 19. I had to pass two (or was it three?)Carnival ships to get to my ship's unloading area.

 

Instead of the total log jam trying to get pass the Carnival ships' unloading area that we had experience before, the Carnival areas left 2-3 traffic lanes open for those of us passing by to other ships ( MSC and Celebrity ships) .

 

The parking garage also had more empty spots then when everyone was rushing the ship to get on board.

[lcgvol]

Not going so great in Miami....

 

We had the staggered checkin March 12 in Miami and it was great! We arrived just a few minutes before our 10:30 check in time and were ushered into the "Next wait time" line and moved right through to first check in, then into the regular check in. Lines were not long and the wait to board was not long. We were onboard before 12.

[jh2360]

Not going so great in Miami....

 

Says you with absolutely no evidence provided. Sounds legit.

[jimbo5544]

Says you with absolutely no evidence provided. Sounds legit.

 

 

LOL, it is a head scratching post...

[LMaxwell]

Says you with absolutely no evidence provided. Sounds legit.

 

Know people that were there today and due to late disembark they got the first two time slots in the terminal and then big log jam and they wouldn't let anyone else inside regardless of time. Maybe March 12 went great, but March 27 didn't! No worries, I am sure people won't be passing out from heat stroke in July.

Edited March 28, 2016 by LMaxwell

[firemanbobswife]

Know people that were there today and due to late disembark they got the first two time slots in the terminal and then big log jam and they wouldn't let anyone else inside regardless of time. Maybe March 12 went great, but March 27 didn't! No worries, I am sure people won't be passing out from heat stroke in July.

 

Late debarkation is the key factor here. Remember the pic that was posted that was supposedly taken during this new process? Well the staggered check in hadn't even started yet and the huge line I believe was due to the previous cruise having a late debarkation as well.

 

I have friends on the Fantasy tomorrow. I'll report their experience here.

Edited March 28, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[crazyboutdisney]

Vista is not one of the ships listed that need you to choose a check in time yet. Maybe later this year?

 

I read somewhere (maybe earlier in this post I can't remember) that the vista would have check in times posted in may. I cannot say that this is accurate though. I am hoping they will send out an email to let us know. We are booked on the vista January 8 2017

[StolidCruiser]

Know people that were there today and due to late disembark they got the first two time slots in the terminal and then big log jam and they wouldn't let anyone else inside regardless of time. Maybe March 12 went great, but March 27 didn't! No worries, I am sure people won't be passing out from heat stroke in July.

 

Log jams will happen regardless of staggered check-in if there is a late disembark ahead of you. In fact, it would only be worse.

 

I'm sure people won't be passing out from heat stroke in July either - for a number of reasons. Drama queen isn't one of them.

[LMaxwell]

 

I'm sure people won't be passing out from heat stroke in July either - for a number of reasons.

 

I'll take the bet on that

[countrygirlcruiser1234]

We just cruised on the Breeze leaving out on March 20th, returned March 26th. Staggered check in went well, there were people complaining in line outside, we had fttf and breezed into the terminal at 9:45am we were not the first as there were already people checked in and seated inside. Debark from the previous cruise took a very long time. People were still trickling off at noon. We walked on board at about 12:15pm and the front waiting room was slammed full, they were telling people who were just standing around that they could not wait there and had to go to the 2ndary waiting room.

 

so all in all, the staggered check in went well the debark and reload...not so much. But I dont mind waiting in the waiting area.

[firemanbobswife]

Straight copy and paste from my friend's iPhone to mine. They are waiting at the port to board the Fantasy.

 

Easy peasy. We got dropped off at 10:17. We went to the wrong door, they directed is to another one. No one was ahead of us. I stopped to ask the lady what she needed. She wanted to ensure our check in time was at 10:00. I was trying to show her and some guy walked up behind us waving his boarding pass and walked right by us. I said, "really? Line too long you have to cut in front of us?" He stopped and let us go. We walked right up to the lady to confirm we are who our tickets say. From there we walked immediately through security. Up the escalator, through the weaving lines (no one in front of us), directly through the counter.

So...absolutely no waiting until now...waiting for the ship to allow boarding!

[firemanbobswife]

It seems to me it's working great.

[firemanbobswife]

Just got a text that FTTF is boarding now so looks like they're right on time. 11:22AM.

[KatieCharlotte]

We just cruised on the Breeze leaving out on March 20th, returned March 26th. Staggered check in went well, there were people complaining in line outside, we had fttf and breezed into the terminal at 9:45am we were not the first as there were already people checked in and seated inside. Debark from the previous cruise took a very long time. People were still trickling off at noon. We walked on board at about 12:15pm and the front waiting room was slammed full, they were telling people who were just standing around that they could not wait there and had to go to the 2ndary waiting room.

 

so all in all, the staggered check in went well the debark and reload...not so much. But I dont mind waiting in the waiting area.

 

It sounds like it's going well for people who were informed and selected early check-in times, and not so well for people who were either unaware of the need to select times or picked later times and arrived earlier than expected.

 

If the answer is that more and more guests will be informed of the need to pick times and the advantage of picking early times, won't this mean that the early slots will run out and people who must book cruises within a few months will have to take later check-in times? If there is no cap on the number of guests who can select a time, wouldn't this result in no real change in crowds?

[OntarioTraveller]

Any new updates on the staggered times at Miami.? When you got there? How long you waited?

[shellsd]

I had the earliest check-in and got there about 20 minutes after it started. My hubby dropped me off and went to park the car so I was just sitting by the check-in for a few. After everyone for my time was in, they started letting people in for the next time (early). The time stamp for the picture of us boarding is 11:27AM. We literally waited less than 5 minutes between when we checked in and when we boarded.

[jimbo5544]

Sounds like it is working just fine.